posted
No, this topic isn't about the writer's life. I have an idea I'd love your thoughts on.
My female protagonist (the POV for these scenes) is tracking my male antagonist. She and the reader are under the assumption that the antagonist believes she is dead, and is therefore unconcerned about being followed by her. She is capable of disguising her presence to him such that she can be in close proximity to him (even right next to him) without his ever knowing. She has found him and is with him, but is not attacking because she is waiting for him to lead her to a child he has kidnapped and hidden away somewhere, who she is trying to rescue. She assumes she's set now that she's found him, and just has to wait out the trip. She can't let herself fall asleep, though, because she might be discovered or lose track of him. So that's a bit of a ticking clock, as we hope the antagonist will return to where the child is before our hero can't stay awake any more.
The twist is that, at some point coming up, the protagonist learns that the antagonist knew all along that she was alive, and he deduced that she would be tracking him in just such a manner, even though he couldn't detect her presence while she was doing it. Thus, he has been leading her off the trail, or into a trap, or something of that sort. (The reader isn't told ahead of time, but there is foreshadowing so that when it is revealed, it is not unexpected.)
Question: Would sleep deprivation work as the antagonist's goal here? As in, could he have been prolonging his trip intentionally for that reason? Normally, if they were to fight, she would win hands down because she's way more powerful. But if she was impaired by severe sleep deprivation...? Would the description of the fight scene be ridiculous? Even though she's unusually strong, would she still not stand a chance?
I'm not married to the idea of sleep deprivation being a focus here, I'm just looking for a way for the antagonist to have been leading her into a trap, and that seemed like an interesting one. Thoughts? Better ideas?
Genre: science fantasy Setting: spaceships between planets, various different levels of transportation when on planets Note: beyond the somewhat mystical ability of self-disguise as well as the protagonist's unique ability to see confusing bits and pieces of the future, there is no magic in my universe. So no solutions with spells or potions or magical objects, etc.
Thanks!
[This message has been edited by sojoyful (edited August 29, 2006).]
posted
Sleep deprivation is similar in many respects to various forms of inebriation, including that younger people believe it enhances their capabilities when it actually decreases them. I don't know how common this is, but you might have to establish for the reader that sleep deprivation isn't a good thing.
Posts: 334 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Why doesn't the antagonist need to sleep? And, if the protagonist is undetectable, how would the antagonist know when he could slip away or judge when she was sufficiently dulled by fatigue?
Also consider that adrenaline is a more or less instant short-term cure for just about all sleep deprivation. If the protagonist were dead on her feet, she would wake up pretty smartly when attacked. The first attack might be more or less free and unanswered, and the second might enjoy the advantage of confusion, but after that she would be ready and able to fight.
[This message has been edited by J (edited August 29, 2006).]
posted
The U.S. military has done quite a lot of studies on the effects of sleep deprivation. Google for "military sleep deprivation" and you'll find a slew of good information.
I think the general idea, though, is that sleep deprivation takes a toll on you mentally, but not physically. So your protagonist could still put up a good fight, but would be much slower to react.
Oh, and she might also hallucinate, hear voices, or become paranoid. (People's minds tend to take on schizophrenic qualities when deprived of sleep.) That could be fun.
posted
Um...why doesn't she just use some passive tracking devices to alert her to his movements, and sleep when he does? I mean, I can see him having something that would prevent active devices like bugs/radio-tags and such. But suppose she just places motion detectors on his exits whenever he stops for the night?
I mean, what was her original time scale on finding the child by following this guy? Did she think it was going to take less than a couple of days? Because that's about as long as anyone should plan on being able to stay awake continuously. If she thought he'd definitely go to check on the kid in that kind of timeframe, she must have had some reason for thinking that. If he delays longer than a couple of days, doesn't that tip his hand already? She has to know that there's a reason for such an unexpected behavior.
If she knew it would be possible (not even likely, just possible) that he would take more than a couple of days to lead her to the kid, then her lack of foresight in requiring herself to stay awake constantly to track him just makes her look stupid.
So I think you're requiring your protagonist to act unrealistically stupid in order to create artificial plot tension. That rarely works out very well. It would make more sense for the antagonist to use a trap that wasn't so easy to avoid.
posted
But the problem is that before she got to the peri-terminal sleep deprivation symptoms, she would sleep no matter how much she wanted to stay awake. It takes some kind of physical interference to keep someone awake at that point. Unless she were using spells to stay awake. Seems like if she had spells it would make more sense for her to cast them on the guy to make him sleep, or drug his food or something. It would make more sense for him to lure her to a place where for some other reason her power doesn't work.
Part of the problem of sleep deprivation is the effect of staying jumped up on adrenaline for too long.
[This message has been edited by pooka (edited August 29, 2006).]
posted
J and pooka: The antagonist does need sleep. In fact, he does sleep. The protagonist isn't waiting for him to be incapacitated, she's waiting for him to lead her to the child. So even if he sleeps, she's not going to pounce.
Everybody (including J and pooka): Thanks for all the great input. You've thought of things that hadn't occured to me, and given me some good ideas to think about. Thanks! (If you have more, keep 'em coming.)
