Climactic chaos, mostly. I am of the view that the mass extinction event we're living through has not been caused by humans (though we've certainly exacerbated things), but rather by rapid, punishing fluctuations in climate brought on by the present ice age. This will continue for some time after the human departure from Earth, and it's inevitable that larger, more specialised species will be the ones least able to cope with this. Even if humans retain DNA blueprints for these species, they're extinct on Earth and their niches have been taken over by new species.
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Climactic chaos, mostly. I am of the view that the mass extinction event we're living through has not been caused by humans (though we've certainly exacerbated things), but rather by rapid, punishing fluctuations in climate brought on by the present ice age. This will continue for some time after the human departure from Earth, and it's inevitable that larger, more specialised species will be the ones least able to cope with this. Even if humans retain DNA blueprints for these species, they're extinct on Earth and their niches have been taken over by new species.
The Brin follow-up comic is even more of a God-wank, and this
"Someday -- even if there was no silver bullet -- the horror would have to ebb at last. Perhaps when humans grew scarce and the Aesir were less well fed on the death manna they supped on from charnel houses.
Then a time might come when human heroes would count for something again. In secret laboratories, or in exile on the Moon, or at the bottom of the sea, free men and women would toil to build armor, weapons, maybe the heroes themselves... "
hardly seems optimistic. Humanity grown scarce? The resistance hiding away like rats in the walls?
The Americans at least are not going down: if they do, they take the Aesir and the rest of the planet with them. And if I ever get back to this, there's an attempted Reconquista of India in the works...
Bruce
PS - railguns? That's only beginning to become a practical technology OTL in 2012: the scenario is only up to 1977, let's not get too EE Doc Smith.
(Hm. The Aesir vs. the Lensmen. That would be a short fight).
I'm not entirely convinced by man-made climate change, no, given the amount of natural fluctuation there's been in global climate over the past couple of million years, though I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. It's indeniable we're currently in an ice age (with average global temperatures at their coldest for perhaps 300 M.Y.) and have been for the better part of two M.Y., and it's indeniable that megafaunal extinctions have been going on at a rather increased pace since the beginning of that ice age.
I love the map and the senario. I'm abit sad that the elephants died out, I expected that. I'm a bit surprised that whales went extinct though, although I have seen that opinion put forward before.
The Animal Species you have described as dying out are perfectly fit to survive through a future one, as they have survived the past ones. All the Megafauna you have described as dying have long ranges, and are not specialized to one environment. Tigers lived from Iran to Korea, Lions from the Balkans to India to South Africa, Elephants from Guinea all the way to Borneo, Brown Bears live across the Entire Northern Hemipshere.
Marine animals are supposedly a lot more sensitive to climactic fluctuation than are land ones, which is my justification for that extinction. Thanks though!
Large predators are always the first to disappear in times of great stress- I doubt that lions, tigers and bears were still living in the wild at the time when humans left the planet. Scientific models predict that even with natural reserves the size of the Iberian or Italian peninsulas, large predatory mammals will struggle to maintain their numbers and genetic diversity after more than a few hundred years, which has some rather bleak implications for the modern conservation movement. For that reason, I think it's very likely that the majority of large mammal predators will be extinct in the wild by about 2150.
As for elephants, our current three species are the last of a lineage that's been in general decline since the Pliocene, and I think that downward trajectory is more likely than not to continue.
I think you might actually be understating the ranges of some of these animals, but of course that doesn't change the point. In regards to Brown Bears in particular, they seem like a species that should be able to survive pretty much anything but human encroachment, given that they're omnivores. They actually consume a surprisingly small amount of meat, only enough to cover 10% of their needs on average. The rest is covered by berries, mushrooms, grass and stuff like that.
Marine animals are supposedly a lot more sensitive to climactic fluctuation than are land ones, which is my justification for that extinction. Thanks though!
Large predators are always the first to disappear in times of great stress- I doubt that lions, tigers and bears were still living in the wild at the time when humans left the planet. Scientific models predict that even with natural reserves the size of the Iberian or Italian peninsulas, large predatory mammals will struggle to maintain their numbers and genetic diversity after more than a few hundred years, which has some rather bleak implications for the modern conservation movement. For that reason, I think it's very likely that the majority of large mammal predators will be extinct in the wild by about 2150.
As for elephants, our current three species are the last of a lineage that's been in general decline since the Pliocene, and I think that downward trajectory is more likely than not to continue.
I can see a point for the others, but definitely not Bears, the species that have an obviously bleak future (Pandas, Polar Bears, etc.) would go extinct, but not Black Bears or Brown Bears, as they have ranges that go across Siberia and Canada, which are many times larger than Spain or Italy, plus they are Omnivores.
This is approximately 1900, after the last counter revolutionaries are defeated and the Salutariat is established.
Faeelin
Banned
Fair point. I suppose there's no reason that Aesir mean sciencepunk.
But you know me, my favorite trope is "Did you just punch out Cthulhu?"
Hmm... Alright. I would suggest a World War, or something like that. Similar to the Napoleonic Wars, I assume ATL-Communism is looked upon as bad.
Tallest Skil
Banned
As I said when I posted my Germania map, I was interested in doing the Reichskommissariats too. This is the first one, Ostland. Next up is Ukraine.
It uses the exact same scale as the one of the Reich, so technically they could be put together to form one giant map
Just everything you do is phenomenally gorgeous.
As I said when I posted my Germania map, I was interested in doing the Reichskommissariats too. This is the first one, Ostland. Next up is Ukraine.
It uses the exact same scale as the one of the Reich, so technically they could be put together to form one giant map
Very fine map. I have to ask, what's Sweden up to ITTL?
Shouldn't New Zealand have 2 big peninsulas jutting out the north side?
What is the year on this map? And as a WIP, are you going to show what the rest of the world looks like in the aftermath of this Great War?
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