Eighth Day Genesis; A Worldbuilding Codex - Klein, Sabrina (Ed) (2012)

8/9/2019 Eighth Day Genesis; A Worldbuilding Codex - Klein, Sabrina (Ed) (2012)

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EIGHTH DAY GENESISA Worldbuilding Codex

for Writers and Creatives

Edited bySabrina Klein

Alliteration Ink | Dayton


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Building Worlds in a Hostile Universe © 2012 © 2012 by Patrick Tomlinson

The Descartian Dilemma © 2012 by aron !osenberg

"ause Ways © 2012 by Donald #$ Bingle

The World as a "haracter © 2012 by Paul %enesse%eogra&hy and the 'volution o( )our World © 2012 by "hant* +c"oy

"reatures © 2012 by !amsey ,undock

Domesticated nimals © 2012 by !amsey ,undock

"ra(ting Urban ,andsca&es © 2012 by #anine -$ .&endlove

The !eligious /rder © 2012 by +aurice Broaddus

World Building +agic .ystems © 2012 by -errie Hughes

Putting Words in )our "haracters +outh © 2012 by !osemary ,aurey

The Work o( /ur Hands © 2012 by -athy Watness.ha&ing .ocieties Technology and ts '3ects © 2012 by ' )ounker

History 4or .torys .ake © 2012 by +atthe5 Wayne .el6nick

lternate History © 2012 by .ue Penkivech

Develo&ing a ,ayered7 "redible7 and "om&elling %overnment © 2012 by ,ucy "urtis

The '3ects o( 4orming a %overnment © 2012 by %raham .torrs

Building Believable ,egal .ystems in .cience 4iction and 4antasy © 2012 by ddie #$ -ing

The rt o( !estraint © 2012 by Bryan )oung

.ense o( .tyle © 2012 by Tim Waggoner+aking a "onsistent World © 2012 by -elly .5ails

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"over Design by shley "ummins

ll rights reserved$

ll trademarks and registered trademarks are the &ro&erty

o( their res&ective o5ners$

Published by lliteration nk

P/ Bo8 209:;7 Dayton7 /H


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able of Contents

'ditors 4ore5ord$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$1

.abrina -lein

Building Worlds in a Hostile Universe$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$?

Patrick .$ Tomlinson

The Descartian Dilemma7 or Hey7 Whered

'verybody %o$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$21

aron !osenberg

"ause Ways$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$?9

Donald #$ Bingle

The World as a "haracter$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$9?

Paul %enesse

%eogra&hy and the 'volution o( )our World

,ogical 4lora et$ [email protected]

"hant* +c"oy

"reatures$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$::

!amsey ,undock

Domesticated nimals$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$119

!amsey ,undock

"ra(ting Urban ,andsca&[email protected]


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AUTHOR NAME

#anine -$ .&endlove

The !eligious /rder$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$1??

+aurice Broaddus

World Building +agic .ystems$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$1


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BOOK TITLE

The '3ects o( 4orming a %overnment$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$2??

%raham .torrs

Building Believable ,egal .ystems in .cience

4iction and 4antasy$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$291

ddie #$ -ing

The rt o( !estraint$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$2A:

Bryan )oung

.ense o( .tyle$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$2;1

Tim Waggoner

+aking a "onsistent World$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$2:?

-elly .5ails

Publishers =ote$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$?02

.teven .aus

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Editor’s Foreword

Sabrina Klein

ThereFs a moment 5hen you can close your eyes and see a

5orld o( your o5n making$

t might start (rom a grain o( sand7 the 5ay light Glters through

the trees7 the (eel o( satin robes7 the smell o( cooking sou&7 or

sim&ly a 5ish (or some5here7 some5hen else$ t ha&&ens (or

di3erent reasons (or di3erent &eo&le$ .omething7 anything can

&ull your mind (rom the boundaries o( our mundane 5orld and

set it to creating some5here else $

remember 5hen it ha&&ened to me$ 5as staring at the

blackboard one cold a(ternoon during second grade$ had seen

The Dark "rystal 1:;2I7 Dragonslayer 1:;1I7 and ,egend

1:;9I7 Jum&starting my love o( (antasy$ "reatures and

landsca&es (ar more interesting than anything my teacher 5as

talking about Glled my head$ nd then a 5orld s&rung into being

inside my head$

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Foreword

/r at least7 the rough sketch o( a 5orld$

added to it at least daily$ detail here7 a (eature there$ The

landsca&e7 the 5eather7 the &eo&le all Glled in$ didnFt Just use

my imagination7 though$ 4or years7 s&ent my s&are time reading

non>Gction7 Just so that could make my 5orld accurate

and believable $

still research7 and thatFs &art o( ho5 this book started$ gre5

(rustrated by the resources available$ Worldbuilding books 5ereGlled 5ith (acts that had no re(erences7 or had no guidance on

ho5 to 5rite (rom the 5orldbuilding resources7 or they 5ere Just

Glled 5ith someone elseFs ideas$ =one o( them had re(erences and

techniKue o( ho5 to build a (antasy or science Gction 5orld$

t the 2011 %en"on Writers .ym&osium a&&roached .teven

5ith the idea o( 'ighth Day %enesis $ resource 5here 5e could

make the manual al5ays 5anted$

'ighth Day %enesis is meant to hel& 5riters 5ith their 5orlds$

The de&th o( your 5orld is im&ortantLeven essential$ Worlds

should be able to be touched7 smelled7 seen7 and heard$ 'ach o(

these things is vital to creating reality$ The smallest details canilluminate volumes$ t is sur&rising 5hat details 5ith bring (orth

entire (eelings7 associations7 and images$ .tereoty&es can be

broken7 archety&es deviated (rom7 and 5onder s&illed (orth like

gossi& (rom an old (riend$

.teven and ho&e this book 5ill &oint you in the right direction

and hel& you Gll in those details7 and 5e both look (or5ard to

enJoying the 5orlds you create$

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Building Worlds in a HostileUniverse

Patrick S. Tomlinson

.o you 5ant to build a 5orld '8cellent$ The current record is

si8 days7 see i( you can beat it$ have (aith in you$ But 5aitM

Where are you going to &ut your 5orld once its Gnished #ust

like the suburbs7 not all galactic neighborhoods are created eKual$

.ome are &retty rough &laces to crash$ .ome are so vanilla and

boring that nobody 5ould choose to live there$ ,et me be your

real>estate agent to the starsL literally$

Choosing a Galactic Neighborhood

#ust like 5ith the decision to build a house7 the Grst thing you

should consider 5hen building your 5orld is location7 location7location$ ( your story is taking &lace entirely dirtside7E then

your &lanets &lace in the gala8y may never come u&7 but there

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Patrick Tomlinson

are some interesting things you may 5ant to consider that can

hel& drive the story regardless$

+ost o( us have heard o( the conce&t o( a solar systems

%oldilocks None7E commonly deGned as the orbital area around

a star that is at Just the right tem&erature that liKuid 5ater can

e8ist 5ithout (ree6ing or boiling a5ay$ Well talk more about

this 6one later7 but 5hat many &eo&le do not reali6e is that

gala8ies have their o5n %oldilocks Nones 5here conditions are

more (avorable (or li(e$

#ust like inside a solar system7 your 5orld can be too close or

too (ar (rom the galactic center to give li(e much o( a chance$

=ot sur&risingly7 our o5n .ol system sits smack dab bet5een

these 6ones$ This is not to say that li(e 5ould be im&ossible

outside this neighborhood7 but it 5ould deGnitely (ace ne5challenges$ ,ets start 5ith the galactic boondocks$

The sticks o( any gala8y &ossess several uniKue characteristics

that could im&act your 5orld and ho5 your story develo&s$ But

they all revolve around one elementO scarcity$ The (urther (rom

the galactic core one travels7 the thinner the density o( stars

becomes$ By the sim&le la5 o( averages7 there 5ill be (e5er

&lanets7 and thereby (e5er chances (or li(e to evolve in the

outskirts$ While this is obvious7 5hat may not be so obvious is

that (e5er stars7 es&ecially very large ones7 also mean (e5er

heavy elements$

s you likely kno57 all o( the elements7 save hydrogen7helium7 and small amounts o( lithium7 are (ormed inside the core

o( stars$ What you may not kno57 ho5ever7 is that a small to

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Building Worlds In a Hostile Universe

medium si6ed star cant manu(acture elements &ast iron on the

&eriodic table$

This is because iron is a star killer$ t the heart o( a star7

elements (use together7 releasing energy and (ueling the (urnace$

n young stars7 this (uel is hydrogen almost e8clusively7 but as

they age7 other elements are introduced to the Gre$ 'ach ne5

element can be (used into the ne8t7 releasing &rogressively less

energy7 until the largest stars reach iron$ The &roblem is7 5hen

you (use iron7 the &rocess actually absorbs energy7 rather than

releasing it$ nstead o( gasoline7 iron acts like a bucket o( cold

5ater thro5n onto a cam& Gre7 snung it out in a matter o(

seconds$

( your star is about t5ice the si6e o( ours or smaller7 the story

ends 5ith iron$ t is only 5hen you get to stars large enough tocolla&se into su&ernova can all o( the other elements be created

in any Kuantity$ n the outer rim o( the gala8y7 gasses are less

abundant7 5hich means the stars that do (orm trend on the small

side$ The interstellar medium this (ar out7 there(ore7 5ill not be

nearly as rich in heavier elements as it is closer to the core$

4e5er heavy elements mean less material available (or rocky

&lanet (ormation7 and there(ore even (e5er 'arthlike &lanets$

mong the terrestrial 5orlds that do manage to (orm this (ar out7

the "H=/P. elements may be abundant7 the si8 elements

critical to li(e as 5e kno5 it "arbon7 Hydrogen7 =itrogen7

/8ygen7 Phos&horus7 and .ul(urI but the elements o( civili6ation

and industry might be scant indeed$ )our characters may live on

a 5orld 5here metals like nickel7 co&&er7 6inc7 and lead are as

rare as silver and gold here on 'arth$ Plutonium and Uranium

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Patrick Tomlinson

5ould be almost unheard o(7 making nuclear Gssion im&ossible$

n the near absence o( such materials7 building a technologically

advanced society 5ould be very dicult$ /( course7 so 5ould building nuclear 5ea&ons7 so theres that$

