1710 Government
1710 Government
Dear Readers,
After much debate the Department Heads and I have decided to shift our publishing
schedule to a bimonthly basis, giving our writers and editors more time to pore over each
piece. Additionally, to allow for a wider variety of submissions, articles will no longer be
required to relate as strictly to the main theme of the issue.
The team has also decided to come together and, on the off months, create a mini-mag-
azine or “mini-mag” pertaining to the topics covered in the previous month’s Worldbuild-
ing Monthly. In these issues we will bring to life and apply the advice present in the main
magazine, diving into the practicalities of building a world with one that the team is creat-
ing together: Postantera.
We will continually strive to provide the community with content that is useful and
entertaining. With that in mind, our next issue revolves around gaming!
Lastly, Debug200 has been working hard to put together a website that will host all of
our magazines! Feel free to check out www.worldbuildingmonthly.com.
We are always happy to meet new creators who are part of this community; if you are
interested in worldbuilding and want to help out in any way contact me via reddit or at
[email protected].
Cheers,
u/UNoahGuy
2 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
Contents
4 The Grand Scale: Government (How to Build a Government)
Hexarch
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 3
The Grand Scale: Government
(How to Build a Government)
Hexarch
4 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
needs to delegate power to, while the method of delegation of power is the transfer of it upon death.
delegation itself will vary depending on the type Jayzonny’s article Transfer of Power: The Choice of
of government you’ve chosen to portray. The most Stability or Chaos goes further into this topic, but
common form of delegation in fantasy literature, for the purposes of creating a government from
as an example, is that of feudalism. This system is scratch what is most important to how power is
often conceived of as a pyramid of power with the passed down is the longevity of the regime. If a
Monarch at its head, supported by landed nobility government is old then there is a good chance it
and the Church. The King gives out land and titles has long standing rules on the transferral of power,
to subordinates in exchange for troops during his if it is young they may not be so well delineated.
campaigns, surplus agricultural output yearly, and
unconditional loyalty forever. Those who support It is possible that the nature of a species, magic,
him are powerful landlords thanks to his munif- or advanced technology might render one or more
icence, taking the forms of military aristocracy of the aspects of your setting completely alien to
and ecclesiastic orders. In turn these powerful how we understand the world today. Your world
landowners do the same in their own lands, called may, for example, have a species that lives for
fiefs, by carving out smaller fiefs from them and thousands of years or one that hibernates for half
subletting to their own tenants in a process known its life. A setting may have technology that allows
as subinfeudation, ‘I can’t do this, so you do it in people to teleport instantaneously between star
my name’ is the core concept behind delegation. systems, or magic that compels people to speak
Another distinct form of delegation is that of Chi- the absolute truth. Any one of these aspects would
nese Imperial Civil Service, a collection of officials create cultures wildly different than anything
responsible for carrying out government policy we’ve ever known on earth, but by taking into con-
and administering China. European nations bor- sideration Size, Authority, and Delegation—three
rowed heavily from the Civil Service when building parameters that have factored into the develop-
their own administrations in the 18th century. This ment of governments throughout the last five thou-
form of delegation places importance on knowl- sand years of human history—a worldbuilder can
edge of the law and reduces the power of civil begin to create dynamic and organized societies
servants by making positions uninheritable and for their worlds.
subject to a meritocracy. Additionally, compared to
feudal vassals, civil servants cannot as easily over-
throw their superiors by force of arms. The final
question that comes along with considering the
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 5
Sharing Your World Without Writing a
Novel: Rules and Formats of Nonfiction
Bokai
Nonfiction may not be subject to the same Bias need not be damaging, incorrect, or blatant,
expectations as fiction, with the latter’s emphasis but even when you are trying to give the reader
on character centric plots, action-based narratives, clear information about the details of your world,
and satisfying conclusions, but there are still com- consider either writing from the perspective of
mon practices that separate the good nonfiction someone in-world or offering multiple angles
from the bad. A worldbuilder who wants someone through which a fact can be interpreted.
to read past the first sentence of their introduction
should familiarize themselves with them. Nonfic- Make an Argument
tion writing is a craft like any other, and must be
practiced and developed. Once you know where the bias of a piece is com-
ing from you can establish the sort of argument
1
Zhou, Liming. Thangka Paintings of the Tibetan Oral Epic King Gesar. China Intercontinental Press, 2013.
