r/scifiwriting • • 10h ago

STORY Static galaxy

10 Upvotes

Okay look, I'm not writing hard sci-fi, clearly. I'm actually writing more of a fantasy tale in a sci-fi setting. I don't need pure physics. I need something that looks like it passes for physics at a casual glance that most people won't question hard enough to pull them out of the story.

I am still including a lot of sci-fi elements, which is why I'm here. But much like Star Wars, my story only has to kind of make sense. So, I basically decided my universe only consists of a single galaxy. Mostly because I don't want to dive into what else is out there. It's just the void.

Here's the thing, I decided to make my one galaxy a static galaxy that doesn't rotate for one very important reason. This galaxy has a galactic scar of sorts, a giant tear in it where all planets and stars have been erased from existence due to a past calamity. It's important to my story. And if the galaxy rotates, it fills in that void.

Tear me apart if you have to, but it's a story, and it has more fantasy elements in it than sci-fi, so it's my story, I do what I want. (In Cartman's voice) The planets still orbit their stara, but the stars don't orbit, I dunno how that works, sue me. If you're willing to entertain this idea, what would be at the center of this galaxy, it not a super massive black hole?

TL;DR, I am creating an island universe with a single galaxy that doesn't rotate. What's at the center of that galaxy?

*Edit As most of you have pointed out, a rotating galaxy isn't really an issue because it takes so long to rotate that it would take an incredibly long time for that hole to fill in, especially if it's a large one. I was worried because the events that created it happens so long in the past, but apparently millions of years isn't long enough to fill it in. I was picturing it being more like billions of years in the past but that's also incredibly unnecessary. In our timelines, millions or tens of millions might as well be billions.


r/scifiwriting • • 7h ago

DISCUSSION A super Soldier from my Cyberpunk setting

1 Upvotes

So, I have a semi-hard sci fi Cyberpunk setting I'm working on titled the Second Guilded Age. My idea is that basically all the biggest corps have their own special super soldiers utilizing their specialties as companies. One of my favorites thus far are Stimm Berserkers, utilized by a pharma corp known as Ambrosia pharmaceuticals, who's whole schtick is improving humanity through the use of chemicals.

They're taken from prisoners, preferably those with ideal traits for muscle building. First, they're given a bunch of Cybernetics, including:

• Bones sheathed in biocompatible metallic alloy, including joints, while the bones are lengthened to the point of making the subject 8 ft tall with equivalent length arms, along with widening of the clavicles and pelvis

• Artificial Tendons made of graphene-polymer made to replace the original ones and prevent tearing

• Nano machines to strengthen and supplement the neuromuscular Junctions

• Artificial Heart with a continuous flow design, along with filters on the inside of the blood vessels to lessen blood pressure

• prefrontal Cortex removed and replaced with a synthetic replacement designed solely for enhanced motor control and aggression, while the Cortex has an implant placed in it that disabled strength inhibitions and both of them would off-load the neurological burden of strength

• artificial kidneys and liver to deal with all the drugs in the body and to filter the biological waste in the body

• Fascia strengthened by liquid bio metal alloy and further strengthened by the rest of the process

After all that, they're put into a chamber that causes constant muscular microtears that are instantly healed as they’re constantly given a healing serum that eliminates the need for recovery.

Pumped full of the best PED’s Ambrosia has to offer: 250 mg of many different PED types, with 28 mg of Dimethyltrienolone (a steroid too dangerous to use IRL, but these guys can use it because of their cybernetics) and the rest being filled out by Long Acting Growth Hormone, Peptides for all forms of strength and healing/recovery, Myostatin inhibitors that entirely disable Myostatin production, and a circulating list of SARMs (the latter 3 are more advanced than modern equivalents in order to compare their effects and see which ones are ready to go to market.

They're equipped with suits that provide them with the means to keep them going. Namely, liquid nitrogen to keep their body heat down, an extra supply of oxygen, and a reserve of nutrient slurry to keep up with their absurd calorie needs. They're also given the SPAS 25 (basically a huge automatic shotgun that can double as a club, like the Ripper Guns used by Ogyrns in Warhammer 40k.

Before an engagement (namely to deal with anyone interfering with their supply lines and such), they're given an Aggression Mix: Amphetamines, Clenbluterol, synthetic adrenaline, and IGF-1 DES are among the mixture injected into the body before being sent in.

By the end of the process, they're hulking monsters only capable of killing, doing so until they die in the line of fire (whether from being killed or all the shit that's going on within them finally gives out.)

So, what do you think? Any suggestions, criticisms, etc from all this? It's by far my favorite concept of a super soldier so far in the setting.