/n the other side o( the habitable 6one is the gala8ys inner

core$ Here7 overabundance is the issue$.tellar density increases

the closer one gets to the core$ +ore stars have the &otential to

bring more than Just beauti(ul nighttime vie5ing$

The core 5ould bring much higher levels o( high>energy

radiation$ .ome5hat counter>intuitively7 some5hat higher

radiation levels might not be all bad (or li(e on some 5orlds$ The

bedrock mechanism o( evolution is mutation$ /n 'arth7 most

mutations start 5hen a stray high>energy &article crashes

headlong into a D= strand7 altering a bit o( code$ +ost o( thetime7 the result isnt good (or the organism$ 'very no5 and then7

ho5ever7 the change is actually beneGcial$ With slightly elevated

radiation levels7 evolution on your 5orld could be su&ercharged$

But outside that narro5 5indo57 things 5ould become dicult

(or com&le8 li(e7 5ith higher rates o( cancer and genetic damage

overcoming the increased rate o( evolution$

n addition to the obvious dangers &osed by radiation7 the

density at the core brings other issues li(e 5ould have to contend

5ith$ /ur solar system is surrounded by a shell o( trillions o(

comets and debris kno5n as the -ui&er Belt and the/ort cloud$

This region starts Just &ast the orbit o( Pluto7 e8tending &erha&s

as (ar as an entire light year into dee& s&ace$ t is e8&ected that

most solar systems have a similar (eature$ =ormally7 obJects in

the /ort cloud are o( little risk to li(e on 'arth$ Ho5ever7 every

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no5 and then7 either through collisions or gravitational

disturbances7 a comet is knocked loose (rom its stable orbit and

&lunges to5ards the inner system$

n the core7 the tight &ro8imity o( other stars means that

gravitational interactions bet5een di3erent solar systems 5ill be

(ar stronger than they are in our neck o( the 5oods$ This could

lead to dramatically higher orbital instability in the /ort clouds

o( core systems7 meaning higher levels o( comet and asteroid

bombardment o( any &lanets$ sk a dinosaur ho5 that 5orked

out (or them$

Picking Good Neighbors

.o youve settled on the right stellar cull>du>sac (or your &lanet$ %ood7 but be(ore you &ack the moving starshi&7 maybe

you should meet the neighbors$ #ust G(teen short years ago7

e8o&lanets5ere and un&roven theory7 and believed by many

astronomers to be a rare breed$

Today7 5e kno5 better$ s o( this 5riting7 over seven

hundrede8o&lanets have been detected7 5ith another thousand

&otentials 5aiting to be conGrmed$ Ho5ever7 5hile &lanets are

&lenti(ul outside o( our solar system7 most o( them truly deserve

the name Qalien$

/ur solar system isnt uniKue7 5hich is great (or sci>G lovers7

but its arrangement may be (airly unusual7 &resenting even morecom&lications (or li(e$ large &ortion o( the &lanets 5eve (ound

are #u&iter>range gas giants7 sim&ly because their large si6e

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Patrick Tomlinson

makes the easier to detect$ What sur&rised astronomers 5as the

diverse range o( orbits these giant occu&ied$

+any o( them are 5hat are kno5n as QHot #u&iters7 gas giants

that orbit unbelievably close to their &arent star7 sometimes close

enough that they com&lete an orbit in only a (e5 days$ Under our

current understanding o( &lanet (ormation7 gas giants condense

(ar (rom their star$ There(ore7 these Hot#u&iters are believed to

have migrated on a decaying orbit to5ards their star until Gnally

stabili6ing closer in$ /n their do5n5ard s&iral7 these monsters

5ould have either destroyed and absorbed any rocky &lanets they

came across7 or eJected them (rom the system7 dooming them to

Roat untethered through dee& s&ace$ t is nearly im&ossible that

any system 5ith a hot #u&iter could also be home to a terrestrial

5orld in a habitable orbit$

Ho5ever7 5hile some gas giants are 5orld>devouring monsters7

others act as guardian angels$ .uch is the case 5ith our o5n

#u&iter and .aturn$ Their stable orbits (ar (rom 'arth7 cou&led

5ith their huge masses mean that any asteroids or comets 5ith ill

intentions Grst have to run the gamut o( the outer system$

#u&iters immense gravity has absorbed countless im&actors7

most (amously illustrated 5hen the comet .hoemaker>,evy :

crashed into #u&iters atmos&here in #uly7 1::


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.&eaking o( asteroids7 lets clear u& one thing real Kuick$

steroid belts are not like in the movies7 okay .o s&arsely

&o&ulated is the asteroid belt7 that 5hen =. sent Pioneer 10and 117 oyager 1 and 27 %alileo7 "assini7 and =e5 Hori6ons

into the dee& solar system7 they didnt have to make a single

course correction to avoid a collision$

While there are millions o( obJects in the belt7 they are very

dis&ersed$ The total mass o( all obJects in the belt is less than

one &ercent that o( 'arth$ They are the remnants o( a (ailed

&lanet 5hose (ormation 5as interru&ted by orbital resonance 5ith

#u&iter7 acting the bully this timeI$ +uch denser7 and the belt

5ould have had enough material to overcome the gravitational

disru&tions (rom #u&iter and (orm another rocky &lanet$

.o 5hile 5e can all agree that the asteroid scene in 'm&ire.trikes BackSii 5as really a5esome7 it 5as also really

im&ossible7 because o( the ridiculous density o( the asteroids in

the belt$ The ring scene in '&isode Siii 5as some5hat better7 as

&lanetary rings can be very densely &acked$

nother &otential danger is the discovery that many e8o&lanets

circle their &arent stars along highly elli&tical orbitsSiv7 5hich

bring them scorchingly close7 then sling them (ar (rom the heat

o( the star$ ny terrestrial &lanets on such a &ath 5ould bake in

sterili6ing heat and radiation7 be(ore (ree6ing solid7 5ith only

brie( &eriods s&ent inside the systems habitable 6one$ ny gas

giants on such a &ath 5ould make it im&ossible (or any other

5orlds to maintain stable orbits7 as their massive gravity 5ould

Jar them loose$

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Patrick Tomlinson

But those are neighbors on the ne8t block$ What about the one

right ne8t door +oons can have huge inRuence over their host

5orlds7 (or good or bad7 5hich 5e 5ill discuss in more detaillater$ /( the eight &lanets in our solar system7 sorry Pluto7 take

it u& 5ith =eil DegrasseTysonI only t5o are moonlessO +ercury7

and enus$ )et even among all the do6ens and do6ens o( moons

s5arming around the rest o( the &lanets7 ours is uniKue7 5hich

5as very lucky$

'arths moon is strange in several 5ays7 but most &rominently

is its si6e relative to 'arthSv$ +ars t5in moons are Just large

rocks7 &robably asteroids ca&tured by the red &lanets gravity

5ell a(ter being knocked loose (rom the asteroid beltSvi$ #u&iter

has (our large moons7 yet these bodies are all miniscule in

com&arison to #u&iters bulk$ The same is true o( .aturn7 Uranus7

and =e&tune$

/ur moon is a massive body by contrast$ t is also very dense7

second only to oSvii$ The +oons large si6e gives us more than

Just the tides7 its gentle tug hel&s to stabili6e the 'arths rotation7

&reventing our a8is (rom 5obbling more than a (e5 degrees7

kee&ing our seasons and 5eather &atterns stable and &redictable7

larger Q.u&er 'arths may have enough mass to maintain a

stable rotation on their a8is7 but they have other issues 5ell talk

about shortlyI$ nd as the +oons cratered sur(ace can attest7 it

has taken more than a (e5 hits in our de(ense$

But the relationshi& 5asnt al5ays so rosy$ The +oon has

been moving slo5ly a5ay (rom 'arth since its (ormation (our

and a hal( billion years ago7 at the rate o( about an inch and a

hal( &er yearSviii$ s it goes7 the 'arths rotation slo5s ever so

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slightlySi8$ n the distant &ast7 ho5ever7 the +oon 5as much

closer7 the 'arths day 5as much Kuicker7 only si8 hoursMI and

the tidal e3ects o( the moons gravity 5ere absolutelydevastating$

n the early days o( 'arths oceans7 the moon 5as so close and

its gravity so &o5er(ul that the tides s5elled not the hand(ul o(

(eet 5e see today7 but hundreds o( (eet$ These immense 5alls o(

5ater s5e&t inland do6ens o( miles7 every day$ Beach(ront

&ro&erty 5ould be a hard sell on such a 5orld$"ivili6ation 5ould

have to be based (ar inland7 a5ay (rom the &lethora or resources

(ound in the oceans$ .o7 5hile our moon today is 'arths greatest

&artner7 things could have been very di3erent$

+oons arent limited to Just a su&&orting role in sci>G7

ho5ever$ .tar Wars7 4ireRy7 and vatar all &rominently (eaturedmoons Glled 5ith com&le8 li(e7 even 5hole civili6ations7 yes7

the '5oks 5ere a civili6ation7 sto& 5hiningI$ But not so (ast7 li(e

on a moon has hidden dangers to consider$

/( all the do6ens o( moons 5e kno5 about (rom our o5n solar

system7 none o( them are even a signiGcant (raction o( 'arths

si6e$ The largest in both diameter and mass is #u&iters

%anymede7 5ith t5ice the mass o( our moonS8$ t also has the

distinction o( being the only kno5n moon 5ith a di&olar

magnetos&here &o5ered by a liKuid metallic core$ )et even

mighty %anymede is only t5o and a hal( &ercent as massive as

'arth7 5ith only G(teen &ercent the sur(ace gravity$ This is not to

say that much larger moons are im&ossible else5here in the

universe7 but it a&&earssuch bruisers 5ould be rare$

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Patrick Tomlinson

.o7 your moon>men 5ill &robably be living in very lo5 gravity$

,o5 gravity ty&ically means a very thin atmos&here$ The

e8ce&tion7 theres al5ays an e8ce&tionI is Titan7 .aturns (amousmoon$ ts atmos&here is actually denser than our o5nS8i$