6 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
it is trying to make and the
audience it is trying to reach.
Arguments mean dialogue
and dialogue is engaging. An
argument can be as direct as
a letter condemning a poli-
tician, it can be roundabout
and humorous, or it can selec-
tively withhold information
to lead the reader to a desired
conclusion.
Keep it Personal
It is a fundamental edict
of journalism that a personal Artist: Adam Bassett
story is more engaging than a broad account.
One death is a tragedy, a thousand is a statistic. Keep the Narrative in Mind
Effective writers of nonfiction almost always bring
the larger argument down to the individual level. This doesn't mean that one must "write a
Sometimes this means writing long biographies of story” but that there should be a story hidden in
great men and women who had direct influence on everything you write. Our modern idea of fiction
important moments in history, and other times this is unfairly limited to clear beginnings, middles,
means writing about the otherwise anonymous ends, and a certain way of progressing between
everyday people who are affected by their partic- each. Nonfiction, however, is much more open,
ular circumstances of time and place. Even when even though a narrative can still be present. A close
you are writing about broad trends or situations a reader of history books will recognize that the
single line about how generalities play out at the author must pick and choose what to include based
individual level will ground your descriptions and on the story they are trying to tell with their num-
make them feel more real to the reader. bers and facts. The more concise a history book is
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 7
the more essential it becomes to make the broader write as a single body of work, and use the more
narrative explicit, because the reader will not be interesting pieces as hooks to engage readers.
able to make connections themselves without the The drier material can then serve as supporting
tools that they would otherwise have had if the text information for those who have already become
were longer and the pattern were clearer. invested enough in your world to want to dig
further.
Show, Don’t Tell
There are a great many resources that help one
The bane of many a fiction writer, the adage learn how to effectively write all manner of non-
“Show, Don’t Tell,” remains a truism in nonfiction fiction, and I’ve provided a few of those resources
too. If you are describing an oppressive regime, below. If sharing your world with others is a goal,
don’t simply call it an oppressive regime and move but you do not have any interest in the usual
on. Instead explain exactly what it has done to earn avenues of creative writing, studying non-fiction
such a label. If there is an era in your world that models will help you write material that can still
is particularly tumultuous, describe the tumult be read and enjoyed.
and let your reader come to their own conclusions
about just how bad it was. Doing so will keep the
reader’s brain engaged as they’re forced to make
connections for themselves. Some quick reference links for nonfiction writing:
Not All Nonfiction Is Created Equal, But it Has • Writing News Articles
its Place • Hooks, Leads, and Endings
• Crash Course in Learning Theory
An exposé about the scandalous behavior of a • Writing Persuasive Essays
celebrity will be more interesting than a census • Speech Writing
report for a farming district, but that doesn’t mean
that there is no place for census data in your cre-
ative output. Consider all of the nonfiction you
8 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
Pennies, Promises, and Pointed Sticks:
A Guide to Power And Politics
StronglyOPlatypus
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 9
kept happy, lest their spears and knives be pointed Words
in the wrong direction. Feeding, clothing, shelter-
ing, and most importantly paying them goes a long This brings us to the final form of power: words;
way toward doing that. Before anyone can exercise promises and crossed fingers; bits of informa-
any of the numerous benefits provided by employ- tion exchanged between hooded figures in the
ing armed forces one has to make sure they’re dead of night; rousing speeches given in front of
pointing their weapons at one’s enemies. an enormous crowd. Money and Weapons help
directly influencing others, and while words are
The greatest of the benefits weapons provide is no different they are tougher to wield effectively. A
insurance. Anyone with political power is a poten- well-spoken politician is a formidable one.
