Lady Di in an alternate reality.

[morfiction]

My concept hinges on this one little idea. Say there's powerful psychics in the government doing various things and who have advanced perceptions. One of their experiments is to send an agent into alternative reality, in the past, just before Lady Di's fatal car accident. It is the agent's job to impersonate their driver.

He goes to a bar previous to this and has been drinking. He left his car keys in something he calls a "Promise Box" and walks to the hotel. He meets Lady Di there along with Dodi. She is insisting that he get in the dang car and drive them away from the hotel away from the paparazzis.

The agent insists that he is too drunk. She doesn't believe him or doesn't care. He then pulls a gun on her, shoots the tires out on her car.

I haven't written the scene yet. The agent is specified as being a shape-shifter who has taken on the driver's identity.

My question is: do you think this would get the desired result of preventing her accident? Would she comply or would this be an impetuous for her to escape after having him dealt with? Would she accidentally get shot?

Should I just avoid the situation entirely because it is too far-fetched? Or too personal a topic for some people?

I'm trying to figure out how a woman of her stature would act in the given situation. How do you see it resolving itself?

 

[ShortHair]

I'd say it depends on how you view causality. If the accident was preordained, nothing the agent can do will prevent it. If he disables the car, they would get another driver, or hail a cab, and die anyway ... because the event was bound to happen. It makes for a tragic (and thus dramatic) story because nothing can change the outcome.

On the other hand, if events can be changed, Di and/or Dodi could see the loss of their ride as a sign and stay there, unwittingly saving themselves. I would wonder what happened to the original driver. How would your "agent" get him out of the way?

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

If his goal is to prevent her death, presumably a corollary goal is to also avoid attracting attention to himself. Pulling a gun and firing shots right near her seems like it would be very counterproductive. He could just say, "Sorry, ma'am, I just can't," and walk away.

There's always a chance a replacement driver would cause the same sort of accident, which might be the point of the story (e.g. you can't change momentous historical events), but I don't know where this is supposed to go.

 

[CupofJoe]

Well... I can tell you one thing... the Daily Mail / Express will hate it... no matter what happens in the story...
For some papers/people in the UK she is close to a living saint...

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

Well what ever you do be careful how you handle it. As CupofJoe points out, worldwide, but especially here in the UK, she is a much loved figure.

 

[Butterfly]

I think it's high-time the whole world finally allowed her to rest.

Use fictional characters instead.