I hoping for some help here, as Google isn't being useful... In my early teens I read a novel about a young man who is quite adventurous in his society and in climbing and adventuring into the off-limit areas of his world, discovers his "world" is actually a giant spaceship (possibly an asteroid ship) transporting a colony to a new world and it is very near it's destination after hundred or thousands of years. Problem is that it has been so many generations now that no one even knows this is a ship any more, so he has to finish the journey himself, possibly with the help of an AI in the ship (sorry, memory is really foggy). Biggest problem is that is about all the details I can remember... This would have been about the mid-1980's and in paperback. This image by Roy Scarfo is what brought back my memory of the book, I am guessing the cover art of the novel was similar in some way. Answer It's not an uncommon concept, and there are many stories that may fit i

I remember reading a sci-fi novel where a community of immortal beings are trapped within the core of a planet, but the surface they are trapped on is expanding very slowly, so they just have to survive for a few hundred years until they can reach the planet's crust again. Does anyone recognise this story? Trying to find the title. Answer This is probably Marrow , by Robert Reid, an expansion of his earlier short story by the same name. The plot takes place on a giant Jupiter-sized spaceship, built by an unknown race but crewed by a set of functionally immortal humans. Some of them discover a planet at the core of the ship, and are stranded there by some kind of ion storm. After hundreds of years of studying the patterns of the storms, they realise the planet is expanding. In a few thousand years they will be able to build a bridge back into the surrounding ship.

This is a screenshot from The Return of the King taken at 2:26:19 in the Director's Cut, right before the Battle of the Black Gate. Right after this shot, the movie cuts to Frodo and Sam, and then returns to a wide shot of the army surrounded. The next time we see Aragorn, he and his companions are no longer on horses. Finally, at 2:30:40, he charges the army of Mordor on foot. Why would Aragorn and his companions choose to dismount before charging, and why is there no sign of horses in the ensuing battle?

I'm looking for a story I read in the 90s - I'd guess it's 20-30 pages long. Two men are posted as scientific observers on an isolated planet for many years. Despite their differences, they learn to get along and survive the solitude. One day, a team of 12 identical clones arrives. There are 6 males and 6 females who were cloned from a brilliant male biologist (by adding X chromosomes, etc.). They are super close to each other; each one specializes in a different field of science, they all sleep together, and they don't really communicate well with outsiders. The point of the story is the contrast between the original pair's way of dealing with differences and the clone's identical, in-built similarity which makes those skills unnecessary. A disaster on the planet results in the death of some of the clones & explores the psychological aftermath of the breakup of their unit. Answer This is Nine Lives by Ursula K. LeGuin. Posted in its entirety here . And I

Science-fiction has used wormhole travel, hyperdrive, teleportation, even sub-FTL flight combined with time travel o get characters there and back again. Even hard science-fiction writer Larry Niven has used faster-than-light drives, and he admits that they were solely a plot device. Are there any FTL systems in science-fiction that are possible from the point of view of modern-day physics? (Inspired by this question .)

If Snape didn't fall in love with Lily, or "got over" it, would he still be able to summon a Patronus or would he then become a run of the mill Death Eater? According to J. K. Rowling, Snape is the only Death Eater with a Patronus. Samantha: Was snape the only death eater who could produce a full patronus J.K. Rowling: Yes, because a Patronus is used against things that the Death Eaters generally generate, or fight alongside. They would not need Patronuses. Source Snape's Patronus is a doe, explained as being because of his love for Lily, which may very well be his happy memory to generate the Patronus. If this was no longer the case, would the consistent presence of the Dementors on his supposed side mean he's no longer able to summon a corporeal Patronus? Answer Jaclyn: Did lily ever have feelings back for Snape? J.K. Rowling: Yes. She might even have grown to love him romantically (she certainly loved him as a friend) if he had not loved Dark Magic so much,

I have been searching for this story for years. This is what I remember: It's about Earth and either unknown or known to its population, it is under some type of control. Possibly alien. I remember a person or people who were sleeper agents that either awoke to discover this rule or control or had their memory turned on. Then I remember it culminated in this person or persons discovering an underground facility or weapon which may have been in England. And while this person or persons were trying to activate something in this facility or bunker, the outside forces were trying to blast / dig down to try to stop them. I seem to remember a device or missile in this facility or bunker. I know this is piecemeal, but it has grown foggy over the years. I read it in either a stand alone novel or as a short story. It was from the library at Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station and the year was 1980. I seem to remember a rocket on the cover of the book, but I may be confusing it with some other

