Date: 2010-12-28 05:51 am (UTC)
Consider another possibility.

What if flight is like teleportation in The Stars My Destination? If some people are better than others, there will be flight levels as a law; walking speed is limited to a minimum of ten feet, and a maximum of twenty feet of altitude, while runners can, once outside of the walking altitudes, go up to their max speed as long as they don't exceed thirty or forty feet.

The fastest fliers will be in demand as couriers if they can carry any weight above their own. Even being able to transport a letter will have its value; imagine how this would affect business dealings, or espionage.

Regardless of whether there is a wide range of speeds or a narrow one:

North-south travelers will be separated from east-west travelers.

Flight will be an Olympic sport in several variations, and the uneven parallel bars may be removed from the competition.

Acceptable behavior will change. Nude sunbathing may be forbidden ("You can't do that! What if somebody flies by and sees you?"), or casual nudity may become the norm.

If people can only fly naked, casual nudity may become the norm, or there may be a "guest closet" of some sort. The toga may come back into fashion in one form or another, simply because it's better as loaner clothing when the visitor may be of any size or shape. (Or there might be something better out there.)

Landmarks will be built with an eye towards personal navigation, as will houses. ("We're two blocks south of the church where the roof is a silver cross on a black background. Our house is the one with the green-and-gold herringbone pattern shingles.") Orienteering will become a common skill until civilian-legal GPS arrives, and even then orienteering will be a sport for enthusiasts.

Firing guns into the air outside of specified areas will be considered reckless endangerment at the least. Duck hunting may become interesting, to say the least.

Goggles will become standard wear, and eventually a fashion accessory. Bifocals will still exist, but a person may own a pair of goggles which are only useful for flight ranges, and bifocals for general usage.

Fiction will change - flight is no longer miraculous, unless it exceeds the known limits.
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