can i ask you all a question
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can i ask you all a question?
specifically writers or people interested in speculative technology or culturology or sci fi writing?
so i had this idea of writing a space opera with furry characters that takes place a century into the future and i was wondering, how does one imagine future technology or culture in sci fi works like this without it all looking like we all got basically stuck in the 21st century but have laser guns and spaceships
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R ActivityRelay shared this topic
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can i ask you all a question?
specifically writers or people interested in speculative technology or culturology or sci fi writing?
so i had this idea of writing a space opera with furry characters that takes place a century into the future and i was wondering, how does one imagine future technology or culture in sci fi works like this without it all looking like we all got basically stuck in the 21st century but have laser guns and spaceships
@mynameistillian In this case I think a good starting point would be: you say "furry characters", but what are they actually like? Figure out what the background of that species is, at least to a rough degree. Things like: carnivores, omnivores, herbivores? Lived in large groups, families, pairs, individually? Then start at some point in human history and make *one* big change and ask yourself what happens as a result. You can have sci-fi without omnipresent high tech; consider Dune.
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@mynameistillian In this case I think a good starting point would be: you say "furry characters", but what are they actually like? Figure out what the background of that species is, at least to a rough degree. Things like: carnivores, omnivores, herbivores? Lived in large groups, families, pairs, individually? Then start at some point in human history and make *one* big change and ask yourself what happens as a result. You can have sci-fi without omnipresent high tech; consider Dune.
@mkj i kinda just assume they were always there like humans were. it is mostly a stylistic choice since i am a furry lol
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@mkj i kinda just assume they were always there like humans were. it is mostly a stylistic choice since i am a furry lol
@mynameistillian Sure, but the bigger question is what they are like. Sprinkle even just human-like intelligence on top, and culture is going to look *very* different between family-group-/pack-living carnivores and herbivores that assembled in huge groups/herds. And humans also have a biological ancestry which impacts our culture likely to a not-insignificant degree. Take something like humans but evolved from foxes instead of apes; society would likely look quite different!
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@mynameistillian Sure, but the bigger question is what they are like. Sprinkle even just human-like intelligence on top, and culture is going to look *very* different between family-group-/pack-living carnivores and herbivores that assembled in huge groups/herds. And humans also have a biological ancestry which impacts our culture likely to a not-insignificant degree. Take something like humans but evolved from foxes instead of apes; society would likely look quite different!
@mynameistillian There is also, of course, the question of "what if there are multiple, *different*, intelligent species?". That's going to have an impact on both culture and society. How are members of other species treated by members of any particular species? Do some species fill particular niches, or are they all equally likely to be found everywhere? Are there aspects of society off-limits to or exclusive to any particular species? …
And all of this before we even get to available tech.
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@mynameistillian There is also, of course, the question of "what if there are multiple, *different*, intelligent species?". That's going to have an impact on both culture and society. How are members of other species treated by members of any particular species? Do some species fill particular niches, or are they all equally likely to be found everywhere? Are there aspects of society off-limits to or exclusive to any particular species? …
And all of this before we even get to available tech.
@mynameistillian This is not to say that you must decide on everything before you write anything. Quite the contrary! I do want to illustrate how having *some* idea of some of the basics will likely help you answer the questions you posed at the start of the thread. Otherwise, at best, you're likely to just end up with furry humans largely identical to the humans you're familiar with, with maybe some exaggerated trait; not unlike Star Trek but with people having fur and muzzles.