I doubt we have an actual birth date but I'm sure at least the year can be found out. It appears as though Robert's Rebellion took place from 282 AC to 283 AC so that means she was born sometime from 282 AC to 284 AC. Does anyone know when Daenerys Targaryen was born? Answer 284 AC We know that Dany was born to King Aerys Targaryen II and Queen Rhaella Targaryen, we also know that Rhaella was sent to Dragonstone after the Battle of the Trident and before the Sack of King's Landing, so sometime in 283 AC. "Rhaegar met Robert on the Trident, and you know what happened there. When the word reached court, Aerys packed the queen off to Dragonstone with Prince Viserys. Princess Elia would have gone as well, but he forbade it. Somehow he had gotten it in his head that Prince Lewyn must have betrayed Rhaegar on the Trident, but he thought he could keep Dorne loyal so long as he kept Elia and Aegon by his side. A Storm of Swords, Jaime V And if it isn't obvious from the

In all the Star Wars movies, R2D2 just boops and beeps his way around. And everyone understands him perfectly, though he is obviously not speaking Basic. How do people understand him - is there like an astromech language? If so, then would one have to learn it, or is it comprised of feelings and emotions (expressed in beeps), essentially making a tonal language? If I may be permitted to use an example from the prequels without too many lynch mobs forming, Anakin Skywalker converses frequently with Artoo while in the Naboo fighter, but he couldn't have had much schooling at the age of eleven, especially because he was a slave. So how would people, Anakin especially, be able to understand astromechs? Answer All droids speak and understand Binary - the language R2 uses. In general, the tones used can convey much of the meaning. Translators like C-3P0 have to translate for most people, though people who have spent a lot of time around droids can learn at least a little of what diff

In all the material that I've covered from the Star Wars Universe, apart from Vader, I have not read of any one who came to the Light Side of the Force after being exposed to the Dark Side. Given that my knowledge is limited, I would like to ask whether there has been any one who came to the Light Side of the Force after experiencing the Dark Side? Answer In fact, Redemption/Atonement happen quite often. Even Luke made his own journey in the Dark Side. And There is many others examples, like Darth Caedus and Kyp Durron .

It is said that Darth Vader's body armour suit is a direct upgrade of how General Grievous was created. But I can't understand how this is an "upgrade". It was heavier, immobile (compared to Grievous), wasn't as agile, and as far as we knew from the movies it didn't have gadgets like grappling hooks, etc. So why was it considered an upgrade? Surely the Grievous armour was a much better killing machine. Answer I don't know where you read/heard about Darth Vader's suit being an upgrade to General Grievous. In Wookieepedia , the section for Darth Vader's armor: Discomforts and limitations : Having had so much experience with mechanics, Vader was dismayed by the incompetence of the medical droids responsible for his resurrection in Sidious' laboratory on Coruscant. The technology in the suit was already obsolete, having been used to rebuild and create General Grievous decades earlier. While he retained his knowledge of the Jedi arts, he began t

When I was a kid we had a VHS tape of some Disney live action (not animated) sci-fi movie. It may have been a mini-series or a made-for-tv movie, but I'm not sure. I'm also not sure about the year but it would probably have been late 80s or early 90s based on when I would have seen it. I know it was Disney because they had some live action Goofy and Mickey running around the movie's set as an introduction discussing the plot with a host before the movie. The plot is basically as follows: A starship is loaded with mostly children and teenagers as a cross-galaxy human settling effort. Accidents (which are not really accidents and later revealed) cause adult crew members to be killed. They travel to another planet and face all sorts of troubles. It arrives at the new planet after overcoming obstacles. Other memorable scenes that may help: Navigating out of earth's asteroid belt made out of space junk. One of the adults was killed via an airlock malfunction. The ship was su

This was a book I borrowed from the library in the late 80s early 90s. The fantasy picture book adventure progressed through various hostile scenes/worlds/dungeons and you were prompted to search for clues/keys/potions within the illustrations before you could turn the page (I don't recall if you were required to jump to pages of the path you chose, just to look for hidden keys/clues) The only other details I recall are: The book was glossy, thin, magazine sized probably less than 30 pages long. The end of the book had a 'boss' red demon naked devil guy who damn terrified me – and the only way to 'destroy' him was with a weapon found within the secret/hidden illustrations of the book. Does anyone remember the title of this book?

