Gifted Renaissance

I'm sure people will be wondering about what a Renaissance scene is doing in a Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror book. Although I wanted to write a story with high tech/advanced science, I didn't want it to be a steely-cold sci-fi adventure or a fantasy having nothing to do with people's real lives. Though the characters in this story live a fantastic life that we can only dream of, I wanted them to remain living, feeling people we could care about. Paul25 is the ultimate feeling character because not only is he a policeman kind of character, but he is also the most humanitarian of the whole lot. He has very deep feelings and deep empathy that gets him in trouble many times. He also has one problem. He spent most of his over 1000 year life on planet earth. He watched brutal human history and if it wasn't bad enough to watch his playmates grow up and die of old age, he had to also  watch a number of his playmates grow up and slaughter each other or be slaughtered by random, unpredictable strangers. And he watched a number of them simply die from the diseases and hazards of Earth, all the while immune from it all. 

 He is a boy from a highly advanced, harmonious culture with powers of mobility and protection that make us turn green with envy. Yet here he is, away from the love of the people of the planet Sophista, pushing through the muck of human history.

Atreyeu teaches Paul25 to paint

 The Renaissance is a very important symbol for humanity, especially in times such as now where people are increasingly valued for their ability to simply be a "work unit". It was a time where people studied other kinds of people, other cultures, and sought understanding. It was a time when humanity learned to create and its ability to create took a huge surge in capability. In the case of Paul25, it is a pivotal moment when suddenly, he is not a slave because of his talents---a slave to people/beings who simply wish to use him because of his talents---but a moment when his own feelings and thoughts were given freedom---given freedom by his newfound talent to create what he truly wants to create, expressing a deep part of himself.

The journey a gifted child takes to gifted adulthood is very analogous to Paul25's journey, deliberately so in fact. Many experience brutalities along the way that stick with them throughout their lives as a nightmare that won't go away. When their talents are discovered, many times those talents are given more importance than their own rights as a human being. Those talents are exploited in a away designed to  prevent their ability to create---to keep them as compliant work units---a specialized tool to be exploited. Yet, in spite of all of this, most manage to keep their empathy and child-like enthusiasm simply because it is an innate part of them. Yet, like Paul25, they suffer greatly as they grow until finally, they find their ability to create, and it sets them free.