Ice Realms, Ice Age, Frozen Planets, etc. Any Info?

Okay, so I’m still thinking I’ll go with my *Beauty and the Beast* plot, but now I’m wanting to do it in an ice age world/realm/planet, and I’m wondering though, on the hows and why of it being an ice realm, ice age type planet, and was hoping for some thoughts on this. This is kind of a two part question.

I originally asked this over in sci-fi forum, because I thought *on another planet = it must be sci-fi*, but the answers I got over there told me that sci-fi had to be based on real science and real planets that could really support life etc, and since the planet I was describing couldn’t possible be realistic, they told me I was not writing sci-fi, but was instead writing fantasy, and that I should be asking on the fantasy forum instead of the sci-fi forum. No one ever did give me any kind of an actual answer other than to send me here, so now I’m going to ask you guys here in fantasy instead, and see what you guys think.

I’m planning to retell 13 different fairy tales in a horror-type theme, but told on a distant ice realm planet setting instead of told on earth. Am I making sense so far?

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#1.) First off: What would you expect to find/see in an ice realm? Anything from landscape to plant life to what people wear to house people build to the type of daily weather. Basically, what do you think of when you think of an ice world? What would you expect to find if you was to visit or live there?

What types of animals, beasts, birds, fish, monsters, and/or mythical beast might you expect to find on an ice planet?

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#2.) Secondly: I’m going on the theory that the planet was originally like our earth, but somehow froze over. What would cause a planet to become completely covered in ice and snow, yet still be able to sustain life? I’m looking for either scientific facts or something that could convincingly *sound* like it was scientific fact even though it isn’t. Though if being all scientific isn’t possible, I’m open to listening to just plain old random guesses too.

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#3.) How believable is would it be for me to go with a back-story like this:

The way I’m plotting it out at the moment, I’m assuming that the planet was once a near duplicate of our earth more or less, but than a comet crashed into the planet’s atmosphere and altered the planet somehow, causing most of the planet’s surface to freeze over almost instantly, thus killing off 80 – 90% of the population. Those that survived have learned to adapt to the new ice world.

So my setting it with a primitive-lifestyle culture on a distant frozen planet, yet they have spaceships and laser weapons. I have a very clear image of these people in my head. I can see how they live and what they look like and I really, REALLY like them.

I’m liking the whole primitive folks on the ice planet, fighting off other aliens with space ships and laser weapons. (I did say Beauty and the Beast and other fairy tales in space right?) I’m plotting it all out in my head. Everything is moving along great, and I’m finally coming up with a story plan I think I can write for NaNo. So I ‘m here, building up the planet and the races and cultures and plant life and animal life, and designing the ships and weapons and than it hits me:

Primitive lifestyle with spaceships and laser weaponry? WTH?

By primitive I mean not quite cave people but not quite medieval either, somewhere in between. They still wear furs and skins, but they have woven cloth too (maybe left over from before?). They hunt with spears and swords (guns and cannons not yet invented or reinvented). They have no cars, or such, and still ride on horses (and dragons, this will have dragons in it too). One or two wealthy families have a wagon-like thing, but every body else walks or rides a beast of some sort. They do not have electricity, but use some weird crystals that acts like fire to bring warmth and light but doesn’t burn they hands so they can carry them around. (No way to build fires since the ice age started…uhm, not sure why yet.)

And yet, they have this huge intergalactic starship, and in it are several smaller space ships that can go from the planet’s surface to the starship. And here’s the oddest thing of all: they are carrying these laser weapons, kind of a 1950’s ray gun like thing. (I can actually see this story going all 1950’s B-movie cliche on me, if I’m not careful)

So here’s the thing that brings me here to you guys: How can they be such a primitive peoples, and yet have these ships and laser weapons? Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas on how I might be able to explain this phenomena?

I’m thinking that maybe they had the tech years ago, but that some sort of massive *Armageddon* type event wiped out most of the population… and the ones that survived had no idea how to build the tech again, but somehow figured out how to use it at least minimally… (maybe leaving only children?…. thinking of the Star Trek episode Mira right now). Possibly that is also why they are living in an Ice Age as well?

And now my current era would be a few generations later.

Maybe they still have these items and keep them out of remembrance of their ancestors.

or maybe view these items as *god-like* because they have not figured out yet how to recreate them and so they only use them when *calling on the gods*?

Oh, and when I say they are a *primitive-lifestyle culture* I mean they are still living without advances sciences and stuff, so are still living like Medieval times without such things things as electricity and plumbing and such. I see them as very intelligent beings, but they just have yet to discover the ways to advance scientifically yet. I’m not saying that they are stupid or anything, just that their current science has not allowed them to advance out of a primitive-living off the land type of lifestyle yet. Basically they are content with the lifestyle they have so there is not too much goal to improve things; for the moment at least.

I’m still working on the details though, so I’m not sure exactly what I’ll end up deciding.

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#4.) Anyways, sorry this post got so very, very, very long (much longer than the original one on the sci-fi forum was!) I’m kind of working out details as I type. But, yeah, anything else you could think of to say about ice worlds, ice realms, frozen planets, or ice ages would be great. Real history or off the wall fantasy, just anything about living in icy realms real or fictional, would really help.

oh… and I’m seeing this going in a whole 10th Kingdom road… the 13 fairy tales being all kind of interconnected and turned into one long novel.

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

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