In the last episode of season 9, the Doctor said he needed to erase Clara's memory. And after Clara said that she reversed the Doctor's device, he used it anyway. Why did someone (the Doctor or Clara) have to lose their memory? And how much of the Doctor's memory was erased?

Towards the end of the Empire Strikes Back when Luke is flying away in his X-Wing to face Vader. Ben's ghost says to Yoda: That boy was our last hope. To which Yoda replies: No...there is another. Referring to Leia of course. How does Ben not know about Luke's twin sister at this point? As we saw in Episode 3 he was there during the birth of both children, and gave Leia to the Organas on Alderaan. Is there an explanation for this conversation between Yoda and Ben? Answer From the script of The Return of the Jedi, we have the following exchange BEN: Then the Emperor has already won. You were our only hope . LUKE: Yoda spoke of another. BEN: The other he spoke of is your twin sister. LUKE: But I have no sister. BEN: Hmm. To protect you both from the Emperor, you were hidden from your father when you were born. The Emperor knew, as I did, if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him. That is the reason why your sister remains safely anonymous. LUKE: Leia!...

In Star Wars: Rebels we meet a character named Ezra Bridger. At first his eye color appeared to be an unnatural purple color. Other viewers have also noticed and commented on his purple eyes: In terms of the appearance of the character the lavender/purple eyes and the blueish/black hair are curious choices - RebelsReport.com . and Kanan looked into Ezra's electric purple eyes and smiled. - source There's no doubt - his eyes definitely started out purple. However the character's main image on his Wookieepedia page shows his eyes now looking more blue-ish and the same page now claims his eye color is blue. Did they change his eye color from purple to blue? If so, Why?

Yoda infamously speaks using the OSV (object, subject, verb) word ordering Much to learn, you still have. rather the SVO ordering used in English You still have much to learn. How is this dealt with in translations to other languages, particularly languages which don't use SVO word order, for example Japanese or Albanian? Do they just switch the words to OSV order? Does that even make sense in most other languages? Answer There's an interesting extract from The Open University's OpenLearn website on precisely this: This is easily replicated in other languages that also have follow the SVO order, but others have to be more creative. In the German translation, instead of positioning the finite verb in second place in the sentences, it moves to the end, as in Eure Sinne nutzen ihr müsst (Your senses to use you have). For reference, German is typically considered to use V2 constituent order 1 word ordering, so ordinarily, the finite verb should be second. Instead, as state...

In the last few episodes we've seen that Juliette has Somehow transformed into a Hexenbiest. Shouldn't Nick be able to cure her simply by having her ingest some of his blood? Answer The answer to this has now been revealed, namely, that Nick's blood cannot cure Juliette because of the connection between Nick, Juliette, and Adalind. When Nick finds out that Juliette is a hexenbiest, he goes to visit the new hexenbiest expert that Juliette has been seeing, and he asks her this question. Her response is pretty abrupt, and lacking in details, but the idea seems to be: Nick's blood originally stole Adalind's power. Adalind now has Nick's blood permanently in her system, keeping her from using her own hexenbiest side. Adalind underwent a complex ritual that restored her power to her. Juliette subsequently underwent a ritual to restore Nick's power that was strongly connected to Adalind. Thus, Juliette is, in effect, "immune" to the neutralizing agent i...

Barring near-mystical or supernatural methods like quantum surges , shoving two sparks into one body , leveling up via The Matrix of Leadership , or intervention by Unicron , can Transformers be manually upgraded? In Transformers: Prime, we see that biomechs (essentially organs) can be transplanted, but can systems be actually upgraded or given new abilities? Can Bumblebee be made bigger? Faster? Stronger? Answer Yes. In the IDW continuity several bots undergo complete body swaps and upgrades. In the old ongoing Megatron gets a himself completely new body built by Shockwave and Soundwave (with a completely different alternate mode and arm canon) after being badly wounded. It was a major operation, but it was not mystical in any way. Before After And he's not the only one. Optimus Prime went through several. More recently, Bumblebee, Prowl and Starscream got new bods as well. However there are limitations to how much stress a spark can handle. So you won't be able to rebuild ...