In the movies, we see the Knight Bus to be bending, swerving and squeezing with a switch used by the driver, to avoid collision with other objects like people, other vehicles, etc. It is also invisible so I want to learn what happens if it accidentally makes a collision? Couldn't find anything about this subject. Reading the question Does the Knight bus actually move continuously on the roads, or does it teleport/apparate? , I can understand that it can teleport for transport, but I mean when not teleporting and when it is manually being driven, what would be the outcome of a collision is there example for it? (Like reversing what happened, memory wipes, or will be just a crash) Answer In the books it's rather the reverse - the Knight Bus doesn't swerve around things, things move out of the Knight Buses way . Ernie didn't seem to have mastered the use of a steering wheel. The Knight Bus kept mounting the pavement, but it didn't hit anything; lines of lamp posts, l

I can't remember much about it other than something/one unleashed a machine within a giant pit, and then what I assume is either space marines, or regular military had to deal with the issue. It didn't go well obviously. The monsters had arms that were basically spikes and were very fast, and every human slain was dropped into the pit to become a monster via a conveyor belt and saw blades. However the hero overcame the machine after he was put in and won. Answer This is Mutant Chronicles , a greatly panned 2008 adaptation of the RPG by the same name, starring Ron Perlman. The story is set in the year 2707. The world is loosely based on that of the Mutant Chronicles role-playing game, where many technologies are steam powered and mankind has exhausted Earth’s natural resources. The protagonists must battle against mutated humans that were accidentally unleashed. The plot revolves around a "machine" which came from space 10,000 years ago. The "machine" mutat

Humans look like late member of Warp Drive community. Klingons were capable of interstellar travel from the time of Kahless. Vulcans were in contact with Andorians from ancient times (ST: Enterprise). Which one first invented warp capabilities: Klingons or Vulcans? Or, others? Answer Technically the first race to discover warp drive would be the ancient race in The Chase in Star Trek: The Next Generation . This is the species that moved out into the galaxy, explored it, and found it empty, so they seeded planets with DNA (which also explains why there are so many humanoid races in the galaxy). But if you're talking races that are currently active on an interstellar scale, according to Memory Alpha , here's a simple table taken from the article on warp drive : Vulcans: 9th century B.C. Romulans: Didn't split from Vulcans until after Warp Drive. Klingons: 9th century A.D. Vissians: 12th century A.D. Borg: 15th century A.D. Humans: 21st century A.D. ( Note: Changes since or

These aren't the droids you're looking for, you don't need to see his identification. Not just in the books, but in the movie, Obi-Wan has the power to persuade minds, so why not just use it and run through like a boss? In the books, Luke actually disguises himself in his normal clothing, appearing as something else to everyone else (Crystal Star. he even lets Han see the real him, and only Han). Sure, he might have had some strain from Force usage, but I would think that even at his age, he would have had more than enough power to last his way to the tractor control. Answer He does both. Stealth is the safe default, because there are cameras and droids about, neither of which would be susceptible to the Mind Trick, and we can assume that some of the human personnel aboard the Death Star were also too strong minded to be influenced by the trick. But when we see him encounter a couple of grunts near the tractor beam control panel, he relies on stealth for as long as possib

In the beginning of the Malloreon (Guardians of the West), Ce'Nedra and Garion are having difficulty producing an heir to the Rivan throne. Polgara comes with a Dryad, some dirt, and some water. The book seems to gloss over many of the details as to what happened, and provides no explanation as to what was wrong, and how it was fixed. So, what was wrong, and what did the things done do to fix it? This seems to be the sequence of events: The dirt was kept near the Royal bed for a period of time. Eventually, it was planted in the middle of the winter. The tree was carefully monitored for it's health for some time. Ce'Nedra was forced to drink some special tonic. After several months of this, it seems the problem was resolved. Is there any more detail provided? Answer Dryads appear to have a tertiary stage of sexual development focused on their becoming receptively fertile. The stage is evidently linked to them psychically bonding with a particular sort of tree (a great oak)

