Jon’s Super-size Plot Hole Problem - Anyone got a shovel?
Thanks for all the helpful plot hole-filling tips you all gave me last week. I've given it a lot of thought since then and I've decided I may be too close to the problem to be sure of the solution.
If you have a minute, I’d appreciate your opinion.
Here’s the deal. For reasons I won’t bore you with right now, my main character in Waking up Jack Thunder is a shy scientist named Bobby Newton, who gets the brain patterns of a comatose CIA agent, Jack Thunder, stuck inside his head.
Through no fault of his own, he’s forced to go on the run from both the CIA and an international drug lord. His only help comes from Thunder himself, who appears at his side in the form of a cantankerous, ghostly apparition, created by Bobby’s sub-conscious. Something which only Bobby can see and hear.
Part way through the first draft, I realized it would be a lot more fun if Thunder’s helpful holograph was to disappear sometimes - especially when Bobby found himself in a truly desperate situation.
From a story point of view, I’m delighted with the results, but I need a plausible reason for Thunder’s intermittent disappearances, the final one lasting almost an entire day. I thought I had it sorted, but I’m not sure it isn’t an oval shaped peg for a round hole.
My current explanation is that the CIA stuck an organic gps device in Bobby’s arm (he unwittingly signed papers agreeing to this). It’s powered by the tiny electrical current human bodies generate, but only becomes active when a particular signal frequency is broadcast.
Whenever the tracking frequency is broadcast, it ‘blocks’ the Thunder signal.
This would also prove useful in the sequel, when I want Bobby to have control over Thunder’s appearances by way of a remote control.
Bearing in mind the story revolves around Bobby sharing his head with the brain patterns of a comatose secret agent, does the gps explanation sound plausible or is it too silly?
If you don't think it flies, do you have any thoughts on how I can have Thunder’s holograph disappear in (most) of the high-stress situations poor Bobby finds himself in?
Any and all suggestions are welcomed.
Thanks in advance for your help.