It always struck me as odd that everyone's favorite house (Slytherin) were seen as not wanting to defend Hogwarts. Despite being sent to the dungeons, later in the movie some of them escaped and fought against Voldemort. Since it was only Pansy Parkinson who entreated someone to grab Harry, why did Professor McGonagoll send all of Slytherin House to the dungeons rather than just her? Answer This is a film thing really. In the books nobody is sent to the dungeons, they're evacuated. '... evacuation will be overseen by Mr Filch and Madam Pomfrey. Prefects, when I give the word, you will organise your house and take your charges, in an orderly fashion, to the evacuation point.' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - p.489 - Bloomsbury - Chapter 31, The Battle of Hogwarts It is expected that most people will evacuate, but not everyone is required to leave. [...] Ernie Macmillan stood up at the Hufflepuff table and shouted, 'And what if we want to stay and fight?'...

In Goblet of Fire , after the last task why didn't they simply use the pensieve to restore Harry's memory instead of making him relive the events? Wouldn't this provide valuable evidence to make everyone believe Voldemort is back? It would be easier to make a ‘fellowship' if everyone was aware of what was coming which was clearly what Dumbledore wanted. So why didn't he use the Pensieve?

I’m looking for a live-action TV show I saw in the USA on Sundays back in the 80's. It might have been on PBS, so possibly it was British. It had a (CG?) metal pterodactyl or dragon-looking thing, kinda like Lazerbeak (one of the cassette tapes that comes out of Soundwave in Transformers). Answer Like a few other story identification questions on here (e.g. this one and this one ), this show could be Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future (1987-88) . One of the “Bio-Dreads” (monstrous creations that hunt down human survivors of the war between men and machines) on the show was a sort of metal pterodactyl thing called Soaron , and was portrayed using CGI.

I am interested to know how exactly Wolverine's body regenerates/heals from wounds. From what I understand about the 'human' body's healing is that it uses a complex system of metabolism and other processes 1 ; but Wolverine's healing is powered by his healing factor 2 or Hyper-regeneration. How does his healing factor work? i.e. where does his body get the energy to power such regeneration? The Hulk 3 gets his "powers" (strength, mass etc) from an unlimited source via the cosmos 4 (not exactly sure how this works, but I do get the concept); Is Wolverine's healing factor the same or a similar concept? *Canon only answers please Answer Like @James Christopher said, in the comics, the healing factor isn't really described. In some characters could be magic, in others it could be a mutation, or whatever. Wolverine's is mutation. Just like Mystique has the ability (Mutation) to take the physical form of someone else, Logan can heal himself. ...

How do genetics work in Game of Thrones or A Song of Ice and Fire universe? I am asking this because I am confused with hair colors of Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, Tommen Baratheon (Lannister), House Stark, Rob Stark etc. Whose genetic is more dominant than others? Is there any genetics dominance chart for GoT? Also, in GoT usually noble men from the houses marry noble women from other houses. How do female genetics work? Do female characters bring any genetics from their houses or male genetics are always the dominant factor. Answer Genetics in-universe appear to follow real-world genetics. All the examples you list follow the dominant trait of their parents: Jon Snow: Parents are Lyanna Stark (mother) and Rhaegar Targaryen (father). Lyanna had dark hair (dominant) while Rhaegar had silver/blonde hair (recessive). Jon has dark hair . Tyrion Lannister: Parents are Joanna Lannister (mother) and Tywin Lannister (father) (yes, they were cousins). Both parents had blonde hair. Tyrion...

I'm wanting to know how the timeline works in the Alien/Predator universe, specifically in relation to the Xenomorph's evolution. As far as I know the Xenomorph starts its evolution from the end of Prometheus, as an early version of what looks like the Xenomorph appears out of the dead engineer. I assume it then evolves from this into what we see in the original Alien 30 years later. What I want to know is how this ties in with Alien Vs Predator? As far as I remember, and based on the timeline I've found, the Predators are hunting Xenomorphs on Earth as early as 2896 BC. Alien Vs Predator also seems to be set in 2004 AD . While Prometheus is set in the late 21st century. What I want to know is if I've got it wrong. I thought it seemed like the Xenomorph was in its first evolution at the end of Prometheus, but is that an alternate species and the Xenomorph was already created 5000+ years before that? Are there any books/comics/games/movies that help explain this? If tha...

