The world and the empire

[Amneiger]

Ah, NaNo time! Time for frantic hour after midnight trying to calculate how much sleep you've lost and how much more you have to gamble with, time for trying to explain to well-meaning friends why you've been cooped up in your room like a hermit vampire who just got pictures of the sun in the mail (which is totally a vampire Mafia threat), time for weekends doing nothing but hoping for a 10k day, pounding your brain into mush and foaming at the mouth! Oh, it's so delicious. 8D

Anyway. I want to race again. Maybe if there's a race 100k in 20 days will once again be possible. Even if I have to split it up between two novels.

Oh, and I know what my (initial) NaNo is going to be. Magic v. science thing that I had an idea for years back, made some background notes (mostly for the science civilization), and then forgot about and remembered a few months ago. The name was Dahlia, because it was a nice sound and I honestly couldn't come up with anything else. (No, the idea had nothing to do with flowers.)

Descriptions of background material pending.

[Shadaras]

xD I'm game for racing you again, foolhardy as it may be.

Magic vs. Science should be funness. If I remember the random bits you spoke of on your journal rightly, it's a neato idea.

[Trilly (18426 words)]

I loved the hermit vampire comment. Forget pencils and quills and stuff, that image should be NaNoWriMo's logo. XD

Magic vs. science is fantastic. It's always awesome seeing them juxtaposed or contrasted. ^_^

[Amneiger]

Shade: Well, my November is likely to be terribly busy, with job interviews and classes. On the other hand, part of the reason for NaNo is that it's impossible to just "wait" for a good time to write, so yeah. xD Race. =D

Trilly: If NaNo writers are hermit vampires, does that mean we should be sparkling? Or does it mean we're being chased by other, more criminal vampires armed with Tommy guns loaded with stakes and toting suntan lamps? =D

[Trilly (18426 words)]

Oct 3, 2010 1:03:21 GMT -5 Amneiger said:

Shade: Well, my November is likely to be terribly busy, with job interviews and classes. On the other hand, part of the reason for NaNo is that it's impossible to just "wait" for a good time to write, so yeah. xD Race. =D

Trilly: If NaNo writers are hermit vampires, does that mean we should be sparkling? Or does it mean we're being chased by other, more criminal vampires armed with Tommy guns loaded with stakes and toting suntan lamps? =D

Hmm... I prefer the second one. XD Bit of a purist in that way, really.

[Amneiger]

October 5 already and this stuff isn't as well developed as I would like, augh. D:

Worked a bit more on worldbuilding. The two societies look too similar to each other. Both are peaceful, both are rather stagnant. I can't quite tell anymore whether I based the world off of the extropist ideas that went into the empire, or if I lifted the empire until it matched the principles that made the world.

I need to emphasize science. The average person in the magic world lives in peaceful communion with the world around them. The average person in the science world likes research and new toys (as in, everyone takes it for granted that research will happen and that it would help them).

Also, both of them don't have much in the way of culture. I can imagine what the science society would do in their spare time, but what about the magic society? What would talking trees and sentient wisps of clouds do with their day? Most of these species don't even eat in a conventional sense, so it's not like having them hunt/gather and/or farm would take up their time.

Oh, and I'm going to need to to research on ecosystems like forests and oceans. The science world I can handwave everything through terraformation, but the magic world I don't think I'll be able to do that for. That's probably not as ironic as it might sound.

[Shadaras]

Poke me on MSN sometime, if you want me to help with brainstorming how the magic-based society works. And I'd probably be able to give some amount of help on how ecosystems work, if you want.

[Rikku]

You don't think your ideas are developed enough? I barely have ideas at all. *whimper*

... But anyway. This sounds plenty interesting. =D I think I remember something about some game that did something vaguely similar, a magical society and a technological one in conflict. There's a lot of interesting things to be done with that, so this should be fun.

[Amneiger]

Aw, thanks. ^_^ I am hoping to have fun.

