General Q&A about worldbuilding and other speculative developments that can be extrapolated from science.
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Humanity has discovered entire worlds filled with creatures that would question their understanding of biology, but one creature, if it can be called, has brought up many many questions. Appearanc...
I recently look at a question on this site that questioned if a "world tree" is feasible, Would a 'World Tree' be feasible in real life?. If i remember correctly, it stated that one way to distribu...
I'm wondering whether it would be possible for humanoids to evolve from bears. bears share many characteristics with primates such as being amazing tree climbers and having the ability to use too...
I want to create a world where humans can live outside (perhaps with some protective clothing) but where very high winds exist in almost all potentially habitable areas making life outside impossib...
I am designing a planet that humans can live on for a few tens of thousands of years, while they are hiding from some sort of inter-galactic police force (or whatever). Therefore, it's important th...
I am writing a story, in which I would like to have three locations within about a half hour to an hour driving distance (assuming population, road systems and automobiles on par with the contempor...
Can a world exist where the atmosphere is actually thicker at some altitude than at sea level? If so, what mechanisms would be involved?
I am making a fish folk race, and I want to figure out if tattoos/ piercings could be possible. My ideas for piercings would be on the flesh itself or on the fins. If they had piercings in these ar...
I am considering a mid to large sized creature, the loping quhambo. Maybe eight to ten palms at the whithers and maybe five stone in weight. It is a proboscidean mammal of some sort, though quite ...
In my military sci fi story in which a squad of private contractors have to contend with hostile creatures reliant on scent and mechanoreception to hunt, I wanted to keep the sci-fi 'hard' and plau...
While reading this question about how non-primate mammals could develop a bipedal stance, I became curious about the broader reasons why animals could evolve to walk on two legs. I found some insi...
In short summary A cockatrice is is essentially a a two legged dragon that has the head and body of a rooster, it also has a serpentine like tail and either has feather like wings or webbed like ...
So you decide to clone yourself, obviously the clone is a infant, but other wise looks perfectly identical. However, you start to think of how your new clone could be perfectly like you, in body st...
I'm writing a fictional story where non-primate mammals (and marsupials) evolved into different species of humanoids which roamed the earth. In my world humanoids have evolved from animals such as...
Horse were originally native to north america but between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago they went extinct likely due to expanding glaciers into their territory. The question I propose is how could I ...
As a thought project, I wanted to make an alien species that eats without any use of the tongue, but I've run into the problem that it's almost impossible to swallow solids without choking without ...
I apologize if I continuously ask different questions about different concepts for stories. It's just that I can never make up my mind on what to write, and sometimes, my ideas change. But anyway...
My character is traveling aboard a spaceship through inter-galactic space (it has left the Milky Way). The ship is traveling at the speed of light or so and has been for the last six thousand years...
Say you see a fellow human walking on the street, nothing special, nothing new, but suddenly, BLAM, they're dead. You reasonably run away from the scene out of fear, but when you look back, the bod...
Let us assume at some time in the near future, medical science perfects a biologically safe liquid air solution. It can fill up the lungs of the adult human subject and they can breathe it potentia...
This is a submission for the Anatomically Correct Series Gargoyles are a staple of Gothic architecture and I've decided to give these creatures the time of day. Gargoyles are closely related to Ny...
I have an idea for a faster-than-light spacecraft that I would like to run by the expert minds in this community for a plausibility check. Basically the interstellar ship itself is of unspecified d...
We've just started 36th century, humanity is colonizing stars right and left. Technology is well developed, you know, typical Sci-Fi stuff. In 23rd century we finally were able to create true AI. ...
A long time ago a group of proto-giants moved high up into a the Sodo-Himalayas. Yetis commonly live up on high mountain plains some of basic characteristics of Yetis are: are as intelligent as ...
Inspired partially by this comment on one of my answers, I got to thinking on what the quickest way to communicate would be on an intergalactic scale. Say humans have colonised the galaxy, and use...
