Consider TSTITO, One of My Original Characters
Who is They Say This is the One AKA TSTITO?
When I was first writing the Obolonks, I had no direction for them and virtually zero plot. But I came up with a wacky naming convention. Obolonks would receive names from the community. These names would have a basis in their characteristics, their behaviors, or their skills. In short, their reputations.
But what do you call the big cheese, the head honcho?
Then I realized their name would have to come from their reputation, too.
So I hit upon a simple statement of—this is the one, this is our guy, our representative.
Fortunately, Obolonks have to be mature before they get a name, so a child isn’t saddled with so much pressure and responsibility.
Where Did TSTITO Come From?
We all know the old cliché—take me to your leader. In fact, I have Greg Shapiro say that. But Greg is just kidding around.
However, as I think about them, I don’t honestly want them to be the big cheese for all the Obolonks. Hence, since the governor of Massachusetts is only the leader of the Bay State, TSTITO would just be the governor of the Earthbound Obolonks, as it were.
But as I write this blog post, for the life of me, I cannot come up with a name for the overall leader.
The Past is Prologue — Backstory for TSTITO
Obolonks start to hear human transmissions when we start to make them. Therefore, back in maybe the Victorian era (to include telegraphy), the people of Bolonk came to the conclusion that they were not alone in the universe (sound familiar?).
As a patient people who live a very long time, this person would have to basically be groomed and study every nuance to try to understand humans. As a result, I have TSTITO undergoing training for more than a good 100 Earth years before they come here.
Description
Because They Say This is the One is fairly old, even for an Obolonk, they are a darker orange shade than many of their fellow aliens. Since Obolonks aren’t human, I don’t have a human actor or actress to ‘play’ them. Rather, they resemble Modigliani paintings. That is, they are extremely angular in comparison to us.
In addition, their limbs are longer than ours, while their torso is shorter. A human could never ‘play’ an Obolonk without some pretty fancy CGI, although a voiceover is a different story, of course.
Purpose/Theme/Motivation
Because they are the overall leader, every Obolonk technically comes under TSTITO’s purview. Keeping the species safe and happy is paramount.
Quotes {Peri and Tommy meet They Say This is the One for the first time}
A pair of Obolonks ushered them in. They were younger, possibly not named yet. The main distinguishing feature marking them as Obolonk youth was their light, orange-colored skin, almost an iced peach shade. If not named yet, they’d be called something like Third from the One Who Trains Pigeons and the One Who Sells Substandard Footwear, depending upon birth order, shortened to Third or Three by impatient humans, or even Trey or Trois if the human was feeling creative or worldly.
TSTITO came out after a short conference with the two youths. “Ah, Detective Sergeant Martin, do come in. And I see you brought an android.”
“This is Detective McFarland,” she said to the medium-orange alien. TSTITO was taller than Tommy’s normal height. Like all Obolonks, he was smooth-skinned, with a somewhat elongated cranium, no hair, and not much of a nose to speak of. His face resembled one she had seen in a painting at the Guggenheim Museum in the New York Meg—a Modigliani.
“This is an android,” TSTITO insisted.
“I would appreciate you not referring to my partner in the third person, as if he wasn’t here at all.”
“Detective,” said TSTITO, “I agreed to this meeting because the authorities are not doing anywhere near enough to investigate the deaths of my people. Your use of the most modern tools is encouraging. Your denying and attempting to lie to me about it is not.”
Before Peri could respond further, Tommy said, “I am a robot. This is not information being made known to the general public. Your discretion would be greatly appreciated.”
“Understood,” said the alien.
Relationships
With more than two spouses possible, TSTITO has relationships in spades. But the reader doesn’t see their spouses until near the end of the third book. But their offspring? That’s another story.
TSTITO and Their Offspring
With ten children from the communal marriage, they have complex relationships with the next generation—which includes younger Obolonks who aren’t biologically related to them at all.
TSTITO has the most difficult relationship with They Say This One Tiles Bathrooms Adequately, their eighth born. With a name that denotes a less than stellar reputation, this person has to already be something of a disappointment.
When this offspring reveals that they are very human-centered and not as much Obolonk-centered, it’s a lot like coming out to a parent who doesn’t approve. It’s also a lot like an experience which a lot of human immigrants have, where the second generation and beyond lose the old ways and assimilate into the mainstream, majority culture.
In this way, the relationship between the two is reflective of the immigrant experience as a whole—which is also the overarching theme of these related series.
Conflict and Turning Point
For TSTITO, the turning points occur when they learn that there’s trouble in Obolonk paradise (the Jovian moon, Callisto). Greg Shapiro, being the data guy that he is, susses out that the number of Obolonk deaths and injuries over the years just doesn’t add up. There aren’t enough of them.
Someone’s thumb is on the scale. And that thumb is orange.
But TSTITO also has a turning point when they learn who was really behind a series of September 13th bombings. But this is the overall turning point of the series.
Continuity/Easter Eggs
There isn’t a lot with this particular character. However, Josie James encounters mentions of them in various alternate timelines. These include scenarios where they were killed when they first set foot on Earth, thereby radically altering the timeline. After all, as the leader of all the Obolonks who have come to Earth, this is a linchpin character.
Future Plans
They may or may not show up in the prequel, which I am writing for the 2023 NaNo. But since this is a designation as opposed to a true name, a character with this name could show up in the third trilogy. However, this would be a different individual.
TSTITO: Takeaways
Officious and perhaps overly embracing of traditions, TSTITO is every parent who thought they would never embrace their LGBTQ+ offspring, but then eventually does. And at the same time, they are every first generation immigrant who thought things would stay the same but then learned this would be … not so much.
TSTITO — because someone has to lead the Obolonk people.
Want More of TSTITO and the Rest of the Obolonk Universe?
If the story of the Obolonks resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how our society turns tripartite, with humans, robots, and Obolonks.
Character Reviews: The Obolonk Murders
Humans
Robots
Obolonks
Character Reviews: Time Addicts
The Good Guys
- Josie James
- Carmen D’Angelo, MD
- Dalton Farouk
- Tad Lewis
- Cyndi Mendez
- Bobby Brodie
- Keisha Darnell
- Vera Travers
The Bad Guys
- Peter Ray
- Dae Ou Xiang
- Elston Young
- Corwin Zachary