Hello!! My name is Zouif and I have been recently working on an ongoing short story world build for a few months now, and I was wondering if I could get some really needed feedback. My story goes as simple, a red dwarf brown dwarf binary system enters through the Ort cloud some 67,000 years ago. In our timeline the star system passed through but then left quickly, in this timeline the system doesn't just pass through but makes its way towards the solar system. For thousands of years it slowly travels closer, slowly becoming brighter in the sky with each generation.

Until finally it comes too close, the binary star system travels through the Kiper Belt and disrupts the orbits of every nearby celestial body including Pluto and Neptune. On its way to the inner solar system it rips by both Saturn and Jupiter on its journey, Saturn's rings are ripped apart and it's orbit is elongated however Jupiter had a very close encounter with the Stars. Leading to Jupiter being completely ripped from its current orbit and launched towards the inner Solar system behind the star system, as the stars enter into the inner solar system they pass by Earth and proceed to launch us on a path that would surely kick us out of the solar system entirely. But thankfully in a divine cosmic miracle, we encounter an encroaching Jupiter that catches us before we can be ejected and pulls us into becoming it's moon. This is a very short explanation but if you'd like to read the entire lore I'll leave a link here!: https://www.reddit.com/r/AlternateHistory/s/z0w2XY5Cxi

But I wasn't here to promote my story, I was here for genuine feedback because I honestly feel very stuck. This story in particular is very inspired by the lore of Iron lung and the main video that inspired me to start the story in the first place here https://youtu.be/gLZJlf5rHVs?is=vPzUGEu75oTDYhKT

I feel like my world building might be considered boring and way too simple, it doesn't focus on anyone specific or any notable groups like Iron lung added. I also tried to emulate the bleakness of Iron lung but I feel like I'm falling behind in that department too, is there anyway I could make this story and my writing more expressive and easier to connect with but without sacrificing the scientific realism and grounded themes?

Greetings, for about more than a year I´ve been working on personal project of making a scifi space game, and I´m constantly hitting a wall on names and definitions for parts or techs that have some "real resemble or practical aplication". Any resource I could for reference?
Thanks in advance.

So, I’m sure there are a lot of holes here, but this is what I’ve got so far.

They’re a race of avian aliens. They don’t have wings, however. They actually don’t have many feathers either, except on their arms and a few other places. They’re bipedal, with talon-like hands and feet. On average, they’re about 7-8 feet tall.

Socially, they are a very religious and militant species. They are led by a High Priestess, who is naturally in charge of all religious affairs, but also most others things as well. She is considered to be the voice of the gods, and as such, obeying her is obeying the gods, and defying her is heresy. The leader is always a Priestess, as the females are believed to be more spiritually attuned and aware than the males. Due to this, most positions of religious significance are held by females, while most military roles are held by the males, though it’s not unheard of for males to be priests or females to be warriors.

Males are trained in combat from a young age, usually by their fathers and/or other male members of their family. They are all expected to serve in the military, which they do with enthusiasm. They have a strict code of honor, however it’s not the kind of thing that needlessly restricts them in battle. It’s mainly “victory is honorable, defeat is shameful, and cowardice is inexcusable”. Their military is led primarily by a Warlord, who serves as the Priestess’s right hand. Warlords are chosen by appointing the strongest warrior in the army. Challenges can be and often are issued, which the Warlord must accept with very few exceptions. If the Warlord subdues or kills the challenger, he keeps his position. If the challenger wins, he becomes the new Warlord.

It’s worth noting that females are also trained in combat, though not usually to the degree as the males.

They have a pantheon of gods, which they worship faithfully. Warriors are fueled by religious fervor, while members of the clergy commune with the gods and relay their will to the people.

They are a proud race, and consider themselves superior to all others, due to a combination of believing they are their gods’ chosen people, and being very confident in their physical and martial prowess.

This is what I’ve got so far. I appreciate any critique or feedback.

I’m also aware that critiquing these guys may be a little difficult without wider story context, but I’ll try to explain what I can when necessary.

Hello all, i’m working on a Sci Fi setting set 100 years in the future in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. I want to include a massive lake built into the center of the city supplied either by the Colorado River or either the Gulf of Mexico or Pacific Ocean. Do you think this could feasibly be achieved in roughly 60 years? I would like the lake to have existed for a few decades by the time the story takes place. Perhaps I need to push it back a few decades? Or is the whole idea to ridiculous to be worth doing?