Ho5ever7 this has more to do 5ith ho5 (ar (rom the sun Titan is7

5hich &rotects its atmos&here (rom being stri&&ed a5ay by the

5eakened solar 5ind$ Ho5ever7 bring your long>Johns7 because

this (ar out7 its about three>hundred degrees belo5 6ero$

,o5 mass also ty&ically means a metallic core that has already

cooled and solidiGed7 5hich means no magnetos&here7 or a very

5eak one7 5hich leaves 5hatever atmos&here there is vulnerable

to the (ate o( +ars$ Ho5ever this is less o( a &roblem than it

might Grst a&&ear$

Thus (ar7 all o( the maJor moons (eatured in the movies7 suchas )avin S8ii7 'ndorS8iii7 and PandoraS8iv7 have orbited gas

giants$ These giants can themselves have very &o5er(ul

magnetos&heres7 e8tending many millions o( miles into s&ace

and shielding their satellites$ Un(ortunately7 gas giants can also

s&ort massively &o5er(ul radiation belts7 enough to cook the

sur(ace o( any moons that orbit too closely$ n the case o( #u&iter7

it actually emits more energy in radiation than it receives in light

(rom the sun$ .o7 lead long>Johns (or everybody$

Home Sweet Home

"ongratulations7 youve Gnally (ound a good neighborhood7

&o&ulated 5ith neighbors 5ho arent com&letely cra6y and or

violent$ =o5 its time to &ick a &lot and dra5 u& some blue&rints$

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,ets &ause to consider ho5 big o( a yard you 5ant$ s

mentioned &reviously7 solar systems all have a %oldilocks 6one

around their &arent stars7 the area in 5hich a &lanet could &otentially have liKuid sur(ace 5ater$ /ur system actually has

three rocky &lanets inside this 6one7 enus at the e8treme inside

edge7 'arth snuggly in the middle7 and +ars at the e8treme outer

edge$

WaitME youll say$ enus is 5ay too hot7 and +ars is 5ay

too cold$E True7 but this has as much to do 5ith their si6e and

the com&osition o( their atmos&heres as their distance (rom the

sun$ s best as 5e can determine7 +ars once had a thick

atmos&here and 5ater lakes7 rivers7 and even shallo5 seasS8v$

But7 as &reviously discussed7 its small mass meant that its molten

iron core cooled and solidiGed billions o( years ago7 s5itching

o3 the magnetic Geld &rotecting its atmos&here$ enus had the

o&&osite &roblem7 5ay too much atmos&here 5ith 5ay too much

"/27 leading to a runa5ay greenhouse e3ect$ ( +ars had (ormed

5ith the mass o( enus7 #ohn "arter 5ouldnt be nearly so (ar>

(etched$

What kind o( star youre s5inging around directly controls

5here and ho5 big the habitable 6one is going to be$ lso7 each

star ty&e is going to bring uniKue conditions (or li(e to contend

5ith$

.mall7 red>d5ar( ty&e stars are (ar and a5ay the most

numerous in the universeS8vi$ n advantage o( their small si6e

is that they can continue to burn (or many tens7 even hundreds o(

billions o( years7 giving li(e on any &lanets a long7 long time to

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Patrick Tomlinson

get u& and running$ Ho5ever7 their habitable 6ones sit in a very

tight orbit7 5hich &resents t5o challenges$

4irst7 a terrestrial &lanet orbiting so close to its star 5ould

&robably be tidally locked to said star7 5hich is Just a (ancy 5ay

o( saying there 5ould be no dayVnight cycle because the same

side 5ill al5ays (ace in5ard$ t 5as once believed that this 5ould

bake one side o( the &lanet7 5hile (ree6ing the other side solid7

leaving only a small stri& o( habitable land around the terminator$

Today7 5e may kno5 better$ The study o( several Hot #u&iterE

&lanets has sho5n that strong convection currents in the

atmos&here can cool the bright side7 5hile 5arming the dark side

o( a tidally locked 5orld$ .o things may not be so bad in that

res&ect$ nstead youll Just have constant hurricane (orce 5inds

to deal 5ith$

.econdly7 close &ro8imity to the star also brings your 5orld

into a 6one o( strong radiation7 solar 5ind7 and even occasional

lashings (rom solar Rares$ ny li(e that develo&s here 5ill need

to be &retty hardy7 and carry a lot o( sunblock$ ncidentally7

5hile not im&ossible7 its unlikely that such a &lanet 5ould have

moons7 as the &ro8imity o( the &arent star 5ould make

maintaining a stable orbit &roblematic$ t &robably isnt a

coincidence that the only &lanets in our system 5ithout moons

are also the closest in$ By the 5ay7 no moons and no rotation

also means no tides and no seasons$

By contrast7 very large stars 5ould (eature habitable 6ones (ar

(rom dangerous radiation and Rare activity7 and 5ide enough to

Gt multi&le 5orlds$ The only real do5nside is the co&s are going

to get called to break u& the block &arty early$

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Patrick Tomlinson

hold an atmos&here$ stable a8ial rotation 5ithout need o( a

large moon is a nice (eature$ nd 5hile higher gravity 5ill mean

shorter mountains and a dearth o( svelte blue cat>5omen7 erosion5ould cut dee&er valleys7 canyons7 and rivers$

.o7 everythings cool7 rightPlo& do5n the e8tra cash (or the

u&grade$ .lo5 do5n a ste&$ !ecently7 com&uter simulations have

sho5n that the higher &ressure at the center o( su&er earths may

kee& the core solidS88$ =o liKuid core means no magnetos&here7

Just like on smaller 5orlds$+ore sunblock (or everybody$

Alternative Living

(ter reading the above7 youre &robably (eeling a little

hemmed in7 like the universe is out to get us7 and that 'arth isthe one7 tiny s&eck o( dirt 5here li(e has a chance to thrive$

Thats &robably a mistake$

+y intention in 5riting this 5as not to scratch every other

ty&e o( &lanet and solar system o3 your list o( &otentials$ nstead7

5anted to convey Just ho5 im&robable our &lanet7 and there(ore

our ty&e o( li(e7 may be$

( you need ins&iration7 look around our &lanets (orgotten

corners$ We Gnd organisms living in com&lete darkness7 under

crushing &ressures7 scalding tem&eratures7 in &ools o( acid7

5ithout o8ygen7 eating rock and metal7 &hotosynthesi6ing

radiation7 and generally carrying on in a (ashion that drives biologists into alcohol de&endency$

#udging by li(es tenacity and ingenuity here on 'arth7 believe

5e 5ill Gnd organisms clinging to every &lanet7 moon7 asteroid7

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and nebula that hasnt gone out o( its 5ay to com&letely sterili6e

every cubic inch o( real>estate$ t 5ouldnt sur&rise me in the

least i( 5e discover some critters s5imming around 'uro&as that5ould go nice 5ith butter and lemon Juice$

nstead7 the lesson you should take a5ay (rom the rarity and

good (ortune o( our &lanet is that7 as a 5riter7 youll need to be

creative$ The habitable 6one (or 5ater>based creatures 5ould

mean instant death (or creatures based on liKuid ammonia or

methane$ !adiation 6ones and thin atmos&heres are meaningless

to Gsh s5imming in an ocean buried under ten miles o( ice$

Worlds arent built (or creatures$ "reatures are built (or 5orlds$

.o take 5hat youve learned (rom this article7 the good and the

bad7 and run your aliens through the same evolutionary gauntlet

that your ancestors actually 5ent through$ +ake them (aceadversity and overcome challenges on their 5ay to civili6ation$

They 5ill be all the stronger7 more alien7 and yet more believable

(or your e3orts$

.ee 5hat comes out the other end$ The more sur&rised you

are7 the more im&ressed your readers 5ill be$

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Patrick Tomlinson

About the Author

Patrick .$ Tomlinson is the o3s&ring o( an e8>hi&&ie

&sychologist and an e8>co5boy electrician$ li(elong sci>G (an7

he decided that not being (amous 5as taking u& too much time7

and started 5riting in ho&es o( changing this un(ortunate state o(

a3airs$

His 5ork has been acce&ted by ndromeda .&ace5ays nRight

+aga6ine7 'veryday 4iction7 and The .4W Bulletin$ He

recently com&leted his Grst novel manuscri&t and has begun

5ork on a second$ Patrick also hones his cra(t by si(ting through

the slush &ile (or &e8 +aga6ine$

Patrick lives in Wisconsin7 5here the 5inters o3er him a

5onder(ul o&&ortunity to disa&&ear into his 5riting cave (or (our

months at a stretch$ Time not 5riting is s&lit bet5een a &aying

Job7 triathlon training7 and maintaining a stable o( 4ord +ustangs$

isit Patrick online at &atrickstomlinson$com$

Works Cited

Si"omet .hoemakerC,evy : "ollision 5ith #u&iter$=ational

.&ace .cience Data "enter$ 4ebruary 2009$

htt&VVnssdc$gs(c$nasa$govV&lanetaryVcomet$html$

Sii .tar Wars The 'm&ire .trikes Back7 -ershner7 1:;0Siii .tar Wars '&isode ttack o( the "lones7 ,ucas 2002

