Appendix III: Report on the Bene Gesserit Motives and Purposes On the surface it would seem that the Golden Path of Leto II was that plan and he was in charge, but he was not alive during the Arrakis Affair. Also one might think that it's Paul himself but Mr Herbert seems to indicate that it started before even Paul's birth. The Lady Jessica was ordered to produce an Atreides daughter. The plan was to inbreed this daughter with Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, a nephew of the Baron Vladimir, with the high probability of a Kwisatz Haderach from that union. Instead, for reasons she confesses have never been completely clear to her, the concubine Lady Jessica defied her orders and bore a son. This alone should have alerted the Bene Gesserit to the possibility that a wild variable had entered their scheme. But there were other far more important indications that they virtually ignored: The Report is a scathing criticism of the Gesserit multi-generational plan and ends the book with the hai...

In the film The Avengers , Black Widow and Loki have a discussion. During it, Loki refers to some of the red on Black Widow's ledger (i.e. things she regrets or owes people for). The items he mentions are: Sao Paulo The hospital fire Dreykov's daughter What are these referring to? Is this a reference to events from her comic book counterpart's history? Answer Those events have not happened in the comics, as far as I know, (been reading the Avengers for nearly 30 years) but are likely to be part of whatever movie magic the Marvel Cinema Universe concocts in the future for both Hawkeye and the Black Widow. Loki is a being whose powers are far beyond mortal humans. He is a sorcerer and a trickster. He likely used some sort of divination magic and/or mind-control magic (on Hawkeye) to get information about the Avengers and the Black Widow. He learned about events they were both engaged in that would have her in debt (in the red) to him and saved them for just the right moment...

It is about school in the future. In this system, all classes are taught through television and students all learn at home. Students get to decide what classes they wish to attend and teachers get paid by how many students sign up for their courses. As a result, teachers resort to tricks to get attention. One dresses up as a clown, another wears a bikini, etc. There is an older teacher who decides to teach the old-fashioned way. That's all I remember. Answer And Madly Teach (1966) by Lloyd Biggle. I have it in The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Sixteenth Series (1967), edited by Edward L. Ferman. Returning to earth from the primitive Mars colony, experienced teacher Mildred Boltz applies for a teaching position. When she meets the school officials, it is recommended she retire, but she refuses. The superintendent says, "Classes begin next Monday. I'll assign you to a studio and arrange an engineering conference for you immediately." "A -- studio? ...

I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the book. I feel it was like something about a painted man, but I know it starts with a tattoo artist who unknowingly inks out a sigil that summons a demon, and is then saved by a blind lady with a katana, who might be called Winter. At some point he is granted "the Sight" and can now see the real versions of the people around him, some of whom are missing eyes, or ears, or have other horrid wounds that are the result of unpaid debts to supernatural beings. He then goes on some big journey to the underworld, or some other secret realm, where angels and demons fly around in airships shooting at each other, and then at one point he fought a clone of himself. I think his mission might have had something to do with a book that he was supposed to give to the devil, but I could be pulling that from a different book. I know for sure that he was a tattoo artist, that he got the sight, there was a blind swords lady, and that there were ...

Spoilers ahoy! [Go no further if you haven't read Harry Potter and the cursed child yet.] In Harry Potter and the cursed child, Delphini states Delphini: I am from the future. The child of Bellatrix Lestrange and you. I was born in Malfoy Manor before the Battle of Hogwarts. A battle you are going to lose. I have come to save you. (Act 4, Scene 11) In the Deathly Hallows, Harry, Hermione and Ron are taken to Malfoy Manor, where there is no mention of her looking pregnant. Presumably, this means that the baby was born prior to that time- and, seeings as Malfoy is unaware of his cousin's birth- Bellatrix presumably had no contact with her family for 5 months prior (after the 4-month point the bump would have been more obvious.) So, given this information, when was Delphini born (or concieved?) Answer The Harry Potter Wikia article on Delphini Diggory does a pretty decent job of extrapolating her likely birth-date from the available evidence. Delphini (b. 1998 ? ) Delphi claim...

