The Tales of Dr. Phan
A novelist confesses to stealing from different versions of himself during a televised interview.
If you had the ability to travel between dimensions, what would you use that miraculous power for? Uncovering the cure for cancer? Scanning the variations of reality to reverse the aging process, and/or ferret out the key to peace?
Or… would you focus on achieving smaller, more personally satisfying things?
Meet Dr. Henry Phan. A physics engineer by trade, Phan is a man of profound contradictions. Despite “dreaming in numbers” throughout his life, Henry has long aspired to literary goals.
Goals that – it now seems – Phan has succeeded in beyond his wildest dreams
As Ry Grave’s short opens, world-famous Phan is being interviewed by TV host Lorna Astor. Such is far from a new experience for dear Dr. Phan. Astor’s already sat down to chat with him fifteen times before! Nor is this heart to heart a discussion of Phan’s most recent physics breakthrough, as one might at first assume.
Rather, it’s about Phan’s latest book. His THIRTY SECOND fiction novel, in fact.
Yup, you read that right. Dr. Phan, it turns out, is more prolific than Stephen King! He’s got more scope than the Monster of Maine, too. For Henry’s bibliography, there’s no genre he’s dabbled in that hasn’t grazed the best seller list. But winning streaks do eventually peter out. Will this new novel be Phan’s downfall? Is he out of surprises and ideas?
Well, not quite yet:
LORNA ASTOR
And ladies and gentlemen, it appears
tonight’s interview will be no different.
Dr. Phan, as I’ve said, you are the author
of over thirty-one novels spanning genres
from romance to horror, drama, even
historical fiction. Your latest novel,
The Tales of Dr. Phan, is already receiving
negativity even before being released
due to the fact that the title character
is named after you. Critics say you’re
out of ideas. Please, tell us more about
your latest fantasy novel.
As the interview turns sideways, Phan breaks into unexpected tears and blurts out:
DR. PHAN
It's not fiction. It's a confession.
Phan’s confession: that he didn’t write a word. Every single book of “his” was stolen… from someone else!
Astor gently presses Henry for the scoop: From who? According to guilt-ridden Phan: from multiverse versions of himself.
And so begins Henry’s bizarre tale of multi-dimensional copyright infringement, a self-betrayal of the oddest kind. Leaving Astor and her audience to muse: Is Phan telling her the truth? Or is his “confession” the oddest PR gimmick of all time?
A single location short that needs only minimal budget and two actors, The Tales of Dr. Phan is classic science fiction… a tale YOUR audiences are sure to eat up!