A bunch of Fantasy Refugees arrive (RAR!)

[Zor]

In this scenario, a series of ten wormholes open across the earth. These wormholes open up in Chicago, some Swamplands in Alabama, Sioux Lookout Ontario, Mexico City, Florianopolis Brazil, 100 km South of Paris, the Wrekin (UK), Queensland Australia, Hokkaido Japan and the Great Barrier Reef. Each wormhole is about 30 meters in diameter and half underground (save for the one in the great barrier reef which was entirely submerged. Out through each of which marches (or in the case of the underwater one, swims) an endless stream of elves, dwarves, gnomes, naga, catfolk, orcs and merfolk, as well as a smattering of vampires in heavy cloaks. At the forefront of each party are a set of individuals in finery which offer to parlay, dropping their weapons as the press continues forward.

Basically these folks lived in a parallel universe of magic. There history is a long one with kingdoms rising and falling, times of trade and peace and war and terror, of unity under Empires and squabbling city states and kingdoms playing the game of thrones. Armies clashed, as did heroes and villains. But what they did not see coming was what they called "The Sky Mountain". Basically an asteroid about 10 kilometers in diameter which crashed into their planet and throwing their ecosystem off kilter a year ago. Millions died from the impact itself, but the real killer is the Ice Age that's settling in and the cloud of ash that is enveloping their world. Forest are dying and famine is settling in. Even with the Dwarves, Gnomes, catfolk and the more civilized orcs building Greenhouses as quickly as they can and the Elves casting winter spells day and night over their domains, things are looking bleak. Especially since many people in the areas that were not comparitively well off are turning tot attacking those that are. And so many great mages came together for the gateway project as a way of saving lives both by transferring people to a more hospitable place is an option and by taking pressure off those which stay behind.

• Elves: 1.8 to 2.1 meters tall on average, mobile pointed ears, gracile build. Lives for 500 years on average, takes 40 years to reach maturity. Tied for Greatest command of magic with the Naga.
• Dwarves: 1 to 1.3 meters tall on average, robust build and skeletal structure, three times the upper body strength of a human of comparable size. Lives for 250 years on average, takes 30 years to reach maturity. Tied with Catfolk and Dwarves for being the least magical species.
• Gnomes: 0.9 to 1.1 meters tall on average. The smallest species on the planet average capacity for magic. Can live up to 150 years, reaches maturity at age 25.
• Naga: About 5 meters long on average and weighs 250 kg on average. They look roughly like scaled humans (with hair) with stilted eyes above the wast and like large snakes from the waste down. Naga have a capacity for magic comparable only to elves and are excellent swimmers, but they also are more susceptible to cold and need to eat more. About seven out of eight Naga are female. Naga can live for up to 120 years, reach maturity at age 18 and don't age much after that until year 100.
• Catfolk: 1.7 to 1.9 meters talll on average. Furred beings with feline features, more carnivorously oriented, digigrade legs and the ability to run faster and jump further than any other species. Catfolk have roughly human lifespans and maturation rates.
• Orcs: 1.3 to 1.6 meters tall on average with green skin, sharp teeth, strong jaws, clawed hands, pointed ears and disproportionately long arms. Orcs were created to serve as soldiers for a long dead dark lord's army about 5,000 years ago and have gone on to found clans and kingdoms since then. They are twice as strong as a human, but need about 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day. Orcs are somewhat more aggressive than humans, especially young adult males, but this can be dealt with using medication. Orcs live for up to 45 years on average and reach maturity at age 10. Tied with Catfolk and Dwarves as the least magical.
• Merfolk: 2.5 to 3 meters long on average, rather human like down to the waste with a powerful fluke below, all of which covered in scales (baring their head hair). Merfolk have gills as well as a basic lung and are fully aquatic. All the Merfolk are coming out through the underwater gate, along with a few Mervampires.
• Vampires: Sapient undead of all races save for Catfolk, Naga and Orcs. Vampires look much like the other races, but are paler and have retractable fangs for drinking blood. The blood of any mammal will do in a pinch as simple sustenance but the blood of other sapient beings is more potent, tastes better and strengthens them. Not all vampire feedings are fatal. Failure to eat for a month results in them getting touchy and unstable until they've gorged their fill for about a week, culminating into a blood mad feral creature and finally them crumbling into a pile of ash. Vampires also have twice the strength of the species that. Vampires don't breed, but they can make more Vampire if they feel like it. Vampires are reticent to do this because A: even though a newly created Vampire is under the sway of it's sire for a period of time and B: it means less blood to go around. Vampires have a tendency towards sociopathy and (for what of a better word) dehumanizing non vampires though this is not universal. Vampires have a vulnerability to sunlight (though it usually takes a few hours exposure to kill them), garlic, incineration, decapitation and having their hearts destroyed. They are allowed to go through as food is getting scarce and they did help in the rituals to open up the wormholes. Vampires are immortal and are as good with magic as they were in life.

