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Q&A Do I really need to have a scientific explanation for my premise?

There is no need to justify your explanation scientifically. But. You must not, under any circumstances try to scientifically justify anything else. In effect, by making a scientifically implausibl...

posted 5y ago by WhatRoughBeast‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T11:15:38Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/43302
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar WhatRoughBeast‭ · 2019-12-08T11:15:38Z (almost 5 years ago)
There is no need to justify your explanation scientifically. But. You must not, under any circumstances try to scientifically justify anything else. In effect, by making a scientifically implausible claim to establish your world, you've shifted from SF to fantasy.

However, fantasy does not have to include unicorns or vampires, or anything else. Just establish your world and get on with the story.

As an example of something very much along the lines of what you're talking about, but even more so, try finding David Drake's "Men Like Us", about a post-nuclear war world, with 3 characters roaming the country making sure that nobody resurrects nuclear power. The trio are ultimately revealed to be immortal, and they got that way by being caught close to a nuclear blast.

So, that's not remotely science, but the story's pretty good nonetheless.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-03-11T00:06:22Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 21