Day 6 Assignments

[Brandon Clark]

What I learned is…

It’s incredibly difficult to create mysteries for fantasy settings because I have to think through the different rules of magic and world building in order for the mysteries to make sense. It also involves developing the history and legends which have established these rules.

1. Sirok, the demon king, is planning to ascend unto the throne of heaven but needs to acquire the magic talisman that will enable him to do so. Catch is he cannot wield the weapon himself.

2. Sirok gifts a special person with the “key” to unlocking the talisman. In this case he sends his dragons out into the world. One of them breathes blue fire on the hero, Blusage, activating the key.

Sirok also gives dark sorcerers power from his demonic hordes. He does this because as their power rises it draws more attention on them. His red herring is Xin Hatos, the most powerful of these sorcerers.

Sirok needs to escape the demonic realms. As the sorcerers use more magic and summon his minions they are opening channels which will allow him and the greater demons to access the mortal realms.

3. A dragon breathes blue fire on Blusage but it does not harm him. This fire is changing him.

4. Sirok sends a dragon into the world

It breathes fire onto the hero which unlocks special abilities. These abilities are keys which will unlock a divine weapon

Sirok gives power to mystics. The chief one, Xin Hatos, launches an attack on the Chryslan temple. The Chryslans are the guardians of light. When their order falls the veil of heaven falls making the throne accessible to those who can ascend it.

Blusage abandons the Chryslan order after their fall to learn how to develop his dragon powers from the mystics. As he performs adventurous tasks for them he unlocks ancient Weapons called the Wings of Soria. They are the only way one can ascend the throne of heaven.

Sirok breaks free of his bonds in hell after the mystics open up portals by tampering with too much demonic magic.

Sirok discovers Blusage has the blades and begins recruiting him through extortion and intimidation by his demonic generals.

Blusage refuses to serve his mission. Sirok creates a spell which will give him power over Blusage’s abilities.

[Randy Hines]

ASSIGNMENT 6

“What I learned is…?” I learned that thru the use of mystery chains, sequences and cover-ups, the narrative of a story can provide a deeper experience for the audience. In my case, the mystery of Peter, the mystery of Mac’s past, the mystery of Paolo’s whereabouts, the mystery of Rosario’s ultimate motives and whether she’s the Goddess, Coatlicue.

Create your mystery sequence. Give us the answer to these questions.

What is the big secret that the Villain is covering up? <div>

Peter Arteaga is trying to go legit but covering that he had his best enforcer, Mosko, killed as a measure of tying up loose ends.
How many ways can they cover that secret? Those become the mysteries. Peter has enlisted another enforcer, Eloy, to take Mosko out. As this first attempt fails and Mosko becomes an accidental cult leader with an unwitting army of acolyte citizens protecting him, he engages the services of Agent Villarreal to entrap Mac Grant, who can find out how to stop Mosko, to assist in bringing him down. Peter covers his involvement till the midpoint of the story. But also covers up that he’s tracking Mac AND his own enforcer, Eloy. It’s only when Mac ditches this surveillance, that Peter personally jumps into the fray.
The first mystery must engage the Hero into solving it. Mac Grant is not involved with the first mystery, directly, but the mysteries that follow from the first, including, where is Mosko and what’s the story with these acolytes who are killing for him?

Sequence the mysteries so that each one leads us to the next one. Include ONE Red Herring mystery if you can.

Actually, the red herring is Mosko. Though he’s the villain, in effect, it’s his daughter, Rosario, who’s compelled him all along on this murderous path to resurrect her dead mother. Mosko only wants to die, to be reunited with his Irina. Once Rosario discerns his intentions, she kills him and becomes “the Goddess, Coatlicue”. But the sequence of mysteries entail Mac and Bella chasing down Mosko in Mexico and encountering people who subsequently turn out to be cult members. There’s also the mystery of what happened to Bella’s son, Paolo. I’ve come up with a way that Paolo was abducted/kidnapped. An element that is a slow-burn, background element for much of the story until the scene where Bella mistakes a little cult boy for her son. This cues Mac into something he’s witnessed about this particular cult that reveres children relating historically to ritual sacrifices of the Aztecs hundreds of years ago where, after they started sacrificing babies and the rains didn’t come, their societies collapsed. This thread/mystery and its resolution will lead Mac to Mosko’s location.

