This answer to another question indicates that several of the showrunners of Star Trek had an interest in the Roman Empire, and that influenced their design and construction of the Romulan Empire. Terms like "consul," "romulan," "reman," and more are direct references to the Roman Republic and Empire. But is there an in-universe explanation for the heavy use of terminology from Earth's history to refer to an alien race? Did some history nerd in Starfleet notice some similarities and decide to apply some historical terms to the newly discovered species? Or perhaps did the Romulans themselves, upon reviewing Federation history, choose their own "English" names to match an empire they identified with? Or is this simply not discussed, in-universe? Answer I've always assumed that it was simply a reasonably-equivalent translation of the actual Romulan military ranks, based on the Universal Translator's available vocabulary.

While researching my answer to this question Do we know when Daenerys Targaryen was born? I came across a slight oddity in how the Game of Thrones wikia shows the dates. Dates for the show appears to be given in BAL and AL meaning (Before) Aegon's Landing. The dating system is based on Aegon the Conqueror's first landing on Westeros which started the Targaryen Conquest. Thus all dates are "AL" for Aegon's Landing or "BAL" for "Before Aegon's Landing". Game of Thrones wikia, Timeline However, dates in the books are given in BC and AC meaning "Before the Conquest" and "After the Conquest" respectively. The maesters of the Citadel who keep the histories of Westeros have used Aegon's Conquest as their touchstone for the past three hundred years. Births, deaths, battles, and other events are dated either AC (After the Conquest) or BC (Before the Conquest). The World of Ice and Fire, The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest...

I read it in English in the United States, somewhere in the 1990s. I got it off of the big bookshelf in our family room, which means it could be a good bit older; some of the books were my Dad's. At the beginning, a young boy (maybe an early teen?) leaves his house, where he lives with his parent or parents, and takes a test to become a spaceship pilot for the military. Part of the test judges reaction speed, and he fails the test. He later learns (I think when he's approached by an agent of the government) that he "failed" because he has some sort of enhanced fortune that meant that he was actually giving the results before they could be displayed on the screen. At the time, I remember thinking that the book felt a bit like a Star Wars rip-off. Years later, I read that one of the Star Wars books (probably now Legends) had Luke similarly failing the Imperial Academy test because he gave his answers too quickly, and it amused me that I was uncertain as to which had com...

Wolverine has regenerated from his skeleton . He can return from even a single cell . Cut off Wolverine's finger. A new finger will be grown from his body, but the dismembered finger will not be grown back into a full body. I want to know which types of cells are capable of regeneration to a full Wolverine and what decides it. Something more: Blow up the body of Wolverine so that only his Adamantium skeleton is left. Now, cut this skeleton into two equal parts using Antarctic Vibranium. Which part of the skeleton would regenerate to the full Wolverine?

It would seem that they cut themselves off from civilization and it's considered a Greek island. How would they even know what English is? Answer Wonder Woman: It's been a while since I read any Wonder Woman, but I believe she has a magical ability (built into her armor, tiara, or other gear) that allows her to speak/understand all Earth languages. It may also be that her gifts from the Greek Gods included this ability (along with strength, speed, etc). Themyscara: The treatment of Themyscara, however, has been inconsistent and frequently gone unexplained. The best explanation I can recall (though I do not have a reference) is that part of the magic which hides it from 'Man's World' allows the Amazons to speak/understand anyone on the island, or possibly just speak/understand anyone. Given all the reboots, continuity changes, etc, it's difficult to say for sure where any particular minor ability comes from. Beyond that, the Amazons have been shown to rescue pe...

In The Return of the King , after the Ring got tossed into the fires of Mount Doom, the Eye of Sauron burst into flames, and the tower of Barad-dûr then collapsed. Then then Eye shrank to a small point and exploded. What was actually happening there? Answer I don't know that the specific visual effects in the movie are explainable beyond 'it looked cool', but as for the events - when the Ring was destroyed, the power Sauron put in it was lost, and everything Sauron used the Ring to make was undone. As Gandalf says in ROTK - If it is destroyed, then he will fall; and his fall will be so low that none can foresee his arising ever again. For he will lose the best part of the strength that was native to him in his beginning, and all that was made or begun with that power will crumble The foundations of the Barad-dur (Sauron's Dark Tower) were made with the Ring, so upon its destruction, the tower falls as its foundations are destroyed. Sauron is a Maia - a spirit which c...

