Night Gardener
Inkling
I submit for your consideration, the concept of the "Anti-McGuffin Plot": 'something' for which the story revolves and creates conflict to drive the narrative, but is also 'something' *nobody* wants.
I'll tell you a true historical story from what I can remember-- with not too many exaggerations or aggregious mistakes-- because it was genuinely that absurd. Not only because I think it's hilarious, but I'm hoping someone might be inspired to adapt this into a fantasy setting. And, if you do, please let me read it.
I was on a road trip in Illinois to go camping for a weekend about 8 years ago. We went through a county where, oddly, everything was suddenly named 'Henry'. Henry County, the Henry River, Henry-everything. Curious, I later went online to see 'who' this Henry person was.
"Henry", historians agreed, was a visionary ...and a beligerant narcissistic jerk and borderline public menace. ( He may have also been a missionary at some point in his life, or a missionary ended up being his biographer?) Everyone despised him. The townspeople had a ethics problem: they couldn't justify killing Henry outright, because while he was a menance... they didn't want to be murderers. He didn't break the law enough to justify long prison sentences or execution. But, he was utterly intolerable. So much so, that in the 17? or 1800whatevers, the government/townspeople finally agreed to fund his crazy idea for a river expedition; because it was the only way they thought they could get rid of him once and for all. They sincerely thought they were sending him on a likely suicide mission, and the people rejoiced.
Most of his enlisted crew men quickly mutinied
(I suspect this was part of the townspeople's plan) and abandoned the expedition because he was bat-shit crazy, and mean as hell. Which left Henry mostly alone within the unknown wilds of Native American territory. He was determined to chart the Des Plaines, (or some such river) back to the headwaters of the Great Lakes and plot a route for man-made shipping cannals to be built for trade and commerce throughout Illinois. (That seemed crazy at the time, to manufacture an artificial river-highway. Expecially to towns that had little to trade or export.)
The natives, seeing this well-to-do european colonist guy basically on his own with a cache of supplies and equipment, decided he must be *really* important. They kidnapped him and took him prisoner, intending to ransom him back.
Except... no one the natives encountered of any authority was willing to pay anything to get him back. Because, Henry was a colossal jerk and nobody liked him. They kept basically telling the Natives to kill him: They said it would be totally cool, and not cause further conflict. They wanted nothing to do with him, and certainly weren't going to spend any more money or goods in exchange for Henry's safe return.
The Natives then realized they had a real problem: Their code of ethics dictated that they keep this ransom-prisoner alive and in good health, because he was kidnapped, and not defeated in battle. Therefore, he wasn't a 'slave' and couldn't be treated as one. They were stuck with what should have been a big-ticket hot-shot, but had no way of knowing just how hated Henry was by his own people when they abducted him.
Turns out, the Natives helped Henry complete his mission of charting the waters of the river whatever to the Great Lakes... but only because they themselves kept paddling Henry upstream trying to find government officials-- anybody really-- to take him back. They even gave up on the idea of ransom, just someone take Henry back so they could finally be rid of him, too.
Now, I can't remember if the Natives actually tried setting him free several times; and/ or tried pawning him off to a different population of natives to extort ransom...who quickly returned him back to the original tribe because they couldn't stand him... and then Henry refused to actually leave the native territory, and kept repeatively tracking down the original tribe to re-join them after being repeatively ditched in the wilderness. It was something genuinely amusing where Henry became a 'What About Bob?' Bill Murray character tormenting Richard Dryfuss in that he. just. wouldn't. leave. And they couldn't get rid of him.
Henry did complete his very important crazy- obsessive mission. Eventually, the natives found a section of the human population that had never heard of Henry, who we relieved these 'savages' kept him in such good health and were returning him unharmed, not knowing of the original ransom plot. Henry, being an insufferable jerk, eventually pissed off those unwitting townspeople who eventually 'helped' him return to his own original civilization... much to their total horror and dismay.
Future generations benefitted from Henry and his crazy ordeal-- and the cannals he mapped/built are still around today and are amazing to kayak or canoe by the way -- but in his lifetime, he brought a lot of misery to a lot of people.
Modern historians had a heck of a time trying to paint this Henry figure in a flattering light, so they didn't. I may have not remembered everything correctly (it was probably even more ridiculous) but it certainly left an impression on me all these years later.
Have any of you fellow Scribes ever utilized an 'Anti-McGuffin' plot? Maybe as a 'cursed object' instead of a person? While this historical account lends itself to comedy (well, I laughed because imagine *that* whole story on some historical marker) have you ever considered an Anti-McGuffin as a plot device?
