Science Help Needed For Fiction

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Science Help Needed For Fiction

Postby Tanith » Fri Jul 09, 2010 1:18 am

This is about to be quite possibly the weirdest request I've posted online, but I thought I'd reach out to you all, as I'm sure there are some sci-fi lovers out there.

Dilemma: I'm writing some original fiction and I need to "invent" devices that change weather and climate patterns planet-wide. Now, this isn't Earth, so I don't need the device to be compatible with our planet. This planet, however, has a similar makeup to Earth. Humanoids exist on it.

This is also soft sci-fi, so I don't need extreme scientific accuracy with these devices.

What I'm looking for:

These devices will bore into the ground and continue through the many layers until hitting the core. My unofficial name for these devices is "Weather Rods," so they'll be rod-like in their design. They're operated by a race of superhumans (hence the soft sci-fi), so they work without hard technology (basically, they operate on magic, I guess). The rods shift the weather/climate so that the "superhuman" part of the planet is green and fertile, and the race they are controlling is stuck in a wasteland.

I also want these devices to be gravely endangering the planet to the point where there are major lava floes on the surface that divide the planet into sections and make travel over the lava nigh impossible. The rods are also making the planet structurally unstable, obviously huge problems with plate tectonics exist.

Sorry for the long and weird post, but if anyone has any ideas of how to explain the devices and the damage that they're doing, I would greatly appreciate it. You can PM me if you want, too.
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Postby Zucca » Fri Jul 09, 2010 11:12 am

Well. If those devices affect the flow of the molten core of this planet they surely affect he magnetic field of the planet. This means that ozone layers and its holes move with to the magnetic field.
Now if they have moved all the ozone to their side there should be more fertile ground, and the areas without ozone sun (or whatever star) burns the ground to wasteland/desert because almost all the radiation generated by the star is getting trough the athmosphere.

These rods must be shielded against huge amounts of heat and strong magnetic fields.

But there are also some negative effects: most of the birds have inner compass which they use to navigate... Think rest by yourself.
Last edited by Zucca on Sat Jul 10, 2010 8:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Postby Tanith » Fri Jul 09, 2010 8:57 pm

Thanks for your help, Zucca. I had thought about the implications to the wildlife. Hadn't thought as far ahead as migration patterns yet, though. The negative effects are the reason for my story. The superhumans are trying to control the "average" races by keeping them in sections of less desirable areas. See, normal people were developing technological advances, which threatened the superhumans' dominance and superiority. So, as a last ditch effort, they herd the normal humans into the wasteland where there's only the minimum amount of resources to survive and they can't produce any technology.

The rods will be made out of some super material and then strengthened by these superhumans (more soft sci-fi) so that they can withstand years of being shoved all the way through the planet to the core.
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Postby Semix » Sat Jul 10, 2010 9:47 am

This sounds epic!
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Postby Tanith » Sat Jul 10, 2010 6:18 pm

Semix wrote:This sounds epic!

That's certainly encouraging; thanks! I hope I can pull this story off...
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Postby Tanith » Thu Sep 30, 2010 2:41 am

Hey, I almost forgot about this thread. I actually started my story. I've been stuck with just the prologue for a while now, but recently I've been getting help from a friend regarding the "science" portion of my story. I have two more chapters on the way. Here's the link to the prologue, if anyone's interested:

http://fav.me/d2xvtkq

Here's my journal entry that sort of explains a bit where I'm going with my story:

http://vicious-pink.deviantart.com/journal/

I also have this posted at fictionpress and can provide a link, if anyone would rather read it there.
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Postby Wing-0 » Thu Sep 30, 2010 2:52 am

About the rods being made of a very hard material, I suggest carbon nanotubes (read a bit over the net about them. Nice read). They are very, very strong.
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Postby Tanith » Thu Sep 30, 2010 2:57 am

Oh thanks! And here I was just going to write off the rods as "those magical guys made them, so I don't have to explain what they're made out of. Tra-la-la." Rational explanations are always better, though.

Oh, and I've decided that they affect climate change through albedo manipulation.
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Postby Tanith » Tue Oct 12, 2010 1:44 am

Yay! I'm up to chapter three now! I removed my story from fictionpress because that site stinks. I have it in a Google Doc now if anyone's interested in reading it. Let me know and I'll add you as a viewer. Quick run-down of the chapters:

Prologue - Set 22 years before the start of the story, a plantation owner experiences an explosion near his property. He finds a woman and an infant near the explosion site. The woman dies, and the man takes the infant back to his home, unsure of what to do.

Chapter 1 - Intro to the main character, Thalia Ravel. She's wandering the wastelands alone after the death of her father. She meets up with others like herself, as well as an old neighbor and his two teenage children.

Chapter 2 - Intro to main character #2, Sotiris Disano, a systematic military man who's up for reassignment and is hit with some bad news.

Chapter 3 (in progress) - Intro to one of Thalia's supernatural powers: the ability to experience people's deaths (not the pain, just the ability to know and locate someone who has died). Also, her latest death experience gives some clues as to why the government has suddenly taken an interest into pushing her caravan further into the wastelands.
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Postby Wing-0 » Wed Oct 13, 2010 12:50 am

Can you send the link to me please?

BTW: I'm really busy, so I haven't scanned anything.
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Postby Tanith » Wed Oct 13, 2010 2:26 am

No worries. Like I've mentioned before, I'm not in any hurry. :)

I should mention that what I've written of my story so far is mostly character building, but this third chapter will contain more plot.

Oh, and I forgot that if you want to see the story, you need to send me an email address. I forgot how that works on Google Docs. Sorry!
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Postby Edge » Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:03 pm

da.illest.edge.around@hotmail.com

Gimmie story!!

If you still need help, let me know. I'm a science geek.
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Postby Tanith » Thu Oct 28, 2010 2:55 am

I'll be sure to add you, and thanks for the offer to help. I might need it here soon, as the story is now moving away from initial character development. I made the story temporarily viewable to anyone with the link, but I'm about to change it back to private-unless-invited.

I'm also finished through chapter six! Wow! I'm really amazed that I'm actually doing this! FYI, chapter six gets into some action for a change. Finally getting past character development. Yay for that!

And... in the coming chapters I'll also FINALLY get into the "science" of what's happening to the planet, and what my protagonists plan on doing to "fix" the problems. I'm really excited!
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Postby Edge » Thu Oct 28, 2010 3:01 am

Damn, sounds good, and you seem really motivated. I look forward to this.
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Postby Tanith » Fri Oct 29, 2010 1:55 am

Thanks! Yes, I'm pretty motivated to write this. I've had the story idea for over a decade, just sort of swimming around in my head. It's wonderful to finally do more with it than just use it as daydreaming material!
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