Hey guys! So lately I've been brainstorming on a story I've been meaning to make, but to me it's sounds really...out there. Anyway here it is! It has everything to do with dreams and alternate realities. So a scientist, who happens to be a lucid dreamer, begins to study dreams and quantum theory after having many instances of deja vu. He notices that these occurrences of deja vu that he's experiencing are of things that he's dreamt of before. Things that he remembers quite clearly, but has no evidence that they've have already happened, and doesn't know why he remembers them. He starts conducting experiments and after having thoroughly studied his own dreams, he theorizes that, when your dreaming, you are subconsciously visiting and living in an alternate reality in which YOU also exist. That when your having dreams, your consciousness is transferred from your body to another in an alternate reality almost identical to your own. So as if you're living a separate life in your dreams. He theorizes that lucid dreamers have an extraordinary ability to combine alternate realities with their own. That when he notices he's dreaming, he's now fully conscious of himself in both the alternate reality and the reality he currently resides in, thus giving him the ability to do as he pleases in this alternate reality (his dream). But, when he does this he is obliviously combining his reality and the alternate one together as one in the same time space continuum. Causing the strange phenomena that, whatever happens in his dreams, happens in his own reality, but that when he wakes up, that connection is abruptly cut off. Causing his memories of what he did during his lucid dreaming to linger away; being stored deep inside his subconscious. Which he thinks is the reason why he feels he's already done the things that he's currently doing at the moment (deja vu). He is, in theory, creating the future. He is literally making his dreams come true... A theory he then proves to be true after simply moving a cup from one side of a coffee table to the other while he was lucid dreaming. Then later seeing the same cup move on it's own from one side of his coffee table to the other after having woken up from his dream.... So there it is! My premise to a story I'm working on. Does it sound even remotely believable, or does it sound like just a bunch of nonsense. I want people to be able to buy into it, being the reason I ask this question in the first place. So what do you guys think!?
Sounds very interesting I'd read it, assuming you have an equally strong story to go with this premise. I'm imagining some kind of thriller/mystery maybe with a touch of horror personally. Psychological thriller perhaps.
Worthy premise, but where are you going to go with it? You can't just have that as the entire story; there needs to be a conflict somewhere.
Hi, welcome to the forum. You have an interesting plot thread. On it's own it's not a story. The story comes from what happens to the scientist, how does it change him, how does it ruin his life or make him a hero? You need a story to go with the plot thread or you might begin to write it and then not know where to take it.
A very good start, but like David said, you need a conflict. External, internal or both. Something has to work against him.
Its about as far as i could stretch in terms of something being believable, unless you pulled off some hefty explanations. The idea is cool though, i like it. One of the issues im struggling with in terms of believing it is the delay, why the coffee mug moving delay? They (the alternate realities) are concurrent so the delay doesn't seem plausible. Him being able to be in or effect multiple places at same time might work but you'd need to get around the physical limitations of his "transfer" to the alternate reality. Throwing a stone in reality A doesn't throw the stone in reality B that's why they're considered alternate. Of course you then have the differences, the mug might not be there in reality B. Its a hard concept to get around.
It sounds a lot like the premise of the novel Lathe of Heaven, except that the dream changes undo themselves. That's not to say that you can't create your own original story from it, but it may be worth reading that book just so that you can distance your story from it as much as possible.
You know Dr. Richard Feynman talks in his autobiography about becoming a lucid state dreamer for his philosophy class. So a quantum physicist/lucid dreamer isn't far fetched, it's something that actually happened. You can read some of the excerpt from Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman here.
Well, the thing with that is, when the alternate realities combine they essentially become one reality. So when he's in his dreams, he's actually in the future. So whatever he does in his dream (in the future), will happen later when he wakes up, depending on what point in time he was in while he was dreaming. So when you say throwing a stone reality A won't throw the stone in reality B due to the the fact they're ”alternate” is true, but in this instance when he fuses the two together, they become one in the same. There isn't two realities anymore at that point. But when he wakes up that connection is severed, causing the two realities to separate from each other. Becoming ”alternate” again. It's a hard concept indeed...
