One question I explored in creating my storyworld was how to handle long distance communication.
The options?
1) Smoke Signals
Lonecca’s arid climate provides ample tinder. Unfortunately, it also carries the risk of this approach becoming…
2) Fiery Beacons
Despite the epic drama of the Beacons of Gondor, our current wildfire crisis may have robbed this one of its luster.
3) Pony Express
This method requires senders to stop working and ride off into the sunset, or hire someone else to do that. Most Loneccans can’t afford the time or the cost. They’re too busy struggling to survive. Besides, many horses were confiscated as transport for the king’s sapphire monopoly.
4) Message in a Bottle
The randomness of this one appeals to my fun-loving nature. Throw that sucker out there and hope somebody finds it! Perfect, except that glass hasn’t been invented in Lonecca. Message in a Ceramic Urn lacks the same poetic flair.
Instead, I gave Lonecca a network of avian messengers. Meet the arleybirds. They’re about the size of a large, blue robin. Arleys can perfectly replicate the voice of whoever sent them, making the sender’s ID indisputable. But like their electronic counterparts, chaos is unavoidable.
Think of these birds as feathered text messages/emails. Once you’ve raised an arley, your bird will always return to you. Want to keep in touch? Ask someone for their arley’s feather (aka their cell number). Your arley can identify the owner of the feather (IP address) and easily locate that bird. After you’ve sent one or two messages to the same person, your bird will go directly to them (their inbox), instead of merely hanging out with the recipient’s arley in the rafters (their spam folder).
Imagine getting this notification: “There are 85 messages in your inbox.” Yikes! The arleys work like magic. Until they don’t.
When writers of contemporary fiction want to isolate a character, they need a plausible way to lose or disable the person’s cell phone. A temperamental bird offers so many alternatives. Our cell phones never: a) get shot out of the air by a starving neighbor, b) succumb to a bad mood, c) die from tainted food, or d) get distracted in mating season.
I deleted a scene in which the hero gets an arley message from the girl he secretly loves. Captivated by listening to her voice repeatedly, he neglects to reply. Meanwhile, waiting to hear back, she’s convinced that he’s not interested. Ah, the possibilities!
As a teaser, this same girl has a curious connection to peacocks. But you’ll have to read the book for details.
Constantin Stanislavski said, “There are no small roles, only small actors.”
Some of the best ones wear feathers.
Ciao for now,
Kai