And about ideas...well, I was about to suggest you could ask around and maybe someone might give you one, but it seems you've cobbled something together while I was writing this reply. xD

[Amneiger]

Okay, 11:00 pm at October 9 and I still don't have a plot summary beyond the beginning. Mind you, it's a beginning that I can milk for rather a bit (especially if I decide to start by going through one or more viewpoint characters' childhoods), but that isn't actually what the (initial) main plot is supposed to be about.

I do, however, have some world notes.

SPOILER: Click to show

Basic physics

First you need to understand that the magic world has this magic field that is in everything in the same way our world is filled with air. Like air, it is vital to life on the planet - that is, sentient life. All of the sentient species on the planet are various natural things, from trees to rocks to clouds, that have been suffused with magic and come alive.

Talk about the species will be after I've gone over basic history first.


History

A long time ago, the magic world was in a reasonably medieval setting; you had cities, villages full of simple farmers, the occasional castle. There were buildings, and farms, and money, and trade, and written language.

Then what had started as a territorial dispute between two nations eventually became much bigger as more and more nations got involved. The turning point in the war was when one particular area was the site of a battle between a large number of mages. No one has much of an idea what they did, but a sizeable portion of the world's surface was somehow...blasted. An area with approximately the same square footage as the state of Virginia was turned into this completely flat black area, almost bizarrely level (relevant phrase: nuke and pave.) That's not the important part. The important part was that the magic field was no longer present in the blasted area. Magical skills and artifacts would fail, and anyone who went there would become sickly and weak until they left. It felt unnatural, like the air in your lungs had suddenly become almost too thin to breathe, and there was a chill like invisible fog not wanting to let you go, and a feeling like realizing that everything around you had eyes. Every attempt to remove it failed; the Blight (as it was called) had become a permanant scar across the face of the world.

That was when the war became a revolution. A small group of people from each of the species decided that the creation of the Blight was a sign that everything had gone wrong. The war was the result of the greed and money and the desire for power, and all of those needed to go away. What the everyone should have done, instead of building up artificial societal structures that would lead to politics and conflict and war, was to return to their roots, to the natural world that had made them.

The things the revolutionaries were saying caught on. There was no armed resistance, no battles fought; people just started walking out of the cities and going back to the places their species had come from. After a few months, the last of the nations had collapsed, because there was nobody left in them.

(Incidentally, making the blight the size of Virginia was basically a spur of the moment thing I thought of right now, because that seems to be a convenient size. And I think that might be possible to see from space, which will become important later.)



Nowadays, people are still living with the effects of the War of the Blight. The extensive use of magical weaponry left aftershocks and echoes that are still present in the world's magic field. This manifests in two ways. The first is that over time, natural areas start to "decay" - that is, start to become a flat black lifeless area like the Blight. Unlike the Blight, this decay can be detected and fixed by anyone who comes from that kind of area. Even if the area does turn black, the magic field is still present, so magic can be used to repair it.

The second is that sometimes "pockets" of oddness pop up. The pockets generally don't last very long, but going into one is not recommended. Usually the best thing to do if you find one is to leave immediately and don't come back for a few months. Sometimes, things come out of the pockets. These generally have the same feeling of unnaturalness as the origina Blight does, and are quickly ferreted out and eliminated before they can do...whatever it is that they're going to do.


General notes on their societies now

It's pretty much all a tribal society. The species live in groups that spend part of their day making sure that nothing bad has happened to the land they live in, do whatever maintenance they need to, and then do whatever they want for the rest of it.

The closest thing they have to a religion would probably be the original leaders of the revolution. The tenets that they spread are followed, and every once in a while someone tries praying to them.

I'm imagining that since they no longer have a written language they'd have come up with an oral or song/poem based tradition instead for recording history and information. So that means I have to come up with songs and poems now. That'd probably slow me down a lot.


Wandering mages

Even after the end of the medieval civilization, there are still people who want to study magic - not just their species's magic, but magic in general. A person will naturally grow more adept at their species's magic as they grow older, but someone who works hard enough at studying magic in general can learn other species's magic and how to do things that don't fall under ordinary species magic (such as lie detection).

