Simple is Better

After the third time trying to explain to someone my script idea and getting the same confused reaction, I realized there's too much going on in this script. A sci-fi mixed with a sad dramatic drama isn't going to work. So here's how it's looking now.

I thought about what kind of person would use their daughter for an experiment with dangerous consequences. This person would have to be crazy, a mad scientist, which could actually work. I've been focusing so much on the story that I'm not paying enough attention to the characters, who could make or break this idea. I decided tell the story in a way that is more about the characters and less about the whole mind uploading process.

Research shows that long term memory (memories about the past and information we can remember) can all be found in the hippocampus), so the simple part of the story is that Corryn transfers her long term member to her daughter. As her daughter grows up, things begin to trigger these memories. When Wendy realizes her mother conducted the experiment, she becomes resentful, BUT there's more to the story than the experiment.

This story is really going to be about understanding. We think we know people all the time from our observations, but actually seeing what they see can change our opinions dramatically. Wendy is given this gift of seeing and feeling what Corryn saw and felt. Wendy can actually remember the emotional trauma Corryn underwent when her parents told her she was an embarrassment and weird. She learns why Corryn has no morals and why she pushes people away. This doesn't make Corryn a good person, but it allows Wendy to understand why she was the way she was by seeing life as Corryn saw it. This allows Wendy to make the decision to continue her mother's work, and when Wendy realizes Corryn's memories have completely taken over her mind, she stops everything and let's the experiment die. Wendy learns why Corryn has no morals, but that doesn't mean Wendy has to forget her own morals.

This experiment gives Wendy the chance to know her mom, and it has an emotional impact on Wendy when the memories begin to fade (in the same way a person forgets the image of their parents who have been dead for many years). In this version of the story, Wendy doesn't die. It's about learning and letting go without the added drama. Plain and simple, in a sci-fi way.