Why not travel?

[Trick]

In my WIP technology is advanced past ours and, even though not everyone has access to all of it, I need a reason for a lack of travel. Imagine a country approximately the size, shape and climate of Argentina that stands alone surrounded by ocean. A spralling city covers approximately 50% of it. There are nearby islands, large and small, with whom trade is conducted. But, on the other side of the planet, there is at least one large country and several others (haven't decided on the others' sizes yet) that they never have contact with. They could travel there without issue but have literally NO contact with them, to the extent that I'm not sure I want the average citizen to even know they exist. How might this come about? It would be like future Americans not knowing there was a place called China; except that they have never known, not just forgotten. I have some freedom in my magic systems (yes systems) so there can be a magical reason if need be. Also, some few know that a certain ethnic group left by boat long ago and never came back but they are wrong in their assumption that they did not survive.

There are no satellites or any such space travel related things but I should probably point out that technology did not improve at a normal rate. It exploded so fast it would make the last several decades on Earth look like a transformation from using a stick to using a sharpened stick.

I'm open to all suggestions because it will be an issue in my WIP very soon and I'd rather not skip over it and put off solving the problem.

Thanks in advance!

 

[GeekDavid]

You mentioned China, the history of that nation gives you the reasoning.

They turned inward, deciding (apparently) that China was perfect and there was nothing any other nation could bring that would be of any benefit to them.

 

[skip.knox]

Maybe something intervenes? Sea monsters, magical barrier, or some explainable lack of technology with ships. Too far for an airplane to fly (why build a distance airplane when you don't think there's anywhere to go)?

But you are right, it *is* a stretch. And remember that you have to explain in both directions. Continent A doesn't know about Continent B and vice versa.

 

[buyjupiter]

A combination of religion, a political oligarchy, and censorship would definitely get you there. I'm kind of doing the same thing in a Scifi story, for a background into why an alien culture is xenophobic. If dealing with religion isn't something you're comfortable with you can still use the other two without losing credibility. There are parts of David Weber's Safehold saga that get problematic for me because of the religious stuff.

 

[Feo Takahari]

No contact could be a stretch, but how about misremembered contact? For instance, they may believe that the other continent is the home of demons and monsters (particularly if their past interaction with that continent took the form of a devastating war.)

 

[ThinkerX]

Could be any number of reasons.

As pointed out, China turned inward because they decided they had 'perfection', going so far as to pull the plug on a major program of exploration.

Religious fanaticism, or beliefs derived from religion could be another reason. 'The devil holds sway in the lands beyond the sea. Let us stay here rather than bring him to our shores.'

Racism or tribalism could be another reason: this civilization doesn't want contact with inferiors.

 

[C Hollis]

I'm thinking maybe some sort of Bermuda Triangle type situation, or a time warp, or maybe even a bit of both.

People traveling to that side of the world inexplicably "warp" through a couple thousand miles in a second. Those that investigated the phenomenon either couldn't figure it out, or disappeared. This becomes a large section on map that is pretty much labeled "don't go there" (Bermuda Triangle).

 

[RedAndy]

Some kind of censorship, as earlier posters have implied, might be a way to go. Think of the M. Night Shayamalan film "The Village" on a larger scale. So perhaps there is an elite group who know of the existence of other countries, but suppress this information for religious or other reasons. Some kind of (real or imagined) threat (pirates, sea monsters, falling off the edge of the world) could prevent the islanders from venturing too far.

 

[Trick]

Thanks for all the comments, I'm considering several and their possible variations.

But you are right, it *is* a stretch. And remember that you have to explain in both directions. Continent A doesn't know about Continent B and vice versa.

This problem is already solved as Land B (It's called Blodaslada) has very low technology. They have boats that could make the trip but live in a more primitive belief system than Land A (Epyria) and think the world is flat. I just don't think the Epyrians would still believe something so opposed to the laws of physics they work with...

 

[Saigonnus]

Some kind of censorship, as earlier posters have implied, might be a way to go. Think of the M. Night Shayamalan film "The Village" on a larger scale. So perhaps there is an elite group who know of the existence of other countries, but suppress this information for religious or other reasons. Some kind of (real or imagined) threat (pirates, sea monsters, falling off the edge of the world) could prevent the islanders from venturing too far.

Actually not a bad idea in my opinion, perhaps this elite group controls their naval forces and uses them "to patrol the trade routes" but secretly they also watch for those that try to go outside the realm. Maybe the other armed forces and police elements do much the same among the population, looking out for "seditious behavior"; maybe even going into a program of "reeducation" with those caught.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

My thought is that if you don't want to use some sort of plot device like a magical barrier, you should probably look to religiour, cultural and political reasons. Religion is always a good one - you can simply have everyone believe that they live in the most perfect place on Earth and that for them to leave it would be to risk say damnation.

For the political version I'd turn to North Korea foran example. The government controls the media and all lines of communication to the people. And they don't want their people travelling and finding out that say North Korea isn'tthe greatest country on Earth, that they're starving, and that the latest Kim isn't a god like leader who keeps them safe from all their many enemies.

The cultural is more tricky. However it is a part of why China was kept separate from the rest of the world for a great many centuries. The first Emporer Chin I think - he who China was named for - wanted to keep his people close so that he could continue to exert strong political control. But at the same time their language and culture were so distinct that it made it harder for the Chinese to communicate with other lands. They did trade with the English and the Spanish etc, but it was limited. And over the centuries that has blossomed into this self belief that the Chinese have that their country is superior to most others - especially western ones. A lot of that is related to the Confucian Ideals of community above individuality etc. Most of the people actually don't want to leave their home, though there is travel.

Perhaps a combination would work best.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[WeilderOfTheMonkeyBlade]

Storms!! sea monsters!!!! The other cultures being hostile to any ships that get through tp them, and slaughtering the crews, so no one can get back.
Aliens abducting anyone leaving the islands.
A magical barrier.
Dragons
Not having maps
being Lazy
everyone on the islands being boring farts
they made a fatal design flaw on their aeroplanes, and forgot to add wings
my head is starting to hurt now so I'm gona stop. HOPE THIS HELPS, AND GOOD LUCK SIR

 

[Trick]

I've had a thought on this after seeing all the suggestions. The culture on the far off land is most definitely hostile and any who made it that far would be unlikely to return. Perhaps they could know rumors of the land but the only people to have seen it and lived have been exploratory pilots who didn't land there. The land (could be) covered in a perpetual mist and anything spotted from above would be unclear and mysterious. The mist or some other kind of visual barrier would be intentional and magical. Any thoughts?

 

[Abbas-Al-Morim]

Protectionism (economical and political) is your answer. China did it. Japan tried it (with the "Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarian!" doctrine). Even America had a protectionist doctrine for a while (Monroe Doctrine, named after the president).