Idea for a Story

Last updated on: June 10, 2008 at 2:50 pm by David Hayward

Idea for a Story 2008-06-10T14:50:42-04:00 David Hayward

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Here’s a possible idea for a story. If anyone uses it for a book or movie, you must pay me 😉 It is completely based on the news I’ve heard that scientists have gathered enough blood remains from the Shroud of Turin to determine its DNA. So here’s my idea:

PART ONE: In the not too distant future, say, 2020, the labs are broken into which holds the blood remains and DNA tests of the Shroud of Turin and some of the samples are stolen. At some point we learn that it is masterminded by several Christian leaders across the world, including the Vatican, Moral Majority, Evangelicals, Greek and Russian Orthodox leaders, Archbishop of Canterbury, etc., etc., etc… PLUS, leaders of what are considered “Christian” nations. So you got a mix of politics, science and religion. What they are doing with the blood and DNA test results is they plan to clone what they hope is Jesus of Nazareth. No one is certain if the clone will be Jesus or a man, probably a criminal, from the 14th century, as the results of carbon testing of the shroud suggest.

PART TWO: They succeed in making a clone. Let’s call him “X”. Of course, this is all kept secret except to us the readers. No one knows this is happening because it is all kept quiet and takes place in a remote facility in the USA. It is a huge enclosure, but it is indeed an enclosure, like a prison. But it is pleasant. And X wouldn’t know any better anyway. Remember, the scientists, religious leaders and politicians can never know how this is going to turn out: whether it is Jesus or a 14th century criminal. The child grows within his extended “family”, which are basically guards, security, scientists, observers, staged friends, and selected “visitors” from all walks of life, including transvestites, addicts, prostitutes, CEOs, religious leaders, politicians, homeless, the sick, etc. We overhear his interaction with these people. Still no decisive clues. He uses the library extensively and is like a sponge intellectually and educationally. But he also shows signs of unruliness. He is difficult to control. He is insubordinate to those who would like the experiment to be a success. He seems rude and socially awkward. But at the same time he seems wise, intuitive and larger than life… but some can’t tell if this is in a Gandhi kind of way or a Charles Manson kind of way.

PART THREE: Division develops. Some take all these as signs of a criminal mastermind. Others take this as a sign of Jesus. Unrest occurs between the orchestrators of this experiment. Some threaten to withdraw funding (which is considerable). But not to worry: there are enough funders who want this to work that they’ll kick in the necessary cash. There is a political faction that wants X so much to be Jesus because they plan on using him for their political ends, such as the USA who would use this Jesus to squash all Islamic, Jewish and every other religio-political presence in the world. The religious lobby would use this Jesus to gain supremacy in the religious sphere. But some apocalyptic types also interpret this event as the second coming and would hasten to see this come to completion. Of course, the religious and political lobby cooperate on so many levels.

PART FOUR: “X” escapes through the help of one of the guards, a beautiful, young woman called Rachel. They fall in love. I haven’t thought about what happens during this time except that he upsets people. I’m not sure how. Subversive behavior. Insulting those who shouldn’t be insulted. He keeps slipping away with Rachel and her small group of University friends. Artist types. Maybe lives a kind of Robin Hood life. This part is the weakest because it has the danger of becoming too cheesy. But I would want to develop the whole paradox of: is this Jesus or a nuisance to society?

PART FIVE: X is finally captured by the experiment. They return him to the facility, and after a battery of tests and deliberations, decide to “put him down”. The experiment is over. So is the story. Except… when we follow Rachel away at the end, she meets up with a small band of questionable friends who met X and continue to talk about him and continue their anti-social behavior. (We would need to prevent this from becoming too cheesy too.)

art

thought

Previous Post

June 10, 2008

tee-shirt idea: God's quotable quotes

Next Post

June 11, 2008 cartoon: godspeak

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category art cartoons cartoons 2 freebie music one minute message podcast Sophia teaching technology thought

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 March 2006 February 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Proverbs 24:27 advises to "put your outdoor work in order" before what?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Going to war Seeking a teacher Building a house Getting married