Mages usually have to do their studies by themselves, because the prohibition on the medieval civilization also means no mages's academies. Eventually, all mages will leave their homes to travel across the world to see other species's magic and


There are a number of species in the magic world, some that I like and some that I don't like.

Species that I'm keeping

Dryads - humanoid trees. The dryads come from the forests. Dryad magic involves communicating with trees and asking them to do things. Dryads are born from saplings that, as they grow, eventually form a kind of humanoid shape. A dryad tribe would notice which saplings in their forests were turning into dryads, and then carefully move them to a nursery where they can get lot of sun and air. Dryads are minor tool users - they can coax a tree into growing a bowl that they can water other plants with, for example. One of the things dryads to do to pass the time is "weaving:" you try to get the branches of the trees to grow together into particular patterns.

Sorrels - the clouds. Sorrels are balls of softly glowing clouds. They usually hover a few feet (maybe about 1.66 meters) off the ground when talking to the other species, and trail little cloud wisps as they move. The sorrels spend their time either up in the sky chittering to each other about what they see below or playing practical jokes on the little non-flying people. Sorrels are born when little puffs of cloud start to coalesce. The grown sorrels drag the not-yet-born sorrels around with them until the sorrel gains sentience, which takes about two months. Sorrel magic is based off of cloud manipulation. One example of this is a sorrel gathering other clouds around them and then shaping it into whatever the sorrel wants.

Leviathans - whales. Yes, talking whales. Sperm whales, to be exact. (I'll have to research those.) Leviathans can control ocean water (not fresh water). Sometimes leviathans will offer rides to other species who need a way to cross an ocean.

Golems - humanoid rock creatures. Golems live in rocky areas such as mountains. New golems are born in a process similar to the sorrels, in that a bit of their element becomes infused with magic. A golem tribe might find that some rocks are exhibiting unusual behavior, such as floating a few inches off the ground. These rocks are herded into a nursery area, where they are provded with a large pile of rock. Over about a year, the floating rocks assimilate more and more of the rock they are being "fed" until they become golems. Golems can control rocks, and sometimes use it to pass the time. However, a great many golems don't seem to do much more with their spare time than stare off into the distance. Golems usually just ignore visitors, and they give off enough of a feeling of not wanting to be bothered that visitors will leave them alone.

Shadowfolk - humanoid figures made of shadows. A shadowfolk is a pure black humanoid figure whose only distinguishing features are their eyes. The shadowfolk are mute; while they can hear others speaking, their only way of communicating back is either sign language or drawing pictures using a naturally occuring shadow and their shadow magic. They all have an atmosphere of melancholy about them, and their eyes always appear to be sad. The shadowfolk live in the desert, where they form caravans. The shadowfolk trade with the surrounding areas for materials (usually by bartering favors) until they have enough to build a cart or wagon, and then travel in groups around the desert with the cart. They live a nomadic lifestyle, circulating among known oases. Shadowfolk are not born like the other species. New shadowfolk are found wandering the desert. These new shadowfolk have no memory of anything except for waking up in the middle of the desert.

The golems and shadowfolk were not naturally created like the other species, but were the products of experimentation during the age of the medieval civilization. They were not exterminated during the revolution because (1.) golems and shadowfolk were part of the original group of revolutionaries, and (2.) they do a good job of keeping their respective lands from decaying.

Species I don't think fit very well and will get the boot as soon as I figure out what to replace them with

Lupda - sentient wolves. The Lupda form packs that live in the plains and grasslands. Their magic is telepathy, which they use to maintain their pack structure and solidarity. I'd like to ditch these because they feel terribly unoriginal, but I want something to go in plains areas.

...Maybe I can bring in the winged velociraptors that Zylaa mentioned in the dare thread. But where would I put them?



Also, I need a name for the medieval civilization, because writing all this out has shown me how important it is. Will have to see if a random name generator gives me something good.

[Amneiger]

October 16 gah time is going too fast D:

Anyway. Should post something here. Let's talk a bit about the science world.

