Rogue

From Sodor Island Forums

Possibly the first serious SiFiction, certainly one of the darker ones, Rogue is the first in the R Trilogy. It tells the story of a failed revolution instigated by Alaric. The story was told in 11 chapters, a prologue and epilogue, and ran from 20/5/06 to 15/8/06. It was in this work that the word 'SiFiction' first popped up. It was then repeated again and again until it was adapted into the forum vocabulary.

Story

Warning-Spoilers Ahead

The story is told in flashback through the first person perspective of Alaric. It begins with a prologue covering the trial of Alaric for instigating a rebellion against SiF officials, which causes him to look back over the events of the last few days as he awaits his punishment.

Suffering a bout of insanity and paranoia caused by a brain abnormality, Alaric begins to question the running of SiF by the current administration. After hearing what he believes to be SiF Admin Ryan's real thoughts about the forumers, he takes it upon himself to overthrow the Establishment and install a fairer system of government. He first seeks help from JimBobDunnie, who tells Alaric that his plan is dangerous and that he is not acting like himself.

Failing to attract members through legitimate channels, Alaric deems it necessary to use harsher methods. Abducting five forumers (ATKtrains, Bobwinkle007, BoCodiseasel, GotSTEAM and Nanaki) off the streets, he sets up a faux Awards Ceremony to gather the majority of members into one place. During the opening ceremonies he reveals his plan, and forces them into co-operating under threat of death, claiming the hors d'ourves were filled with explosives that could be set off at any time. After marching them to SiF Tower, Alaric finds the mods and admins have already learnt of the plan thanks to Jimbobdunnie.

Alaric, shocked by what he sees as a betrayal by his best friend, suffers a breakdown that allows the abductees to get the jump on him. Bob accidentally knocks the explosive remote out of Alaric's hand and onto the floor, button side up. This gives Alaric a chance to catch Ryan by surprise, holding him hostage at knifepoint. He explains that the threat was false and that no one was ever in any danger. Ryan, while trying to convince Alaric to surrender, manages to knock him unconscious using his stun gun.

After recapping the events, Alaric is tormented by images of the Establishment coming to take their revenge on him in his cell. An epilogue shows Ryan's reaction to the events and details the moving of Alaric to an insane asylum.

Spoilers end here

Behind the Scenes

'Rogue' was Alaric's first attempt at a serious story on the SiF, trying to prove that he was capable of more than comedy work. The story was also an experiment in trying to open up the boundaries of SiFiction, showing that it could work for drama as well as comedy. Given the result though, it might have been best to stick to the parodies.

The story itself was deeply flawed, reasons including that it was too short and could have included more as to why Alaric thought his revolution was necessary, as well as a limited understanding of insanity (a brain abnormality? What was I thinking?). It was also rather slow-paced, and updates were sporadic and often far-between.

However this did not prevent it from gaining a modest fan-following, enough to inspire Alaric to write a sequel in Renegade. It'd be great to say it got a cult following, but it didn't, so that would be a lie.

In all, it was a good thing to write and some people like reading it. And that's probably for the best.

Controversey

What controversey?