Writing/directing film, I'd love some feedback and knowledge

[Guest cfern]

Hello,

I'm writing and directing a short film, I'm questioning the events that take place in my own story (a bit bizarre)...

 

A group of students are being trained for scuba diving in a pool facility on a college campus. Four students (three of them eventually main characters) are underwater (in their full gear) when a chemical is released in the air of the facility. Everyone above passes out, immediately collapsing to the floor, as these four students remain underwater (unaware of the tragedy that has taken place above). 30 seconds pass...two of the scuba divers (let's call them James and Richard) rise above the water to find their entire class (and instructors) on the floor unconscious. James spits out his mouth piece and gasps, while Richard’s first reaction is to rush back down underwater, non-verbally warning the two that are still underwater (Sarah and Lail) of the scene above. As he tries to grab Sarah and Lail’s attention, he notices that James is sinking to the bottom of the pool (he has already passed out).

At this point, it’s not that Richard knows exactly what’s happening, he doesn’t, he just knows that it’s safe underwater. He gets Sarah and Lail to stay underwater with him. They’re not going to attempt to save James because they’re scared, they don’t want to move (if anything, they think he’s dead).

(I’m going to stop getting into detail here) There’s a lot of non-verbal communication and panic between the three, they just remain underwater until about 20 - 30 minutes pass. They get out of the pool, keeping their gear on (mouthpiece, tank, etc.). Nothing has changed above, everyone is still unconscious. The three realize now that they let James die, that he wasn’t dead when sinking to the bottom of the pool. They leave the facility to find that even students outside are unconscious (this is widespread).

 

Questions

01 - If a chemical like this is in the air, and you’re breathing oxygen from a tank, can you remain unaffected? Or will you be affected because your ears are exposed?

 

02 – Can you think of any airborne chemicals that would knock you out (leave you unconscious)? More specifically, any airborne chemicals that remain in the air for only a temporary amount of time (20 – 30 minutes)?

 

03 – Do you think an event like this could actually happen?

 

I’m asking this forum because I feel like you guys would give me the most logical responses (or possibly criticism). This is the “stretch” in my script and I’d love to get some intelligent feedback. Thanks!

[Phi for All]

Anything that causes the O2 in a room to drop to 16% will cause unconsciousness. Halon is commonly used as a fire suppressant because it removes O2 from the fire. Nitrous oxide could be used, but it is fairly weak unless concentrated. These two would be commercially available and a non-exotic type of gas that wouldn't require skin contact, only respiration. The ventilation system in a college pool would disperse concentrations of any gas fairly quickly if disabled for delivery and then restored.

 

This is a viable scenario without requiring anything heavily restricted. The delivery method and concentration levels would be the tricky part. If O2 levels fall into the 10-15% range there is a danger of asphixiation but again that's a technical aspect of the delivery, not a property of the gas.

 

*Edit* I just saw the last line in your scenario about people outside being affected. This changes everything. You are looking for some kind of nerve agent or exotic airborne type gas with staying power. The problem there is that most gasses that would have the knockout affect are meant to disperse people, make them leave the area or suffer. If they stay long enough, they die. And most gasses like that can't cover a huge area like a whole college campus in concentration. They also are not meant to knock you out, they are meant to cause blisters, lesions and intense pain.

 

Sorry.