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1500 questions
44
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26 answers
How do I stop annoyed wizards from killing people all the time?
How do I stop annoyed wizards from killing people all the time?
In my fantasy world, wizards are quite powerful, and they can kill anyone they know the location of with just a thought. The usual methods of doing this are:
Teleporting a object into…
Firedestroyer
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9 answers
How realistic is a genetic memory?
Many pieces of popculture (like assassins creed or the aboleths in dungeons and dragons) use the concept of a genetic memory. How realistic is this concept?
In particular, I am interested in cephalopods or similar animals. When discussion cephalopod…
Qoray
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2 answers
How do you simulate the organic growth of a city when designing it?
Most cities don't just spring into existence, they aren't planned to be the way they are (there are a few exceptions, see Milton Keynes in England for example) but grow organically over time. However when you're building a world, you're designing…
Styphon
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18 answers
Why would a berry have a slow-acting poison?
Plant poisons in our world (that I'm familiar with) have operational half-lives in the order of seconds to maybe a day to reach full effects. This is because poisons are a defense mechanism and work best when things hurt right away, so that you'll…
thanby
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44
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15 answers
Would a horse be sufficient buffer to prevent injury when falling from a great height?
I'm writing a sci-fi story with some fantasy elements, and I'm trying to keep even the most outrageous moments grounded in the laws of our universe. This is one of those moments.
The Situation
A man on horseback (Tarn) is at the top of a small…
Obscerno
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29 answers
Justifying Affordable Bespoke Spaceships
Any story about an independent, self-owned tramp spaceship crew tends to implicitly or explicitly raise the question of how the crew got a spaceship, how it afforded it, and why it doesn't just sell the ship and retire rich, especially if it…
vicky_molokh
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27 answers
How could a time traveler have prevented climate change
Let's say a Moon colonist in the future has discovered an alien time machine. A small remnant of humanity still exists on colony worlds in the solar system, but due to runaway climate change, they are extinct on Earth. What event or events would the…
James
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6 answers
How do I prevent my turtle from collapsing under its own gravity?
Suppose the universe contained a species of planet sized turtles1 that can travers at least interstellar space. How can I explain (without invoking magic) that these turtles are not spherical?
If this is not possible within the laws of physics as…
overactor
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44
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Can the Aztec Empire learn and reuse Conquistador technology?
In this alternate history, Christopher Columbus makes landfall in Central America, after passing south of Florida and sailing through the Gulf of Mexico, arriving right on the doorstep of the Aztec Empire.
The First Contact goes badly and most of…
Sava
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44
votes
4 answers
How does a gorgon sleep?
Weird question but with a head of snakes, do they have to sleep with their head turned to the side? Would it hurt? Do they need an incredibly fluffy pillow?
carrot soup
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Is pregnancy in zero-g a barrier to long term space living?
I'd like to have a community of humans live indefinitely in space habitats (think space stations supporting mining operations in the asteroid belt).
The technology would be "day after tomorrow"-level; no anti-gravity, no effector fields, or the…
akaioi
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43
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15 answers
Could a Roman Empire style civilization exist without slavery?
(Later Edit: Clarifying my question to could Rome, its empire, its complex urban civilization, grandeur, and vast public works be built without slavery in its era or the middle ages?)
Could a civilization at the scale of the Roman Empire in its…
Seanchaí
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15 answers
Is a jet dragon possible?
Are there any known laws of nature, which don't allow the existence of an animal with following characteristics?
Can fly to the altitudes of modern airliners (around 10 000 meters or 32808 ft).
One of the sources of thrust are organic jets or…
Glory to Russia
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43
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9 answers
Could a plant grow on a restrained, living human?
My question is:
Could a macroscopic (e.g. visible) plant grow on a living human, provided that the human is completely immobilized?
MedwedianPresident
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27 answers
How do I keep my remains safe from being summoned as a skeleton?
Imagine a magical world similar to this question, where everyone uses skeletons as soldiers.
There are mages running around searching graves for bones to summon them into skeletons.
How do I keep my remains and those of my family and friends from…
DonQuiKong
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