# What sci-fi/fantasy culture would you like to visit and study? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899 "2011-11-04T21:55:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/21 "2011-11-05T02:43:50Z")
Star Trek universe, to study martial arts. Da da da DA DA DA DA DA da da da da ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/22 "2011-11-05T02:53:34Z")
I like the Discworld, but I’d really like to see the transformation of the children in _Childhood’s End_. It has always fascinated me and drawn me and remains one of my favorite books. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/23 "2011-11-05T03:10:41Z")
I know I’m unlikely to get much interest… but I’d like to see Middle-Earth. I want to see the the Grey Havens and meet Cirdan before he finally leaves. I want to see the White City rebuilt in all its glory. I want to travel to the Lonely Mountain and see the mighty treasure fo the Dwarf-Kings for my own, and perhaps even live to enter Moria reclaimed from the goblins. And then, when I’ve seen all the great places and the mighty kings, I want to visit the green hills of the Shire and visit Samwise Gangee, and hear him tell how he and Mr. Frodo took a little old ring halfway across the world. I would write all his tales down in a book, every word like he says it, and leave it for him to finish when he has time. All the great storytellers could use a good clerk. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/24 "2011-11-05T03:11:38Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > How about… **Barsoom**? Kaor! And I know how to swordfight, I stink but I’d be able to leap. Thats got to count for something. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/25 "2011-11-05T03:21:12Z")
[Chrestomanci](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrestomanci)’s “Many Worlds” Universe, where Diana Wynne Jones set a lot of her books. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/26 "2011-11-05T03:24:54Z")
I would like to go to Kobol of the 21st century incarnation of the Battlestar Galactica television series (not the 1970s version) while the gods still lived among the humans and when the humans were leaving Kobol for what would be the Great Colonies just to see the origin points of all the stories that were hinted about in the series. And I would like to travel with Ford Perfect of the U.K. version of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/27 "2011-11-05T05:00:01Z")
The planet Gor. Of course, that planet has its own plethora of sub-cultures. I think my favorite is the city of Port Kar, run by a syndicate of pirates (in book #6, “Raiders of Gor”). Yes, I believe I could thrive there. And I could teach the lusty wenches of the planet how to make love in the manner of a man from Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/28 "2011-11-05T05:10:33Z")
Most lusty wenches aren’t anatomically equipped to make love in the manner of a man. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/29 "2011-11-05T06:39:40Z")
More of an alternate history than another world, but I’d kind of like to visit Randall Garrett’s Plantagenet Empire to see if I had any Talent. Even if I didn’t, I could possibly teach them how to get teleson wires across the Channel. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/30 "2011-11-05T06:46:19Z")
I’d like to visit Ian Banks’ Culture to study what it takes for a civilization to reach a post-scarcity state, and the economic systems that lead to it. Specifically I’d be looking for the successor to capitalism. Also, I’d study methods of suppressing violence and war from within existant culture (as opposing suppressing/minimizing it from without, as the Culture does. I’d get my info back to Earth, possibly via knife missile, but I myself would stay in the Culture … a much better environment than anything Earth has to offer. You may not wish to fund the trip, Skald, as a successful outcome would redefine “profitable” in ways you might not approve of. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/31 "2011-11-05T06:49:32Z")
I’d go to _2001: A Space Odyssey_. Hmmm… seems like there might be some problems with that scenario. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/32 "2011-11-05T06:56:13Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > The planet Gor. Of course, that planet has its own plethora of sub-cultures. I think my favorite is the city of Port Kar, run by a syndicate of pirates (in book #6, “Raiders of Gor”). Yes, I believe I could thrive there. And I could teach the lusty wenches of the planet how to make love in the manner of a man from Earth. Oh, no need to go to Skald and his ruinous bargains for that! Hands Tim a ticket to Port Kar: > **[Second Life Maps | Port Kar](https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Port%20Kar/168/135/644)** You’ll need to debark from Earth here: > **[Official Site | Second Life - Virtual Worlds, Virtual Reality, VR, Avatars,...](https://www.secondlife.com/)** > > Second Life's official website. Second Life is a free 3D virtual world and original metaverse where users can create, connect, and chat with others from around the world using voice and text. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/33 "2011-11-05T07:55:07Z")
Risa. I seek Jamaharon. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/35 "2011-11-05T08:29:49Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > I would seriously like to scarf melange until my eyes were too blue too see, and sapho juice, until I was a human computer. And then you’d come back here in a few months, and die of withdrawal symptoms. Having thought about it a bit, it would have to be a fantasy world. Given that studying a merfolk civilisation first-hand would be out of the question, maybe something like the angels of Bant? ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/37 "2011-11-05T11:34:48Z")
The world of the Quintaglios from Robert J Sawyer’s novels. I could make myself considerably useful in getting them off planet in time and I’d like to study as a cultural exchange. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/38 "2011-11-05T14:46:35Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I wouldn’t want to go to Rakhat, but I think an in depth look at the society that Sandoz came back to on Earth would be fascinating. > > **The Sparrow** Should’ve included the WHY … I would love to see how the world’s religions deal with the proof of extraterrestrial life. And how that affects the common person. How it affects business worldwide, too (Xmas, RCC wealth, etc…) **Mote In God’s Eye** for pretty much the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/39 "2011-11-05T14:56:51Z")
Mmm, my first thought was to study the society of the Nasqueron Dwellers from Banks’ _Algebraist_, but I see my benefactor isn’t supplying me with a gascraft nor the means to slow my metabolism down, so I’d likely just end up a carbon-rich smear in a cloud-layer. Failing that, I’d say pre-re-Contact [Jijo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brightness_Reef), to investigate the interactions and social mores of such an alien-species-diverse locale. And we’re not talking bumpy-forehead aliens here. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/40 "2011-11-05T15:20:08Z")
I’d like to have a few drinks at the catina bar in Star Wars. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/41 "2011-11-05T16:08:55Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’d like to have a few drinks at the catina bar in Star Wars. Might get shot - first or second. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899/42 "2011-11-05T16:59:37Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > I love the books, but the universe of “Revelation Space” is one of the bleakest in SF space operas. I don’t think I would like to visit. I completely agree with this comment, although Yellowstone, pre-Melding Plague, would be very, very interesting to visit. (and I doubt they’d like me much after I got the Conjoiner surgeries.) You’d probably want to get backed up before you visited… Turquoise might be nice to visit too. But yeah, it’s a bleak universe, pretty much what ever time you took a look at it. Another vote for visiting the Culture. Maybe even tag along with the Quietus service, provided you avoided actually stepping foot in Hell? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-fantasy-culture-would-you-like-to-visit-and-study/601899.md?page=3)