In their first divination class Ron, helped by Professor Trelawny, reads some interesting things about Harry via tea leaves. Was this a real prophecy of the future or simply some plot foreshadowing set up by JKR? Did all the events Ron/Trelawny state come true? "My turn..." Ron peered into Harry's teacup, his forehead wrinkled with effort. "There's a blob a bit like a bowler hat," he said. "Maybe you're going to work for the Ministry of Magic... "But this way it looks more like an acorn.... (which means)"'A windfall, unexpected gold.' he turned the cup again, "that looks like an animal... yeah, if that was its head... it looks like a hippo... no, a sheep..."Professor Trelawney whirled around "Let me see that, my dear," she said reprovingly to Ron, sweeping over and snatching Harry's cup from him.Professor Trelawney was staring into the teacup, rotating it counterclockwise."The falcon... my dear, you hav

In the Lord of the Rings, it is stated that "In 2509, Celebrían, wife of Elrond, was journeying to Lórien when she was waylaid in the Redhorn Pass, and her escort being scattered by the sudden assault of the Orcs, she was seized and carried off. She was pursued and rescued by Elladan and Elrohir, but not before she had suffered torment and had received a poisoned wound. She was brought back to Imladris and though healed in body by Elrond, lost all delight in Middle-earth, and the next year went to the Havens and passed over Sea." LotR, Appendix A (III) - Eriador, Arnor and the Heirs of Isildur Do we know any more what what this "torment" entailed and why it was so distressing? Answer Tolkien didn't try his hand at writing torture porn, and I for one am thankful. However, if you must make assumptions as to her fate, you can see the other instances where orcs took captives, starting with Frodo's time in Cirith Ungol before Sam came to rescue him. I couldn

In Chamber of Secrets , how is Dobby able to seal off Platform 9¾, something that is so important and acts as the gateway from London to Hogwarts. We know as a fact that house-elves have the potential of great, mysterious magic (for example, they are able to Apparate where wizards cannot) but sealing off something so universal to wizards is something really big , especially when it is stated: It is not known exactly how Muggles do not, or cannot get onto the platform; however, it can be assumed that powerful magic of some sort is employed in order to keep them ignorant of its existence. source-harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/King's_Cross_Station This implies that the platform itself contains powerful magic to transport wizards into another dimension (I'm not sure if this is the right word :/ ). So the question is: How exactly did Dobby seal off Platform 9¾?

On the SGC stargate there is the well known point of origin of an inverted V with a dot over the top of it. Every address dialed ends with the point of origin. The reason behind the point of origin symbol was brought up here and the point that it can't be coordinates, since it's only one of six symbols for a coordinate has been discussed here . But, even with some comments and suggestions, it's still not clear what this symbol does or why it has to be used at the end of every dial-out. Also, it is important to note that we've seen gates that were relocated and still worked without a change in the point-of-origin symbol. What is the purpose of the point-of-origin symbol? And if it's just sending info about the gate itself or some coordinates, then why is it necessary to enter it at all, rather than that gate sending that information automatically? Was the purpose of the point-of-origin ever defined? Answer To tell the gate that you are done dialing. To dial within

We know there is a wide range of dangerous creatures in the Forbidden Forest, from small to large. The Forbidden Forest is also not far from Hogwarts and we've seen proof, in The Chamber of Secrets , that the spiders from the forest were in Hogwarts and were fleeing Hogwarts for the Forest after the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. With all the bad nasty creepy crawly things in the Forbidden Forest, and it being so close to a school, what prevents these darklings from leaving the Forest and creeping into (or invading) Hogwarts? There's no mention of anything magical that Harry and friends feel when they enter or exit the forest. And how are the spiders able to get past this protection? Answer I can’t recall this being specifically dressed in canon, but we can make some reasonable guess. First, as Umbridge says in OotP, the beings in the Forest live there under agreement with the Ministry. I think this agreement is probably motivated by fear of Muggles: Hogwarts and the Fore

