The Snowflake Chronicles

Project Energy Crystal

The Folder Introduction
This is the folder for my 2008 NaNoWriMo Novel

The items in this folder are for my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel. The working title for this novel is The Paradox Stone rather then Project Energy Crystal. According to dictionary,com, one of the definitions of paradox is "any person, thing, or situation exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature." One of the definition of stone (same source) is the hard substance, formed of mineral matter, of which rocks consist." And a definition for crystal (same source) is "the transparent form of crystallized quartz."

The Paradox Crystal might be a better name for the novel, but since some of the crystals in the novel are not transparent I opted for stone. The Paradox Stones might be a more accurate title, since there is more then one crystal. However, I'm going to stick with The Paradox Stone until after November 30, when the novel should be finished.

Snow’s October 2008 NaNoWriMo Prep
This is the draft/outline information for my 2008 NaNoWriMo Novel

Possible Titles for this novel are (1) The Energy Crystal Project and (2) The Well Ordered Society.

Day 1 Challenge: Wednesday, Oct. 01
Premise

1. Who is your protagonist (or protagonists)? My main protagonist, Regina, is a woman and an outsider in the culture or society, which raised her. One of the few jobs Regina can get, which pays well is as a test pilot for experimental and extremely dangerous vehicles. My antagonist, Silas, is a male and he is attracted to her, but since she is an outsider, he cannot be associated with her on non-business level. He is in charge of a project developing a new form of energy that can power the society’s vehicles.

2. What will happen to him/her/it/them? As test pilot, it is Regina’s duty to test every vehicle the new power supply is used in. In addition, she has to determine the limitations of this revolutionary power supply. Regina is well aware that every time she gets in a vehicle using the new power supply, someone is taking bets on whether or not she and the vehicle will survive. Every time Central Command schedules Regina to test a vehicle, Silas goes over the spec with a fine toothcomb for a week before the test is scheduled. Silas cannot help but feel something is missing, but he cannot figure out what. His guts tell him there is an accident waiting to happen. What Silas does not know, is that he did not receive all the information about the new power supply. According to the specs he has, the power supply is a crystal that redirects solar and cosmic energy to produce and endless supply of power for the vehicles at a minimum monetary cost. The problem is that the power crystals do not run on solar or cosmic energy. They steal energy from an alternate universe and return a poisonous substance to the universe where the energy stolen.

3. Why? Central Command gives Regina a new vehicle to test it is a troop carrier. The troop carrier is supposed to contain a contingent of mannequins, which resemble humans in everyway except they are not alive. There is a seat for a co-pilot in the troop carrier, so Silas decides to go along. When the troop carrier reaches top speed, it passes through into the alternate universe. Once in the alternate universe, Regina and Silas find out that the carrier’s cargo was living human beings. Rebels that Central Command decided to dispose of all at the same time.

4. How will it turn out? Silas knows that, as an upstanding member of his culture (this has been drummed into him since birth) is to remain loyal to Central Command and do nothing that would endanger his people or their culture and society. This means he has to do nothing to prevent the poisoning alternate universe even if it means he will die in that universe and never return to his own. Regina on the other hand does not give “diddaly squat” about preserving the culture she has left behind. She no longer receives a paycheck from Central Command, so she does not have to remain loyal to them or their ideas. Her only concern now is survival of herself and troop carrier’s cargo. This means she has to be concerned with the poisoning of the universe she and the rebels are now living in.

5. What does that tell us? That what happens in one part of the multiverse affects every other part of it.

6. Is there a moral to the story? Survival of the fittest means more then just taking care of yourself. It also means taking care of your environment and the rest of humanity.

Day 2 Challenge: Thursday, Oct. 02
Outline: first draft. Basic overview of main events.

Chapter 1: Introduce Regina
Chapter 2: Show society’s reaction to her
Chapter 3: Introduce Silas
Chapter 4: Show society’s reaction to him
Chapter 5: Show incidents in past common to each, but to which they reacted differently
Chapter 6: Assigned to work together on Project Energy Crystal
Chapter 7: Regina tests several different vehicles, which use the Energy Crystal
Chapter 8: The troop carrier is tested and ends up in the alternate universe
Chapter 9: The people on the troop carrier find out what the Energy Crystals really are and how they affect the universe they and their energy came from
Chapter 10: Encounters with the inhabits of the universe they are now in
Chapter 11: Finding a way to get along with the natives
Chapter 12: Stopping the poisoning

(this is as far as I have gotten, but I feel there are more chapters in this story)

Day 3 Challenge: Friday, Oct. 03
Character sketch: Your protagonist.

Regina – independent and self-confidant to outward appearance, but because of her upbringing and the fact that she is an outsider, she has inner doubts about her abilities. However, instead of causing her to be over cautious, these inner doubts have the opposite affect. Sometimes because of them, she gets herself into potentially deadly situations.

Day 4 Challenge: Saturday, October 4: Contest Round –
Write a background story about Regina
Deadline: BITEM link by 1200 noon WDC time on Sunday, Oct. 05

Regina Odette, Outsider

Day 5 Challenge: Sunday, October 5
Character sketch: antagonist.

Silas – a member of the prevailing social and governmental order; he is sure that there is no other way for humans to live and will do anything in his power to assist Central Command. Silas is attracted to Regina and is ashamed of it. He believes he should be looking for a woman who has strong moral values, which he interrupts to mean an insider in his society. Perhaps even a daughter of a member of Central Command.

Day 6 Challenge: Monday, October 6
Describe, in detail, an object that is critical to your story.
Below are notes and their sources on the description of the object
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/growingcrystals/a/aa011104a.htm
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/ems3.html#c2


The Energy Crystals

Seven Lattice Groups: (1) Cubic/Isometric (not necessarily cube shaped; octahedrons [8 facets] & dodecahedrons [10 facets]); (2) Tetragonal (akin to cubic, however they are longer along one axis, form double pyramids/prisms); (3) Orthorhombic (similar to tetragonal but when viewed in cross section, they aren’t square; form rhombic prisms or dipyramids); (4) Hexagonal (6 sided prism; 6-fold rotation axis); (5) Trigonal (3-fold axis); (6) Triclinic (not symmetrical); & (7)Monoclinic (skewed tetragonal). Lattices can be either primitive or non-primitive. Primitive lattices = 1 lattice point per unit cell. Non-primitive = greater then 1 lattice point per unit cell.

Four crystal property categories: (1) Covalent Crystals have covalent bonds between all of their atoms; (2) Metallic Crystals have the individual metal atoms sit on lattice spots; (3) Ionic Crystals electrostatic forces hold these atoms together in addition they are hard with high melting points & (4) Molecular Crystals you can recognize the molecules in the structures with non-covalent bonds holding them together; are soft with low melting points.

Spectrum reflected from the crystals (in order of the colors): (1) Infrared, (2) Red, (3) Orange, (4) Yellow, (5) Green, (6) Blue, (7) Violet, & (8) Ultraviolet. Other possibilities are X-Rays & Gamma-Rays (I’m keeping my options open).