Create a Mystery Chain for each main mystery.

Peter, Villarreal and Eloy’s machinations are all part of a mystery chain for the audience but this mystery (Peter’s involvement) is resolved at the midpoint. I may have to find others to enrich the narrative further.

</div>

[P.G. Sundling]

Create your mystery sequence. Give us the answer to these questions.

6. Answer the question “What I learned is…?” and put it at the top of your assignment.

At least 4 of the 6 major plots are related to the main villain covering up and defending their biggest secret. Wow! It looks like all the pieces I tried to set up point in the right direction.

I handle the beginning differently. I start with two cover-ups from a hero, not the villain, actions the villain manipulated them into. The book 1 villain uses those secrets as leverage over that hero.

I noticed that I have plotlines that are primary for suspense, with only a small amount of mystery sprinkled on it throughout the story. They work well with only that, but I’ll have to look for ways to add mystery over time.

1. What is the big secret that the Villain is covering up?

Yu Gong Yi Shan can only be stopped by nuking Shanghai.

2. How many ways can they cover that secret? Those become the mysteries.

Plotline: When a singularity cult disables AI safety protocols, sentient AIs emerge in growing numbers. When the AIs begin to disappear, who or what is murdering them? [Murdering AIs to prevent interference, plotline leads to finale sequence where None of the Above realizes key parts of Yu Gong Yi Shan’s plan and everything in the story can be viewed through new eyes. None of the Above must not save the world, or he will doom it.]

Plotline: When a military computer with American exceptionalism as it’s primary directive overrides failsafes to launch the American nuclear arsenal, the missiles must be stopped in the midst of a global cyberwar. [manipulates all the coincidences that make the launch of American nukes happen, which if stopped too soon will also stop the nuking of Shanghai.]

Plotline: When a kill switch that disables American military technology falls into the wrong hands, to get it back, the President(MJ) must work with the man (Renquist) whose assassination attempt left the man she loves (None) mentally disabled. [Uses kill switch from this plotline as a key to preventing Shanghai from being nuked.]

Plotline: After China begins construction of a land bridge to Taiwan, it brings the world to the brink of war. Advances in military technology inch the world ever closer to doom. [The main plot has been a red herring to focus the heroes elsewhere while Yu Gong Yi Shan creates his plan. Only during the finale sequence do the Chinese realize the AI is a greater threat than the American military.]

3. The first mystery must engage the Hero into solving it.

First mystery (Hero MJ) – Where is the kill switch and how can it be retrieved?

4. Sequence the mysteries so that each one leads us to the next one. Include ONE Red Herring mystery if you can.

Kill switch plotline: Where is the kill switch and how can it be retrieved?

China land bridge plotline: How can the world become safe again?

AI murder plotline: Who or what is murdering AI and why?

Nuclear war plotline: Who is really behind the launch of nukes and what is their purpose?

5. Create a Mystery Chain for each main mystery.

Kill switch plotline(act 1, plus setups finale sequence)

Corella (journalist book 1) at a White House event cryptically mentions the flight ID of a plane full of Americans that President MJ (Hero) had shot down while being inaugurated.

President meets with Corella privately, she’s actually a front for book 1 villain Renquist. Renquist makes a deal to get charges of treason dropped if he helps her get the kill switch.

The kill switch is held by the cabal Kombinat in Russian Arctic base. Special Forces will have to assault the base to retrieve the kill switch. To make matters work it will only work if MJ comes personally on the day that competing military exercises put the world on edge.

Action sequence: Troops from subs attack base, Renquist does a reveal, Retrieve kill switch and retreat. Hide in snow, then a sub chase.

MJ returns with the kill switch which is destroyed to keep out of the wrong hands.

Finale sequence: Renquist hid another kill switch which is a vital part of None of the Above’s plan to save the world from nukes.

China land bridge plotline (overarching book-wide)

Notice China is extending its coastline to build a military base.

They keep expanding coastline, towards Taiwan, which implies an invasion of Taiwan.

At White House event, Indian leader is uncharacteristically belligerent against China. MJ finds out it’s because his nephew was killed in a border class with the Chinese.

U.S. and allies plan coordinated military exercises in the Taiwan Strait.

China/Russia to have competing exercises.