18


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Siv.chneider7 #ean 10 .e&tember 2011I$ nteractive '8tra>

solar Planets "atalog$The '8trasolar Planets

'ncyclo&edia $htt&VVe8o&lanet$euVcatalog$&h&$Sv.&udis7 P$D$ 2000>921>

;1;0;>@

Sviii"ha&ront7 #$O "ha&ront>Tou6*7 +$O 4rancou7 %$ 2002I$

ne5 determination o( lunar orbital &arameters7 &recession

constant and tidal acceleration (rom ,,!

measurements$stronomy and stro&hysics ?;@ 2I @00C

@0:$ Bibcode 2002YL?;@[email protected]"$ doi10$1091V000

A?A120020


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Patrick Tomlinson

S8i"oustenis7 &$ 22

S8ii .tar Wars =e5 Ho&e7 ,ucas 1:@@

S8iii .tar Wars !eturn o( the #edi7 +arKuand 1:;?S8iv vatar7 "ameron 200:

S8v4orget7 4$7 et al$ 200A$ Planet +ars .tory o( nother

World$ Pra8is Publishing7 "hichester7 U-$.B= :@;>0>?;@>

<

S8vi+ost +ilky Way .tars re .ingle Press releaseI$

Harvard>.mithsonian "enter (or stro&hysics$200A>01>?0$htt&VV555$c(a$harvard$eduVne5sV200AV&r200A11$html$

S8vii.cho&(7 #WO -udryavtsev7 BO gresti7 D%O Wdo5iak7

T#O D +arch 2002I$ ,aserZ!aman imagery o( 'arthFs

earliest (ossils$=ature


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The Descartian Dilemma, orHey, Where’d Everybody Go?

Aaron Rosenberg

n his (amous 5ork +editations on 4irst Philoso&hy 7 Grst

&ublished in 1A


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30/309

The Descartian Dilemma

Ho5 many times7 in movies and comic books and novels7 has

the hero crashed through the 5indo5 interru&ting the villain Just

as he 5as about to &ush the button or trigger the bomb orcombine the chemicals or 5hatever it 5ould take to satis(y his

diabolical &lan Ho5 many o( those times did you think to

yoursel(7 come on7 thats ridiculousM What has he been doing all

this time7 Just sitting there 5aiting until the hero 5as about to

sho5 u&E n lan +oores classic gra&hic novel Watchmen 7 one

o( the heroesZDan Drieberg7 the +idnight /5lZcon(ronts thevillain and says7

m still glad 5e got here be(ore you got

dee&er into this messL mean7 5hen 5as this

ho&eless black (antasy su&&osed to ha&&en

When 5ere you &lanning to do itE +oore 2AI

nd the villain re&lies7

Do it Dan7 m not a !e&ublic .erial villain$

Do you seriously think d e8&lain my master>

stroke i( there remained the slightest chance o(

you a3ecting its outcome did it thirty>Gve

minutes ago$E +oore [email protected]

'ven though 5ere horriGed7 5ere also im&ressed because

that makes com&lete sense$ Why 5ould the villain sit around

5aiting i( there 5as any chance they could (oil his &lans Why

5ouldnt he Just &roceed 5ith it as soon as he could

The ans5er to that isZhe 5ould$ ssuming he 5ere a rational

being in his o5n right7 &roceeding 5ith his o5n &lans under his

o5n &o5er7 instead o( 5aiting u&on the authors attention to

&rovide him 5ith motive (orce$

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Aaron Rosenberg

t is dicult7 o( course7 to Juggle so many characters in your

head$ 's&ecially 5hen you have to think o( them less as

something you JuggleZ5here they only move because you aretossing them into the air and catching them again as they (allZ

and more as 5ind>u& toys7 Why 5ind>u& toys Because you can

set your characters into motion but they then &roceed even a(ter

youve set them do5n7 and can bum& into obstacles and (all and

tilt and change direction in 5ays you never intended$ Ho5 o(ten7

as a creator7 do you discover your &rotagonist is doing somethingdi3erent (rom 5hat youd originally &lanned7 because your &lan

did not account (or some (actor7 5hether that is the &rotagonists

o5n interests7 some element o( the setting7 or something else like

the desires o( another character When that ha&&ens7 you adJust

your thinking and let your &rotagonist &roceed his o5n 5ay7

dont you (ter all7 you created him to be true to himsel(7 and

no5 you need to trust that you built 5ell and that his actions 5ill

remain consistent 5ith his &ast and &ersonality$ Why7 then7

5ould you not e8tend the same courtesy to your antagonist nd

your incidental characters .houldnt all o( them be allo5ed to

act in their o5n customary manner7 5hether you are observing

them or not =ot only 5ould this allo5 them to develo&7 it 5ould

also give your 5orld the (eel o( a true setting7 a develo&ed setting7

an active and vibrant setting$

"onsider this setu& the main character 5orks in an oce$ He

su3ers a case o( mistaken identity and gets caught u& in a li(e>or>

death situation7 as has ha&&ened in any number o( stories$ HeGnds himsel( being attacked by cra6ed killers7 romanced by

seductive 5omen7 threatened by mysterious men7 etc$ t some

&oint7 he staggers back into his oce7 battered and bleeding7 his

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clothing torn$ His co>5orkers look u& in shocked dismay and ask

5hat ha&&ened$

There is more to this scene than Just their reaction to the

&rotagonists condition$ Perha&s one o( his t5o co>5orkers has a

running battle 5ith the oce co&ier$ 4or some reason7 it seems

to mal(unction more 5ith him than 5ith anyone else7 or at least

he reacts more strongly to its errors than anyone else$ This has

Just ha&&ened again7 and he is busy (uming and ranting about

ho5 evil the co&ier is and ho5 it hates him$ The second co>

5orker discovered that very morning that he had made a maJor

error on an account7 &otentially costing the com&any millionsZ

and most likely costing him his Job$ He has been in a &anic about

it all morning7 and has been des&erately trying to salvage the

situation be(ore anyone (ound out 5hat he had done$ He has Just

succeeded7 and is no5 5eak 5ith relie(7 kno5ing his Job is sa(e$

Thus 5hen the &rotagonist staggers in7 his t5o (riends look u&

and are astonished7 but they have not been idle themselves7 nor

are they bland background characters$ They have their o5n

stories7 their o5n &ersonalities7 and they have been busy 5hile

the &rotagonist 5as gone$ Perha&s he even received te8t messages(rom them throughout his o5n esca&ades7 asking (or hel& or Just

venting$ .uddenly this scene has more de&th because even though

the &rotagonist is the center o( our attention7 he does not e8ist in

a vacuum and the 5orld around him (eels real and grounded7

5hich gives him more reality and de&th in return$

n e8cellent e8am&le o( this is the 200< movie The

ncredibles $ The t5o main characters7 Bob and Helen7 have three

children together$ When something ha&&ens that (orces Helen

and their t5o older children7 Dash and iolet7 to go to Bobs

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Aaron Rosenberg

rescue7 she has to leave the baby7 #ack #ack7 5ith a sitter$ The

only &roblem is7 Bob and Helen are both su&erheroes7 and &assed

on su&er&o5ers to their kids$ ll three o( them$ Throughout thelatter hal( o( the movie Helen gets cry&tic &hone calls (rom the

sitter7 -ari$ n the short #ack #ack ttackE 2009I 5e see 5hyZ

#ack #ack has started mani(esting his o5n su&er&o5ers7 leaving

his sitter utterly over5helmed$ n The ncredibles 200


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that much because Tolkien does such an e8cellent Job 5ith so

many other as&ects o( the 5orld$ s a linguist7 he took &articular

delight in the languages7 and develo&ed each races language andculture com&lete 5ith myths and stories and songs$ That &art o(

his setting (eels 5onder(ully alive7 and 5hen 5e see the elves

march &ast7 singing7 5e really believe they are an ancient race

5ith their o5n rich history$ Ho5ever7 5hat do they do 5hen no

one (rom the 4ello5shi& is there to see them

David 'ddings The Belgariad has a similar &roblem7 though

at least he addresses it directly$ n that (antasy e&ic7 several

ancient and &o5er(ul sorcerers o&&ose the main characters$ /ne

o( those sorcerers7 Nedar7 has stolen something valuable7 and the

&rotagonists &ursue him across much o( the 5orld$ But the other

sorcerers seem content to each sit in one &lace and think dee&

thoughts until the &rotagonists can catch u& to them and con(ront

them$ 'ddings does &artially e8&lain this by saying that the

sorcerers are immortal and tend to take a very long vie5 to5ard

things7 o(ten staying in one &lace (or centuries at a time$ 'ven so7

it 5inds u& (eeling very convenient that these characters stay so

still and only act 5hen the &rotagonists are there to bring them toli(e$

n o&&osition to that7 read !aymond 4iests novel +agician 7

5hich is the Grst book in his !i(t5ar .aga$ t is the story o( a

medieval 'uro&ean>style (antasy 5orld invaded by a medieval

sian>style (antasy 5orld through a mystical ri(t$ The entire saga

is told (rom the 'uro&ean sides &oint o( vie57 in the land o(

+idkemia7 and 5e meet and (ollo5 several characters 5ho &rove

inRuential in the 5ar$ +ost o( the glim&ses 5e have o( the

invadersZthe TsuraniZat Grst sho5 them to be almost demonic

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Aaron Rosenberg

in their endurance and their bloodlust7 but as the story &rogresses

5e gro5 to see them as &eo&le7 es&ecially a(ter one is ca&tured

and chooses to 5ork 5ith the +idkemians instead o( trying toesca&e or take his o5n li(e$ t one &oint in the story7 the Tsurani

have Just battered do5n all o( the +idkemians de(enses and are

literally a stones thro5 a5ay (rom 5inning the 5arZ5hen

suddenly they 5ithdra5$ =one o( the +idkemians can (athom

5hy7 but the Tsurani7 no5 named "harles7 e8&lains that it 5as

most likely a &olitical move$ Back on his 5orld7 he says7 thereare clans and (actions and &olitical &arties7 and the (amily at the