‘But if Voldemort used the Killing Curse,’ Harry started again, ‘and nobody died for me this time – how can I be alive?’ ‘I think you know,’ said Dumbledore. ‘Think back. Remember what he did, in his ignorance, in his greed and his cruelty.’ ... ‘He took my blood,’ said Harry. ‘Precisely!’ said Dumbledore. ‘He took your blood and rebuilt his living body with it! Your blood in his veins, Harry, Lily’s protection inside both of you! He tethered you to life while he lives!’ ‘I live ... while he lives? But I thought ... I thought it was the other way round! I thought we both had to die? Or is it the same thing?’ If it's so then can Voldemort not die because Harry's blood once flowed through Voldemort’s veins? Someone please clarify.

At the end of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker , Palpatine tells Rey... ...that if she kills him, he and all the Sith will possess her. Rey decides... ...not to kill Palpatine. But then decides to kill him about 10 minutes later using the power of all the Jedi. So then why didn't he possess her after all?

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , when Dumbledore visits Privet Drive to pick up Harry, he tells the Dursleys: You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. The best that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you . — Chapter 3 ( Will and Won’t ) Dumbledore was obviously referring to Dudley. What did Dumbledore mean by that? Answer Dudley was incredibly spoilt by his parents when he was a child. He was brought up very badly, and he’s picked up all of their worst habits. By the end of the fourth book, he’s selfish, obese, rude, insolent, a bully, and taught to sneer at anybody who isn’t like him. A terrible preparation to go out into the world. That’s the “damage” Dumbledore is referring to. In an interview in 2000 , JK Rowling expressed some sympathy for the way Dudley was raised: “I like torturing them,”...

Yes, the plot is pretty weird. There is this "star" (whose incarnation is a woman dressed in white) and some random guy who falls in love with her. There's the arc of "if you cross a specific border you'll die" which applies to our lady "star". Well, I also remember that they have some kind of a tubular case, and when one opens it, lightning files out. I watched the film somewhere around 2010, it's in English and when I try to remember it, I get the vibe of a mediocre Hollywood fantasy romance. Answer This is Stardust from 2007. The film follows Tristan, a young man from the fictional town of Wall. Wall is a town on the border of the magical fantasy kingdom of Stormhold. Tristan enters the magical world to collect a fallen star to give to his crush Victoria, in return for her hand in marriage. He collects the star who, to his surprise, is a woman named Yvaine. Witches and the Princes of Stormhold are also hunting for Yvaine. Meanwhile, Trist...

Some Klingons wear boots with a spike near the toe, as seen in some episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Is there an in-universe reason for this design? Is this for battle as an additional weapon, ritual, only style or maybe because of Klingon anatomy? Answer As a weapon If you're Klingon and you're going to be kicking someone in the gut, you really want to make 'em bleed! To conceal weapons In TNG: Heart of Glory , the two Klingons are shown in the brig assembling a disruptor from parts strategically hidden in their uniforms. Some of those parts came out of those 'spurs'.

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , Dumbledore orders Harry to retrieve the memory about the talk with Tom Riddle/Voldemort from Slughorn. The memory is said to be needed because it contains valuable information that is needed to defeat him. The result is that they know that Voldemort uses Horcruxes. Why do they not know this before? If the knowledge about Horcruxes is present in school books (albeit forbidden section ) and teachers, then surely some magical academics will already have guessed that Voldemort would try to use them? Also, if I recall correctly, there is a hint in the first book, "some thought that he was no longer alive enough to be able to really die" which hints a lot at the split soul as a price you pay for being immortal. Why does Slughorn's memory seem so crucial to Dumbledore? Answer I disagree with your premise. They didn't need the true memory to find out that Riddle had Horcruxes; Dumbledore already had pretty solid reasons to believe...

Related to What did Rey tell Teedo that caused him to release BB-8? - Rey approaches Teedo and intimidated him as if he captured a sentient being. Are all droids afforded a status that gives them rights even when lost or away from their masters/owners? Answer TL;DR: Because he is sentient. I will be using some quotes from the novelization of The Force Awakens , which describe BB-8 and his behavior, to support my case (because I happen to have it handy at the moment). BB-8's dialogue (i.e., beeping) as a reflection of his emotions and sentience: BB-8's beeps are variously described as: " Agitated " when he spots the First Order ships approaching the village on Jakku " Anxious " when Poe tells him to run away - he only does so, in the end, because: Much to BB-8’ s regret , it could only protest a direct order, not reject it. After Rey frees him from the Teedo, he faces the Teedo and beeps " loudly and challengingly " in its direction until Rey te...