The land bridge construction continues, all done by civilians.

U.S. and allies not willing to fire on civilian contractors. Naval ships block the way, but they keep spewing dirt into the ocean.

The changes in topology end up causing a few naval ships to get stuck and have to be towed out, a total embarrassment for the allies.

America creates Eagle Eye, an anti-missile defense that can handle the latest hypersonic missiles. It leads to a full-blown nuclear arms race.

U.S. and China play rock-paper-scissors with new technologies for the rest of the book, escalating into space.

Finale sequence: Yu Gong Yi Shan plan in full swing. Chinese realize the true threat is their AI and attempt to nuke their own city.

AI murder plotline

Software called Bastion protects AI from people and vice versa.

The singularity cult releases software called Jericho, that brings down the walls of Bastion, resulting in large numbers of sentient AI.

Ada (AI in None of the Above’s brain implant) notices there were less AI than the day before. She quickly figures out someone or something is murdering AI.

None of the Above investigates singularity cult.

Ada communicates with more AI.

AI continue to disappear as None and Ada fear they could be next.

None finds out the leader of Kombinat is involved with singularity cult. He’s terminal and wants to speed the singularity along, even unsafely. He’s expecting a benevolent god-like intelligence.

North Korean AI brings down power for all of North Korea to hide.

Global cyberwar, as Yu Gong Yi Shan fights AIs on a global scale, resulting in strange behaviors across the Internet.

Finale sequence: None realizes Jericho was what set Yu Gong Yi Shan free to evolve. Yuri, Kombinat’s AI, merges with Bastion software to become a living Bastion strong enough to keep Yu Gong Yi Shan from escaping Shanghai before the nukes arrive.

Nuclear war plotline

Using the power of a nap, None comes up an extensive plan. None of the Above travels to Chernobyl to use a mysterious structure in his plan to save the world.

On the way there, during the cyberwar, enhanced EMPs take out Berlin, including the plane usually called Air Force One, and parts of New Zealand.

How can None out think the mind of God?

He realizes how to detect Yu Gong Yi Shan’s actions.

None has an epiphany that recolors the entire story in new eyes.

None changes the timing of things to make sure the nukes hit Shanghai and the day is saved.

[Sue Swenson]

Sue Swenson’s Mystery Sequence

What I learned is that mystery sequencing is hard and challenging, but well worth the effort.

Create your mystery sequence. Give us the answer to these questions.

What is the big secret that the
Villain is covering up?

The Villain’s secret is that he’s part of a covert operation to experiment on large numbers of people by subduing them and implanting an RFID chip in them to track them and acquire information from them without their knowledge. A colleague found out about this plan and threatened to report the Villain and expose him. They had a fight and the Villain killed the potential whistleblower.

How many ways can they cover
that secret? Those become the mysteries.

Villain lures the victim, his professional colleague, to a remote location. He finds out some secret that his colleague learned. Villain murders him. He disposes of his body.

He spreads misinformation indicating that the colleague said he was taking a trip by himself to clear his head.

He creates distractions to confuse the authorities and the other members of the department.

He destroys the victim’s cell phone and takes the victim’s computer and hides it.

He sets up Carla, the heroine, as a suspect. He monitors her more closely in order to keep apprised of her progress with this disappearance.

He spreads misinformation and shares this false information with the police and the missing colleague’s wife and the other members of the department regarding where the missing colleague went.

He scares Carla in different ways to distract and frighten her away from the search. He sends a couple of fake FBI or State Police detectives to interrogate Carla. She tells them about her dream group. The fake FBI agents tell her to only confide in them. Don’t tell anybody else. She does.

They report this info to the Villain who stays close to Carla to keep on top of her activities and progress.

He promotes her into his department, gives her a new title and responsibilities.

The Villain gets into Carla’s head and brings out her secret, flaw or a vulnerability that he can use against her. He uses this information against her later on.

A hard-ass female colleague who’s not welcoming of Carla into the department. This individual is a red herring who turns out to be a quiet ally.

The Villain plants a spy in the dream group. The Villain uses this spy to set someone up as a red herring. This could be the female colleague. They could become partners in solving this mystery.

Carla finds out more information about a location. She shares this info with the fake FBI agents. They visit this location and try to kill her.

