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They might not be planets but planet-sized, artificially-created cities/machinery/engineered objects. Think about it: If you were tasked with creating a plane
by riskable 3y ago
They might not be planets but planet-sized, artificially-created cities/machinery/engineered objects. Think about it: If you were tasked with creating a planet-sized thing why would you give it anything less than a perfect orbit? You'd also put it in orbit around a super stable dwarf star to maximize the useful life of the project.
Even if they are planets, imperfect orbits lead to problems in the looooooong term. An alien civilization may forcibly alter the orbits of the planets in their solar system in order to stabilize it. E.g. before turning their star into an engine that moves everything along with it across the universe (e.g. out of the way of an incoming problem like a black hole or to prevent an astronomical collision).
- PaulHoule 3y agoMakes me think of how the Puppeteers in Niven's Known Space escaped the explosion at the center of the galaxy by moving 5 planets in this configuration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klemperer_rosette https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klemperer_rosette with an inertialess drive that (I think) they bought from the Outsiders.
- NoMoreNicksLeft 3y agoI thought they mortgaged the drive, and were more than a little upset at how onerous the terms were.