Here in the early part of December, this year's National Novel Writing Month, affectionately known as NaNoWriMo to participants, is fresh in my mind. I wrote Ik. Ik first saw the light of the real universe as a character in a role-playing game my brother-in-law invented. My first character, the one before her, was a rather non-original sword-and-sorcery type barbarian whose name I don't remember, but mundaneness is what happens when you have to create a character in a matter of minutes.

Ik, Iznik the Destroyer, Kolaika Jinnlexa Kälienen came later, after I had time for my imagination to ruminate: something truly bizarre: an unassuming, frail-looking little girl who could be your worst nightmare, with the power to inflict ultimate agony with a mere thought. She possessed some unusual magic, too, but that didn't make it into a science fiction novel. There, instead, she flies a stolen enemy starship.

I never actually played Ik in the game, but it dawned on me at some point that her story could make a cool novel. I had a very rough outline for years, but as I'm a productive pantser (those who write by the seat of their pants with minimal plotting ahead of time) the story came together quite well as November progressed.

One of Ik's prominent features is that her mother had been a Golden Aura telepath. She would have been one, too, very usual in the next generation. Thus, her mind developed in constant awareness of adult consciousness, and so was born with an adult cognitive ability. She's 11 years old, but able to talk and reason like a college professor. She was born with knowledge of space travel, weapons, sex, and exactly who the enemy was that she needed to destroy. And she was acutely aware of why she needs to fear puberty.

Now suppose that the next child you meet has such a mind.  Let's say a six-year-old, who understands advanced mathematics, military strategy, social psychology, electronics and other technology, and has the clear understanding why she has to keep her true nature secret.

How could you know? Might she, like Ik, possess telepathic powers that allow her to manipulate your mind? If you were a child molester, would she deal with you as ruthlessly as Ik does? Could she manage to play the role of an innocent child? Would she have to ability to cope with adolescent emotions? What if she can't?  If she's evil, of course, you have a problem, and generally, evil children make for more thrilling movies.

If she's basically good, you probably don't have a problem, or do you? Ik's prime directive is justice, but she's messed up, with a demon inside you can't imagine. She's not entirely stable, prone to fits of rage and perverting justice into vengeance. She doesn't hide her power, so even after saving Tockmulle on multiple occasions, the townsfolk remain terrified of her.

So there's that little girl you just met. Six years old. Your mental equal or perhaps your superior, playing with dolls and erector sets just to throw you off. She's manipulating your life, controlling your thoughts and actions, and you don't have a clue. You might be reading this blog because she sent you here for some cryptic purpose.

Is she good or evil?

Ik is not completely original, it turns out. I didn't copy her from any particular character, nor did I think of any others as I was writing, but I suspect writers retain a lot in their subconscious minds that influence their writing. After the fact, I thought of other such characters in science fiction.

Alia Atreides, from the Dune series by Frank Herbert. She got to be the way she was from effects of the spice, not telepathic linkage, but she's nearly as dangerous as Ik. Alia, like most of Herbert's characters, ends up psycho.

Jimmy Holden, from The Fourth R (a.k.a. The Brain Machine) by George. O. Smith. He got his adult mind through an education machine his parents invented, and has to use that ability to hide from his godfather, who's trying to get the plans from him before murdering him.

The half-alien children in Village of the Damned. I cite the 1960 original because it's vastly superior to the 1995 knock-off. They're not exactly evil (or are they?) but they're absolutely ruthless and unforgiving when it comes to protecting the project, whatever it is. Of all these, they're probably the most like Ik in temperament, though individually much weaker in power.

I'm sitting here trying to think of other examples. I'm sure they're there, but they're not coming to mind. I'm not counting ordinary evil kids like Rhoda and Damien or mere geniuses like Peewee. Can you help me out? What others are there?

Will you ever look at your own kids the same way? The next child you see might be that one you need to fear....

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The half-alien children in Village of the Damned. I cite the 1960 original because it's vastly superior to the 1995 knock-off. They're not exactly evil (or are they?) but they're absolutely ruthless and unforgiving when it comes to protecting the project, whatever it is. Of all these, they're probably the most like Ik in temperament, though individually much weaker in power.

I'm sitting here trying to think of other examples. I'm sure they're there, but they're not coming to mind. I'm not counting ordinary evil kids like Rhoda and Damien or mere geniuses like Peewee. Can you help me out? What others are there?

Will you ever look at your own kids the same way? The next child you see might be that one you need to fear....