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Where does human waste go when going to the toilet in the Star Trek universe? Even if the society in Star Trek has evolved into a cashless state, that still leaves the matter of stools and other bodily excretions (not sweat or blood) to deal with. Where does that all faecal matter and urine go? Having not seen any...	Given that the ISS reclaims water from human waste and, in nature, everything is ultimately recycled, it's reasonable to assume that in the Star Trek universe, all of the waste would be reclaimed in some fashion. Waste extraction is never much specified in the Star Trek universe.
Was Roddenberry involved in the creation of Deep Space Nine or Voyager before he died? I know that Roddenberry took a less and less active role in TNG as his health deteriorated. He died before the release of Deep Space Nine or Voyager. Did he having anything to do with the creation of either series? Or did his heal...	I can speak about Deep Space Nine and the answer is NO.
Why are "reboots" not done for novels? It's pretty common for science fiction TV shows to be "rebooted" (I would guess more common than other genre because of the way that the science elements date). For example, Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider, and the Bionic Woman. (Note that I'm distinguishing between resuming ...	The writer could theoretically reboot their own work, but very few publishing companies buy reboots of material from writers because then, only "second rights" are available because the "first rights" were sold and exercised to another company. I'd say that there probably are reboots in multi-author series.
What is "Blue Sun" in Firefly? There are many references to Blue Sun in firefly. Most are background type images such as billboard advertisements or a shirt that Jayne wears. Is this ever explained, either directly in an episode or maybe in DVD extras? <Q> They do everything from ship parts to food. <S> Actually, w...	It's a mega corporation.
What would be a reasonable technological explanation for why phaser beams are different colors? On Star Trek when a Starfleet ship fires its phasers, the color of the effect is usually red/orange, but sometimes blue (in TOS). This is also generally true for the phaser sidearms (with green sometimes being the color for ...	This could explain why different space-faring races might have different color beams - it's reasonable to assume that each type of shield technology would operate on a different frequency range, so phasers (and possibly disruptors) would have to operate on a corresponding frequency to match.
What order should I be reading the Discworld books in? I've read some of the Discworld books, and they were referencing each other in an order different than what I've been reading. If I wanted to maintain chronology, and get all of the back references, which order should I be reading the books in? <Q> One thing about...	If you have already read some and you intend to read all of then I woulds suggest reading in the order of publication.
Which names and terms in the Dune series come from Hebrew-inspired phrases? Kwisatz Haderach is one example of a name that is inspired by a Hebrew phrase . What is a complete list of terms that are used in Dune and share this property? <Q> Most of the Semitic-language-derived terms in Dune are proximately from Arabic ...	The Bene in Bene Tleilax is from Arabic (they were Zensufis , remember)
What is the difference between a parallel universe and an alternate timeline? " Star Trek " fans have labeled the new J.J. Abrams movie as being set in an alternate timeline. Alternate because it is different from the established history of the Star Trek universe. The word alternate here also seems to imply tha...	A parallel universe is a different universe that occupies the same timeline.
What factors influenced the evolution of Klingon cranial ridges? Many species in the Star Trek universe have "bumpy foreheads"--most famously, the Klingons. What are the likely factors that influenced the evolution of Klingon cranial ridges? Could it be a protective measure against some environmental factor like radi...	Those species who have developed a more Vulcan approach to life seem to have smoother heads, to better fit their larger brain capacity.
How realized is the Vulcan language? Inspired by the question about the Klingon language , how fully realized is the Vulcan language? I believe Mark Okrand is credited on Star Trek II for the Vulcan dialogue. Has there been a similar effort on the Vulcan tongue as there is with the Klingon? <Q> I disagree that the mo...	The Vulcan language has been mostly developed by Mark R. Gardner from the Vulcan Language Institute, and it has different scripts too: Vulcan numbers I can't tell the difference though between Golic Vulcan and regular one.
Invisibility should cause blindness: how does hard sf cope? 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 h...	In the Recluce universe, LE Modesitt Jr deals with this.
