A world with human baring flying animals.

[mercutiouk]

Ok, this one's basically come as a random from thought from being a bit of a closet "how to train your dragon" fan.

I find the "universe" created there to be a rather awesome place.

Considering how well the human race has done with husbandry (taming and training animals to work with/for us) it begs the question of how differently the human race might have developed if we had an animal as widespread as the horse with a similar character (friendship/loyalty or just straight trained obedience) that was able to bare us and take flight.

The use of roads and air travel would likely have been MUCH reduced. Walls would be a pointless obstacle by means of basic security and each tribe/race/country of early humans that tamed these creatures would have had a MUCH wider traveling range (so we'd have all been rather more mixed earlier on and perhaps less chance for isolated tribes to found individual religions/social traits). Being able to see the ground from on high may well have improved our overall sense of ecology too along with a likely VAST reduction in fossil fuels used by cars etc.

With earlier individual flight almost a matter of course it's also much more likely if/as tech improved we'd have individual flight-based technologies.

The differences such a "trivial" change in planetary species would have made seem quite staggering.

Thoughts?

[xskarma]

I bet we would have invented parachutes at a much earlier stage too then.

And thermal underwear too, cause shit gets cold high up in the air and traveling at speed.

[Gum]

I bet we would have invented parachutes at a much earlier stage too then.

And thermal underwear too, cause shit gets cold high up in the air and traveling at speed.

True sons of Skyrim wears no underwear when riding dragons...!

OT: Interesting thought, im guessing thats why so many books/stories evolve around that topic. Im guessing one of them would be right if it turned out we would have had Dragons.

[mercutiouk]

True sons of Skyrim wears no underwear when riding dragons...!

OT: Interesting thought, im guessing thats why so many books/stories evolve around that topic. Im guessing one of them would be right if it turned out we would have had Dragons.

It's definitely a re-occurring theme in a lot of literature yup
I think personally given a choice between a jet-pack and a dragon/Pegasus I'd be much more up for having the cool "pet".

[wolffeathers]

Warfare would have been much different. Early humans would have to worry about flying dangers (if the animals could carry us, could also carry large rocks, as well as mounted archers....maybe).

Also, messages would have been harder to intercept. Mounted horseman? Easy to follow once you found him. Even if he got into some sort of cover, his mount leaves tracks. Flying? Once in cloud cover, their gone.

Some great books (Sci-fi/fantasy/horrible erotic BDSM) have been written on this subject. Sadly, the best ones dealing with flying mounted combat that didn't include dragons would be the Books of Gor (get around the BDSM/Men are master of the universe, the combat makes sense. You have to LEARN to defend against an enemy that will come from ANY direction, including up or down.) At least, that I have read. (In before, oh my god, you're a Gorean. For those that know what those books are, I'm a reformed Gorean. Realized that I don't really believe two-thirds of what the books preach.)

[Zdrasti]

Access to those flying pets would have to be strongly regulated, otherwise most of us would never survive our teenage years. Screw up at any point, good chance of death.

[mercutiouk]

Access to those flying pets would have to be strongly regulated, otherwise most of us would never survive our teenage years. Screw up at any point, good chance of death.

Hmmm, I guess, but if we'd grown up as a race with them around it would likely come naturally that "by now" we'd have the use of them sorted out. You don't just jump on something like a horse now and expect to have a perfect time riding it but kids are brought up with them from a young age and fare fine despite the fact a bad fall could still cause significant injury. Now of course being several feet up (though you don't need to be super high, just enough to clear the landscape) is going to increase chance of death/injury but still...

[Very Tired]

I think it probably will be like that when someone invents hoover cars one day.


But I can see PETA having a fit over us using flying animals.