NeverEnding Story 2

[gbaughma]

OK... this one's slightly different, because it's based on a short story I have in my head, but haven't written yet. So... here it goes.

******
"It's really quite simple", said the scientist to his fellow staff. "It's already been determined that if everyone on the planet stopped breathing for 6 hours, the Greenhouse effect would be neutralized, because of the 6-hour 'break' in oxygen consumption by humans. Now, obviously, we can't tell everyone to stop breathing for 6 hours; *but*, we could put the entire human race to SLEEP for 14 hours, and with the reduced oxygen intake, it would have the same net effect."

"And what about the hospitals and emergency personnel?" spouted one of the others in the room, "What about THEM? Do you know how much could go wrong in 14 hours?" "That's why it's 14 hours", replied the man in the white lab jacket. "If we can reduce the oxygen consumption for the *majority* of the population for 14 hours, leaving emergency personnel to monitor the sick and so forth, we'll still have the same net effect. The Oxygen content of the atmosphere will be restored to a level pre-industrial revolution, and the decrese in the expulsion of carbon dioxide, not only from the sleeping masses, but from 14 hours without vehicles running down the road and so forth, will reduce the greenhouse gasses once again to pre-industrial revolution levels."

*****

(this is the pretense of a sci-fi story that I plan on writing.... now, if you think about it, it makes sense. Reduce human oxygen consumption by 50%, no cars, planes, etc. spewing out CO2, and the planet's own oxygen generating trees and plants would have time to "recuperate". BUT.... there's many things that could happen with a planet asleep for 14 hours... the criminal aspect, natural disasters, and so forth. So.... enjoy... and run with this story. Put a paragraph or two in yourself... let's not leave this one to a bunch of half-line cliffhangers.... give it some thought. I'm dying to know how you guys do on this, and perhaps we'll compile it and write that story! Now, before you ask, I'm not asking you to write the story for me.... and if this thread WERE to become a book, then there'd be LOTS of credit given... so let's run with it!)



Just my 2¢

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[Scott24x7]

Okay, since it's been well over a week since this was posted, can I write:


The End

Without too much ridicule???


Best Regards,
Scott

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[fumei]

Hmmmm, does this mean you are letting yourself be open for ridicule?

Gerry
My paintings and sculpture

 

[Scott24x7]

It's a public forum, I'm always open to ridicule...

Best Regards,
Scott

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[tsdragon]

Just curious, but why do you always seem so eager to end these story threads. Do you hate the concept? Do you dislike the stories? You CAN simply skip the thread, you know.

Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[gbaughma]

And here I thought it was because people were deep in thought about where that story could go. <Frown>



Just my 2¢

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[Scott24x7]

Tracy,
No, I don't hate them... I was actually having a good time with the "Never Ending Story", and unfortunately, most did not catch my intended humor in "Ending" the story. This one I just thought was amusing because 10 days had gone by and it was just fun to say.... "The End". Not wanting it to languish forever waiting for someone put something on it.
It's similar to a style (and this is going to sound weird) that I have with my staff. To lighten the tension, I often tell them they are fired. It is my way of saying to them, "You've made a mistake... so what." If the worst thing I can do is fire someone for doing something wrong, then I've done it, and now we can get on with it. It becomes a point of fun with my teams, and people get worried when I haven't fired them at least once. (And sometimes more than once in the same day).
So, "The End" was meant to be a similar sort of thing, but just didn't catch on as well. I quite liked how Amelia Earhart cropped up as the result of ending one story, and when she "taunted me" it was a way to "Show Her", and then we can get on to some other amusing part of the story. Truly, I was having a great time... oh well, that's what I get for being so esoteric... has always been a failing of mine.

Cheers


Best Regards,
Scott

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[gbaughma]

To lighten the tension, I often tell them they are fired

Hmm.... a difference in management styles we have....

I used to have a boss that "joked" about me being fired all the time. Let me tell you what he was *really* saying to me (and what I vowed to never 'joke' about with my staff).

"Your current primary source of income is now terminated, which means that unless you do something quickly, you're in danger of losing your home, car, and potentially even your spouse. No more ordering pizza for a while for you, because you'll need to dip into whatever reserves you have left to get you by while you find another source of income. Oh, and since you were terminated from this source of income, that makes it even more difficult, because depending on my mood, you may not get a good reference."

*THAT* is what you're really saying to someone when you fire them. I never even JOKE about it.

(Sorry... this may be a sore spot for me.....)



Just my 2¢

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[Scott24x7]

Greg,
Its all in how you do it, and having the right repore with them. I know it's a hard concept to demonstrate in an written message, because so much of it has to do with the expression on your face, and the tone of your voice, and the establishement ahead of time that they have a VERY VERY SAFE environment. I have only ever fired one person, and that was because they were threatening other staff... Don't get me wrong here please... my teams love me. In 18 years, I have a 98% retention rate of staff that have worked with me, so I think I suspect I'm doing something right.