The only vivid memory I have of this book is that the citizens of the story's world are all associated with a certain element, such as air or water, etc. This association brings them powers that can control that particular element. The powers, though, can only be enhanced/ used if 'special stones' are implanted in their spine after birth. The stones themselves are plain, but once implanted in a baby's back, they turn a certain color. The stones are implanted in a special ritual performed by alien-like creatures, who are very powerful. I have a feeling it was a part of a series, but I am unsure. I just remembered something else. The stones are very expensive and the parents have to save up in order to afford them. Multiple stones can be implanted in one person and the number of stones implanted in a person indicates the amount of power they have. Answer Sounds like the Broken Sky series by Chris Wooding , which began publication by Scholastic in 2000. More information

For years I've been trying to find this movie I saw on TV once. I only saw the end. It featured a teenage boy (about 18 years old) and his family hiding out in a cabin. The kid is making molotov cocktails and preparing for something. Sure enough two bad guys show up and I think one of them had a golden pistol. They start fighting and one of the guys turns into a werewolf type creature. The kid wounds it and tracks it through the woods to finish it off with his lever action rifle. Anyone know the name of this movie? I saw this probably mid to late 90s. I'm guessing it was an 80's American film. It was live action. Answer As per the description, I think the movie you're referring to is Watchers , starring Corey Haim. It has a hairy creature and also involves a hunting gun and Molotov cocktails.

In The Force Awakens , when Finn and Poe Dameron escape the Star Destroyer Finalizer , Poe flies back to Jakku over Finn's protests, insisting he has to pick up BB-8 — and what BB-8's carrying — as per his mission. But when they crash land and Finn goes to look for him, Poe is already gone. Later, we learn he returned to the Resistance base without BB-8, as BB-8 was with Finn and Rey. Why did he make the gamble to return to Jakku only to leave after he crashed? For all he knows, BB-8 was still somewhere on Jakku. Answer He left because he had no way to reconnect with BB-8 and knew the droid could take care of itself for a while till he got help. From Alan Dean Foster's novelization: He was alive on the surface of Jakku. Alive and alone. There was no way of telling if Finn had been as fortunate. More important, where was BB-8? The droid could take care of himself, he felt. Poe knew if he could just get offworld and reconnect with the Resistance, a way could be found to rec

I'm looking for what I think was a short story, the style reminded me of Kim Stanley Robinson, but I couldn't find a match under his works. I think this was a fairly short story, that I read sometime in the last few years, say 2016 onward. The Story revolves around a boy living in a Generational Spaceship approaching its destination. The boy is from a poor family, the majority of the Ship's wealth is owned by families that control the water supply, which is decreasing. The ship is reaching its destination and the population preparing to disembark. The main character is also fretting about why all the water is controlled by a small number of rich people, and where the rest of the water seems to have gone. The twist ending is that the water is still on the ship, it's been transferred from general availability into breeding vats to create vast amounts of simple plant life that is going to be used to seed the destination planet. The population of the Generational Ship are a

In the epilogue of Deathly Hallows , when Harry’s son expresses trepidation about being sorted into Slytherin, Harry says: “Albus Severus, you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.” Bravery is the trait typically associated with Gryffindor. If Snape was so brave, why was he sorted into Slytherin instead? Answer Snape wasn't sorted into Gryffindor for the same reason Peter Pettigrew was sorted into Gryffindor despite being a coward and Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw . Bravery, unlike intelligence, ambition, and kindness, is not a constant trait or characteristic. Everyone and anyone can be brave, thus anyone who asks to be in Gryffindor is placed in Gryffindor. Snape wasn't placed in Gryffindor because he was more suited to Slytherin at the time , and because he didn't ask to be. Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in the seventh ye

In The Last Jedi, it is mentioned that some students followed Kylo Ren on the run from the academy. In a document, are you informed of the fate of these students? Answer The Knights of Ren were not Force-Sensitive (at least that is how they are portrayed ) so it is unlikely (but plausible and possible ) that these other students joined the Knights of Ren. Another answer that has come to my attention is that these students that left with Ren could have became the Red guards seen in Snokes throne room, as suggested by Star Wars Explained - [embedded content] . EDIT: Some members of The Knights Ren probably were force sensitive (with the exception of Kylo Ren), but this has not been shown yet in canon (as of December 2017.)

