Why are they hiding?

heisei · May 1, 2011

OK, this is a fairly straightforward question. We can all deduce why vampires, werewolves and the like would be hiding: they're dangerous to humans and/or prey on them; hence, humans are not very likely to accept them. But what if you don't write about such creatures? What if they aren't particularly dangerous?
I've created a new race for my WIP. They're related to humans, they (technically) aren't magical, they can be dangerous but don't have to, and I've created their anatomy, genetics, culture, mythology and history yet there's a single question I can't answer: why are they hiding?

Can you list some good reasons why 'The Other' in various UF novels are hiding? Why are the creatures in your world hiding?

Shoeless · May 1, 2011

I'd venture the best reason for another species to hide would be down to humanity's numerical superiority and inherent, war-like reaction to anything that is "other."

Humans clearly, from a quick look at history, do not have a great track record for tolerating anything that isn't part of an established culture or doctrine. If it's already that bad with inter-species conflict it's going to go right off the rails with another species entirely.

I mean seriously, if you watched a species drop a couple of nuclear bombs on another member of that species, or round up millions of the same in attempt to kill them off in camps, the sane reaction would not be "let's go over there and make an offer friendship and love," it would be "Stay far, far away from them, they are genocidal and psychotic."

Maryn · May 1, 2011

The obvious one to me is that people fear, and therefore may hate, 'other,' whether it's skin color, ethnicity and language, or species. If your present-day humans are not a tolerant bunch--and there's plenty of that, unabashed bias toward anybody unlike 'us'--the new race might well hide simply because those who are not visible cannot be beaten to death for being what they are. This seems even more likely if the new race is sometimes dangerous--one way the humans can protect themselves from the dangerous ones is to root out and kill every single one they can find.

Edit: Wow, the 'other' reply written as I wrote mine also relied on 'other'-ness!

Maryn, having observed unapologetic racists many times

scarletpeaches · May 1, 2011

I've never understood why vampires would hide. Yes, they're 'other' but they're also a damn sight more powerful and could easily take over.

Which is why in my world (or universe), humans greatly outnumber vampires but the two races tolerate each other. Humans have numbers on their side, and vampires have supernatural abilities. Conflict-wise, these cancel each other out, so I wrote my vampires being out of the closet.

Funnily enough, once I went from writing about 'hidden' to 'accepted' vampires, the story flew. I no longer had to spend time convincing the heroine that this guy was a vampire and risk making her look either blind to the evidence or credulous and far-too-easily convinced. She already believed. They were already accepted.

Shoeless · May 1, 2011

Maryn said:
Edit: Wow, the 'other' reply written as I wrote mine also relied on 'other'-ness!

Cynical minds think alike.

heisei · May 1, 2011

I agree that the otherness is a very plausible reason. Humans can be rather nasty and it's best to keep away from them if you're a new type of being around the block. But people have had legends of faeries and similar magical beings for as long as we can remember. And if these beings have been around forever why would they be hiding? If a long time ago, people lived together with them, what drove them apart?

scarletpeaches said:
Which is why in my world (or universe), humans greatly outnumber vampires but the two races tolerate each other. Humans have numbers on their side, and vampires have supernatural abilities. Conflict-wise, these cancel each other out, so I wrote my vampires being out of the closet.

Even though my beings aren't out of the closet, this could make a plausible reason. There are more humans, and my beings aren't as powerful as vampires. But still, there should be a better reason!

Polenth · May 1, 2011

I'm not writing about vampires or anything with amazing supernatural abilities. They're hiding because they view humans as dangerous (and always have done, long before anything in the modern era).

FOTSGreg · May 1, 2011

They hide because they're an extreme minority and, traditionally, they've been extremely vulnerable during certain time periods and to certain substances.

The idea that the question even needs to be asked informs one that someone has bought far too into the idea of sparkly invulnerable vampires that can control their thirst.

Humans number in the billions. Even a superhuman vampire could not survive against an onslaught by a few hundred well-armed men dedicated to killing it.

It's just too easy.

Hunt them down during the daytime when your numbers and strength are far greater. Even a master wouldn't stand a chance.

dirtsider · May 1, 2011

Well, one reason why they're hiding is because humans are a violent, prejudical race who would kill them on sight, as has already been addressed.

On the other hand, they could just be avoiding humans because they got tired of being approached for their powers. Basically, they're being treated like either wishing wells or uber-magicial toys. If someone keeps coming to you to fix their problems, problems that can be readily handled on their own, it would drive the person being asked to fix it to solitude to get away from the problem.

