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Yellowdog's avatar

What are some strange ways an alternate Earth, on the other side of the sun, would be different from this one (see details)?

Asked by Yellowdog (12216points) April 22nd, 2019

Of course, the science fiction trope that there is an alternate or other Earth, opposite sides of the sun from our own, can easily be disproved. But it has made several science fiction made-for-television movies.

Typically, an astronaut gets lost or unconscious and finds himself / herself landing on an alternate earth, which very much resembles this one. Even the language is the same.

But home does not exist. The telephone operator has never heard of Cape Canaveral and there is not even a listing for Florida. There are three moons in the sky. etc etc. At least those differences were on one movie I remember.

Of course, even if the alternate Earth did exist, it would be different enough to be instantly recognizable as not our home. If nothing else, language and societal development would be very different.

But lets play around with the trope anyhow.

Maybe their technology would be advanced enough that they could transmit matter from one place to another, or transfer energy/electricity itself from satellites. Or, maybe, despite resembling the modern era in every other way, some major invention such as radio or telephone, was never developed.

Maybe their history was much as ours up to a certain point, but the equivalency of some major war, nation’s founding, or other discovery, were very different from the way they worked out here.

Maybe the differences are societal. Women are women and men are men, and act accordingly—but women are the ones who dominate business, commerce, etc. and seem to “own” the men. A man can still be a woman’s “knight in shining armor” but is HER knight in shining armor—and she sorta ‘owns’ her knight in shining armor.

Maybe strange and unexpected animals are domesticated and human companions.

Maybe the differences turn out to be physiological in some bizarre way. Vampires rule and the rest of us are like cattle and the people accept it that way. Maybe people don’t eat or need to use the restroom at all (or have restrooms)—human bodies and most animals have a better fuel source or way to metabolize their food completely. Maybe people sleep but don’t dream, or don’t even need sleep.

It can be black comic hell, a human paradise, or something in between. But keep it something that would be a bizarre surprise to the hapless astronaut or other individual who finds themselves landed on this bizarre alternate earth.

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11 Answers

KNOWITALL's avatar

Reminds me of 11.23.63, where Kennedy didn’t get shot and the guy comes back from the past and sees the world is in a terrible state. He went back to save Kennedy in hopes the world would get better.

So I guess in my world, animals would rule the world and humans are the ignorant ones who don’t understand them.

stanleybmanly's avatar

Then they’re no longer humans.

JLeslie's avatar

Watch Counterpart on demand on STARZ. You’ll love it!

No way to guess how it would be. Every single thing effects every single thing. Life might be very different. Technologies very different. Maybe Hitler never happened. Maybe the cell phone was never invented. Maybe there are different animals. Maybe earth II still has an average temp a few degrees colder than our earth. Maybe the ozone layer is less intact. Anything is possible.

canidmajor's avatar

Well, if we stick with the “other side of the sun” scenario, one could assume that the dinosaur-killing asteroid hit only us, and not them, perhaps permitting the evolution of a sapient saurian race; or perhaps a parallel development of saurians and mammals, á la Harry Harrison’s West Of Eden.

filmfann's avatar

NASA confirmed years ago that there is no planet in our orbit on the far side of the Sun.
But I will embrace the Doppelganger approach to the question.
Figuring a different planet means a completely different form of life. Even though they are in the Goldilocks zone, their planet probably isn’t at a tilted axis, or the same as we are. Life would be drastically different.

LostInParadise's avatar

I suspect that the life forms on another planet would share characteristics with organisms on Earth. There would need to be organisms analogous to plants, which capture sunlight and lie on the bottom of the food chain. There would probably be organisms analogous to animals, which are mobile and have organs for seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling. Vision evolved three separate times on Earth – among arthropods, mollusks and vertebrates. The body plans of the more mobile organisms would probably have organs like feet and have something analogous to a head, where the sensory organs were concentrated.

flutherother's avatar

I read a short story where the alternate Earth seems just like ours and then small differences begin to be noticed. There are no flies and the alphabet lacks the letter j. I can’t remember where it goes from there.

LuckyGuy's avatar

There is no plant hiding there. That whole premise is like saying there is always a person standing behind you but you can’t see him since you don’t have eyes in the back of your head.
That said, I’ll play along.

Both planets are the same distance from the sun so their solar energy is similar. In early development both were bombarded similarly so they have similar amounts of water.
Earth happened to be hit by a large planetary sized object while the other planet did not. That gave us one Moon which helps clear the sky and tilts our axis. The other planet did not get these benefits so it has a sky full of smaller moons and no seasons.
They also missed the impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. That allowed them to develop and advance.further than they did on Earth. Mammals were quickly eaten and never progressed beyond the vole stage.

Patty_Melt's avatar

I’m actually writing the story now. When I publish it I will let you know, and you can buy a copy of my answer.
:-)

kritiper's avatar

People would wear no clothes, only masks to hide their identities. Would you want everybody to know who you were??

flutherother's avatar

Earth 2 is a planet of primeval swamps and terrifying flesh eating dinosaurs. It quickly becomes a hunting ground for the very wealthy.

A Mars 2 is also discovered. A dry dusty world where intellectually advanced beings from an ancient civilisation have retreated to underground cities built around the last reserves of water. Negotiations are soon underway to give Mankind access to the vast Martian libraries.

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