this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2023
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What would a world where gravity is a weather condition look like? (lemm.ee)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Apologies if this doesn't fit here, not sure where else to post something like this on lemmy

I think having gravity act like weather might be an interesting concept for a fantasy world, where each country has its own gravity patterns, some tend to be heavier some tend to be lighter, some are all over the place

For a few examples, there could be a desert with gravity so high you can get dragged down into the sand

Could be a country with gravity so low everyone uses personal aircraft that work like bicycles instead of land vehicles

Animals in higher gravity areas would have less dense bones, more muscle, etc and lower gravity would have far larger animals because they can support more weight

In a really high gravity area people might need exoskeletons to prevent long term damage

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[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Lumpy.

Of course, if this is a fantasy world you're under no obligation to go with a world held together by self-gravitation, and you can even ignore the weight of air. Believable water is going to want to follow gravity as usual, though, so you need to figure out some sort of crazy hydraulic system to move it around. It could be a backstory for some cool canyons and things depending on what you decide.

More interesting questions might be related to how the residents adapt. I imagine lower gravity areas would be favoured, with groups living in the high gravity areas being specialised. Maybe unpredictable gravity could serve as an energy source for whatever civilisations are in your setting - you balance a very large weight somehow (against a non-gravitational force or a weight somewhere else), and have it work machinery as it adjusts to a new equilibrium. If it changes rapidly enough it might even be useful at small scales, like on vehicles.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

More interesting questions might be related to how the residents adapt. I imagine lower gravity areas would be favoured, with groups living in the high gravity areas being specialised.

You could go with the low gravity areas being sought after, and mostly owned by the rich. Homes are much larger, with 'floating' rooms, where you can float around in the low gravity, similar to a private pool. The high gravity areas would be for poor people and manual workers, where everything is blocky and small to compensate.

On the other hand, the high gravity areas could be the most popular, as physical strength is valued, and the people living in the high gravity areas have underdeveloped muscles, so need support suits to be able to visit other areas, and are looked down on for it.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

If OP could give other basic information about the setting that would be good. I was assuming there's multiple people groups involved here, but if it's all one society then yeah, gravity could be connected with class. The exoskeleton thing makes me think they're leaning more futuristic.

On the other hand, the high gravity areas could be the most popular, as physical strength is valued, and the people living in the high gravity areas have underdeveloped muscles, so need support suits to be able to visit other areas, and are looked down on for it.

Usually culture follows necessity. I think it probably comes down to if the residents of heavy areas are a ruling military elite, or there's a great deal of civilian mobility between areas which allows a civilian elite to migrate to easier conditions, and leave the dirty work for others.