So in essence, the dream reality is not a different reality but sort of like a worm hole that sends you to the future? Another thing is, if there is this cause and effect link; what happens if he dies and/or kills someone in his lucid dream? Maybe that is something to explore in your story. It's an interesting concept but the problem lies in finding the story in it, otherwise it's just fictional science rather than science fiction. But I do like the concept.
That's sort of where I'm getting at with this. One story thread I've made up so far is that maybe he's not the only one who can do this. Considering he's not the only lucid dreamer. And maybe fusing the two realities might work differently for other people. For example, for someone else it might send them to the past, or for someone else it might just keep him in the present, thus creating a clone of himself. Where the real him is still asleep. Maybe his research gets into the wrong hands?..... I'm seriously trying to make a story out of this that does the premise some justice as opposed to missing an opportunity. It's difficult man...it's difficult..
Sounds like you've got some story design to do. I like to decide what reaction I want from the audience before I start writing. It keeps me grounded knowing that it's my goal to make somebody laugh, or be thrilled, or be curious; with whatever peculiar thing I'm writing about.
Inception meets Avatar! What could go wrong? No, though, seriously, it's a great idea, and, not to brag, something I've thought about as a philosophical experiment myself in my younger years.
Very wonderful story idea and something g I would devour in a day if released. Only one question from me: what happens to his alternate self, I am aware when merged they become one and the same, but does his reality change the same way as our one changes when they divide? Also is his alternate self a seperate person? If so where does he go when our guy is basically hijacking his dimension while lucid dreaming?
To answer your first question, ”what happens to his alternate self?” I might back track a little. So the thing with that is that when our guy is dreaming, his subconscious is transferred from his mind to the mind of an alternate version of himself in an alternate dimension where he also exists, right? Ok. But, the thing with that is, that's only his subconscious. He's not in control of that and is not aware of what his subconscious is doing. Sooo in essence, when he's dreaming, he's just asking for the ride
Wait, now i am more confused. He goes to sleep. When he dreams his SUBCONSCIOUS mind is transferred into the mind of an alternate version of himself in another reality and he is NOT aware that he has changed dimensions and so goes about his life as if he is in OUR world when in fact he is in the alternate world? If that is the case, I'M still wondering what happens to the person he is inhabiting, because although they are alternate versions of each other, I am assuming (sorry) that there are still two separate people here, with one jumping into the mind of another.
Along* not asking... Anyway to continue answering your question (I accidentally hit the reply button to early) So yes, in essence, he's just along for the ride. simply watching his alternate self live his his life through his eyes.
NOW, to get to your confusion! What happens to the alternate version of himself” nothing really. It doesn't go anywhere and here's why. So like I said, his subconscious is what's transferred to the alternate reality. It's only when he realizes that he's dreaming, when he's like, ” I'm not awake right now. This isn't actually happening.” He begins to lucid dream. At that point it isn't his SUB conscious that's inhabiting his alternate self's mind anymore. He's basically taking over his alternate self's consciousness and replacing it with his own, thus giving him the ability to do as he pleases with his body. But, in doing so he's messing with space and time. Kind of like he's, ” messing with the system.” So in order to compensate for this crossover, the two realities merge with each other becoming one in the same time space continuum. Now, when this happens, not only is our guy's consciousness transferred over, but he also brings his ENTIRE reality with him. Causing the alternate realty to become completely identical to his own. Almost as if he put the alternate reality on pause. In the event of the merging of the two realities, it caused him to jump forward in time in his OWN reality. He is now living a separate life in his dreams while, at the same time, living his own life. But in the future. So when he wakes up, that connection is cut off. Causing the two to go back to the way they were, as if nothing ever happened. As for your other question, ” does the alternate reality experience changes as well?” No. the only reality that changes is the one that belongs to the lucid dreamer. In this case it's our main character. To put it simply, he is borrowing the alternate reality to make changes to his own. So whatever he does in the alternate reality (his dream) will happen in his own reality depending on what point in time he was in while lucid dreaming. There isn't two people because when he dreams he's not transferring his entire body over to the reality, only his consciousness which then takes over that of his alternate self when lucid dreaming.
WAIT! One more thing lol. So when he takes over his alternate self's consciousness his alternate self is completely oblivious to this and doesn't really feel anything, because when our guy begins to lucid dream, his alternate self becomes one with him as well as the reality. Along with everyone else in the alternate reality. There I'm done now