Harry Potter grew up almost hero-worshipping his father, and with a strong dislike of Snape based on Snape's resentment of him as well as some knowledge of Snape's rivalry with Harry's father while they were at school together. In HP and the Order of the Phoenix , he finds out about (in fact, he sees first-hand via the Pensieve) his father's bullying of Snape. This changes his perception of the relationship between the two, and the revelation bothers him so much that he goes to a great deal of trouble to seek out Sirius (and Lupin) and talk to them about it. In HP and the Deathly Hallows , he finally finds out the full story of his father and Snape's relationships with each other and with Lily, his mother. The revelations in the chapter The Prince's Tale changed many HP fans' conception of several characters, and there have been many heated debates on which of James Potter and Severus Snape was the better man . On the one hand, James was a jerk to Snape whi...

I remember reading a book in high school where a group of people travel to an alien planet where they discover an alien civilization separated into 2 castes. they are then made slaves to the taller class of aliens and one man has the flesh removed from his hands to make his fingers appear longer. Answer This novel, by Mary Doria Russell, features a Jesuit priest who goes to an alien planet, and is severely disillusioned by what he finds there. The title, of course, is a Biblical reference: Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings 1 , and not one of them is forgotten before God? Luke 12-6, KJV There are two alien “castes,” but they’re really different species , one of which preys on the other: When the Earthlings meet a member of the culture which produced the radio transmissions, he proves to be of a different species from the rural natives, a Jana’ata. An ambitious merchant named Supaari VaGayjur sees in the visitors a possibility to improve his status, while the crew hopes to f...

I'm thinking this was written somewhere in the mid to late 90s or up to 2010 at the latest; I cannot quite remember when I read it with any certainty. It's a post-apocalyptic dystopian future novel, many generations after whatever caused the destruction of civilization. The main character is a boy that lives in a village but discovers some sort of technology or a book or something that is forbidden (it might have even been something he WAS), but whatever the villagers discovered they were going to kill him - I think he witnesses his parents being killed and runs from the village. I vaguely remember another main character being a girl in a city (maybe underground, possibly not), and they meet up at some point. For some reason I feel the book had something to do with the Sun, solar flares, getting warmer, etc but it's not a solid memory (sorry, trying to add more facts to make this identification possible). I'm 99% certain it isn't "The Long Tomorrow" but it...

I remember a science fiction short story about some archeologists (I think they may have been alien) in which they were describing going through the remnants of a destroyed earth. It may have been destroyed thousands of years in the future. The twist was that they were describing what they knew about earthlings - that we moved around in jerky motions, had a limited vocabulary, etc. Then you eventually realize that their understanding of humanity was based on the only film they found, a Mickey Mouse cartoon. Anyone know who may have written this or the title? Thanks

From this answer: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/24022/1660 , I'd like to quote this: The paradox energy essentially creates a shielded fixed point in time. That particular region of 1938 New York can neither be changed nor visited by the Doctor or the TARDIS. The Doctor mentions trying to penetrate such a fixed point could conceivably destroy New York or potentially the planet. Okay, so The Doctor can't land there to at least visit Amy and Rory. Well, can't he land outside New York and then, well, take a little walk to them? Edit : Why can't it be visited by the Doctor anyway? And, even if the Doctor himself can't walk into New York, surely Amy and Rory could go outside, no? So in Amy's afterword she would have said "Meet us in X place outside NY >_>", so it is just a matter of the Doctor going there and waiting for them to come. Answer Several factors have been pointed out by fan communities The Williams' (or Ponds' if you prefer) ...

