The Lonely Galaxy Megathread (comments encouraged)

[lurker]

I still don't see how your eye design creates an image. To get an image, you need an optical system which projects an image on the retina, no matter how the receptors work. If you expose a photographic film to daylight without a camera, you don't get an image, either - just an all-black negative.

Then for now I'll just say it's Science™.

Edit: Or maybe...

Instead of rotating a single antenna, a radar with multiple stationary antennas can be used to generate image of the targets. Phased array radars use multiple antennas to form the radar image without needing to physically rotate.

So their eyes are passive radars. Lore used to be yinrih could see all non-ionizing radiation, but I reduced that to microwaves up to ultraviolet. I may reduce that further IDK, but they'll still be able to see body heat. since Commonthroat already uses the word <sLg> to mean both "soul" and "thermal radiation given off by a living body".

[WeepingElf]

Hmm, well. I am not going to have God kill more catgirls on this issue.

[lurker]

The Bright Way believes that only beings that possess souls can be conscious. While all living things have souls, only sophonts are given rational souls by the Uncreated Light and possess the fullness of consciousness. The activities of all sapient beings gives rise to a noosphere, and there are as many noospheres as there planets baring sapient life. The Great Commandment tells the yinrih to unite these hitherto isolated noospheres in order to hasten the convergence of the universe to a perfect whole.

Neoshamanists believe in panpsychism, which is the idea that consciousness is a property of matter itself, or woven into the fabric of the universe. Neoshamanists believe that there is one universal noosphere which is the source of consciousness. According to this theory, while consciousness is latent in all things, it becomes apparent in any system of sufficient complexity. Living things are just the most obvious complex systems, but other things such as rivers, storms, volcanos, and even machines possess some degree of consciousness.

Furthermore, the noosphere contains every thought or idea that a sophont could possibly think. When a sophont thinks of something new, he isn't inventing it, he's uncovering that part of the noosphere where it had always existed. However, the noosphere is not a discreet set of ideas that one can pluck out of the air. It is a churning maelstrom of nonsensical white noise that only occasionally resolves into an idea. Some neoshamanist mystics seek to "map out" this web of ideas. In many ways they resemble Claravian research monks.

The Misotheists share Neoshamanism's belief in a single universal noosphere. However, rather than all ideas existing within the noosphere already, Misotheists believe the noosphere is affected by the emotions and beliefs of all sapient beings. If enough people believe something, it can arise as an active entity that has agency over the material world. The more people feel a particular emotion or believe an idea, the more power the resulting entity has.

The Farspeakers are orthodox Wayfarers, but they put special emphasis on the communicative aspect of the noosphere. They see the noosphere as ideas at rest in people's minds, and in transit--being communicated from one person to another through speaking writing, or other means. Farspeakers speak of the noosphere having a "body", which is any physical means of communicating ideas. Just as an individual sophont possesses a brain and nervous system that upholds his or her consciousness and gives shape to ideas, physical means of communication, most prominently the Internetwork, represent the brain and nervous system of the noosphere as a whole.

Since Wayfarers cherish sapience as a blessing from the Uncreated Light to its little ones, and because the noosphere springs forth from sapience, Farspeakers hold the noosphere in special reverence, and see taking car of its body as their sacred duty.

[Egerius]

Hmm, well. I am not going to have God kill more catgirls on this issue.

What's that with people and cat girls these days?

[WeepingElf]

Hmm, well. I am not going to have God kill more catgirls on this issue.

What's that with people and cat girls these days?

It is an old Internet meme: Each time real science is drawn into the discussion of a fantasy story, God kills a catgirl. Please be mindful of the catgirls.

Edit: And this is of course just a variation on the old saying: Each time a child proclaims they no longer believe in fairies, a fairy dies.

[lurker]

This was never intended to be hard sci-fi. I go into detail on subjects that interest me and cheerfully pass over those that don't, as long as it doesn't make the setting inconsistent. That's why things like force projectors and neurogel work on Science™, but ansibles have a whole communication protocol.

I think speculative fiction is a better genre name. It's less "How would such and such work?" and more "how would such and such affect the rest of the world if it did work?"

[WeepingElf]

This was never intended to be hard sci-fi. I go into detail on subjects that interest me and cheerfully pass over those that don't, as long as it doesn't make the setting inconsistent. That's why things like force projectors and neurogel work on Science™, but ansibles have a whole communication protocol.

I think speculative fiction is a better genre name. It's less "How would such and such work?" and more "how would such and such affect the rest of the world if it did work?"

Yes. I understand, and that is the reason why I have decided to stop asking about how the eyes you describe produce images.

[HolyHandGrenade!]