How can I watch the pre-"Special Edition" Star Wars? In the early 90s I remember having "digitally remastered" versions of the Star Wars Trilogy on VHS (Letterbox/Surround/THX), it would be good to have higher quality versions of these but I'm unsure whether they are generally available. I have heard some criticism...	The best recreation of the original version is Harmy's "Despecialized Edition", which is based primarily on the Blu-ray versions, with most of the SE content removed: http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Harmys-STAR-WARS-Despecialized-Edition-HD-V25-MKV-IS-OUT-NOW/id/12713
How come cloaking devices in Star Trek allow the cloaked ship to continue to observe its surroundings? Related to Invisibility should cause blindness: how does hard sf cope? , I'm wondering whether the cloaking device implementation in Star Trek includes an explanation as to why cloaked ships can still observe their s...	Of course there's also the possibility of 'active cloaking', that if you know where the enemy you're trying to hide from is, and what their sensor systems are, then you can actively beam just the right signal at the other guy to fool his sensors into not seeing you.
Trying to remember the name of a female, Canadian, children's sci-fi author from the 80s I read a number of books when I was around 10-15 years old (roughly 1985-1990) by a female, Canadian, sci-fi author. I can't remember her name (maybe Amy something?) or the titles of any of the books but I'll try to describe a few ...	When checking up on City of Ember , found an author that fits the bill, Suzanne Martel .
Who comes up with all those Star Trek facts? I love Scifi and I love Star Trek. I have seen everything. Every series, every movie (at least everything official). I understand that if you take note of every detail mentioned somewhere you can combine than and can conclude to a lot. For example triangulate a map of the ...	Star Trek "facts" tend to come from a wide variety of sources. Writers and other miscellaneous personnel are paid to come up with these ideas. A lot of it comes from the show bibles - reference material put together by the show writers to keep everything (mostly) consistent. Deleted scenes 8) Officially licensed proper...
How does Animatrix storyline relate to The Matrix movies? I've never watched any of the Animatrix films, but I have seen the movie trilogy plenty of times. Without providing too many spoilers, how does the Animatrix series relate to the storyline of the Matrix film trilogy? <Q> They are context movies. <S> It means t...	The Animatrix (as someone pointed out) serves as a direct leadup to Matrix Reloaded with Last Flight of the Osiris (animated by Square Enix) in which the crew of the Osiris makes the drop that Morpheus goes to retrieve at the start of the movie.
What exactly were the Prophets? So, within the DS9 universe, there were the Prophets that lived within the wormhole. What sort of beings were they? What were their powers? <Q> The Prophets are a classic near god level race in the Star Trek universe, like the Q . <S> The wormhole aliens basically had unlimited pow...	Bajoran tradition holds that the Prophets were responsible for the nine Orbs that served as sources of wisdom for the people of Bajor. The Star Trek Encyclopedia (considered a fully canonical guide to the Star Trek universe) explicitly refers to the entities living within the wormhole as alien beings .
How old should you be when you begin Jedi training? Anakin Skywalker was about nine years old (see script link, below) during "The Phantom Menace". Yet according to various people, he was too old (or even "far too old") to begin training as a Jedi: QUI-GON : "I'm afraid not. Had he been born in the Republic, we wo...	The Jedi wanted to get their younglings in infancy before the normal familial attachments were too strong, in their opinion. It could be a notion that is individual to each child. It could well be the case that whenever they say Anakin is “too old”, they mean that he could have been trained earlier but now it is too la...
First novel to meld science fiction and western genres? A commercial for an upcoming movie got me thinking about works in which the genres of science fiction and western are combined. I've done some preliminary searching online, and it appears that while there are numerous examples of comics and television shows and mo...	Orson Scott Card's " Alvin Maker " series is more fantasy than Sci-Fi Tim Powers' early novel Dinner at Deviant's Palace (1985) featured another post-apocalyptic western themed setting and an alien psychic vampire. On a related note, Leigh Brackett's The Long Tomorrow is set in a world which has reverted to 1840s lifes...