In the Doctor Who episode, The Witch's Familiar, The Doctor sits in Davros' chair. However, the aforementioned character has no legs. Furthermore, his lower body consists of what appear to be cables to link him to the chair. Hence, he has no need for legroom. So where did The Doctor put his legs?

Robert Heinlein must have known and loved many cats. Pete, in The Door into Summer is a fully realized character, and Pixel in two of the Lazarus Long books is also memorable. The title of The Door into Summer was triggered by a remark which Heinlein's wife Virginia made when their cat refused to leave the house: "He's looking for a door into summer." (See first link.) But other than the page Robert A. Heinlein Quotes About Cats on A-Z Quotes , I have not found any mention of Heinlein writing about real-life cats. Did he write or comment on the real-life cats who inspired his cat characters? Answer In the book Grumbles from the Grave which was assembled from Heinlein's papers post-mortem, a number of Heinlein cats are discussed in chapter 13, subsection "CATS". Example: January 12, 1957: Robert A. Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame Pixie is dying...uremia, too far gone to hope for remission; the vet sent him home to die several days ago. He is not now ...

When Voldemort possesses Harry Potter during the battle at the Ministry of Magic at the end of Order of the Phoenix , his physical body seems to disappear from the scene: For a few seconds Voldemort was visible only as a dark, rippling, faceless figure, shimmering and indistinct upon the plinth, clearly struggling to throw off the suffocating mass. Then he was gone and the water fell with a crash back into its pool, slopping wildly over the sides, drenching the polished floor. 'MASTER!' screamed Bellatrix. Sure it was over, sure Voldemort had decided to flee, Harry made to run out from behind his statue guard, but Dumbledore bellowed: 'Stay where you are, Harry!' For the first time, Dumbledore sounded frightened. Harry could not see why: the hall was quite empty but for themselves, the sobbing Bellatrix still trapped under the witch statue, and the baby phoenix Fawkes croaking feebly on the floor. Then Harry's scar burst open and he knew he was dead: it was pain be...

I'm trying to remember a cartoon I saw in the 1980s. It was probably an episode of an American television show. The protagonists end up (somehow) in an underground realm where most of the residents (who might or might not have been human) had been enslaved by an evil, magic-wielding ruler. To free themselves and everyone else, the heroes decide to venture down a guarded tunnel to recover the artifact that can defeat the evil ruler. They take at least one local along with them. They know before they set out that there are three dangers along the way. The first is a section of the cave where the passage becomes a mouth and tries to eat them. The second is a group of web-throwing spider people, and the third is a fire-breathing dragon. I don't remember how any of the three foes are defeated, but they all are, and the heroes recover a giant ring. Then they are teleported back to the main cavern, where they have to put the ring on the finger of a giant statue, before the villain (wh...

I've been noticing that everyone in Star Trek The Next Generation seems to sleep in a shrubbery: Notice in this image that the sill is void of nick-nacks except for the plant directly behind the bed (observation: I think it's literally the same prop used in the above two images). Is there a specific reason that everyone has plants at the head of their beds? Are they for decoration? Are they supposed to give you a little more oxygen when you sleep? I like how they're next to the window yet have to have their own little spotlight so they can stay alive.

Before the "Other World" business starts up Waldo is a hard sf story. I enjoyed reading the description of Waldo's free-fall habitat; given the lack of the computerization, I think it still holds up. Heinlein was noted for doing his homework in the settings of his stories. For example, the orbital parameters of Waldo's home are consistent with physics. But what are we to make of this discussion about which spacecraft to take up to "Wheelchair"? I'll have you there in three shakes. That tub of yours probably won't do over five hundred, and Wheelchair must be all of twenty-five thousand miles up. What can the 500 refer to? The discussion is in English units; surely Heinlein didn't think a craft capable of 500 mph could make it into orbit?