After I read Justice League #50 , I noted that DC Comics Rebirth will be the continuation of The New 52 . I did not get to read all of The New 52 , but I thought that after New 52: Future Ends , the continuation of New 52 was Convergence . But it seems that I was wrong and it is just a limited series, a spin out. So, did the events of Convergence have any importance for The New 52 ? I just saw a relation between Superman and Superman: Lois and Clark . Answer tl;dr - Any changes put in place by Convergence were largely not used by writers, and will be subsumed and overridden by DC Rebirth. This will likely be a somewhat confusing answer, I shall try to remain low-detail. The big new point from Convergence was the idea that continuity in the books could be more malleable from an editorial sense. Events from pre-52 eras were potentially useable. Dan Didio tried to explain it in this interview at Newsarama . The Lois and Clark title features the Pre-52 Superman and Lois, the ones that

Which were the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, before Aegon's Conquest? I don't recall it ever being spelled out. Only three come to my mind: The North Dorne The Iron Islands Edit: Bonus points for naming their ruling houses and seats. Answer Prior to Aegon I Targaryen's conquest, the seven kingdoms of Westeros were: The Kingdom of the North - Ruled by the Starks from their seat at Winterfell who styled themselves the Winter Kings. King Torrehn Stark bent the knee to Aegon I, not wanting to plunge his people into a hopeless war. In return, the Starks were named Wardens of the North. The Kingdom of the Rock - Ruled by the Lannisters from their seat at Casterly Rock . King Loren Lannister bent the knee to Aegon I after he was defeated at the battle known as the Field of Fire. The Lannisters were then given the title of Wardens of the West. The Kingdom of the Stormlands - Ruled by the Storm Kings of House Durrendon. The last of the Storm Kings was killed by the Baratheons on

These people are at an arctic base, at least I think it was set in the arctic. I know it was extremely rural/barren. But this alien pod landed and the crew were terrified of it except for one person, we'll call him B, who believed the alien was gentle and wasn't aware that it could / was causing harm. I remember they killed the alien and B was horrified and said something about how the alien didn't mean any harm. Another crew member says something along the lines of "I pray you're correct. Because another pod just landed in [insert location]" and it ends on that cliffhanger where you don't know if it's the beginning of an alien invasion or if the creature really was wrongly murdered. I remember seeing it on TV sometime around 2000-2004. It definitely wasn't The Thing , just some obscure film I just happened to see.

Star Destroyers do have deflector shields . The "ray shield" deflector types are designed to prevent energy based attacks, such as blaster or laser cannon fire. But what about other types of energy emissions? Could the shields on a Star Destroyer stop tractor beams, communication devices, or other forms of energy aside from weapons fire? What are the limits of this? Are there canon sources that clarify this?

We have all seen that Cyclops projects a red-coloured beam out of his eyes. What is that red beam. Is it laser or something else? Answer The red beam coming out of Cyclops' eye isn't electromagnetic radiation, so there's no chance of it being LASER. From official Marvel Universe wiki (See Powers from left column): Cyclops possesses the mutant ability to project a beam of heatless ruby-colored concussive force from his eyes, which act as inter-dimensional apertures between this universe and another.

If the Borg found Earth in 20 century or early 21st century, such as 2015, would they assimilate humanity? If they thought Earth is too primitive to their use, would they just leave Earth alone for later, kill everyone on it, or forget about Earth?

I just watched my first episode of Farscape last night (a random episode about being invaded by Klingon-like characters). Looking at the questions here, and browsing the Wikipedia article, it seems like there is a lot of plot building over several episodes and possibly seasons. Should I make an effort to watch some or all episodes in order? Answer By all means, watch it in the correct order - there are several story arcs and sub-arcs, enemies turning into allies etc. which you will have a hard time to understand if you watch the episodes randomly (watching Farscape in the wrong order is still better than not watching it at all, but it will be so much more fun to watch it from start to end).