tial target for violence, but armed bodyguards and
the like will go a long way towards deterring assas- Some choose to enlist the common people to
sins. As politicians pursue their goals they will get their cause, convincing them for good or ill that
in other people’s ways and may find themselves at they are on their side, and will help them if given
the center of a major scandal. One can try avoiding the political power to do so. This works especially
the latter by not doing anything wrong, but stick- well in republics, where the people choose their
ing to their principles in the cutthroat world of an leaders. Politicians who can sway the masses must
interesting fictional political setting will often get exist in any government, for an unpopular govern-
someone betrayed, killed, or worse. Anyone who ment is one destined to fall. The length of time that
wishes to stay alive has to make sure whoever may someone holds onto power for if they choose this
wish to kill them fears their weapons more than route depends on them helping the people while
they hate them. in office, or at least how good they are at making
them think they’re helping. The public giveth
The defensive benefits to an armed force are power, and the public taketh power away.
only part of the picture, however. Along with
money the military will form the bulk of a nation’s The people don’t represent the only need for
power in international politics. The ability to wage promises and speeches, however. Politicians are
war on opponents is essential, whether with the people and an eloquent speaker can convince a
smallest tribal societies or the largest empires. In politician to work with them. Making promises
addition to the numerous benefits that come with is a good way to get one’s agenda going and to
conquering other nations, the threat of war can make some friends on the inside. Relationships are
help bend weaker nations’ will. very valuable assets in the political world, so one
mustn’t break their promises without very good
Of course, there are downsides to this form of reason for doing so. You wouldn’t work against
power as well. In peacetime maintaining a large a like-minded friend, or a spouse, or a family
army can be a boon to the economy by providing member, would you? Assuming there are human
jobs and services. Excessive use of the military can characters in a setting,your world’s politicians can
also interfere with civilian life by taking up land, be expected to be similarly reluctant. Surrounding
food, and money. Soldiers are people too, and if one’s self with others who share a similar goal is
they are underpaid or homesick morale will drop a great way to combine their collective assets and
like an anchor, so providing for them is a must. become a much more powerful entity. Such politi-
Always remember that even if a leader is great cal bonds range in nature, and can take the form of
in war, when the gunsmoke clears and they have a bilateral deal between two politicians, a simple
to deal with administrative and public work they political marriage, or the largest political parties,
could very well be incompetent. One must keep all though these are just a few examples. The power
fronts in mind, economic, military, and political, or of words is not limited to forging alliances through
you may find one’s self trapped in a corner, even promise, information also holds power and value
after winning the war. in politics. If a political player obtains dirt on a
10 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
rival, the logical course of action would be black-
mail. Information is like currency: if a first party
has something the second wants, and the second
has information the first wants, a trade is mutually
beneficial. The same applies for the reverse, of
course, and one should always be wary of other
people learning things they shouldn’t know.
Conclusion
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 11
On Sovereignty, Authority, and Governance
Dheolos
12 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
illicit activities, outside of the oversight of govern- instance, if a government decides to ban prostitu-
ment. In more urban areas a spike in illegal prac- tion, they must first publicise this to the country.
tices can occur if the government is weakened. If If there is some variant of the internet this should
your government is sufficiently weakened, what does be easy. However, if your setting exists before
it choose to enforce, and what does it let get away? mass media, it becomes a more challenging task. If
people are mostly literate, notices would need to
Due to advanced networks of infrastructure, be placed in key locations of every city, town, and
modern technology has allowed us to, in some village in the country. Alternatively, if literacy is not
ways, transcend geography when it comes to common, town criers will be needed to go up and
authority. This is crucial in modern or futuristic down every street in the country shouting the new
worlds. A great example of the use of technology law. The next major step is to dismantle what pros-
to govern is visible in the Middle East today: the titution infrastructure exists, mainly brothels. Man-
Iraqi government is still paying public servants power must be used to force every brothel in the
who live and work in ISIS occupied territory. In this country to shut down. It could be done peacefully,
case Iraq still holds some aspects of authority in or with violence if needed or desired. From then
territory it does not control, because the internet on the government must continue to indefinitely
allows for the transcendence of geography. What monitor every area of the country to stop any
the government is able to do with this authority, practice of prostitution. Governments will never be
however, is harshly limited. able to fully enforce a law, as some practices always
fall through the cracks, practised in dark alleyways
Governance is the intent behind the choices that or in basements. It is the government’s sovereign
a government makes, and how it wishes to run prerogative to decide how far it is willing to go in
and rule over its territory. When a law is passed enforcing its laws.
