I'm writing what I guess is a sci-fi genre book with steamy scenes. (Is it erotica if it has an actual plot?) I need some help understanding a few things about how the internet works regarding airplanes and wifi signals. They get lost on a deserted island. I'm wondering what is still available to them because of the technology they have on their laptops, tablets, and phones that they likely had with them in flight. What does "airplane mode" actually mean and how does it work? Would it be a reasonable thing to portray their device data as being saved ON the airplane itself? Like a cloud? Does an airplane have a "hot spot" that could do something like that? If they're in a place like the Bermuda Triangle, where everything is messed up and they can't get a wifi signal or even a phone tower signal... how likely would it be for them to BUILD something that would get them that access? Any possibility at all? Thanks to anyone who can help me understand!
Aeroplane mode basically stops the device from transmitting anything. It's to avoid potential interference with avionics in flight. To use a mobile telephone you'd need to build a microwave transceiver and that's probably not going to happen. Even if you could, and found some way to power it, you'd be out of range of the rest of the network. Repairing the aircraft's VHF and HF sets might get you back in touch with passing craft if you can rig up a power source. As for data... you're going to be restricted to what you stored locally on the device and you'll only have that while the battery lasts.
Airplane! mode is where you ask, “What’s the temperature?” and your phone says, “It’s how hot or cold it is, but that’s not important right now.”
Microwave trasceiver... does having a kitchen microwave help this possibility? What if there's multiple microwaves available? Battery - assuming the plane is fine, can recharge devices. The island isn't completely desolate. It's an abandoned resort, complete with abandoned airport. Power is available but all the technology is old. I haven't decided if it's early 80s old or if it's late 90s old. I guess I'm wanting to make sure they're REALLY abandoned because they're going to live there now. I don't want to add things that make it to where they SHOULD be able to contact someone, but I also want them to have access to emotionally important things on their devices. And maybe some non-internet dependent games. The plane didn't crash. It landed at this abandoned airport that they didn't realize was abandoned. The lights are seen in the storm and the pilot lands; nothing is working, communication and gauges are zonked. The airport lights are automatic. Silly!!
How long has this place been abandoned? I don't understand how there could be power if it's an abandoned island. Who's running the power plant, and why? And who's paying for it? Why would there be lights on at the airport if it's abandoned? I mean sure, if it's like a Twilight Zone world, but if this is anything like the real world, abandoned means no power and no running water. Unless maybe they find a generator and can get gas out of the reservoirs of an old gas station or something. When a plane lands at an airport, it's planned in advance, they don't just see a runway and land there. They'd need to talk to the people in the control tower, and there would be a well-planned sequence for what planes are landing when, something like how trains or busses leave and enter the stations. Even if it's an emergency landing they'd still need to talk to the tower, unless their radio is out or something.
Also, depending on what type of aircraft it is, and the length of the runway, landing may not be feasible. (Not sure how much runway length affects landing vs takeoff, but I'm assuming it would still be a factor.)
This is fiction, and that means you can choose what works and doesn't work so long as you make it believable in the story. Maybe the characters don't know why there's electricity, but they can't get in touch with a human off the island. It could add an element of mystery. Good luck with your story. It sounds like an interesting premise.
Oh, absolutely! I agree, it could be a more surreal story world like in the show Lost, or the Twilight Zone. A dreamlike world. Some of my favorite stories are set in those kinds of worlds. I'm asking if it's that kind of world or if it's a more realistic setting, because if it's supposed to be like the real world some of it doesn't make much sense. Unless of course there are reasons that haven't been explained yet, which is quite possible.
How long is tbd... either since early 80s or since late 90s. Because the people are a graduating class, vacationing together for a reunion. My idea about how there's power is that the island is self-sufficient, and it turns things off when no one is there but it automatically turns on when it senses movement. i need to research which era when that became a thing/possibility. I know that's how landing a plane is usually done, but this one flew into the Bermuda Triangle (or another of such magnetic places on the earth that mess up the navigation and communications technology). So it's an emergency and then boom there's an airport they didn't realize was there. The assumption at first is just that the communications don't work, and they didn't know the island was even there so they're assuming they're way off course or something. The pilots are confused but it looks safe so they land. It's going to be sci-fi in some way. Some kind of time loop or geographical phenomenon where the island is only detectable every so many years because of some magnetic thing... or some reason I haven't come up with yet. Think LOST or even the newer MANIFEST. I was kinda pissed off when I saw Manifest because this idea was already in my head and it's similar. But. What I'm actually wondering is... is it possible to be actually stranded somewhere anymore these days, or is it too practical to be able to build something that allows you to be seen? DO have to consider the limitations of the Bermuda Triangle -ish issues that throw off gauges, but if the smarty folks could figure out how to get out an SOS of some sort, I need to figure out how to block them from doing that.