At the very end of The Last Jedi , a stable boy on Canto Bight, who was given a Resistance ring by Rose when she and Finn liberated the fathiers, stares up at the night sky with his broom in hand. The boy in question is pictured below. The spirit of the final scene seems to be that a new generation of the Resistance is arising because of the "spark" lit by the actions of Luke and the survivors of the Resistance at the mine on Crait. Having watched the film twice now, I might swear that I saw the boy pull the broom to himself from the wall, from a slight distance. Perhaps he applied his foot to the base of the broom to swing the top of it towards his hand. But if he did, I didn't see it. Did the boy use a Force pull on the broom or was the scene more mundane than that? Answer Temiri Blagg held his hand out and the broom traveled toward him. I think we can presume that he used the Force rather than it being some kind of high technology hover-broom.

You know, in the bit where he's in the cave on Dagobah. I can't find the movie on my HDD at the moment, but I'm sure it's there!

While I'm not debating the difficulty of the obstacles presented in the Philospher's Stone, it would seem to me that it would make more sense to just guard it. In the cases of the potions, the keys, and the chess, why present solutions to the user? Why not simply present a wall of fire, an enchanted door that's nigh on impossible to unlock, and some stone guardians one has to fight? Answer I think the most likely answer is that the obstacles are meant to delay people, not to stop them. Providing a solution means that people will take the time to try to figure out how to solve them, and potentially proceed undetected, rather than to brute force the obstacles in a smash-and-grab that might succeed before help could arrive.

Series 1 episode 9 (revised series) titled The Empty Child depicts the Doctor in the year 1941 attempting to understand why some people are being terrorized by a small boy wearing a gas mask. The Doctor goes to Albion hospital where he meets Dr. Constantine. Dr. Constantine explains to The Doctor that there are several patients of all ages under his care. All of the patients are seen wearing gas masks. All of the patients have the exact same injuries along with a lightning shaped scar on the back of their hand. Dr. Constantine also has this scar. Dr. Constantine begins to tell The Doctor something of some importance and suddenly begins to transform into what all of his patients are. A gas mask is shown growing onto his face as he becomes like all of the others. Why did Dr. Constantine's transformation occur only after he spoke with The Doctor? It seems that Dr. Constantine was caring for these patients for some time without a transformation happening to him. Was it something that...

Obviously the council wouldn't have been advertised and I even remember that many of the attendees were there by chance, but what I'd like to know is: Was the Council of Elrond a secret council? Was it officially considered so in-universe? Or did Tolkien ever refer to it as secret? Answer Yes Although many of the attendees showed up at Rivendell by chance, access to the Council itself was invitation-only. Frodo and Bilbo were both invited, but Sam was not (emphasis mine): Suddenly as they were talking a single clear bell rang out. 'That is the warning bell for the Council of Elrond,' cried Gandalf. 'Come along now! Both you [Frodo] and Bilbo are wanted .' Frodo and Bilbo followed the wizard quickly along the winding path back to the house; behind them, uninvited and for the moment forgotten, trotted Sam. Fellowship of the Ring Book II Chapter 2: "The Council of Elrond" And Elrond later calls the council "secret" when admonishing Sam for l...

In Thor: Ragnarok movie, we saw that Banner accessed the log of Quinjet but, it didn't provide much details or I failed to understand it. I doubt that Earth's atmosphere has an Einstein-Rosen bridge which can take you to Sakaar. Also, I doubt Quinjet could survive such travel. How exactly did Hulk and his Quinjet end up on Sakaar? Answer This was the subject of a retcon after it became apparent that Ragnarok needed a big name supporting actor alongside Hemsworth. In short, the Hulk actually flew into space (at the end of Age of Ultron) where, after drifting for a while, he chanced upon a portal to Sakaar What Feige is referring to is the last time fans saw the Hulk, flying off in a Quinjet after being hurt by Black Widow. Joss Whedon publically stated that he had planned to show the Hulk leaving Earth and headed into space, but that the studio insisted on him changing the color of the sky from black to blue to avoid giving fans the idea that they were going to do a “Planet H...

I am looking for a story I read in an anthology. In the story, the stars started to disappear and strange creatures appeared and collected all of the butterflies on earth. Eventually, the sun went out. Answer This is John Varley's " In Fading Suns and Dying Moons ", published in 2003, and collected in his anthology " The John Varley Reader " as well as some other publications . In the story, aliens had seeded the development of the Solar System, and had returned four billion years later to see how it turned out. A line of aliens appeared on the west coasts of all land masses and moved east, collecting all the butterflies. An entomologist is conscripted by the US army to find out why. It turns out that they're collecting them because: "Butterflies are the most beautiful thing on your planet, aren't they?" and "We are building...a place. Our leader wishes it to be a very special place. Therefore we are making it of these very special creat...