Many times we see the Captain of a Starfleet vessel ask for a probe to be launched in order to scan/examine some debris/star/anomaly/planet etc. Then a member of the crew, usually at the science or tactical stations, press a few buttons on their panels and moments later the probe is launched. However, we never see what happens from the moment the crew "orders" the probe (by entering some command in the panel) and the launch itself. Does the command get forwarded to some crewmen in the lower decks who are responsible for maintaining the probes, who then load them and proceed with the launch or does the whole thing happen "automagically"? So, my question is: are these probes loaded and launched manually or automatically in Starfleet vessels? I'm only interested in the TNG era (TNG/DS9/VOY) and in both canon and expanded universe. Answer The TNG Technical Manual indicates that standard probes are stored in the vicinity of the launcher for immediate use. Since t...

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix there is the mass breakout from Azkaban, Rodolphus and Bellatrix being two of the escapers. Rodolphus is very briefly mentioned (once) in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. We’ll split into pairs and search, and don’t forget, be gentle with Potter until we’ve got the prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary — Bellatrix, Rodolphus , you take the left, Crabbe, Rabastan, go right. . . The last time Rodolphus is mentioned is in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , after everyone has made it back to the Burrow: “Bellatrix,” said Tonks. “She wants me quite as much as she wants Harry, Remus, she tried very hard to kill me. I just wish I’d got her, I owe Bellatrix. But we definitely injured Rodolphus . . . After this instance, he is never mentioned again. Whether or not he and Bellatrix had a "loving" marriage , shouldn't he have appeared again? Did Tonks kill him? Did he abandon his wife and escape Voldemort like Kar...

In Attack of the Clones in the spaceport on Naboo we see a familiar looking ship landed in the spaceport. and in Revenge of the Sith we see coming in another familiar looking ship: While they both don't look exactly like the Falcon , ships of the same make and model have made appearances. So my question is this: Did any YT-1300 freighter make an appearance in The Phantom Menace ? Answer NO No YT-1300 freighter appears in The Phantom Menace . Although many have looked for it, it isn't there. Many easter egg sites died to bring me this information. The ship in the second picture, from Revenge of the Sith, has been confirmed by George Lucas as actually being the Millennium Falcon. There is a archived copy of the page that used to be on StarWars.com here (thanks to Adamant). From Wookieepedia : It was speculated that the Falcon would make an appearance in Revenge of the Sith to further tie the prequel trilogy to the original trilogy, and the ship did indeed make a cameo in the...

In the first part of the episode "The Bells" we see Lord Varys writing letters with the information about Jon's true heritage. I am not sure if I got the situation correctly. Do we know who is the receiver of these letters? Did someone really receive the letters or did Varys not have chance to send them before he was executed? Answer We don't know who they were sent to but can probably speculate at a couple of options. Let's have a look at what the letter said to see if we can work out who he would send them too. "...not the only Targaryen left. Rhaegar and Lyanna... their son lives still, hidden by Eddard Stark... he is the true heir to the Iron Throne..." Game of Thrones , Season 8 Episode 5, "The Bells" - Varys' letter So of course he's telling people that Jon is in fact the true heir to rally support for him over Dany. So to work it out we need to work out who are the best people to find out Jon's heritage to turn to his side....

Whilst preparing an answer for another question about the Gryffindor Quidditch team I realised that I didn't know who filled Harry's place in the final game of the season in Philosopher's Stone . I just put "unknown player". Has it ever been stated who that player was? We know that the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw game went ahead without Harry, who was still recovering in the sick bay after his confrontation with Quirrell. "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course - you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you - but the food'll be good." (Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 17, The Man With Two Faces) . We know that Gryffindor didn't have a huge range of backup Seekers since Wood didn't appoint anyone at the trials that year. But presumably they played somebody. Who was it? I've just found the following quote, which implies that ...

I guess I can live with the fact that the Incredible Hulk changes size drastically when he transforms, but why does his shirt rip off and not his pants? I think that we need a little better answer than "it keeps us tied to the fact that inside he's still human". Answer Stan Lee answered this question in an interview with Eric Spitznagel of Vanity Fair (March, 2011). You can read the transcript on ComicBookMovie.com . VF: If it weren’t for the Comics Code, would the Hulk’s pants have ripped off like his shirt? Stan Lee: I guess it probably would have. So occasionally the Code did some good things. VF: Did you ever try to make sense of the Hulk’s magical purple pants? Why did they always conveniently remain intact while the rest of his clothes were ripped to shreds? Stan Lee: I just figured that Bruce Banner had probably been a friend of Reed Richards [Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four], and Reed had given him some elastic trousers. There’s an explanation for everyth...

