Questions tagged [science-fiction]
For questions relating to worlds with a setting of common science-fiction.
983 questions
1
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2answers
33 views
What would be the impact on Titan, Saturn and the Solar system if aliens harvested as much hydrocarbons as possible from Saturn's moon?
The scenario
Many science fiction novels are concerned with aliens visiting Earth, but what if aliens have no interest in Earth at all and yet they arrive at the Solar system for the sole purpose of ...
0
votes
4answers
130 views
Energy beam pierces 200m thick steel wall. What happens next?
With a powered-by-phlebotinum (ergo very handy, very powerful) rifle, I am able to shoot high-energy beams which, in turn, can pulverize anything in their path in a considerable radius. The beams can ...
2
votes
9answers
186 views
How to explain the presence of a dense debris field around Earth?
I'm creating a sci-fi world similar to ours roughly 50 years in the future. Unobtanium, a futuristic metal and fuel source, was discovered in 2020. Its broad utility led to rapid advances across all ...
-2
votes
3answers
64 views
Derogatory Terms for Martian/Ceresian/Deimosian/etc [on hold]
What are some ideas, preferably based in clever word usage, puns, or some such, for derogatory terms or slurs (of varying intensity) for the inhabits of Mars/Ceres/Deimos/Venus/Jovian moons/other ...
25
votes
8answers
5k views
Do antenna farms on spacecraft make any sense or are they purely aesthetic?
Antenna farm as seen on the USS Sulaco from Aliens (1986)
We often see menacing sharp communication spikes and clusters on spacecraft in movies, shows, games, and etc. It makes the ship look more ...
5
votes
3answers
176 views
+50
Can my synthetic human grow?
I'm an advanced AI in far futuristic sci-fi setting.
To give you the size of how advanced we are, I'll just drop here a short list of our accomplishments:
We have discovered cold fission-reactors ...
-1
votes
0answers
60 views
Bacteria microbiota and alteration to human biology [on hold]
So I am sure you know, microscopic life is all around, there's some in us even now, doing things to aid our body, there's more of them than there are human cells. However, I am not as informed as I ...
3
votes
8answers
243 views
Calendar dates on different planets
I have about five main planets in my fictional universe and like any planet, their days, months, and years are all different. Are there any problems that could mess the narrative up, since my ...
7
votes
2answers
140 views
Would it be possible to live on a yeast variant?
Would it be possible for a human to survive on a diet of modified yeast as seen in many fictional stories? Not necessarily be able to get perfect nutrition from, or live healthily on, but simply live ...
6
votes
4answers
128 views
Effect of nuclear fallout on glacial ice
I'm working on building a post nuclear war society in a nuclear winter where northern countries have risen to dominance through a combination of being non-primary targets in the nuclear war and having ...
0
votes
4answers
356 views
Could humans go from earth to an exoplanet 5 times the size of jupiter
If humans were to travel from earth to another planet that was an exoplanet 5 times the mass of Jupiter ("Rocky earth like planet"), would they be able to survive?
Background:
The planet I was ...
2
votes
7answers
2k views
Could a single person while amongst many slip into a parallel universe?
I’m trying to build a world for a short story where the protagonist increasingly finds truths in Fortean-type phenomena. He witnesses proof of mythical creatures, for example. He begins investigating ...
0
votes
5answers
102 views
How would Asiimov's “Three Laws of Robotics” be enforced effectively for robots built by private companies? [closed]
For a storytelling project, I'm trying to imagine a world in which fairly advanced, bipedal robots are being developed and produced by private companies.
As these robots would be capable of easily ...
0
votes
1answer
72 views
How would one make a lion mount for a fantasy world? [duplicate]
In my fantasy world, magic, aliens and super technology all exist and so I figured it would be cool to add a type of lion or bears that are rideable.
My questions are
How big should they be? (...
4
votes
1answer
143 views
Ideas to nullify the gravity of a Neutron Star?
Hello everyone!
I've been sitting here for the past hour extensively rewriting a setting because I ran into an issue with mapping. I had a setting built off the good 'ol concept of a dyson sphere ...
5
votes
7answers
2k views
Travelling the multiverse by accident? [closed]
As you've probably guessed, I have no idea how multiverses and parallel universes, or space-time travel, etc work. I don't know how Physics or Mathematics explains alternate universes. But, they are ...