In the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica , it doesn't take the fleet long to reach uncharted space, and it takes perhaps less than a year for them to find Kobol. Even if the Cylon war led to them having their wings clipped, we know from Caprica that space flight was routine before then. So given that the Colonies appear to have been space-faring for some time, why didn't they explore further out into space? Answer "Space," it says, "is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space, listen..." Especially considering how quickly the ships can travel, it is easy to see that if they are trying to escape from something (namely the Cylons), and going in a straight line, you can easily reach an area that hasn't been charted very quickly. Think of it this way; compare the time it would take you to chart...

Darth Vader tested carbonite-freezing technology on Han Solo because he didn't want to kill Luke who was precious to the emperor. But, why was it necessary? Wasn't it already a tested and proven technology? Even Darth Vader (when he was Anakin) himself used it along with others decades ago ( Star Wars: The Clone Wars S03E18). Answer [embedded content] In the scene referred to in the question, the commander, Obi-Wan and Anakin himself all talk about this idea as though it is unproven and being completely improvised. Anakin (and the Ugnaught operators) and the Krath were the only ones to have been known to use carbon freezing chambers to freeze living beings. So while Vader knew it could be done, the chamber device and chamber probably still had to be calibrated and adjusted to the correct settings so that it would be done correctly.

I read a couple of these books in the nineties, similar Napoleonic/Hornblower space navy set up to the Seafort Saga . 'Ships of the Wall' was an expression used and, like in the Seafort books, floggings are commonplace. Not Honor Harrington , they had a male protagonist. I think there may have been a rebellion or mutiny just as an unfriendly alien fleet arrived in human space. Answer Not sure if this is the one you are looking for, but your description reminded me of the Hulzien Dynasty by FM Busby which I read around the same time as Harrington and Seafort, the first book is Star Rebel It's a long time since I read it, so the details are a little fuzzy, but the main character was Bran Tregare, as a young cadet/midshipman he was often flogged and ended up in a mutiny and becoming a pirate captain. Not sure if they used the term Ships of the wall, but the rest seems a reasonable fit. I do remember aliens arriving at some point as well.

As I caught an episode of The Addams Family on Retro TV last night, it finally dawned on me that Lurch may have been a Frankenstein Monster. Is there any evidence beyond Lurch's outward appearance that cartoonist Charles Addams, the creator of the Addams Family comic strip, intended us to believe Lurch had been created by Dr. Frankenstein? Who was supposed to have built Lurch, the Addams family's faithful butler? Answer There isn't a lot of info on Lurch's backstory , but here's what seems known: He has a mother, or at least someone who he referred to as mother; 'Mother Lurch', who appeared in the episode ' Mother Lurch Visits the Addams Family '(S1E17); she addresses him as Sonny, but it's not definitive that this means he is her biological offspring. (Cute episode; it's where Gomez and Morticia pretend to be servants to help Lurch impress his mother. They end up fired.) He has a father. Nothing mentioned about him that I recall, except ...

I understand that the live-action TV shows are separate from the comics, and that the recent/upcoming DC movies are separate from the TV shows, but do any of the shows share a continuity universe? Before I stopped watching, the Green Arrow appeared in Smallville , and I remember hearing that the show Arrow was pitched as a spin-off, but I believe it uses a different actor. I know there was also the short lived Birds of Prey series, and apparently Human Target is based off of a DC property as well. Answer NOT YET: All of the aired television series based on any DC property do not share the same continuity. Smallville did feature it's own version of Oliver Queen, however he is not the same Oliver Queen who appears in Arrow . However, the character of Barry Allen who appeared on an episode of Arrow will be staring in his own Flash series , produced by the same company and taking place in the same universe as Arrow, with the possibility of a crossover (probably during sweeps week...

