What is good time for Earth to begin new evolutionary cycle?

[Graw]

In case of survivors it should be some legends / religious stuff. Maybe real events mixed up with Christian (or what's the origin of the group?) estachology with some additional mutations. (if you're really good you mix up myths from a few religions :D ) 1000 years of repeating story is enough to distort it seriously.

In case of colonists... Well, 1000 years that's not so much, we have not so bad knowledge about ancient Greece. So if there are some modifications, they are more result of some political pressure. The most obvious - to boost authority of the ruling house. The less obvious involve intelectual fads and making the event fit the dominating ideology. It does not have to be intentional.

(Examle in Real Life - Jared Diamond book Collapse, who I highly value. He was making a case about overly conservative approach of cultures, and how they desperately cling to good old ways, even when environment change. He used a case of Viking in Greenland. Unfortunately for him the later archeological studies clearly shown, that they tried hard to adapt. But it would be really un-American to write "doomed whatever you do", instead of "if you want, you can")

I want those survivors to have paintings of colonist's ships, their suits, weapons etc. so they consider them as ancient people but when they meet my main character who is colonist they will consider him as a god. He will teach them stuff etc.

 

[Czcibor]

I want those survivors to have paintings of colonist's ships, their suits, weapons etc. so they consider them as ancient people but when they meet my main character who is colonist they will consider him as a god. He will teach them stuff etc.

The tricky part here is why they worship astronauts and not ex. tanks? ;) I mean they do not look so cool and no savage has dig out any austronaut to tell a great legend...

So the departure and leaving behind created a traumatic experience? And created a cult?

(anyway, think how fun misconception concerning space trave such savage may have...)

 

[Graw]

The tricky part here is why they worship astronauts and not ex. tanks? ;) I mean they do not look so cool and no savage has dig out any austronaut to tell a great legend...

So the departure and leaving behind created a traumatic experience? And created a cult?

(anyway, think how fun misconception concerning space trave such savage may have...)

Because first survivors started to tell stories about those who left to colony and stories later changed into myths. So they kinda worship those ancient things without knowing what they used to do.

 

[Czcibor]

Because first survivors started to tell stories about those who left to colony and stories later changed into myths. So they kinda worship those ancient things without knowing what they used to do.

What's the accuracy of those paintings, and if good, how they made it?

 

[Ryan_m_b]

I think that he requested a 1000 years of stagnation on level a bit higher than contemporary. So that means quite good record keeping...

The OP has two settings to consider:

1) A disaster happens on Earth, wipes nearly everyone out. The few left become tribal people.

2) At the time of the fall man was colonising another planet. That colony survived the fall of Earth but spent 1000 years stagnating.

The story is about the two groups meeting.

 

[Graw]

The OP has two settings to consider:

1) A disaster happens on Earth, wipes nearly everyone out. The few left become tribal people.

2) At the time of the fall man was colonising another planet. That colony survived the fall of Earth but spent 1000 years stagnating.

The story is about the two groups meeting.

The OP has two settings to consider:

1) A disaster happens on Earth, wipes nearly everyone out. The few left become tribal people.

2) At the time of the fall man was colonising another planet. That colony survived the fall of Earth but spent 1000 years stagnating.

The story is about the two groups meeting.

Both settings are actualy in one story, but that second group (colonists) are living on another planet.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Both settings are actualy in one story, but that second group (colonists) are living on another planet.

Yes I'm aware.

 

[Graw]

Yes I'm aware.

Good. Quite satisfying to see that there are still people who can understand my inferior grammar :D

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Philip Jose Farmer did a nice novel (The Stone God Awakens) where humanity has been extinct for millions of years and cats and dogs evolved into bipedal intellient people. He left the mechanism of our extinction deliberately vague. David Gerrold's, "War of the Chtorr" series is a good one about an alien species causing the extinction of humans on Earth by biosphere modification. There are already,
That's one of the keys to writing acceptable science fiction. Keep it simple, use the basic premises but don't explain too much, especially if you're writing toward a teen audience (and a lot of adults are reading at that level today.) I forget who said, "Never let the facts stand in the way of a good story."

 

[newjerseyrunner]

If you allowed capitalism to grow to it's most extreme form on a planetary level, perhaps other planets will have more resources and human colonies could eventually just suck the Earth dry. Think what Detroit was/is to the United States. Perhaps Earth just went through hundreds of years of poverty due to a multi planetary plutocracy, business might just have been better on the moon or Mars. Without money to drive their government, they'd let Earth just sit there and rot.

