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While writing entries on alien biology, there are notes on mutations for my human characters. The humans start off with nascent newfound powers, but in my far-future stories set within the same universe, these abilities become special much needed skill-sets. 

It took two years, but...[*edited*]

It's been two years and four months since I finally completed my main character alien species, the Aturan. 

For those who haven't read my short stories yet, I have two short stories that appeared in Kyanite Press: The Journal of Speculative Fiction: THE HUMAN NETWORK and CATCHING FEELS.

To make a long story short(see what I did there?), my short story series takes place in a near-future New York City where an alien species known as Aturan live among us. Most of us don't know they exist because they are natural shape-shifters or polymorphs, to use a Star Trek term, and so can look like many other alien species, including us.

In April 2018, I started work on how these aliens would appear and was bored by the regular heteronormative binary that 'plagues' other aliens in other stories. Not only did I work on figuring out that my aliens defaulted as polysexual, but I wanted to use the term omnisexual, an ElfQuest series' term, to mean that my aliens were not only sexually and romantically attracted to other sexual identities and genders among their own, but that they could be romantically and/or sexually attracted to other aliens too.

Now in September 2020, I finally completed the last four identities. If you want to see them in their technicolor glory, head on over to my Instagram page: handdrawnbycarmenjr. I also have explanations for each of the identities but purposely remained vague. I want readers to learn more as they take in the stories. 

Lastly, I can count on one hand which science fiction writers heavily influenced me into writing complex alien characters. 

The first is Andre Norton. Her explanations on how aliens viewed and explained things to the humans in her novels and short fiction is nothing short of amazing. 

The next is Anne McCaffrey. She shows that aliens can often get along with humans and have their own senses of humor.

The next is C.J. Cherryh. I can't begin to tell you how often I read her stories over and over just to get a sense of her physical descriptions and biological explanations of aliens, their societies and even their history. Just the way they interact with humans and view things is something I rarely saw in most of the scifi I read.

And last is Octavia Butler. Yes, her aliens invading and changing humankind's destiny is nothing short of glorious. To see Black characters forging through and participating in said future is magnificent to read. And that she seamlessly weaves in racial injustice, oppression, and racism into the fabric of her hard-hitting stories is breathtaking.

A *NEW* Art of Plugging Away

What bothers me with some of the science fiction I grew up on is how naive even advanced alien species are to our ways.

Though my alien protagonist perceives us differently than how we view him, he is in no way unaware to the existence of racism, bigotry, and other systems of oppression. He comes from a galaxy-spanning star-system-traveling alien civilization. They have *seen* slavery before. They understand what bigotry looks like. 

One of the shows that really impressed me and may be time for a binge-watch was the TV series ALIEN NATION. It started with, I think, two TV movies, to give the setup before becoming a 45 min-1 hour per episode series. The show shaped how I thought about aliens, humans, racism, bigotry, and how such hateful tools can be used against an entire group. 

As what is often the purpose of alien-vs-human scifi, the story is to call more attention not so much to the strangeness of the alien, but how utterly strange and dysfunctional human beings can be and are, but, with some help from our star cousins, or their collective efforts to destroy us as a species, we can then have the opportunity to show moments of our highest evolved selves. 

Another day in self-quarantine

Been watching 90s TV shows, reading web comics, and the occasional writing. Also, working on different terms for sexual orientation and identities among four aliens species (human included) in the 49th century. 

Original journal date: 10/18/10

I've always been drawn to animal stories both in animation as well as in books. When I began to read mythology and saw what a huge role animals would play, and how complex their beings could be, impressed me to ancient peoples' wisdom in making the animal world as much a art of the human world (than how separate we are now). 

But when I picked up a book on Aesop's fables, that's when something 'clicked'. To use animals to bring to light humanity while revealing the innermost of that beast or creature is how I want to tell my stories.

Race is a Myth

There's a book out about the myth of Race by a journalist named Sussman who also wrote an extension article on the topic via Newsweek.

Researchers and scientists have been pushing for everyone to use Ethnicity since that is more quantifiable. That's why in my scifi series, the aliens consistently use 'specie'/'Species'.

I will be purchasing Sussman's book soon.

I never understood how in my favorite SF shows, aliens kept using Race. They wouldn't because it's a misnomer.