Homeworld

There are many variations on the story of the homeworld, or the idea that the people of Nideon once lived on another planet, but the vast majority of people believe them to be fiction. In contrast, Astromythologists believe that these ideas are true, and actively seek out evidence of the homeworld.

Early Stories

Many cultures on Nideon have myths which involve people coming from another world, such as the Xurugwi belief that the souls of all people once lived together until tricksters trapped them in bodies on Nideon. Other cultures tell stories of explorers, refugees, and even people leaving home in a manner akin to birds leaving a nest. Though these stories have always held cultural significance and people have believed them at any given point in history, for the last few centuries, they have been mostly believed to be nothing more than creation myths.

In Popular Culture

Because there was no way to everyone from the noxious fumes, they created a lottery for tickets to transport to the New World. Each morning, every citizen listened to the radio announcements and waited nervously to find out if they would be lucky enough to survive

— The King of Smoke and Stars

Stories about a far-off homeworld have existed in various forms throughout history, and the proliferation of these stories continues to inspire authors to incorporate them in more modern works. Two of the most famous examples are the 18th century play Homeworlder, in which someone from the homeworld comes to investigate what became of Nideon, and the more recent YA novel The King of Smoke and Stars, about colonists from the homeworld first coming to Nideon to escape a natural disaster on their home planet. Whereas ancient myths take the homeworld for granted, modern authors often incorporate reasons why the homeworld has been forgotten and what became of any physical items which may have traveled with them from the homeworld.

Astromythological Theories and Counterarguments

Astromythologists have long believed that the stories of the homeworld are real, often arguing that there is no other explanation for why so many cultures have stories that involve travel from another place. Furthermore, they generally believe that the homeworld is another planet in the same galaxy as Nideon. These ideas have been increasingly viewed as conspiracy theories, though astromythology saw a new surge at the turn of the century with the Virginia Blake Observatory. Though this has not necessarily helped make the theory more accepted within the mainstream, many astromythologists who were previously quiet about their ideas have become more open about them.
Astromythologists focus on historical anomalies as evidence for the theory being real--such as the existence of The Death Witch (and Other Stories) in multiple dead languages and the similarities between the Thisaazhou and Pelan cultures, despite having originated on different continents. Though historians and scientists have not been able to provide known explanations to these anomalies, many theories have risen to show that travel from another planet is not the only answer. Many people believe that the first people on Nideon started in a single location on the planet and migrated outward from there, and that this starting point could be the homeworld mentioned in many of the myths. Others believe that the first people of Nideon lived in one place, but they were scattered across the planet by an angry diety.

The Technology Question

The primary reason that most people no longer believe in a homeworld is that there is no known technology, either magical or mechanical, that would allow people to transport to another world. Some people believe that Virginia Blake's famous binoculars were such a technology, but since their disappearance, others argue they were a hoax. Furthermore, there is evidence of technology developing over time and becoming much more sophisticated, and it would be strange for a society to develop a technology that would allow them to transport to another world without developing simpler technologies first. Finally, if these people were able to get from their world to Nideon, why are they still not visiting. Though some astromythologists believe they are, under secret identities, more common beliefs state that the homeworld underwent a natural disaster which required evacuation or that the technology did not work as expected, and thus Nideon has lost its connection with the original homeworld.

Related Ethnicities

• Astromythologists

Related People

• Kulprim Portelli

Related Organizations

• International Astromythological Foundation