Suggestions for MC's promise

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RSwordsman

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To start off with, my question is regarding a full-length, spacefaring rendition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I've got most of the details ironed out regarding changing Arthur's court into a collection of military starship captains and the Green Knight himself into the mysterious leader of a huge, green vessel.

The problem I'm having is regarding the promise bound by chivalric honor in the medieval story. Originally, the Green Knight offers his ornate axe to any knight who would use it to strike a blow against him, with the caveat that the accepting knight will volunteer to be struck back at a later time. I need to figure out a modern/futuristic reason that this sort of construct would hold true outside of an environment of rigid, knightly honor.

My "axe" in the story is a weapon of mass destruction. If my stand-in for Sir Gawain accepts the challenge and gets a hold of it, it will swing the tide of a stalemate war in favor of his faction. That's all well and good. The problem is, I can't figure out good motivations for my MC. He's not an actual knight, and the war he wages is much dirtier than the battles in Arthurian myths.

What should his motivation be to keep his promise to the Green Knight? And more importantly, what should the promise even be? The original knight struggled between chivalric duty and primal desire for self-preservation. But without such a rigid code of honor, I need a reason for my MC to offer up his neck. As it stands now, the Green Knight offers the deal simply, letting the MC scoff at the thought that he'd actually follow through with his end. But as the story unfolds, possible pressure for upholding the deal with it will be revealed, likely in the form of sacrificing himself to save the cause of the enemy faction.

So what do you think? Is the internal conflict of self preservation versus general desire to do good a strong enough motivation for the main character? I've just been tossing around too many thoughts as to what would drive the actions of a space navy captain and how he may be similar to King Arthur's nephew. :S Apologies if this is long and convoluted, also.
 

ClareGreen

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If a Captain and a war hero were to make such a promise and then renege, what would it do to morale, and to the reputation of the organisation he's part of?

Sometimes people do decide that they'd rather be legends than living, especially if family ties (or bonds of loyalty) are at stake.
 

Roxxsmom

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I'm wondering if you could make it so that the "green knight" has something on the protagonist. So instead of offering his literal neck, it could be figurative. Like the dissemination of a secret that will be horrifically destructive. Or maybe something to do with his family or something else he loves more than he does himself?
 

frimble3

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What if his motivation is desperation? The war isn't at stalemate with the other side - his side is losing more ground daily and is on the verge of catastrophic defeat, at the hands of a nasty, give-no-quarter enemy. They have to have this weapon, and he's the only one that the Green Alien will deal with. (For whatever reason.)
It's not abstract honour, he figures he will die trying to defend his people, one way or the other, but this way, his people will have a chance to survive.
 

Roxxsmom

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What if his motivation is desperation? The war isn't at stalemate with the other side - his side is losing more ground daily and is on the verge of catastrophic defeat, at the hands of a nasty, give-no-quarter enemy. They have to have this weapon, and he's the only one that the Green Alien will deal with. (For whatever reason.)
It's not abstract honour, he figures he will die trying to defend his people, one way or the other, but this way, his people will have a chance to survive.

This is a good idea. If it's a war that threatens to be long and drawn out, but the protagonist's side can't afford this, then he may indeed be desperate.
 

Johncs

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Sorry if this is coming from way out in left field, but what if the weapon itself is the oath?

In the short-hand version of the tale, Gawain swears a "can't lose" oath. I mean, how can a dead man be a threat (and he's swinging first). And then he has to deal with the moral ramifications...

My thinking was that the Cap. (Gawain stand in) takes the gamble (uses the weapon) thinking he has won -- and then has to deal with the fall out of "not winning".

bad example/suggestion follows...
A weapon that invokes your standard cliched time paradox results in a victory for his side, but leaves his ship destined to being erased/blown to space dust when the temporal weapon (or what have you) finally "resolves".

Add in possibly dying for the other team and you might have the essence of Gawain's problem

just .02 from far, far left field.
 

RSwordsman

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What if his motivation is desperation? The war isn't at stalemate with the other side - his side is losing more ground daily and is on the verge of catastrophic defeat, at the hands of a nasty, give-no-quarter enemy. They have to have this weapon, and he's the only one that the Green Alien will deal with. (For whatever reason.)
It's not abstract honour, he figures he will die trying to defend his people, one way or the other, but this way, his people will have a chance to survive.

Thanks frimble, that's a great idea. :D Although I originally intended for the MC's group to be outwardly invincible, sort of "The Man" the revolutionaries are fighting against, it would still work. They'd have to maintain the untouchable facade while struggling to make sure their empire doesn't collapse almost day-to-day.

The working title so far is "A Paper Castle" to symbolize how hollow that appearance is, and I think that ties in perfectly to the idea of desperation, leading the MC to take the deal and pray he doesn't have to pay up in the end.

Some fantastic advice everybody!
 
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