SPOILER: Click to show

Technologies
Two of the defining technologies of the science world (henceforth known as the empire) is implant technology and MindNet.

The inhabitants of the science world are all humans. From birth until age 18, they are raised normally. However, at around their 18th birthday, they are given the basic mechanical and electronic structure needed for implants. The idea is that every citizen should have the ability to do...whatever it is they want or need to do. The basic implant suite is a memory bank, certain basic computer functions (such as a word processor, a calculator, and an appointment tracker), and most importantly, a MindNet link.

MindNet technology allows for instant communication of any information that can be passed to it from another MindNet or similar computing system. WorldNet is the term for the ongoing network of MindNet links that connect the empire together. WorldNet is the empire's version of the Internet. So basically everyone is online all the time now, except for when they turn the link off.

The vast majority of anything that happens ever takes place over WorldNet. It's easier to talk to people, transact business, and get entertainment through it, just like how people use the Internet for the same things today.

Children are still born into ye olde nuclear family, but it is possible to have the child examined in the womb and have any defects (such as obvious hormone imbalances and improperly developing limbs) corrected. (Customization is not allowed, so as to ensure a diverse genetic stock and to avoid competition that may disrupt the functioning of society.)

There were severe environmental problems two centuries ago, but those have been cleaned up for the last century; the skies are blue and there are plants and wildlife again. In the process, the empire learned a lot about ecosystems, green technologies, and terraforming.

All food is now vat grown, because (a.) It's quick, cheap, and clean, (b.) You can get it in any form you want, with whatever nutrients you want, and (c.) no one feels like farming anymore. (They learned what farming was in school, and you can get manuals online, but no one actually does it now.)

Notably, there is no space travel technology more powerful than current space travel technology. And there is no faster-than-light technology.


Social
School is compulsory. There's quite a bit of scientific, historical, etc. knowledge that's pumped into the kids' brains during that time (and most of it is fleshed out with info from electronically downloaded libraries anyway), but the schools are also designed to create a sense of civic duty. They are part of a society, and they may be called upon to do something for the sake of this society.

Most of them are not called upon. They spend their lives playing video games or writing books or designing family vacation albums as normal citizens. However, the government has always had an interest in scientific research; those who demonstrate scientific or technological talent or aptitude in school or later are contacted and asked/ordered to come work in government labs. Those contacted don't mind because the labs are well equipped and there are few restrictions on what you can work on; you can create new programming languages, construct state of the art image capture devices, or work on stone and wood contraptions that were outdated a thousand years ago.

The empire does not have a military; the military was disbanded around two centuries ago, because the planet the empire was on had been united under the Emperor.



The Emperor
At the head of Imperial society is the Emperor.

I'm sorry, that wasn't clear. There is THE EMPEROR.

Hmm, not enough emphasis.

THE EMPEROR.

...I don't think I can get the font size bigger than that. Oh well, it'll have to do.

The citizens of the empire hold their Emperor in a combined state of admiration, awe, and veneration. This is because he is the Emperor. He is the leader. He is the arbitrator, the guardian, the compilation of all that is known. The Emperor stands like a skyscraper, a beacon of a lighthouse, a great pillar upon which his cities rest.

The Emperor does not often issue proclamations from his throne in the Imperial palace. But when he does, the empire holds its breath, and listens.

He is the Emperor, and he is the keystone of their world.


A last note: You will notice that the word "empire" has not been capitalized. This is a reflection on their way of thinking. What need is there to use it as a proper noun when there is nothing to compare it to?

[Amneiger]

This is the synopsis I just posted on the NaNo website:

Magic versus science, assuming that anybody actually starts shooting at each other instead of staring at each other going, "Whaaaaaaaaaa?"

...Yes, I know, that doesn't seem to lend itself well to conflict. xD I do have a few ideas for antagonists lined up (the Wyrm continues to seek expression), but I think they'd show up kind of late. >> It'd probably be mostly point-of-view character vs. environment-with-another-point-of-view-character-doing-their-best-to-keep-up kind of thing. (The workings of the system can prove to be just as antagonistic as directed, malicious interference by sentient actors. See also, the Cthulhu Mythos and its premises. Also I read Neuromancer when I was small.)