In A Storm of Swords , Jojen and Meera tell Bran the tale of the Knight of the Laughing Tree. They do not identify the Crannogman in the story, but both seem surprised that Eddard Stark has never told this story to Bran. Is theCcrannogman in the story Howland Reed? Is it ever identified if he (the Crannogman, whether or not it is Howland Reed) was truly the Knight of the Laughing Tree? Answer None of the "players" of the story have ever been identified officially. Although it does seem obvious that the "Wolves" were the Starks, and it is heavily implied that the "Crannogman" was indeed Howland Reed, given Reed's strong loyalty to the Starks later on (actively joining them in their rebellion, and sending his two children to serve Winterfell). The "Mystery Knight" is a tougher nut to crack. Both Reed and Lyanna Stark have been put up as possible candidates. Both are small in stature, and both had a lot to prove. Personally, I'm leaning to...

From Wikipedia: Flobberworm – A 10-inch toothless brown worm. So how do they differ from regular worms? what makes them magical? Answer The only known magic thing about Flobberworms is their use in potions. There’s nothing particularly magical mentioned about Flobberworms, unless looking the same at both ends counts (though regular worms also don’t have a clearly distinguishable head end). They may have a magical property not mentioned, but there’s no mention of any clearly magical ability they have, such as turning invisible. “FLOBBERWORM M.O.M. Classification: X The Flobberworm lives in damp ditches. A thick brown worm reaching up to ten inches in length, the Flobberworm moves very little. One end is indistinguishable from the other, both producing the mucus from which its name is derived and which is sometimes used to thicken potions. The Flobberworm’s preferred food is lettuce, though it will eat almost any vegetation.” - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (textbook) The Min...

Plot points: I think the man was one-armed or had one damaged/withered arm. He is an artist when we meet him. He's picked up by aliens to represent earth in a galactic armada. Put in a ship with other aliens only there so a representative of their species can be said to be present - but not expected to actually contribute much to the coming fight. Fight is to protect against invaders from another galaxy. Somehow or other, their ship and crew become integral to winning the war. Answer This is Hour of the Horde by Gordon R. Dickson . It was first published (probably in abridged form) in Venture Science Fiction Magazine , May 1969 ; this version is available at the Internet Archive . The excerpts below are from the magazine version. I think the man was one-armed or had one damaged/withered arm. He is an artist when we meet him. It had happened again. That primitive, unconquerable power in him that he could not seem to deny, had reached out once more, savagely down the muscles of hi...

Looking for a book title where character lives in a futuristic world divided between citizens and slaves. Winning a tournament grants citizenship. People can pass to a tech free magic realm where tournament ability equates to magic ability

Apart from the opportunity for Clara Clayton to have an exciting traversal of the distance between the back of the fuel tender and the engine ( Golly! ) in Back to the Future III : Was there any reason to leave the tender attached to the engine? Fully loaded, it would probably weigh half as much as the engine itself. The less mass a surface vehicle is hauling, the quicker it can accelerate. For fuel they were mostly relying on the color coded burn sticks the Doc used in his furnace. Even if they'd needed extra fuel beyond that, they could've stocked the furnace & detached the tender when they stopped for the car. It was not far from there to the point of '88 or bust'. I don't think I've ever seen a steam engine traveling with no tender. So it might be that a steam train and its tender are effectively inseparable, but I am no train buff. One might also ponder why the Doc didn't just stuff a long tube full with gunpowder, put a shaped nozzle at one end ...

Star Wars has two characters with almost the same name: Kybo Ren the space pirate, and Kylo Ren the villain of the upcoming episode The Force Awakens . Are these characters linked in some way? Even if they have nothing to do with each other, the extreme similarity of the names (they only differ in 1 letter) must mean that the name Kybo Ren must have influenced the name Kylo Ren. Just think of the odds. I mean, it's not like J.J. Abrams (director) or Lawrence Kasdan (screenwriter) just came up with a completely new Star Wars name that happens to be exactly the same as an older Star Wars name but differs in one letter. Or did they?

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when Dobby uses the Hover charm, Harry is warned that he isn't supposed to do magic outside school. However, it was Dobby who did the magic. Don't they know who exactly does magic? What if some grown-up wizard came to Hermione's family and did magic in the presence of the muggles, would they immediately suspect Hermione and send her an owl? Besides that, Harry could have gone to court against the ministry and presented his wand so they would check to know that his last spell wasn't the Hover charm. As far as I know it is possible and he wouldn't be guilty. Yet, in the 2nd or 3rd movie Harry does the Lumos charm under his blanket, isn't that disallowed too? So, my thought is that the ministry has problems with spotting magic and the rest. I'm asking why they thought Harry did it and why they sent him a warning when they should have done an inquiry first and therefore would know that it indeed wasn't Harry who cas...