Best Regards,
Scott

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[GPOTony]

Hi,
Flan O'Brien (author of "The Third Policeman", mentioned in the TV show, Lost) had a story about a plan to conserve essential supplies during WWII.

Everyone was to go to bed for 3 days a week, thereby reducing the amount of food they would consume, as they could get by with just bread for the 3 days. After that time, they would have to get fresh bread.

However, the plan was never implemented. The bakers objected because they didn't want to have to work while everyone else was not working.

 

[Gooser]

...having the right repore with them...

That shoul've read ...having the right rapport with them...

That's a tough one if you've never seen it in print. I used to spell it 'rapour', so don't feel bad.

v/r

Gooser

 

[jebenson]

Greg,

Your story idea is - somewhat - similar to a series of books written by Philip Jose Farmer, which are collectively called The Dayworld Trilogy. The three books are Dayworld, Dayworld Rebel and Dayworld Breakup. The basic storyline is:

To deal with overpopulation, resource depletion, pollution, etc., everyone in the world only gets to live one day out of seven. The other six days they are "stoned" (a form of suspended animation). Thus, the world only has to support 1/7 of the actual population. The main character - Jeff Caird - is a daybreaker, someone who does not go into suspended animation, but secretly (and illegaly) "lives" more than one day a week, with different personas, jobs, friends, lovers, etc. for each day.

They're actually decent books. Philip Jose Farmer is one of my favorite sci-fi authors. Some other notable works of his are the Riverworld series, and the World of Tiers series.

I used to rock and roll every night and party every day. Then it was every other day. Now I'm lucky if I can find 30 minutes a week in which to get funky. - Homer Simpson

Arrrr, mateys! Ye needs ta be preparin' yerselves fer Talk Like a Pirate Day! Ye has a choice: talk like a pira

 

[jebenson]

By the way, I wasn't trying to "shoot down" your story. The Dayworld books take place in a world where the system of living one day out of seven has been is place for quite a while. I always thought it would be interesting to "see" what that society was like at its inception - which is basically the premise of your story. What would happen to people who refuse to live that way? Who is going to be chosen to stay awake and watch over the sleepers? That could be a good source of conflict in the story. The "good guy/gal" (protagonist) uncovers a nefarious plot (NP) to take over the world while everyone is asleep...but doesn't discover it until three hours into the sleep cycle, when the plot is already in motion. Or the NP could be that a group of radicals has decided that it would be better for the planet if all the people who are asleep just never woke up at all....

I used to rock and roll every night and party every day. Then it was every other day. Now I'm lucky if I can find 30 minutes a week in which to get funky. - Homer Simpson

Arrrr, mateys! Ye needs ta be preparin' yerselves fer Talk Like a Pirate Day! Ye has a choice: talk like a pira

 

[stackdump]

To lighten the tension, I often tell them they are fired.

Its all in how you do it, and having the right repore with them.

Personally I would work to remove the 'tension' rather than joke with people about being fired. Have you seen the series 'the office' with Ricky Gervais as David Brent? You're not him are you?

 

[Remou]

Or pehaps all those delta waves cause a worldwide linkage of minds: a super mind, in the A E van Vogt style.

 

[gbaughma]

jebenson:

See, NOW the wheels are starting to turn.... I think that's what makes a good story.... take a basically good premise, then explore what all could go right or wrong with it.



Just my 2¢

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[tsdragon]

The Maniac: Sorry I misunderstood. You're right, in this medium sometimes the humor just doesn't come through as you intended, depending upon the reader. Now that I understand the intention, feel free to end stories as you will. I'll thwart you every time!

All: I've had bosses that "fired" people as a joke. Whether or not one can get away with it depends, as has been said, entirely upon the rapport of the boss with their employees.

gbaughma: what would happen if the government, big business, or some other group started taking over or controlling the dreams of those who are sleeping?


Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[gbaughma]

tsdragon:

I'd feel less threatened by the government/big business taking over and controlling what we're dreaming (of course, there'd eventually be commercials inserted into our dreams... they did that one in Futurama at one point).... anyway... I'd feel less threatened by THAT than if they just MONITORED what we're dreaming.

<Shudder>



Just my 2¢

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[tsdragon]

Even have a dream you wished you could remember when you woke up? Ever have a dream interrupted (by a baby needing to be fed or the alarm clock, for example) and wished you could continue it later? Just call up Dreamscapes, Inc. and put in your request for a transcript or a continuation.

I don't understand half of what I dream myself, and they come from MY subconscious. I dare anyone else to monitor them and try to make sense of them. But the thought of someone influencing my dreams for their own purposes strikes me as being truly scary.

Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[jebenson]

The dream story is essentially the plot of the movie Dreamscape, from 1984.

I used to rock and roll every night and party every day. Then it was every other day. Now I'm lucky if I can find 30 minutes a week in which to get funky. - Homer Simpson

Arrrr, mateys! Ye needs ta be preparin' yerselves fer Talk Like a Pirate Day! Ye has a choice: talk like a pira