When does the action of Snow Crash take place? I remember there are some clues in the book, like the year of birth of Hiro's father and his age when Hiro was born. I don't remember if Hiro's exact age is specified. So, has someone calculated the year when Snow Crash takes place? [Edit] I found the passage where som...	Which suggests he's in his 30's.
What is headology in Discworld? In Discworld, Granny Weatherwax discusses "headology" fairly often as one of the keys to her power. What exactly does she mean by the term? <Q> Like psychology, but many witches think "psychology" is a bad word, or that it means "having a psychological problem". <S> The practice of head...	Headology is more or less "Applied Psychology."
"Beggars in Spain" - what does the title mean? In the novel by Nancy Kress, what does the title ' Beggars in Spain ' mean? English is not my first language, so I suppose I am missing something here. I understand the basic idea behind the title, but the exact choice of words puzzles me. Is "beggars in Spain" a common ...	First of all this is definitely NOT a common phrase in English, most people would have absolutely no clue what you were talking about if you were to say it out loud.
Science Fiction as a setting or genre? Isaac Asimov was famous (in my mind) for writing detective stories that happened to be set in space. I am also a fan of Joss Whedon's Firefly series for separating the science fiction setting from the genre. Why are sci-fi stories classified by where the action takes place, wherea...	Sci-fi is a broad category of fiction where some of the fictional ideas that are presented have some kind of scientific basis.
What novel was the first to mention or predict a personal handheld computer? Science-fiction writers are often credited with "inventing the future" with some of their ideas. For example, the idea of geostationary satellites is often attributed to Arthur C. Clarke. What novel was the first to mention or predict a perso...	In Larry Niven's short story, "The Soft Weapon," 1967, the device had multiple modes. Isaac Asimov's 1958 short story "The Feeling of Power" posits a population completely dependent on their "pocket computer" for doing basic arithmetic.
How should I prepare for my first convention? I'll be going to my first convention this August, a Star Trek convention in Las Vegas. My wife got me and my daughter (a huge sci-fi fan) gold passes for the whole thing, and I'm looking for advice from people that have gone to conventions before. Some of the questions I h...	Don't worry about autographs (more than likely you'll see them in the booths and can approach them there). Some practical tips: Have a budget . Exchange contact details with people you get on well with
Are there any movies based on Robert Heinlein's works? Is there any movie based on Robert Heinlein's work? If so, is there more than one? <Q> The Puppet Masters is based on Heinlein's novel of the same name. <S> Destination Moon is based on one of his short stories. <S> There was also an episode of Masters of Sc...	As discussed here , Heinlein's novel Red Planet was adapted into an animated mini-series .
What do the humanoid classes in Star Trek mean? I have been watching Star Trek: Voyager for the last few days and they have been categorizing humanoids by class. So far, I heard of class three and class five. I checked on Memory Alpha and the available information on that topic is ludicrous : Class 5 humanoid is a...	Humanoid classes probably refer to closest matches the Federation has on record and differentiate between humanoids based on their physiological aspects.
What are the worst forms of poetry in the universe? In the context of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , if Vogon poetry is “the third worst poetry in the universe”, then what is the second worst and worst? <Q> The Wikipedia page on Vogon Poetry quotes the book: <S> The second worst is that of th...	The second worst is that of the Azgoths of Kria.
What was in the syringe that Inara had in the pilot episode? During the Reaver scene in the pilot episode, Inara pulls a syringe full of something, that she seems to be willing to use on herself. What was in that syringe? <Q> This question was answered by Joss and Morena Baccarin (Inara) together once and for all in th...	The syringe could have been a plant to lead in to that later story line. It was a drug that when taken would kill anyone that had sex with her (suggested by Tim Minear at a writers conference)
Will there be a movie based on "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman? I loved reading excerpts out of " American Gods " by Neil Gaiman and I also saw that it was received very well by receiving a bunch of awards, especially the Hugo and the Nebula , so I was wondering if someone knows if there are plans for making a movie ...	“There is an American Gods TV series in the works,” Gaiman wrote in the AMA.