I read this story a long time ago. I am unsure if it was a short, a novella or a full novel, but given my so-little memory of it, I believe it was probably a short. On to the plot points I remember: someone discovered how to harness the power of rotation you got the power, but whatever you harvested the energy from started slowing down, until eventually it stopped rotating this was used/abused by far too many people, causing the Earth to stop spinning and then the Moon, and they were starting in on the Solar System when the story started (IIRC) someone realized that they could have godlike amounts of power by harnessing the rotational energy of the entire universe somehow they used the massive energy to create copies of themselves (in time??) the two main characters were trying to kill each other, but were in a stalemate as with the unlimited energy they had they could make an almost infinite number of copies of themselves

Re-reading Terry Brooks' 1986 fantasy novel "Magic Kingdom for Sale — SOLD!", there's a passage on page 49 describing how the protagonist, Ben Holiday, is to find the access point to the magical kingdom of Landover: The map supplied by Meeks lay open on the seat beside him. He had memorized the instructions written on it. He was to follow 64 west almost to Waynesboro and exit the Skyline Drive on the road south toward Lynchburg. Twenty miles in, he would come upon a wayside turn-around on a promontory overlooking a stretch of mountains and valleys within the George Washington National Forest. It would be marked with a small green sign with the number 13 in black. There would be a courtesy phone and a weather shelter. He was to pull over, park, and lock the car with the keys inside, and cross the roadway to the nature path on the opposite side. He was to follow the path into the mountains for approximately two miles. At that point, he would be met. Was Terry Brooks ins...

In Star Trek III: The Search For Spock , David reveals that he used "Protomatter" to build the genesis device in this exchange with Lt. Saavik: DAVID: I used protomatter in the Genesis matrix. SAAVIK: Protomatter. An unstable substance which every ethical scientist in the galaxy has denounced as dangerously unpredictable. DAVID: But it was the only way to solve certain problems. SAAVIK: So, like your father, you changed the rules. DAVID: If I hadn't, it might have been years, ...or never! SAAVIK: How many have paid the price for your impatience? How many have died? How much damage have you done? ...And what is yet to come? My question concerns the line I've emphasized. If I recall correctly, the answer to the first three questions is an obvious "none." The fact that the planet was made with protomatter doesn't become relevant until it begins to disintegrate, which hasn't happened yet. All the drama and death surrounding the genesis arc doesn't se...

Years ago (70's or 80's) I read a sci-fi novel. It started with the discovery in the arctic (or antarctic) of a pair of humans (male and female) frozen in a block of solid helium. When thawed out, they revive and tell a story of an ancient high-technology civilization (back when Gondwanaland existed I seem to recall). This civilization had access to incredible energy sources having developed a grand unified theory of everything. In the end, they destroyed themselves in a conflict so huge that it shifted the earth on its axis. Does anyone know what the novel was? Answer How about The Ice People ? The Ice People (French: La Nuit des temps) is a 1968 French science fiction novel by René Barjavel.

In Harry Potter universe we're given example of Amortentia usage in a scenario where a female gives the potion to a male. Has Rowling explicitly commented if a male can use the potion to seduce a female ? Furthermore can Amortentia be used in a same sex scenario, e.g. male to male, female to female ? Answer Rita Skeeta suspects Bill Weasley of having used a Love Potion on Fleur. Regarding Love potions in general working in females: The only one who is easy to recognize is Bill who, poor man, is grievously scarred from an encounter with a werewolf and yet somehow (enchantment? Love potion? Blackmail? Kidnap?) married the undeniably beautiful (though doubtless empty-headed) Fleur Delacour. Dumbledore’s Army Reunites at Quidditch World Cup Final Additionally, in the semi-canonical play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne, Ron gives Albus a love potion with intent that he use it on girls (while Albus does have a certain 'gay vibe' in the play, there is no ind...