I'll tell you a true historical story from what I can remember-- with not too many exaggerations or aggregious mistakes-- because it was genuinely that absurd. Not only because I think it's hilarious, but I'm hoping someone might be inspired to adapt this into a fantasy setting. And, if you do, please let me read it.
I was on a road trip in Illinois to go camping for a weekend about 8 years ago. We went through a county where, oddly, everything was suddenly named 'Henry'. Henry County, the Henry River, Henry-everything. Curious, I later went online to see 'who' this Henry person was.
"Henry", historians agreed, was a visionary ...and a beligerant narcissistic jerk and borderline public menace. ( He may have also been a missionary at some point in his life, or a missionary ended up being his biographer?) Everyone despised him. The townspeople had a ethics problem: they couldn't justify killing Henry outright, because while he was a menance... they didn't want to be murderers. He didn't break the law enough to justify long prison sentences or execution. But, he was utterly intolerable. So much so, that in the 17? or 1800whatevers, the government/townspeople finally agreed to fund his crazy idea for a river expedition; because it was the only way they thought they could get rid of him once and for all. They sincerely thought they were sending him on a likely suicide mission, and the people rejoiced.
Most of his enlisted crew men quickly mutinied
(I suspect this was part of the townspeople's plan) and abandoned the expedition because he was bat-shit crazy, and mean as hell. Which left Henry mostly alone within the unknown wilds of Native American territory. He was determined to chart the Des Plaines, (or some such river) back to the headwaters of the Great Lakes and plot a route for man-made shipping cannals to be built for trade and commerce throughout Illinois. (That seemed crazy at the time, to manufacture an artificial river-highway. Expecially to towns that had little to trade or export.)
The natives, seeing this well-to-do european colonist guy basically on his own with a cache of supplies and equipment, decided he must be *really* important. They kidnapped him and took him prisoner, intending to ransom him back.
Except... no one the natives encountered of any authority was willing to pay anything to get him back. Because, Henry was a colossal jerk and nobody liked him. They kept basically telling the Natives to kill him: They said it would be totally cool, and not cause further conflict. They wanted nothing to do with him, and certainly weren't going to spend any more money or goods in exchange for Henry's safe return.
The Natives then realized they had a real problem: Their code of ethics dictated that they keep this ransom-prisoner alive and in good health, because he was kidnapped, and not defeated in battle. Therefore, he wasn't a 'slave' and couldn't be treated as one. They were stuck with what should have been a big-ticket hot-shot, but had no way of knowing just how hated Henry was by his own people when they abducted him.
Turns out, the Natives helped Henry complete his mission of charting the waters of the river whatever to the Great Lakes... but only because they themselves kept paddling Henry upstream trying to find government officials-- anybody really-- to take him back. They even gave up on the idea of ransom, just someone take Henry back so they could finally be rid of him, too.
Now, I can't remember if the Natives actually tried setting him free several times; and/ or tried pawning him off to a different population of natives to extort ransom...who quickly returned him back to the original tribe because they couldn't stand him... and then Henry refused to actually leave the native territory, and kept repeatively tracking down the original tribe to re-join them after being repeatively ditched in the wilderness. It was something genuinely amusing where Henry became a 'What About Bob?' Bill Murray character tormenting Richard Dryfuss in that he. just. wouldn't. leave. And they couldn't get rid of him.
Henry did complete his very important crazy- obsessive mission. Eventually, the natives found a section of the human population that had never heard of Henry, who we relieved these 'savages' kept him in such good health and were returning him unharmed, not knowing of the original ransom plot. Henry, being an insufferable jerk, eventually pissed off those unwitting townspeople who eventually 'helped' him return to his own original civilization... much to their total horror and dismay.
Future generations benefitted from Henry and his crazy ordeal-- and the cannals he mapped/built are still around today and are amazing to kayak or canoe by the way -- but in his lifetime, he brought a lot of misery to a lot of people.
Modern historians had a heck of a time trying to paint this Henry figure in a flattering light, so they didn't. I may have not remembered everything correctly (it was probably even more ridiculous) but it certainly left an impression on me all these years later.
Have any of you fellow Scribes ever utilized an 'Anti-McGuffin' plot? Maybe as a 'cursed object' instead of a person? While this historical account lends itself to comedy (well, I laughed because imagine *that* whole story on some historical marker) have you ever considered an Anti-McGuffin as a plot device?
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