Setting: North America, 2055. After an alien
attack that humans won, but damaged the planet in the process.
Protagonist Background: Mari is one of a few enhanced
humans left created by aliens in an effort to best humans in the war a decade
before. With the aliens defeated and gone, she has no purpose, no hope of
connecting with other humans, and no companions other than a robot assigned to
protect her that is incapable of bonding or holding conversation. Mari is
confused and frustrated by the way human communities fight each other, and
after several conflicts (including one between them and her), she begins to
loathe mankind.
Antagonist Background: Beowulf is a veteran of the
war between humans and aliens a decade before. He currently leads a
paramilitary death squad, and in his mind, the war isn’t over. There are still
alien/enhanced creatures on earth that he feels need to be eliminated to ensure
humanity’s survival.
Supporting Characters:
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Kevin is a young urchin boy that runs into Mari
when she is an adult. They bump into each other as Kevin runs away from local
thugs after he gets caught stealing food. Mari saves him, and is surprised and
annoyed by Kevin’s infatuation with her.
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Kaliyah is an alien Mari stumbles upon in
the story. Kaliyah is stranded on earth, and after feeding off humans and other
apex predators for a decade, has gone crazy from heavy metal poisoning.
However, Kaliyah is still very intelligent and charismatic, and after having a
heated philosophical discussion with her, Mari adopts her nihilistic frame of
mind, and confirms her hatred for humans. Kaliyah sends Mari off with
technology that gives her regenerative powers.
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4-i is an alien robot designed to help and
protect Mari from the moment she woke up on earth. However, 4-I and Mari woke
up a decade after the war ended. 4-i is devoid of personality and incapable of
conversation. Mari spent the first part of her life exclusively with this
machine.
Timeline
Exposition: Mari wakes up from stasis on Earth a decade after a war between humans and aliens.
Humans have triumphed, but the planet has been ravaged and the biosphere has been permanently
altered. The machine that woke her up, 4-i,
briefly explains her mission, to fight humans, but also explains that it cannot establish contact with the alien armada. Not knowing what to do, Mari decides to explore the outside world. She runs into a small band of humans lead by a man named Beowulf, where she is attacked. 4-i comes in at the last minute and saves her life.
Rising Action: For several years, Mari watches humans from a distance, witnessing them fight and destroy each other. She is disgusted and confused by this, and she is conflicted about how she feels about humanity. One day, a young boy named Kevin runs into her on the outskirts of human territory. He is being chased by thugs after he stole some food from them. She saves him, and Kevin is immediately infatuated with her. Mari reluctantly takes him in, and his spazzy but charmful nature chips away at her negative view of humanity.
Midpoint: Kevin wants Mari to come back with him to human civilization, but after an argument she storms off in anger. She comes back to find that Kevin is gone and 4-i is practically destroyed. 4-i tells her that a human named Beowulf came and took Kevin. Not knowing what to do, Mari wanders around the wilderness aimlessly. In her travels, encounters an alien stranded on earth. The alien introduces itself as Kaliyah. Kaliyah is an intelligent and spiteful creature, claiming to know everything about everything, knowledge beyond what less evolved creatures like humans can understand. Mari asks Kaliyah why humanity can give her meaning and purpose, and then take it all away. Kaliyah explains that the existence Mari has come to understand means nothing, and the meaning she found in humanity means nothing, that they are doomed to end themselves eventually. Kaliyah explains that if she is so angry with humanity, she might as well speed up their eventual demise. Mari doesnt care about ending humanity, but she does hate them for taking everything from her. With that, Kaliyah sends her off with technology that gives her regenerative powers, and Mari sets off for the town where Beowulf is at, fully intent on killing everyone or dying in the process.
Climax: In response, Mari willingly falls into Beowulf’s trap in order to save Kevin. Beowulf, being a veteran of the previous human-alien war, knows how to combat Mari. Regular weapons like guns and explosives have little effect on her, but he has an alien sword that can easily hurt her. He verbally tortures her during the battle, explaining how she is a perversion of a human designed to end mankind, a monster. After an arduous battle, Beowulf destroys one of her robotic arms and incapacitates her. Just before Beowulf delivers the killing blow, Kevin blocks the way. Kevin explains to Beowulf that Mari is not just a weapon and that she is like family to him. Beowulf is unmoved, and tells Kevin that if he does not move he will die with her. Disturbed by this, the human settlement tells Beowulf that he is taking it too far, and that he needs to leave. Enraged and fanatic, Beowulf goes for the kill. One of the townsfolk shoots Beowulf. Mari, completely overwhelmed with emotion, embraces Kevin.
Conclusion: Mari begins to slowly die from her wounds. On her deathbed, Kevin tells her that he doesn't want her to go, that she is the closest thing he has to family, and that if she goes then he wouldnt be able to go on without her. Mari tells him that he is everything she loves about humanity, and that it would be worse without him around. (Still a work a progress but ye she dies and Kevin keeps going the end sorry its so melancholy lel)
