I gave some thought to writing a book about things that get
lost, an enthralling idea, but not about ordinary things. A book leaves you,
the author, with many options, wide and deep.
For example, what if your shadow was lost, went missing or
was maybe kidnapped. (Should that be shadownapped?) Interesting!
The immediate thought that crosses my mind is, how does an
author write a shadow and would it have to be in black. In the thousands of
books I read I never remember a shadow, doesn’t mean they are never mentioned,
no! just that I don’t remember them. As shadows tend to follow people and now
and again precede them, they are often implied, we know they are there,
somewhere. As shadows are created by light whether natural or generated,
we know they are there. This begs the question, does an author need to write
some light or sunshine before he/she focuses on the shadow, or are light and
shadow part on the same equation?
One of the many challenges facing an author, not an easy
job.
Anyway, back to the reason I started writing this, ‘things
that are lost’. Where would you start looking for a lost shadow and don’t you
dare say “Behind you” I’ve no time for cheap jokes or pantomime, well, not at
the moment.
Is it easier to look for a lost shadow in a book, does size
matter, whether it’s hardback or paperback? I could start by writing a ‘Shadow
Tracker’, someone like a modern day Hercule Poirot who
specialises in tracking and investigating lost shadows. Mind you, if we had to
wait for him to arrive from Belgium we could be in trouble. The internet tells
me that here in Ireland there is a detective agency called ‘Shadow detectives’
they could be the answer. Of course the ‘Shadow Tracker’ doesn’t necessarily
have to be human, we could design an android ‘Shadow Tracker’ who wouldn’t get
emotionally involved, would obey orders and not look for payment.
Once these points are addressed
what sort of technique does he or it use and how do they track a shadow at
night, questions, questions, questions?
Another question, ‘where does the
tracker start, not in the dark, though this would be a good place to hide a
shadow. To find one we need a Geiger counter for shadows or maybe an APP to
measure the intensity of darkness presuming shadows are only dark, stroke,
black?
Authors thought, can shadows be any
colour other than black, is this an outcome of light versus shadow, equals,
black? As I have just watched a programme on television about suggestions that
the shadows created on the moon, during the landings, are man-made in a studio
with lights coming in all directions. There is a small cohort of people who
believe that America, Russia and whoever else are duping us all into believing
man landed on the moon when in fact, they say, this is all ‘Hollywood’ and
created in a studio? A theatrical production with lights shining or
highlighting from all directions. The suggestion was/is that if the sun shines
from the back, throwing a shadow, the front of the astronaut would be black.
Not so! As the programme crew demonstrate, with the light coming from the back
casting a shadow there is spill all around and this light reflects off the
ground onto the front of the astronaut making his front visible. They go on to
demonstrate why other accusations are erroneous, but that’s for those who want
to watch television. The message from the programme was, man did land on the
moon, so there.
Books about things lost and a lost
moon landing is complicated, a challenge to any author.
Anyway, back from the authors
thought? There are a lot of questions we will never answer here but let’s move
on. A mirror would be a good place to start because you could see if the shadow
was hiding behind you or maybe just standing there not knowing it’s lost.
Another consideration for the
author (I am rubbing the sweat from my brow at this juncture) should the
tracker be written without a shadow, worth thinking about this. It would save
his/its shadow getting mixed up with the missing one. Remember it is possible
that a number of shadows will be missing at any one time. Surely if one can go
missing so can others and you don’t want to complicate things, at least I
don’t.
Can shadows swim, float or drown,
if not it would be worth looking at the bottom of a lake or river for them, ideal
hiding places for anything that cannot drown or float.
Looking up is another good place to
search, try it, a myriad of surprises await you. Things you would never notice
in a month of Sundays or any other day lie quietly there. What a place for a
shadow to hide, up there out of the way of man and light, bothering no one.
Mind you I do wonder if shadows can climb and if they can how high. Knowing the
answer to this question may save a lot of looking in the dark. Particularly if
you are depending on sunshine which tends to shine from above, unlikely to
bounce a shadow upwards, unless like on the moon the reflected light enabled
this? Another one for the History channel.
Another authors thought-do people
own their shadow or do these dark outcomes have free will, worth considering.
If people have no claim on them, how can a ‘Shadow Tracker’ insist on them
coming back home if found?
There are of course other things to
be considered in the pursuit of lost shadows, what if they had a Dublinbikes
membership, the tracker would need to know this in order to keep up. The
tracker would need to be a member also but this could be a problem for Dublinbikes,
do they take membership from androids and/or shadows.
If they did, just think of the
other cyclists and onlookers as they see a shadow on one of these nearly blue
bikes, trailed, tracked by an android cycling madly in pursuit. Could this lead
to accidents or onlookers having a sense of delusion seeking cures from local chemists.
Not to mention car and bus drivers alongside those people on Viking ships we
see move through Dublin city on their way to invade the sea, the thick plottens.
Another thought by delusional
author, what would happen if the book was lost, would that be the end or is
there more to this story?
JC-Dublin a City lost in books
JC-Dublin a City lost in books
