You are still making a choice for others that you have no business making.
a) You would rather be raped than murdered.
b ) I want neither for myself
c) You would rather I be raped than you be murdered
d) I would rather you be murdered than me be raped.
Note 1: The literal setting of the story, to include the year and actual location, will be mostly invisible in the written aspect of the story; thus, the children who hear the story read to them will be able to imagine their own interpretation of the setting. In the art, however, there will be clues for the parents that aren’t spelled out in the prose. I intend for these clues to constitute a second story known only by the parents about what really happened before the beginning of the book. I present both versions of the setting below. Be advised, this is a bedtime story for children as well as a bedtime story for adults in some ways.
Note 2: As I’ve said, my writing is character-based. However, I’ve always considered the setting to be a character in many ways, and in this story the setting is incredibly important, so I’m going to list it first. And since I’m talking about the setting, I’ve decided I may as well get into the premise and basic outline at the same time. Traditional characters will be posted soon.
Note 3: This story is designed to be told over the course of 3 nights.
Part 1 (Children): Taryn Snow lives in a small town nestled in the foothills of tall snowy mountains. Taryn has a friend who lives in the woods outside of town, a huge black wolf with green eyes; this is Odin. Each night, Taryn and Odin go to a meadow above town and wait for the stars to come out. With the nightly appearance of the stars coincides the blooming of beautiful flowers in the wilderness around the town. The flowers are luminescent; from a distance, it appears the valley is full of stars. On this particular night, Taryn and Odin notice a large square of the night sky is devoid of stars. As a result, most of the flowers don’t bloom, and the ones that do appear to be ill, wilted. The flowers are used for medicine, so the lack of stars has a direct impact on people. Taryn, however, wants the flowers back simply because she loves the valley, the forest, and everything in it. To her, the flowers are life. In her mind, taking the flowers is akin to a kind of murder. She brings an example of the wilting flower home, but the town council doesn’t want to take any action. Taryn hears the legend of the King of Stars, a person who, long ago, tried to steal the stars from the sky to literally gain power over people. Taryn naively believes she can simply find the King of Stars and ask him to return the stars so her flowers can bloom and the valley can live. Taking only the bare essentials and a silver knife her grandfather used to own, she and Odin set out to find the King of Stars. Early on in their journey, Taryn and Odin meet a strange gunslinger dressed in black; his name is Cole. He too is on his way to see the King of Stars. Unable to persuade the stubborn Taryn to turn around and go home, he decides he should travel with her and Odin to provide protection. Taryn learns the King of Stars is much further away than she thought. Taryn sees the King of Stars in the forest, but it appears to be a projection of some sort instead of his physical self. The three later come across a church group in a very small village; these people provide some food and shelter for our protagonists but decline to join their quest. They take the stance of non-intervention. Taryn, Odin, and Cole are also confronted by some of the King’s followers as they near the sea, which they must cross to find the King. The followers, wearing white masks under purple cloaks, are a type of collectivist cult, and not only want to stop Taryn, but they also have a strange, keen interest in her grandfather’s knife. The three of them get away from the King’s followers (Cole actually kills some of them, implied but not shown) and eventually make it to the ocean where they board a large airship, the Oceana.
Part 1 (Adults): Taryn Snow lives somewhere near Placerville, California. Although it’s between the years 2070 and 2100, there are no obvious signs of technology anywhere. People travel by horse or on foot, houses are heated and lit by lanterns and fire. As Taryn leaves the town, certain visual clues will suggest a major event of some sort knocked out all technology many, many years earlier, and the world never recovered. Instead, the world reverted to a simpler time. They’re accustomed to it by now; it’s not a dystopia. It’s comfortable. People are not starving or being hunted by corporations.
There are three groups aside from Taryn, Odin, and Cole: the first group, the town council, represents those people who won’t face reality and think things will get better by simply ignoring the situation or hoping for a good outcome. This group is lead by the mayor who wears a ring that indicates (later in the story) he was actually doing the bidding of the King of Stars. In other words, he was planted there to keep people from action.
The second group is the religious village where people simply pray things will get better, once again deciding not to take any direct action.
The third group, the cult, is much like the Occupy movement; they too are doing the direct bidding of the King of Stars by actively trying to prevent anyone from taking action against the King of Stars. They also wear the ring.
The King of Stars, of course, represents a power-hungry maniac willing to subject everyone in the world to his whims for the sake of more power. His character is a real person we’ve all seen; more on that later. And no, it's not Obama. The King of Stars is the destroyer of freedom and of life for the sake of his own.
Finally, Taryn, Odin and Cole represent action, the willingness to act and the belief they’ll succeed. Taryn and Cole have different motivations and different methods (Taryn will talk while Cole will kill), but their end goal is the same: returning the stars.
Someone who doesn't pay for fire protection isn't any worse off than someone in an area without a fire department. No harm, no foul. Nearby neighbors who payed for coverage might have a case. If it was me, I would help put out the fire (but not necessarily risk my life in the process) since I hate to see valuables go up in flames, and if I lived nearby a burnt house would be an eyesore at the very least. Also, it's nice to be able to assume that some people would do the same for me, but I can't imagine putting a gun to their head and forcing them into it.
I think the Declaration of Independence covered this ground pretty well. Your hypothetical sounds quite a bit like Great Britain, are you thinking of the royal family? You want to nationalize Buckingham palace? How about giving Scotland and Wales their independence?