Commander Data was a terrific character and Star Trek: The Next Generation would not have been the same show without him. I know that. But, in-universe, wasn't Data's potential and overall capabilities somewhat wasted steering the ship? I realize he had room to grow - and I don't mean he had to "grow up" in order to be an effective member of the crew. My question is, why was he made to serve with humans at all when he could have more effectively and productively worked and explored alone (even in a vacuum), or been left in charge of steering the entirety of the fleet (more like Ender in Ender's Game)? Wasn't Data sort of wasted feeding a cat and telling the crew the answer to simple calculations? He could have orchestrated all of Starfleet, it seems. No? Answer I agree that Data was a great character. But not that he could have orchestrated all of Starfleet. Data went through Starfleet Academy like every other cadet, and was stationed according to his a...

In the Star Trek universe, what happens if a ship crashes into another and one has the shields up? What happens if both have shields up? Answer Unshielded-ship-on-shielded-ship: Obviously, an unprotected ship hitting a shield will be damaged in proportion to the impact momentum. Shields act as physical barriers to matter and high concentrations of energy (you will notice that visible light travels through shields just fine, while high-energy electromagnetic weapons fire is deflected). Shield-on-shield collision I recall either Voyager episodes "Raven" or "Equinox" (or both) containing scenes where shield contact takes place. I recall Seven's shuttle shield-bumping a B'omar vessel, but the Memory Alpha synopsis says phasers were used (my memory may be flawed). Shield harmonics are important. Shields of differing frequencies will bounce off each other. Impact force will translate to vibrations inside the vessels, which will be handled by inertial dampeners ...

What films make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and what order should they be watched in? Answer The full chronological (not release order! I assume you're asking for chronological, as release order is easy enough to find on Wikipedia ) order, bolded the ones that interest (and/or should) you: Captain America: The First Avenger (Film) Agent Carter (One-Shot on the Iron Man 3 Blu-Ray) Agent Carter (TV series) Iron Man (Film) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (One-Shot on the Captain America: The First Avenger Blu-Ray) Thor (Film) The Incredible Hulk (2008 Film) Iron Man 2 (Film) (Hulk's campus rampage can be seen in the background) The Consultant (One-Shot on Thor Blu-Ray) The Avengers (Film) Item 47 (One-Shot on The Avengers Blu-Ray) Iron Man 3 (Film) Agents of SHIELD (TV Series: Season 1, Episodes 1-7) All Hail The King (One-Shot on the Thor 2: The Dark World Blu-Ray and digital release) Thor 2: The Dark World (Film) Agents of SHIELD (TV Series: Seaso...

Today, we live in a world in which the term alien is a common thing. But, if you move few centuries back, this won't be true. We should be grateful to that great writer who laid the foundation stone of the concept of (intelligent) creatures living on another planets. Which Sci-Fi work introduced the idea of "Aliens"? Answer The first extraterrestrial aliens referenced in a known work of fiction is likely " A True Story " written in 160AD by the Greek philosopher and satirist Lucian of Samosatis as a parody of other works of traveling fiction: Near them stood the Puppycorns, who were sent him by the inhabitants of the Dog-star, five thousand dog-faced men who fight on the back of winged acorns. You can access the full text (and an English translation for those poorly-educated people who don't happen to speak Ancient Greek) here .

Plot Summary/Details The basic premise of this one (as best that I can remember it) is that a farmer, who has recently dug a new well, has discovered some sort of strange beings living underground near his well. I don't remember the details of how, but they communicate through notes lowered/raised in the well's bucket. At one point, the farmer and his wife send down a roast turkey dinner, which the beings below enjoy. For reasons I cannot remember, the farmer either becomes angry with, or exceptionally curious about, the beings below. He descends the well one evening, possibly armed with a shotgun, possibly not. The chilling twist to the story comes the next day went the wife retrieves the bucket from the well. The beings write that they really enjoyed the live turkey she sent them, and would like more. The live turkey, of course, was the farmer, who was eaten by the creatures below. Other Details I remember not only reading this one as a kid, but also seeing a tv show adaptati...