How did Kenobi travel to the outer-rim in Star Wars Episode II? In Star Wars Episode II, when Kenobi came to know about outer-rim, he also came to know that outer-rim is 12 parsec away. 12 parsec = 12 * 3.26 light years = 39 light years (approx.) According to Einstein, nothing can move faster than light. We can't ...	Star Wars is not hard science fiction, you may be called to suspend your disbelief on scientific matters. In this instance, the usual term is that spaceships travel at the speed of plot .
Why was R2-D2 smarter than other similar droids? You can see this in any episode of Star Wars . R2-D2 was able to fix anything (better than other similar droids). It even defeated many other droids & robots. How is it possible? Every droid (of R2-D2 range) had everything same (tools, processing power, artificial inte...	I think R2-D2 never had a memory wipe and that is what makes him special.
What popularised the concept of Martians as little green men? Various works of fiction depict martians as little green men. So does anybody know how this image got popularised? <Q> Aubeck noted several examples of the latter in 19th and early 20th century literature. <S> As an example, Rudyard Kipling had a "little gre...	Before its more modern application to aliens, little green men was commonly used to describe various supernatural beings in old legends and folklore and in later fairy tales and children's books such as goblins.
Are the Primeval anomalies localised on Great Britain? It seems like the anomalies allow travel through both time and space (e.g. the Ancient Egyptian creature in S3E01), but I don't recall any mention of any anomalies in the current day outside of Britain. Has this been addressed in the show? Either by saying that t...	There is a series of Primeval spin-off books, known as the Older Novels series, which are based all around the notion that anomalies can open in other parts of the world, besides Great Britain.
Reasons why Electronics might not exist I was thinking about the Steampunk genre the other day, particularly Gibson's Difference Engine, and basically thought to myself; Steampunk is what would happen to the world if we didn't have electronics. This got me to thinking: what would lead to a world without electronics? La...	In a hypothetical alternate universe Electronics could have not arisen because it was seen as unclean or unholy.
Why did the Clone Troopers switch sides in Star Wars? I must admit I'm a little hazy with SW in general, but why did the clones switch sides? I think it was due to some special code being used, but why did they do it? The clones were bred for obedience, but wouldn't switching side be a little questionable? <Q> They we...	According to recently launched Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Lost Missions (Unfinished Season 6) , it was an inhibitor chip embedded inside clones' brains which made the clones anti-Jedi at the time of Order 66.
Should I read Elantris before reading Warbreaker? As far as I know, those two are set in the same world, but tell a different story, is that correct? I know that Elantris came out first, but it's not available for Kindle and Warbreaker is freely available from the author's website. I have never read anything by Brandon...	So if you're looking for a richer story and characters, Warbreaker is better. To give a fuller answer than that Kevin Reid's , Although they are set in different worlds, it is worth noting that they, like most of Sanderson's solo works ( Alcatraz and excepted), take place in the same 'cosmere'. The long answer is: the ...
Why do the guns in Battlestar Galactica have two barrels? In the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series, the handguns that the military use seem to have two barrels. What are the reasons behind this? <Q> If you watch the season 2 episode where the Galactica has been boarded by a group of Cylons, Apollo is seen to load...	Double barrel guns have a number of advantages, they have quicker firing rates, reduced maintenance, and accuracy. Not only does this help brand the show, but it sets a standards bar that helps the visuals of a show maintain a certain visual appeal.
In Niven's Known Space, what currency are the Outsiders interested in? I seem to remember something a Puppeteer (Nessus?) said about paying them with "Stars". I couldn't find any mention of this in Wikipedia, so maybe I'm not remembering correctly. <Q> I've found two answers: <S> http://www.docstoc.com/docs/647541...	There are "crowns" that are used as currency, teleporting from one place on Earth to another is 1/10 of a crown (very little money).
