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jude_rookA couple of days ago, I wrote about the Contact Conference and “Cultures of the Imagination,” its whip-up-a-planet-in-a-weekend workshop. Back in the early nineties, some of the regular participants decided that a few days wasn’t enough time to do the job of planet design really thoroughly, so they launched a project that they could work on between annual conferences. They stayed in touch by email or, for those who didn’t have Internet access, regular mail (see how long ago this was?).
Over a period of two years, they came up with Epona, a planet that orbits the star 82 Eridani, 20 light years from Earth. For most of its history, Epona has undergone ice age after ice age, interrupted by periodic thaws (10 million years or so long) caused by geologic activity. During these thaws, life flourishes…
You can find lots of information on Epona, including illustrations and maps, here.
Another site with Epona images is this one.
Unlike some other world building projects, the designers weren’t content to just create their planet and call it a day. Epona was supposed to be a “shared world”: a background that different writers could use for telling stories. (Throughout the history of SF, other planets have occasionally been created for the same purposes, notably Medea and Murasaki.) A few stories were published in Analog, in the November 1996, November 1998 and February 2001 issues. I don’t think they have been reprinted anywhere. The earliest issue also had a nonfiction piece giving information on the Epona project.
Sadly, the Epona project seems to have gone dormant; at least, I don‘t know of any other fiction written using it. Here is some information on what happened.
Over a period of two years, they came up with Epona, a planet that orbits the star 82 Eridani, 20 light years from Earth. For most of its history, Epona has undergone ice age after ice age, interrupted by periodic thaws (10 million years or so long) caused by geologic activity. During these thaws, life flourishes…
You can find lots of information on Epona, including illustrations and maps, here.
Another site with Epona images is this one.
Unlike some other world building projects, the designers weren’t content to just create their planet and call it a day. Epona was supposed to be a “shared world”: a background that different writers could use for telling stories. (Throughout the history of SF, other planets have occasionally been created for the same purposes, notably Medea and Murasaki.) A few stories were published in Analog, in the November 1996, November 1998 and February 2001 issues. I don’t think they have been reprinted anywhere. The earliest issue also had a nonfiction piece giving information on the Epona project.
Sadly, the Epona project seems to have gone dormant; at least, I don‘t know of any other fiction written using it. Here is some information on what happened.