(ore(ront o( the battle Just 5ithdre5Zhe guesses they did so to

&rove their im&ortance7 and to 5eaken and shame those 5ho had

been their allies7 in order to gain a &olitical advantage$ /ther

sections o( the book take &lace on the Tsurani home5orld o(

-ele5an7 and there 5e see the 5ar (rom the other side7 including

that sudden 5ithdra5al and the &olitics that caused it$ This gives

us insight into the Tsurani7 their culture and their motivations$

'ven 5ithout those scenes7 ho5ever7 5e 5ould have (elt that the

Tsurani 5ere real &eo&le 5ith their o5n goals and their agendas7

because even 5hen 5e didnt understand their actions it (elt like

there 5ere solid reasons behind those actions$ That made the

5orld and the story that much more believable and that much

more e8citing (or us$

Ho57 then7 does a creator make sure his 5orld is built 5ell

enough to sustain itsel( Ho5 does he make sure all o( his

characters can act inde&endently7 and 5ill do so7 even 5hen he isnot actively 5atching them or narrating them

Perha&s the easiest 5ay to do this is to think o( each character

as o&erating along its o5n (reKuency7 or having its o5n television

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channel$ +ost o( the time you are 5atching the channel o( the

&rotagonist7 (ollo5ing him as he moves about7 and you only see

other &eo&le 5hen he interacts 5ith them$ What i( each o( those &eo&le had their o5n channel )ou could then Ri& to a di3erent

channel and 5atch the &erson the &rotagonist Just bum&ed into$

That 5ould7 in turn7 allo5 you to ans5er the (ollo5ing Kuestions

• Where does she go a(ter he 5alks a5ay

•

What is she doing

• Why

• What 5as she doing be(ore they ran into each other7 that

caused her to be there at that time

Have some idea o( 5hat each character is doing and 5hy right

(rom the start o( the story7 or even be(ore the story begins$ =ot

everyones story is very e8citing7 o( course$ 4or e8am&le7 one o(

the t5o co>5orkers mentioned in the scene u& above may live

alone and not like to go out much7 so he basically heads home

each night7 &icks u& some (ood on the 5ay7 eats alone7 and then

5atches T or a movie be(ore going online (or a bit and then

going to bed$ But at least no5 5e kno5 5ho he is and 5hat he

does$ We kno5 5hy he gets so u&set at the co&ier7 because he

likes everything to be neat and &redictable and organi6ed and

ecient and the co&ier violates that$ t is also the only real

e8citement in his li(e7 5hich e8&lains 5hy he overreacts 5hen it

mal(unctions$ ( the &rotagonist needs hel& later and calls the

co>5orker a(ter 5ork hours7 5e kno5 5here the co>5orker 5ill

be and 5hat hes doing$ He has gone (rom a convenient &ro& to

an actual &erson 5ith his o5n li(e and his o5n activities and his

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Aaron Rosenberg

o5n &attern o( res&onse$ Will he Jum& to hel& his (riend7 since

being asked is unusual and e8citing (or him /r 5ill he try to

beg o37 since he does not like going out and &re(ers his 5orldKuiet and sa(e and &redictable He sounds more like the latter

ty&e7 but i( youve develo&ed him and he turns out to be the

(ormer7 so be it$ That is the &ersonality he has demonstrated7 and

obviously it 5ill a3ect not only his actions but those o( the

&rotagonist and everyone else he deals 5ith$

/(ten it hel&s to &lot out timelines7 at least (or the maJor

characters like the &rotagonist and the antagonist$ That 5ay7 you

can see 5here each o( them is going and 5hat they are doing7

assuming there is no inter(erence$ ( you kno5 5hat ty&e o(

&erson they are7 and ho5 they 5ill react to situations7 you can

determine ho5 they res&ond to inter(erence and ho5 they alter

their &lans$ Perha&s the &rotagonist locates the villain and steals

the &o5er source he needed (or his death>ray or to &o5er his

airshi& or to summon his army o( undead soldiers$ =o5 the

villain has to retrieve that &o5er source be(ore he can continue$

• Does he send his minions a(ter it7 or go himsel(

• Does he have someone he can leave behind to continue

&re&aring everything else7 so that once he has the &o5er

source back he can &roceed 5ith barely any delays$

• /r does everything grind to a halt because he doesnt

trust anyone else to handle any o( the im&ortant elements

• ( that is the case7 5hat do his henchmen do 5hile they

5ait (or him to return 5ith the &o5er source

• Do they &lay cards

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• Do they come u& 5ith their o5n ideas

• Do they try to take over (rom him

• Do they go home and s&end time 5ith their (amilies until

theyre called back to duty

n his .ong o( 4ire and ce series7 %eorge !$!$ +artin Gnds

a 5ay to avoid 5orrying about having any characters or stories

stagnate 5hen his attention is else5here$ He sim&ly has so many

main characters7 in so many locations7 that he is almost

guaranteed to have one at every maJor event that occurs in every

as&ect o( the story$ Then he s5itches back and (orth bet5een

them o(ten enough that none o( the stories can ever (alter or

(ree6e on him$ n other 5ords7 he is a &er&etual channel>Ri&&er7

constantly cycling through the characters so that 5e only catch a

brie( glim&se o( each one in turn7 but ultimately those Rickers

add u& to (ull tales$ t is an im&ressive dis&lay7 and it certainly

kee&s the 5orld vibrant and alive and in constant motion7 but it

is also a massive amount o( detail and character to kee& track o(7

5ith so many storylines running all at once$ 4e5 5riters 5ould

be u& to such a task7 5hich is 5hy the series has 5on such

acclaim$ nterestingly7 the television series develo&ed (rom the

books consolidates those vie5s a bit7 Jum&ing less (reKuently and

lingering longer 5ith each character7 5hich allo5s us more time

to e8&erience each story in turn$ That might not have been

&ossible i( the books did not already e8ist and &rovide such

detailed blue&rints (or each character and their actions$

!egardless o( ho5 one accom&lishes the task7 it is necessary to

kee& Descartes &rinci&les in mind 5hile creating a 5orld$ The

settings7 characters7 and events must e8ist inde&endent o( the

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Aaron Rosenberg

vie5er7 the creator7 and the central characters$ They must have a

li(e and a direction o( their o5n i( they are to seem at all real7

rather than mere &ro&s that are trotted out to &rovide a backdro&(or the main characters actions$ That is not to say that 5e must

see the (ull develo&ment o( each and every minor character7 but

5e must believe that de&th e8ists in them$ We must believe they

have their o5n activities7 and that they continue those activities

even 5hen the &rotagonist is not &resent7 even 5hen 5e do not

see them7 so that they have not been standing (ro6en 5hile the &rotagonist 5as else5here$ That sense o( inde&endent activity

gives their 5orld de&th and realism7 and anchors the story to give

it more de&th as 5ell$ The 5orld becomes more believable7 more

natural7 as does the story$ nd such control over the cra(t o(

5orldbuilding allo5s us7 as Descartes 5ould say7 to make

ourselves $ $ $ the lords and masters o( nature$E

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About the Author

/riginally (rom =e5 #ersey and =e5 )ork7 aron !osenberg

returned to =e5 )ork "ity in 1::A a(ter stints in =e5 /rleans

and -ansas$ He has taught college>level 'nglish and 5orked in

cor&orate gra&hics and book &ublishing$

He has 5ritten novels (or .tar Trek7 .tar"ra(t7 Warcra(t7'8alted7 .targate tlantis 7 and Warhammer $ He also 5rites

educational books7 young adult novels7 childrenFs books7 and

tableto& role>&laying games$ He 5rote the Grst>ever tie>in novel

(or the television series 'ureka 7 entitled .ubstitution +ethod 7

under the house name "ris !amsay$ His second 'ureka novel7

!oads ,ess Traveled 7 5as released in early 2011$ His Grstoriginal novel7 the s&ace>o&era Birth o( the Dread !emora 7 5as