What was the origin of Asajj Ventress from the "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" TV show? I've seen all the Star Wars movies, but failed to notice Asajj Ventress. I've noticed almost all main characters of the TV show in movies except her.Are there any books mentioning her? What's her origin? <Q> You can find details at the...	Asajj Ventress was a Dathomirian female who, at various points throughout her life, was a slave, a Jedi Padawan, a Sith apprentice, a Nightsister, and a bounty hunter.
How can the time variations be explained in the first three books of the 'The Chronicles of Narnia'? I haven’t read the last three books of The Chronicles of Narnia story yet. But how is it possible that between the first two books there is a time shift of several thousands of years and between the second and third ...	From the horse's mouth, as they say: Narnian time flows differently from ours.
In what time period does The Lord of the Rings take place in the real world? I know that The Lord of the Rings is located in Middle-earth and by the looks of clothes and props, we're looking at well before the 18th century. What's the best guess at the time period that The Lord of the Rings was set in? <Q> About 6...	Seeing how Lord of the Rings stems from Beowulf and the Nibelung saga as well as the Poetic Edda, 5th to 6th century would be a good guess.
Was "The Matrix" based on the "Simulacron-3" novel? A friend of mine suggested a book called " Simulacron-3 " for me to read, before I decided to grab the book I did some research and realized that it has the same premise as "The Matrix" movie. I know Wachowski brothers did use some of Plato , Kant , Descartes work...	"The Thirteenth Floor" was directly adapted from Simulacron-3, and the book may have influenced The Matrix and other source material for The Matrix.
What is the reading order of Shannara series? I've gotten several recommendations to read the Shannara books by Terry Brooks in the past, but now that I look on Wikipedia, I've found that the books make up several different trilogies and standalone books. I assume that the Original Shannara Trilogy would be a safe...	I would start with The Sword of Shannara Trilogy , which was the first published.
Where in the real world is the farm that has the ash tree from Neil Gaiman's American Gods? Many webpages discuss visiting some of the real locations from the American Gods book. I have seen a few discussions about which town in Wisconsin served as inspiration for Lakeside. What I can not find any information on is whe...	The farm with an ash tree, an hour south of Blackburg (“American Gods”), is, in fact, an old crumbling farm of Tori Amos’ family.
In canon, does Han Solo shoot first? Considering the " Han shot first " controversy, is there any version that has been stated canon over the other? The 2006 DVD had two versions—the 2004 changes and the original theatrical version. The theatrical version features no changes, including Han Solo shooting without Greed...	According to several references I found, DVDs are considered the canon, so (sadly from my POV), Greedo shot first. Approximately ten frames have been shaved off of the shot immediately before Greedo fires, making it appears as though Han and the bounty hunter shoot at roughly the same time.
Degree of collaboration between Asimov and Silverberg on Nightfall novel? Is there any reliable information as to the depth of Isaac Asimov's involvement in writing the novel Nightfall (based on Asimov's 1941 short story) with Robert Silverberg? Were Asimov and Silverberg truly writing or otherwise working closely t...	In short, the central third of the novel is essentially all Asimov's work: it's his original short story with only some very minor changes.
Why is it called "Han shot first"? After reading this question: In canon, does Han Solo shoot first? I am left wondering why it is called " Han shot first ". Surely if Han shot, he was the only one to shoot since Greedo was then dead. Is there a reason for this? <Q> I hate to answer the question with a wikip...	Han shot first" could be a reference to the 'first' version of the film, in which Han was the only person who shot. It doesn't give us a clear picture of Greeo's character, it doesn't say what he would have done, it simply says he didn't fire. It's easier/quicker than saying "Han solo shot Greedo at the first opportuni...
Why did R2-D2 not fly in Return of the Jedi? In Return of the Jedi : Artoo butts the golden droid over the edge and steps off himself, tumbling toward the sand. But in Attack of the Clones : ARTOO uses his rocket jets to fly up and into the factory. Why didn't R2-D2 use his jets in RotJ instead of ending feet...	Another possible reason could be that the rockets (even if they had fuel) weren't powerful enough to lift R2-D2 in the gravitational field of Tatooine (which, being a rather large planet, is likely to have relatively high gravity).
