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[RedKing]

To synthesize a few ideas tossed out so far, what if the planet is essentially a Dyson Sphere? it has a neutron star (or something similar) at the core, and all the life lives on the *inside* of the crust. Suns orbit the whole shebang and produce enough heating to keep the "surface" temperature habitable (because the neutron star wouldn't help much in that regard). Could work if it's several M-class red dwarfs -- most of their output is in the infrared range anyways, and their mass is relatively low such that it's conceivable they could orbit a Dyson Sphere and not create much tidal force (perhaps just enough to keep water and atmosphere circulating inside). Obviously anything like this would have been created either with magic or extremely advanced stellar engineering (which as Clarke reminds us, is indistinguishable from magic).

Could also have the effect that some of those "bottomless pits" scattered around (in fact, holes through the crust) are typically pitch black but occasionally glow a hellish red and get warmer as one of the red dwarfs passes by on the outside.


Might want to take a look at Niven's The Integral Trees & The Smoke Ring for additional inspiration....it's set in a ring of matter and gas orbiting a neutron star.