I read a short story a few years ago (late 90s) where a professor of Ancient History is giving his favorite lecture to his students about the rise of their empire. Some points I remember: The story is set in a packed lecture hall The lecture is about an ancient poem that commemorates the battle where the current empire captured Earth from the last empire. The lecture is interspersed with flashbacks from the invasion under discussion. In the flashbacks a professor of history discusses the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. The professor is excited to finish the lecture, but is interrupted right at the end and forced to read an announcement This announcement suggests that a new invasion is imminent, but is couched in language that makes it sound like everything is business-as-usual. My Google-fu has failed me. Does anyone have any clue as to the title or the author? Answer "The Only Thing We Learn" by C. M. Kornbluth , first published in Startling Stories , July 1949 , ava...

Is there any canon reference to the Mirror Universe Borg that would explain more about them? I've tried searching on my own and haven't found anything.

I seem to remember that he helps a crashed/dying bluish skinned alien and in return gets the power to transform/get armour when doing a somersault. I think the crashed UFO looked kind of like a flying car. At the end of the movie there is a fight with a big mecha... Answer GOLDWING 1978 also known as Hwanggeum Nalgae 1.2.3. its a KOREAN ANIME [embedded content]

Given the ending of Rogue One... ...it is obvious that the Imperials and Vader know that the Tantive IV ship was just engaged in a rebellion battle. Therefore why does Captain Antilles, while getting choked by Darth Vader, say: We intercepted no transmissions. ... This is a consular ship. We're on a diplomatic mission. Why would he say such an obviously false lie? Especially when it is his last words?

In Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace , the Trade Federation blockades Naboo at the start of the film. The opening crawl says the reason for this is due to taxes the Republic is charging. However, it's not really clear to me how this would help them with a taxation issue. Especially since this blockade is apparently secret. When Queen Amidala brings the issue before the Republic Senate, the Trade Federation denies it, so they want the blockade and subsequent invasion to be a secret. If they're blockading due to taxes, wouldn't they publicize this, instead of keeping it a secret? So my questions are, why did the Trade Federation blockade Naboo, and why did they keep it a secret? Answer The plan was to invade Naboo from the beginning, the blockade was merely an excuse for the presence of the battleships. This is what Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan found in the hangar of the federation battleship while they were escaping assassination. QUI-GON: Battle droids? OBI-WAN: It's a...

In an answer of mine for the question ' Who are all the characters to have touched The One Ring? ', someone astutely asked 'how come?' Was Gandalf aware of the Rings' effects on a holder before burdening Frodo with it? And while 'hidden', it did have some obvious effects during those 17 years, not the least of which was not appearing to have unnaturally-aged since receiving it. Answer He was aware. He wasn't sure (at the time of leaving Frodo) that this really was the One Ring but he had his suspicions and general worries about the ring. He had recently had a very heated discussion about it with Bilbo, witnessing behavior that was uncharacteristic and was definitely worried. He also knew how the ring got to Bilbo and was worried about Bilbo lying about it. He tells Frodo: "Keep it secret and keep it safe" And also: "... odd things may happen to people that have such treasures – if they use them. Let it be a warning to you to be very ca...

We know that Fluffy helped in protecting the Sorcerer's stone in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . Does anyone know what happened to Fluffy after that? Answer Acc. to HP Lexicon , JK Rowling answered this herself in a BBC interview on the Blue Peter TV show on BBC on March 12, 2001. Child: What happened to Fluffy...? JKR: I love attentive readers...you tend to find at Hogwarts that anything that's dangerous ends up in the forest ... so that's where Fluffy was released, so he's roaming round in the forest...

Pursuant to my question here , asking why Harry couldn't see Thestrals immediately following Cedric Diggory's death, now I want to know why Harry could see Thestrals, as a re-read of canon shows that Harry actually did NOT see Cedric get killed. He had covered his face and eyes with his hands and his eyes were closed as Cedric was killed. And then, without warning, Harry’s scar exploded with pain. It was agony such as he had never felt in all his life; his wand slipped from his fingers as he put his hands over his face; his knees buckled; he was on the ground and he could see nothing at all, his head was about to split open. From far away, above his head, he heard a high, cold voice say, ‘Kill the spare.’ A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words to the night: ‘Avada Kedavra!’ A blast of green light blazed through Harry’s eyelids, and he heard something heavy fall to the ground beside him; the pain in his scar reached such a pitch that he retched, and...

