Pern stories I'd be interested in:
- F'lar and Lessa's planned transition to post-thread Weyrs. How do the Weyrs fit into the Pernese economy when the justification for tithing is actually gone?
- Mirrim as reluctant mentor to a new generation of women dragonriders. Fights between gold and greenriders over propriety, the role of women in the Weyr, leadership and sexuality.
- Further technological development. The feudal order very neatly contained technological development so as to minimize social disruptions. What happens when it gets beyond their ability to control? Like, how do they deal with truly mass production, cheap mass communication etc.?
- The spread of holdless populations in a post-Thread world. Settlements are very quickly going to crop up in areas that were previously uninhabited, or low traffic. No thread + techonological revolution = a population unlike any Pern has before? How do Holders maintain their grip on power? Or not.
- Armed conflict. The first trilogy dealt with armed conflict plenty, but its something that fell by the wayside in later books. It's as though Holders no longer maintained security forces with thread around... so again, what happens post Thread? There are plenty of ambitious Holders and would be Holders. The Weyrs (and thread) were key to maintaining peace. Will they still be interested in being the threat that keeps Holders in line?
And... other stuff. Why can't Pern stories be more to my taste? *whiiiiines*
Alternate: http://schmevil.dreamwidth.org/281950.ht
2011-02-24 07:26 pm (UTC)
Also, seriously. Dragons can travel through fucking time. How about someone other than Lessa or Jaxom realizing this.
2011-02-24 07:31 pm (UTC)
I want to see what happens when whatever the rest of human society is called reconnects with Pern and finds out about the freaking time traveling dragons. HELLO STORY.
2011-02-24 07:42 pm (UTC)
2011-02-24 07:51 pm (UTC)
Here's a thought. Pern was settled in the first place because they'd just been through a war. There was a mass rebuilding effort, but there was also a push toward expansion, and another push to alternative settlements. The Pernese people were... sort of anti-imperialist agra-luddites. They were mostly veterans, who wanted a New Life, somewhere far away. It's a vast universe - what if there was another war? Either with the Nathi, or another expansionist species. Pern is recontacted by new settlers - it's a viable world, after all - or it's contacted by a much expanded core human society that's looking for outposts.
And you know, I've always been fond of stories that explore how different 'contemporary' Pernese society is from what the settlers tried to create. Their society was to be massively decentralized, with direct participation in local assemblies, unequal land ownership though.
2011-02-24 11:25 pm (UTC)
Actually, I would VERY much like to read something about how people's expectations of their sexuality changes when they bond with opposite sex dragons/fire-lizards.
Adn that last bit about armed conflict... yesssss.. want.
2011-02-25 12:02 am (UTC)
2011-02-25 12:10 am (UTC)
2011-02-25 12:17 am (UTC)
2011-02-25 12:33 am (UTC)
I've often wondered whether Dragon riders during the Intervals used terror tactics to keep Holders scared of them and producing. They do have teleporting, fire-breathing, armored mounts after all. It wouldn't be hard to freak the crap out of the neo-medieval Hold-persons.
Also, the "emergency" may be somewhat prolonged in that there's some evidence that the size of the tithe caused Holders real problems. Dragons and big muscly dragoneers eat a lot of food that bunkered peasants might have struggled to grow with their poor agritech.
2011-02-25 12:46 am (UTC)
2011-02-25 12:48 am (UTC)
2011-02-25 12:55 am (UTC)
2011-02-25 12:57 am (UTC)