If a probe is sent through to the other side, they would find the world described. It is hoped that about sixty million could be relocated through the portals, possibly more.

What should be done in such a situation?

Zor

[Broomstick]

Wow.

If you thought the refugee problem in the Mediterranean was a problem...

I think this would end in war.

[Imperial528]

I hope they opened these wormholes up in places that were scare of people at the time. Because this is going to sure look like an invasion at the opening stage and I doubt a wormhole opening up is good for the health and physical integrity of any bystanders.

Plus, actual vampires and actual orcs? Disasters waiting to happen.

[Zixinus]

It is definitely going to threaten genocide for at least one unwelcome group, if not several. But that's just by cynicism and gut reaction. The vampires definitely won't be welcome, not for long (even if they hide among goths).

The fact that they can use magic is important however. I can imagine those that want to secure that, and through that the refugees, for whatever purpose.

[Solauren]

If artificial or animal blood can be used to sustain them, then the Vampires could be 'taken in', and controlled to teach others magic.

Orcs could be a problem, and their reproduction would have to be carefully monitored.

The other races, probably not a lot of work needed.

Also, I can see their homeworld becoming a massive lab for post-asteroid impact clean up technologies, that in turn could be useful in cleaning up our environment.

[The Romulan Republic]

We don't treat human refugees well, for the most part.

These guys are going to get a welcome which ranges from "send them back home" or "lock them in interment camps" at best, to "gas them"/"machine-gun them" at worst.

Far more significant that the arrival of these beings in terms of its impact on humanity, though, will be the revelation that magic, wormholes, and alternate realities are provably real. That's going to throw the scientific establishment into chaos. Especially magic. We will likely see a religious revival, with corresponding increases in theocratic oppression of women, gays, minority religions, etc. Literal witch hunts are a thing in the first world again.

Long-term, a silver lining is that we will learn a lot about biology and evolution from being able to study and compare with other sapient species, and we may end up getting FTL out of having actual wormholes to examine. So that's something.

[Zixinus]

The thing is, that on a theoretical level, this would not be an issue. The refugees would obviously be happy to integrate into society and they obviously

But then a a few million Muslims would not have changed much in Europe, if a plan was followed. And look at he hysteria and xenophobia that risen. My own country has rejected that idea. Hence my cynicism.

At best, the more magical populace will be segregated and kept alive for the power they offer.

Long-term, a silver lining is that we will learn a lot about biology and evolution from being able to study and compare with other sapient species, and we may end up getting FTL out of having actual wormholes to examine. So that's something.

That assumes that the knowledge will be transferred and the magical populace kept alive. Without them, the knowledge on how to make wormholes is lost.

[The Romulan Republic]

Not really. The portals are going to be open for a while, which leaves plenty of opportunity for observation and study. And I think that even the most xenophobic governments wouldn't at least take some of these people alive for interrogation, and one of their first questions almost has to be "How does practical FTL work"?

[Zixinus]

Except they'll don't understand the question that way (what makes you think it IS FTL as you understand it?) and the resulting knowledge they'll not only guard (as the only bargaining chip they have to safeguard their families and friends and so on) but will take a long time to explain (if they can). You can't truly explain relativity in one day.

This is ignoring the fact that the only known method to create said wormhole is through magic of the magical races presented. And it is heavily implied that even for them, this took monumental effort. The idea that it can all be simply replicated just because our most knowledgable people wear white coats and have electric gizmos seems like hubris. After all, clearly magic exists and the very same people dismissed its existence, while in this scenario evidence for it is staring us in the face.

Sixty million distributed worldwide among the better-off countries should not be that big of an issue with a little organization. It's just that the European experience was not that.

[Broomstick]

What incentive do the nations of the world have to take in 60 million (or a fraction thereof) refugees, most of whom aren't human? If there's a reason to do it sure, at least some of the 60 million will get a new home, but if not?

[Formless]

I don't know how the nations of the world will react to all the surface dwelling races, but I will say that the Merfolk are in for a rude awakening. Considering that the first thing they are going to see is a clearly damaged, bleached reef, I would bet they swim right back through the way they came. The oceans of a post-asteroid impact world couldn't be much worse to be in than an ocean post-global warming. Plus there is industrial fishing on this Earth. They are totally screwed coming here.

