Carving Out a "Legacy"
Captain Nemo has been portrayed a number of times in a variety of media. When I decided to continue the story of the Nautilus and her captain in "The Nautilus Legacy," I wanted to do so within the same universe Jules Verne wrote about. For that to be possible, two elements had to exist:
1) Nemo had to have a son.
2) That son had to be alive.
Condition one was easy to meet, thanks to a vagueness loophole Verne himself left. The most detailed description of Nemo's family in "20,000 Leagues" referred only to two children, genders not specified. The second condition was more challenging, since Nemo explicitly tells Professor Arronax that he saw his family killed.
Without resorting to hokey Hollywood tricks, I needed to construct a scenario in which the son lived but Nemo reasonably *thought* he was dead. After some careful consideration, I created this second loophole, which is depicted in the opening pages of the novel.
Once I had those potential obstacles overcome, the only major hurdle was the fate of the Nautilus itself, enumerated in the climax of "Mysterious Island." To get out of that tight spot, I used a combination of "fuzzy" science, suspension of disbelief, and creative pluck. A writer's got to do what a writer's go to do, right?
Combined, all these elements allowed me to fashion a story that I believe is respectful of what Verne himself wrote while simultaneously opening new creative opportunities for myself. Or maybe I just got really lucky....
1) Nemo had to have a son.
2) That son had to be alive.
Condition one was easy to meet, thanks to a vagueness loophole Verne himself left. The most detailed description of Nemo's family in "20,000 Leagues" referred only to two children, genders not specified. The second condition was more challenging, since Nemo explicitly tells Professor Arronax that he saw his family killed.
Without resorting to hokey Hollywood tricks, I needed to construct a scenario in which the son lived but Nemo reasonably *thought* he was dead. After some careful consideration, I created this second loophole, which is depicted in the opening pages of the novel.
Once I had those potential obstacles overcome, the only major hurdle was the fate of the Nautilus itself, enumerated in the climax of "Mysterious Island." To get out of that tight spot, I used a combination of "fuzzy" science, suspension of disbelief, and creative pluck. A writer's got to do what a writer's go to do, right?
Combined, all these elements allowed me to fashion a story that I believe is respectful of what Verne himself wrote while simultaneously opening new creative opportunities for myself. Or maybe I just got really lucky....
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