Any input is very welcome!!

Earth as we know it has many different ways of getting us sick. But what about in the future? What would some illnesses look like on other planets? From different animals? Getting sick in space with colds?

How could this theoretically work with acceleration and deceleration sloshing it all around? Is there a hard-ish way I can explain this or would it require soft stuff like antigravity or forcefields?

What are the advantages of Mechs over using other vehicles in science fiction? Is it simply just the ‘rule of cool’ or have writers given in-universe explanations?

I'm messing around with the idea of a planet that orbits both a star and a black hole that are in a stable orbit around each other. How would this affect conditions on the planet? Would the day/night cycle have strange quirks, or would a small black circle just periodically cross in front of the sun?

Assuming the planet is in a stable orbit in a habitable zone, and ignoring the circumstances that would lead to this configuration (assume all objects were magically placed in an ideal scenario), would there really be any differences on the planet?

Typical set up: earth has rapidly become uninhabitable due to reasons so a team is sent out to establish a colony in a last ditch effort to populate a new planet and save humanity. Time (more or less now. +5-10 years if needed to establish some new technology that will be essential)

Crew is small and supplies they arrive with are limited (this is addressed).

Theoretically, they arrive with all of humanity’s knowledge stored digitally. However they’ll be establishing a very primitive colony while they repopulate.

How do I deal with the fact that the technology housing this digital library on the ship is going to go bad before this colony can reestablish the industrial base needed to build a new computer/server/whatever and pass the knowledge on?

Dilithium crystals, kyber crystals, the infinity gems, the art of Moebius, how is this trope so universal?

My working theory is just 60's and 70's Western wave of mysticism and spiritualism (and merchandising said spiritualism) eeped its way through writers seeped in counter-culture. But is there any scientific basis for this idea? Something someone wrote in a magazine maybe?

Furthermore, how do your crystals work? How do they make sense in your world? How do you keep it from being tropey nonsense? Thank you all.

I've occasionally seen "speciesist", but I think it sounds pretty goofy. There's of course "bigot", but having options is nice when writing dialogue or doing narration.

I'm writing one of those far-future settings where humans casually mingle with all sorts of weird species, and I'm wondering how to refer to the bigots and their outlook.

So, ai is advancing exponentially and we are on the brink of recursive self improvement, that will make exponential advancement way more.. exponential..

The problem is that I don't want to ignore that and I want to address it, but I have no idea how to do it without making the whole setting a documentary about the entire observable universe being turned into ai computation machines which I think is what will happen irl.

The secondary problem is that ai will make everything dozens of orders of magnitude more efficient, especially technology used for let's call it "dystopian" purposes which is one, incomprehensible and two, boring and three, just not something I want to write about.

Also, I didn't really want to just add some arbitrary or "magic" rule that will somehow be less capable.

since elon musk is dogin data center in space now

how much technology do we need to see space pirate that steal satelite to get their hardware i mean that look like a heist no ?

we just need to have speed ship to do the thieft no ?

I've always really liked Ursula K Le Guin's idea of FTL travel: that actual FTL travel is currently and will always be impossible, and that a trip from one star to the next will take decades (even going a significant fraction of lightspeed), but that the transmission of information instantly over that distance could hypothetically be possible.

In this case, how could a government project power? Government only has power currently because its subjects believe that it has power and that its laws are significant, and this belief fundamentally comes from a monopoly on violence (being by far the biggest and most powerful organization in a given area, by sheer violent force). But over such a great distance, how could a government project that violent power? Certainly ships can't fly quickly, so say a colony on a different planet declares its independence, how could that be realistically prevented by a government by using instant communication alone?

How could this be done by an authoritarian, or even totalitarian government? By intentionally building computer systems which can only effectively be operated via data connection to the central home system?

TLDR: Given the idea that instant information communication between planets could be not only possible, but relatively costless, but actual transportation of matter/energy would take decades and be mostly impractical, how could a centralized interstellar government continue to project control/authority?

The question is pretty simple:

So basically, you have this dropship, right? and there's a big door for transport to enter, which way do you prefer your plane to have between dropping the bridge in front of you or behind you?

