I read a lot of Choose Your Own Adventure books when I was young, back in the 1980s (the heyday of the series). Most of them had science fiction or fantasy plots, so I think it's reasonable to ask about properties of the series as a whole here. In almost all of the books, there was no consistency regarding what might happen if different choices were made. In one of the books (from the younger readers sub-series), there was literally no way to make a wrong choice; at one point, you had to choose between two keys, and in either case, the book said that you had made the right selection. While most examples were not quite this blatant, the pattern was similar. Whether there was a traitor in the book Sabotage (book #38) depended on which choices you made early in the story. One, however, that I remember being different was The Third Planet From Altair (book #7). This book concerned the exploration of the titular planet (from which a alien signal had been received), and it seemed to h...

I was watching the scene in Deathly Hallows where Griphook takes Harry et al into the Lestranges' vault at Gringotts so Harry can retrieve the Hufflepuff cup Horcrux, and I got to wondering how Snape managed to get into Gringotts while carrying a weapon (it was a replica of the Sword of Gryffindor, I know, but it was nearly flawless) and get all the way down to the Lestranges' vault without assistance. Even taking the Imperius Curse into consideration, how did Snape know where to go or how to operate the Gringotts carts that access the vaults? Has J.K. Rowling addressed this anywhere, or is it mentioned in canon? Obviously, the Lestranges wouldn't have assisted Snape in swapping out the two swords. Is it likely Snape would have been able to pull the caper off alone?

At the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Ark is opened and Belloq and the Nazis are destroyed. Is there any explanation about how Jones and Marion Ravenwood get the Ark off the island? The logistics are problematic, it's an island with a Nazi base, there doesn't appear to be enough escorting soldiers to account for the whole population of the base (or even a submarine) and as the Ark kills by sight, anyone not in attendance was unlikely to be harmed. In addition, the Ark was also carried (by hand) to the location of the ceremony, presenting another practical issue.

I read this story/novella at least 15 years ago, probably 20 or more. It is about a ship, travelling through the universe, looking for habitable planets. Why, I can't remember. People are held in Cryo Stasis and I think they are wearing nothing in the chamber but some kind of mesh. Every time the ship gets close to a planet it wakes one or two of the people (one woman, one man?) to check it out but they never find anything good. I think in the end they wake up and discover, that they have arrived back at Earth. Other details are very vague but I seem to recall there was lots of stuff about a (blue?9 light, dreaming/dreams and something about the cold, or cold blue lights or similar. Does that ring a bell for anyone? Details might not be 100% accurate so please also offer your best guess if you know something similar. Answer Sounds like The Dream Millennium , although according to that synopsis they don't return to Earth at the end. John Devlin, a 26-year-old 2 medical doctor...

During Order of the Phoenix, Voldemort tries his best to lure Harry to the Ministry so that Harry retrieves the prophecy for him. In the aftermath, while Harry follows Bellatrix towards the exit, he raises a valid question: ”Why couldn’t he (Voldemort) come and get it (the prophecy) himself?” This is a valid question, the prophecy is labeled as referring to the Dark Lord and maybe Harry Potter. Only those mentioned can retrieve the prophecy, so Voldemort should have been able to get the it, assuming he is the Dark Lord of the prophecy. Bellatrix gives a good answer: “Get it himself?” shrieked Bellatrix on a cackle of mad laughter. “The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?” Despite the cackle of mad laughter, the reasoning is sound, Voldemort didn't want to reveal himself. Yet he does exactly that when he appears in the M...

In the introduction of Anton Vanko in Iron Man 2, he stands ready to strike the helpless Tony Stark, who is saved by the timely arrival of Pepper Pots and Happy in a Bentley. They crush Vanko against a nearby wall twice, but he emerges unscathed. How? He is wearing no armor. He is not super-powered in any way revealed in the film. Why isn't he a cripple after this scene? Answer The scene is poorly depicted and the movie does little to explain how the Whiplash harness/exoskeletal system works, or for that matter shows the exoskeleton EXISTS below the belt line. But given that Vanko isn't in traction at the end of the scene some counteracting force must have been in play. Even if it isn't clearly depicted, Vanko must be wearing more than just a shiny chestplate. Vanko IS wearing an exoskeleton which enhances his strength but the region below the belt is covered by his very baggy and unflattering pants. Products released by Marvel-approved firms show the exoskeleton depicted...

Starling City in Arrow hasn't had a very good track record over the last couple of years (spoilers from the show): A pretty poor economy overall Open conflict between multiple gangs A wide-spread drug epidemic with Vertigo Many high-profile events being violently disrupted by various villains Various attacks by meta-humans that the police cannot stop "The Undertaking", an artificially generated Earthquake that killed hundreds Slade's Mirakuru-enahnced soldiers attacking indiscriminately and the mayor delaying calling in the National Guard City-wide attacks from HIVE and Damien Darhk's Ghosts The violent deaths of the last two mayoral candidates, plus the following mayoral candidate stepping down after her daughter's life was threatened The (presumed) violent deaths of two CEOs (one who was a mayoral candidate) from the city's largest business And at various points, a green-clothed vigilante who resorts to killing those who get in his way (sometimes while ...