Any ideas?

[Babylonkid]

"they'd remember having lived through being 3 years old ten or twenty times." Thats crazy dude. I love it.

I like the idea of the fragment being a mystery to the whole tablet, but prior to this scene I've already introduced the tablet as a whole before it was broken. We see it as a whole and we see it get broken into fragments. Because its already introduced as 1 whole piece, does that take away any impact to the mystery of the tablet as a whole? It shouldnt right? Because the audience/reader doesnt know what this really is. All they know is its a tablet with other worldly powers.

I should mention that even though the audience knows this tablet by name, and they know it is "something powerful"....they dont really know what it does or where it comes from. I guess, similar to whats inside the Ark of the Covenant. We believe 2 tablets of the Ten Commandments are in there. Legend says whoever is in possession of the Ark becomes mighty and powerful. My tablet is just like that...except its 1 tablet, and its not a set of principles.

My girlfriend and I have a dog. He is fun and amazing and sometimes I look at him and realize I know nothing about dogs.

This has been a tremendous help. Thanks again for your time.

Edit* Forgot to answer your question. The tablet is even more ancient than ancient Mesopotamia. Its cosmic. Its from another planet. Yes, it is related to the parentage... but its related to all the gods and demi gods. For example, its not James Smith and the Smith family. I hope I understood your question.

[v_krelig]

Could it be something like a "Plan B" or instructions for recovering from a disaster?

[Babylonkid]

The "Plan B" idea is intriguing. I like it.
Do you think its a crappy way to say that my hero is powerful because this fragment of information was embedded in his mind and that gave him powers because the tablet as a whole is almighty? Hope that made sense.

[Taylor]

You suggested basic survival instincts which got me thinking that maybe Ive been thinking to grand. Maybe it should just be something small. But then again, is anything implanted small? Wouldnt anything be big?

I love this idea, and it got me thinking of all the things that could be embedded in a newborn that when a future event takes place, it is unlocked and useful. I got thinking about everything that has happened during my lifetime and how I might do things quite differently, if I would know the outcome of all my decisions. Perhaps he has been given the power of seeing the outcome of a decision he is about to make as a King. If you research the period, there likely is an event that triggered a war or the loss of power to a particular people.

[v_krelig]

Let me see if I get this.... the tablet is almighty which makes the character powerful (but not invulnerable). Sounds like a good start.

[Babylonkid]

I love the idea too which is why Im so stuck on it.
I like your idea of seeing the outcome of a decision. Im having trouble because this knowledge from the fragment that is being embedded is 1 piece out of 7. The 7 framents make the 1 tablet which is almighty and cosmic and supreme. So that knowledge/info whatever it may be, from the fragment is useless by itself. Thats where I am stuck. What can I do with this embedded info from 1 fragment. The best idea I came up with is that its power guides him to the other 6 fragments. But then, what is the trigger or incident that turns on this pull that draws him to the other fragments.

[Babylonkid]

Yes, you got it. The hero is a demi god and thats why he is strong/powerful. The tablet is almighty and he who possesses it increases his prowess in everything.

Edit* Or even better. At the end, the bad guy gets all the fragments and he's winning...but with that 1 piece of the tablet embedded in his mind, the hero somehow defeats him.

[bdcharles]

Hello writers. Ive been stuck on an idea and I keep asking myself why do this? Is there any reason you can think of, to embed something in a new borns mind. Text, information, a phone number. An example would be embedding an important document, or ancient scroll in the babies mind. Whats the purpose? Why do this? What will it serve later in the story? I cant come up with anything. Any ideas?

I greatly appreciate you all.
Alan

For commercial gain? To acquire power?

[Taylor]

I love the idea too which is why Im so stuck on it.
I like your idea of seeing the outcome of a decision. Im having trouble because this knowledge from the fragment that is being embedded is 1 piece out of 7. The 7 framents make the 1 tablet which is almighty and cosmic and supreme. So that knowledge/info whatever it may be, from the fragment is useless by itself. Thats where I am stuck. What can I do with this embedded info from 1 fragment. The best idea I came up with is that its power guides him to the other 6 fragments. But then, what is the trigger or incident that turns on this pull that draws him to the other fragments.

Yes, I see your point. Your concept of the tablet is so powerful. I see how it could frame a bigger idea that is your overall theme. But if you were to pick something that is of interest to a wide range of readers, you could really have a huge target market. "Peace" comes to mind. So then conceptualize seven major leadership decisions that if had occured in 1000BC would have created peace in modern time.

What is the trigger though? That would be where you as a writer use your creativity. Because he has no control over the trigger, it could be anything you want really. A certain type of bird that lands on the window sill. A particular snake that slithers through the room. I know for myself whenever the sky is a certain colour, sort of a smoky grey when the sun is trying to break through and just can't, it triggers strong memories for me.

But then I wonder if I am heading into a different direction than you intended with your concept. Have you already defined what the almighty cosmic and supreme is?

[Olly Buckle]

How about an actual invention, something like arches, they turned up about 2000 BC but didn't get used much until the Romans got hold of them at about your period.
Other things that turned up about then were iron smelting, proper ship building, geometry to make right angles. Horses were used to pull vehicles and people started breeding them. The Phonecians started trading for tin in Cornwall to make bronze, but how did they know it was there? Sundials start turning up, and cranks and spoked wheels started turning up about then.

I am thinking stuff which changed the world and could have been introduced by a time traveler or alien to speed things up in a direction that suited them.