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[Graknorke]

I've been interested in some sheet metal working courses near here. Which is weird because I have no interest in going into a profession that requires anything like that.
I think that metalworking is just one of those things that people find inherently attractive. Like fire or the insides of tall buildings.

[Eric Blank]

Nobody can resist coming inside a nice tall building, if only just for a peak.


Metal is like humanwax. It's like the ultimate human material, we were made for it before we even knew we could have it.

[Descan]

Now I want to write a story about humans/aliens in a very metal rich environment that have the ability to ingest ore/metals and extrude it like wax, to be molded and shaped however they need.

Possibly go full!BEES and make them hive-minded too. Or better, individuals but who are compelled by pheromones/sounds emitted by the Queen. Like, go do what you want on your off-time, but you serve the Queen when she wants you to.

Giant cities full of extruded metal and worker-humans, working for the glory of the Iron Queen and her Hive.

[Eric Blank]

...besides the puking up processed steel, what makes this society different from any other monarchy?

[Descan]

Besides the literal inability to rebel?

[Helgoland]

Give them saliva that's rich in mercury salts - then they'll be able to go full-on papier-mâché on their steel.

[Eric Blank]

Ah, I see now.

Still, I was expecting more bee.

[Greiger]

In your off time create a environmental mask/earmuffs that protects you from the queen's influence.   There ya go.  Rebellion.

[Descan]

You'd have to explain that one to me, Helgo.

Greiger, the problem with that is that this society, from before sapience, has always been in control of a Queen. The idea of rebellion would be completely out of their ability to formulate on their own.

I WAS thinking of having human explorers come to this world and spark the idea of rebellion, though. I only really just thought this all up in the last hour though. If I were to write it, I'd spend a bit more time thinking things through logically and expunging as many cliche, hackney ideas as I can find.

Come to think of it, I don't really want to put humans in the story at all. I could make it so that someone was accidentally sealed off from the control, was given an order, and found they could disobey...

[GiglameshDespair]

Countered by having a command present: do not attempt to subvert your serfdom. Have a rewarding pulse of serotonin when you follow the queens command.

You'll get rebels rarely from that.

[Descan]

Again, the idea is that it's such an unthinkable act (I don't mean "evil" or something, I mean literally unthinkable, they can't get to Z because they don't even have A, let alone the intervening letters) that the Queen wouldn't think to give that command.

I'd need a reason why this guy is special that he's the first in hundreds of thousands of years to be sealed off. Possibly the first manned space-flight of this world?

[Bauglir]

Nobody can resist coming inside a nice tall building

I'll say!

[Helgoland]

You'd have to explain that one to me, Helgo.

Mercury eating through a piece of aluminium.

The basic idea is that mercury can alloy itself with many metals (not iron though, I just remembered - you might want to claim artistic license there, or make up some technobabble), forming amalgams which are liquid if their mercury content is high enough; also mercury evaporates at ordinary temperatures. Critters with mercury-saliva would thus be able to literally mush up bits of metal and shape them into any forms desired, like wasps do with paper, or even use their saliva to 'weld' pieces of metal.

[Descan]

Iiiinteresting.

[GiglameshDespair]

Seems to me the happiness-from-following-commands would be something that developed naturally.

Could twist it with the noble American Human coming in, freeing the serfs, and promptly the whole thing goes tits-up because their society has been completely destroyed.

You'd have to explain that one to me, Helgo.

Mercury eating through a piece of aluminium.

The basic idea is that mercury can alloy itself with many metals (not iron though, I just remembered - you might want to claim artistic license there, or make up some technobabble), forming amalgams which are liquid if their mercury content is high enough; also mercury evaporates at ordinary temperatures. Critters with mercury-saliva would thus be able to literally mush up bits of metal and shape them into any forms desired, like wasps do with paper, or even use their saliva to 'weld' pieces of metal.

Isn't the metal rendered soft and weak afterwards though (effectively useless for building purposes), or am I just thinking of gallium?