Second would be intergalactic and to a lesser degree interstellar travel. If we assume both 1) intelligent civilizations are extremely rare and 2) faster-than-light transportation is impossible, it could be that everyone is just too spread out to make contact.

Not just too spread out to make contact, too spread out to even detect each other’s presence

Edgelord teenagers are a plague on lemmy

“weird coincidence” is one potential solution to the Fermi paradox.

I’m sorry to tell you this, but I think you might be stupid.

But why are we the first. That’s the question. Given the age of the universe, statistically it should have already happened by now. Unless something was stopping it.

We have to be extremely careful that we don’t accidentally trigger a weapon that is going to kill or dramatically cripple our civilization before we become a truly interstellar species.

Great filter confirmed to be oopsie-daisies

The failure to develop photosynthesis is the filter. I don’t know how you’re not getting this. No photosynthesis, no complex life, no sentience, no interstellar civilization.

Is on my side

Man that would suck

I was suggesting that photosynthesis is a very unlikely mutation to occur and thus its unlikeliness means most life, if it emerges, won’t progress to that stage.

The filter doesn’t have to be ahead of us, it could be some stage of development that we’ve already passed. Like photosynthesis, or the development of consciousness. If, out of all life that develops, only a tiny fraction ever develops photosynthesis, the universe would be largely devoid of any life that we can presently detect. Despite us being the lucky lifeform that did develop photosynthesis in our past.

You would write a story where you were already an author?

That’s nuts

For international travel, I start making a vague plan about year out and formalize things about 4-6 months out. Which is also when I generally start vaguely planning flights across the US. I try to have all the dates finalized about a month out.

Reminds me of this haunting/terrifying song: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OELFgreDw5M&pp=ygUgUGluZSBoaWxsIGhhaW50cyBvbGQgd2hpdGUgdGhhbmc%3D

Does the captain decide to trade favors for supplies that can’t be synthesized?

…how sexy is this captain?

I’ve read a lot of books and articles about how to write, and honestly it just seems like different authors all have different routines. Some are very rigid with their schedules and some write when inspiration takes them.

Everyone needs to know fundamentals of plot, character, and dialogue though. There are college classes on it n

That’s an incredible outline! Got a working title? Maybe “Out of the Bag” or something?

I like the idea that you start with “quirky” locals who are presumably likeable and the main character is probably a bit off putting at first but then later the mob mentality comes out and your sympathies are reversed.

If you give me a genre, I’ll give you a premise

Not even a hint?

That’s so cool you’re actually writing it though!

I once started writing a story with a “monster universe” setting but in space. Werewolves and vampires always at war with each other. Humans and animal-humanoids caught in the middle. A few eldritch horrors lurking around the void.

I did a self contained short story set in that universe, about an observation station sitting at the edge of the galaxy, monitoring for potential intergalactic information. They detect a large mass of dark matter that only became detectable when it got close enough to reflect light from our galaxy. As they observed, they realized that the string of dark matter was just a tentacle the size of a large star cluster, and they couldn’t see what was on the other end. It swept close and then retracted away.