 

[Graw]

Philip Jose Farmer did a nice novel (The Stone God Awakens) where humanity has been extinct for millions of years and cats and dogs evolved into bipedal intellient people. He left the mechanism of our extinction deliberately vague. David Gerrold's, "War of the Chtorr" series is a good one about an alien species causing the extinction of humans on Earth by biosphere modification. There are already,
That's one of the keys to writing acceptable science fiction. Keep it simple, use the basic premises but don't explain too much, especially if you're writing toward a teen audience (and a lot of adults are reading at that level today.) I forget who said, "Never let the facts stand in the way of a good story."

Nicely said, especially that last line got me.

 

[Graw]

If you allowed capitalism to grow to it's most extreme form on a planetary level, perhaps other planets will have more resources and human colonies could eventually just suck the Earth dry. Think what Detroit was/is to the United States. Perhaps Earth just went through hundreds of years of poverty due to a multi planetary plutocracy, business might just have been better on the moon or Mars. Without money to drive their government, they'd let Earth just sit there and rot.

Wait a moment... this is actualy.. really cool idea! Thank you, I am going to use it in some way! (Btw. I am not from US I don't know much about Detroit but I heard some stories about it's economy etc.)

 

[Czcibor]

If you allowed capitalism to grow to it's most extreme form on a planetary level, perhaps other planets will have more resources and human colonies could eventually just suck the Earth dry. Think what Detroit was/is to the United States. Perhaps Earth just went through hundreds of years of poverty due to a multi planetary plutocracy, business might just have been better on the moon or Mars. Without money to drive their government, they'd let Earth just sit there and rot.

I'm not sure whether you haven't simplified the story a bit. I mean sure - Detroit lost a lot because its companies failed in fight with international competition (a marketing problem). However, when they went into troubles, then local gov which was seriously corrupted and was making unrealistic spending promises got into trouble. So problems with jobs were accompanied with problems about gov services. Then a white flight started which undercut tax base, deprive city of smaller businesses and deprive local democracy of those who care. Only debts, to weak to escape, troublemakers and decaying buildings remained.

 

[DHF]

You could go with a genetically engineered downfall. Instead of a plague that causes disease and outright death, What if the eventual rise in genetic engineering led to an outbreak of sterility? if passed like a common cold, the effects would be slow as people might not realize anything was wrong at first, by the time we know what is happening, population is in at an irreversible decline. The end of the human race would not be a loud bang but rather a slow withering that takes place over several generations.

With a device like this you could either dial down the population to a fraction of a percent of our current total. A few thousand scattered over the globe who are born with an immunity to the sterility.

OR

You could say there was never a cure and little by little humanity died off completely. fast forward a few million years an a new species steps up. Curious individuals could start to wonder where all of the ruins come from. For as long as anyone can remember they have always been there but where an explorer comes across Mt. Rushmore, it could be that awe inspiring realization that the ruins come from someone other then themselves.

 

[QST]

Short answer: It would take forever. Have you ever seen a single extinct species be reintroduced by evolution?

 

[Graw]

You could go with a genetically engineered downfall. Instead of a plague that causes disease and outright death, What if the eventual rise in genetic engineering led to an outbreak of sterility? if passed like a common cold, the effects would be slow as people might not realize anything was wrong at first, by the time we know what is happening, population is in at an irreversible decline. The end of the human race would not be a loud bang but rather a slow withering that takes place over several generations.

With a device like this you could either dial down the population to a fraction of a percent of our current total. A few thousand scattered over the globe who are born with an immunity to the sterility.

OR

You could say there was never a cure and little by little humanity died off completely. fast forward a few million years an a new species steps up. Curious individuals could start to wonder where all of the ruins come from. For as long as anyone can remember they have always been there but where an explorer comes across Mt. Rushmore, it could be that awe inspiring realization that the ruins come from someone other then themselves.

This is what I wanted to do, not really this disease but that scenario where new species step up and they are like humans. But after long dicsussion over here I decided to change it.

I'm not sure whether you haven't simplified the story a bit. I mean sure - Detroit lost a lot because its companies failed in fight with international competition (a marketing problem). However, when they went into troubles, then local gov which was seriously corrupted and was making unrealistic spending promises got into trouble. So problems with jobs were accompanied with problems about gov services. Then a white flight started which undercut tax base, deprive city of smaller businesses and deprive local democracy of those who care. Only debts, to weak to escape, troublemakers and decaying buildings remained.

Well I never cared much about Detroit or US situation in overall. Got enough own problems in Europe :D But thank you for explaining!