In a recent fic I introduced the idea of a Discworld Poland, reasoning that if Überwald covers everything from Bavaria to Russia – that's what Transylvania means, after all, "the lands beyond the forest", then there must be more than just "Germany" and "Russia" in the mix. I don't know if I was picking up on unconscious prompts and a memory of having seen it on the Mapp, but I thought I'd invented the River Fistula as a heartland for the Disc's "Poles". Then I took a second look at the expanded Mapp that comes with the Compleat Disworld Atlas, and saw it. The River Fistula. Heart of the Disc's "Poland".

The next prompt was reading about a millenia-old untouched primal wood in Romania called the The Hoia-Baciu Forest. Strange things happen here. Trees get up and walk. People go in and are never seen again. It is said to be a haunt of vampires, werewolves and other things. The disc has the enchanted forest of Skund. I also have memeores that a vampire clan has the distinctly Romanian-sounding name of "Strigouil" – they appear, or are referenced, in books like "Carpe Jugulum." Romania is a survival, beyond reason, of the roman Empire that even today speaks a language which is pretty much modern Latin - changed least by all the other external forces that made Spanish, French and Italian diverge a long way from their parent, probably because Romania was isolated for so long on the edge of Europe.

So.. a survival of the Latatian Empire, isolated for a long time by circumstances and because nobody much wanted to go anywhere near Skund, speaking a derivation and very close relative of Latatian. Latonia. And what do you think of when "Romania" comes to mind? Petite gymnasts, yes. And in the time-honoured Up To Eleven way – vampires. Werewolves. Odd Fortean things. Possibly room for stroppy tennis players and mad despotic dictators too. But I read an article about Romanian aero-engineers coming up – allegedly – with something that looks like and flies like a classic flying saucer, the all Directional Flying Object (ADIFO) and…

en_us/article/kz4qey/romanian-engineers-have-created-a-fully-functional-flying-saucer-adifo?utm_campaign=sharebutton&fbclid=IwAR36snxEOicJwpmIYL0TNVmhp5-K2K-j-ww5PSYhzjBgan2_GmM1p27hc98

Thanks to Hilary Bailey Carr.

Out in the Latoninan region of Far Überwald, which backs onto the forest of Skund, local technomages beleive they have discovered a new principle of manned, or rather sentiently personned, flight. The vessel is to be crewed by intrepid vampires and werewolves. (Think about it - if the only things that can kill them are silver, fire and sunlight, they're a far better bet as astronauts than mere squidgy humans. You'd just need some sort of foolproof barrier of some sort, screening, sort of, for when you're outside the atmosphere and in range of our Sun's emissions.)

Interesting philosophical point: vampires go out by night and thrive on it. Therefore, under the light of millions of stars, (just suns seen from longer away) no adverse effects happen. Nor does reflected sunlight off the moon affect them. So is it ONLY our local Sun that kills vampires - making them natural astronauts?

Anyway, lead astronaut Neil Strigouil has said he is immensely excited by the possibility that one day, disc-kind will reach out to other worlds and other lifeforms and see what colour their blood is...err, to extend the hand of peace to them, with no bloodsucking whatsoever! That sort of thing is right out!

And if it all went wrong on the launchpad or shortly afterwards?

"I can't see what went wrong" said a stunned ground technician, after the tragedy. "We had to delay take-off for a while until the last of the essential stores were loaded. For the comfort and convenience of the crew. you see. It was agreed we couldn't take off without the lemon-soaked paper napkins... the lemon... oh my Gods... the inhumanity..."

And the debate brought forth observations like this:

Observation: it is the intensity of sunlight that is dangerous to vampires...

Response: worth testing the theory: something we haven't been able to do so far. how far away from the Sun does a vampire have to be before it ceases to be dangerous? does the effect taper off gradually, through something like sunburn? And is it EVERY Sun, or merely the one orbiting the birthplace of the vampire? If the effect is esoteric and mystical as much as physical, could a vampire walk under other suns without harm? A vampire astronaut can answer so many of these questions...(even if only once.) Also - would the spacecraft have resuscitation facilities onboard, making it truly self-sustaining?

Reply: yes, but not if you put hazardous materials in the ship... I bet you didn't check that no-one had loaded garlic or holy water either?
You also need to ensure an adequate supply of the B-word for restoring any who suffer damage!