There is an entire clade of small creatures filling rodent-like niches that have evolved the ability to store an electric charge in capacitor-like organs below their eyes. They can discharge these organs into any would-be predator attempting to eat them. These critters are called `sdFrdFg`, which (very loosely) translates to "zap rats". Zap rats have even developed aposematic coloration, bearing mostly bright yellow fur with white, black, red, or blue accents being present in varying degrees depending on species. Unfortunately for the zap rats, the yinrih LOVE the mild shock they get from eating them. It's like sticking a 9-volt battery on your tongue. They're either eaten live or, if you don't want to risk them going off in your gut instead of your mouth, you can quickly kill them by holding the animal between your inner and outer thumb and puncturing their dorsal nerve cord with your writing claw.

There are frequent population booms, necessitating regular cullings, with hunting being the preferred method. The zap rats' bright yellow fur makes them trivial to spot.

Pika pika!

[HolyHandGrenade!]

Have you considered developing other cultures, languages, and/or religions for the yinrih? I’d like to see more sci-fi climb out of the common pitfall to make every species a monoculture.

[lurker]

Have you considered developing other cultures, languages, and/or religions for the yinrih? I’d like to see more sci-fi climb out of the common pitfall to make every species a monoculture.

The yinrih are not united as a species. There are several political powers (Hearthside, The Allied Worlds, The Spacer Confederacy, Moonlitter, and Partisan Territory.) There are at least three languages (Hearthsider, Commonthroat, and Outlander). There have been and continue to be new worldviews and religions throughout Focus. The Bright Way is just the biggest, and the oldest one that's still around. I just posted Alternative Perspectives on the Noosphere which details how other cynoid faiths conceive of this concept. Besides Wayfarers, there are Atavists (who want to return to being nonsapient animals), Neoshamanists (who seek to recreate the primordial animism that the Bright Way came from), Partisans (militant secularists), as well as lots of people who don't profess a particular faith or worldview. There are also subgroups within these groups. The first group of colonists and terraformers on Newhome were Neoshamanists who formed a machine-worshipping cult called the Mechanists. The Atavists are split between an Atheist faction who thinks sapience is an undesirable evolutionary fluke, and the Misotheists, who believe that The Light is evil and that it cursed them with sapience.

Just looking at the crew of the Dewfall, three are natives of Moonlitter (Iris, Lodestar, and Pascal). Stormlight was hatched on Sweetwater, which is part of the Allied Worlds, but his family moved to Pilgrim's Rest, a territory of Moonlitter, when he as still very young. Tod is from one of Welkinstead's moons, so also from the AW, and Sunshine is from Hearthside. Iris and Lodestar are littermates who befriended Pascal and Stormlight as pups. The four of them met Tod was an Allied Worlds peacekeeper who helped the four of them evacuate from Pilgrim's Rest before it was glassed by the Partisans. The five of them settled at Wayfarers' Haven, an autonomous orbital colony in the Spacer Confederacy that started as a refugee camp for those fleeing the Partisan attack on Pilgrim's Rest. They met Sunshine when she came to Wayfarer's Haven to work under one of her old mentors who was a refugee herself.

[TBPO]

I'm making conworld that is the Lonely Galaxy with 3 differences:
1. Paranormal tunnels lie between Earth and Yih,
2. Both humans and yinrih are in Middle Ages,
3. Humans discovered Yih before humans discovered Earth.

So I have 3 questions related to this:
1) When in Lonely Galaxy yinrih were in Middle Ages?
2) What technology yinrih had in Middle Ages?
3) What religious and politic situation was in yinrih Middle Ages?

---

How do you draw, when you're blind?

[lurker]

1) When in Lonely Galaxy yinrih were in Middle Ages?

The yinrih did not develop the same technologies at the same rate as humanity, so there was never a period that one could directly compare to the middle ages. Sciences such as physics, astronomy, aeronautics, meteorology, materials science, etc. progressed by leaps and bounds while others like medicine may have lagged. It took them 5 (Earth) millennia from the first written records to spaceflight. The yinrih's innate ability to write meant that far more individuals were able to peruse intellectual careers, and their longer lifespan allowed a single yinrih to continuously build on centuries of accrued knowledge and practical wisdom, whereas humans would have to train and retrain generation after generation.

3) What religious and politic situation was in yinrih Middle Ages?

The original primordial shamanists essentially dropped off the world stage shortly after the founding of the Bright Way, and the first Neoshamanists and Atavists don't show up until the centuries leading up to the dawn of the space age. Having said that, Atavism in some form or another likely existed in the background throughout yinrih history, and only crystalized into a movement during the Shakeoff.

I haven't really touched on politics prior to the War of Dissolution, so I have the primitive shires of presapient yinrih and tree dwellers on one end, then a blank canvas until around the time of the War of Dissolution when the modern cynoid polities show up. As I've said before, I go into meticulous detail on subjects that I'm familiar with but use broad strokes for things that I'm not. Having said that, at some point I have to get into the weeds to draw out how the Bright Way was able to take over society. For the most part, I suspect secular leaders of various flavors (kings, republics, etc) always existed, but gradually became figureheads as the clergy gained power.