[This message has been edited by sojoyful (edited August 29, 2006).]
posted
How much lack of sleep are we talking. If the characters stay awake continuously, they'll still be able to function, maybe at a reduced level---but towards the end of the week the hallucinations from lack of REM sleep (I think) will begin.
If they get short periods of rest (say two or three hours of sleep out of a single day), their edge might be dulled but it's likely they would still be able to do things---but if they stop and sit down, they might nod off.
What about a switch between doing something at night and then sleeping during the day? From bitter personal ongoing experience, I can say that working at night and having trouble sleeping during the day takes a lot out of me. (Also shortens your life by ten years, according to a study that got passed around at work.)
posted
Robert: As far as how much lack of sleep, I don't know. I haven't fully developed the idea, and am just toying with it. I was vaguely thinking a few days, but I don't know how many.
Posts: 470 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
The trick with sleep deprivation is that the subject will fall asleep without realizing it. Most of those naps will be a few seconds long, but long enough to have a car accident, let the antagonist excape etc etc. Unless she's accompanied by someone, she'd fall asleep, no matter how hard she tried on the third or fourth day max. Marines have been working with this for ages with volunteers. It takes a lot of shouting to keep someone awake for more than 48h or so. I really like the idea, and I think it could work well. In the event of a fight, the MC would think she'd doing well because adrenalin would give her a false sense of alertness, when in reality she would be very clumsy. Same thing for driving a car, or doing anything dangerous that takes some concentration. She might be surprised that something went wrong, while the reader who has seen her fumble around for a bit, isn't surprised at all. Posts: 507 | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
I meant she would use a spell or charm to make sure he stays asleep so she can also sleep. If I'm understanding you, she doesn't sleep while he sleeps in case he wakes up and leaves, right?
Posts: 334 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Yes. But there are no spells or charms in the universe of this story. No magic. So that's not an option.
Posts: 470 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
But you do have technology, like drugs (per pooka's suggestion) or passive sensors so that she doesn't have to be awake to watch him when he's sleeping.
You have two choices for keeping her awake here. Either she was planning on it possibly taking several days of continuous wakefulness for her to follow this guy to the kid, or she was planning on it only taking a couple of days. If the first is true, then she's just an idiot. If the second is the case, then the moment a couple of days have gone by and he doesn't lead her to the child, she knows something is wrong.
posted
How about a robotic alarm-clock? If this is a world with space-travel than surely some sort of interesting inventions should be around, right? Maybe your protagonist has a robot the size of a wristwatch that gives her a small electric shock whenever she starts to snooze. Or something.
I suffered from sleep-deprivation for about four months before my body finally crashed, but that was with three hours of sleep every night, so it wasn't a continuous awake period. Also, I found myself nodding off if I sat still for more than a few minutes, so I think your MC would have to be in a fairly constant state of motion.
posted
Thanks for the additional suggestions. It was an idea in progress, and I've changed it somewhat. But I'll keep your ideas in mind. Posts: 470 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
I have to agree with Survivor in terms of the search either taking unexpectedly too long, or her grossly overestimating her own abilities.
Couple of thoughts. Drugs were mentioned, and of course we all know that caffeine and energy drinks can aide with alertness and awakefullness to a degree. Provigil is a drug often prescribed for narcolepsy and other excessive sleep disorders, but of course she couldn't possibly obtain it while keeping a close eye on her target. Coke and Adrenalin Rush will only get you so far.
In addition to the military's experiments with purposeful sleep deprivation, unfortunately being awake for several days with little or no sleep at night, is the life and reality of medical residents. I think their situation is as close as I can imagine to that of your characters, Sojoyful. Constant vigilance, unacceptable complacency, high level of stress, continuous motion, etc. And I believe adrenaline does help. It was mentioned by somebody that you might still be sluggish and slow, even in a stressful situation. I believe the longer you are awake, less of an effect adrenaline may have, but from personal experience, even after 48 hours on my feet my body still responded to the "adrenaline rush" in the usual fashion.
posted
I've never had much luck with stimulants like caffeine. Either they have no effect on me...or I'm so saturated with them I don't notice the effect. (I'm a regular Mountain Dew drinker since childhood...Mountain Dew, I'm told, has more caffeine per can than any other common soft drink, and I drink two or three cans a day. I don't drink coffee---don't like the taste.)
Over the counter sleep aids had an effect on me---they made me sleepy, but not when I wanted to sleep---they made me sleepy the next day, when I wanted to stay awake.
More powerful, prescription-required stimulants or sleep inducers may be better, but I've never felt the need to go that far...I've made do, and gone through most of my adult life tired while awake and having trouble getting to sleep.
posted
By the way, drugs were initially mentioned as a means of making sure the guy wouldn't slip away in the night, not a way of keeping herself awake. A similar point applies to sentry devices, they were mentioned as something she could use to make sure the target wasn't going anywhere, not a way to keep herself from sleeping.
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
Well, you must have noticed how we wander off-topic. Personally, I find it fascinating...it usually takes me to things I'd never considered, and often can make use of...and I hope I can hold up my end as well.
Sleep, awake...sometimes I think it makes little difference to me.
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