I do intend to do some research on this kind of thing. I need to look up the "floor plan" for a big, fancy airplane that would serve food and have a fancy, schmancy first class area. Thanks for pointing out a detail I might can include and may have missed!! Yes, an element of mystery is the intent. I'm even considering aliens as one explanation. LOL I've thought about writing it as a "choose your own adventure" novel, too. I just know that I have a tendency to explain something away in a way that may not make good sense in the real world, so I'm looking for some real world input on the areas where my own knowledge falls short. I figured that's the point of this part of the forum, yes? So is my book sci-fi? Fantasy? Erotica? Mystery? A Fantastic, Erotic, Sci-Fi Mystery???
Sounds like sci-fi/mystery/fantasy to me. So you can have things like sometimes people's phones work, but only certain functions—they can't place any calls outside of the island (maybe they can call each other), and whatever functions you want to work mysteriously work, and the rest don't. I would come up with some kind of prevailing 'logic' for it though. I mean not real-world logic, but some kind of Twilight-Zone-style logic, so it feels logically consistent, rather than everything just working exactly the way it needs to for the plot to function. Dream logic. I would write it as if it's a dream, in certain ways anyway. A dream that's more consistent than they tend to actually be, but some of the laws of real-world physics just don't hold sway there.
I'd considered the cell phones being able to call each other only, but I can't make it make sense in my own head if there's no cell phone signal. Another timeline possibility is that it's way futuristic technology on the island, explained either by aliens or by a wrinkle in the timeline. And I feel like if that's the case then I need to write it that way from the beginning... but I don't think some of the plot things work out if it's future technology. Again, 'choose your own adventure' might work that way though. But I feel like instead of trying to undertake a huge task like writing multiple storylines for the one plot, that it being my first real attempt at a book it should probably be concise. I can always go back and add the different ideas and change it if I want! Dream state makes sense to me. I could even end up explaining it that way, I suppose. The big mystery at the end being my main character was dreaming... hm. idk. thanks for your input!
Well that's pretty small compared to the island still having power decades after it was abandoned. That wouldn't happen in reality at all, employees would have to keep showing up to work at the power station, and the airport power bill would need to still be getting paid etc, or no power. So it's a magical place. Part of the mystery would be how can they get any signals at all if there are no cell phone towers on the island, and yet they do.
Oh no, never explain it. Stories like Lost or Twilight Zone work because of the dream logic, but if you just say it all was really a dream, then readers will get mad. That's just a big fake-out. I mean the people are awake and function like they're awake, they have full access to logic and reason etc, which we don't have when dreaming, but the environment and technology etc seem to follow dream logic rather than real-world physics. These kinds of stories don't work if you put an explanation on the end. It must remain a mystery.
Rather than explain it away, I would have them conjecturing throughout about what's going on, trying to figure it out, and arguing about the theories. In the end, each one believes their own pet theory was the truth.
If it's a commercial airliner, the pilots would know that the airport is no longer in operation, unless the airport in question is a VERY local airfield - in which case, a large jet would not be able to land there. Landing on an abandoned runway would be extremely dangerous. Any debris on the runway, and you risk blowing a tyre and losing control of the plane - landing and takeoff are the most dangerous parts of a flight. As to planes and wifi - planes that are equipped with internet, which pretty much means a long-haul aircraft (B747, B767, B777, B787, A330, A350, A380) will have an onboard hotspot, which in turn communicates with a satellite to provide connectivity.
It has power because it's a self-sufficient island. They generate their own power, and it's conserved by automatically shutting off in individual buildings, lights, etc when there's no movement. And I'd assumed that their cell phones would have no signal at all. But even when that's the case, you can still access your photos and play games that don't need the internet. That I know through experience. You just can't get updates or play online content. You can't play any game which isn't already downloaded onto your device, not just taking up space in your cloud.
