Terraforming And Gods

[Soviet Heavy]

This is a strange subject. I was thinking about terraforming and how it is used in Science Fiction, creating habitable planets from dead worlds.

What got me intrigued was the idea of giving the powers of terraforming to an artist, so that they could create art out of a planet. What sort of implications would this have? Instead of the canvas being inanimate, the canvas will now support life. Wouldn't that in a way make the artist a God? They have the power to form the lands in their image, and the power to abuse their talent when they are creating the planet.

What would happen if an impressionist or a pessimist artist were terraformers? What sort of warped realities could they make out of a planet, and would they be justified in doing so?

I find the concept fascinating. Does anyone know any books or media that might focus on these things? What is your impression of the idea?

 

[Vuliev]

Main problem is that terraforming in any scientific sense would have to cost significant resources. For an artist to casually use a planet as a canvas, they'd have to be wealthy beyond any comprehension we have now. I honestly don't see that scenario happening (at least not without significant punishment of the artist for squandering a very valuable resource.)

Now, if the artist could simply change a planet through will--you know, the stuff only gods are capable of--well then yeah, they'd quite literally be a god (or at the very least, a being ascended beyond any current comprehension) and wouldn't be bound by anything. Reality would bend to their whim, so they could create anything they could imagine.

The Q Continuum from Star Trek would seem to be a good place to start if you're looking for literature or media related to your topic.

 

[ThaBenMan]

I remember reading a short story about terraforming years ago in a sci-fi anthology - "A Place with Shade" by Robert Reed. I remember it being different than anything I'd read before that, and it sort of stuck with me. I'll have to read it again soon.

Here's an electronic copy of it I found - http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook1008.htm

And it's also in an anthology about terraforming that you might be interested in -
http://www.abebooks.com/WORLDMAKERS-Adventures-Terraforming-Big-Rain-When/3813768470/bd