In my 'world', my subculture hides themselves from 'normals' because they would be killed or their lives made a living hell. Basically, the people hunting down members of the subculture believe this subculture will bring around the end of the world. However, it's actually the opposite. Members of the subculture are the ones with the only way to keep the end of the world from happening. Although the hunters also have a way to do that as well but they've pretty much lost the ability to do so because they're going about things the wrong way.

akaria · May 2, 2011

They could hide because maybe they see themselves as more evolved than humans and they stick to their own kind because they don't want to be tainted by the pettiness, jealousy, irrational behavior of humans.

Hell, humans could literally make them sick. As in 'Don't go near the humans. If one of them sneezes on you you'll go blind.'

Are they hiding in plain sight and roaming amongst us or do they live in a separate city/country/island?

Adobedragon · May 3, 2011

heisei said:
I agree that the otherness is a very plausible reason. Humans can be rather nasty and it's best to keep away from them if you're a new type of being around the block. But people have had legends of faeries and similar magical beings for as long as we can remember. And if these beings have been around forever why would they be hiding? If a long time ago, people lived together with them, what drove them apart?

I set things up under that assumption that thousands of years ago, paranormal/fey critters did interact with humankind. Because of their powers, they were perceived as gods, and ruled over (and often abused) humans, until ... humans discovered iron and ran them off. So humans have an innate fear/suspicion of the fey, demons, et. al., that goes back thousands of years.

That, combined with humanity's rather bellicose nature, means that it's easier for non-human sentients to visit Earth and conduct commerce if they hide their true nature.

Zoombie · May 3, 2011

In my story, they hide for a very simple reason: Survival. And no, it's not because teh ebbil humiez are going to murder them if they come out. It's actually because all magic comes from the collective unconscious of humanity (the Dream). The mass desire for magic and wonder in our lives are what creates the actual magic that magicians use.

I did this for three reasons!

1) I'm sick and tired of the "oh, but we'd try to murder them" argument. It's been done, and...well, in a world with mass obsession with vampires and werewolves, any halfway intelligent dude or dudette could get a load of people on their side.

2) I'm sick and tired of humans being the unconscious whipping boy of paranormal universe. There are a lot of awesome things about being human! So I made them the source of all magic.

3) I thought it was a nifty idea!

Of course, The Magical Underground in my universe doesn't have werewolves and vampires. It DOES have magical hermaphrodites, pornomancers and the reanimated souls of car crash victims, so I think that evens out...

PeteMC · May 3, 2011

Zoombie said:
pornomancers

Word of the day! :hooray:

C.J.Lindsay · May 3, 2011

I'm of the opinion that it's as some others have already said, that humans would pose a credible threat. Supernatural creatures are often written as having a 'kryptonite' of some sort, which can lead to humans not just being able to kill them easily if they discover it, but possibly also control and use them, which may be worse than death. They might, for example, be used as a weapon against enemies, or to take power of a country/the world etc.

Aaron Wilder · May 3, 2011

They're hiding because early in the infancies of their race that's what they were told/taught to do. By who? Maybe another race who the humans did wipe out. Maybe by humans themselves who were altruistic and wanted to protect them. In the end, that's what they believe they have to do and maybe they've never known any better...

serabeara · May 3, 2011

If a species isn't magical or dangerous to humans then as a reader I probably wouldn't easily accept a hand-waved "danger from the evil, intolerant humans" as a valid reason for staying in hiding.

Do they have to be in hiding? Could they possibly have something about them that is a threat to humans? Maybe you can have some backstory, like a conflict that turned into a nasty war where humans thought they had wiped all these other beings out (and who's side is at fault could depend on who you were talking to), and the other beings, close to extinction, don't want any attention on them.

Usually the urban fantasy I enjoy the paranormal creatures aren't hiding at all (or maybe they hide their lairs and stuff, but humans are aware they exist). I'm trying to think of any I've read recently where they are in hiding and I can't. I'm sure there are some though.

The creatures in my UF world are in hiding because it's easier for them to do their jobs that way. But, they're demons (and lots of people believe in demons anyway, even in the world I created). Kinda like how Keanu Reeves probably wouldn't have gone to work for the devil if the guy had pointy horns and carried a pitchfork during the interview. A little too conspicuous, that. So the demons aren't out sporting full demonic flair while they're on Earth.

LynnKHollander · May 4, 2011

Given the way humans treat other humans and animals, hiding or just getting off Earth seems a reasonable way for non-humans to act.