Would they not just assume, since the gauges and communication isn't working, that they can't get in contact with the airport because of that? Bermuda Triangle ftw? The runway thing is something I hadn't considered. I'll work that in, thank you! Yes, long-haul craft was definitely the plan. Thanks for those numbers because I need to get more info on these kinds of planes! It's cool that they have their own hotspot! Will the hotspot work if there is no detectable internet signal in the air in that spot? I guess, probably no, because if it can't communicate with the satellite then there's no internet to share on the plane. Does the internet work in the weirdness of the Bermuda Triangle? I guess I'm researching the Bermuda Triangle now.
I'm sorry to keep pestering you about this, but I'm confused. Who are 'they'? Is the whole island abandoned, or just the airport? I can't wrap my head around how power is getting generated with nobody working at the power plant, and who's paying for it? Is it some kind of future sci-fi island, where power plants are automated and nobody has to pay for them to run? Or maybe it's all part of the big mystery? I'm just trying to understand how the story works. Since you say it's been abandoned since the 80's or 90's I think, we didn't have technology like that then, or is this an alternate reality story where we did?
Some kind of solar or wind energy, I'd assumed. No power plant needed... though I'll admit that I don't really understand how either of those things works. "They" is whoever built the resort on this island. The whole island is abandoned, though I'm not sure yet how big it is. The further along in the story I get, the bigger the island grows! The island on LOST had power, once they figured out that it had buildings. Of course, eventually they found an entire contained city there. I'm not sure if the issue of how they had utilities was ever addressed or not? The end-game is that they're going to be stuck here for several years, maybe 10 years or so, but when they get back (and I've no idea how that will happen) only a short amount of time has passed. 10 weeks or 10 months, maybe. They'll live a whole decade, stranded on this island. They'll have access to a lot of things but will have to figure out a lot, too. Kind of opposite of what happened on the MANIFEST show on Netflix. I've no idea if I'll even get to that part any time soon. There's a lot of life to live in 10 years!
Ah, thank you! This is what I was looking for!! I saw parts of some of the early episodes, and don't remember much, but I think the island having power was part of the big dreamlike mystery that they couldn't understand, but just had to accept. The reason I kept harping on it was because, I think you need to know whether the island having power is natural or part of the magic dreamlike mystery. It might be something you only gradually figure out (it's more fun that way), but you should know, even if the characters take a while to figure it out or never do. Because the story will be very different if the power comes from normal sources like we're familar with, or if it's mysterious and has no apparent source. And I don't understand how, if it's set in our world, such an island could exist in the 80s or 90s, running on solar or wind power, at no cost to anybody. Solar and wind generators require maintenance at times, and I'm not sure how common they were back then. But it could be any of the above if that's what you want. It would be fun to have your characters conjecturing and arguing about all these possiblities. Some people want to try to find the power plant because they figure people must be working there, and some say it might be solar and wind power, and some say this all feels weird like a dream or aliens or magic or a Twilight Zone episode or something. Maybe you don't necessarily need to know, but you should at least think about it, because it will greatly affect the story. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is whether the entire island is magical/mysterious, or if it's natural, or maybe it's a bit of both.
No. Their flight computer would have that information available. Pilots would also be briefed on any airports along their route in case they need to divert. The Bermuda Triangle phenomena doesn't really exist - so you can make it do whatever you want. Have you read Stephen King's The Langoliers?
If this resort island has been abandoned for more than 20 years, then likely all of the delicate electronics have deteriorated beyond the point of repair. To use the parts from the aircraft would be difficult and require an electronics engineer of considerable ingenuity. Internet and wireless are two separate things. Wireless is just the medium, like telegraph wires or telephone wires. Internet is the set of data protocols for transferring information. If the resort was there in the 80's or 90's in the Caribbean, then an underwater telephone is possible. At the very least, a short-wave radio would be around. If the desire is to have them stranded like Gilligan's Island, have the resort be from the 30's to early 60's. That will isolate them pretty well.
See, personally I would go with it being a magical island, or whatever passes for magic in this story world. Its origin completley unknown, doesn't exist on any map, and nothing works the way it would in our known reality, but parts of it seem to. But they can't figure out how there's power, can't find any incoming power lines, and nothing quite works the way you would expect it to. And in fact some things go entirely against known laws of physics. For one this means you don't need to do insane amounts of research, and for two, it's a lot more fun to write—people encountering the completely inexplicable and trying desperately to explicate it.