I've seen this picture on social media and was wondering why there are 2 Spider-Man (Spider-Men?). What's the storyline of this issue? Answer This is not from an issue of any of the comics. It's from an episode of the 1967 cartoon. In the episode Double Identity (S01E19B), an actor turned crook named Charles Cameo is impersonating Spider-Man (and others) while robbing people. Spider-Man, of course, confronts the crook and ends up catching him. [embedded content]

A side of the Hammer is inscribed with: "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." Does this mean that, if found worthy, you'll become Thor-like or just acquire the abilities granted to Thor by Mjolnir? Answer The answer varies by interpretation of the writer. Different writers have chosen to interpret it in a variety of ways. Some transfer the powers, some just allowed Mjolnir to be lifted.** Examples include: We have seen people become Thor (the crippled Donald Blake became Thor). This was later rewritten to be a mortal body created by Odin to teach Thor humility. Eric Masterson was an EMT who was merged with the power of Thor by Odin when Eric was mortally injured as a bystander near a battle where Thor was involved. Later when Thor was thought to have killed Loki, Masterson was deemed worthy and retained the power of Thor and Mjolnir becoming Thor and even serving as an Avenger. Thor later is released from banishment and Mas...

I watched Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope for the first time in a while a few days ago (the first step in taking my Daughter through the Machete Order). One thing that stood out was the pre-duel smack talk between Vader and Obi-Wan: Vader: When I left you, I was but the learner; now, I am the master. Obi-Wan: Only a master of evil, Darth. From memory, this is the only example I can think of where 'Darth' is used as if is was Vader's first name, as opposed to the title that we (eventually) learn that it is, once we meet other Darths. I wonder when Lucas decided that Darth would be a title for dark side Jedi (not called 'Sith' until the prequel trilogy)? In Empire and Jedi, Darth Sidious is referred to only as 'The Emperor', but 'Darth Vader' ceases to be called Darth if only one word is used; e.g. Yoda's "Vader, you must face Vader". Is this just an example of Lucas making stuff up as he went along, rather than having it all planned o...

Someone just sent me this image: And, this one is viral on Facebook and Google+: Are they from an actual TV episode, or are they Photoshopped images? Answer Real episode. This happened in the episode "Phantasms" ( Star Trek: The Next Generation ). In engineering, Data sees dream imagery while he's awake. He sees a 'mouth' on Geordi's neck, and the engineering tool he holds looks like the knife with which he cut the 'cellular-peptide cake'. He hears the telephone ringing again and Riker appears with a straw in his head, ordering Data to "answer it". Data opens his own chest and picks up the telephone receiver. [embedded content]

I've just seen the Mocumentary 'Team Thor'. I can't tell how seriously to take this; it shows Thor tucking Mjolnir into a mini bed, but it also shows a pin board of connections between lots of important events in the Marvel universe. Did this really happen in the MCU, or should I take it with a pinch of salt? Answer Based on Thor: Ragnarok , Team Thor is mostly non-canon, but Darryl might still exist. According to Thor: Ragnarok , Bruce Banner has been off-planet in Hulk form for the past 2 years. It would have been impossible for him and Thor to have the conversation shown in the Team Thor short. Additionally, we see that Bruce Banner has no memory of any events taking place after Avengers: Age of Ultron . Thor's old roommate Darryl does show up again in an extra short for Thor Ragnarok, but similar to Team Thor, it probably shouldn't be considered cannon. [embedded content]

What powers Data from Star Trek The Next Generation? Did he generate his own internal power or did he have to plug into the Enterprise periodically to recharge? Or perhaps a combination of the two? Answer From the transcript of Insurrection: ARTIM Don't you ever get tired? DATA My power cells continually re- charge themselves. So he is powered by "power cells" that continually recharge themselves, therefore apparently he does not have to plug into the Enterprise to recharge. Indeed there is also the episode where his head is stuck in the cave ( Time's Arrow ) for over 500 years, and it still works fine afterword.

