Badass Sci Fi: “Building Badder Worlds”

Posted On February 9, 2021

“Building Badder Worlds”; it’s not just a cheesy ripoff of the Weyland-Yutani slogan, but Badass Sci Fi’s mission.

Now, I’m no expert worldbuilding guy, but I do tinker a bit. I know worldbuilding is more than slapping a bunch of continents on a globe and naming them, but let’s focus on that here. And yes, there’s a geologic process responsible for the shape of Astir Mesmeri. I’ll explain later.

I’ve been thinking lately whether, in the stories I write, plot dictates geography and terrain or vice versa. For me, with regards to Halteres, terrain always dictates plot.

Halteres is my mashed potatoes.

She’s been calling to me for a very long time.

So, I’ve progress from shaving cream to mashed potatoes to a big ass sculpture made of dirt and shrubbery in my living room. Next, the real deal, because Halteres is real.

I challenge myself to retain some level of scientific plausibility in my constructs. Well, starting out with a conjoined-binary terrestrial system kind of throws that out the window, but it works, I tell you. It works! Halteres Minor is just a moon that never fully detached.

HALTERES MAJOR

Anyway, let’s look at Halteres Major more closely. The Foculus consists of the planet’s uninhabitable, volcanic longitudinal cap facing Halteres Minor. At its center towers Cael, the massive stone pillar connecting Halteres’ two lobes.

You may have noticed the bulk of land gravitates toward the equator. That’s not because I’m lazy (mostly). Halteres’ oblong shape and off-center rotation adheres it to the ecliptic and forces an accumulation of mass at the equator. Eventually, it will coalesce at the equatorial meridian.

I won’t go into too much detail about the individual continents, but I did map the biomes for shits and giggles.

ASTIR MESMERI

Finally, as promised, a scientific explanation for Astir Mesmeri’s star shape.

So, if we consider Halteres’ rotation as a whole, we get something like this:

Sorry, something like this.

Additionally, Halteres Minor (the red one) exhibits a perpendicular spin which synchronizes with its horizontal rotation, much like a millstone.

Minor’s perpendicular rotation produces a ripple effect beginning in Cael (the planet’s stem) which creates torsion in Major’s mantle. This twisting force culminates under Astir Mesmeri, which lines in linear conjunction with Cael and Minor. Thus, its land mass’ twisting geography mirrors Minor’s rotation.

And we’re back to this, the most powerful psychic vortex in the universe.

And don’t forget to check out Opposable!

Until next time, don’t bother me, I’m spinning.