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Dark_Believer t1_itpp3wc wrote

Issac Asimov wrote a short story about this very idea called Nightfall. It deals with a planet that has several suns due to stars being so clumped together near a galactic core. Once every long time period ( like 1000 years or so) the suns have a conjunction and allow nighttime to occur. The story deals mostly with how people on this planet deal psychologically with seeing stars only once an epoch. I strongly recommend reading this short story as it is quite thought provoking.

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seanbrockest t1_itq3lh9 wrote

Conversely there was a short story included as part of "Fallen Dragon" by Peter F. Hamilton that described a civilization whose solar system was inside a thick nebula of dust. Not being able to see anything but their own star, they never bothered to develop astronomy or space exploration, their civilization rising and falling all without ever having stepped off their home planet.

Silver lining, they never had to deal with astrologers.

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FDUK1 t1_itqf6co wrote

Or Kricet (?) In Douglas Adams Hitch Hikers Guide to the galaxy. Where the inhabitants don't know the universe exists until a space ship crashes on the planet. They then vow to destroy the universe as an abomination

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Alfred_The_Sartan t1_itqmlpx wrote

I was trying to think of who wrote that one. Tip of my tongue moment. Thank you.

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RandomStuffGenerator t1_itq0wkz wrote

I read that story as a teenager and has sticked with me for over two decades... I periodically remember it and it gets me theorizing about stuff (but I will not spoil it for those who didn't read it). That one really hit a nerve, and the one about a guy changing a letter in his name to improve his life.

However, it was probably Ray Bradbury who turned me into the nerd I am today.

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EmotionalHemophilia t1_itq36rx wrote

> it was probably Ray Bradbury who turned me into the nerd I am today

Something Wicked This Way Comes is the most beautifully written book I've ever read.

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red75prime t1_itu1mgw wrote

Smile on a bullet... Ugh. There's something revolting in this notion to me. Maybe the antagonists were too life-like to take them only as an allegory.

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Krail t1_ity4swy wrote

Is that how the planet was set up? It took it more to mean that the planet was in a four or five star solar system, rather than just that there were enough neighboring star systems to illuminate everything.

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Repulsive-Toe-8826 t1_itqmzt9 wrote

Would it be really that different from us experiencing a noon full solar eclipse once in a lifetime? It doesn't seem a oh-so-enticing concept for a story, nowadays.

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Krail t1_ity5a0r wrote

It's not like the story was written in the ancient past. The authors were well aware of solar eclipses.

The main idea was that it never gets dark on this planet. The darkest it ever gets is still significantly brighter than a full moon. Enough that before the eclipse event no one on this world had ever seen "the stars". Darkness is so alien to the people of the story that things like mining in dark caves are highly specialized and require a ton of psychological training.

Personally, I think the resulting madness when people see darkness and the stars is a little played up for drama, but I think it's not hard to imagine how terrifying darkness could be if you've never actually experienced it.

(The people in the story were also completely unaware that there was a universe beyond their solar system, and had no idea what to make of the stars)

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