Province of the Muses

A hundred earthly kings and princes convened for the concert of the musician, a legend though alive, who had returned from the divine court after receiving superhuman instruction. His first chord caused all to shiver.
After hundreds more, the listeners suffered not shivers but rather impatience. One among them, a crowned head known far and wide for his unwillingness to feign affection for the arts, asked how long this first composition could possibly be.
"Eight years," the musician answered.
Because of that, the earthly kings and princes understood what before they had only been told, that the things of gods are not meant for man. In their piety, they slipped away.
Finis

Addendum

We used to go to game shrines for hints and tips, but now we watch a video. When will this diminution of the sacred end?

Oblivion's Vast Realms

Dragon Blaze and Schoolgirl Strikers 2 are shutting down, and I never knew they existed. How wide a world exists outside our comprehension. People are still streaming on Kick, too. For a short time the internet made the world seem small, back when we were all on the same webrings, but now it seems bigger and less knowable than ever.

Addendum

That aside, the future will almost certainly have either trains or the apocalypse. Possibly both.

Science Fiction Logistics Considerations

When considering whether your setting's transportation has developed to such a level that there are no longer surface trains, remember that people can grab on to the sides and shoot bandits or else have tense fights on the top.

Addendum

Were dozens of dog breeds developed so that dog-specialized shapeshifters could drive up their counts? Yes.

Competition in the Shapeshifting Community

Is it based on how many forms they have, how big they are, or how detailed their imitations are? Obviously all of those and more based on the argument the individual wishes to make at the time. Number is probably the usual criterion though.

The Heart's Inquiry

Deep in the valley, just before the ruin whose builders had not waited for history to begin before they retired, the man at last found the sage.
"I praise the sacred mountain and all its denizens by whose power alone I succeeded," the pious man made sure to say before he addressed the sage. "I have come to ask my one question according to the law."
"No," the sage said without a glance at the petitioner.
"I have," the man insisted. "How may the looming disaster be averted? That is my question."
"No. That is the world's question. I am not bound to answer that. Only your own."
"Oh." The man thought to argue, but he knew what the sage said to be true. Defeated, he asked this. "Who is responsible for bees? They're odd in every way, from how they look to where they keep the honey, saying nothing about why they make it in the first place."
The sage transfixed the man with an intense gaze. "It was the wizards of Gitki Parst who, foreseeing their prowess would never be greater, commenced a grand project to create the incomparable device, the Pur Konva Karm. Such was the power of their enchantments that all around was warped so that bees are far different from what they were then, and much else too. The bee of today has no reason to it but only chance. To learn more of the wondrous capacities of Pur Konva Karm, seek it in Imvada's mausoleum. For it to overcome a calamity is nothing unthinkable."
The man was later regarded as a hero by all the world and as a wealthy seller of honey beside, for both the Pur Konva Karm and its power of affecting bees for the better he returned to mankind's store.
Finis

The Three Kinds of Interplanetary Science Fiction

1) Everybody listens to the same bands
2) Every planet has its own bands
3) Every region on the planet has its own bands

Obviously there's going to be some galactic superstars and some local specialties, but in a normal week, seven of the top ten songs the average person hears are shared X far.

Addendum

The conventional method is to have uninvolved characters comment on how exciting the action is, but I'm not sure that does anything but pad. By "action sequence" we here mean "card duel" of course. Have you ever gone back and watched Yu-Gi-Oh? It's amazingly fast-paced till the ratings came in, and then began the age of milking.

Improving Action Sequences

Have you thought about imposing a clock? Fighting games and RTS do that all the time, and people keep playing those. Well, one of them.

Addender

And then Shadowverse Worlds Beyond doesn't have Shadowcraft, so what's with the shadows in the name? Does the name imply the acceptance of the developer to live in the shadow of bigger card games?

Addendum

I never thought about this before, but Shadowverse is a terrible name. Then again, if I never thought of it, I suppose it's fine. Economists call that "revealed acceptance."

The Latest Release

More like Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond the Usual Monetization, am I right here fellas? Whether you prefer that or Shadowverse: Greed Beyond says a lot about your personality, I suspect.