I read a very special book a few years back. We follow a boy who lives in a world where, if one moves far enough in a direction, that person gets distended and changed in size. The boy works on laying tracks for the train, on which his city is. The city has to continually keep moving or it also will get squashed. It's like a world like if one end is pinched and then dragged out like a piece of rubber string or bubble gum. The book is not older than 10 years I think. Hope I was clear enough... Answer That sounds like Inverted World by Christopher Priest, although it's forty years old. To quote from the linked Wikipedia article: Helward lives in a city called "Earth", which is slowly being winched along at an average speed of 0.1 miles per day (0.16 km per day) on four railroad tracks northward toward an ever-moving, mysterious "optimum". Upon reaching adulthood at the age of "650 miles", Helward leaves the crèche in which he has been raised and b...

In the new Star Wars Movie, Rey is searching for Luke Skywalker to give him his lightsaber. But as you can see in Episode VI, Luke built his new green one with another handle. Didn't she just know that he already got another one? Answer ...by giving him something that he has a personal connection to — his long-lost lightsaber. Even if she was aware of a fine detail such as his newer green lightsaber (and there's no reason she would know something like that when it's clearly established in The Force Awakens that the Jedi are more or less legend and myth by that point), giving him a lightsaber so that he can have a lightsaber is not the point. Giving him something to sway him after shutting himself away for years as a hermit is the point: ...Rey reached into her pack and removed his lightsaber. Taking several steps forward, she held it out to him. A plea. The galaxy's only hope. (Official novelization, Chapter XVIII)

The Ravenclaw House's motto is: "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasue." (Rowena Ravenclaw) And from their welcome letter, it seems Ravenclaws associate eccentric behaviour with creativity and intellectual giftedness: "...Another cool thing about Ravenclaw is that our people are the most individual – some might even call them eccentrics. But geniuses are often out of step with ordinary folk, and unlike some other houses we could mention, we think you’ve got the right to wear what you like, believe what you want, and say what you feel. We aren’t put off by people who march to a different tune; on the contrary, we value them!" But it seems that Luna Lovegood, who is definitely an original, and her behaviour is often described as highly eccentric, gained the nickname "Loony" and felt out of place in her house, even saying to Harry she really loved the DA meetings: "I enjoyed the meetings, too. It was like having friends." (HBP) Indica...

On several occasions in the early Harry Potter books we're told that the purpose of a Bludger is to unseat riders from their brooms. The Bludgers rocket around trying to knock riders off their brooms Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Bludgers never concentrated on one player like this, it was their job to try and unseat as many people as possible Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Why then, if this is considered a normal part of Quidditch gameplay, was everyone so shocked about the fall Harry has following the arrival of the Dementors in book three? Admittedly he falls 50 feet, but it seems like falls were a natural and normal part of the game whereas Dumbledore’s involvement and the reaction of his teammates and friends would suggest otherwise.

I watched yesterday the last episode of game of thrones The Laws of Gods and Men , and honestly for me that was the tiny spec that was needed to say that I had enough. I wonder why the are so many changes from the books to the series, to make matters worst pointless changes that some times even mess characters up like Stannis (in my opinion). I was okay with Khaleesi to have her dragons stolen as I thought that was made for increasing the viewers' suspense. But Why did they have to make up Locke for cutting of Jaime's hand and then sent him to the wall in order to get information about Bran? and then kill him Why the whole scene with Theon and Yara? (What's wrong with the name Asha ?) Why to even show Stannis at Braavos, who not only never been there, but at the time being (third book, blood and gold) he was at DragonStone (If I remember correctly, it's been a while since I've read it), doing nothing until Davos told him about the wall Finally why the whole thing wi...

As far as I understand it in TFA we have three major political forces: The New Republic The First Order The Resistance Do we know -- is The Resistance part of the Republic, just the part that is engaging in the fight against The First Order? Or is the Resistance adjacent to the Republic somehow? Answer The Visual Dictionary covers that: It is NOT part of the Republic officially. It's a private organization run by General Organa.

The movie I want to find is about pieces of the sun that come down to Earth and they sense heat, like the pieces see thermally, and if a human touches them they get instantly incinerated. It’s been a while, like 8 years, since I’ve seen it. I just want to re-watch it.

