I’ve been thinking a bunch recently about the contributions various members of the “interstellar community” bring to the reestablishment of human society in the stars. One thing that’s really interesting is that some of the major contributions to daily existence probably came from travelers with physical and sensory disabilities. After all, who knows more about communicating in a sound-free environment than people actively involved in deaf culture? In space, nobody can hear your silence.

Additionally, I’ve been thinking about the nature of the dance itself and that, really, the physical movement parts aren’t necessarily critical to space travel; they’re a tool. So, one of the more difficult forms of the dance is, perhaps, the Still Dance, performed primarily by your eyes as they guide you across the firmament. Which opens up the possibility of travelers with paraplegia and quadriplegia (or other disabilities which impair full movement). Perhaps they are even the ones who originated the Still Dance.

One of the main goals I have with Firmament is to make it a reasonable representation of the diversity of humanity. But I also don’t want to necessarily do the Stan Lee thing and turn all disabled people into superheroes (Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Iron Man) by giving them powers that overcompensate for their handicaps. Anyway, just something I’m thinking about how to implement.