New research published in the Journal of Archaeological Science reveals that Ancient Persians made a rudimentary version of chromium steel in the 11th century.
Chromium steel is also known as stainless steel. The modern version was invented in 1913.
The archaeological site is in southern Iran, at a village called Chahak, which used to be known for its steel production. Their steel had a reputation for being brittle due to the presence of phosphorus in the metals.
This research got me thinking about Valyrian steel in “Game of Thrones.” What about a blacksmith who discovers the process of making the special steel once again?
Who better to star in the spinoff fan-fiction series than Gendry Baratheon? Gendry from the books, not from the show, when he’s following the Lord of Light and doesn’t know he’s Robert’s bastard.
The fifth book in A Song of Ice and Fire leaves Gendry at an inn, working as a blacksmith. If the secret is discovered here, he could use a Valyrian steel blade in self-defense, exposing his secret.
Since the number of Valyrian steel blades is known, the presence of a new on will immediately arouse suspicions.
The story could be about Gendry going to different areas, arming specific lords, and navigating unique political challenges in each location. The backdrop of the entire conflict could be fighting the Lannisters, then the dragons.
If the series were to last for a long time, foreign enemies could enter the fray. Gendry has to fight against time, lack of resources, and deciding who to trust.At least a trilogy, if not an entire long series (~10 books).
The United States' west coast has been dealing with a series of wildfires for weeks. At least 35 people have been killed so far, and that number is expected to climb.
Scientists believe climate change has been the primary factor in the ability of the fires to spread. As of September 17th, California has lost 3.3 million acres, Oregon 940k acres, and Washington 600k acres to fire.
The California fire was notoriously started by a gender reveal.
The smoke released by the wildfires into the atmosphere will reach Europe after crossing the Atlantic. Fires in the United States don't typically generate enough smoke for any of it to reach Europe, indicating the scale of the current blazes.
My question, which could be the basis of a new story world: what would happen if the fires never went out?
Obviously, there is a limit in the amount of fuel above ground. But what if there was a natural gas seam that caught fire and continued to burn up and down the west coast?
The first issue the people living in this world would have to deal with is the smoke. As of this writing, the air quality in Los Angeles is similar to smoking more than a pack of cigarettes. What if this was the new normal across the United States?
Children couldn't go outside to play, and exercise would all have to be indoors. It would be a pandemic-style existence over the long haul.
Agriculture would suffer from such a high amount of smoke in the atmosphere. The story could revolve around an immigrant family who comes to the states, assured they could work on a farm to find there isn't enough work.
They are forced to take on illegal jobs that pay cash, like drug-running and sex work. While I'm wary of painting Hispanic immigrants in a negative light, it could provide context as to why people are forced into lines of work on the wrong side of the law.
With any luck, seeing the plight of migrant workers would create awareness for their precarious situations in our current culture.
Each installment in the potential series could follow different people: firefighters, office workers, and teachers.
Better yet, the story could start at a meeting with people from every group about the best way to support their failing town. The different groups of people contribute something based on their varied life experiences, turning their town into the model for others.
The stakes could be raised when the fire spreads even further in the second book, creating the need to account for the blaze instead of just focusing on the smoke's second-order effects. They leave, creating new areas towns based on their model, eventually developing alliances and enemies with other towns in their immediate vicinity.
Where's the Federal government in all this? They've got their hands full dealing with the international fallout from the massive amounts of smoke generated on their soil.
If you’ve seen “300,” based on Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire, you’re familiar with the Spartans. They’re the members of the legendary Greek city-state’s fighting force, and the men were groomed for their role as a soldier from a very young age.
There was a selection process at birth, where only the most robust were allowed to live. Then, at age 7, young Spartans were taken from their homes. From then on, they lived with a group of their peers. Together, they learned how to tough, lean, and resourceful.
No shoes and a single cloak to toughen the skin, daily exercise, and meager diets to keep their bodies trim and encouraged theft to teach them to live without support.
There was even a form of team sumo wrestling without rules. Each team’s goal was to get the other out of the circle by any means necessary.
Reading about their training reminded me of the beginning of “Wonder Woman.” In the beginning, the Amazons are on their hidden island, training Princess Diana. What if a story re-created this premise, but used the Spartans instead?