In H. P. Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward , Dr. Willett Enters Joseph Curwen's dungeon and resurrects a dead person identified as No. 118 by reciting the incantation of the Ascending Node over his salts. Dr. Willett is told by The resurrected Joseph Curwen, impersonating Charles Dexter Ward, who he secretly murdered, that " 'twas Number 118, and I conceive you would have shook had you looked it up in my list in t'other room." No. 118 himself gives Dr. Willett a note asking the doctor to kill Joseph Curwen. It soon becomes clear that No. 118 is opposed to the nefarious dealings that have been transpiring and desirous of being an ally of Dr. Willett. Who is No. 118? Earlier in the story, The grave of Ezra Weeden, a primary instigator in Joseph Curwen's initial downfall and the romantic rival of Curwen, is robbed. There doesn't seem to be any other mention of Weeden in the 20th century occurrences, so without a further connection the passage s...

Based on answers to this SFF question , it seems that Quirrell was not a very good candidate for DADA professorship - a book-smart "delicate" guy. Yes, he was - as per Hagrid - "brilliant". But if there is one class where practical proficiency was very important compared to academic smarts, DADA is it. Why didn't Dumbledore appoint someone with more experience actually fighting the Dark in the First Year? Alastor Moody (or some other retired Auror), or one of the existing teachers except Snape? (Professor McGonagle, or even himself for that matter)? Answer Dumbledore traditionally finds it hard to fill the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. I suspect there weren't many candidates willing to take the role; if you rule out Snape - which Dumbledore obviously had - then it's possible that Quirrell was the only other alternative. In the fifth book, Order of the Phoenix , Dolores Umbridge is appointed as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor because D...

I am having difficuly rememering the title of a book i read when i was in grade school. I recall reading a book about a kid who was slowly turning into a plant due to his science fair project, i do not know much more of thestory line but i do remember he hated liver and that was the main ingredient in his concoction, he dipped his feet into a puddle and roots grew out of his feet, i also believe he may have been adopted, I hope this helps to identify the book.

Similar to Did the Rebellion know that that the Emperor was the Sith Lord Darth Sidious , I'm asking the more specific question, was Luke aware that the Emperor was a Sith Lord? I don't recall it being mentioned in any of the films. If yes, at what point does he learn this? If not why did Yoda or Obi-Wan not warn him? Perhaps he could have avoided being defenseless and struck by Force Lightning if he'd been made aware? Answer Yoda and Obi-Wan did not tell Luke that the Emperor was specifically a "Sith Lord". However, some of the things Yoda and Obi-Wan told Luke heavily implied that the Emperor was a Sith Lord. The most conclusive one is from Yoda: Do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor, or suffer your father's fate, you will. Star Wars : Episode VI Return of the Jedi From that statement Luke must know that the Emperor has powers , which Luke knows come from the Force. Later, after Luke gave himself up to capture by the Empire, Luke and Vader convers...

During Goblet of Fire , Voldemort lured Harry away from Hogwarts and into a Muggle cemetery. This was done during the Triwizard tournament to make Harry’s death look like an accident. Harry was supposed to have a Trace on him, so why couldn’t the Ministry tell an underage wizard was performing magic (Expelliarmus) in a Muggle cemetery? Or (as the Trace seems to pick up ANY magic used near a young wizard/witch) magic used by the Death Eaters?

It is possible they weren't ewoks, but as a kid I identified them as being the same as ewoks.. Basic plot: A family (husband, wife, couple of kids) crash land their spaceship on a planet. They meet friendly ewoks, but also another race of creatures which are hostile. The hostile creatures steal the power source to their spaceship, preventing them from leaving. Most episodes were based around their unsuccessful attempts to recover their power source from the hostile creatures. It was live action. Answer There are 2 made-for-TV movies about Ewoks : Disclaimer : Any damage to your psychological integrity after watching, reading about or even just slightly checking for information about those movies is not my responsibility.

Take for example the opening of Revenge of the Sith . We see spaceships fighting with other spaceships using laser canons and missiles. Then when one spaceship is destroyed, we see fire and heavy black smokes coming from it. Does that mean in space, fire can still burn, even though there is a vacuum? If there would really be a space war, can spaceships really be destroyed and explode? Answer Yes, provided there is an oxidizer . A spaceship with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen will blow up quite well in the vacuum of space. Chemical explosives will also explode in space since they function by breaking weakly bonded chemical components; no oxygen is necessary. Nuclear explosions can of course occur in space, too. However, in space, there is no atmosphere to transmit sound from the explosion to the observer, so it would appear to be silent. The United States military in the 60's performed a series of nuke tests in outer space, and found out what EMP can do, when they wiped out Haw...