it does not immediately start enforcing itself. The
government must allocate its resources to enforce In order for a government to administer a polity
that law in every location in the country. Consider it must have sovereignty, either by being recog-
Robert Mugabe’s land seizures in Zimbabwe as an nized by other governments as rightfully having
example. Currently many farmers are taking the their territory or by being able to stop others from
government to court on grounds of the law being annexing or influencing them. A government must
unconstitutional due to its haphazard enforcement. have authority, meaning that it must have the
This, in conjunction with the legal uncertainties resources and ability to enforce domestic decisions
present in Zimbabwe, makes this case a fascinat- it makes. Lastly, a government must govern: it must
ing example of the inner workings of governance. make decisions and have institutions to help it in
The Zimbabwean government only enforces land doing so. For a government to be an interesting
seizure laws when it wants to. Many Rhodesia-era* and dynamic part of your world there must be
farms continue to operate today, paying taxes, challenges to overcome at every step of the way. It
employing people, and exporting crops, even must actively fight to uphold its sovereignty, either
though they are possibly illegal under Mugabe’s through diplomacy or through military force. The
regime, simply because the government has not institutions that give it authority such as police
gotten around to seizing their land. and public servants must face challenges and resis-
tance, and lastly there must be debate and reason-
When a government in your world passes a ing behind why it governs as it does.
new law, consider the logistics of enforcing it. For
* Rhodesia was a country in Africa which broke from colonial status in 1965 declaring independence under a white
minority government led by Ian Smith. The internationally unrecognized “rogue state” steadily lost ground to insurgent
black nationalists until, crippled, it enfranchised its black population in 1979. It was dominated electorally and militarily
the following year by Robert Mugabe’s ZANU group, who promptly renamed the country Zimbabwe.
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 13
Transfer of Power: The Choice of Stability
Jayzonny
14 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
male heir. Henry VIII is a great real life inspiration their country’s political landscape in the 21st
for many parts of worldbuilding, as his actions and century, holding the positions of Russian president
personal reasons for taking them still affect our and prime minister since 2005. After Putin reached
world today. In order to be allowed to remarry, his term limit Medvedev rose to become President,
which he wanted to do simply because his wife appointing Putin as prime minister immediately.
could not produce him a male heir, he single-hand- Putin, in turn, would go on to become president
edly created a new religion. The King's actions again after Medvedev’s single term, appointing
demonstrate the importance of the human element Medvedev as prime minister. The pair’s monopoly
and self-interest, going as far as effecting leaders’ over the top “elected” positions in Russian politics
decisions. By accurately representing the unpre- has led to the creation of the term “tandemocracy”,
dictability of reality and the shortcomings of those in reference to how the two hold onto power in
in leadership positions, a worldbuilder can add tandem. This degree of control over the transfer of
depth to a government through “what-if” scenar- power process is obviously an outlier in the mod-
ios. However, these unforeseen events should be ern world, but serves as a reminder that no gov-
used in moderation; the worldbuilder’s creation ernment is black and white. Medvedev and Putin
should have some elements that perform reliably. function as agents of predictability in domestic
The turmoil that occurred in England during Henry affairs that allows for a focus on foreign interaction.
VIII’s reign turned the country in on itself, rather
than seeing it become involved in more interna- The roles of proper and improper transfers of
tional affairs. power add depth to a setting and allow a writer to
focus on certain predetermined aspects of his or
A republic, on the other hand, is the opposite her story. The matter of who holds control after a
of a monarchy. While a monarchy is a govern- leader’s time in office ends can be in the hands of a
ment with an heir apparent, a republic is a gov- select few, of the people, or anywhere in between.
ernment in which all power resides in a body of A peaceful transfer of power adds stability to a
citizens. These, in turn, are entitled to vote and world that is constantly changing, but this stability
imbue power in elected officers and representa- does not mean that succession needs to be cut and
tives responsible to them. The transfer of power dry. An inclusion of deaths, assassinations, wars,
between leaders of a republic occurs naturally and scandals can affect the path to power and the
because of the existence of term limits. In most values desired in a leader. A combination of these
countries today leaders do not have a direct impact things can lead to anarchy and an interesting story
on who will be their successor, although they can in itself, as seen in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of
pledge their support to one candidate or another. Ice and Fire. Having reliable and predictable trans-
In other cases, like that of Dmitry Medvedev and ferences of power, or sudden and chaotic succes-
Vladimir Putin, those in power can designate their sions, can provide a writer with the predictability
successor. Both Russian politicians have dominated (or lack thereof) that is needed in their world.