There would have to be technology/mystical artifact that accounts for the island’s being hidden. In theory, multiple Spartans leave the island behind and go out into the world, filling typical superheroes’ roles.
(Now that I’m thinking about it, Wakanda in “The Black Panther” is another excellent example of this.)
This could be a long-running series. Multiple Spartans on the team would make it easy to create specialties among the group. There could be romance sub-plots and Spartans who fall from grace and decide to double-cross the group.
The first book would have to introduce the world. It would be a fish out of water story, showing the Spartan or Spartans assimilating to the new reality.
It would be interesting if the Spartans came from another world, recently discovered, and were brought to the main world/center of the universe. Each book could take place in a new world, providing a unique background for their exploits.
Back to the first book’s plot, it would have to be a simple detective story, one with a pretty clean and straightforward conclusion. This would allow the massive amount of world-building to coincide with the cast of characters.
A study published in Science Advances has found that asphalt-related emissions are a significant source of gases that end up as air pollutants. Most people think of paved roads when they hear asphalt, but roofs also use the petroleum-based compound.
Emissions from asphalt peak during the hottest and sunniest times of the day/year. As peak temperatures during summer creep upward, the volume of emissions will also increase.
Let’s spin this forward, accepting global warming as a given. What if asphalt becomes so hot and releases so many gasses contributing to air pollution that it’s decided to get rid of paved roads altogether?
In other words, the end of the automobile’s reign over city design. What kind of world would this be? And what kind of story would take place here?
A seemingly utopian world, connected with nature and self-sufficient, with a dark secret that lies beneath the surface? One option could be a small town turned upside down by murder, setting off a mystery story.
A better story would involve the automobile’s next evolutionary step: the hovercraft. The vehicles don’t have to fly high enough to reach skyscrapers, just high enough to not need paved roads. Then, these could all be eliminated.
The story could derive from a hovercraft’s inability to brake quickly or turn on a dime, the technology’s most considerable weakness. A wealthy, upstanding citizen who accidentally hits and kills a person then goes on trial.
The hero would be a lawyer who’s been chewed up and spit out by the system. Someone who looks forward to the end of the workday to go get a drink. He wants justice for the family.
The twist comes in when he begins dreaming about victory’s ramifications, which would result in the citizen being put behind bars and justice for the family of the deceased. He finds out that the citizen will go on to save many more lives.
It becomes a philosophical question, a twist on the trolley car problem. Since the person has already been killed, is it worth throwing the case to save more people? Can his own pride let him do it? Should he trust his dreams?
This could be the first in a series of cases the individual takes up. Probably more of a private eye instead of a lawyer, so there is less legal jargon to learn and use in the writing of the story. A Philip Marlowe in a sci-fi setting.
If wearing a mask doesn’t seem like enough protection, how about a small air purifier? LG just released a model, complete with fans and HEPA filters. There’s a sensor that detects your breathing rate and adjusts settings accordingly.
The battery is said to last eight hours. While that seems like a long time, anyone who wears a mask to work needs to stick to the old technology.
It reminds me of Bane, the villain in “The Dark Knight Rises.” In the movie, he wears a mask that delivers an anesthetic to deal with the pain. It’s different in the comics–there, he uses it to get doses of Venom, a drug in the universe.
Back to the story. What if this was a “Bird Box” situation, where it’s impossible to go outside without breathing protection. Something much more dramatic than COVID. The least exposure to the outside air would kill you.
If you’ve seen “Total Recall,” the one with Arnold, remember when he went into the Martian atmosphere? Something that dramatic could occur on Earth unless users wore this mobile air purifier.
Then, the government collapses, and the subsidies for creating and distributing the masks go away. Nobody but the wealthy can afford them. Less-fortunate individuals offer their servitude in exchange for living in the compounds of the barons.
If you’ve seen “Into the Badlands,” imagine that but in a post-Apoc, technothriller world.
The story could settle around a low-born but gifted slave who rises up through the ranks and becomes one of the most powerful barons. This could take a few books, maybe three, while he learns his power. Heavily influenced by "Star Wars."
The next few books could then deal with battles against other barons and internal struggles in his fiefdom.
This has the legs to be one of the longest series of books I’ve come up with. And since it’s based on this mask technology, it would be easy to market. Stay tuned for this one!