If you want to know what the yinrih were doing during the actual middle ages on Earth, it looks essentially identical to the time of First Contact. The Kindling occured about 100 thousand years ago, they achieved spaceflight around 95 thousand years ago, the Age of Decadence began around 66 thousand years ago. They finish terraforming the whole system some time during the Age of Decadence. The War of Dissolution happens about 33 thousand years ago. The missionaries who find Earth are hatched some time in the early 17th century AD. Pilgrim's Rest is glassed by the Partisans some time in the early 1700s, and Wayfarers' Haven is founded shortly after. The Dewfall departs for Earth around the time the USA is founded, and arrives in Earth orbit in the early 2020s. Very early lore was that they arrived in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. It was such a crazy year that humanity just collectively shrugged and said "sure, why not?" at the news that aliens have landed.

[WeepingElf]

It took them 5 (Earth) millennia from the first written records to spaceflight.

It took us 5 millennia from the first written records to spaceflight, too

[TBPO]

1) When in Lonely Galaxy yinrih were in Middle Ages?

The yinrih did not develop the same technologies at the same rate as humanity, so there was never a period that one could directly compare to the middle ages. Sciences such as physics, astronomy, aeronautics, meteorology, materials science, etc. progressed by leaps and bounds while others like medicine may have lagged. It took them 5 (Earth) millennia from the first written records to spaceflight. The yinrih's innate ability to write meant that far more individuals were able to peruse intellectual careers, and their longer lifespan allowed a single yinrih to continuously build on centuries of accrued knowledge and practical wisdom, whereas humans would have to train and retrain generation after generation.

Spoiler:

3) What religious and politic situation was in yinrih Middle Ages?

The original primordial shamanists essentially dropped off the world stage shortly after the founding of the Bright Way, and the first Neoshamanists and Atavists don't show up until the centuries leading up to the dawn of the space age. Having said that, Atavism in some form or another likely existed in the background throughout yinrih history, and only crystalized into a movement during the Shakeoff.

I haven't really touched on politics prior to the War of Dissolution, so I have the primitive shires of presapient yinrih and tree dwellers on one end, then a blank canvas until around the time of the War of Dissolution when the modern cynoid polities show up. As I've said before, I go into meticulous detail on subjects that I'm familiar with but use broad strokes for things that I'm not. Having said that, at some point I have to get into the weeds to draw out how the Bright Way was able to take over society. For the most part, I suspect secular leaders of various flavors (kings, republics, etc) always existed, but gradually became figureheads as the clergy gained power.

If you want to know what the yinrih were doing during the actual middle ages on Earth, it looks essentially identical to the time of First Contact. The Kindling occured about 100 thousand years ago, they achieved spaceflight around 95 thousand years ago, the Age of Decadence began around 66 thousand years ago. They finish terraforming the whole system some time during the Age of Decadence. The War of Dissolution happens about 33 thousand years ago. The missionaries who find Earth are hatched some time in the early 17th century AD. Pilgrim's Rest is glassed by the Partisans some time in the early 1700s, and Wayfarers' Haven is founded shortly after. The Dewfall departs for Earth around the time the USA is founded, and arrives in Earth orbit in the early 2020s. Very early lore was that they arrived in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. It was such a crazy year that humanity just collectively shrugged and said "sure, why not?" at the news that aliens have landed.

How yinrih history can be divided? What technology and political situation was in each period?

[lurker]

How yinrih history can be divided? What technology and political situation was in each period?

Here is a high-level outline of history between the Kindling and First Contact.

[lurker]

This song showed up in my YouTube feed, and it uncannily mirrors how I described The Voice affecting people in metabolic suspension.

[TBPO]

How yinrih history can be divided? What technology and political situation was in each period?

Here is a high-level outline of history between the Kindling and First Contact.

What technology was in first period?

[lurker]

What technology was in first period?

The Golden Age covers a 33 millennia time span between the Kindling and the Bright Way's transition from religion to megacorp, so there's a lot of variability depending on when during the Golden Age we're talking about. This is also the time when yinrih discover tailstone and the underaly, allowing them to invent the ansible. This opens the door to a truly interplanetary society.

If you're following the Multiverse Inn thread, Blessed Guts is from time about half way between the Kindling and the first orbital flight. Gun powder and explosives are known, but they likely haven't harnessed electricity on a large scale yet, so think steampunk.

[TBPO]

What technology was in first period?

The Golden Age covers a 33 millennia time span between the Kindling and the Bright Way's transition from religion to megacorp, so there's a lot of variability depending on when during the Golden Age we're talking about. This is also the time when yinrih discover tailstone and the underaly, allowing them to invent the ansible. This opens the door to a truly interplanetary society.

If you're following the Multiverse Inn thread, Blessed Guts is from time about half way between the Kindling and the first orbital flight. Gun powder and explosives are known, but they likely haven't harnessed electricity on a large scale yet, so think steampunk.

What tech was 1500 years after the Kindling?

[lurker]

What tech was 1500 years after the Kindling?

Very early yinrih history is difficult for me to map out, but for the sake of an answer I'll say they're on the verge of discovering gunpowder. Once they discover that chemical reactions can be used to propel objects, that spurs their development of chemistry.