h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was wondering if it would be OK for me to write a description of the City of Blood?

Sounds good. Just remember not to make a tavern. Keep me posted on it. Thanks for the help.


Vidmaster

Thanks, I'll start it now.

I've written up an introduction, I'm planning to expand on the marketplace and the temples.

Here it is:

The City of Blood is one of the areas of Darkside, which is inhabited primarily by Humans. There is a relative security to its inhabitants from roaming demons and it seems well defended.
However this is not entirely true. The city is home to many demonic creatures looking for victims. Its walls are mainly there to make sure that no one gets out, at least not without permission.
The city is an important trading place for the black-market and for items that have been taken from the Lightside. People interested in purchasing these goods should visit the marketplace, where most of the trading occurs.
In the same area is a small bookshop, which will sell you the foulest tomes ever, created, if you can afford them. The owner is an accomplished mage who protects his property enthusiastically. It is best not to get him angry.
Towards the centre of the town is Temple Square, an area filled with shrines and temples. It is filled with the smell of burning and a thick smoke. Many of the priesthoods require Human sacrifice and it is wise not to venture into this area unless you are desperate for the help of a priest.

Visiting mortals will not need to watch out for pickpockets, in a place where mortal flesh is a major trading commodity; there are other things to worry about.

I like it. I'll put that up.

Hello,

Is there any way I can help. Perhaps finding other people to help you build this place.

Do let me know

Abi

Any help at all would be much appreciated. Other builders would be useful, or even people with cool ideas for other areas of the world.

Thank you for the offer.

what do you need doing? im your man, Ghost , phantom, spirit (whatever)
I'm a cooky guy with lots of imagination.

Z Phantom

what do you need doing? im your man, Ghost , phantom, spirit (whatever)
I'm a cooky guy with lots of imagination.

Z Phantom

what do you need doing? im your man, Ghost , phantom, spirit (whatever)
I'm a cooky guy with lots of imagination.

Z Phantom

what do you need doing? im your man, Ghost , phantom, spirit (whatever)
I'm a cooky guy with lots of imagination.

Z Phantom

whoops.... dodgy mouse, sorry

Well, which part catches your eye?

Hi Vidmaster,

Abi pointed me in your direction & I'd like to help out. Could you possibly summarise what is done and what isn't because there seem to be bits in conversdations and bits on other pages, etc, etc?

I suggest Nexus or The Nexus for the Hub - it's not totally original, but it's a good word and it even means the right thing.

As far as the physics of Dyson spheres go, I think you should ignore them. Some problems I can think of:

The atmosphere (and all the people) on the inside will fall into the star.

The atmosphere on the outside will disappear into space (unless the sphere is extremely dense)

The sphere blocks all the star's energy from escaping into space. Stars put out a lot of energy, so it will get *very* hot in there.

But in a fantasy universe, you can just tell Physics to look the other way...

The atmosphere could be help in place because of the spin of the sphere (I think this is called centrefugal force but I can't remember.) Or gravity could work in reverse due to the magic.

The sun might not produce a lot of energy.

Or it could be that the rules of physics don't apply.

Hi Everyone,

I don't think the problems with atmosphere and energy will be a problem. Gravity is a function of mass, so if the thickness of the sphere were massive enough, gravity would hold down the people and atmosphere.

Ther problems with the sun are simply problems with a sun like ours. If someone has made a dyson sphere then they probably would have manufactured the sun in some way. A much more stable sun which isn't going to flare like Sol.

You should read Larry Nivens books Ringworld, Ringworld Engineers and Ringworld Throne.

Hey there,

Abi pointed me in this direction. It looks like fun. How can I help? Not sure how often I'll be able to get online, but I think I can manage to build location, etc. Just be warned: anything I do will probably have at least one Zork reference.

I know this isn't particularly important, but I'll try to explain it anyway. Inside the sphere, the only gravity is that of the star in the middle - the sphere itself contributes nothing. This looks silly, but it is true. So unless you spin the sphere, everyone falls to a fiery death.

The problem with spinning the sphere is that you can't spin all of it. Think of the earth: someone near the North Pole is moving very slowly while someone on the Equator goes very fast. So if you spin the sphere fast enough to keep people attached on the Equator, those near the poles still fall. The same happens with the atmosphere. What you would end up with would be a band of habitable land around the equator with airless wastelands above and below it.

This suggests two things. Firstly, if you were an engineer making such a thing, you wouldn't bother with a sphere, you'd just build a ring (ie the Ringworld or Iain M Banks' Culture Orbitals). More relevant to this enterprise is that you could have a situation where humans inhabit the bit near the equator and non-air-breathing demons inhabit the rest. You could then have a permanent border war between them, which the humans could never win.

You could then suppose that the sphere was extremely old (say, built by an extinct godlike race who had solved the atmosphere problem by being godlike) and decaying. Maybe the portals drag on space in some way, so slowing the spin of the sphere. Then, as it slows, the habitable area will shrink, leading to the eventual extermination of the humans. Unless [insert prophesy here]...

I have to dissagree on your point about gravity, Future World Dictator (13. If what you said is true, then all life on Earth would plunge into the sun and fry.

Where do you think Earths gravity comes from? Gravity is a very weak force and so you have to have a lot of Mass to make it effective. This is why small planets and moons have less gravity than that of earth. So going back to my previous point, the gravity would depend on the thickness of the shell of the D Sphere

If you still dissagreed then you could spin it, but if you do the spin on two axes then that should resolve the Cetrapetal force issue.

If you look a Discworld, the gravity and atmosphere are all held in by the faith of the occupants. If they all stopped believing then it would be game over.

If the Sun were small enough (being an engineered sun) then the gravity it exerts would not be significant.