&ublished by "rossroad Press in early 2011$

He is also &art o( "ra6y ; Press7 a coo&erative &ublishing

venture he started in 2011 5ith (ello5 authors Peter David7

+ichael #an 4riedman7 !obert %reenberger7 %lenn Hauman7 and

Ho5ard Weinstein$ His humorous science Gction novel =o .mall

Bills 5as released as an e>book (rom "ra6y ; in .e&tember 2011

and immediately hit the =//- Bestseller list$

Works Cited

Descartes7 !en*$ +editations and /ther +eta&hysical

Writings $ Translated by Desmond +$ "larke$ =e5 )ork

Penguin7 1:::$

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Aaron Rosenberg

ZZZ$ Discourse on +ethod and !elated Writings $

Translated by Desmond +$ "larke$ =e5 )ork Peguin7

2000$+oore7 lan 5I7 Dave %ibbons & and iI$ ,ook /n +y

Works7 )e +ightyLE Watchmen \11E ugust 1:;@I

=e5 )ork D" "omics7 1:;@$

+artin7 %eorge !$!$ .ong o( 4ire and ce7 Books 1>


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Cause Ways

Donald J. Bingle

What i(E is the essence o( genre Gction$ What i( monsters

5ere real What i( mankind had (aster>than>light travel What i(

there 5as a 5orld 5here magic held s5ay What i( the .outh

had 5on the "ivil War 4rom these idle musings s&ring (orth

scenes o( 5onder and delight7 tales o( horror and 5arning7 and

stories o( mystery and revelation$ n each case7 ho5ever7 the

author must either alter our real 5orld or create an entirely ne5

5orld in 5hich to &lay out his or her s&eculative Gction$

n some cases7 like the hard sci>G classics7 +ission o( %ravity 7

by Hal "lement7 and Dragons 'gg 7 by !obert ,$ 4or5ard7 the

scientiGc details o( the 5orld>building are a critical &art o( 5hat

is im&arted to7 and avidly soaked u& by7 the reader$ n each case7

the o&&ressive gravity and rotational as&ects o( the 5orld dictatesthe sha&e and com&osition o( the sentient beings and drives the

&lot$ /n such a 5orld7 (or e8am&le7 (ear o( heights is both logical

and almost im&ossible to overcome$

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Donald J. Bingle

n other cases7 the science is not as hardZindeed in time travel

tales it can be do5nright (anci(ulZbut the &ervasiveness o( the

changeE (rom the real 5orld im&acts the overarching tone o(the 5orld in 5hich characters live and interact in 5ays that

deGne the genre7 5hether it be alternate history7 steam&unk7

s&ace o&era7 high (antasy7 or &ost>a&ocaly&tic horror$

4or a genre reader7 discovering the nuances o( the 5orldZits

rules7 history7 and structureZand ho5 those nuances a3ect the

characters7 tone7 and &lot o( the story7 is as much o( a driving

(orce as the conRicts and character develo&ment so essential to

any story$ Thus7 a genre author can build tension and entice

readers by revealing and subtlyI e8&laining his or her 5orld7 as

5ell as by revealing and subtlyI e8&laining his or her characters

by ho5 they react to conRict and overcome adversity$ This

additional element is o( great beneGt to genre authors7 but because

o( its &rominence and im&ortance in s&eculative Gction7 5orld>

building can be a (atal (ailing &oint i( not done right$

Though there are many mechanics in 5orld>building7 the

essence o( 5orld>building7 and o( s&eculative Gction generally7 is

cause and e3ect$ ( &lace a mountain range here and the

&revailing 5inds are (rom the 5est and blo5 over a large body

o( 5ater be(ore reaching the mountains7 climatological science

dictates the 5estern slo&es 5ill be rainy and the area east5ard

5ill be relatively dry$ Thats sim&le cause and e3ect$

.imilarly7 i( create a magic system that is e8tremely &o5er(ul7

costless to use7 but only available to a (e57 logic and human

nature suggest to me that mages 5ill either have the &o5er and

s5ay o( gods or a Jealous andVor (ear(ul &o&ulace 5ill have

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Causeways

hunted them all do5n and killed them in their slee&$ This is one

im&ortant reason 5hy7 in many 5ell>5ritten Gctional 5orlds7

magic systems o(ten involve s&ell com&onents7 lengthy study and &re&aration7 or some signiGcant cost in energy or li(e (orce$

,a&ses in logic or credibility are (undamental reasons 5hy

readers can become unsatisGed 5ith s&eculative Gction$ While

they are 5illing to sus&end disbelie( enough to acce&t the &remise

o( the 5orld e$g$7 magic is realI7 they are not 5illing to acce&t a

5orld 5hich is illogical or silly or other5ise deGes the la5s o(

&hysics$ 4or e8am&le7 n .u&erman The +ovie 7 1:@;I7 can

sus&end my disbelie( and acce&t that .u&erman can Ry7 but

sco3 at the notion that by Rying around the 'arth7 he can 1I

reverse its rotation and 5ithout massive tidal and other e3ectsI

and7 thus7 2I reverse time$ .imilarly7 Gnd it unsatis(ying that

not only can the most &o5er(ul 5i6ards in the Harry PotterE

series 2001>2011I be disarmed 5ith a sim&le7 lo5>grade

'8&elliarmus s&ell7 but that no>one has ever thought to &ut a

5rist>leash on their 5and$

believe there are (our basic 5ays the causal logic o(

s&eculative Gction can go astray

• inconsistent a&&licationVso&histication o( the s&eculative

Gction element that di3erentiates the 5orldO

• (ailure to account (or the com&le8ities o( causalityO

• (ailure to account (or unintended conseKuences as 5ell as

intended conseKuencesO and7

• (ailure to set u& the causality o( the basic &remise$

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Donald J. Bingle

Inconsistent Application/Sophistication

ts great to come u& 5ith a novel or clever 5hat i(E attractiveto your target audience7 but the more so&histicated and clever

your &remise element7 the more so&histicated and clever your

(ollo5>through has to be$ !ichard ,ee Byers 5rote an interesting

blog &ost on this issue as it relates to alien invasion storylines7

&ointing out7 (or e8am&le7 that it makes little sense (or aliens to

travel light years and use so&histicated tech to come to 'arth togather resources they could readily get else5here$ .illier yet (or

such so&histicated beings to be de(eated by (actors 5hich could

have been avoided 5ith a little research be(ore they landed

Byers7 stroJive .tu&id liensEI$

.imilarly7 in (antasy or horror7 an ultra>&o5er(ul lich lord

needs to act &o5er(ully and 5ith intelligence and not like an

over>conGdent macho dickI or credibility is lost$ Web &ostings

like ( Were an 'vil /verlordE are re&lete 5ith e8am&les o(

non>credible architectureVstrategiesVbehavior by su&&osedly

&o5er(ul bad guys ns&ach7 Peters 'vil /verlord ,istEI$I

When the .tar Trek a5ay team is stranded on the sur(ace o( a(ree6ing &lanet by a trans&orter mal(unction in The 'nemy

WithinE 1:AAI7 its great to e8&lain the heaters you trans&orted

do5n dont 5ork &ro&erly because o( the glitch7 but you lose

your audience 5hen you dont e8&lain 5hy the shuttle cra(t isnt

used to rescue them or 5hy basics like blankets7 Gre5ood7 and

&anels (or shelter arent sent do5n$ .o7 i(7 like in Total !ecall1::0I7 you have a &o&ulation living in a domed city on a largely

airless &lanet7 dont have a security (orce 5hich uses 5ea&ons

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Causeways

that shoot bullets ca&able o( shattering the glass dome and killing

everyone erhoeven71::0I$ Duh$

4undamental attributes o( a 5orld7 like so&histicated tech or

chea& energy or altered gravity7 have 5ide7 &ervasive im&acts on

society and 5hat ha&&ens in it7 not narro5 e3ects 5hich are

a&&licable to your character andVor &lot and nothing else$

Failure to Account for the Complexities ofCausality

Des&ite 5hat our nightly ne5s and most &oliticians try to tell

us7 causality is rarely sim&le$ Take global 5arming &leaseMI$

Though not intuitive7 many scientists agree global 5arming could

cause cooling in 'uro&e$ Why Because 'uro&e7 although at thesame latitude as "anada7 is 5armed by the =orth>tlantic

"urrent7 a 5arm 5ater current that comes north7 then cools and

sinks taking cold 5ater back south$ Ho5ever7 as &olar ice and

%reenlands glaciers melt7 the salinity o( the =orth tlantic

decreases and 5ater sinks less readily7 &ossibly slo5ing or

shutting do5n the entire rotational current system7 at leasttem&orarily$ Thus7 'uro&e cools ra&idly$ Does this bring

increased glaciation in .candinavia7 thereby ameliorating some

o( the 5arming im&act and eventually re>starting the current

/&inions di3er7 but this is Just one e8am&le o( ho5 non>obvious

things may occur because o( com&le8ity o( the underlying

system$ Too com&licatedVcontoversial o( an e8am&le "onsider

instead that one o( the reasons a dam can only create a lake

behind it o( a certain si6e7 no matter ho5 long it may block the

Ro5 o( a river7 is because at some &oint the sur(ace area o( the

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Donald J. Bingle

lake is large enough that the increased eva&oration o( 5ater

o3sets the 5ater added by the inRo5ing river$ =on>obvious7 but

logical$

( you have ever seen the television sho5 "onnections 1:@;I7

you kno5 many inventions and &ractices 5e have today are

outgro5ths o( odd historical conRuences and non>linear

causality$ 4or e8am&le7 a high school student might say the

assassination o( rchduke 4erdinand 5as the cause o( World

War $ thought(ul high school student might say the

assassination &reci&itated the 5ar7 but it 5as caused by national

rivalries and colonial ambitions$ military strategist might &oint

out the nature o( the !ussian rail system 5as a contributing

(actor7 since it &recluded the &ros&ect o( a &artial mobili6ation o(

the !ussian rmy7 &rovoking yet (urther escalation o( tensions$

/n the other hand7 a serious argument e8ists that cultivation o(

&otatoes by =ative mericans and the im&ortation o( &otato

(arming by =orthern 'uro&ean countries 5as a more remote

cause o( World War $ The greater caloric out&ut &er acre o(

&otato (arming as com&ared to cold>tolerant grainsI allo5ed

such countries to increase their &o&ulation density suciently toenable them to have large standing armies Bingle7Darkest L

