Active Users:1207 Time:22/11/2024 07:38:21 PM
I've decided to pretend we're still entirely on the original subject Isaac Send a noteboard - 11/07/2013 01:13:15 AM

View original post
View original postBack to the original, yeah I think the general sci-fi plot revolving around little colonies of a few thousand/million work a lot better if the 'planet' is some habitat a million miles from anyone else and only the size of a smallish country. It also justifies the repeat use of scenery and filming location, if some company mass produced the "Montana Hab, perfect for 10,000 settlers interested in cabin in the woods life. It's just like Montana, before we erected thousands of mile high skycrapers there!" There's a lot of fiction options though, you could dump a few thousand in a clump somewhere and have little feudal realms with the aristocrats being the original main shareholders, dukes and barons and so on based on the size of their habitat, etc. I'd love to see more writers tackle such things.


View original postI think there are some writers who do this sort of thing, no? What your description most reminds me of is the wonderful Otherland - sure, the "little realms" are purely virtual there, while the real world background setting is only somewhat futuristic, but the principle is remarkably similar to what you describe.

Some, and I think its growing as we see less classic space western and space opera. Swords and Sorcery in space and science fantasy like to go this route but typically with single planet solar systems. Military sci-fi tends to explore the political backdrop more too, and often goes the aristocrat route I've noticed, it lets them use the warrior tradition route more and avoid the WMD problems, essentially that any culture than can colonize other planets has no problem torching one in mere moments without ever landing troops, making for a boring story.

When we start getting into simulated realities as the daily norm though, that more or less murders any subdivisions beyond top level and individual. Someone is making sure your brain in a vat, whole body, or the hard drive you're stored on is maintained, and someone is making sure the electricity and raw materials and network keep running. The difference is the location of your body isn't really very relevant to who you interact with in terms of normal society, where you can't pick your neighbors. Even a work-from-home person who is a total shut-in isn't nearly as severed from their physical community as that and more to the point wasn't raised a shut in nor exposed to entertainment where that was the norm. You'd have a very, very different culture I'd think after a few generations of people who had basically always been able to instantly leave any environment or interaction they found even vaguely boring or hostile. You're not very likely to have much in the way of classic political or national situations going on there or any real parallel analogy cases.

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.
- Albert Einstein

King of Cairhien 20-7-2
Chancellor of the Landsraad, Archduke of Is'Mod
This message last edited by Isaac on 11/07/2013 at 01:14:32 AM
Reply to message
Gallup - Conservatives more proud to be American than Liberals..... - 04/07/2013 09:12:12 PM 1281 Views
I'm not surprised either. *NM* - 04/07/2013 09:19:25 PM 348 Views
How does one American? *NM* - 04/07/2013 09:58:03 PM 374 Views
That seems like a no-brainer. What I find more remarkable... - 04/07/2013 10:15:10 PM 697 Views
I'm not all that surprised by that, either. - 04/07/2013 10:47:41 PM 655 Views
I'm trying to think my way through this, and I keep running into holes. - 04/07/2013 10:48:59 PM 726 Views
I really don't want to get into the sickness known as nationalism (patriotism) - 05/07/2013 07:10:09 PM 880 Views
I'm curious — how would you avoid regionalism? - 05/07/2013 08:15:02 PM 708 Views
P.S. (more thoughts on worldwide government) - 05/07/2013 08:57:01 PM 669 Views
Interesting general thought train, let me hop on board - 07/07/2013 12:52:18 PM 793 Views
Mmm. - 09/07/2013 05:44:04 PM 749 Views
Interplanetary just doesn't leave much interdependence - 09/07/2013 08:14:18 PM 725 Views
Them's some cool beans. - 09/07/2013 09:11:50 PM 657 Views
Re: Them's some cool beans. - 09/07/2013 10:11:50 PM 638 Views
At the risk of putting this post even further into Books board territory... - 10/07/2013 06:33:02 PM 633 Views
I've decided to pretend we're still entirely on the original subject - 11/07/2013 01:13:15 AM 679 Views
There were two questions on that poll. - 05/07/2013 07:53:13 PM 929 Views
That's because being born in America is the best thing they ever did - 05/07/2013 07:04:54 PM 852 Views
Congrats! You win the bitterness award. - 05/07/2013 09:49:00 PM 780 Views
Bitterness? How so? - 08/07/2013 05:26:50 PM 857 Views
Nice post. Your honor, I rest my case! *NM* - 08/07/2013 06:15:47 PM 351 Views
Er. Obviously? - 06/07/2013 02:24:44 PM 747 Views
By what measure, I wonder... - 06/07/2013 04:21:57 PM 715 Views
Being proud of America has zero to do with our government..... - 06/07/2013 04:57:30 PM 626 Views
I don't think this is accurate. - 06/07/2013 10:58:43 PM 740 Views
Re: I don't think this is accurate. - 06/07/2013 11:46:47 PM 716 Views
You'd have to list the study - 07/07/2013 12:10:13 AM 834 Views
Every study. - 07/07/2013 01:14:48 AM 818 Views
Nice non-reply. - 09/07/2013 05:23:25 PM 706 Views
You didn't say anything meriting an in-depth response - 09/07/2013 08:52:13 PM 650 Views
Actually.... - 10/07/2013 03:00:42 AM 618 Views
Pride comes before the fall. *NM* - 12/07/2013 06:33:56 PM 394 Views

Reply to Message