Let me tell you about Brenda.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Amazing Nobby.
Some technical points though. If Brenda doesn't have a molton core, she would not have a magnetic field to protect her atmosphere and little or no techtonic activity to bring metals to the surface.
That means there would be horrendous radiation problems from the nearest star, and no protection against solar flares. This would cause all sorts of mutation issues.
This may explain the need for the local populace to wear hoods, where do they harvest the raw materials for cloth from? Are there fiberous plants on Brenda? How do they spin the fabric?

Copper is also a trace element in universal cosmic abundence, so why is Brenda copper rich? Are these metals more valuable? Do humans bringing more elements in a point of contention for the locals?

And, yes, it's fantasy, so go you! Loe it!

[d_Guy]

Indeed, this is an enjoyable project to watch.

We know little of the atmosphere of Brenda which may be very dense and protective against stellar radiation.
Perhaps a massive star passed near the system as Brendan was being formed and contributed substantial amounts of copper to its surface and atmosphere (in the form of all sorts of copper complexes).

[paulr]

Enjoying following this project

Typical of an Ozzie to corrupt something  

[fsn]

Amazing Nobby.
Some technical points though. If Brenda doesn't have a molton core, she would not have a magnetic field to protect her atmosphere and little or no techtonic activity to bring metals to the surface.

Ah! You're forgetting the large quantities of water and copper sub-surface. You have the components to make a rotating electric field, which will, of course generate magnetism. 

This may explain the need for the local populace to wear hoods, where do they harvest the raw materials for cloth from? Are there fiberous plants on Brenda? How do they spin the fabric?

Pom-poms. Young pom-poms are quite pliable and can be crushed and the fibres woven into rough cloth - like  hessian. For this reason, they wear very simple cloth garments. They also use goat wool and goat leather. 

Copper is also a trace element in universal cosmic abundence, so why is Brenda copper rich? Are these metals more valuable? Do humans bringing more elements in a point of contention for the locals?

Brenda is like that unpopped corn kernel in your popcorn. Somehow it has been ejected from the process before it was fully done. There may be traces of other metals, and humans place great store on iron, thought they have mostly lost the arts of smelting and smithing. With no trees, there is no wood, nor coal, and pom-poms burn at too low a temperature for effective metal working. 

The escape pods from the Mind of Mankind were quickly scavaged and items from this source are highly valued. A great prize is a sword made from what is known as "whaite metal". 

We know little of the atmosphere of Brenda which may be very dense and protective against stellar radiation. Perhaps a massive star passed near the system as Brendan was being formed and contributed substantial amounts of copper to its surface and atmosphere (in the form of all sorts of copper complexes).

Indeed. That is one theory. There has been little work done on this, as the humans on Brenda have been more focussed on not being stabbed by indigenous people, gored by oversized goats or slowly consumed by pom-poms.

Typical of an Ozzie to corrupt something  

In some ways it is a sad story. Kangaroo was on an exchange program and still cherished the old notion that Wales was an adjunct to England. He's forgotten the Cymric Revival, when Offa's Dyke had been reconstructed  from the West, and all sports bar Rugby Union were considered "too English". Kangaroo's crew spoke English only as a second or third language. Ironically, he was ejected from the program for a comment about sheep.



Just a recap. Brenda came about because a) my Traveller crew crash landed on a low tech planet b) I had a can of blue spray paint and c) I tasked myself with producing scenery for £10.

She has become something of a mental exercise. Deciding that the world was copper rich came from the blue paint available. The pom-poms were available at B&M, and slotting them onto florists' wire seems a handy way of keeping them together but able to be reshaped. I was just going to use them as a way of breaking up the table, but d_Guy put the notion of them being semi-sentient into my head.

I spent a lot of time looking through the Pendraken catalogue for suitable animals. I was going to use wolves, but they're carnivorous so would need to eat something lower down the food chain. Oversized goats seemed to best fit for an animal that could eat pom-poms and also be a bit dangerous.

The Indigenous People I conceived as being like the Star Wars Tusken Raiders (Sand People.)  Originally I made yurts out of the bottoms of soft drinks bottles, but added the monolith and walkways when I re-discovered my long forgotten and un-attended party. I think ground level yurts may make a reappearance. 

Brenda is taking up a lot of my brain space. Milord Speedy brings up some good points. No trees, no wood, no coal - that means a very different society. If the indigenous people were semi-nomadic yurt-dwellers, the concept of a "door" may well have been quite novel to them.

Considering it was just meant to be a sojourn in my Traveller campaign, Brenda has become something of a major project, and I'm fine with that. Low level science fiction which may have a proportion of the population with raw and unscientific psi-powers is a valid interpretation of the genre. Think 2008's "Outlander", "Prey" (2022), 2011's abomination "Cowboys and Aliens" and (he said regretfully) "Avatar". (No, Brenda's the blue theme did not come from "Avatar".)

Thank you all for your kind and thought provoking comments.                 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Excellent, was just checking. No doubt scientists will be arguing over Brenda and how live evolved/survived for centuries to come.
If they're not absorbed by a pom-pom first.

[Raider4]

. . . No trees, no wood, no coal - that means a very different society . . .

But plenty of goats. Dried out goat poop would make a fuel for fire.

[fsn]

But plenty of goats. Dried out goat poop would make a fuel for fire.

Goat dung burns at about 500- 800^oc. Copper melts at about 1085^oc. Good thought though.

I did have a rather unsettling thought. Iron is rare. Humans need iron. If you can't get it from pom-poms or goats ... the spectre of cannibalism is raised. 

[Ithoriel]

Goat dung burns at about 500- 800^oc. Copper melts at about 1085^oc. Good thought though.

Ah! But who knows what temperatures can be reached with weird, alien, giant goat dung and dried pom-poms!

[fsn]

Ah! But who knows what temperatures can be reached with weird, alien, giant goat dung and dried pom-poms!

Me. I know.   

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

But thben you always weird and alien Nobby !!   

[fsn]

But thben you always weird and alien Nobby !!   

Awww! Thank you. 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Goat poop charcoal?

[d_Guy]

In Jack Vance's "The Blue World" , humans have crash landed on a water world with chains of giant lily pad-like plants providing the only land surface area. With the ship lost they manage to contrive a large lens (I'll skip the details) which focuses sunlight to reduce things to ash. They discover by using their own blood they can reduce it to small amount of iron over many months.

In reality, there are some physiological problems with doing this but I always thought it a clever solution within the framework of the story.

Jack Vance was noted for conjuring weird worlds and the societies that populate them. fsn is continuing this long tradition. Well done, keep it up! It is great story telling.

A can of blue spray paint is, of course, just one theory

[Raider4]

I did have a rather unsettling thought. Iron is rare. Humans need iron.

They also need sodium. Obtained through salt here. 

[fred.]

Oops - clicked reply on the wrong thread.

But on topic - I think that humans have so many minor elemental needs that any alien planet would likely lead to starvation. I think some hand wavium is needed, unless you really want to delve into biology.