1::17 citing Weather(ord7 1:;;I$

There are myriad contributing (actors to many adversities and

most decisions7 so a 5orld built o( changes (rom the 5orld 5e

kno5 needs to build in these com&le8ities or it 5ill a&&ear

overly>sim&le and artiGcial$ "ontrast7 instead7 the rich (antasy

5orld o( 'li6abeth aughans Warlands series7 5here the customs

and belie(s o( the Plains d5ellers are dra5n (rom the geogra&hy

and nomadic necessities o( their li(e7 or the detailed 5orld o(

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Causeways

!obert #$ .a5yers =eanderthal Paralla8 trilogy7 5here an entire

alternate 'arth society is built (rom a &remise o( =eanderthals

being the dominant hominid historically$

Failure to Account for Unintended ConsequencesAs Well as Intended Consequences

Hand>in>hand 5ith considering the com&le8ity o( conseKuences

Ro5ing (rom a cause is considering the unintended conseKuences

Ro5ing (rom a cause$ There is7 (or e8am&le7 an entire subset o(

science Gction and horror all about scaring the reader 5ith the

unintended conseKuences o( technology 5hether it be %od6illa

s&a5ned (rom the radioactive residue o( nuclear bombs7 esca&ed

nano &articles7 contagions resulting (rom genetic modiGcations or

mutant viruses7 or cloned dinosaursI$ Time travel tales also

traditionally trade on the (all>out (rom minor modiGcations o( the

time stream or &roblems born o( &arado8es$ Ho5ever7 in other

areas o( genre Gction it can be easy to (ocus too readily on the

&articular as&ect o( ho5 the alternate 5orld di3ers (rom our

reality sim&ly in order to create the &remise 5hich the author

desires to e8&lore7 5hile ignoring the other im&lications such a

di3erence 5ould have on such 5orld$ !emember7 the Kuestion

isnt the morality or even advisability o( the intentionZthe road

to hell is &aved 5ith thoseZbut the ultimate destination to 5hich

the change takes you$

4or e8am&le7 &reventing (orest Gres seems 5ell>intentioned

enough7 but decades o( Kuenching Gres can lead to an

overabundance o( undergro5th$ This not only alters the viability

o( certain lodge>&ole &ines 5hose seeds are released only u&on

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Donald J. Bingle

e8&osure to high tem&eraturesI7 but &rovides e8cessive (uel (or

the Gres 5hich eventually do occur7 making them more

destructive$ ts bad &olicy>making 5hen our &oliticians (ail torecogni6e or deal 5ith logical7 unintended conseKuences o( la5s7

e8&enditures7 and ta8 &olicies$ ts bad 5riting 5hen an author

(ails to deal 5ith unintended conseKuences o( the changes he or

she makes in distinguishing their 5orld (rom the 5orld 5e kno5$

.ince the conseKuences 5ere talking about here are7 by

deGnition7 unintended7 ho5 does one identi(y them7 so they can

be dealt 5ith in the 5orld>building andVor storyline /ne 5ay is

to consider the change being made (rom a variety o( &oints>o(>

vie5

• Who beneGts (rom this change

• Who is hurt by this change

• Who could generate moneyV&o5erV(ame (rom this

change

• What 5ould an evil &erson do 5ith the

&o5erVtechnologyVcircumstances created by this change

• What is the silliest thing that could be done 5ith this

change %ene modiGcation technology has led to glo5>

in>the>dark &ets LI

• What are the moral7 &olitical7 and religious im&lications

o( this change

• Who 5ill be o3ended by this change and ho5 could they

resist or undermine it

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Donald J. Bingle

rally Wade7 &&$ [email protected]:@:II$ /ne o( the reasons that .tar

Treks The "ity on the 'dge o( 4oreverE 1:[email protected] is highly

regarded as a classic e&isode isnt the acting$ !ather7 its becausethe &lot (orces the sacriGce o( a good &erson 5ho believed in

&aciGsm to &revent Hitler (rom 5inning World War Znot an

obvious cause and e3ect relationshi&7 but one 5hich the e&isode

e8&lained 5ell 5hile e8tracting a &o5er(ul emotional im&act

Pevney7 1:[email protected]$ This is the &o5er o( unintended7 or at least

une8&ected7 conseKuences$

Failure to Set Up the Causality of Basic Premise

The many>5orlds theory o( Kuantum mechanics 5hich

&ostulates an alternate universe (or every &ossibilityI makes it

easy (or a 5riter to say there is a &arallel 5orld Just like this one7

e8ce&t

• Hitler 5as assassinatedO

• ,incoln or -ennedy or +artin ,uther -ing 5asnt

assassinatedO

• steam>&o5ered technology brought the (uture earlierO

• slavery never e8isted in mericaO

• Te8as remained an inde&endent nationO

• +arco Polo never 5ent to "hinaO

• man never 5ent to the moonO or

• any event o( your choosing ha&&ened or didnt$

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Causeways

5ould contend &arallel 5orlds 5ith such singular di3erences

sim&ly dont and cant e8ist7 because 5hatever di3erence is

&ostulated (or such a 5orld had to7 itsel(7 have a cause to make itoccur in that 5orld$ That cause means there are more di3erences

bet5een the 5orlds than Just one$ /r7 to &ut it more sim&ly7

5hatever is di3erent about the 5orld you 5ant to 5rite about7

5hether it is an alternate 'arth7 an alien &lanet a long time ago in

a gala8y (ar7 (ar a5ay7 the realm o( the (ae7 or some other

(orgotten realm7 that starting &oint &remise 5as the outcomeZ5as the e3ectZo( &rior causes$

%ranted7 the tinier the change7 the less causal e8&lanation it

needs$ Battles 5hich &ivot on small7 serendi&itous events7 like a

Ranking charge or a killing blo5 to an able leader7 are some o(

the easiest to e8&lain as having signiGcant conseKuences Ro5ing

(rom inGnitesimal changes$ ,arger changes the lack o( slavery7

alterations in societal behavioral norms7 the introduction and

acce&tance o( ne5 technologies7 etc$I7 ho5ever7 reKuire some

e8&lanation as to ho5 they may have occurredZother5ise the

&remise is undercut (rom the very beginning o( the 5ork$

( the &remise lacks credibility7 the conseKuences Ro5ing (rom

it 5ill be &lagued 5ith an unconscious7 &erha&sI underlying

sus&icion$ .adly7 ho5ever7 too many novels and stories e8clude

any e8&lanation o( the origin o( the base &remise$ /nly slightly

better7 some (orce>(eed the e8&lanation by tedious e8&osition at

the very beginning o( the tale$I Post>a&ocaly&tic tales are among

the most (reKuent o3enders7 o(ten ski&&ing over the messy chaos

o( the end>o(>the>5orld event by Jum&ing time (rom the moment

be(ore the cataclysm to several months a(ter5ards7 because the

&rotagonist 5as in a cave7 mine>sha(t7 remote out&ost7 or (all>out

45


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Donald J. Bingle

shelter$ /(ten7 there is no mention o( ho5 or 5hat ha&&ened$

.ometimes the author includes only a literary shrug as to ho5

unim&ortant the details o( 5hat ha&&ened are7 5hen com&ared tothe burdens or horrors o( the &resent reality$ That may 5ork (or

some audiences7 but a genre reader 5onders

• 5hat ha&&ened to the bodiesO

• 5hy there isnt residual contaminationO

• 5hat measures 5ere taken to combat annihilation 5ith

5hat success and collateral conseKuencesIO and

• 5hy there 5asnt an abundance o( su&&lies le(t behind

5hen the &o&ulation died literally overnight$

=ot only does this glaring lack o( in(ormation undercut the

credibility o( the storyline7 it ignores tremendously interesting

stu3 in terms o( conRict and the richness o( the 5orld>building

involved

• Did governments colla&se

• Did citi6ens turn on one another

• What horrible things 5ere done to survive

• What are the sights7 smells7 and sounds o( those days

that no5 haunt the survivors dreams

( the author cant be bothered to account (or a 5orld 5hich

makes sense7 5hy should bother reading about his or her 5orld

and the characters in it ( your alternateV(uture 'arth starts

some&lace radically di3erent (rom our reality7 you need to

understand and eventually im&artI ho5 it got to be di3erent$ (

your high (antasy races have di3erent social norms or &olitical or

46


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Causeways

religious institutions7 &rovide details that Justi(y the develo&ed

attributes and customs$ These details create a (oundation (or the

desired Qsus&ension o( disbelie($ 4ailure to do this causes logicalga&s or disconnections in atmos&here that leave (ans o( even the

most &o&ular 5orks dissatisGed$

Believe me7 you can tell the di3erence 5hen an author

incor&orates a rich background o( 5orld>building into the

societys &ractices and mores e$g$7 ho5 the need to 5atch the

skies (or &redators sha&es the travel and de(enses in Paul

%enesses The %olden "ord I 5hen com&ared to (antasy tales in

5hich the magic or the societies or the monsters are sim&ly

dro&&ed into a generic (antasy setting$ Think o( your o5n

e8&erience in (antasy role>&laying games$ Did you run into

monsters in &laces 5here no (ood su&&ly e8isted to e8&lain them

ecologically Did you encounter tra&s 5hich 5ould have needed

constant re>setting or high level magic7 5ith no sensible source

(or such Without naming names7 some (antasy r&g tie>ins and

high (antasy novels have the same issues7 resulting in the same

lack o( credibility$ ts like dro&&ing a 999>&reG8ed &hone

number into a high budget movie$ Why s&end hundreds o(millions on sets7 costumes7 and s&ecial e3ects7 Just to undercut it

all 5ith something that shouts out that none o( it is credible or

real

n near (uture sci>G settings7 e8&laining ho5 the &remise could

come to occur not only makes the setting richer and more

credible7 it can heighten the tension in t5o 5ays$ =ot only do the

&erils the &rotagonist (aces (eel more real7 but the &ossibility7 nay

&lausibility7 o( the terrors o( the &ossible (uture the novel 5arns

against actually occurring (uels interest in the story 5hen the

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Donald J. Bingle

reader can see and understand ho5 such a (uture could come

about$

Unbelievable characters battling unbelievable antagonists in an

unbelievable setting holds no interest to me7 a reason 5hy the

"% battles o( Trans(ormers Dark .ide o( the +oon DD]