Here’s all I remember about this: it was a shorter book [150 pages max? Couldn’t have been more]—~20 years old at most? with kinda surreal illustrations. There was some sort of civilization of microscopic people [people??] that lived within this massive person. They might’ve been centered in the kidney/liver. One person has to go on a voyage to the eye, perhaps motivated by the illness go a family member [maybe mother?] and goes to various other body parts before reaching the eye including the nipple. One detail that struck out in particular was that, at the nipple, there’s a little hole through which these people can view the world outside this person they’re stuck in. The book ends with these people having reached the eye—now they can see the world outside of this large person they live in.

My Answer to another question got me thinking about whether or not (Smith)Bane was communicating with the Agent Smith Program inside the Matrix. Is it possible that (Smith)Bane is just a copy of the program that needed to communicate with the Smith Program for instruction intermittently? Answer I know that the first thing that comes to mind is Neo's encounter with the Sentinel, then comes the fact that he exists inside the train station on Mobil Ave . let's look at these for a minute and decide later whether Smith could communicate in the same fashion as these two instances. Let's first take a look at the realms that we know to exist given the information in the 3 movies The Matrix The Train Station ( Mobil Ave .) The Machine World The Real World We know that Mobil ave. exists as a gateway between the Machine World and the Matrix because the Programs there are being carted to a place where they will be safe from Smith and the Destruction of the Matrix, some even say tha...

Often Galactus fed on planets with lifeforms, but the lifeforms could leave and he would still feed. Also not every planet he eats needs to have life. So what is he looking for in a planet? Answer Galactus is seeking the life energy of a planet. He is feeding on its energies that make life possible. It has never been clearly defined what Galactus deems to be a food-worthy planet but the basic understanding was if there was the potential for life, the energy to sustain an ecosystem, it would sustain him. After his visit however, depending on how he consumed the energy, it could be barely capable of supporting life or completely destroyed. When he uses his machines to convert a planet, the world usually survives. When he is starving, he absorbs the planet directly leaving nothing but rubble. Planets without life such as Mercury would not be considered candidates for consumption. Planets past their prime like Mars or completely inhospitable like Venus, would also not be consumed. A plan...

At first glance, it seems that bending is genetic/racial. In the original series, each nation has its own element and there is no crossover (the Avatar being the obvious exception). The upcoming series mixes things up by introducing two brothers, Mako and Bolin. Mako is a firebender and Bolin is an earthbender. This lends itself to genetics pretty easily as one could assume they came from mixed parents. Then I remembered that humans did not always posses the ability to bend. Each nation was originally taught their respective art by an external force. Earthbenders were taught by the badgermoles. Firebenders were taught by the dragons. Airbenders were taught by the skybison. Waterbenders learned by watching the moon push/pull the tides. We know that at least one of these methods still works at the time of the original series as Toph learned eathbending directly from the badgermoles. So then one could assume that bending in itself is not so much genetic as is the aptitude for bending. So...

Possible Duplicate: Why and how can you hear explosions in space in Star Wars? In firefly they were specific in all of the outer space scenes there was no sound which some people complained about. Whereas star-wars , battlestar-galactica , and many others show sound in deep space. How is this? Did Joss Whedon get it right? Is there really no audible sounds in deep spce? Or was it done just to prove a point?

An answer to another question brought up this wanted posted from The Last Airbender season 3: What's the English translation, if any? Answer The translated text results in this: Wanted Authorities are offering a reward of 1000 gold coins for the arrest of this twelve year old girl. She disguises herself as blind, and even though she is small, she is very dangerous. Information (that will lead to her arrest) will be rewarded. Source The original text: 緝拿逃犯 當局懸賞一千金幣 緝捕十二歲女童她 喬裝盲人個子雖小 極之危險報訊即賞 thrown into Google translate gives this (very crude) translation: Fugitive The authorities offered a reward of one thousand gold coins Arresting a 12-year-old girl The disguise of a blind man is small Extremely dangerous news that reward which has the same intention.

