Just thought it would be helpful to compile the original concept and questions
Original Concept (04-01-07)
Couple of points: 1) the portal into Nightshift opens into the basement of a building in a largely abandoned industrial center of a major city, so that there is/was obviously an advanced culture existing in this world; 2) Lissi finds the bodies of two of the Redgrave team members, and a clue that the other two were taken away. Can they be alive? 3) the society of Nightshift is loosely organized into clans, or really criminal gangs, that control different areas with shifting alliances and truces, etc. Lissi eventually comes to realize that this represents a de-evolution from a much more sophisticated culture. What was it ithat caused the breakdown of a powerful social-cultural system into rampant criminalization? 4) too surivive Lissi's team must abandon human technology and adopt Nightshift technology and ways of life. It'll be fun to imagine the kinds of things they must eat? 5) we have to figure our the language problem. Babelfish maybe? 6) Eventually Lissi begins to hear about another human that has passed through where they are exploring. Is this Redgrave? (it is) Where is he going and why?
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2 comments:
From Chris
A couple of questions-
1) The society of Nightshift has life forms, obvious by the clans, are they humanoid? If so the dream-poacher creature, is he from nightshift or elsewhere?
2) The breakdown of the higher NS society, could it be as a result of an invasion or long war with these and other creatures?
3) The NS technology- is it more (at least in human minds) magical, technical, or just plain primitive?
Response from Brian
Some of the creatures maybe humanoid but the bioform is only limited by our imagination. All have in common however, that radiation in our visible light spectrum is instantly fatal. The dream poacher that actually appears in the story is an avatar, a biotechnological projection, which is why it can tolerate ambient light. Physcially, the Poacher resembles a cross between a giant praying mantis and an eel.
The reasons why the advanced culture of Nightshift has broken down is also limited only by imagination, but if the result of an invasion of other creatures, then we would need to work out what those creatures ar elike and why they have invaded. This does open up a lot of possibilities, including the objective that Redgrave is pursuing.
NIghtshift technology is technological in nature, definitely not magical, but most of the advanced stuff is left over from the previous culture.
From Kirk
Hey guys. I like the premise a lot. Sounds intriguing. My thoughts:
• The premise is a little formulaic. Meaning recall the latest Predator vs. Aliens movie. They discover an ancient monument in Antarctica. Government or some corporate entity sends a small team to investigate. However the humans drop into the middle of an ancient rivalry between the Aliens and the Predators. Everyone gets wiped out except one sexy chic and she teams up with a Predator and they somehow defeat the Aliens. The end.
Currently, Nightshift has similar threads. Big corporation dong research discovers/creates a portal to another dimension. They send in a team to investigate. Greed is the motivation. What would be the most profound discovery in all of human experience is narrowed to the machinations of corporate politics.
So is Nightshift just fun sci-fi opera or is it more like Blade Runner dealing with moral themes in a future context? There is nothing wrong with the first choice. Which leads to another question. Never saw PvA movie but I will take ur word for it. Perhaps a deeper theme to the premise? Of course it is often said that nothing is original anymore.
• What is the end game for this story? I mean once the cat is out of the bag human destiny is changed profoundly. What is our relationship to the world of Nightshift? Dream Poacher implies that at least for some denizens of Nighshift, we are exploitable. Obviously the existence of our reality is common knowledge to Nightshift? So is it a first contact story? Or the discovery a preface to a much broader “worlds collide” type of story? Worlds collide, perhaps it devolves into a genocidal war for humanity, with one big epic battle for survival.
• There is a real issue in this premise of just how long such news could be kept from the governments of the world. Could Cordell Inc. pay enough people off, and with enough money, to keep this under wraps? It will be a real challenge to treat this issue realistically. Perhaps we need to find a deeper reason for the "conspiracy"
• I think there would have to a real debate prominent in the book between Halden and Justin. Justin is a scientist. He would have an overwhelming sense of duty to reveal the news to the world (after of course he is confident he would get credit and get a Nobel). Halden on the other hand will have to come up with some very convincing arguments to keep Justin from going public. So Brian I see a challenge for you to weave that tension between the characters on this point in a convincing way. If do a good job the reader will actually be sympathetic to both sides (even overcoming an unconscious desire of the reader to see a cover-up just so they get to see a team explore Nightshift).
• This would be the most profound discovery in all of human experience. Hard to convey in this day age when readers are sophisticated and the concept of alter-realities and life in the universe enjoys acceptance in pop culture. I would like to see characters express real dismay and wonder when hearing the news. I have read some novels where characters react – well like cardboard figures. Almost like the author is more interested in moving the story along than really thinking about how people would deal with such knowledge. I mean really if I was part of a team involved in such events- I literally wouldn’t sleep. I would probably get drunk with my colleagues and have marathon discussions about the implications. There would also be tremendous debate about what to do with the knowledge. Just recall the drama around the Martian meteorite ALH 84001. The director of NASA and President Clinton had direct talks about how to deal with the announcement. Again perhaps the conspiracy angle comes in to effect
• I see a potential inconsistency. Brian, you say Nightshfit has a technology of a kind. However the Dream Poacher is collecting “essence” of human dreams implying something mystical or metaphysical at least. So it would seem that Nightshift should have some aspect of reality that mirrors what humans might “magic” or “mysticism”. That would be an interesting theme- The DP and his kind (DP could be one of a number of alien types) would use metaphysical ability while the original race that once inhabited the NS (and it's survivors) had and have advance technology
• Justin Zydron- Point of consistency. “He felt a thrill, therefore, when his employer showed an intense interest in the energy research that he had been conducting, and subsequently quadrupled his funding. “Actually, Halden increased funds after word of discovering the portal, right?
• Maria Coello- minor character I guess? A point of consistency. Maria initially supported Zydron’s research enthusiastically. This is because she was first interviewed for the position when the research concerned alternative energy (I assume geothermal since were deep in the Earth). She develops reservations later on because the goals of Zydron’s research due to circumstances are now emphasizing exploitation discovery of a parallel reality.
• A thought about the physics of Nightshift. A universe that is devoid of electromagnetic radiation in the visible spectrum. This is a little pedantic but heat is electromagnetic radiation (we call infrared) at a frequency lower than that of light. Nightshift should have Idiosyncrasies like those mentioned near the end of the premise but the dynamics of reality need some work to be consistent. I’m not saying we have to dump the idea of a “dark” universe. We just gotta work out the how and why. Yea I've been trying to wrap my brain around that issue. I tend to remember that old Ravenloft story in which the whole town and countryside was enveloped in darkness and constantly attacked by "night creatures". This is a little more in depth. Sort of Ravenloft meets Planet of the Apes?
I bought a leading journal article on the physics of negative energy/matter. I’ll review it and get back to ya guys.
-Kw
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