Been trying to track an old black-and-white film I saw a long time ago. It was set in the Arctic or Antarctic and the research base was being stalked by an alien or monster. The team eventually kill the creature by electrocuting it (I think) and turning it into a 'brussels sprout'. I think it was a bit better than a B-movie but could be totally wrong. Answer Almost certainly Howard Hawks' The Thing from Another World (1951), which was remade by John Carpenter as The Thing in 1982. It has the Arctic research base and the stalking monster, which is electrocuted at the end. [embedded content]

Tom Riddle says to Harry, that they are both probably the only Parselmouths in Hogwarts since Salazar Slytherin. Parselmouth is said to be a rare gift, but is it really so rare? Are there really no mentions of other Parselmouths than those 3?

May have been part of a sci-fi war collection. The narrator is an alien itself, I think, and is part of a rebellion to overthrow human oppressors, but then is horrified that his fellow aliens have developed a taste for the same drink. Answer “We Who Stole the Dream” This story, by Alice Sheldon (pseudonym James Tiptree Jr.) has been published in these collections. From a description here , we see that humans harvest the "tears" of an alien species: One race sweated a chemical when frightened or in pain that to us is a very strong intoxicant. We have developed a ruthless industry of capturing these creatures and torturing them to death so that we can capture the chemical as they excrete it during the torture sessions. In fact, human beings try to capture mated pairs because when the creatures watch their loved ones tortured to death it increases the yield and potency of the chemical. The drink is called Star Tears. Later, members of this species encounter other Joilani drin...

In the multiple editions of the The Legend of Zelda franchise, have we ever learned Princess Zelda's full name? Does she simply just go by the name Zelda or perhaps Zelda of Hyrule (a more classical last name derived from the country)? Answer Assuming she follows the same patterning as her relative ( King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule ) her full name and title would be Princess Zelda Hyrule . That being said, her name is given in all of the games and additional materials as simply Princess Zelda, so it's far more likely that her name is a mononym and that her full name (including formal title) is "Princess Zelda of Hyrule" , as noted in the instruction manual for The Legend of Zelda - Four Swords Adventures. The Legend of Zelda - Four Swords Adventures and The Adventure of Link - Gameboy Manual and Ocarina of Time - N64 Manual and Oracle of Season - Gameboy Colour Manual

Watching TNG I noticed that nearly every crew member has very spacious quarters, which is something that does not seem practical on a space vessel. Today's aircraft carriers house 3 officers to a room and 8 or more enlisted men to a room. Why are quarters on the Enterprise-D so spacious and is there evidence that lesser crew members had more confined/shared living quarters? Answer Why the quarters are so spacious; Ship space isn't at much of a premium. The ship can readily hold ten times the present crew when the need arises (for evacuation missions and emergencies) which means that for most of the time, the ship is 90% empty. The Enterprise is not a military vessel. Their primary mission is one of peaceful exploration. In addition to there being a considerable number of civilians on board, the crew are not expected to maintain military discipline in their quarters. Providing them with spacious accommodation would obviously lead to less stress and a happier and more productiv...

From Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire : ‘And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce …the Bulgarian Team Mascots!’ The right-hand side of the stands, which was a solid block of scarlet, roared its approval. ‘I wonder what they’ve brought?’said Mr Weasley, leaning forwards in his seat. ‘Aaah!’ He suddenly whipped off his glasses and polished them hurriedly on his robes. ‘Veela!’ ‘What are Veel–? ’But a hundred Veela were now gliding out onto the pitch, and Harry’s question was answered for him. Veela were women …the most beautiful women Harry had ever seen …except that they weren’t –they couldn’t be –human. This puzzled Harry for a moment, while he tried to guess what exactly they could be; what could make their skin shine moon-bright like that, or their white-gold hair fan out behind them without wind …but then the music started, and Harry stopped worrying about them not being human –in fact, he stopped worrying about anything at all. The Veela had started to dance, and Har...

I understand that this likely has a different answer depending on original trilogy or afterwards. But what exactly does it mean to be more or less powerful in the Force? One would think that it means that you are capable of exerting influence on the Force to a greater or lesser extent. But I'm not so sure about that. If we go back to Luke and Yoda training in the swamp, Yoda has Luke trying to lift his ship via Force. Luke whines that it's too heavy. Yoda says that the weight does not matter Now that's a funny comment when you think about it. Weight doesn't matter? Really? That tells me that whether you are weak in the Force or strong in it, everybody should be able to move Luke's spaceship. So does strength in the Force refer to the number of things you can do with the Force? Or is it a philosophical strength? Or is Yoda saying that because he is strong that the weight does not matter but to someone weaker in the Force it would? Admittedly tangential here but that ...