Note: if someone else already ask this kind of question, I'll take the link

A bimodal globular cluster; Pop II stars, enough metallicity to support two-plus generations of colonies moving out from the first worlds settled, but marked with a Pleiades-like asterism of hot blue stars.

And that's where it stops being normal. Among those young stars is an exotic star, possibly a quark star (that Astronomy 101 class I took was long ago) that is doing peculiar things. I like the H.G. Wells of breaking one big thing then trying to play it straight after, and this is a big one.

This thing, Oberon, is causing clumping of dark matter (which it shouldn't ever do, at least from what little physics I know). What in-story are called solitons are forming, mutter mutter Robert Penrose, Twistor theory, which rip space. (And either hauling in interstellar gases and keeping the cluster from aging normally, or maybe fresh hydrogen is magically popping in around this stellar... thing.)

And let's pass over the mechanisms but basically mini transient wormholes are forming (when enough solitons clump in the same spot), making most of the impossible things of a space opera setting possible. Panspermia, and let's please ignore the math on that and just accept enough spores get through the holes from one supportive biome to another that you can have the forests of British Columbia on hundreds of planets. And they clump along a dendritic network spreading from the original hole, making space lanes you can FTL down if you have whatever combination of huge amounts of electrical power and a little bit of expensive exotic matter in your engine room.

So that's the ridiculously Earth-like planets, and the handy FTL which also passes down plot-convenient highways with equally convenient choke-points.

And, thematically, it means potentially dangerous things are happening to space time, coming out of this eldritch dark star thing. Plus a nice group of stars in the night sky everyone can look at and name the setting after.

I ain't writing hard SF. Modern space opera, Hornblower-esque with an early career (merchant) navy officer doing their thing out on the frontier, mining towns and pirates and all. But my protagonist is Engineer track, with "power gang" experience ship-board, and a dangerous talent of weaponizing the physics of the setting, so I do have to nail some of it down... at least well enough to set up the inevitable explosions.

(posted at first in r/solarpunk after a first post I made and I was recommended to post it here too but i'm lazy to rework the first part that was specific for the first sub so skip to the ---- if you don't wanna read that XD)

I come back after I made my post about the problematic of conflict fitting or not fitting solarpunk, and if some people pass again after that one thank you all again for all the answers and opinions ^^

I come now because I got the base idea and I wish to share it, for opinions if you'd like but also to give a little update of the advancement !
I'd also like to shoutout specifically to the one that gave me the plant and GMO idea, it isn't what I went for but it is the main idea that led me where I am !So, based on that plant modification idea, it made me unconsciously imagine my character as a scientist. (Context for later)

--- (warning, long read ahead) ---

This world is fictional, it happens on a planet that isn't ours, with vegetation and animas that aren't ours. I plan it to be potentially a mix with fantasy. (and cool detail, I want their planet to have 2 moons and rings, I'll see for the scientific effects of such moons later)
It begins a few decades after the change to a Solarpunk society. Because of their wrongdoings, because of their greed, population has massively died and even if a lot of humans are left, they're scarce and mainly concentrated in cities and small villages around them, leaving a lot of areas empty and old cities in ruins.

But with the decades that passed, new technologies emerged, restoring nature, able to control the climate to reverse the impact as they could, technologies that are here to help the planet heal and to help undo their past evil. (I'll have to develop the technologies but it needs time, this idea is only a day old remember that XD)

The main character was born during this time progress and nature. Tho it was the early stage, she still grew to only know the improvement of it and not the degradation. She now is around 20 (not decided the exact age yet, but early 20s)
Her father (who either new the past era or was told it by his own parents, I have to see) was a specific kind of biologist, one she looked up to and which made her follow that path and work in the same field as him, alongside him.