The One Ring gave Sauron control of the Nine, yet when it was taken from him he still possessed the power to control them (or, at least he regained it towards the end of the third age). Why is this? The Wikipedia article mentions that he drew the Nine to him, but not how. Answer After the wearers of the Nine Rings had become the Ringwraiths, Sauron -- who at that time still possessed the One Ring -- took their Rings from them. In a letter, Professor Tolkien wrote, Sauron ... still through their nine rings (which he held) had primary control of their wills. from The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien ; emphasis mine.

Between 2005-2008, I entered a Barnes and Noble and came across a book in the New Releases section that I regretted not purchasing. I remember only the following from the back-panel summary of the book: Humanity was more or less wiped out. The remains of humanity were put into a deep sleep on one (or more) large spaceship(s). When they arrived a new planet, they had a society where religion was/wasn't outlawed (can't remember anymore). A lot of bad stuff went down after humanity rebuilt itself on this new planet. Answer While it is earlier than your described 2005-2008 timeframe, there is a book published in 1999 by Stephen Gould entitled " Helm " (It's entirely possible it could have just been mis-shelved by a patron). The TV Tropes website gives this synopsis: Shortly after the conclusion of a war that destroyed the Earth, rendering it uninhabitable for generations, the survivors in the grossly-overstretched lunar colony decide to send four thousand in a colon...

Short story about mis-delivered cloning kit from the future. Subject man clones himself using scanner and ingredients from the kit (add water), agent arrives (from future) to reclaim the kit, but mistakenly reduces the original recipient to the basic kit ingredients, rather than the clone, who assumes the identity of the original subject. Asimov? Clarke? It was in a late 1960s-70s collection of short stories.

He was wondering or exploring, I don't know. He came into a place like a crash scene with a big dead robot - not that big, a little bit bigger than a human - and the boy had some kind of pet or robot with him and he accidentally tried to put his hand in the dead robot's arm and it activated, then he couldn't get it out anymore. Later he learned the power of the robotic hand and that the hand held great power. The desert was like a plain and the place was not like a usual place. Can you please let me know the show and episode name? I'll be glad if you can help me. He looked like a little or young boy to me, and the robotic hand was not that metal - it looked kind of like a glove with LEDs on it.

I've noticed a Spider-man symbol on several of my Marvel comics from the 80's. Any ideas on what it could mean? Answer When comic book shops first appeared in the '80s, the comic book companies shipped two different versions of the comics to the newsstands (grocery stores, department stores, gas stations, book stores, etc.) and the specialty, comic-centric shops that had just started appearing. Newsstand copies would have a bar code and direct market copies (the ones in comic book stores) would have a picture of some sort. Spider-Man was the defacto image for a long time, until the early '90s when they started using that area to advertise things like character anniversaries or big events. The UPC area on this issue of Uncanny X-Men advertises the comic's 30th anniversary . The issues were always identical in every way, except for the UPC area. Here's Avengers #300 for example: The image was also not dependent on the series itself, but rather loosely based o...

I re-read Moon is a Harsh Mistress over the weekend and remembered that I was always puzzled by Mike's behavior over the last pages. Prior to Prof's death, Mike was both a friend to Man and Wyoh as well as playing the roles of Adam Selene and Simon Jester. After Prof dies, Man wonders if ... a machine be so frightened and hurt that it will go into catatonia and refuse to respond? While ego crouches inside, aware but never willing to risk it? Man also came up with two possibilities. The first is that Mike took enough damage to fall below the critical number required to sustain self-awareness, and the second is implied that Mike is in a grieving cycle. Considering the quality of relationship between all the main characters, I feel the second is the best possibility, but if so, why hasn't he come back after all those years away?

In the comedic music video SPACE FORCE - The Theme Song there are many clips of vintage scifi films, some of which I recognize. This one however, of a large blue floating holographic head talking to some kind of military installation does not look at all familiar. Does anyone recognize this film? Answer The Last Starfighter (1984) Video game expert Alex Rogan finds himself transported to another planet after conquering The Last Starfighter video game only to find out it was just a test. He was recruited to join the team of best starfighters to defend their world from the attack. The character in question is Xur . I found this by doing a reverse image search on the screenshot you posted in the question.