There are moments in Blade Runner 2049 where Joi (K's holographic girlfriend) seems to act in ways that help the rebellion: Her requesting the prostitute to have sex with K allows the prostitute (who is working with the rebellion) to slip a tracker into K's pocket But Joi is also a Wallace product and there are moments when one would suspect that Joi is an (unwilling) collaborator: Luv is angry when she finds that Joi's holoprojector's antenna is broken off, which suggests that it cannot transmit anymore. But that would imply that it was transmitting earlier on. So which is it? Answer Luv and other mishaps Joi is a known Wallace Corp. product, Luv even mentions I hope the product is to your satisfaction when Joi's ringtone alerts K in the Wallace Corp. headquarters. It is evident also, that Luv was using Joi's trackers to keep tabs on K and the progress of his mission. However, there's no evidence that Joi was aware of this happening or aiding it in any ...

So I was recently watching the series seven episode of Doctor Who titled "Hide" and it struck me that I had read a short story that was remarkably similar to the astronaut woman of the episode. Here's what I remember definitively of the story: The story is told from two perspectives: that of the traveler and that of the observers throughout time. The traveler is running but to the outward observers he/she appears frozen like a statue. As the story progresses the 'statue' moves slowly through the millenia but to the everyday people its imperceptible, he/she is just an anomalous statue. What I think I remember: The time traveler is dressed in some type of space suit looking thing. I think the time traveler is the test pilot for the new time travel device/ship. The traveler may possibly be crossing dimensions (really not sure about that). They are either running towards a light or away from the crashed ship. I vaguely remember something like the traveler was trying t...

In two Voyager episodes, trips to the Q Continuum are made. On both of these occasions one of the Qs had to "change the scenery," so that the humanoid brains of the away team could have some sort of understanding of what was going on. If the scenery was not changed, then the Continuum would be way beyond the comprehension of everyone, including Tuvok. As it is with the appearance of the Q. Obviously, they are not humanoids---they appear in this form in order that humanoids can relate to them. A Q appearing in his true form would surely be beyond the ability of lower races to comprehend. So, are any species from Star Trek lore capable of viewing the Q Continuum in its true form?

I've become hooked on HBO's A Game of Thrones , so I was going to read the books. However, I'm a little confused as to which order to read them since there are novellas based on chapters of the novels. This is what I've found online: Blood of the Dragon (July 1996), taken from the Daenerys chapters in A Game of Thrones . Path of the Dragon (December 2000), taken from the Daenerys chapters in A Storm of Swords . Arms of the Kraken (March 2003), based on the Iron Islands chapters from A Feast for Crows . Should I read the novel first, then the novella for that book, then back to the original series?

Did The Last Jedi (or any script, novelization once that becomes available, etc) shed any new light on Snoke? I do mean that in a pretty general sense in that I'm not after a particular piece of information, but rather, what were his goals, where was he from, who actually was he, etc... After the events at the end of the movie, it seems a little strange to me that they would just kill off Snoke like that, basically just being a means for Ren to draw even further to the dark side and becoming the new Supreme Leader (which in itself is a fine reason, but still... I [wrongly] expected him to play a further role in the SW universe). Answer As JK mentioned, The Last Jedi tells us very little about Snoke. But things we do learn are that: Snoke commands the First Order from his massive command ship . It is instantly recognizable to members of the Resistance. If he rules from any particular planet, there is no hint as to what it is. Furthermore, Snoke is an extremely powerful Force us...

After the second Wizarding war, who is the Headmaster for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? There were assumptions that it would be Professor McGonagall because she was most trusted by Dumbledore and also rightful Deputy Head, but there was also claims that JK Rowling specified in a TV documentary that it wouldn't have been McGonagall, because she was getting too old. If it is true, then who is the current Headmaster/Headmistress? Answer Edit: With the release of The Cursed Child comes new answers! The current headmistress is Minerva McGonagall Professor McGongall: But I was advised when I took this job The Cursed Child , page 132 Emphasis mine In an interview JKR said that J.K. said that "McGonagall was really getting on a bit," and nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts, there is an entirely new headmaster. Also, there is a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and that position is now as safe as the other teaching posts at Hogwarts, since Volde...

