Speculative Worlds Summary

A few people have expressed interest in the worlds I create, so this year I'll be releasing a few of them as posts. I'm calling it the "speculative worlds" project, just to have a tag for this kind of post.

The reason it needs to have a tag and an explanation is that I'm not releasing the worlds as any kind of strongly coherent narrative. It's a mishmash of notes, scenes, and sketches, depending on the nature of the world I've developed. So don't expect to find a beautiful coffee table book!

The reason I'm calling it speculative worlds is because these are not just generic science fiction universes. The idea is that a created world casts light on the beliefs and norms of the author. By creating a world, you can cast light into the parts of your brain that are hard to illuminate, explore your suppositions, and come up with interesting insights.

So I'm not trying to create "cool" or "complete" worlds. I'm trying to create "interesting" ones - ones which explore an assumption. I hope, if you choose to comment on any of them, you will do so understanding that this is my aim.

And I hope people do comment, because the same exploration turns out differently when done by a different person. I recommend following standard improv policy, though: negation's not a great idea at this stage in a world's development.

Lastly, I have no interest in controlling this project. If you want to do the same thing, feel free. If any of my worlds strike you as interesting, they are all available with a creative commons attribution license, so feel free to use them, too. Just link a lot, and everyone will be happy.