2011I7 (or e8am&le7 leave me cold$ Ho5ever7 credible conRicted

characters battling one another and their o5n (ears and doubts in

a 5orld that is suciently sensible and detailed that believe it

does or could e8ist7 dra5s and holds my attention as a reader$

s a 5riter7 it is my Job to think about cause and e3ectZon

characters7 on &lot7 and on 5orld>building$ s someone 5ho has

5ritten time travel scenarios7 near (uture science Gction7 and tales

set in societies other than our o5n7 must not only contem&late

5hat could ha&&en7 but ho5 it could come about$ .ee my tales7Bun!absE and 4or 'very Time7 .eason7E (or e8am&le7 (or

t5o radically di3erent a&&roaches on ho5 &ers&ective alters

&erce&tion o( real 5orld events$

'very e3ect has a cause$ 'ach and every cause &rovides a 5ay

to establish credibility7 trust7 and heightened interest 5ith the

reader$ Use these cause 5ays to bridge the ga&s bet5een your

conce&t o( the 5orld in 5hich your tale occurs and the readers

understanding o( that 5orld$

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Donald J. Bingle

Bingle7 Donald #$$ 4orced conversion $ Waterville7 +e$ 4ive

.tar7 200


58/309

Causeways

aughan7 'li6abeth$ War&ri6e $ =e5 )ork Tom Doherty

ssociates7 2009$

Wade7 Wyn "raig$ Titanic 'nd o( a Dream $ =e5 )orkPenguin Books7 1:@:$

Weather(ord7 #ack$ ndian %ivers Ho5 the ndians o( the

mericas Trans(ormed the World$ 4a5cett "olumbine7

1:;;$

51


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52


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61/309

Paul Genesse

treasure in the universe7 5hich is guarded by Gerce monsters7 the

sand 5ormsZvery similar to dragons guarding a treasure hoard$

Dune is inhabited by the secretive and ass>kicking 4remen7 and isso im&ortant that it became the name o( the Grst book and the

name o( the novel series7 5hich is still going strong even a(ter

the death o( 4rank Herbert$ 4rom the very Grst cha&ter o( the

book 5e get the re(rain7 re&eated over and over as Paul treides

is thinking o( the (uture7 rrakisZDuneZDesert &lanet7E 5hich

sets the tone and sho5s us ho5 im&ortant the location is to become$

/ne o( the Grst descri&tions o( the setting in Dune is brilliant7

5ith Herberts 5ord choice as 5e meet this ne5 character7 5hich

Glls us 5ith mysterious a5e7 and some (ear$

Paul looked out his 5indo5$ Beneath themthe broken ground began to dro& a5ay in tumbled

creases to5ard a barren rock &lain and a kni(e>

edged shel(7 Gngernail crescents o( dunes

marched to5ard the hori6on 5ith here or there in

the distance a dull smudge7 a darker blotch to tell

o( something not sand$ !ock outcro&&ings &erha&s$ n the heat>addled air7 Paul couldnt be

sure$E Herbert 11?I

rrakis becomes the guardian7 and hidden ally o( Paul

+audDib7E and the most im&ortant teacher in his li(e7 more so

than any man or 5omen around him$ Kuote (rom the beginning

o( a cha&ter over hal(5ay through the book is very telling

+audib tells us in Time o( !eRectionE that his Grst

collisions 5ith the rrakeen necessities 5ere the true beginnings

54


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The World As Character

o( his education$ He learned then ho5 to &ole the sand (or its

5eather7 learned the language o( the 5inds needles stinging his

skin7 learned ho5 the nose can bu66 5ith sand>itch and ho5 togather his bodys &recious moisture around him7 to guard it and

&reserve it$E Herbert7 ??:I

+audDib takes on the characteristics o( the &lanet as it

changes him into something more7 &erha&s the chosen one$ 5ill

not s&oil that hereZyoull have to read the books7 but 5hether or

not he is the -5isat6 Haderach 7 the Universes .u&er>being7 is

beside the &oint$ ,ike rrakis7 5e see that Paul is calm 5ith a

vastness 5ithin him (e5 can (athom7 but he can become like the

most violent and &o5er(ul sandstorms 5hen the time (or battle is

u&on him7 echoing the various moods o( the &lanet$ The

Grst Dune book is Glled 5ith countless small re(erences to the

setting7 and some maJor ones7 and they all add u& and im&act the

story and the human characters in tremendous 5ays7 making

them change and react7 becoming &art o( the &lanet$ Their eyes

become blue 5ithin blue7 their bodies become some5hat

dehydrated7 they become more Gerce than they 5ere be(ore7 and

reali6e they that the &lanet is the most &o5er(ul (orce in theuniverse$ Paul treides becomes Dune7 and his demeanor and

actions reRect that change$ This evolution goes even (urther

in "hildren o( Dune and %od 'm&eror o( Dune $

+iddle>earth is one o( my (avorites and it has many di3erent

as&ects7 but it has a very s&eciGc (eeling o( age7 history7 and

believability$ 'very &lace the &rotagonists travel has s&eciGc

characteristics7 but the 5orld is tied together 5ith the breadth and

sco&e o( an enormous history$ The .hire7 inhabited by Hobbits7

is &eace(ul7 verdant7 and almost &er(ect$ Hobbits echo the

55


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Paul Genesse

&eace(ulness and navet* o( their homeland7 5hich is kind and

com(orting to them$ .ome argue that #$!$!$ Tolkien s&ent too

much time in 4ello5shi& o( the !ing in the .hire and agree$ could have gone 5ithout a (e5 descri&tions o( the 5eather7 but

the &icture &ainted o( the .hire made enough o( an im&ression

that the readers 5anted the .hire saved at all costs$

The +isty +ountains are another story7 and 5hen the

4ello5shi& tries to cross the &ass at the mountain called

"aradhras7 %imli says t 5as no ordinary storm$ t is the ill 5ill

o( "aradhras$ He does not love 'lves and D5arves7 and that dri(t

5as laid to cut o3 our esca&e$E Tolkien ?;2I ,ater in the

cha&ter7

Hardly had 4rodo touched the ground 5hen

5ith a dee& rumble there rolled do5n a (all o(stones and slithering sno5$ The s&ray o( it hal(

blinded the "om&any as they crouched against

the cli37 and 5hen the air cleared again they sa5

that the &ath 5as blocked behind them$ 'nough7

enoughME cried %imli7 5e are de&arting as

Kuickly as 5e mayME nd indeed 5ith that laststroke the malice o( the mountain seemed to be

e8&ended7 as i( "aradhras 5as satisGed that the

invaders had been beaten o3 and 5ould not dare

to return$E Tolkien ?;?I

The mountain is re(erred to as "ruel "aradhrasE at one &oint

and the locations o( +iddle>earth each have their o5n (eel and

&ersonality7 as i( they are indeed living characters and not a static

56


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The World As Character

backdro&$ n The T5o To5ers as ragorn7 %imli and ,egolas are

tracking +erry and Pi&&en at the edge o( 4anghorn 4orest

Then 5e must go in7 too7E said %imli$ But

do not like the look o( this 4anghorn7 and 5e

5ere 5arned against it$ 5ish the chase had led

any5here elseME

do not think the 5ood (eels evil7 5hatever

tales may say7E said ,egolas$ He stood under the

eaves o( the (orest7 stoo&ing (or5ard7 as i( he

5ere listening7 and &eering 5ith 5ide eyes into

the shado5s$ =o7 it is not evil7 or 5hat evil is in

it is (ar a5ay$ catch only the (aintest echoes o(

dark &laces 5here the hearts o( the trees are

black$ There is no malice near us7 but there is

5atch(ulness7 and anger$E

That is Just as 5ell7E said ,egolas$ But

nonetheless it has su3ered harm$ There is

something ha&&ening inside or going to ha&&en$

Do you not (eel the tenseness t takes my

breath$E

(eel the air is stu3y7E said the D5ar($ This

5ood is lighter than +irk5ood7 but it is musty

and shabby$E

t is old7 very old7E said the 'l($ .o old that

almost (eel young again7 as have not (elt since

Journeyed 5ith you children$ t is old and (ullo( memory$ could have been ha&&y here7 i(

had come in days o( &eace$E Tolkien 11:I

57

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Letter from the editor - Worldbuilding Magazine

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Documents

Eighth Day Genesis; A Worldbuilding Codex - Klein, Sabrina (Ed) (2012)

Text of Eighth Day Genesis; A Worldbuilding Codex - Klein, Sabrina (Ed) (2012)