[Zor]

Some More Information

Technology

The Dwarves have examples of 19th century technology including steam engines, trains, rockets, steamships, steam cars, sheet glass, greenhouses, airships, semaphores, machine tools, concrete, exploding shells and similar. Dwarves are constructing rail lines to deliver refugees to the portals. A few gnomish communities (usually allied or vassalized with the Dwarves) are close to the Dwarves in at least some fields, but most Gnomes, Catfolk and Naga are at a roughly 15th to 17th century level in general being more advanced in some fields with cannons, flintlocks, movable type, usage of water power, full plate armor, compasses, ships with wheels and so forth. Elves are broadly speaking similar but tend to be a bit more reticent in the employment of new technology. They do have a very good understanding of the life sciences and climatology. Orcs as a whole tended to live in small clans which are somewhat behind the times and crude. A few of them were on par with the previously mentioned majority, but many of them are more simple in general with a more medieval level of development with the added ability to make basic matchlocks. Merfolk don't use much metal, they have some using some mana burning forges, cove based forges and trade with other cultures. Instead their technology is mostly based around husbandry of the local sealife and they have a fairly advanced understanding of genetics. Their homes are usually made out of specially bred coral, they have seaweed which can produce polymers which can be used for writing materials and so forth. Vampires generally use technology on the same level as the Catfolk, Naga and Gnomes when they form communities of their own.

Culture

• Dwarven culture is the most consistent as a rule conservative (not in modern politcal terms, rather an aversion to change for change sake), values material things highly and venerates loyalty to family, guild and clan as well as demonstrated ability and skill. Guilds dominate their society. Many Dwarven realms have subjects, but one of the key principles of Dwarven Culture is a hard and fast anti-slavery policy. Leaving aside a small number of outcasts (who are a minority even among the outcasts) no dwarf would ever own or deal in (buying to immediately free does not count in most cases) slaves.
• Elven culture is even more conservative, tends towards the feudal more than the Dwarves do, are scholastically minded, values artistry and tradition and one's passions and holds magical ability in high esteem. There are four main branches of the elves: High Elves, Wood Elves, Dark Elves and Low Elves (Elves that live in non elvish dominated societies), though even in those bounds there are some variety. Some Dark Elves would intergrate into modern society more easily than high elves.
• Catfolk societies vary a lot, some are marshal, some are merchantile, some are academic, some are religious, some are secular, some are nomadic, some take after the other races. What they have in common is a near universal aversion to monarchy (unless they are subjects of a non catfolk liege lord), an individualistic streak and a belief that one should be quick on one's feet and willing to adapt to changing circumstances quickly.
• Gnomish culture varies a lot and gnomes tend to be vassalized by one species or another.
• The Naga tend to rule over their own small kingdoms with Dwarves, Catfolk and Gnomes as subjects. Disharmony and disorder are to be avoided and deference to the Naga is considered to be a high virtue.
• Orcs form clans, usually in more marginal areas. Orcish culture varies a lot but tends to value the greatest warriors most highly, though those with skills that take time to cultivate or are rare (artisans, mages, priests and in many clans scholars) are also given consideration and value honor. Some of the more established clans have become more formalized kingdoms.
  Merfolk society varies a lot.
• Vampires either live among other societies (either from the shadows or overtly in some cases) or in a few cases carve out small principalities in which an upper class of vampires rules over a lower class of non vampires.

Zor

[madd0ct0r]

we leave migrants to drown in the medditerean. Why do you think we'd behave any better here?

[The Romulan Republic]

we leave migrants to drown in the medditerean. Why do you think we'd behave any better here?

If anything, it'll be infinitely worse, given that they are non-human and a legal (though not a moral) argument can be made that they are not entitled to human rights.

[Tribble]

we leave migrants to drown in the medditerean. Why do you think we'd behave any better here?

If anything, it'll be infinitely worse, given that they are non-human and a legal (though not a moral) argument can be made that they are not entitled to human rights.

Ya... given how much we torture and kill eachother let alone other species, there is practically zero chance of this ending peacefully.

One benefit of sorts will be that at least for awhile humans may have a common perceived threat to unite against.

[The Romulan Republic]

Eh, we'll probably start killing people for collaborating with the non-human invaders. Plus I'm sure that with magic proven to be real, witch hunts will make a big comeback.

[Tribble]

Eh, we'll probably start killing people for collaborating with the non-human invaders. Plus I'm sure that with magic proven to be real, witch hunts will make a big comeback.

The real questions for Alabamans are which creatures should be shot first, how many points they are worth, and which ones look best on a pedestal as opposed to a wall or rug.

Edit: as for Sioux lookout... I doubt anyone will notice them or a few years at least, nobody goes up there. So says the Torontonian.