Thursday 19th December 2024

I looked at the ‘celebration’ that the service droid suggested he do, to honour his promotion to Captain. He was sold into a life of servitude, and so will never have had this opportunity before. He has never really been allowed to enjoy himself or do the things that most of us do as we grow into adulthood. So it being suggested that he try alcohol, he is unfamiliar with the risks and goes overboard. It all feels a bit obvious and maybe too lighthearted for what I’m going for so I’m trying to keep it brief while I work through it. I’ve tried to lean more on the sci-fi aspect of the scene, with food preparation units. Vending machines that can provide anything to your specification and drink dispensers. And then waking up in the infirmary. Trying to be more subtle with the accidental alcohol abuse than making it the point. 

He is experiencing free will for the first time. He isn’t being told what to do so I’ll be looking more into that within the confines of being in isolation in deep space.

Friday 20th December

The original idea of Human Cargo was that the Janitor got bored of life floating along in space. It was a short comic strip rejected by 2000ad. On top of the boredom, the food supply ran out and he chose to start thawing out the passengers to eat. It’s this portion of the story, minus the getting peckish, that I’m working on currently. Having essentially unlimited resources at his disposal and not having the capacity to take advantage of it. He was never taught to appreciate or absorb new material and so finds himself living the same life that he had before entering the ship. Listening to the elevator music from the Centre, eating his comfort foods, the meals served to him throughout his life. He grows bored with the monotony and seeks to share his minor successes in fixing the ship and beating his PB records, and is advised to share them with the crew that remain in stasis, despite their inability to hear him or respond.

It’s this chunk here, that I’ll be working on next, that inspire him to start making alterations to the ship, that develops his urges to have a real friend. He creates them in his mind, attaching them to the frozen faces, and is frustrated and angered when their words do not correlate with his thoughts.

On top of working on Human Cargo, I also reached out to Jay Santos, the artist on Space Precinct Zero for more shading on the existing pages. We’re working through book #2, with only #3 to go before the book will be complete for a collected release!

Check out the vlog where I read through my notes over the two days:-