So, students in Gryffindor are supposed to represent bravery. How does Neville represent bravery, to the point in being accepted into the house. I've always thought of his strongest traits being things like loyalty, willingness to work hard, etc, and these things would tend to put him in Hufflepuff. Answer First of all, in the first 4 years, it isn't really shown that Neville is NOT brave - the only thing he's really afraid of is his Grandmother and maybe Snape during Potions. With good reason. :) You may be confusing a lack of confidence/assertiveness with not being brave, but they are not the same (for a good in-universe illustration of the opposite, think Prof. Lockhart). First four books, he's clumsy, and is not yet showing any magical talent. Starting with the fifth year, Neville is shown to have been changed, and repeatedly proves his bravery and willingness to fight. NOTE: He first shows bravery in the First Year (see System's great answer for details ), ...

Related to this question: What does it take to be expelled from Hogwarts? and Why Couldn't Hagrid Have a Functional Wand? TL;DR - 1a) Do we know of any other students that were actually expelled? TL;DR - 1b) What constitutes a complete education? Do all children have to pass OWLS and NEWTS? The only example I can remember is: Hagrid. He was fully expelled, wand broken and everything. It is also my recollection that the wand is broken because without a completed education the wizard will end up being a danger to the public by not performing spells properly. However we see the following: Fred and George left the school voluntarily so there was no official to confiscate and break their wands. They end up opening their joke shop. Same goes with Harry and Ron so they can pursue the Horcruxes. They end up working as Aurors directly after the war. Hermione leaves but goes back and completes her education. This leaves the following questions: Since Fred and George did not finish, why did ...

The sandworms of Dune are huge and powerful. But how exactly do they move beneath all that sand? They don't necessarily skim above the surface as they apparently only raise smallish (relative to their diameter) mounds as they move around. What about their physiology allows for such rapid locomotion under (surely) really heavy sand? What happens to the rest of the sand that they dislodge below the surface? Also, do they always remain close to the surface or do they also "burrow" deep down? I've only read Dune (the first book) thus far. Please avoid or warn me about spoilers as much as possible. Answer It's never explained in detail (at least, not that I recall), but the Worms are segmented, just like the ones you may have encountered in the real world. They move by contracting and expanding their segments, with small spikes (yes, worms really have them) assisting the process. They don't (so far as I recall, although some later books seem to contradict this, ...

In the Star Wars Holiday Special , Darth Vader says this to Boba Fett: I see why they call you the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. This seems to be the general attitude of most characters towards Fett. It's also common to hear fans describe him as the greatest bounty-hunter in the Star Wars galaxy. However, in the actual films, he doesn't do all that much. He helps capture Luke and Han, which was impressive, but not really enough to justify being called the best bounty-hunter in the galaxy. What exactly has he done in the expanded universes to deserve this title? I'm not asking for arguments as to why he is or isn't deserving, what I want is a list of his greatest and most impressive canon bounty-hunting accomplishments. I know he was a powerful fighter who did many impressive things. However, if it isn't bounty-hunting related, it doesn't answer the question .

I would have read this book in the early 80s. It's probably just about SF as it involves tech that certainly wasn't available at the time. An American teenager moves to London; his father somehow has a job at the Tower of London so they live in housing there, making friends with other kids whose parents are Yeoman Warders (I remember them being very insistent that they didn't use the term Beefeaters). Ghosts of historical figures like Anne Boleyn start appearing on the battlements. The boy and his friends work out that they are actually holograms being projected from the top of the Post Office Tower (as it was then). He quickly gets involved in a complicated plot involving a new European currency called (I think) Europounds; there's a slightly deranged economist who wants to destroy the currency for some reason. The climax involves the money being transported in a white truck being guarded by a black car, and duplicates of both the truck and car being switched (so that ...

In Back To The Future II, we learn that traveling forward in time, after having altered the past, lands the traveler into an alternate present or future compared to the one they originally left. (Thanks to @Xantec for the image) However, in Back to the Future I, it is clearly implied that Marty's performance of Johnny B. Goode at the Enchantment Under The Sea dance was the inspiration for Chuck Berry's composition of the song. If, in the altered past, Marty is the inspiration for Johnny B. Goode, then how did Chuck Berry come up with it in the original timeline? Could this be a paradox? Related: Back To The Future: Time Travel Paradox

In Aladdin, since the wish to be a Prince was not really granted, shouldn't he have had 2 wishes left, able to free the genie and have a wish for himself? Ie, is that a logical plot hole?