Chicago Expat · May 4, 2011

Haven't seen anything mentioned yet regarding cross-breeding. If a human and an Other make cute little babies, what would the genetic ramifications and social consequences be?

feather · May 4, 2011

Genetically the baby would probably be sterile (like mules), but it might be fertile (like ligers or tiglons). The latter would probably be less popular than the prior, as the mixing of blood is something most racists get hung up about, and throwing a different species into the mix would probably lead to protest, racially triggered murders and shunning of the girls who dared mate with the Others.

I say they would be hiding because of how the human race is towards anything that deviates from the norm. Having a new species will probably lead to murders in several countries, some state controlled others with the state just ignoring it happening, and refugees flocking to those countries who don't have a "kill them on sight" policy towards them. Several urban fantasy books deal with the social implications of outing creatures like the fae, and I especially remember the Mercy Thompson book where a fae was fired from her job after outing herself as fae when she saved the life of her kindergarden class.

serabeara · May 4, 2011

LynnKHollander said:
Given the way humans treat other humans and animals, hiding or just getting off Earth seems a reasonable way for non-humans to act.

I disagree. If I was reading a book that explained that an intelligent, sentient, peaceful, related to humans species was hiding because humans are soooo intolerant we'd just kill them if we knew they were there, I'd roll my eyes and toss the book. Now, if the author wanted to alter history or create an alternate universe where humans are the killing machines that would force other peaceful intelligent beings into hiding, then I might buy it.

Animals generally suffer nowadays either because of habitat destruction or because they're being used for mass-produced food. Would this alternate species fall under either of these categories? And if they were intelligent beings I'd think they'd come out of hiding and say "Stop eating us." or "Thats my home you're demolishing to drill for oil."

Humans fight eachother for reasons other than "we're mean humans who want to kill everything." So maybe there's a culture or religious clash, a need for resources or a struggle for power that would cause humans to fight this other species, but then the species would still have to be "out" and not in hiding for this scenario to work.

Maybe they're aliens secretly researching us in our natural habitat? Maybe if we eat their brains it gives us immortality? Maybe we could stick their blood in the fuel tank and get a million miles to the gallon? Just saying, as a reader, I would need a better reason than "humans are meanies" to believe why a peaceful intelligent species is hiding.

feather · May 4, 2011

serabera: we humans still wage wars over cultural differences, we keep slaves and we kill gays, blacks, whites, and whomever is different from us in any arbitrary way. How is it unrealistic that we would discriminate just as much against a new race as we do against our own?

dirtsider · May 4, 2011

It could be about territory and resources. What if the other race came to Earth as refugees from a war or destruction of their own planet? Now they want our resources and that's why humans distrust them and hunt them down. Think the TV show "V". In the original show, the Visitors came to Earth for the natural resources, such as food and water. Only we turned out to be on the menu.

Or they used to be in control, the rulers of humanity. But the slave race ended up rebelling against their masters and that hatred has been passed down through the generations.

serabeara · May 4, 2011

Did I say it was unrealistic that we would discriminate? Don't think I did.

feather · May 4, 2011

Sorry if I read something into it that wasn't there, but from this:

serabeara said:
If I was reading a book that explained that an intelligent, sentient, peaceful, related to humans species was hiding because humans are soooo intolerant we'd just kill them if we knew they were there, I'd roll my eyes and toss the book.

I thought that was what you were saying. I feel humans usually make up reasons to kill something because it is there, not because the others have actually done something to offend us. Religion, culture and such is just practical excuses.

Synovia · May 4, 2011

serabeara said:
I disagree. If I was reading a book that explained that an intelligent, sentient, peaceful, related to humans species was hiding because humans are soooo intolerant we'd just kill them if we knew they were there, I'd roll my eyes and toss the book. Now, if the author wanted to alter history or create an alternate universe where humans are the killing machines that would force other peaceful intelligent beings into hiding, then I might buy it.

We live in a world where there have been atleast a dozen cases of mass genocide during civil wars in the last 25 years.

The victims being different is probably the single most common motivation for mass murder.

We regularly kill each other just for being different. For having lighter or darker skin. For having different sexual preferences. For having different ideologies. For being on the wrong side of a political divide.

I think the MOST LIKELY result of another race showing up with different gods, different idealogies, and different methods of thinking (especially if they were actually different, and not just humans in monster suits) would be genocide.

We fear that which we do not understand. We kill what we fear.

Why are they hiding?

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