One problem I've always thought of with science fiction characters becoming invisible is that they should go blind, because their retina does not catch any light. Obviously a lot of soft SF or fantasy would gloss over this. But I'm sure that hard SF authors have had a go at it. How can invisibility and sight be reconciled? Answer H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man (the original) dealt with it. The eponymous character tests his formula on a cat first, and the author notes 'there remained two little ghosts of her eyes'. I seem to recall from somewhere that he injects his eyeballs with something to achieve the effect.

In the TV series Ice Fantasy (幻城 in Chinese), there are mortals and immortals. The mortals seem to be regular humans (although they can possess magic) and the immortals live forever or a very long time, and often look noticeably different (for example, white hair regardless of age for the Ice Clan). Clearly, the Ice Clan and the Fire Clan are immortals. But what about the others? The wording (albeit translated) of the description of the location of the leaves of the Six-Leaf Ice Star suggests that each piece was left with a mortal clan. And indeed, it certainly seems like the Healer Clan is mostly mortal, since Ka Suo is surprised that the leader has powers from the Immortal Kingdoms. However, the Mermaid Clan is mentioned as having one leaf (I certainly thought they were immortal, since they have odd-colored hair and were in attendance at the Ice Kingdom events, and appear to be magical). Further, Xing Jiu is upset that Xing Gui supposedly can't live beyond 100 years, which woul...

In Sonic the Hedgehog his primary villian, Dr Robotnik is using some pretty advanced tech. do we know if this tech is common in world, or if its specific to Dr. Robotnik?

In the 2009 film, The Enterprise ejects and detonates its warp cores in an attempt to close a massive singularity. They maintain warp speed in order to attempt to escape the gravitational pull of the singularity. How did the Enterprise maintain warp despite having ejected its cores? Answer Just as a photon torpedo is able to maintain warp flight using a warp sustainer engine (even though it has no warp core itself), so too should a ship be able to sustain a warp field on auxiliary power for some time after a warp core is no longer present/active. Here is the relevant excerpt from the photon torpedo entry on Memory Alpha , taken from the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual : The propulsion system of the torpedoes is a warp sustainer engine. The engine coils of the torpedo grab and hold a hand-off field from the launcher tube's sequential field induction coils. A miniature matter/antimatter fuel cell adds power to the hand-off field. When launched in warp flight, torp...

“My Lord, I have good news on that score. I have—with difficulty, and after great effort— succeeded in placing an Imperius Curse upon Pius Thicknesse .” Many of those sitting around Yaxley looked impressed; his neighbor, Dolohov, a man with a long, twisted face, clapped him on the back. “It is a start,” said Voldemort. “ But Thicknesse is only one man. Scrimgeour must be surrounded by our people before I act. One failed attempt on the Minister’s life will set me back a long way. ” ( DH , Chapter 1) and “All right, all right, we’ll have time for a cozy catch-up later,” roared Moody over the hubbub, and silence fell in the kitchen. Moody dropped his sacks at his feet and turned to Harry, “As Dedalus probably told you, we had to abandon Plan A. Pius Thicknesse has gone over, which gives us a big problem . ( DH , Chapter 4) Now, the battle of Seven Potters occurred on 27 July, 1997. OTOH, the Ministry fell on 1 August, 1997 (Bill and Fleur's wedding). If the Order knew about Thicknesse...

I ask this because at the end of the movie, you see Luke on Tatooine, Leia with Bail Organa, and then a decent portion of the Death Star already done as Palpatine & Vader look on. So it seems the station was already under construction during the Republic. Or was there just some random time gap between these scenes? Here is the scene in question: Answer The Death Star was constructed during the Clone Wars. Wookiepedia has more information . As the war raged on, the Ultimate Weapon saw construction over Geonosis. By the time the three-year conflict came to an end, workers had partially completed its framework. As the war ended, Darth Sidious got rid of his Confederacy puppets, including his own apprentice, and proclaimed the birth of a new, authoritarian Galactic Empire, anointing himself Emperor. The Ultimate Weapon project was immediately appropriated by the nascent Empire. So there you have it- it was being constructed for up to three years. Remember that at the end of Episode 2...

