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A disillusioned nuclear missile silo officer, yearning for job satisfaction, gets more than he bargained for when Earth is occupied by alien invaders and saving mankind means destroying Washington DC.
Hate to go medieval on technical elements of the premise, but: It's SOP that no single person can launch a missle. Two people must concurrently press launch buttons and the buttons are placed far enough apart so that no one person can reach both. Operational personnel must go through intense psycholRead more
Hate to go medieval on technical elements of the premise, but:
It’s SOP that no single person can launch a missle. Two people must concurrently press launch buttons and the buttons are placed far enough apart so that no one person can reach both.
Operational personnel must go through intense psychological screening to even be selected for training, let alone get assigned. And the chosen few who make it through training are continually and rigorously tested and observed for mental fatigue and lack of commitment to the job. It would be a failure of the process for an unstable officer to get selected, a more massive failure for a burn out to remain on the job.
But no system is perfect. So let’s assume he beats the odds and slips through–
But we’re back to square one: the electronics have been laid out to prevent unilateral launching of a missle.
Further, the US gov’t has been worrying and working out nuclear scenarios for over 60 years now. [And taking notes on all the Hollywood movies made about a nuclear dooms day.] They’re not that stupid to locate emergency command centers for key operations inside DC or anywhere near. (I live in the region — trust me.)
And if aliens do occupy DC, and the officer launches a nuclear counterattack, it’s a once in a millenium opportunity to cleanse a portion of the planet of the pestilence of greedy lobbyists, corrupt politicians and toady journalists. Bring the bombs on! The audience will be cheering him on. (Like they did when the White House was blown up in the movie “Independence Day”.)
Technical readouts aside, I don’t see a congruent match between his flaw and his challenge. I don’t see any reason to like him or even pity him. Is it reasonable, credible to believe that the protagonist would be worried for a New York second about career burnout when the clock is ticking down, the fate of human life is on the line? When his own life is at stake?
And if that is his state of mind, what possible sympathy can one expect the audience to have for such a self-absorbed, myopic character?
See lessA disillusioned nuclear missile silo officer, yearning for job satisfaction, gets more than he bargained for when Earth is occupied by alien invaders and saving mankind means destroying Washington DC.
Hate to go medieval on technical elements of the premise, but: It's SOP that no single person can launch a missle. Two people must concurrently press launch buttons and the buttons are placed far enough apart so that no one person can reach both. Operational personnel must go through intense psycholRead more
Hate to go medieval on technical elements of the premise, but:
It’s SOP that no single person can launch a missle. Two people must concurrently press launch buttons and the buttons are placed far enough apart so that no one person can reach both.
Operational personnel must go through intense psychological screening to even be selected for training, let alone get assigned. And the chosen few who make it through training are continually and rigorously tested and observed for mental fatigue and lack of commitment to the job. It would be a failure of the process for an unstable officer to get selected, a more massive failure for a burn out to remain on the job.
But no system is perfect. So let’s assume he beats the odds and slips through–
But we’re back to square one: the electronics have been laid out to prevent unilateral launching of a missle.
Further, the US gov’t has been worrying and working out nuclear scenarios for over 60 years now. [And taking notes on all the Hollywood movies made about a nuclear dooms day.] They’re not that stupid to locate emergency command centers for key operations inside DC or anywhere near. (I live in the region — trust me.)
And if aliens do occupy DC, and the officer launches a nuclear counterattack, it’s a once in a millenium opportunity to cleanse a portion of the planet of the pestilence of greedy lobbyists, corrupt politicians and toady journalists. Bring the bombs on! The audience will be cheering him on. (Like they did when the White House was blown up in the movie “Independence Day”.)
Technical readouts aside, I don’t see a congruent match between his flaw and his challenge. I don’t see any reason to like him or even pity him. Is it reasonable, credible to believe that the protagonist would be worried for a New York second about career burnout when the clock is ticking down, the fate of human life is on the line? When his own life is at stake?
And if that is his state of mind, what possible sympathy can one expect the audience to have for such a self-absorbed, myopic character?
See lessWhen a stubborn, reclusive young man gets separated from his family during a jungle trek, he must learn to adapt and survive if he is going to rescue his parents from a separatist rebel holding them hostage.
It seems to me there might be more dramatic possibilities if he's a shy boy who gets kidnapped (for ransom) and has to rescue himself before a deadline (ticking clock) runs out. (And maybe another kid who has also been kidnapped for ransom.) Even better, make the MC a shy young girl.
It seems to me there might be more dramatic possibilities if he’s a shy boy who gets kidnapped (for ransom) and has to rescue himself before a deadline (ticking clock) runs out. (And maybe another kid who has also been kidnapped for ransom.)
Even better, make the MC a shy young girl.
See less