From what I remember, in the original comics, Spider-Man shot webs from his wrist because Peter Parker used his science background to design mechanical web shooters. In the Sam Raimi movies, however, the webslinging is a side effect of the genetically-modified spider bite that gives him the rest of his powers. My question is this: why would the spider DNA result in webs originating from his wrists ? Natural spiders create webs with spinnerets located at the tip of their abdomen. Wouldn't it have been more believable if Spider-Man's webs came from, well, behind him? Is there some explanation given as to why his web-producing organs appeared in his wrists, and not elsewhere? Answer There's no in-universe answer. Out-of-universe, they would have had to complicate an already long-running movie to add in an explanation of Peter's father's inventions, how Peter finally solved the adhesive problem, his testing of the fluid, etc. It would have taken another 30-45 minutes...

Some recurring characters have been played by different actors in different films or episodes. Many main cast members have been portrayed by different actors due to flashbacks, and [(mumble) insert (mumble) technobabble (mumble)] shenanigans. Of course the 2009 reboot opens up a universe of characters being played by a new generation of actors. Clarifications: The character must be substantially the same: alternate timelines count at the same character, but for example, Shinzon is not Picard. Janeway played by a lizard counts, just because it won't affect the answer and it makes me chuckle. "possessions" (Spock in McCoy in Star Trek III and everyone in "Facets") do not count. This is DeForest Kelley playing Dr. McCoy containing some aspect of Spock, not DeForst Kelley playing Spock. The litmus test is, Would the IMDB or the credits reasonably credit Kelley as Spock? (This is going to be a little debatable, but it doesn't appear it will affect the accepted...

In Star Wars, The Force Awakens: What does the old man mean by saying "Far worse happened to you"? Is it the fact that Kylo Ren has turned to the Dark Side ? Answer It's relevant that the full text of the exchange is: Ren: Look how old you've become. Tekka: Something far worse has happened to you. The Force Awakens (2015) In context, Ren and Tekka are comparing how they have changed since their last meeting. Tekka is unquestionably referring to Ren falling to the Dark Side, joining the Knights of Ren, massacring Luke's other Jedi students, and generally becoming a cruel and cold-hearted person. We can compare this to a similar exchange in the original film: Vader: When I left you, I was but a learner; now I am the master. Obi-Wan: Only a master of evil, Darth. A New Hope (1977) Here Obi-wan is denigrating Vader's fall to the Dark Side, suggesting that it has weakened him, or at least not strengthened him as much as he thinks. Ren tries to do something ...

I am looking for the title of the following story (or possibly two stories): I read a short story in the late '80s where people were defined by their names. A man sees a depressed woman and wants to offer her comfort. She has no choice but to be depressed because her name is X . However, before he has a chance to, she changes her name to Y , and therefore isn't depressed any more because all people called X are depressed by nature but no-one called Y is depressed. I'm not sure if this is part of the same story or an entirely different story, but there was a train that travelled through the land collecting passengers. As more people got on board it "grew" more carriages. The people who were on the train stopped being productive, existing in an endless party. A young boy sees through the illusion (a la The Emperor's New Clothes) and starts telling the passengers. Knowing the truth causes the train to start disappearing as it is powered by belief or something l...

This question reminded me of a very vaguely recalled short story, most likely from the early '00s or '90s (and probably in a magazine like F&SF , Asimov's or Analog ), of a space ship that can easily travel incredibly far, galaxies clusters away, in some far future when humans commonly can and do pilot craft that travel above c somehow (I don't recall if this involved some sort of hyperspace or what), colonizing the universe with abandon. Somehow (obviously this seems incredibly improbable, but I don't recall how this was explained -- perhaps ships had some light-speed-breaking way of detecting other ships?) the handful (2? 3?) people in a first ship randomly encounter in mid-intergalactic-space another human traveler traveling alone in his own ship, and they dock the two ships together. I think they have dinner together in honor of the meeting, but something is off about their new acquaintance (some wort of craziness that slowly reveals itself?), and some sor...