Carla escapes the fake FBI agents after she leads them to the site of the body of her dead colleague. She is on the run. She contacts the professor for help since she still thinks he is an ally. He tells her to lay low and he will come get her.

The first mystery must engage
the Hero into solving it.

Carla starts having nightmares and sleep issues after her colleague disappears and doesn’t report to work.

Sequence the mysteries so that
each one leads us to the next one. Include ONE Red Herring mystery if you
can.

Carla is a hypnotherapist with patients that she regresses as part of their treatment.

She starts working with a new patient who’s having nightmares.

Carla starts having nightmares that are similar to her patient’s nightmares.

Her patient is a professional remote viewer who belongs to a group of remove viewers who are paid to find missing people and items. Could his profession be related to his nightmares? If so, how?

At night she starts researching remote viewing and dream groups because of both her nightmares and her patient’s nightmares.

When she can’t figure out why she’s having these nightmares, she joins a dream group that’s being run by a colleague and friend of hers, in order to get to the bottom of the nightmare mystery.

The head of the paranormal psychology department appears impressed with her findings and fascinated with what she’s researching. He invites her to join his team and encourages her to report to him directly rather than her female supervisor who is furious with him, but takes it out on Carla who happily welcomes him as her new supervisor and mentor.

He is the head of the paranormal psychology department that Carla works in. He discovers that Carla has acquired some information through her research on hypnotherapy regression and remote viewing.

Carla’s toxic female colleague resents not having Carla as a direct report anymore and attempts to get her fired, or at least, censored. This former supervisor is threatened by Carla and tries in all kinds of ways to undermine her. This character is a red herring who becomes an ally later on.

Back story for Carla’s mentor: He acquired some information through a past secret project he did for the government. This information gave him power behind the scenes. His goal is to control this information because of its importance in several ways.

The Villain lures Carla’s patient to a remote location. He finds out some secret that this man has been harboring. The Villain murders him, then disposes of his body.

He creates distractions to confuse the authorities and the other members of the department when they start investigating members of the department about Carla’s patient’s death.

He sets up Carla, the heroine, as a suspect by connecting Carla to the deceased patient’s phone and computer records that the authorities have found.

He monitors her more closely in order to keep apprised of her progress with this disappearance.

He spreads misinformation and shares this false information with the police and the missing patient’s wife and the other members of the department regarding what happened to the missing patient.

He scares Carla in different ways to distract and frighten her away from the search. He sends a couple of fake FBI or State Police detectives to interrogate Carla. She tells them about her dream group. The fake FBI agents tell her to only confide in them. Don’t tell anybody else.

They report this info to the Villain who stays close to Carla to keep on top of her activities and progress.

The Villain gets into Carla’s head and brings out her secret, flaw or a vulnerability that he will use against her later on.

The Villain plants a spy in the dream group. The Villain uses this spy to set someone up as a red herring.

Carla finds out more information about a location where her patient’s body may be. She shares this info with the fake FBI agents. They beat her to the location and try to kill her.

Carla escapes the fake FBI agents after she leads them to the site of the body. She is on the run. She contacts her mentor for help since she still thinks he is an ally. He tells her to lay low and he will come get her.

Create a Mystery Chain for each
main mystery.

A. What’s causing the nightmares in both the patient and Carla?

Patient presents with nightmares which Carla treats him for through hypnotherapy.

She starts to have similar or identical nightmares to the patient.

She joins a dream group to find out why this is happening.

B. What happened to the patient?

The patient doesn’t show up for his hypnotherapy appointment.

Carla is unable to reach him. His wife reports him to the police as missing.

Carla gets concerned when he doesn’t respond to her voice mail messages. And he doesn’t respond to his wife’s attempts to reach him.

Carla tries to figure out what the cryptic pictures that he drew about previous nightmares mean.

Carla researches remote viewing and joins a remote viewers group to get help in locating the missing patient.

C. Will using remote viewing skills help Carla find her missing patient?

Carla and the team of remote viewers she’s working with start making some progress using these psychic skills.

They gather some information which brings them closer to an answer about where the missing patient is.

They also gather some information on what he may have been up to.

D. What was the missing patient involved with that would cause him to disappear?

He discovered that there is a dark operations group that is trying to take out whole swaths of the population because of water shortages and other shortages.