At the time of posting, the Wikipedia entry on the Technodrome from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise claims that the giant spherical vehicle was "based on" the Death Star from Star Wars . However, the claim is unsourced. Further investigation reveals several discussion forums and Internet sites with similar claims, but no official statements or hard evidence. Was the Technodrome actually based on the Death Star? Answer The "Word of God" answer from David Wise is: Yes. He was at least a bit inspired by the Death Star in the creation of the Technodrome. After a bit of detective work I discovered that David Wise , a science fiction writer was attributed as the creator of the Technodrome. I found him on Twitter and his response follows: "I conceived of it as a "Death Star on tank treads." Did a lot of tunneling in 5-part part pilot so round shape seemed appropriate." The debate is ended.

The Dwarf Rings are being mentioned at the start of LOTR but no mention is made of them elsewhere despite the nine and three gathering heaps of attention. While the dwarfs of ME are renowned for sticking to their mining and delving and smithing, only rarely coming out for light and (let's face it) the Elves aren't exactly the friendliest bunch, surely some news of the Dwarf Rings would have come to the attention of the Free peoples? So what happened to the seven Dwarven rings? Answer All of the Dwarf rings are accounted for, either through destruction or recapture. This is mentioned many times in Lord of the Rings, for example Gandalf's words in Shadow of the Past : Seven the Dwarf-kings possessed, but three he has recovered, and the others the dragons have consumed. That the ring of Thrór was the last one that the Dwarves possessed is also well recorded; in the Council of Elrond we see Glóin saying the following: The Seven are lost to us – if Balin has not found the rin...

Short story begins with the rescue of one person trying to escape a planet using a solar sail. He describes how his people go through population build-ups and collapses, endlessly. The finish is always the same, all traces of civilization are destroyed, the last survivors fighting hand-to-hand. Evolution favored those with one arm shaped like a club or axe. This answers the rescuers question about his oddly nonsymmetric arms. They hurry to the planet in the hopes of stopping the cycle. The story was part of a collection in the late 60's, I believe.

Many of the great houses have heirloom blades made from Valyrian steel. Where did they get them from? Did they buy them? Gifts from the Valyrians? And is it known how old they are?

Here's what I have observed about Asgardians as per Marvel Cinematic Universe, few comics and the Internet materials: There is an infantry class which are great warriors and much stronger than humans, but they don't usually have superpowers. They are expendable. Then, there's a God class which has superpowers. Their deaths are rare and they control the battle, even to the extent of facing entire armies alone or in small teams. e.g. Odin, Thor etc. The superpowers they have are unique (unlike other races like Frost Giants). For example, Odin has a uniquely advanced magic, while Heimdall's power to see and hear everything in all 9 realms is crucial to his ability to operate the Bifrost Bridge. How do Asgardians obtain these special superpowers? Are they wholly genetic, or can they be learned? And could an Asgardian from the lower classes be elevated by learning such a superpower? If an Asgardian with an important power (e.g. Heimdall's ability to see across all 9 re...

Hogwarts castle is quite big as far as I know (7 or more floors plus all the Towers). How could Filch alone clean up the whole castle provided the fact that he is unable to use magic? Maybe Mrs. Norris helped a bit (joke)? Answer He couldn't have done, but that's not an issue because he didn't have to take care of the entire castle by himself. He was the caretaker of Hogwarts school, and some of that included janitorial type duties, but he wasn't the only person responsible for keeping the castle clean. So, who else was involved? House Elves It's revealed in Goblet of Fire that House Elves were responsible for cleaning the Gryffindor common room and dormitories, in addition to their cooking and cleaning duties in the kitchens. I think we can reasonably assume that this applies to the other three Houses, at the very least. They may also have assisted with cleaning duties in other areas of the castle. Staff may not necessarily have wanted Filch bustling around clea...

I think this short story was written in 50's or 60's. The premise is that all of a sudden, all forms of electricity stopped working, and people had to revert to a simpler way of life.