Help Me Proceed With My Story

You Make The Call!

By: Stephen Tully

I've written the beginning to a science fiction story and I'm not sure where its going. The premise has been roughed in - but that's all I have, a rough premise (and we all know how painful that can be!) I've considered a few ways to move it forward - but I'm not in love with any of them. So here's what I've decided to do: I'll give you what I've got and you can tell me how to progress. Give me me an outline of the story I might tell. All I need is a synopsis paragraph in which you convey the gist of your idea. This could be really fun - but I need your participation to bring it to life. So don't be shy! Send me your ideas! Here's what I have:

UNTITLED

“We have great news your excellency.”

“You’ve done it?”

“We have.”

“The field tests have gone well?”

“They have indeed.”

“Well that’s terrific Dr. Armstrong! Just terrific! Please pass along my congratulations to the entire development team.”

“I will sir.” 

“How soon can we begin transmitting?”

“We can begin almost immediately. The hardware, the Newton Wave Generators, can be mass-produced quickly and distributed to every broadcasting outlet in very short order.”

“Fine, fine. And reception of the modified waves won’t require any filters or converters on the receiving end?”  

“None at all sir. The Newton Wave works with all existing devices; cellphones, computers, modems and routers. Switching over will be as simple as turning off the old waves and turning on the new ones.”

“Then let us waste no time in doing so.”

 The Great Leader commanded that all forms of electromagnetic transmission be broadcast using the new Newton Wave Generators.  Monitors would enforce the policy and police the airwaves.  Anyone caught transmitting the old waves would be arrested and have their equipment confiscated. To help sell this radical communications takeover to the public, officials launched a promotional blitz. Full page ads were run in magazines and newspapers, extolling the virtues of the new system. Commercial spots were aired on television and radio assuring everyone that all of their devises would be fully functional after the switch to Newton Waves was made.  June fourteenth was designated as “Crossover Day.” Fourth-of-July type national celebrations were planned and staged for Crossover Day. The Great Leader would host the largest of them all in the nation’s capital. Government dignitaries and invited celebrities would parade through the city center before thousands of cheering onlookers.  State officials would assemble on a platform erected in the Municipal Park and, precisely at noon, the Great Leader would perform a ceremonial “Flipping of the switch,” launching the grand experiment. A new age of media would be born.

The actual implementation would take place simultaneously in thousands of broadcasting sites across the nation. The Newton Wave, a synthetic “heavier-than-air” form of electromagnetism, was discovered by a private research laboratory. They had been contracted by a major media conglomerate to find ways of improving service for customers living in areas of low connectivity, or poor signal strength. The theory driving the research posited that if regular waves could be supplemented with a new type of wave, one with artificially enhanced mass and weight, then gravity would help it penetrate lower, less accessible areas of the terrain. The new waves would act like a liquid and “seep” into holes and vales across the surface landscape. When the government caught wind of the discovery of the Newton Wave (named after Sir Isaac Newton and his laws of gravity) it confiscated the intellectual property in the name of national defense. All scientists involved in its discovery and development were moved into an enormous government laboratory in a remote, isolated location. The technology would be sequestered. The State had its own ideas about how this technology would be used.  .....

That's all I have folks. Please send your story ideas and we'll see what happens. Maybe we'll hold a vote to decide which scenario to pursue. Than you.