...But once I get past the environment, then I'll consider bringing in actual sentients to cause problems.

Oh, and I changed the title of this thread to reflect the new title I'll probably be using. It might change a bit more between now and November.

Speaking of which, it's October 17 already.

Anyway, something else that just occured to me. Original character v. environment plot will probably occupy around 50,000 words if I stretch it. After that I'll need to either switch to another story (maybe start working on the Thieves novel again) or bring in real villains. And real villains will probably not work unless I happen to also make it Personal Issue Time. Which might clash with the general tone of everything.

[Rikku]

... It's the eighteenth here! =D I beat you! at having rapidly approaching deadlines-of-scariness.

I like the prominence of THE EMPEROR!!!, it was entertaining. xD And I dunno, you could wring some conflict out of this fairly easy, regardless of clear-cut villains. And even if you couldn't, not every story has to be about conflict. Writing workshops lie to you.

[Amneiger]

The deadlines are coming to eat us all! D:

=D I like that you thought THE EMPEROR^{1 2} was interesting. I'm planning on having him show up at least once, and I'm hoping that at the very least it'd be memorable and that his citizens think he's awesome.

Neuromancer's plot relied on its characters (most of whom aren't morally upright, but aren't villains either) just trying to do their jobs, which was how they wind up trying to shoot and stab and hack each other. xD Also, I am glad that the workshops are lying to me. =D Even though the workshops I've been to tend to emphasis tone and technique, and it's books about how to write novels that talk to me about conflict.

...Anyway. There is one last important part of your post, and it was written by you. =D *is glad to see you posting*


¹Hey, I got it bigger!

²Who isn't actually the Warhammer 40k Emperor, even if his citizens practically bow down to him in the same way.

[Amneiger]

It occurs to me that I should write something here. >>


Well, first of all I'm having trouble finding my thread in this board; not enough capital letters to make it visually jump out.

Slightly worried about Imperial names. They're mostly numbers, which might confuse people who are trying to tell different Imperials apart. For World names I was thinking I could just mill random name generators. Maybe review Pascal, extract the random name generator from Gearhead. I like that name generator. It uses some kind of Mad Libs thing to smush together random syllables, and the results can be surprisingly good.

SPOILER: Click to show

Aiseo Choub
Kangson
Rusky
Tenu Techa
Vicher Oniyre

Also, there was something about McDonald's. Two weeks ago, I went and ate at McDonald's for lunch. Got a smoothie, which had two of those Monopoly place pieces things on it. (I think I remember a similar promotion from when I was a lot younger.)

Anyway, one of the pieces was for a free McDonald's breakfast.

Now, I take the bus every day to get the internship I'm at. Due to the way the schedule works, I have to take a bus that usually gets there at least half an hour early. Usually the bus leaves at good times for breakfast or lunch, and to save money I just make breakfast or lunch myself and spend the extra time reading at the bus stop. Making breakfast or lunch at home takes time, time which I might spend doing other things (like writing) if not for economic reasons.

But if I got enough of these food prizes from McDonald's, I wouldn't have to pay for certain meals. Since I didn't have to pay for them anymore, I could use the time I usually spend reading eating. Since I ate after leaving home, I could spend time at home actually writing. (Well, I could also write at the bus stop, but then it'd have to be transferred back to the computer from my notebook, which might take precious time.)

So. So far I've eaten four more times at McDonald's (for five times total) and gotten 2 meal coupons (including the first one I won). This is unfortunate, because I had to buy food in larger sizes than I usually buy in order to get Monopoly tickets. So that experiment's abandoned now.


Anyway. A few character profiles, which suck compared to everyone else's. Bah.

...Actually, it's late at night and the "character profiles" I have look so embarassingly incomplete that I'm too ashamed to post them. >> I need to work harder on this.