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Effects of a Constant Sun

Hello! This is my first post!
I am writing a novel where the sun has been blocked by a ruthless and powerful magician. In saying she "blocked" the sun, I mean that no sunlight reaches the entire planet. The planet is still in orbit around the sun and still receives some warmth but there is no light.

However, soon after the sunlight was blocked, rival magicians put up their own suns above their cities. These suns would have similar functions to a regular sun, but much smaller and less hot.

Hundreds of years have passed and these suns still shine above the cities. They are worshipped as blessing from the sun god.

What would be some of the effects on a society from these suns.

One thing I'm wondering is what would happen to crops that have constant sunlight? What would be the effects on human bodies.

I can think of things but I would love to have some of the more science-oriented minds to help me generate some of the alterations this would cause on a human society.

Thanks?
 

elemtilas

Inkling
Hello! This is my first post!
I am writing a novel where the sun has been blocked by a ruthless and powerful magician. ...

I can think of things but I would love to have some of the more science-oriented minds to help me generate some of the alterations this would cause on a human society.

Yay for your first post! Welcome!

Off hand I would guess that the lesser suns are only effective over relatively small areas? Perhaps a city and its immediate surrounds? This could be interesting, as you'd have areas of constant light, then a surrounding zone of increasing twilight, then areas of darkness beyond.

Impression one: I'd be surprised if the lesser suns were actually parked over the cities proper. That land is now far too valuable for cropland. I'd wonder if cities weren't more decentralised and spread around the central agricultural zone.

Impression two: I bet the architecture takes advantage of the situation with walls facing towards the lesser sun all full of garden boxes and vines; I'd bet the rooves are also lushly planted.

As I recall, plants can deal with near constant light well enough. My vague recollection of plant biology tells me that the dark phase of photosynthesis can be done during times of light, but not the other way around. Also, back in the cretaceous, when temps and CO2 levels were much higher than now, polar forests throve. Plants up north had to survive months of darkness as well as months of constant light. Plants can survive some amazing environments!

I don't think humans would be physically affected. Of course, those pushed to the peripheries or who travel for long periods in the Dark will eventually feel the effects of vitamin D deficiency.

As for society, I think here is where you'll see some dramatic changes! First of all, I think you'll see a massive die-off in the year or two following the coming of the Dark. And before many of these lesser suns are created. That's when food stocks are depleted, herbivores die off because their grazing plants aren't getting enough sunlight. Basically, wherever there is nòt a lesser sun, you'll see an ecology and a society in its death throes.

Places lucky enough to have a powerful wizard that can create (and presumably sustain?) a lesser sun, will have to pretty much engage in full time agriculture, just to stay alive. They probably won't be able to keep large herbivores (no grazing space); even horses will probably have to be done away with sooner or later. Small or diminutive herd beasts might survive (they can be milked and provide wool, meat and hides). I'd imagine that chickens or some kind of small fowl will be kept for eggs. People who want protein will probably have to become accustomed to catching and eating rats, squirrels and other pesky varmints.

Back to the people living on the fringes or out in the Dark. I would imagine that some survivors out there will take to banditry and raids on agricultural communities for their meagre sustenance. After a while, there just won't be any plant life for them to forage, no wild animals to hunt apart from other scavengers who can continue to feast on the decay of all the dead plants. The lesser suns will become to them welcome signs for places that can be pillaged.

The city dwellers might become extremely parochial and xenophobic, ever alert to the privations of outsiders.

I don't know how long it would take, but suspect not long: eventually all those areas out in the Dark will turn to dust. Such rain and storm that comes along will wash away the decaying plant matter and eventually, you'll end up with a dark, desert planet dotted with tiny oases of green, bathed by golden light.

Society of the agriculturalists will have to specialise very strongly in methods of sustainable farming. Scavengers will probably be sent out into the Dark to harvest topsoil from dead areas and to fell trees for wood before they rot and become useless. (They probably won't be able to sustain anything like a forest under these small suns!)

Question: what happens when one of these lesser suns crashes into the land it once gave light and life to?

I have to say: you've got an interesting sounding setting here! I'll certainly be interested to hear more about it, and read stories set in it!
 