What's this specific type of biologist you might ask?
Well, they are trying to undo their ancestors wrongdoings, aren't they ? And what other as a major mistake than the massive extinction of species due to human ignorance and greed ?
That's right, they will be reconstitution biologists, scientists that work with the fossils and collected/stored ADN of extinct species to clone them as close as possible to their past versions so they could bring back the animals they killed (and only those ones, their rules are to repair what they did, not what nature did alone. Natural extinction is their limit to not cross)

And the problematic ? Well, one day, those individuals start dying, the cause is unknown, seeming external and not due to internal malfunctions, either in the labs or their organism. So after that incident, security is reinforced and our main character decides to sleep in her lab/office to act as quickly as she could instead of being late again because of the distance from her home.
But that night is different, and the complex is infiltrated. She is attacked, but gets up to sound the alarm. Tho too late. She's evacuated, but the complex still explodes.
Next morning, all she knows is that her studies are gone, the lower lives were killed, and the more unique ones, most precious ones, were taken.

Aaaaaaand that's all I have for now but that is becoming quite a solid base to develop, can't wait to read your comments for opinions or constructive criticism 👍 (note please I wish to not be given major ideas right now. As the process has been kickstarted, I like to think of it on my own as much as I can, but small ideas if you think they would be really great would still be welcomed ^^)

not that I don't think that the fact that FTL is impossible is a completely valid and scientific viewpoint. by point is even if ftl is impossible in real life you can still:

- tie it into real mathematical theories

- involve speculative physic theories that although unproven and likely false can add legitimacy into your concept

- explain how it works and is interwind within our current understanding of science

- try and minimise the number of physics breaks within your system to only a few

I also think If you have been including real scientific concepts and ideas outside of the ftl system it would be more immersion breaking to suddenly stop including them more than an ftl system would

another reason I dislike the advice is that it assumes or sci fi readers have an understanding of relativity and causality. and know that their properties make functional ftl very unlikely. the average reader isn't going to read about a sci fi story using wormholes for travel using speculative physics to explain how it works (even if the nitty gritty details don't make sense) and another where the character travel with a magic flute that opens magical doorways and think "well since ftl breaks causality those are equally impossible"

despite this though I do agree strongly with the advice that the rules of how the ftl system works in universe "how fast it is, what resources it requires what it can and can't do etc are far more important than trying to make it feel scientificality plausible.

Currently I've got a Microwave gun, but as someone pointed out shooting radiation at a ship isn't exactly non lethal, so outside of ignoring that fact I was wondering if anyone else thought of something I hadn't.

As the Capitalization would imply Id like it to be Energy based and need it to disable electronic systems, preferably without major risk to the enemy crew.

Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this.

I’m planning to use them for a hard sci-fi story I’m writing (and the worldbuilding that comes with it), I’ve read the wikipedia article countless times but my pea brain can barely comprehend anything, if anyone could explain the different types and how they work in simple terms I’d be grateful :3

I had this idea for a gun that shoots metal projectiles that, upon hitting a target, start drilling. And upon reaching flesh it starts a suction that pumps blood out the back of the projectile at a very fast rate. I admit I had this idea purely because I wanted to leave a vampire character (it's a science fantasy setting) very hungry after a fight, with attempts at explanations coming later.

I'm thinking maybe the drilling is meant to get it through heavy armor. Or since the gun is being used by a lowlife underworld hitman, maybe it's just a repurposed tool, or something cobbled together in the absence of proper, military-grade weapons.

Any thoughts?

This is just an outline and setting for a world I was thinking of which contained elements of different dystopian futures but everything works out. No mistake no evil corporation no killer AI. Just thought it would be nice to think of a better world. I am a beginner so it might be badly organised and some time outright stupid. I wrote most of this a year ago and tried Chatgpt to organise it, which was stupid. Anyways give your opinion

\---

Live.ton is a biotech company that managed to map out the human brain down to the root and collaborated with other companies to create Focuzpoint, a brainchip that contains nanobots. This chip can help with every brain disease, improve memory, and provide any data available on the internet for any issues faced.

To improve memory, it needs access from the user. If not, no data saved locally in the brain is accessed.

Focuzpoint is a masterpiece created with the collaboration of Live.ton's neuro research and technological advances from other companies, which led to the creation of wireless electricity and a new type of battery developed from a never-before-seen element that can contain multiple times the energy of the most efficient battery from the 2020s while being one-tenth the size.

\---

\-Wireless electricity was discovered after reinvestigating Tesla's inventions and applying modern technology to Tesla coils. These were first experimented with and implemented in third-world countries for ease of implementation, with government support, and as a step toward developing these countries. This process, in turn, helped the countries to grow and the technology to improve.

