ChrisShield

I'm not even certain that the ship will be included in the book, it's more of a plot point I want to address in my own mind before I go too far in and realise it isn't feasbile. In terms of the 'why didn't they use ship parts to build' etc, perhaps they did, but it was one relatively small ship of max 100 people and now there are cities all across the planet so unlikely the materials would have gotten far!

Hi all, In short, I'm writing a fantasy novel set 20,000 years in the future, focusing on a group of magical humans who escaped Earth on a colony ship to a planet where they could evade persecution. In the present day they have reverted to a medieval lifestyle but the futuristic element remains, as the rest of the galaxy has been colonised in some form of 'human empire'. There is no contact between the planet and the outside world. Initially I had no connections between the futuristic tech of the 'Earthlings' and the settlers on this planet, then it dawned on me. What happened to the colony ship they originally used to escape Earth? To avoid a plot hole, I did some digging and current-tech rockets are made with aluminium and titanium. 5,000 years have passed since the magical humans landed on this planet, and aluminium degrades in around 500 years. I couldn't find an answer for titanium though. In terms of powering the thing, modern solar panels last around 50 years, and nuclear reactors typically are expected to last a similar time. Would it therefore be a stretch to assume the ship could survive 5,000 years without simply decomposing into the ground? Especially since it will not be maintained. I don't want to say the ship has survived 'because magic'. Perhaps future technology will allow for metals to be varnished somehow to prevent them decomposing for thousands of years? Perhaps nuclear reactors can in this timeline last much longer, so the ship would technically still be powered (this may be straying into the physics realm but my primary concern is the shi's composition and it's ability to withstand decomposition). Essentially what I'm looking for is a scientific explanation, even if it allows for some wiggle room for future tech advancements, to explain why there would be a giant metal ship still standing on a planet where people are using bows and arrows and have done for 5,000 years.

Hi all, I'm building a world for a fantasy novel. The world is very Earth-like in terms of size, gravity etc, and has a moon similar to ours also. One of the main aspects of my story is that every four years, the winter in the northern hemisphere is particularly long and brutal. But it only occured to me recently that, although it won't be explained in the novel (it is set in a medieval time period) I would like to know myself why and how, without using the easy route of saying 'because magic'. I'm no scientist but I understand how our Earth spins on it's axis causing our seasons as we know them, and this was caused by Theia (most likely) smashing into our young planet eons ago. But in terms of physics, how could this harsher winter be explained? Could it be something to do with the axis not being particularly stable (as in the north pole's precise location shifting)? The issue I had with this theory is the regularity of the winter being harsh every fourth year. If there isn't a possible scientific theory as to how this could happen, then I'm considering removing the regularity of the harsh winters altogether.

I should have added that the moon settlement will have Earth-like gravity like the planet does (sci-fi reasons, probably an artificial grav field like ships in star wars). But the other points added are very helpful! The main reason for this post is that I want to have as little difference between the two groups as possible (as I'm more interesting in the story than trying to explain to the reader that they aren't speaking the same language, or have to recieve loads of immunisation jabs etc). The less divergence within the (sort of) realms of science, the better.

Hi all, I'm new here. I was looking for a science-related forum as I have some questions I want to raise regarding plot holes in a fantasy/sci-fi novel I am writing. I wasn't certain which sub-forum to post in but since the questions most important to me are biological in nature, I thought here was a good place to start. I have a planet colonised by humans in my novel. There is also a human outpost on the planet's moon, but due to a galaxy-wide cataclysm (not decided on the specifics) civilisation almost collapsed, and now the two colonies have not made contact for around 5000 years. Fast forward time in the book and those on the planet eventually have the capacity to visit those on the moon. This is where I get stuck: 1) Would the inhabitants of both worlds be incredibly susceptible to diseases/bacteria etc that the other brings along? Such as when European colonisers came into contact with American natives. Would things like the common cold on one world kill people on the other as they have no immunity? 2) How much would change in 5000 years in terms of evolution and human behaviour? I'm presuming the answer to this one is not much as I'm not sure if 5000 years is enough for any real anatomical change, but I'm by no means an expert. 3) My novel is set something like 10,000 years in the future of our world time. This question I guess is similar to question two: In 10,000 years will we have changed much as a species? This one isn't as 'biological' as the others but I've put it here anyway as I had four questions, apologies if this isn't allowed! 4) How much would language have changed? Both colonies spoke the same language (we will say English for arguments sake). Would they be able to communicate with one another after 5000 years? Looking at old English from the middle ages, I'm gonna say not without a sci-fi related translator machine for this one. Thankyou!