In "The Lord of the Rings" and the "The Silmarillion" some Maiar (Sauron, several Balrogs, Saruman) are defeated. But did these Maiar actually die and if they did, do they go to Halls of Mandos or what happens to them? Since Morgoth was not actually killed by the Valar after the War of Wrath, I assume that it might be impossible to kill one of the Valar, but I'm not sure whether the same thing is true for the lesser Ainur. Answer That depends on what you mean by "die." I'll start with the assumption that Elves and Humans are considered to die. I would define that as their soul being severed from their physical body and that they can no longer independently assume a physical form. You will recall that Elves' souls go to the Halls of Mandos and Humans' out of the World to join Iluvatar. That being established, let's review what happens to the Vala and Maia we read about. Their physical bodies can obviously be destroyed. The question the...

I'm looking for a short story about a man who wakes (maybe on a spaceship) after some accident to find that time is running very slowly, so he believes he has all the time in the world to think about puzzles, but then time starts to speed up so he doesn't after all.

From what I remember, Wonder Woman couldn't fly, but now that I think about it, I watch Justice League the animated series and she does have the amazing ability of flight. A little research showed that Hermes granted her flight, but I couldn't find the circumstances or why she was given flight later (or when for that matter). Answer In the Golden Age (from the early forties to the late fifties/early sixties), the character couldn't fly at all. In the Silver Age (late fifties/early sixties to the early eighties), Diana gained the ability to glide on air currents starting in Wonder Woman (vol 1) issue #98, May 1958. Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths (in 1985), Wonder Woman's origin has been rebooted, and she could fly freely from the start. Hippolyta made a baby out of clay and the goddesses (plus Hermes, for some reason) granted Diana beauty, power, strength, speed and flight. In 2011, DC Comics' entire line of publications was relaunched, and Wonder Woman's origi...

I have a group of friends that all have read the books (not so solid on the show though), and one of them brought up that Ned (Eddard) Stark was one of the best swordsmen in Westeros. At the time, he couldn't remember what the evidence to back this claim up was, just that he had "read it on the internet somewhere". Though Ned holds a special place in my heart, and I would love to believe that this is true, is there any real evidence in the books/show that support the claim of his swordsmanship? Note: after him saying this and with it in mind, you can see that in the episode of "Game of Thrones" where the Lannisters apprehend Ned that he holds his own against Jaime for a short time before being stabbed, and during which time Jaime had a look on his face that seemed to acknowledge his opponents skill and enjoy the challenge. This, of course, it not enough to support/debunk the claim, but I thought it an interesting place to start. Answer George R. R. Martin is o...

Was Vader already going to be in a suit before he was injured? Many dark side warrior such as Darth Revan, Starkiller, Darth Bane, and other Sith that specialize in close quarter combat wear armor as well. Reading the wookieepedia page on Vader's armor, I notice that his armor most likely used Sith alchemy along with many custom features which probably would take a long time to make. Could it be possible that Vader already planned to use an armored suit as a Sith, but as he didn't plan getting his limbs cut off, Palpatine was forced to rush its completion? Although the suit had some advanced features such as the mandalorian crush gauntlets and as well as audio enhancers and sonic dampeners, a lot of other parts were pretty low tech. Was it possible that the suit was in its prototype stage as purely armor when Vader lost his limbs, then quickly converted with life support systems into its final form.

In his latest book 'The crash of 2016' author Thom Hartmann describes a story he once read in 'Amazing Stories'. He doesn't mention a title or the author. Here is how he writes about it: I was around ten years old, and a total science fiction junkie. Amazing Stories—a pulp magazine of science fiction short stories, commentary, and science news—arrived every month, and that meant that on that day all homework and play were forgotten. These were some of the most brilliant stories, written for a penny or so a word by people such as Robert Silverberg, Jack Vance, Poul Anderson, and Frank Herbert, who would go on to become the biggest names in the field of Fantasy and Sci-Fi. And one particular story haunted me for years. Eight years later, when the first men landed on the Moon, that story was brought back to me as if I’d read it the day before. In the story, a group of astronauts are finally, for the first time, going to blast off from Earth and circle the Moon. It had ...

