Imaginings

I don't write enough. Here goes.
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A few years back, when I lived in British Columbia still, I read alot of the Myst Books, and generally was obsessed with the Myst Universe. The most intriguiging part was the possibility of world creation based on simple, self-consistent rules. No restraint on real world physics. This may not have been the intention of the Miller brother's lasting effect, but its what I have.

I was reminded of this yesterday I think when I remembered of a particular world I created, and wrote down.

I often wonder what the essence of science fiction is - is it creating a world, populating it with characters, and then placing the literary video camera up to this world. In this case, the work is front-end heavy. Lord of the Rings would be an example of this. OR, is it the other way around: A simple world, with most of the work ongoing as the plot continues. In this case, the work is continuous. I imagine most science fiction television shows are like this. In my opinion, its much more fun to do the front-ended work, as I am better at it, and at least imaginative enough for it.

So this world I created was situated on a gas giant. Ideally, I would like this to be possible with normal-universe physics, but some stretchings would have to be made, maybe. So, a gas giant. There is a planetary surface, but for the humanoids I care about, it is far too low and too far away to be of concern, or to even be visible. The core of the planet is metallic, liquid even, and conducts strong electric currents, producting a strong magnetic field. We see this on Jupiter today. Now, here comes the cool part. Suspended, high above the planet's core, in a region of habitable atmospheric pressure and density and temperature, are clusters of large superconducting quasi-metallic rocks, ranging in size from 1 km to 10 m, with some soil/plant toppings. The superconductivity may occur due to some cooling process, as a results of bombardment from an unusual radiation environment, whatever, but it is borderline possible. The superconductivity is what causes the suspension in the strong magnetic field (just look up superconductors). Imagine standing on a 10 m rock, jumping up and down and feeling it jiggle just a little bit. Imagine traversing a crude bridge between neighbouring rock islands.

I imagine life on this planet could start airborne, depending on the atmosphere, and somehow migrate to the rocks, build up plant life. Actually, reading Guns, Germs and Steel hs given me a great perspective on the development of civilization. I'm thinking now, there is no incentive for animals to grow. So, how about I induce a spin in the rocks, meaning that the plants have to rotate to capture the sun, beginning the development of mobility and metabolism.

Cool. I should do this more often.