Strange! this question does not seem to be on site with a search (only what to wear). I am concerned about the psychological aspect of food production and eating. Clearly tube food is out and I thi...
Anyone who has studied ice ages would know that during the last two-and-a-half million years of Earth's history, there have been periods where there was enough ice to suck up a lot of water. As a ...
Set in the not-so-distant future, interplanetary travels are the norm. Most spaceships are powered by fission reactors, and accidents do happen due to negligence or flaws in the system. It will pro...
Do you think it will become possible to create opposite sex clones in the future? A male clone from a woman or a female clone from a man? I think it will become possible. To create a female clone ...
So, aqua regia is a somewhat safe material for a living being to work with, but the problem is that it isn't metal enough. Somebody suggested in an answer to another question, that dragons would f...
A super-reactor was created by SRE, Inc (Super Reactor Energy), and it can provide as much clean energy as needed. There's no way to copy it or make another. It operates without problem or fuel - t...
Humanity has spread out in the cosmos, colonizing various worlds, cataloging countless creatures, the usual interstellar species activities. One day, however, humanity finds a species that is argua...
Of the living great apes, humans are most closely related to the chimpanzees and bonobos. We retain quite a few features from that side of the simian family, and it got me thinking about what a hu...
Say you somehow invented 50 thousand nanobots that are the size of medium sized bottle caps. Each are capable of hovering for a limited amount of time but do recharge with both solar energy and plu...
Contrary to popular belief, Unicorns are not related to horses but instead are descended from the Siberian Unicorn. Over time: their fur became whiter they became slightly smaller they have an...
Consider this a remake of my Why might a group of insects evolve to resemble humans? post. Fairies are a common trope in fantasy works some characteristics of fairies and their associates are: Fa...
The core concept is a bastardized fusion of utility fogs, and the magical barriers of witches from the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Utility fogs are swarms of 100 micrometer robots, foglets, t...
male Wyverns collect shiny objects in their dens to attract mates it quite common for Wyverns to get into territorial fight. Now Wyverns are capable of breathing fire but they are also covered in f...
Is it possible for there to be a planet where no animals, only plants existed? What evolutionary reasons would cause this, if possible?
How could astrophysical jets, emitting matter from black holes be used as energy sources by a space-faring nation? How could they be able to collect and use this form of energy?
How would a biological drop pod make it into the atmosphere and land safely? I have a race of aliens that use biological tools instead of technology. Their ships are living beings that can travel t...
bucking the trend of mermaids I've decided to take a different approach with my mermaids. A long time ago a group of Australopithecus diverged from us taking to the sea. some characteristics of the...
It is believed that Wendigos are supernatural beings with an insatiable hunger for human flesh, or humans who are selfish and commit cannibalism and while the latter is more accurate, Wendigo fever...
here what Xing Tian look like and the description in the wikipedia. Xingtian appears in chapter 7 of the Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas), which states that he fought and lost agai...
In medieval times, news of dragons attacking the outskirts of the villages is flooding in. The King is losing patience. According to witnesses, these dragons can lift cows and occasionally elephant...
This is a submission towards the Anatomically Correct Series The leviathan, (in biblical terms), is describes as being a colossal serpentine like creature, it's back is covered in scales that are...
I want to write a science-based story which includes grey aliens. To clarify, grey aliens are seen to be either shorter or taller than the average humans, and sport a bulbous like head. their hea...
Next to angels, various types of bird people are among some of the most common depictions of flying humanoids. Revali from BOTW comes to mind. Could birds (or any other flying animal for that ...
The planet I'm developing has iron in low supply but a high concentration of silver. The planet is habitable for humans and for story reasons the sentient race must be humanoid. Is it feasible for ...
A long time ago, Yi Qi diverged into three main groups: Cockatrices, Drakes, and Wyverns. Some characteristics of Wyverns include: They are tetrapods/quadrupeds They are covered with feathers The...