The Full History of the Goblin Kingdom

The goblin warriors took up arms when the invader came to their lair with the readiness of creatures who have no other occupation.
The trespasser, mighty in his arms but alone, bellowed, "I will slay the goblin king!"
The goblins, in their strange language, bellowed back, "We don't have one!"
"Don't know what it is!"
"Oh? Then I will teach you," the man said, and he was as good as his word. Delighted by his explanation, the goblins chose one to rule whom the warrior promptly slew before retiring during the royal funeral he had also explained.
The next day brought another assault, and despite their previous gratitude for his instruction, the goblins did not recognize the man who called out, "Today I will slay the goblin queen!"
"We don't have one!"
"Don't know what it is!"
Similar events followed, and when on the next day the warrior returned for the head of the goblin cardinal, the sole difference was the complexity of the explanation. After that came the chamberlain, then the marshal, then the head gardener, and so on. Each new position intrigued the goblins.
Months later, against expectations, a single man claimed the bounty for the eradication of the goblin tribe. Even less to be foreseen, his claim proved upon investigation to be true. In addition to the bounty, the lord made the man a baron under him, so impressed was he, and the new baron named his manor the House of Patterns Unrecognized in commemoration of his exploits.
Finis

Future Studies

After a certain point, the primary concern of the spaceship-focused social sciences will be sound. Having the crew go mad from extended silence, having the crew go mad from a stale playlist, and having the crew come to blows over who gets to pick which 8-track gets played are only a few of the undesirable outcomes necessary to consider.

Addendum

Crystal riding dodo? Either in a later chapter or a sequel if you're confident.

The Hallmark of Genuine Fantasy

Riding dodo.

Addendum

Foot enthusiasts, on the other hand, wait for everyone else to have all the feet. They'll never prosper no matter how far technology advances.

Pioneering Space Habitation

The first true space colonies will essentially be enormous, full-sized model train tracks for train enthusiasts because those guys are willing to spend on their hobbies. I realize everybody knows this already, but I wanted to get it in writing.

What the Television Executives Are Missing

They should adapt series nobody likes so people are happy when they're canceled.

The Incentives of Heroism

An man of adventurous inclinations came to the town and inquired what was the secret of that Yimbigas Crevice.
"We know only this, sir, that if you conquer it, you will be the first, and the world will afterwards call you the Crevice Master."
The man thanked them and moved on.
Finis

Plausible Scientific Speculation

Instead of trying to alter the ecology of Mars, wouldn't it be easier to shove it out of the solar system and invite a better planet to come stay there? Humans have a diplomacy bonus according to the authority on such matters, Master of Orion.

Addendum

Axes work great though. They don't even have to be empyreal axes or enchanted in any way.

Lyric Explanation

Remember that song about "tie a power ribbon 'round the old oak tree?" That's how you begin ensorcelling a tree in such a way that it will sheathe itself in empyreal bark, a material capable of producing shields and helmets impossible to overcome with profane arts.

Grappling with Style

1) Ribbon tied around hilt
2) Ribbon tied around glove holding hilt
3) Ribbon tied around blade
4) Sword is an extended ribbon

It's hard to pick the right look, but whichever you choose, carry it through.

Addendum

Accordingly, instead of starship captains we'll have counts, except we'll call them earls 'cause we ain't soft. Those are the smaller ships of course, while the Austria-sized ones will be classed as duchies. Not grand duchies. Those will be far bigger.

Science Fiction Political Units

As convenient as it is to make each planet a single political entity, the future won't be any good unless we have spaceships big enough to rate as a county at least.

Deserving Inheritors and the Way of the World

His patience exhausted, the god stretched forth his hand. "Go, herald, and search among the people. Should you fail to find three who do not adopt a cutesy voice when talking to pets, I will purge the world of life and begin anew."
The herald went. Months later, he returned.
"I have found three such. They are, however, kind of mean."
The god nodded. "The world they have preserved by their high character therefore will belong to them. Long will be the reign of people who are kind of jerks but they could be worse."
Thus it stands today.
Finis