I read this book sometime between 1993 and 1997, and it looked like it had been recently published. The cover was blue/green, unusually plain. I seem to recall that it was written by a woman. The story involved a teenage female protagonist on a spaceship with several other obnoxious teenagers, all of them overachieving types on a special field trip, or a school competition. Something goes wrong (can't remember what, possibly a technical failure) and they are forced to cooperate to save themselves. There is a lot of arguing and some romance involving the protagonist and a male character. Can't remember anything else and it's a long shot, but I'd be glad for any ideas. Thanks. Answer Is it possibly Earthseed by Pamela Sargeant? The competition doesn't start until they start reaching the planet, but it does involve teenagers and some of the covers are fairly plain. Many years into the future, a last-ditch attempt to save humanity was created, a project known as Ship

Media use bee-like paparazzi cameras, one character works at a consumer research firm that uses virtual reality Matrix-style plugging into people’s heads to survey their opinions on products; this character is younger (or small), maybe named Tag? Trig? Trip? He lives in a group-home type of situation where everyone pitches in some money/currency into a box in the house (like a coin box). Some random guy on the roof in a garden shed who has special powers, can’t touch or be touched, something like that. I think the book has a key event at a ball game or stadium involving the guy from the roof? Book may or may not also have nano-viruses in the world where cities are shielded from particular nano-viruses (I might be mixing this up with something else)

Like Darth Vader, Asajj Ventress was often seen choking people, many times Jedi like Anakin and Obi-Wan. Is it possible for Force-users or non-Force-users to counter or defend against a Force choke without distracting the attacker or using ysalamiri?

It is my understanding that Celebrimbor forged the Three Rings of Power, and that Sauron had no part in the creation of those rings. So why is it he was able to control them. I thought that all the other rings were bound to his will because he instructed their craft. So how is it that the rings which Celebrimbor made, presumably due to his own craft, could be made thralls for Sauron?

In the recent movie Batman V Superman , the antagonist Lex Luthor kidnaps the mother of Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman, so he can threaten him and make Superman fight Batman. He mocks Superman by calling him "Clark Joseph Kent". I read somewhere, that Lex Luthor already knew Clark Kent’s identity at the party, where he was "so" excited that Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne met. How and/or when does Lex Luthor find out Superman’s identity? From my point of view, it is not really obvious in the movie. Answer How and/or when does Lex Luthor find out Superman’s identity? From my point of view, it is not really obvious in the movie. When: After the Black Zero Event (the attack in Metropolis) and before the discovery of a large chunk of Kryptonite in the Indian Ocean. How: After the Black Zero Event, Lex has an existential crisis (tech billionaires are far from immune from these, Elon Musk has them towards everything from virtual reality, to artificial intelligence, to extra

A consistent part of the Starfleet uniforms in the Star Trek shows and movies has been some version of this insignia: I originally thought this was a stylized letter "A", but that doesn't really make sense. What is this symbol supposed to represent? Answer It is my understanding that the symbol is a stylized version of the NASA emblem of our time. Memory Alpha also leans towards a connection between Star Trek and the NASA badge: In a form of fact emulating fiction (and vice-versa), the US Air Force Space Command badges have a delta arrowhead very similar to the 1960s-designed Enterprise insignia, while the 22nd century Starfleet insignia seems to be a deliberate synthesis between the TOS era pennant and the NASA logo.

I have had a friend give me a rough description of a film and I'm curious to find out what it actually is. I don't know very much. I understand this will be difficult, especially since every time my friend explains the tale it's different so this description is likely to contain some inaccuracies . The film's plot begins with a recounting given by the main character, who had both male and female reproductive organs but had one set removed (not sure which, think male ones were removed). The main character is narrating this tale to the barman in a bar. The barman then takes the main character back in time, where they make love to themselves and produce a child. The child, once born, is abandoned by the mother in the past - but the barman takes the child to the orphanage and leaves them there, ensuring their survival. Eventually it is revealed that the child was the main character themselves, and so was the barman. In other words every major character introduced up to that

The question addresses an event in the third season of the TV show The Vampire Diaries . In the universe of The Vampire Diaries , a vampire cannot enter a house without being invited as long as it is owned/occupied by a living person. Towards the end of season two of The Vampire Diaries , Elena got the deed to the Salvatore home to provide her with a safe place. However, in season three episode six, Smells Like Teen Spirit , Rebekah, one of the original vampires, walked into the house without an invitation from Elena. How was Rebekah able to do this? Did I miss when Elena invited her in? I do not think this is true since from the dialogue in the scene, Rebekah indicated this was her first time inside the house. Are original vampires not limited in this way? This cannot be true because I remember in season two when Elena woke up Elijah, another original vampire, he had to go outside the house very quickly because he was not invited in. Does Elena not own the house anymore? Is this an er