Does The Rivan Codex add anything to the storyline of the Belgariad? I've been a long time fan of the Belgariad series by David Eddings, including the Malloreon sequel series, and have also bought and read the follow-up "prequels", Belgarath and Polgara. Another book exists, "The Rivan Codex", which I get the impressio...	The Rivan Codex is a collection of background material. There's a bunch of information that's not contained in the rest of the series.
Jane's gender in Ender's Game series Is there any reason Jane chose a feminine persona for herself? Did she choose at all? <Q> I don't think she chose. <S> In Xenocide, it's revealed she was created by the Hive Queens connecting to the Fantasy Game at Battle School. <S> So I expect she was born that way. <A> Jane ...	It's possible that when the Hive Queens pulled her aiua in to the universe from Outside, they pulled a lady-aiua, as that's what all the Hive Queens are.
Why didn't Agent Smith kill Neo before he met Morpheus and Trinity? In the Matrix, Neo is picked up by the Agents almost immediately after his encounter with Trinity and during his call with Morpheus. My question is, why didn't the Agents just pick Mr. Anderson off before he became Neo (the Agent conquering bad-ass) ...	The agents only wanted to find Morpheus so they could get the access codes to the Zion mainframe. Neo was being tracked by the agents.
What Sci-Fi novel is about aliens who consider it simply convenient to exterminate the human race? I don't remember the title/author of a Sci-Fi novel, where the author demonstrated that in case of an encounter with a more advanced alien life form, they would consider most convenient for them to exterminate the human r...	The Xeelee are farsuperior to all other races including humans, and are forced by humans, whoinsist on attacking them while they are busy trying to save the universe fromthe dark energy photino birds, to simply and effortlessly wipe out the humanrace, though they save a small sample community of humans on an artificial...
Why did The Ancients not include the remote dialing feature in the Milky Way Stargates? I've been thinking about the differences between the 3 types of Stargates: Milky Way, Pegasus, and the SGU gates. The SGU gates are the earliest, and they have some limitations compared to the later gates. For example, a limited r...	Short answer is that remote dialing is certainly possible, but the Ancients didn't leave any remote DHD devices just lying around.
Do the Borg ever lie? I know that in the novel "ST The Return" by Shatner, the borg are able to lie. I was wondering if this novel is considered canon, and whether there are any other instances where they lie. <Q> 7 of 9 was never entirely honest while a Borg Drone. <S> Ergo, the Borg have the capability to intention...	The Borg we meet in later seasons of voyager portray them as being more emotional and controlled by an emotional queen, these Borg are more than capable of lying.
How does the Fire Nation survive through the 100 years between appearances of Sozin's comet? How does the Fire Nation survive the 100 years of war? There were several reasons why it shouldn't: The terrain of Earth Kingdom is perfect for partisan fighting. They have the support of locals and places to hide (mountains,...	When your army consists of people who can create fire at will, it means you can construct steam-powered machines, and your army can easily fuel it. Being so marginalised they would struggle to mount a direct offensive, as well as the fact they have a counter-attacking attacking mindset (think how Jiu-jitsu and Aikido w...
Which Discworld book to start a newbie on If you were going to loan one Terry Pratchett book from the Discworld series to someone, which book would you use? <Q> This is a very often-debated subject… You'll want to tailor the choice to that person's taste. <S> Some novels have the same main characters as earlier ones,...	First one I read was Mort . The Colour of Magic (the first book in the series) myself, Wyrd Sisters is a good introduction for a Shakespeare fan. Small Gods is good for someone who likes philosophy of religions. For a younger reader---especially but not exclusively a young lady---consider Wee Free Men , the first of th...
Who feeds New Crobuzon? China Miéville 's Bas-Lag novels ( Perdido Street Station , The Scar , Iron Council ) is fantasy with realistic political and economic structures. So I don't expect the city of New Crobuzon to be isolated: its food has to be grown somewhere. Yet after reading Perdido Street Station , I w...	Like Rome and London, NC has easy access to the sea, so it is likely that fish and imported food are a significant part of the local diet.