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If magicians can create their own suns, what else can they do? They'd probably do more than just put up suns, if able. For instance, they might create magical greenhouses, and sell them to farmers. They might create other smaller lights that could be used on farms outside of the cities. Light-giving devices that could be turned on and off would be beneficial to individuals who could afford them. Those who could produce light and light-giving devices might wield a lot of political power. Magicians with the ability to create and sell light-giving devices might try to undercut their rivals, or they might collude to drive up prices for all. Black markets for lights might spring up.

In other words, light could become a commodity to be bought, sold, traded, and even stolen.
 

SMAndy85

Minstrel
The concept of trading light would create a very interesting economy. The idea of Vitamin-D deficiency is a sticky point, because of the question of would these mages be able to create mini-suns that give out UV light? It could be conceivable that the evil ones who blocked out the light only blocked the visible light spectrum, meaning infra red (low energy, heats things) and ultra violet light (more energetic, but heats less) could still pass through, or at least get to the planet in some way.

It makes sense that if the heat still gets through, that means infra-red does in some fashion.

Do you have a reason for why this ruthless and powerful magician blocked out the sun? If he's smart, and let heat continue to get to the planet, he may have done the same for UV light, knowing that otherwise, all the plant life would die. That's the difference between a world that suddenly had its light removed, and one that has always been under a different kind of light.

Also, why would there only be a single artificial sun above each city? as the city expands, which it would given time, that sun would need to be brighter, and would make the centre more unbearably bright, since it would be significantly closer. Why not have lots of mini-artificial suns that are put up by magicians over time, allowing the entire city to be blanketed with a fairly uniform light? You'd still have the twilight zones and dark zones, but it's less life-inhibiting. If light becomes an economy, could these magicians enchant objects to give out a semi-permanent light, like a magic bulb? They could wear out in time, forcing people to return to get them recharged, and hence keep the economy going. People could trade magic bulbs for other things, the equivalent of D&D characters keeping their money in the form of gems, since they are smaller, lighter, and their value changes less. One would assume it would cost less to recharge a light orb than to buy a new one.

"I'll trade you this week-old light orb, for that suit of armour and sword." could become a common thing!
 

elemtilas

Inkling
The concept of trading light would create a very interesting economy. The idea of Vitamin-D deficiency is a sticky point, because of the question of would these mages be able to create mini-suns that give out UV light? It could be conceivable that the evil ones who blocked out the light only blocked the visible light spectrum, meaning infra red (low energy, heats things) and ultra violet light (more energetic, but heats less) could still pass through, or at least get to the planet in some way.

Depends on the level science has reached when this evil mage did his Work. If they have no conception of UV or IR but only VL, then it makes sense that what gets blocked is only what they know to exist. That is, only visible light gets blocked.

I'm assuming some kind of latticy shield, and not dragging a planet-like physical barrier into place.

It makes sense that if the heat still gets through, that means infra-red does in some fashion.

No help for the plants, that! If they're terrestrial plants, anyway, as those require visible light for photosynthesis.

Also, why would there only be a single artificial sun above each city? as the city expands, which it would given time, that sun would need to be brighter, and would make the centre more unbearably bright, since it would be significantly closer.

It's entirely possible that society evolved radically differently under these circumstances, perhaps expelling .. mmm .. "extraneous" people when the population gets too big. Take your pick as to who counts as extraneous!

Also, while I'm not the OP, I can only imagine that these lesser suns are terribly difficult to make, let alone maintain & keep aloft. They require energy; they require precise placement and alignment; if things go wrong they crash to earth and destroy the city they were intended to keep alive. I could be wrong, but I'd expect that multiple suns would only compound the problem.

All the evil wizard had to do was cast a great big shield into space! Evil always seems to have such an easy time of it!
 

K.S. Crooks

Maester
If magicians can make artificial suns why don't some of them work together and make a sun that can light multiple cities and have it rotate from place to place to create a day and night cycle?
 

Nomadica

Troubadour
Here in Alaska we are known for record braking cabbages. They fill up whole wheel barrels. Pumpkins and zucchini get huge too. Anything that can handle our short growing season loves this constant light and get huge.
6db635a2721351db5fa268c0830977fd--world-records-random-pictures.jpg
 
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