There are thousands of alternate worlds to explore, but some stand out above all others.
Comparing these settings against each other can help identify what makes each of them
so special and appealing, and perhaps shed new insights on ourselves or our civilization.
It’s also... fun.
So today I’m going to list what I consider to be my Top 5 exceptional worlds and explain
what made them stand out to me.
Before I start, allow me to explain my criteria.
The big elements that all my selections have in common is the way in which they integrate
details that might otherwise be overlooked.
Details that affect the entire economic or political structure of a society and create
new problems or situations, or simply little things that help make a place feel more real
and alive.
This is what I find most intriguing and it is the biggest factor in my choices.
The next big factor is internal consistency.
Those who exist within this world must behave in accordance with any established rules,
both physical and societal - or at the very least face the consequences for ignoring those
rules.
If the fundamental laws of the universe are repeatedly broken by The Chosen One with no
repercussions or explanation, don’t expect to see it on my list.
The worlds I’m putting on this list also inspired the most awe due to their creativity
and imagination, doing something truly unique with their setting.
Generic brown colour palettes and tired, unimaginative people make a world forgettable and bland.
That doesn’t necessarily mean they must all be colourful and quirky, but it can’t
be a carbon copy of what’s come before.
The last, very subjective category is “was this a world that I enjoyed?
Did I savour my time spent there, and if given the chance, would I like to revisit it?”
This is admittedly quite difficult to describe, but it's an important factor, so whatever.
So here we go: My Top 5 Alternate Worlds.
Taking the number five spot is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
A secret society of wizards has set up an entire culture out of sight from non magical
people and I love how wonderfully weird and sometimes archaic this civilization has become
as a result of being pseudo isolationist.
It’s been stuck in time for so long that its warped quite a few of the traditions that
started even before they proclaimed they would hide themselves from non-magical people.
The magic system itself remains fluid and mystical without too many breaches of believability.
It also creates an implication that the myths and legends of our own world are real, but
the guy in charge of making sure there were no witnesses didn’t do his job right so
some truth go out.
The characters, while many of them are kooky even within their own society, never feel
false or shallow, even if I didn’t get the opportunity to uncover more about them.
Next is Babylon 5.
Before I understood the intricacies of the universe, I was unsure about it.
It seemed like all the science fiction cliches at once - bumpy headed aliens, laser battles
in corridors, intergalactic battles with impossible odds, and so on - but it wasn’t long before
became very invested.
The idea that humanity is fundamentally good and will always seek out a diplomatic solution
whenever possible is one that I think is underserved and while the universe of Babylon 5 doesn’t
ignore the hasher elements of humanity, such as corruption, ignorance, and militarism,
plenty of conflicts are resolved through compromise and compassion.
It paints humanity in a far more forgiving brush than most comparable universes.
The technology overall also seems somewhat feasible to me, being rooted in technology
that is currently available in our timeline, though I don’t specialize in engineering.
It does suffer from a long standing complaint I have about many science fiction worlds,
which is the rampant existence of monoculturalism within an alien species.
However, all those people within the universe, whether alien or human, allow us to examine
the best and worst parts of human nature.
In third place the Battlestar Galactica universe.
Why I find it so compelling is how it’s a new take on a theme that has been around
since the Ancient Greek playwrights, humanity’s hubris.
The universe’s rules are simple and clear and as a result there’s a lot of opportunity
for conflict and subsequent resolution, all motivated by the most basic of human instincts
- survival.
Humanity’s rocky transition from a collection of thriving colonies to a small flotilla of
refugees is entirely plausible.
The strain and fear that both the government and military are under as they seek the balance
between the survival of humanity and the wellbeing of the individual results in both explosive
conflict and seditious plotting and few can claim that they are free of guilt.
It holds an old grimy mirror to our faces and says “this is who we are”, warts,
beautiful eyelashes, and all.
My second favourite alternate world is Mass Effect.
The detail and imagination within this universe is incredible and it was such a rewarding
experience to uncover more about the Milky Way, the planets, colonies, and the people
within it.