0
votes
1answer
108 views
Metamorphosis Lycanthropy Part 2
If you notice the part two, yeah I had one before this. Please read it before reading this one: Metamorphosis Lycanthropy
Edit: just figured out it was closed. Sigh . . .
Edit 6
You have been ...
3
votes
2answers
168 views
Metamorphosis Lycanthropy [closed]
Edit 1.5
You are a biologist and have perfected a Werewolf Serum 6, a special virus that interacts with the brain and will make a human turn into a werewolf-like animal. The serum is created with ...
2
votes
3answers
85 views
Shrinking people and objects - what physics could accomplish this?
Popular science fiction is full of examples of people and objects being shrunk down to the size of insects or smaller.
Let us assume that everything is shrunk. Thus an animal would still contain the ...
56
votes
19answers
10k views
How do I make a space battle both realistic, with physics in play such as no sound and weird motion, but also very epic and intense still?
I always wondered what it would look like for a Sci-Fi battle in space to occur if it were a bit more realistic. I don't plan to use any space fighters or anything like that, just big capital ships ...
26
votes
14answers
8k views
How do you non-catastrophically reduce the mass of the Sun by half?
In my previous question, I asked how much mass the Sun would have to lose in order for Saturn's orbital velocity to be its escape velocity.
The answer proved to be somewhat unexpected - when the Sun ...
2
votes
4answers
242 views
Possible Villain motive for gaining omnipotence? [closed]
I've reached a dilemma regarding the motive of a villain I have recently created. I wanted to reach out to see if I can get any insight online to help me formulate ideas about it. Keep in mind that ...
12
votes
11answers
5k views
How can Ganymede have an Earth-like gravity without us having realized it?
Imagine a small primitive humanoid civilization that developed independently in caves under the surface of Ganymede. We can assume there's enough light that filters through the crystalline surface to ...
4
votes
3answers
230 views
The time it takes to advance a medieval period country to a spacefaring intergalactic country
The main character died, and they are transported into another world. Before they are sent by the deity to the other world, he is given overpowered skills. The main character is also given a game-like ...
1
vote
1answer
115 views
Might it be possible to work while sleeping without significant long term health complications?
One aspect of the world I'm conceptualizing is that some employees might opt to work while in a medically induced coma, or work at night while they sleep by using brain implants that induce a type of ...
0
votes
3answers
203 views
How to keep track of everything with an infinite-dimensional telepathic ability? [closed]
The ability to telepathically communicate with and control any of your infinite other-dimensional selves is rare, but exists!
Rules for how this works:
Although dimensions and possibilities are ...
1
vote
1answer
70 views
How can changing environments make my super-villain super-powered while causing chronic (extreme) pain? [closed]
I have a super-villain who is from another environment( e.g. aquatic, extra-terrestrial, extra-dimensional ( Bonus points for the least extreme from populous land-locked earth )) They are not a ...
9
votes
4answers
223 views
How would a life form conform their anatomy to fit whatever they wear?
In the sci-fi setting that I've had on the backburner for a while now, there is a species known as the Azmarans. They are a very socially adept species, between them having a rather communicative ...
0
votes
1answer
80 views
Capture a city of wild spirits by humans without an arms battle? They can be attracted to a vessel they will attach/feel drawn to and stop resisting [closed]
I need to attack a city under the control of evil spirits to take back control. Since the enemy are spirits, physical or arms warfare will not help. Since spirits are shown to exist, magic is ...
4
votes
3answers
296 views
What’s the ideal size for a human factory?
Context:
The world has been in a world war lasting centuries. Casualty rates are through the roof and can’t be lowered. The warring countries' solution was to make human factories by incubating ...
3
votes
1answer
80 views
Terraformed planet orbiting a blue star
A planet was terraformed in humanity's distant past by technologically superior beings. The planet is very similar to Earth. I understand blue stars are highly radioactive and thus don't have real ...
19
votes
16answers
6k views
Is it dangerous for a ship's crew to get stranded in a nebula?
Some Context
I'm creating a universe where humanity has reached the stars. They've colonized a few star systems and, obviously, FTL drives are a common thing.
The part of the story I'm currently ...
6
votes
4answers
246 views
How do I retain national independence while also having a one world government?