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 15
featured artists:
alex stoRer, Caeora, & Tadas Sidlauskas
W orldbuilding is not describing a place or mapping out a region - it is doing so
in a believable and (if possible) beautiful way. Worldbuilding is a tool in the
arsenal of an artist, be they creating visuals or stories. The magazine has not done
enough to showcase the art of the community we, the members of its staff, are a
part of. Starting now that will change.
Sincerely,
Adam Bassett
Writing Department Chair &
Worldbuilding Monthly Artist
16 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
Last Patrol. Digital. 2011
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 17
alex stoRer
{
{
A huge spacecraft hovers above a land-
ing site. It is bulky and seems cumber-
some – its complex construction shows us
that this is a transport vessel, designed
to move large quantities of freight, or
possibly people, between the planets and
the stars. It may be arriving, or possibly
leaving – we cannot be sure, but the
large number of people waiting at this
terminal implies that they are anticipat-
ing its arrival, and what it brings.
Richard Hayes
18 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
Terminal. Digital. 2016
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 19
Desert Maps: Tribal Camp. Pencil, Photoshop. 2017
20 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
Desert Maps: Tomb. Pencil, Photoshop. 2017
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 21
Caeora
I don't really consider myself to be an artist. colouring them all, I’ll be drawing and coloring
I draw, ink, paint and spend a great deal of time another twenty maps for another climate, grass-
thinking about colour palettes, highlighting and lands, mountains, swamps, tundra or oceans. I will
how to invoke themes and emotions with the maps continue until there is huge library of content that
that I make. But for a very long time, I’ve called people can use for inspiration and fleshing out
myself a worldbuilder. Maps are my way of creating their own worlds.
a visual window into a setting, a place in a world
that can be explored with your eyes. People might See more work at:
use my maps as battlemaps for RPG’s but that is
not their primary purpose, instead I want to create • Blue Sword Games - Indie Game Company
thought provoking content that helps stimulate • Patreon
and encourage worldbuilding and story creation.
With this in mind, I’ve currently drawn twenty
desert maps, all with a purpose and unique look
into the desert climate, places like desert canyons,
obelisk's, boneyards, pyramids and camps. After
22 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
Portrait. Digital. 2016
tadas Sidlauskas
My name is Tadas Sidlauskas. I work as a free-
lance illustrator and concept artist. I mostly do fan-
tasy related artwork. I find it fascinating how there
are endless ways to design and interpret things. If
there's some written description of a character for
example - no two people would see it in their mind
exactly the same. Everybody would have their own
slightly different version. I find it very interesting
to translate those ideas into visual images and to
show my own interpretation of them.
• ArtStation Portfolio
• Blog
• DeviantArt
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 23
Witch. Digital. 2017
24 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
Jump. Digital. 2015
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 25
Bureaucracies Galore...
How to Make Government Realistic
uNoahGuy
26 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
Artist: UNoahGuy
rules for life without any check on power. Although function without it, rendering the whole system
any type of government can employ anyone how- ineffective in what is known as institutionalized
ever they please, it is all up to you. corruption. Corruption is something that one must
take into account when creating a government
Finally, corruption plays a defining role in many for any setting; it is human nature to desire more.
governments and is present to varying degrees However in a world with more than one species, it
in every system, no matter how perfect the struc- could be interesting to see how other races react
ture might seem. The root cause of corruption is to bribes. Maybe the concept is completely foreign
often the desire for money and clout that can not to them, or maybe their bribes take a unique form.
be found in the current system. Many communist Every realistic government needs some form of
nations have a culture of bribery because govern- corruption.
ment officials interacting with the citizenry are
not paid what they think they are worth. Bribes The more realistic a fictional government is
offer a means to improve the squalid conditions the more the world feels tangible. Immersion is in
that the officials and their families might live in, an the details. Governments are reflections of their
opportunity not present to the rest of the populace. cultures and they operate as a living apparatus,
In more capitalistic societies the cause is the same: connecting intangible laws and regulations with
officials want to make money — everyone wants the everyday person. Next time you work on your
to make more money. With more robust economic world take a look at the government structures
systems come more complex forms of bribery, such within, try to see the gears in motion behind the
as kickbacks for corporate partners or inside infor- ticking hands of the government clock.
