I was driving home, and I had an idea for a story/movie/play/puppet show/nightmare, in the genre of movies like Memento, Groundhog Day, Blank Slate, Multiplicity, Run, Lola, Run etc.
“Backup”
The premise is that there’s a detective guy who can “backup” his mind like you can a hard drive. If he dies, he can be uploaded into a new donor body (like convicts sentenced to death or something like that). So the story always follows the latest Backup.
You start with him on the trail of some mystery. He goes in for a backup, and then flash, time has passed, and that backup has been loaded into a new person, and he continues the hunt from there, learning a little bit more about what’s going on each time, a la’ Memento. Maybe his partners who load his backup are actually killing him off everytime he gets too close, and then loading the backup and trying to decieve him in a different way. I’m sure there’s all sorts of twists and turns you can throw in there.
There’s also subtopics like, how does the nature of each body he inherits effect his personality. (nature v. nurture theme) Maybe his personality gets corrupted.
Dunno. I never pursue any of these ideas for lack of priority/time, but I like to write them down in case I win the lottery and get stuck with a lot of time on my hands.
Our attempt to see the GSF production of Midsummer was a bit of a failure. Although it was nice to get out and sit around in the park. Roan wandered amongst the crowd and drew the attention of wanna-be moms and grandmothers by the dozens. We grabbed dinner from Willy’s and marked out a spot on the lawn. But as the show drew near the sky opened up a bit and delayed the start. Roan got cold, wet and cranky, and wouldn’t go to sleep in his stroller. Too much excitement, I think. So my mother-in-law Lois and I packed it in and came home. I hear GSF erected a makeshift tent over the crowd and did the first Act underneath it instead of on the set, and then are moving to the set at intermission if it clears up.
Roan fell asleep just as we pulled into the driveway. As I was carrying him in and walking past the phone, it rang, waking him up. I didn’t listen to the message, but I think it was someone trying to get Stacey to snag them some tickets (today’s tickets sold out in 40 minutes after they opened. Free.. go figure).
So I took him to his room and rocked him until he drifted off again. I put him in the crib, opened the door to tiptoe out, and the frickin’ cat was at the door and started meowing as soon as I opened it. Which woke Roan up.
So I rocked him to sleep again, and just as he drifted off, the cat pushed the door open, meowed, and Roan woke up again.
I threw the cat out again, rocked Roan to sleep again, and the cat did the same thing.
I threw the cat out again, LOCKED the door, rocked Roan to sleep again, and began to walk out when the door squeeked, and Roan woke up again.
I rocked Roan to sleep AGAIN, put him in the crib, waited in the rocking chair for a while to make sure he was good and asleep, then tiptoed to the door, opened it, and the phone rang, waking him up. It was Stacey, calling to check on Roan, as I found out later.
I rocked him to sleep again, waited a good, long time to make SURE he was asleep, tiptoed out, closed the door quietly, killed the cat, broke the phone, and erected a sound proof booth over the house.
Shhhhh… the baby’s sleeping.
Great idea.
The theme of backups is touched upon slightly in the terrible book “Virtual Girl” by Amy Thompson (no relating to the terrible movie). But the idea was interesting enough that it has stuck with me for almost a decade, despite having read hundreds of better books since then.
And non-linear theater/puppetry that actually tells a story is pretty rare, so I think it’d be incredibly interesting. Keep it in the stack.
It’s been done, albeit badly, in Jack Chalker’s Four Lords of the Diamond tetralogy.
Yeah, but was the lead played by Brad Pitt? See, that’s my hook. It makes it totally different.
Plus, he’s a puppet. Who does interpretive dances.
And he’s naked.
Hiya, I’ve added you to my friends, please add me as well. Love the puppet picture….