worldbuilding introduction
I’m writing a sci-fi novel, and have nobody to really talk about my worldbuilding with that I don’t feel like I’m annoying, because a lot of it is horribly boring, so this is as good a spot as any.
The home planet of one of my main characters, and the place half the novel takes place in (incidentally, because I put so much work into the planet that I needed to show it off or I would die), is named Lamille. A country split into two nations: Idevia, a queendom, and Espal, a Grand Duchy.
Lamille, in a way, was my attempt to build my idea of an ideal society. There were two rules while building it: it would be achievable with future technology, and it would not be focused on hustle. Everything about it will be slow, and everything about it would be purposeful.
Lamille is my baby. I read books about social justice, parenting, gardening, philosophy, disability, queerness, and religion, all for the purpose of building a society that works for everyone in it. I seek perspectives from people all over the world, pointedly Non-Western, and sift through what works and what doesn’t.
Anyway, all this to say, I really like it. I set some ground rules I felt made sense, and the one I’ve spent a lot of time with is that there’s no homeless people. Homelessness isn’t treated with as much horror as it should be by our modern day society, but it is on Lamille. There’s endless housing departments to make sure everyone has a house, because when they have houses, why shouldn’t people have them? It doesn’t matter much what someone does with their home, they deserve to have one.
Another thing, a decision I think is one of mine that even people I agree with politically may disagree with, is that there’s no cars. Zero. Zip. Zilch. There’s trains (which require engineers, and picture people grease-stained and grinning, people sleeves-rolled and sketching) and buses, and teleportation (which requires scientists, lab coats and squinting, ambitious children that dream), but no cars. I’m personally not a fan of cars, so people there don’t have them. They walk, or take the bus, or train, or they teleport.
There’s no lawns, because people with space in their yards grow food, herbs, flowers. The concept of a lawn is not only soulless and horrifying, but ugly and wasteful. Lamille has an official currency, but hardly uses it. They trade if they need to exchange things, or—quite often—they just take what they need. If other people need it and it’s gone, more is made.
Everything about Lamille is intentional and unhurried. People know time waits for nobody, but time spent resting, doing something you love, or with friends is never wasted. They do not much believe in the concept of an afterlife, so this life is the only one you have, and you should live it to the best of your ability. That means kindness, hard work, rest, study, joy, laughter, love, growth, and yes, grief.
It’s all kind of nonsensical, but I guess this is my introductory post for all the yapping I will do. Be warned!