mation on the market, all to increase the official’s
wealth and power beyond the conventional limits
of their position. Sometimes corruption reaches to
the levels where basic forms of government cannot
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 27
Governments from Around the World
Adam Bassett
28 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
system based upon the idea that property cannot Federal / Federation
be held by an individual, belonging instead to the Argentina, Switzerland, United States of America...
community or state. The idea was begun by Karl
Marx and Friedrich Engels in their co-authored A union of states under a central government
text The Communist Manifesto (February 21, 1848). distinct from the governments of the various states
Communism, as they outlined, has not yet been involved in the union. A federal republic differs
successfully achieved. Despite that many socialist just in that the federal government has a constitu-
nations exist today, attempting to reach a perfect tion and self-governing subunits.
communistic society. China’s version of communist
government, for example, is actually Maoism. This
is a splinter form of Marxism-Leninism developed
in large part by Mao Zedong, and while it has
similarities with Marx and Engels’ text, as well as
Vladimir Lenin’s interpretation of Marx and Engel’s
teachings (Leninism), Maoism is a separate prac-
tice which stresses small industry and agrarian
culture.
Democracy
Canada, Norway, The United States of America...
Dictatorship Monarchy
Azerbaijan, Laos, Venezuela... Jordan, Denmark, Saudi Arabia...
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 29
republic is both a republic and a democracy,
where authority and power comes from the cit-
izens of the nation but the government is run
through the officials whom they choose.
30 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
The Implications in Governance of
Communication and Transportation
Dheolos
Prior to railroads, inland locations were The digital revolution and globalization have
harder to access. In worldbuilding consider had permanent effects on governance. It has paved
the wide-reaching effects of what you include: the way for cyber politics, the digitalization of
economically, the shipment of goods inland will currency, transnationalism, and more. Note, how-
be more difficult in a pre-modern setting, while ever, that there is now a huge divergence between
socially it will most likely cause a cultural divide the amount of time it takes to send information
with coastal territories. Aspects of governance, from the time it takes to send resources. It takes,
such as taxation, will also be harder, or more nominally, a fraction of a second and a fraction of
expensive, to carry out. The relevant economic a penny to send an idea from one side of the world
principle is called the ‘economy of scale’; the to the other, but it is orders of magnitude more
concept that as one upsizes their venture, the difficult to send people or resources. Someone can
cost per each unit of activity decreases. Without go from one side of the world to the opposite in
better technology there’s no way to improve the less than a day but for a huge cost. Resources can
economy of scale, therefore the movement of large go the same distance in the same amount of time
quantities of goods will remain difficult. Consider for a significant cost as well, but older and slower
how governments in your worlds manage areas methods of transportation (rail and ship) continue
which they have little access to. Also consider the to dominate the movement of resources because of
economics of more isolated locations, such as their less expense.
need to be more self sufficient, for example. Less
access to exotic goods and cheaper building mate- We stand today in the first sliver of light at the
rials will be more widespread in remote commu- dawn of the space age, and though space travel will
nities. Consider the unconventional or capricious inevitably improve in cost and speed, let’s look at
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 31
how developed it is now. It takes a few seconds to As the breadth of human civilization gets wider
send information to the moon and with minimal and wider, and communication and transportation
cost, but it takes three days (at best) to send a of resources becomes more and more difficult, the
person there, at an obscene cost. Likewise, it takes desire and need for self governance would grow.
about an hour to send information to Mars at little Terrestrial nations would have a harder time main-
cost, but months to send a resource (or person) taining control over their extraterrestrial colonies,
there at an even more exorbitant cost. and after a few centuries sovereign, thriving extra-
terrestrial nations might forget their terrestrial
This is incredibly important to note for world- origins and eventually establish colonies of their
building because up until space travel we’ve seen own, stretching the breadth of humanity further.
only decline in the time it takes to communicate This is the transition from a geocentric setting to a
and transport resources. However, with the intro- space opera setting.
