I really enjoy Will Smith films. One of the ones that has great background potential is Hancock. I've always enjoyed the concept of immortality and how that would effect a person. That paired up with how normal humans would view immortals plays right into the concepts in Hancock. In fact, it is bluntly mentioned by Mary when Hancock asks her what they are: "Gods, angels... Different cultures call us by different names. Now all of a sudden it's superhero." She also goes on to mention how Hancock was built as the protector, which leads me to wonder what were some of the other roles that the immortals were given.
What sort of story could I build around such a construct. Immortals 'built' by the creators to tend the earth after their passing. To keep the humans from destroying themselves. To that goal, I think they would have to maintain a careful balance of involvement to keep from being too controlling and too negligent. There would also have to be a balance between creation and destruction, letting the humans advance in technology that would lead to higher standards of living and longer, healthier lives versus inciting destruction through wars, crime, disease, and famine to keep the population under control. So in that regard I'd have some be 'good' and 'evil' by human standards where they see themselves as just obeying the balance. They wouldn't fight against themselves as much as they have opposing goals to keep each other in check. Their professional relationships would not cause conflict.
Their personal ones however I could see becoming a problem. How long can you stand someone before just wanting to strangle them because of their personal idiosyncrasies? A month? A year? A decade? A millennia? It would be the attempt at a long term relationship that would cause strain between them. Or even the want for something novel, to change it up every once in a while would crop up every eon or so. But with only a small number of so called immortals, I would assume they would get to know each other quite well. This would create a lot of tension between all of them and then you have those that would find mortal companionship. And that opens the question of how the immortals would treat the humans? We have examples all through fiction of those that would try to dominate the humans, or use them as passing fancies, or fall in love only to be left heart broken when the mortal partner realizes the immortal will not age and die with them or loves them anyways until their dying breath but the immortal lives on to fall in love again.
I would structure a story involving these immortals with different sections told at different parts in time. It wouldn't be chronological either; it would skip around to give important, juicy parts as they become relevant. Maybe even mostly working backwards in an effect-cause type of story telling. The reader would watch how the immortal that no one else wants to be with and is probably doing the thing the plot surrounds, came to be that way. The reader would learn about how they were once a favorite but something turned them. The reader would learn how one of the immortals systematically went around and caused spite with each other immortal, maybe causing them to break professional/personal boundaries. And the one that finally snaps isn't one of the destructive ones but a protective ones who decides that they have had enough and will end humans once and for all so that the immortals don't have to put up with their shit anymore. And the other immortals end up having to make a choice between letting the humans get decimated, maybe returned to caveman like civilization, or find someway to kill immortals.
Through the ages they've slowly been finding their weaknesses so part of the string of events should explore how they find the answer to how to kill/stop themselves. One of them has been putting together a device to be used by the humans to trigger them, killing the immortals in pairs, one destructive, one protective, basically giving humans control over the fate of their guardians but where balance is still kept.
Okay, a lot of details need to be worked out but it's a possible plot.
Their personal ones however I could see becoming a problem. How long can you stand someone before just wanting to strangle them because of their personal idiosyncrasies? A month? A year? A decade? A millennia? It would be the attempt at a long term relationship that would cause strain between them. Or even the want for something novel, to change it up every once in a while would crop up every eon or so. But with only a small number of so called immortals, I would assume they would get to know each other quite well. This would create a lot of tension between all of them and then you have those that would find mortal companionship. And that opens the question of how the immortals would treat the humans? We have examples all through fiction of those that would try to dominate the humans, or use them as passing fancies, or fall in love only to be left heart broken when the mortal partner realizes the immortal will not age and die with them or loves them anyways until their dying breath but the immortal lives on to fall in love again.
I would structure a story involving these immortals with different sections told at different parts in time. It wouldn't be chronological either; it would skip around to give important, juicy parts as they become relevant. Maybe even mostly working backwards in an effect-cause type of story telling. The reader would watch how the immortal that no one else wants to be with and is probably doing the thing the plot surrounds, came to be that way. The reader would learn about how they were once a favorite but something turned them. The reader would learn how one of the immortals systematically went around and caused spite with each other immortal, maybe causing them to break professional/personal boundaries. And the one that finally snaps isn't one of the destructive ones but a protective ones who decides that they have had enough and will end humans once and for all so that the immortals don't have to put up with their shit anymore. And the other immortals end up having to make a choice between letting the humans get decimated, maybe returned to caveman like civilization, or find someway to kill immortals.
Through the ages they've slowly been finding their weaknesses so part of the string of events should explore how they find the answer to how to kill/stop themselves. One of them has been putting together a device to be used by the humans to trigger them, killing the immortals in pairs, one destructive, one protective, basically giving humans control over the fate of their guardians but where balance is still kept.
Okay, a lot of details need to be worked out but it's a possible plot.
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