Sol 3 is a Class-14 Deathworld on what used to be a thirteen-point scale until they found it.
Not only is the planet very geothermally volatile with active volcanic systems AND feature violent and chaotic weather systems…
“Earth” is the deepest gravity well they’ve ever witnessed chemical rocketry successfully achieve orbit from.
The biosphere is teeming with pathogens, so much so that the sapient population’s own bodies rely on symbiotic microbial colonies in order to digest nutrients among other tasks.
And the macroscopic fauna are ALMOST as scary as the microscopic stuff: every biome packed with highly adapted predators.
At the top of this complex carnal carnival of carnivory, the “humans” who live there are unstoppable pursuit and persistence predators highly naturally gifted in ranged combat that historically used to just WALK their prey to death. The animals which ancient humans consumed could sprint to temporary safety, but humans will catch up, ALWAYS catch up, and the prey will still be tired when they have to sprint again. Eventually the fatigue outpaces them, and humans catch up for the last time. Just walk right up and bash them with a rock, they might not even have to throw it: dinner is ready!
Furthermore, it’s not just the highly volatile oxygen that all the animals there breathe… Sol 3’s atmosphere also even contains a constant background presence of radon. The biosphere is passively resistant to some levels of radiation. One of the cities was consumed in the fallout cloud of an exploding nuclear fission reactor(they STILL use water to cool their municipal fission reactors even now!), and although the humans fled, the animals that stayed there are FLOURISHING. Deformed and mutated, but thriving.
In one of their multitude of inter-nation conflicts; two cities were consumed in nuclear fire. On any sane world; these areas would be abandoned and the area around them a quarantine zone; the humans obviously not being fully sane, rebuilt and flourish.
This is related to the fact that humans along with most of the inhabitants of Sol3, are highly resilient to damage; of all kinds.
Humans reproduce slowly; but even though they generally reproduce not far above replacement rate, their resilience means their population still grows at an exponential rate. And on top of that; their advances in medical technology are on the verge of massive life extension. Soon they will have to move out into space; the galaxy better get ready for them.
However…Imho after about 40 chapters, it really loses it’s way (bar a couple of cool minor plots). And the author goes a bit right wing rhetoric/muscleporn-y.
God help me, I fought all the way through that 8,000 page monstrosity. I never want to read homoerotic fiction as long as I live, got quite enough of sweaty, muscly men and aliens rubbing all over each other.
You’ve got the battle for the survival of an entire planet after they all got biodroned.
How many chapters that actually detail what happened? It felt like all it did was go
spoiler
Attack announced, humans arrive and set up a beach head, daar flattens a few cities in the background.
Then spends more time talking about how he is burdened and manly as a result of doing it than the actual doing.
The Hell storyline after that gave me hope, as I trudged through chapters of “cor, look at Adam’s muscular muscles muscling”, but once that finished, and we started getting storylines like “Why can’t we have guns in Folctha? Murica!”, I kinda gave up.
Sol 3 is a Class-14 Deathworld on what used to be a thirteen-point scale until they found it.
Not only is the planet very geothermally volatile with active volcanic systems AND feature violent and chaotic weather systems…
“Earth” is the deepest gravity well they’ve ever witnessed chemical rocketry successfully achieve orbit from.
The biosphere is teeming with pathogens, so much so that the sapient population’s own bodies rely on symbiotic microbial colonies in order to digest nutrients among other tasks.
And the macroscopic fauna are ALMOST as scary as the microscopic stuff: every biome packed with highly adapted predators.
At the top of this complex carnal carnival of carnivory, the “humans” who live there are unstoppable pursuit and persistence predators highly naturally gifted in ranged combat that historically used to just WALK their prey to death. The animals which ancient humans consumed could sprint to temporary safety, but humans will catch up, ALWAYS catch up, and the prey will still be tired when they have to sprint again. Eventually the fatigue outpaces them, and humans catch up for the last time. Just walk right up and bash them with a rock, they might not even have to throw it: dinner is ready!
Furthermore, it’s not just the highly volatile oxygen that all the animals there breathe… Sol 3’s atmosphere also even contains a constant background presence of radon. The biosphere is passively resistant to some levels of radiation. One of the cities was consumed in the fallout cloud of an exploding nuclear fission reactor(they STILL use water to cool their municipal fission reactors even now!), and although the humans fled, the animals that stayed there are FLOURISHING. Deformed and mutated, but thriving.
NOBODY SANE CHOOSES TO GO TO SOL 3.
Beautiful.
In one of their multitude of inter-nation conflicts; two cities were consumed in nuclear fire. On any sane world; these areas would be abandoned and the area around them a quarantine zone; the humans obviously not being fully sane, rebuilt and flourish.
This is related to the fact that humans along with most of the inhabitants of Sol3, are highly resilient to damage; of all kinds.
Humans reproduce slowly; but even though they generally reproduce not far above replacement rate, their resilience means their population still grows at an exponential rate. And on top of that; their advances in medical technology are on the verge of massive life extension. Soon they will have to move out into space; the galaxy better get ready for them.
Sol 3:
HarmlessMostly harmlessMore of this please
Over on reddit there’s an entire genre of this sort of fiction in /r/hfy
The main contributor continued writing it on a full novel scale at https://deathworlders.com/ .
However…Imho after about 40 chapters, it really loses it’s way (bar a couple of cool minor plots). And the author goes a bit right wing rhetoric/muscleporn-y.
God help me, I fought all the way through that 8,000 page monstrosity. I never want to read homoerotic fiction as long as I live, got quite enough of sweaty, muscly men and aliens rubbing all over each other.
I just got frustrated with it.
spoiler
You’ve got the battle for the survival of an entire planet after they all got biodroned.
How many chapters that actually detail what happened? It felt like all it did was go
spoiler
Attack announced, humans arrive and set up a beach head, daar flattens a few cities in the background.
Then spends more time talking about how he is burdened and manly as a result of doing it than the actual doing.
The Hell storyline after that gave me hope, as I trudged through chapters of “cor, look at Adam’s muscular muscles muscling”, but once that finished, and we started getting storylines like “Why can’t we have guns in Folctha? Murica!”, I kinda gave up.
Interactive Education was always my favorite series from r/HFY
Read the first 2 chapters, and so far seems pretty neat.
I thought it was.
The entire ecosystem is also part plastic.
https://deathworlders.com/books/deathworlders/chapter-00-kevin-jenkins-experience/
https://youtube.com/watch?v=T6JFTmQCFHg