I'm writing a story and I want the government to do something that will really mess things up, like I'm talking MAJOR destruction, whether physical or mental, I don't care, but they end up erasing everyone's memories so that no one would remember what happened. I have most of the other major plot details, but I couldn't think of what would have to happen to cause this situation and I need this before I can really get into it. So basically, what would have to go down for the government to resort to erasing everyone's memories?
Well if it were such a huge disaster I think people would eventually find out even after their memories were erased. E.G. A country accidentally, yes accidentally, shot let's a few nuclear missiles to some neighboring countries. I think something like that would be much harder to cover up than just erasing peoples memories. Now of course if you're talking something political, then it may work. Also, I'm not sure how a government could erase everyone's memories so easily, unless of course, if you already have that planned. My only idea would be that they put some memory erasing chemical in the water supply or something of the sort.
If bureaucrats (the government) actually had a power to erase everyone's memory, you'd find that they wouldn't need much of an excuse to start abusing that power. It would be very interesting for the plot if actually something went wrong with the government's plan (to use this technology on something banal, or targeted group of people) and the major accident was that they ended up erasing everyone's memory. And all the problems associated with that (for example en masse loss of skills, maybe people would have to go to University or school all over again, or maybe they would even revert to a baby level (or some of them, if the "procedure" affected everyone differently). As to how, tampering with google front page, to emit some kind of light/signal/sound/something, would definitely get to most of the population by lunchtime You can definitely have fun with this
I was planning to have the "disaster" happen on earth, and possibly kill a majority of the population, then have the government realize the extent of their mistake and relocate everyone to a different planet and erase their memories so their reputation would still be withheld, but the people do end up finding out what happened later. That's why i have to make it huge because if it doesn't have that impact, it could be taken as the government trying to protect the remaining population from the memory of that casualty, and I want them to get angry and revolt. I wasn't as clear before, sorry about that lol
A government that had the power to provoke a disaster great enough to kill a majority of the population on earth then then to relocate everyone to a different planet (which means either going far beyond this solar system or making an uninhabitable planet in this one habitable, either of which would be a mind-boggling, monumental task) and then erase everyone's memory wouldn't have to worry about what happened if they didn't erase everyone's memory. In fact, I would thing that a government with that kind of power would want everyone to remember, so as to further terrorize them into submission.
Probably a huge mistake that the government made themselves, and now they need people to forget or a revolution will start and they will be overthrown. Either way, I'd say definitely for self-protection.
Mistake or no, if they have that kind of power, they don't need people to forget, they can simply repress them. And would. Completely illogical premise.
