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This is probably cheating,* but I'm hung up and need the gestalt to help rattle me loose.

Am trying to write a story that hinges on a form of communication, although not necessarily *about* that form of communication. Just as Blink isn't about the messages on the DVD or the wallpaper so much as it's *about* having to communicate through time to defeat the angels.

Having failed utterly at taking the form of communication approach - "I have a brilliant idea about Navaho Codetalkers!" or something, I'm trying to take it from a different angle to see if inspiration strikes that way.

What major, life-impacting message could go astray, either through a bad connection in a game of "telephone" or letters lost or (best yet) letters/messages delivered, but not understood? "I'll marry you." "The British are coming"** "Get home, your father is dying." "You are the heir to..." I'm thinking of some sort of "for want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost... the battle was lost, and all for the want of a horseshoe nail" plotline.


*Nah, if [livejournal.com profile] muskratjohn can thank people for coming up for ideas for his games, I'm not going to apologize for taking whatever I can use for my pro pitches.

**Sorry UKers reading this, that's a bit woven into our culture. Blame Paul Revere, who didn't even make his famous ride.

Date: 2007-06-14 02:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nycdeb.livejournal.com
what if a message like "When the sun returns" is delivered verbally by someone who was told the message but not the context. The message recieved might then be understood to be "When the son returns."

Quite a different thing and could cause all SORTS of havoc.

Date: 2007-06-14 02:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nycdeb.livejournal.com
actually, you could really screw with it by doing something like having the message "Urgent! Once sun returns, review the facts which I've left in the folder behind the flour." be misunderstood to be "Urgent! Once son returns, review the fax which I've left in the folder behind the flower."

Date: 2007-06-14 05:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] inamac.livejournal.com
There's an incredibly famous SF story (whose title and author escape me entirely at the moment) where the plot reveal hinges on a mix-up between worshipping 'The Sun' and the 'Son of God'.

Other homophones are available.

Date: 2007-06-14 06:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] neadods.livejournal.com
That's a big reveal at the end of the Star Trek TOS episode "Bread and Circuses;" it's probably been used elsewhere as well.

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