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , while Harry is eavesdropping on the group of adults discussing Sirius Black in The Three Broomsticks, Madam Rosmerta objects to the Minister for Magic about the presence of Dementors, but Fudge demurs. ‘You know that the Dementors have searched my pub twice?’ said Madam Rosmerta, a slight edge to her voice. ‘Scared all my customers away ... it’s very bad for business, Minister.’ ‘Rosmerta, m’dear, I don’t like them any more than you do,’ said Fudge uncomfortably. ‘Necessary precaution ... unfortunate, but there you are ... I’ve just met some of them. They’re in a fury against Dumbledore – he won’t let them inside the castle grounds .’ Prisoner of Azkaban - page 151 - Bloomsbury - chapter 10, The Marauders Map We know that Dementors can take orders. Dolores Umbridge sent two Dementors to attack Harry at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , so they must possess some kind of communication abilities. Can Dementors talk

I read this book a long time ago, and while its name is lost to me, several details ring remarkably clear. The premise of the book is that this boy adopts a dog who has the ability to communicate with him and other children via mind reading. He offers advice to the children and helps them deal with their problems. This one girl is sexually assaulted by the brother, and the dog gives her advice and how to talk about it. The boy develops a crush on a girl that he meets at a hotel swimming pool, and the dog explains it as ‘puppy love’ (harhar). The climax goes something like the boy is on a truck with his parents and it starts leaking gas. The dog smells it and saves them before the truck explodes. In the end, I believe the dog goes back to his home planet, because he realizes that the children are competent enough now. The cover was somewhat of a 80-90s painting like style, with kids running and a space ship flying beneath them. I’ve been searching for this book for ages, and am almost c

Tom Riddle, as a wizard child, was an orphan left in a muggle orphanage. The orphanage's administration was not aware of Riddle's condition. The wizarding world should have been aware of this situation, because Dumbledore knew he had to visit the orphanage when the time was right to invite him to Hogwarts. Since wizard children have a fairly good potential of uncontrollably showcasing magical skills, how could the Ministry of Magic, knowing this, leave a magical child under the care of unaware muggles, given the risk of violating the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy? Doesn't the Wizarding world have orphanages of its own? Or some kind of adoption program? On a related note, I'm concerned about how no Ministry representative came to check on Riddle when he began using magic on the other orphans. This might suggest that the Ministry didn't know about Riddle, but then, how did Dumbledore know?

Forgive my lack of military understanding, but shouldn't a Flag ship have a flag officer on board? The Enterprise is often described as the Flag ship, but which flag officer does this refer to, or does it just mean " it's our most famous ship " ? Answer That's a different meaning of flagship . Dictionary.com defines it as: 1. a ship carrying the flag officer or the commander of a fleet, squadron, or the like, and displaying the officer's flag. 2. the main vessel of a shipping company. 3. any of the best or largest ships or airplanes operated by a passenger line. 4. the best or most important one of a group or system: This store is the flagship of our retail chain. Here, it is being used in the 4th sense. It is the most advanced, best, prettiest, coolest of all Federation ships. It is, therefore, the federation's flagship . It similar to saying that Windows is Microsoft's flagship product.

It has been a while since I've read the books and I recall the show being fairly accurate. What plot differences are there between them? Are any substantial, or are they all particularly minor? Answer It is, so far, a fairly good distillation of the plot, though there were a few differences that stood out to me. From memory (and from the small portion that has currently been aired): Dialogue is, understandably, truncated drastically. I'm sure this was a necessity In the previews it appears Cat objects to Eddard becoming the Hand of the King, whereas in the book she encourages it In the HBO series, there was no red sap faces in the Weirwood trees, rather they appeared to be created from knot holes Most of the kids are aged a few years in the HBO series. For example, in the TV series Bran is 10 when Robert visits Winterfell, in the book he is 7 Daenerys wedding night consummation on the HBO series was alot less consensual than it eventually became in the book Tyrion is less ug