Themes

Sexuality, relationships, freedom, music, passion, duality, multi-level nature of everything (it’s all more complex than you think).


Scenario

Planet settled by humans good long time ago (same sort of frame of reference as Snowball). Not terraformed, as inhabitable (though no need to mention). Was previously occupied, or rumours of same denied by authority. Authority is big-brother style, Thatcherite (commerce has freedoms, individuals don’t), traditionalist, grey, narrow-minded… but also incompetent, chaotic (think freedom to bugger up the railways and dig up the roads), insecure. History has been largely deleted (though still awareness of having come from Earth). No aliens in evidence now whether or not there were any before, but some belief that ancient buildings and technologies that the Authority takes credit for are actually alien structures. (Why would they cover it up?) Simple curiosity about this could be one strand of the story – an idea that the proof lies under the city. No absolute proof is ever found of course. Into this grey authoritarian scene walks X and The Fallen Angels.

The Black Dahlia
Columbine
Orchid – Phil Orchid?

Don’t try to write about music or art when you should be writing music or doing art – it won’t carry. Be literary. No slash?

Give a man a mask and he’ll tell you the truth?
You can use drugs to escape from yourself or to find yourself; it’s a question of courage.

Remember that video of the poo going back in time to become the cow at Rollercoaster…

Mix in some Russian?

Will there be animals in my city apart from rats and pidgies?

Should defo have a river. Thought last night maybe one overground river and one little known underground river.

Have narrative parts 3rd person past tense but intersperse with transcripts, maybe even diary entries to get closer to the action or represent things not directly experienced by the protagonist.

Deep deeper deepest but it isn’t dark no it’s brightest at the bottom; that’s when the lights start up…. The lights inside your head?

Have a room full of mannequins – Orchid is so in love /hate with the idea of being an android, something more and less than human, he surrounds himself with artificial people – OK so this is going to resonate with Bladerunner but so bloody what I haven’t got time to worry about it.

Could I set it here, soon, but Liverpool or something? For the river? Then I could acknowledge all my inspirations. Bugger.

P suggests more P K Dick, more fractured, don’t worry about a plot, chuck in more aliens… govt could be aliens? But P is not writing this – I am.