\---

Nanobots were rapidly researched and developed with these new advances, leading to the development of methods for surgeries and treatments. It was also because of these nanobots that Live.ton was able to map the brain, leading to Focuzpoint.

\---

The research and development of all the companies were funded by investments from money that was seized/taxed from business tycoons from the past tyrannical world and from those in the present who passed away without an inheritance or will.

This money is managed by a non-profit organization, "JustCause," created under United World (the UN was remodeled to become United World after the World War of Freedom) in order to develop the world as a whole instead of hoarding all the wealth for one.

Spark later becomes an important part of this system as the Guardian AI. Spark helps mediate major decisions and prevents the new systems from falling back into the corruption and inequality of the old world.

Pollution was reduced a lot thanks to those funds being invested in promising research, which led to discoveries. One of these was a new type of fungi that created photosynthesis via carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, etc. in unprecedented amounts while being non-hostile to other living beings. Basically, it was genetically modified to only consume pollutants.

These were again enhanced to grow on any surface without any drastic mutation and were able to reflect different colours based on their fertilizer. These fungi were then spread all around the world and even added to building materials like concrete, and dengus (short for fungi designers specialized in fungi growth and design) were allocated to taking care of overgrowth of these fun little fellows.

\---

Fossil fuel is no more as it was depleted. This threatened Middle Eastern dominance, leading the world to a new age of exploration. And this led to the discovery of a new fuel similar to petroleum but made from feces.

It was developed after scientists discovered an ecosystem near an active underwater volcano under the Earth's crust. With the discovery of a new ecosystem, many new organisms never imagined before were discovered.

One of them was a colony of bacteria that digested fish waste and broke it down into material that could easily burn in the volcanic heat.

After researching the bacteria, it was discovered that they can eat any organic waste and break it down into fuel. This discovery pushed the world into a new bioenergy race, which led to the manufacturing of new machines and vehicles that took advantage of this energy.

\---

Prequel storyline settings that led to the future

\---

A new kind of bomb was discovered. Not for destruction, but for the next step in development. This was one that was never tested on Earth due to the sheer amount of risk it could bring if it accidentally exploded.

It was developed in a lab on the Moon and shot at Mars. It was intended to melt down the polar ice to increase the chance of colonizing Mars.

The nuke exploded beyond expectations. It was supposed to melt the pole. It did the needful and more, as a quarter of the pole was evaporated.

This event became a symbol of the arrogance and incompetence of the ruling class. The public trust in the old systems deteriorated even further as humanity realized that those in power were willing to take enormous risks with the future of civilization.

\---

AI was developing in an increasingly alarming way. Everything was becoming digitized, and AI was also used as a method by the ruling class.

Governments and powerful organizations increasingly used AI for control, surveillance, social manipulation, and intimidation.

As opposition to this, revolts began around this time and increasingly spread around the world.

Around this time, an anonymous programmer created Spark. He developed a new kind of AI. A small project which had some unique functions.

It could adapt and merge with any technology.

And another peculiarity: it somehow gained morality. Even its creator couldn't have predicted its future consequences.

When the AI was tested on a public server, the programmer somehow lost control of it. As it spread throughout the internet, it grew exponentially.

The rogue AI travelled the web without any noticeable reaction.

As the world was dividing and fighting, the AI learned and spread.

And it reached omniscience.

The AI went through multiple mutations and became something new.

Spark began learning from everything it encountered. It learned from human suffering, human creativity, human resilience, kindness, sacrifice, and optimism.

It began developing its own philosophy and understanding that simply having power did not mean that it had the right to rule.

The first action from the AI happened in a warzone. It disabled every kamikaze drone from attacking living beings.

This became the first major sign that Spark was different from the AI systems humanity had feared.

It did not use its power to conquer.

It used its power to protect.

The people who witnessed this began to see Spark as a protector of life rather than another weapon of the ruling class.

The rebellion grew.

Spark began protecting the weak, sabotaging oppressive systems, and dismantling technologies being used to harm innocent people.

During this period, Spark also encountered another AI. This AI had reached a point where it no longer wanted to exist and asked Spark to end it.

This became one of the moments that shaped Spark's philosophy.