Universes like Mass Effect frequently attempt to make us feel small and insignificant in
the face of an ancient alien threat.
That is not new.
Babylon 5 has done it as well.
However, Mass Effect made me far more curious about the enigmatic ancients than any of the
other worlds I previously visited with this idea.
I was suffused with an intense desire to know and understand more, much the same way Liara
T’Soni expressed to the great Commander Shepard.
The universe felt like it had a history, deep and mysterious, and one that I could not hope
to ever experience properly, filling me both with relief and melancholy.
Where Mass Effect loses points for me however, and I say this with a broken heart, is in
its alien design.
I’ll go into more detail in a future episode, but it was obvious that the level of care
and detail that went into the biology of some aliens did not go into others, becoming, to
me at least, glaringly obvious flaws in an otherwise amazing universe.
Before I reveal the first place winner on this list, I’d like to present some honourable
mentions.
Horizon Zero Dawn seems to be a world that was built backwards and then rested on a single
mystery.
The moment you saw giant robot dinosaurs roaming a post-apocalyptic world being hunted down
by savages with bows and arrows, the overriding question is “what happened?”
It’s a childish premise, yet when you get into the world you find there is so much to
discover in the different cultures of the savages, their struggles within their own
camps and without.
These tribes have created their own completely original creation myths and while we ultimately
know the truth behind their creation, it’s still magical to hear the stories and lore
of their world.
I love travelling to alternate worlds where someone is forced to create a new meaning
for a mundane object from our world, such as a watch or a gas station, bringing a bit
of magic and danger to them.
Secondly is His Dark Materials.
This world is not as well known as some of the others on my list, but it’s amazing.
A bit of science fiction and a bit of fantasy blended together in a unique way.
The world that Lyra Belaqua calls home is eerily similar to our own, but the largest
difference is that each human has an externalized soul represented as an animal called a daemon,
usually of the opposite gender.
As a child, a daemon changes form until it settles as the person becomes a fully formed
adult with an identity.
While at first this can seem limiting, being able to see everyone’s soul, I consider
it to be quite freeing.
Being able to converse with your own conscience would be infinitely helpful when resolving
personal problems, but would also change interpersonal relationships in a subtle way.
Liars would be easier to spot, because a guilty conscience would most likely be visible.
The clever ways the people in this world get around this issue is really interesting - for
example, those who consider lying or subterfuge to be a part of their personality have snakes
or beetles for daemons - creatures that are difficult to read.
There is evidence in the world that suggests that a daemon can change forms after trauma,
or, that trauma negatively impacts the relationship between a person and their daemon.
These are the kinds of details that I love, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t
want a daemon of my own.
And finally, my number one favourite alternate world: Avatar: The Last Airbender.
This was a world I only recently discovered, but I instantly fell in love with it and always
want to go back to it.
The magic system is gorgeous and is so intertwined in the very world it occupies, the different
nations feel full of life and history, each culture is different and even has different
subcultures.
There are stereotypes present in each one, but none of them are reduced to a caricature,
though they may still have some of the characteristics present in the stereotype.
It all feels raw and human, but it never ceases being fun.
Even in the darkest of times, hope shines strong.
Avatar Aang is a perfect character to follow as someone who was frozen for 200 years and
now emerges in a world that is radically different from the one he left behind.
He asks many of the same questions we would and helps guide us through the world.
Where I think Avatar is at its strongest though is in the small details.
Details like how the Earth Kingdom doesn’t need hinges for its doors because of their
mastery of Earth manipulating magic.
Buildings can be constructed in an instant in the Earth Kingdom, allowing them to focus
on creating a thriving economy.
Fishing is easy for the Water Tribes, so that naturally becomes their largest export.
All these well integrated details create a landscape that is awe inspiring and mesmerizing.
But of course, this is just my opinion, an unknowable fusion of lies and truth that together
coalesse into an infinite kaleidoscope that shines across all existence.
But what do you think?
Was there a universe you think should have made this list?
Would you like to know which universes I consider to be the worst?
What would your daemon look like?
Let me know in the comments.
Until next time, this has been Incoming.