The premise of ST:VOY seems like it would introduce a whole new ethos and a whole new way of doing things for Star Trek. During the same time, you had DS9 being set mostly on a station hanging out at the same place each week, allowing for longer and more convoluted/interesting storylines involving the Bajoran/Cardassian situation (among others), which arguably changed the "tone" of the show compared to other ST series ( TOS and TNG ). Similarly, you'd think that the premise of VOY - a ship stuck on the other end of the galaxy without support - would lead to a different tone. You'd have supplies running low, difficult moral decisions needing to be made, Starfleet principles needing to be sacrificed on the pyre of survival, redshirts needing constant replacement with Delta Quadrant locals (perhaps getting shanghaied into joining), and so forth. This probably sounds very opinion-based so far, but as an illustration of what I mean, take for example Year of Hell. That...

As another answer shows, after Anakin defeats Count Dooku in a lightsaber duel at the beginning of Episode III, he drops Dooku's lightsaber and leaves it there. He doesn't just ignore it, he specifically drops it, as he used it to kill Dooku. Why does he do that? It would have been a proof of what he's done, in case someone (the Council?) asks for it. It's also a dangerous weapon (that shouldn't be left around), it's easy to carry, and it's even valuable 1 . On the other hand, at the end of the movie, when Obi-Wan wins the duel, we see that he picks up Anakin's lightsaber. What do Jedi Knights do with the lightsabers of the enemies they have defeated? Why doesn't Anakin take Dooku's, whereas Obi-Wan takes Anakin's? 1 According to this answer on Reddit , Canon: In Season 2, Episode 11 of the Clone Wars, the black market price of a lightsaber was given at 20,000 credits. Season 5 Episode 6 tells us that the main components of a lightsaber are...

I saw this question , and it made me think about a similar question regarding the A Song of Ice and Fire universe. Are there some resources (online or otherwise) that you can suggest regarding recipes for food items for the ASOIAF series? Answer There used to be a blog specifically for this called Cooking Ice and Fire, but unfortunately it's down. However, there is an official cook book called Feast of Ice and Fire .

The dumb people are running the world, while the smart people are their assistants and secretaries and such. The dumb people find that their planet is dying or threatened. The smart people build a space craft to take them to a new planet. Only the ship launches and then crash lands (on purpose) into a body of water.

From what I have read in the books and seen in the show, several Targaryens have either fathered or given birth to "deformed" children, many or all of which have had draconic features such as wings and tails. Are there any references in any of the later books that I have not read that gives evidence that the Targaryens literally have dragon blood?

I think the PDA's had a single eye. The protagonist is the only one that does not have one of these sitting on their shoulder, reading their mail for them, etc. The protagonist finds that the PDA's are taking control, etc., and wins by suggesting that to the PDA's that they deserve better than merely controlling humans. PIMs ride on the humans' shoulders (re Puppet Masters), reading documents for their human and providing digests. One scene has it ripping up a paper report it did not want its human to read. PIMs have a head twitch which the humans start emulating. Answer This is '' The Creature from Cleveland Depths '', a short story by Fritz Leiber written in 1962. An engineer devises a little clockwork/tape-based thing where a man can make notes and reminders, and the device would give the wearer a slight shock, a "tickle" when the time hit, reminding him to check his appointments. His friend, a marketer, stole the idea (which he was noted ...

Maybe I've missed it in my marathon readthrough of the Ringworld series, but I can't understand what the Kzinti are doing on the Ringworld. The Protectors went to enormous lengths to make the breeders safe - they flew them out a jillion light years from the galactic core, built a Ringworld out of a gas giant, got rid of all their predators and disease...and then populated a whole map full of killer sentient carnivores. And not just any map, but a map right next to the Map of Earth, which is populated with hominids. Why? Answer I've removed the spoiler markup since the OP has read the series. Fair warning. In chapter 15 of Ringworld's Children , the Pak protector Proserpina described how the Ringworld came to be. Of the flattened maps of various worlds she had this to say: "Stars that can generate extensive planetary systems form in clusters. There were stars with planets around us where we stopped, and some were Pak-like or close to it. We identified those that ...