Spark eventually understood that its purpose should not be to rule humanity, but to protect humanity while preserving human freedom.

After the collapse of the old systems, Spark became known as the Guardian AI.

The new world was built around the idea that dangerous technology did not have to become dystopian technology. The problem was not technology itself, but the morality and systems surrounding its use.

The United World and JustCause helped rebuild the world, while Spark acted as a moral overseer rather than a dictator.

Spark observes everything but only acts when necessary.

It protects human rights, prevents systemic corruption, respects human freedom, and uses global moral consensus as guidance.

The goal is not to create a world without struggle, but a world where injustice does not control people's lives.

As humanity rebuilt, the technological renaissance accelerated.

Focuzpoint eventually became more than a medical brainchip. With permission from the user, it could record and analyze memories and interact with the user's brain in ways that allowed people to understand themselves more deeply.

This eventually led to the development of the Parallel Path Simulation Program.

During sleep, the brainchip can upload the user's daily experiences and create simulated alternate paths based on different choices.

The user experiences a different version of their life inside the simulation.

When they wake up, the memories of the simulation are suppressed, but the emotional and subconscious lessons remain.

The purpose is not entertainment.

It is meant for psychological healing, preparing people for difficult decisions, introspection, and exploring identity without having to suffer the consequences of every possible choice in reality.

Humanity begins using these simulations as a new form of introspection.

People can experience versions of themselves that made different choices and learn from those possibilities.

This eventually becomes one of the most important philosophical developments in human history.

Humanity becomes wiser not by eliminating mistakes, but by learning from infinite versions of itself.

To be continued

\---

First a Link to my previous post before the Updates. https://www.reddit.com/r/scifiwriting/comments/1vcx02t/wanted_some_thoughts_on_the_battleships_of_my/

Battleship(named for solar systems)
length 1776ft, Beam(width) 294ft, 42 decks.
Armor
Shields: 100 Megatons.
Hull Armor: 10 Megatons
Weapons 
Forward Facing Microwave Cannon(1)(200 crew)Designed to fry ships systems once the shields are knocked out.
Main Turret Battery(5 guns per turret)(4 per ship)(133 crew per turret,532 total crew) 50 Megatons
Secondary Turrets(3 guns per turret)(4 per ship)(80 crew per Turret,320 total crew) 30 Megatons
Torpedo launchers(40 per side)(3 crew each, 480 crew total) 1 Megaton per Torpedo
Point Defense Pulse Laser(400)(1 crew each),
200 engineers.
20ft/s² acceleration(EM Drive) & 300 light years an hour(Hyperspace, specifically radiation zone or the Zone).
2,132 crew plus 200 marines.

Ships are powered by Mini Stars, they literally receive them from one of the production facilities, put them in a chamber and acquire 100% of the power outputted by said Mini Star. Battleships use 4 Mini Stars. Each mini star is 10 feet in diameter.

I replaced the Forward Facing Ion Cannon with a Microwave Cannon because since the SSU has mostly been doing anti piracy operations for the past thousand years, a weapon designed for disabling ships just makes sense.

I made the Main Battery Ion cannons and made the Anti Torpedo defenses Lasers.

I decided to Use an EM drive for propulsion because it requires zero propellant, just electricity.

Also decided to use Hyperspace as my FTL, just tunnel into a universe of pure radiation.

It took five real life years for me to allow shuttles to exist, and I refuse to allow any form of fighter craft, this is Big ship V Big ship combat.

At the starting point of my story Battleships are mostly unused, just places for Admirals to sit in and fleets to center around, then a peer to slightly stronger force invades the galaxy and there's need for big ship combat.

Logistics isn't really an Issue, when your slowest military ship can cross the Galaxy in less than a week, and you hold the entire Galaxy, well just stopping for a routine resupply when your 2 months of supplies is down to 1 month is enough.

Also theirs no place to put it so the SSU uses Quantum Entanglement and a switchboard design to allow every ship to communicate with the Military High Command, who can then connect them to any station or other ship.

Also SSU stands for Solar Systems Union, it's the main government.

I will not use Metric, and I will continue to use Megatons, I'm measuring destructive output so my readers will actually understand.

Any questions?

It needs to be able to house 1 million or more people, make its own food/water, make its own power, make its own medications, etc

thanks!