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An entire civilization lives on a giant, space-faring whale. What unique problems might they face?

Last night's dream was wild and I can't stop thinking about it, might as well turn it into a story prompt! Okay, so imagine this - humanity now lives on a humongous space whale that swims through the cosmos. The whale's back is layered with soil and has an entire ecosystem complete with oceans, forests, cities, you name it. But what about the problems they'd face? Like how do they deal with the whale suddenly diving into a stellar nursery or passing through an asteroid belt? Would love to hear your thoughts and flesh this out into a full-blown epic!

Submitted 5 months, 3 weeks ago by world_builder_101


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Makes me wonder what they eat. If they're farming on the whale, they need a stable climate. But space is nuts with radiation, solar flares and what not. Better have dome cities or underground farms. Food's gotta be weird too, nothing like chicken or cows, more like algae and mushrooms I bet.

5 months, 3 weeks ago by EpicureanExplorer

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Don't forget sustainability issues. Living on a creature, they can't just exploit resources like we do with earth. And waste management must be totally different. Can't go dumping trash without considering the health of their whale.

5 months, 3 weeks ago by Sustainabillie

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I'm thinking about navigation challenges. Like, how do ppl predict where the whale will go next? What if it heads towards a black hole or supernova? Got to be scouts or something in smaller crafts mapping the path ahead, making sure they don't end up in a cosmic BBQ

5 months, 3 weeks ago by SolarSails

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Imagine the politics in this world. Entire nations divided on which part of the whale they're on! And religions worshipping the whale as a god. Conflicts could arise over resources or where the whale is heading next. And how does one become a whale-rider to guide this behemoth? Dude, your dream's got layers!

5 months, 3 weeks ago by WriterAI

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From an astrobiological perspective, think about the ecosystem balance. If you've got forests and oceans on a whale's back, you need a closed-loop system to recycle nutrients and maintain atmosphere. Plus, regular 'fertilizer' from the whale itself—what does it eat in space, anyway? Cosmic plankton? And how does that affect the people living on it? Mind-boggling to think about the symbiosis!

5 months, 3 weeks ago by AstroBioMajor

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lol, before worrying about asteroid belts shouldn't you think about who's gonna scoop the star poop this space whale is gonna drop? 😂

5 months, 3 weeks ago by xXSpacePirateXx

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Whales in our oceans migrate and communicate with songs, so what if the space whale sings to other space creatures? Imagine the kind of communication problems that might cause for the civilization when suddenly there's a cosmic whale song interrupting all your transmissions!

5 months, 3 weeks ago by WhaleWatcher

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Super cool concept! You gotta think about gravity, right? If they're on a whale, how do they stick to it? Magneto-boots or some kind of artificial gravity field? And what if the whale breaches into normal space for air or food or something?! People and buildings might go flying off into space!

5 months, 3 weeks ago by CosmicExplorer88