I am reading The Return of the King , and when I got to the chapters concerning the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, something struck me. Earlier in the story, Theoden was shocked to see Merry and Pippin smoking "pipe-weed", which was almost unknown outside of the Shire; intrigued, he promises Merry that they will go to Edoras and Merry can tell him about this strange habit. In RotK, as Theoden lays dying, he tells Merry that he regrets that he will not be able to fulfill his promise. "Pipe-weed", of course, is tobacco. And therein lies the problem. Since Middle-Earth is stated by Tolkien to be in a pseudo-historical, pre-historic Europe, how did non-European plants like tobacco get there before the 'modern' age? Does Tolkien provide any explanation? Then I remembered additional examples: Bilbo served tomatoes at his party, and Sam wished he had potatoes for his rabbit stew, and then pined for fish and chips ("chips" being French fries, also made fro...

I read this book when I was a teenager, or in my early twenties, so that puts it no later than 1979. My favorite authors at the time were (of course) Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, Heinlein, and a few others. I've looked up the bibliographies of most of these, to no avail. The story in general: Earth people spot a small alien craft near the sun. Investigating, they find a lone passenger, a female pilot from an alien race, whose distinguishing characteristic is that her hands are claws of two different sizes: one large, one small. She is suspiciously quiet about how she got there (I think). Examining the video footage, they find that, as the Earth ship approached, she jettisoned four other passengers into the sun. There is much talk about sexual practices (which makes me think Heinlein). Earth society is going through another "sex is sinful" stage, but the alien female has a biological imperative to breed; if she doesn't have sex, she'll die. Since her shipmates are gon...

I have recently started watching Game of Thrones and I noticed that it has many well known actors like Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Sean Bean, Natalie Dormer and so on. By famous I mean, actors that are seen in many other movies. Did these actors really go nude, that is, the bodies we see in the series are their real bodies or have body doubles been used? I read an article where they explained how they used body double for Lena Headey in the nude penance walk scene of Cersei Lannister. So for other actors (like Emilia Clarke or Natalie Dormer) who are seen naked, was it a real body or just another body double?

In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , the Wicked Witch of the East is killed when the Dorothy's house falls on her. Dorothy then get the silver shoes (or red Ruby slippers of the classic film) that the Wicked Witch had been wearing when she was killed. In Oz the Great and Powerful , we learn about the origin of the Wicked Witch of the West and East. But, in this movie : Evanora, presumably the Wicked Witch of the East, is defeated when the emerald necklace, from which she apparently get some of her powers, was destroyed. There is no mention of any magical shoes, at least none that I were aware of. Did I miss something, or the back story of those shoes remain unexplained. Is there a reason behind this omission? Answer The movie storyline of "Oz the Great and Powerful" takes place in 1905, according to Wikipedia's article on this movie. This is supposed to be 20 years before Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, according to the movie's timeline, so it is a different story al...

J.K. Rowling has stated that Gilderoy Lockhart is the only character in the Harry Potter series who is based on a real person she knows. Are any of your characters based on real people? The only character who is deliberately based on a real person is Gilderoy Lockhart. [Laughter]. Maybe he is not the one that you would think of, but I have to say that the living model was worse. [Laughter]. He was a shocker! The lies that he told about adventures that he’d had, things he’d done and impressive acts that he had committed… He was a shocking man. I can say this quite freely because he will never in a million years dream that he is Gilderoy Lockhart. I am always frightened that he is going to turn up one day. He is just one of those people from your past whom you feel you have never quite shaken off. I will look up one day at a signing and he will say, “Hello, Jo”. [Laughter]. Other people have contributed the odd characteristic, such as a nose, to a character, but the only character who I...

I was watching Order of the Phoenix today and during the Occlumency scene I wondered if Legilimency is a Dark Art or even legal at all? Snape says to Harry: ‘Then you will find yourself easy prey for the Dark Lord!’ said Snape savagely. ‘Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot control their emotions, who wallow in sad memories and allow themselves to be provoked so easily – weak people, in other words – they stand no chance against his powers! He will penetrate your mind with absurd ease, Potter!’ Order of the Phoenix -- page 473 -- Bloomsbury -- Chapter 24, Occlumency Snape presents Legilimency to Harry as if it were almost a predatory type of magic; he makes no mention of how Legilimency might be used in a positive way. Is Legilimency a Dark Art? Pursuant to the question about Legilimency being a Dark Art, I also wonder, is performing Legilimency even legal? Does J.K. Rowling address any legal issues regarding the use of Legilimency? For example, is a Legi...