Cast List: 002 - Obviously There's Radiation

002 - Obviously There's Radiation

Unlucky Traveller

Episode: 002 - Obviously There's Radiation
Website: Unlucky Traveller
Feed URL: https://www.unluckytraveller.fm/podcast?format=RSS
Duration: 00:26:51
Published: 2017-07-05 03:16

Ira reads a summary of one of his current worldbuilding projects, talks about reigning in those wild ideas, and dons his hard-hart to build some roads.

Links and Show Notes

AT2020 Microphone

Fast Track Solo

Blue Yeti Microphone

Blue Yeti Shock Mount

Summary

Termidas is a planet, slightly smaller than Earth, orbiting a star very similar to our Sun. It is the second and middle planet in a solar system of three. One small, rocky planet orbiting quite close to the sun, similar to Mercury, Termidas, and one gas giant similar in size to Neptune, but slightly closer than Jupiter. The planet is roughly 65% water and has 4 continents: Saxton, Andaram, Yanas, and Chyat. Yanas, the largest of the continents is very long, spanning almost the entire longitude of the planet. It has 3 countries, the largest of which is Nornas.

The people of Nornas were very technologically advanced, generating large amounts of energy from Wind, Solar, and Nuclear power. They had true artificial intelligence, small scale nuclear reactors that could be used to power machinery, autonomous vehicles, and were working on expanding their space program to begin visiting and colonizing other planets. However, more than 200 years ago, they lost most everything they had in a small scale nuclear war. One event in particular, a large scale detonation of a prototype hydrogen bomb known as "The Blast", severely crippled Nornas.

Tactical strikes, good defences, preparation, and politics kept the planet from being destroyed, but society was devastated. They weren't quite sent back to the stone age, but they might as well have been. Rampant power failure is commonplace now, as they've had to go back to relying on fossil fuels and unreliable grids. Valkyrie, the capital city of Nornas and largest population center, is located deep in the mountains to the north. It used to be a military base turned small scale city, but during the war people flocked there for the protection of the mountains, causing overcrowding and supply shortages.

Most of the devastation was centred on a city called Valentine Hall, in the middle of The Waste. It started as the campus of Valhalla, a tech company started by Odie Valentine, a genius and philanthropist. He moved his company to the desert to set up a large scale solar panel array that provided energy to most of Nornas. Over time the campus grew into a city, boasting the largest population in the world before The Blast. All that's left there now is a crater. Legend has it that some of the solar panels were pilfered by a group of people who saw the end coming, and now power a rebel community somewhere in The Waste known as "Rad City".

The radiation from The Blast caused widespread devastation, creating a large uninhabitable zone called "The Waste". The winds often come off the ocean and fly east, pushing the spreading radiation away from the farmlands in the west, a lucky break that likely was the only thing that saved Nornas. Another lucky break was the enormous forest in the east which soaked up almost all of the spreading radiation. Most of the trees died or withered away, and the people renamed the forest "Red Wood".

Hefyun, in the south west, managed to evade most of the war. It was a small farming community, but after the destruction of the port city only a couple hundred kilometres away, it became a major player. Valkyrie relays on Hefyun for nearly 100% of it's food production, and they employ long haul truckers to travel the perilous roads around, and sometime through, The Waste to bring food back to the people.

Communication became incredibly difficult as internet servers everywhere started failing. The people of Nornas have no way of contacting the other countries, but their government informs them that most of the world did not survive the war. They are among the last people, and their future looks grim. People don't have the sense of community and drive that lead them to these amazing technological advancements before, and most spend their days simply trying to survive. for 200 years the world has been mostly stagnant, with technological advancements few and far between.