What If? Intra planetary wormholes/portals

[Deleted member 88]

So I was thinking, what if natural and stable intraplanetary portals or wormholes existed.

These would be in entirely random locations including

-in between random trees
-cave openings
-in the middle of the air
-and deep in the earth’s interior

They could lead to another continent, the sky, or the earth’s core itself(so anyone going through them might die on arrival).

This could explain how some people simply vanish and are never found again-they go through a portal and end up vaporized by the earth’s magma. While others end up elsewhere.

What would the consequences of these portals’ discovery be, scientifically and politically speaking?

I would think they would be intensely studied, and efforts made to replicate them.

But thoughts? Ideas?

 

[CarlManvers2019]

Question is, are these portals stable, how big are they, where are they located etc

Just to make sure, these portals only exist on Earth, right?

Well, I think some countries will try monopolizing them and using them as a means of getting from one place to another and if there are stuff to Earth’s core then they may try using it to harvest minerals

 

[PeliusAnar]

If they don't change locations then they will become focal points for control with expeditions sent through and colonization efforts. Earth would become more of a hub and we would see Empires exist for far longer. If food could be grown on one planet while another is experiencing cold weather, or one had rich minerals, and so on. I would say an Empire would form where 2-3 of these portals are close together.

There would also be a huge portal hunt. With locations that are found rapidly becoming a major town if not city regardless of geography. If portals could be collapsed in any way, then they would be even more strictly guarded with only people who are 'approved' allowed to pass through. Wars would be fought over portals. For who controls the portal controls the paths between civilizations.

Portals that are junk would be tested every so often, but eventually they would be labeled black portals or death portals. Criminals would be tossed through and into hell to repent for their sins.

 

[Bear Ribs]

So how does stuff move through these portals? Because it would appear from the description that somehow a person walking on foot has enough pressure to step through a portal, but the gonzo massive pressure at the earth's core isn't enough to force any magma through a portal. Something's amiss there.

Assuming portals can be seen, any person with a functional brain will reach a stick through first and see if the end comes back burnt, chewed, or otherwise destroyed before stepping through themselves.

One unique effect here is that there's always going to be a wild untamed frontier. Troublemakers and such that would stew in civilization can always hop a portal to the next planet, unless we eventually dead-end and there's no more portals going anywhere new, and since new planets are likely to have their own portals (since by definition they have at least one), the odds of ever running out of new worlds to explore is slim to none. People will constantly seek to find new land to settle on and we won't run out the way Earth did.

The portal itself will be a shipping bottleneck, possibly railroads can be put through portals at ground level but even so a single railroad is a heck of a small pipeline for an entire planet. Bulk and less valuable resources are unlikely to be shipped while precious metals and such, things of high value, will be what goes through there and it will be continuous.

 

[CarlManvers2019]

I think there's a chance of bringing diseases and viruses over easily and accidentally wiping out entire species, this even just on earth

 

[Duke Nukem]

I think transporting things across the planet would much more easy if they managed to replicate it

 

[CarlManvers2019]

I think transporting things across the planet would much more easy if they managed to replicate it

That can also be weaponized, depending on the time and resources and requirements to make one

 

[PeliusAnar]

I think there's a chance of bringing diseases and viruses over easily and accidentally wiping out entire species, this even just on earth

All the biomes would have adapted by that point unless new portals are being introduced over time. So figure a very robust immune system from all things interconnected between portals.

 

[Deleted member 88]

Assuming portals can be seen, any person with a functional brain will reach a stick through first and see if the end comes back burnt, chewed, or otherwise destroyed before stepping through themselves.

They are not visible to the naked eye, but must be walked through to be observed(modern tech will detect anomalous readings-a high concentration of neutrinos).

So how does stuff move through these portals? Because it would appear from the description that somehow a person walking on foot has enough pressure to step through a portal, but the gonzo massive pressure at the earth's core isn't enough to force any magma through a portal. Something's amiss there.

The portals have a passable "filament" of sorts. That blocks adjacent matter from sludging through it. That is inanimate matter.

All the biomes would have adapted by that point unless new portals are being introduced over time. So figure a very robust immune system from all things interconnected between portals.

Animal life going through is possible, air or magma can not. (the portals have electromagnetic properties that allow life to interact with them). I suspect bacteria change mostly, with birds and other animals as well.

Also these portals will shift in width to accommodate any living organism that passes through it.

 

[PeliusAnar]

Well people will have shit for clothing on the other side or be able to transport stuff. This is a strong driver for a biopunk type of setting. Where people try to find animals to store things inside to transport things through portals and retrieve them on the other side. Maybe look into some plant monster things on other worlds that could grow and make the portal permanent in some way since the living matter restriction is very rough.

Shit, you wouldn't be able to bring tools at all. Well maybe you would get early groups stuffing an elephant full of tools. Pushing it through the portal and then ripping its guts back open to retrieve them. The meat and bones could then be used for food and tools. Elephant packages they would be called.

On the reverse side only interesting organisms would be brought back or the most valuable of metals. Taxes and trade would be a nightmare. Ancient societies would probably use slaves to stick something in their mouth and walk back and forth all day to move items. Big mouths would become a slur most likely. Modern times would see a huge investment into biotech over other kinds of mechanical tech in order to transfer more goods through.