Fatherhood is the Engine that Drives Dust ? Hutt Space

***MINOR STORY SPOILERS AHEAD***

I?ve written a bit on the technological backbone of Dust and the evolution of technology that enables the story, but I haven?t yet written much on what Dust is really about. The story for Dust came to me when I asked myself one question:

What would society be like if you were only allowed to have one child?

Growing up, I never really envisioned myself as much of a family man. ?I had no dreams or aspirations of having kids and having a family. ?I never thought about it. ?I thought a helluva lot more about getting a chance to walk on alien worlds and travelling through the stars then I ever did about family. ?My own experiences with my parents were different ?with a biological father who abandoned my mother and I when I was 2 years old and an adoptive father with his own struggles.

When my wife and I first discussed having kids, I didn?t really have an answer to how many children I wanted. ?My wife, seeing me as the responsible-yet-calculating engineer that I was, figured I would be a solid provider for the family, but I would probably be fairly distant with the kids. ?I was awkward around other people?s kids, not really able to interact with them in a way that suggested I would be any good with my own kids.

When my firstborn arrived, my change in perspective was profound. Yes, I felt naturally protective which is no surprise. ?Not only did I fulfill my obligation to take care and provide for my girls, but I also played with them. ?I became involved. ?I help with their development. ?I read them stories every night, take them to movies and sporting events, and try to teach them about the world around them. ?I love them.

There is a 1988?apocalyptic?movie, The Seventh Sign, that ultimately asks a young mother if she will die to save the soul of her newborn baby and in so doing she saves the world. ?That willingness to give your life for your child is a cliched statement, but the roots of that cliche come from absolute truth.

Now back to the question I asked myself, what would society be like if you could only have one child? ?How protective would you be of that child? ?What would you think of someone who clearly didn?t love their child? ?What would you do if you lost your child?

This brings us to the two main characters ? Nick and Max ? and their respective relationships.

Nick is a young man whose relationship with his father is broken. ?Nick has been raised a good Catholic boy; he is well versed on what is right and what is wrong in the eyes of the Church and the government of the Republic. ?He understands that families are limited to one child because of rampant poverty because humanity cannot support the size of the current population. ?He understands that everyone has a moral and legal obligation to conserve so that everyone may have at least a small piece of the pie.

In reality, it?s not quite that easy to draw the lines between right and wrong. ?A year before the events of the novel, Nick stumbled on some information about his father?s job that opened his eyes and set him down a path that would ultimately lead to Nick leaving home in the middle of the night, setting out to making a life of his own.

Admittedly, Nick?s father is a one-dimensional, bit character; he is the boogeyman who haunts Nick?s dreams. ?He is the aloof, distant father who puts career and wealth above family. ?His pursuit of the brass ring leads him down a path that Nick finds utterly repugnant. ?In the months following Nick?s initial discovery, his relationship with his father sours quickly. ?Arguments between the two of them are frequent and Nick?s father withdraws from his son as he learns that their values are in conflict. ?While his father is on a business trip, Nick tries to run away for the first time, but his mother talks him out of it. ?She holds the family together with every ounce of her strength. ?She knows what is at stake and she fights to keep them together. ?Ultimately, she cannot stop her son from setting off on his own path.

When Nick?s vindictive father learns that Nick has run off, he strips away all of Nick?s money. ?This is what brings Nick to Max and sets into motion a series of events that will dramatically alter both of their lives. ?Max lost his only child ten years prior ?to meeting Nick. ?His days and nights are haunted by the memories of the accident that took her life. ?Max knows what he lost and that makes him a little more receptive to taking on a young man who has no real experience and no real place to turn. ?It makes him a little more patient with a rebellious kid whose only direction has been provided by the loathing he feels for his father.

It is this connection that propels Nick and Max through the events of the story. ?On the backwater colony of Dust, both men will face the consequences of their failed relationships. ?Both men will be pushed to the brink of their capabilities until they are forced to come face-to-face with their troubled pasts.

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Source: http://huttspace.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/fatherhood-is-the-engine-that-drives-dust/

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