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DeeLerious184
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13 Jun 2013, 4:26 pm

If the following an example of a Deus ex machina? How else could I play the following scene?

Background info: A woman, named Keri from a world accessible only through special portals comes to San Francisco, CA to find an exiled prince of her native land because there has been a military coup there. Anyway, due to some misunderstandings, Keri gets arrested as a suspect for a bombinb that happened in a BART stations( The SF subway stations). I need to know if I should find a better way to get her out of police custody.


Quote:
Simeon returned to the present, just as his and Keri’s bus stop was called. Soon, they got out of the bus and started to walk towards their goal. Keri took a blue headscarf out of her bag, and put it over her hair.
“Do you have you wear that now?” Simone sighed.
“It’s cold.”
“You’re going to attract attention to us!” Simeon said in protest.
“Why?The woman next to me on the bus wore a headscarf.” Keri said
“You do not understand! Some time ago, a woman wearing a head scarf of the exact same color planted explosives.
“Surely the authorities can’t harass every women who wears a headscarf..”
Just then, two men the blue uniforms of the San Francisco Police department came out of a fast food place, looked at them, and walked in their direction..
“Can I see some identification, please? From you and your companion?” The one with balding salt and pepper hair said. His belly hung precariously over his belt.
Simeon took a deep breath. Carefully, he took out his fake California Identification from his wallet. A acquaintance of Rodbertus made it for him, for a price.
“What about you?” the detective asked Keri.
“Al la ack bar” Keri told them, using Nadi’umese idiom for ‘I Don’t know’ Then, in the Nadiumese equivalent of shrugging, she folded her arms, and stuck out both her middle fingers, causing gasps from passersby, who started walking quickly. The detective’s face turned red, and his grimace worsened.
“Both of you, turn around and put your hands on the wall.” The inspector said
“Put your hands down on the wall! You’re making things worse!” Simon hissed at Keri. “These city guards think you might be the one who planted the explosives.”
“How?”
“Turn around!” The detective barked again.
Simeon did as the detective instructed.
“You just praised a controversial male deity named ‘Allah’.”Simeon said. “Besides, sticking out your middle finger is an offensive gesture in parts of this world. Put your hands on the wall, or you’ll be shot with a mini cannon called a ‘gun’.
Instead of following Simeon’s instructions, Keri started to wave her arms around, mumbling something in Pomian, the ancient language used for spells. Before she could say many syllables, a crackle sound interrupted her. She yelped loudly and then crumpled to the ground.
Roughly, the police officers led Simeon to the black and white police car, and dragged an unconscious Keri as well. A terse silence reigned as Simeon remembered how he ended things with Symonne.
(flashback passage, which I decided not to include.
Chapter 2
Keri’s head ached when she opened her eyes, felt her hands bounded with metal, and found herself in the back of a horseless carriage. Turning around, she saw Simeon in a similar state.
“What’s going on?” She asked.
“You were knocked out by a device.” Simeon said. “The officers think that you detonated bombs in a public place.”
“Why?”
“Like I told you, that damn headscarf looked like the one the real perpetrator put on, and then your gesture was misconstrued as defiance and hatred towards authorities.”
Eventually, they were led out of the horseless carriage, and soon Keri found herself in a room with a square table and a few chairs. Before she call up her magic abilities, two people, both women came in.
“Ruskiy? Español? Francais?al arabiah?” the one with almond eyes asked.
Keri looked at them in confusion, remembering that the Nadiumese gesture for ‘I don’t know’ would be again misconstrued.
The dark skinned detective got up, while the other one looked at some notes.
Soon, the detective returned with another man, dressed similarly. Brushing back his short black hair, he took a chair and sat next to the female city guard.
“mar’haban?” he asked in a different language.
“I do not understand.” Keri sighed. She realized that the new person acted, or tried to act as a translator.
The female city guard glared at her, told the translator something, and he repeated it, presumably in the other language they seemed to think that she spoke. Granted, it sounded like Nadi’umese, but she understood nothing.
The two officers continued their questions with the ‘interpreter’ doing his job.
“الذين هم لك؟?” the interpreter asked.
“I do not understand you.” Keri asked. “Let me speak to my companion.”

“الذين تعملون معهم؟”
This continued for an hour, with the two city guards’ tone getting more and more stern. Just then, Rodbertus came in , wearing a fake beard, a blonde wig, and similar clothing to the male city guard. He got into an argument with them but finally got them to leave, somehow, along with the translator.
“Simeon contacted me as soon as he could.” Rodbertus said. “I am pretending to be your solicitor.”
“Where is he?”
“He is in a cell, waiting for me.” Rodbertus said. “I thought since you did not speak the local language, that you needed my assistance more.”
“What is going on? Simeon told me that I am being accused of detonating explosives in a public place.”
“Look, even if the authorities figure out you did not do it, you’d have a lot of questions to answer.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I suggest we escape from here on the positronic sea.”
“You have access to the positronic sea?”
“Yes. I’ll open it now, be ready!”
With waving hands, and words of magic, Rodbertus open the portal. Keri peered to see an enternity of purple with white sparks. With alacrity, the two went into it. Keri felt a sense of nothingness, as she held on to Rodbertus, who seemed preoccupied. Just as she was getting dizzy, she found herself behind some very tall building.



redrobin62
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13 Jun 2013, 4:54 pm

It is deus ex machina because someone comes along and saves her by taking her through a portal.

It's not deus ex machina if she routinely travels this way, however. You did say that she came to San Francisco that way.

A deus ex machina is a one time only event that comes along to save the day.



DeeLerious184
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13 Jun 2013, 4:59 pm

In this novel, The portal that goes between worlds are different from the portals that transport people short distances within the same world.

Maybe, I could have her come up with some sort of plan that she could do on her own.....



redrobin62
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13 Jun 2013, 5:09 pm

Also, remember that a true deus ex machina comes along to save the day. It would be used in the final chapter, not Chapter 2 as you have here.



Jory
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13 Jun 2013, 5:09 pm

TVtropes.org can always be trusted to give you good examples:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/M ... sExMachina



DeeLerious184
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13 Jun 2013, 5:28 pm

Thx!



theWanderer
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13 Jun 2013, 7:52 pm

Uh, you have another problem...

The possibility that her language would sound so much like a slogan a terrorist might shout, and that her gesture for a shrug would be flipping the bird, twice over, is just too much to believe. It's like you created this unbelievable situation just to get her in trouble. Instead, she ought to get in more trouble naturally, as she can't understand what they're saying and doesn't want to listen to her companion, they'd haul her in pretty soon anyway. So why stretch things?


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DeeLerious184
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13 Jun 2013, 10:19 pm

theWanderer wrote:
Uh, you have another problem...

The possibility that her language would sound so much like a slogan a terrorist might shout, and that her gesture for a shrug would be flipping the bird, twice over, is just too much to believe. It's like you created this unbelievable situation just to get her in trouble. Instead, she ought to get in more trouble naturally, as she can't understand what they're saying and doesn't want to listen to her companion, they'd haul her in pretty soon anyway. So why stretch things?

Thank you for the advice! I was going for fantasy-comedy ie like the Discworld books, but I am realizing that maybe I overdid it.