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Having reread Issac Assimov's "Foundation" triology again, I have found a simularity in his capital world of the Galactic Empire with that of Lucus' capital world of the Republic/Empire. They are basically the same, a metroplic world where the real ground is hidden by the constructions of people. Talk about urban sprawl! Hopefully both governing systems are well away from the threat of the Central Superblackhole. I'm not sure of the correct galactic cooridnates for Coruscant, but Trantor was supposed to be smack dab in the middle of the galaxy. Of course at the time of the "Foundation's" publication it wasn't known that the radiation from all those stars and the new speculated blackhole would make life miserable, if not all together impossible. But none-the-less its a good read. Not one stinking alien anywhere. The whole galaxy is overrun by we humans in a future so far away, Earth is a myth and no one is certain of the original planet from whence we came. No aliens. Just lots of planets to settle. Humm. What if Mr. Assimov was right. . .
Registered: Mar 1999
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The First One
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's pissed
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Well, I think that the idea of Trantor being at the centre of the Galaxy wasn't literal, just that it was very close. . . after all, in a Galaxy this size, there are very few places which are going to be better placed to have a commanding position.
Have you read "The Currents Of Space?" That's set at a far earlier time, pre-Galactic Empire, when Trantor was a mere superpower and Earth was at least slightly remembered as the birthplace of humanity. Trantor's status as capital stems from its origins as the galaxy's unifying power, not because it was chosen as the closest star to the galactic centre (although that may have been a factor).
Instead, it might have been a major impetus in the Trantorians' drive to conquer/colonise the galaxy - that they had long ago settled the habitable world closest to galactic centre, and that somehow it was their destiny to rule. And any habitable worlds that might be closer than Trantor - say, discovered later - could be either ignored, or prevented from developing as colonies. After all, at the end of the day, Trantor's central position may have been pure fiction, part of the imperial myth.
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Mote Prime, from "The Mote in God's Eye", shares the same concept. Though in that book the planet wasn't completely covered by any existing city.
------------------ "You hear about 'constitutional rights,' 'free speech,' and the 'free press.' Every time I hear these words I say to myself, 'That man is a Red!!...' You never hear a real American talk like that!" -- Mayor Frank Hague, Jersey City
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I should say, wasn't completely covered by any one city.
------------------ "You hear about 'constitutional rights,' 'free speech,' and the 'free press.' Every time I hear these words I say to myself, 'That man is a Red!!...' You never hear a real American talk like that!" -- Mayor Frank Hague, Jersey City
posted
S'uthlam in the "Tuf" series by George R.R. Martin was described as a planet with city on every scrap of useful land [swamp, desert, and ice not yet being built on.]
This might be a transitional state between our Earth and Trantor/Coruscant.
The First One
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's pissed
Member # 35
posted
Then there's the Scientologist Sh*thead L. Ron Hubbard's "Battlefield Earth" where the fact that the baddies, the Psychlos, have mined their planet so throughly that all the tunnels through the crust help to collapse the whole surface. . .
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I've been rereading Battlefield Earth the last few days. Great Book!!
I heard years ago that the Sh****** Hubbard was dead. Puts out a lot of books for a dead guy.
There is a movie, preproduction, in the works for Battlefield Earth. John Travolta is supposed to play Terl, the Pyschlo. In the books, the Pyschlos were around 12 feet tall. The book is 1065 pages, give or take a few. I don't see how they will get a good story done in two hours. Maybe leave out the second half of the book.
I'll have to look for "The Currents of Space". Souds interesting.
The First One
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's pissed
Member # 35
posted
Battlefield Earth is a sh*te book. The writing is abominable, the characters are clich�s of caricatures, the science is hopeless. . . yet it's a stonking good read!
Registered: Mar 1999
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