So I am in a sci-fi world where I am trying to figure out a system of super-national and multi-national organizations that would retain the independence of nations while also defining how colonization,...
1
vote
5answers
206 views
Sending a large object at a small portal
Imagine a portal. This portal is two-dimensional and circular, with a diameter of one meter. It is completely above the ground. It leads from Planet A to a planet across the galaxy (Planet B) . An ...
-1
votes
3answers
148 views
Pirates, IN THE SKY? [duplicate]
Alright so the basics here are pretty simple. I want to have pirates, but in the sky, pretty much what you expected from the title there. BUT, and it is a big one, there is this little problem I keep ...
26
votes
30answers
6k views
If antimatter were common starship fuel, what could prevent it from being commonly weaponized?
My scenario involves a high sci-fi setting, where starships are readily available to civilians with sufficient qualifications and money. Most civilians would not be fueling ships with antimatter ...
4
votes
6answers
217 views
Self-sustaining Mars colonization
Background
A 100 years in the future Mars has been colonized, new settlers and resources arrive from earth every 26 months (when the planetary orbit lines up best) by first taking the space elevator ...
3
votes
5answers
276 views
Disease that targets only teenagers
Would it be possible to have a disease that only affected people in a certain age group, more specifically, teenagers? And what would the virus be targeting?
9
votes
3answers
3k views
How can I locate myself in a random point of space?
Some Context
I'm creating a universe where humanity has reached the stars. They've colonized a few star systems and, obviously, FTL drives are a common thing. They basically jump you to another ...
4
votes
6answers
208 views
Non-nautical term for space marines [closed]
Many science fiction stories describe soldiers who perform spaceship boarding/defense or planetary invasions as "space marines." This is by analogy to modern marines who historically specialize in ...
2
votes
4answers
155 views
Biological bonding mechanism
I've been toying with the idea of a society with alternative forms of families or social structures. In one individuals of coming of age (socially imposed) or due to a biological necessity (...
0
votes
3answers
63 views
How to interface with beings in the galactic core?
Context:
So assume there are an unknown number of near-omnipotent/omniscient beings who have been confirmed to live inside of an area of space called the Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN). To provide a ...
2
votes
4answers
219 views
Localized manipulation of the speed of light
I've recently read Alastair Reynolds' sci-fi best seller, Redemption Ark, where he explored the concept of manipulating an inertial frame overlaid on the quantum vacuum like many of the other ...
2
votes
3answers
52 views
Resonant Frequncy Interference Pattern
Imagine an area in which there are multiple high-power sound wave emitters (speakers, transducers, etc.) that are placed and tuned to destructively and constructively interfere with each other such ...
2
votes
0answers
99 views
How Would a Base Pi or Base Phi Number System Impact a Culture? [closed]
We use base 10 because that is the number of fingers we possess. However it's not hard at all to imagine a culture encountering infinite numbers like pi or phi, deciding those were special, and ...
16
votes
7answers
4k views
Why is Cryo-sleep considered harder sci-fi than FTL? [closed]
I’ve noticed that in some topics people mention something in the line of: “Oh, my universe is purely hard sci-fi, there’s no FTL, people use cryo-sleep to travel long distances between the stars”.
...
4
votes
15answers
2k views
Why would time travel affect the body in any major way, especially damaging? [closed]
Obviously, I'm talking about sci-fi time-travel and not just being as time moves by, slowly but surely. Is there a reason one would actually bleed from any orifice? For any pain to occur? Dizziness? ...
10
votes
1answer
155 views
Can Lenz's Law Allow a Simple Block of Metal to Divert a Charged Electron Beam?
I was curious about an odd effect I first saw in video here:
YouTube : Copper's Surprising Reaction to Strong Magnets
In the video, a big heavy magnet is brought to an abrupt halt by a simple piece ...
-2
votes
1answer
51 views
Planet Size Disaster [closed]
What kind of disaster could be large enough to wipe out an entire planets life and leave it like a complete wasteland, similar environment to what Mars is?
Nuclear warfare or meteors are what I have ...
2
votes
2answers
99 views
What kind of climate would a planet with a 49-day orbit have?
I'm using Kapteyn-b for a story, which orbits its red dwarf star every 49 days. It's almost 5 times larger than Earth, though I've made a couple changes to the observed data to make it more plausible. ...