duction of space, we’re seeing a reverse; as we
extend our reach farther and farther from Earth, If your setting consists of multiple planets con-
the time and money it takes to send information sider how the sheer size of outer space, and the
and resources is actually increasing. difficulties that brings, will affect government. How
do governments maintain rule over planets per-
Let’s consider the implications of a permanent haps several light years away? What do you think
settlement on Mars. Communication with it would would be the average size of a sovereign nation, or
be trivial, the settlement would be able to keep in would the inhabitation of space outright demolish
contact with Earth to exchange not only vital infor- the nation-state paradigm?
mation about the settlement, but also for leisure
and entertainment. A forty minute delay would Another area worth exploring is what will
make the internet inaccessible to Martians, at least happen when FTL transportation is obtained.
with its current configuration, leaving them out of Suddenly distances that formerly took years to
things like online gaming, IM chats, and the like. traverse now take only a few hours (or even less).
The internet would almost certainly be modified to Consider how politics will be affected, and which
allow Martian access to webpages and downloads groups might not want FTL to become widespread.
on Earth, and local networks could be set up on Mars Transportation companies, freighters, and myriad
for instantaneous communication on the planet. other economic sectors would certainly be over-
hauled. Also, self-sufficiency would become unnec-
I’m sure some sci-fi enthusiasts will be scream- essary; settlements could economically specialise
ing “FTL!” as they read this, but we can expect to in industries that their planets or systems might
begin colonizing other planetary bodies before we have a natural advantage towards. Someone whose
achieve faster than light transportation or com- job it is to mine iron on a planet with little iron will
munication. Thus we will, in the real world, see a be out of work when iron can be imported in great
dramatic spike in the time it takes to move people quantities from a different system.
from one end of our civilization to another, but in
your worlds this may not be the case. At the same time, who will want more wide-
spread FTL? This will open up new opportunities
To relate back to the subject, there are two areas as well. Businesses will have the option to grow in
worth exploring here. The first is the implications new ways, peoples will want the ability to travel
of this spike in terms of governance. A hypothetical great distances in feasible times. New unions, fed-
Mars colony would likely not need or want inde- erations, and so forth will be forged.
pendence from Earth at least for some time. The
ease of communication means that the decision Communication and transportation of resources
making process would not be any faster if the col- and people are one of the ways that governance is
ony were independent. The colony would also be tied to technology of a civilization, and they have
very dependent on Terrestrial resources, but that a significant effect on the way governments (as
would change as it became self-sufficient, which well as economies and society) can operate. When
depends on how its ideas and politics evolve. designing the technology of your setting consider
how communication and transportation restrain
and enable governments.
32 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
Prompts
I t's easy to get stuck, hit writer's block, or overlook small
details. We would like to try and combat these troubles by
asking questions about your world that you may not have
thought of, as well as by offering writing prompts. If you would
like to write a short story based on one of the writing prompts,
or have a prompt you would like to share with us, please submit
it to us at [email protected] or social media.
Submitted stories must be based on the following prompts in
order to be eligible for reproduction in the next issue.
File Requirements:
Worldbuilding Prompts:
Writing Prompts:
• The forest cried out with the souls of the damned, warning off
any explorer who dared pass through.
• Magic was a mysterious force which no one understood for
most of history. Until she came along.
• She picked up the shovel and walked out into the night.
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 33
issue contributors
Administrators:
UNoahGuy — Editor-in-Chief
LordHenry — Vice Editor-in-Chief
Contributors:
Alex L. — Editor
Asanouta — Editor
Arxis — Editor
Batrouse — Artist/Writer
BH Pierce — Writer
Bokai — Editor
Campforlife — Writer
Dheolos — Writer/Editor
Dimitrije Stankovic — Editor
Eatsfooddrinkscoffee — Editor
Hexarch — Writer
Hjaelmedhorn — Artist
hodmandod — Editor/Writer
Ixtl — Editor
Jason DiBlasi — Writer
Jayzonny — Writer
Liam Flew — Editor
Mick Gadaleta — Editor
Niklaus Andromedius — Writer
Phillip Kroh — Editor
Spartango — Editor
TheToastWithGlasnost — Writer
Tristen Fekete — Artist/Cover
34 WORLDBUILDING MONTHLY
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 35