Story Idea: 2 Linked by Telepathy

[The Pecman]

I just read a review of a movie that I think could be the core of a good idea for a gay story.

Two people, each living in radically distant parts of the United States -- say, one in Maine, and one in Nevada -- each grow up but occasionally have "phantom pain"... moments where they feel the other one's physical pain. Over time, the feelings grow more intense, and they even begin to hear voices. Could they be going mad? Their relatives are concerned, and their friends think they're strange, but the two people seem completely normal other than that.

Eventually, the psychic connection becomes so strong that they're able to see what the other sees. One stands in front of a mirror and for the first time, the other sees who the first one is. They manage to get in contact with each other by phone... and the story ensues.

The movie is a small indie supernatural film called In Your Eyes, and I can see it also has some vague connections to the 1970s film The Eyes of Laura Mars. Where I'd take this story is I'd write it with two young boys, maybe starting at the age of 5 or 6. One breaks his arm, and the other one immediately feels it. Similar experiences happen, and we break the segments over a period of time with other incidents happening, culminating when they're (say) 16 or 17, when the psychic connection almost becomes overpowering. Maybe it could be complicated by the fact that one boy is gay and the other is straight, but because their psychic connection is so strong, the straight boy can't help but... well, you know.

Like I say, I think there's a nugget of a good story idea. God knows, I already have two novels in progress and am overwhelmed with personal grief, so I'm not the guy who could tackle it just now. But I just throw it out there as a possibility.

Full review of the film here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/your-eyes-tribeca-review-698050

Note that the film is an adult man and woman, but I think this could be altered for story purposes and still preserve the essential idea, yet make it radically different from the movie.

[Lugnutz]

Colinian is working on a story vaguely similer. So far, it's birthdays and looking identical but nowhere near related.

[Graeme]

I read a story on Nifty with a similar concept -- identical twins separated at birth. When they encountered each other and started to share their stories, they realised that both had had imaginary friends as children, with the name being the nickname of the other twin. They also slowly developed a telepathic connection as well as a deep love for each other. Things got complicated when one of the twins, who was raised as a Mormon, went off on his mission....

[JamesSavik]

One of the reasons I always liked Babylon 5 was the telepaths.

Sometime in the near future, people begin being born telepaths.

And people go absolutely crazy.

Telepathic abilities manifest around adolescence so it's very much like the Marvel Universe mutants or our own kind.

For a while telepaths are murdered, hunted down and so on. It gets so bad that a telepath underground develops and fights back.

The goverenment steps in at some point and creates the Psi-corp so telepaths will have a place a of safety and not be a menace to casinos and such.

It's an interesting concept and could end up being a lot of fun.

[Lugnutz]

I read a story on Nifty with a similar concept -- identical twins separated at birth. When they encountered each other and started to share their stories, they realised that both had had imaginary friends as children, with the name being the nickname of the other twin. They also slowly developed a telepathic connection as well as a deep love for each other. Things got complicated when one of the twins, who was raised as a Mormon, went off on his mission....

Link? Sounds interesting.

[vwl]

The Move has a somewhat related theme that could have been enhanced by Pec's suggestion.

It's at http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/the-move/

[The Pecman]

The Move has a somewhat related theme that could have been enhanced by Pec's suggestion.

Doh, it could've been improved by having a conventional structure and getting to the point! 40 chapters? C'mon...

But it is a good idea, and I'd encourage somebody to pick it up. If they'd like some assistance kibbutzing behind the scenes, let me know.

I thought of another very dramatic development: we carry the relationship of these two boys for about 2/3 of the novel... and then one of them dies! And yet the psychic connection continues... for awhile. That could be interesting.

[JamesSavik]

Or... they find out that they aren't the only teeps.

There are all sorts with various powers like telekineses or pyrokinesis.

They themselves have other powers that can be developed with training.

They find out that they are part of an invisible world inhabited by people that run the gamut from evil to heroic good.

And mundanes will burn them at the stake if they can catch them.

[Graeme]

Link? Sounds interesting.

Just found it: Hey Mikey by Steve Thomas. The twin isn't introduced until chapter 9.

[Graeme]

But it is a good idea, and I'd encourage somebody to pick it up. If they'd like some assistance kibbutzing behind the scenes, let me know.

While I love reading SF, I hate writing it. Coming up with a self-consistent set of rules and restrictions is my biggest bugbear. What's the nature and limits of the telepathy? I think I'd be too much constrained by John Brunner's Telepathist (I picked up a copy a few years ago, though I originally read it when I was a teenager).