How come Patrick Swayze didn't fall through floorboards in Ghost? Caught the end of Ghost last night on Sky Living. It struck me as odd as there is a whole section on how he can't interact with living objects through touch. He goes and gets guidance from the train ghost who teaches him how to touch objects (even though...	The implication is that since he believes the floor is solid, his mind makes it real. If a ghost cannot interact with "things" then it stands to reason that things cannot interact with the ghost.
Does the order of glyphs matter in Stargate addresses? Excepting the final glyph for point of origin, does the order of the glyphs matter when dialing a Stargate? I don't recall ever seeing someone dial an address out of order, or directly commenting on order mattering. Looking at the design of a DHD, it would seem l...	They have to be in order according to the rules of the show, but it's one of the many bits of Stargate canon that makes little sense.
Is the Lensman series the first instance of "space cops" in SF? This was prompted by the mention of the Lensman as a possible inspiration for Jedi over here , and them being mentioned on the Green Lantern Wikipedia page as an inspiration. I'm not familiar with older sci-fi/pulp/space operas, so I'm curious if Lensman...	"The Star-Stealers" by Edmond Hamilton , the first story in his Interstellar Patrol series, was published in Weird Tales , February 1929 (available at the Internet Archive ), a good year before Sewell Peaslee Wright 's John Hanson series which began with "The Forgotten Planet" in Astounding Stories of Super-Science , J...
Are there any churches in Dune? In the Dune series there are several mentions of the Orange Catholic Bible and quotations from it. But it looks like the book from the long forgotten past. Are there any mentions of major functioning religious organizations? By major I mean bigger then local planetary / solar system ...	There are a number of major religions , such as "zensunni" and "buddhislamic" There is an official quasi-religion in the Imperium that forbids building a machine in the likeness of a human mind, whose doctrine is recorded in the Orange Catholic Bible. Many religions rejected the OC Bible and it's now more studied as a ...
Future Malazan novels by Steven Erikson? Does anybody have any idea of what are Steven Erikson's plans towards works set in the Malazan world? Can we expect more of Ganeos and others? Also, I believe that Erikson and Esslemont have a pact about not interfering with each other, is that true? <Q> They will not be direct ...	From a forum discussion following a signing tour (so second hand info) Steven Erikson confirmed that he has signed up for 6 more Malazan novels for Bantam.
Similarities between Dune and Wheel of Time? When I first read Wheel of Time (shortly after I read Dune), I was struck by the similarity between the Aiel and the Fremen, as well as the White Tower and the Bene Gessirit. Are there any other such similarities? Had Robert Jordan ever accepted whether he was influenced b...	According to something I've found the similarities are more from drawing on similar real-world influences - the same cultures, myths etc.
Why do the Borg have such a hard time understanding individuality? The Borg assimilate individuals and their entire mind becomes a part of their collective. Every time they to do this, they must gain the exact experiences and legitimate reasonings as to why other lifeforms do NOT want to be a part of the collective. T...	The cause/reason i believe is the Borg Queen.
What happened to warp drives destroying the universe? I remember a TNG episode where some scientists said that warp drives were causing a lot of damage to subspace. At the end of the episode Star Fleet decided that warp speeds would be restricted to warp 5 except for emergency situations. Of course the next episode t...	It was never addressed in canon. As to why the decision was made to simply gloss over the problem, the simplest way to look at it is that continuing to insist upon ' warp-speed restrictions ' would have demanded regular explanation (adding to the length of scripts) without actually improving them in any way.
Why are Na'vi tetrapods? I have a question about Avatar universe . Most animals on Pandora are hexapodal. Why then are Na'vi tetrapodal? I think that they should be closely biologically related to another animals, since they can establish Tsaheylu with one another which implies similar nervous systems. So their b...	The Na'vi are an artificially designed species made by the Pandora intelligence as a means of interacting with and understanding humans (Meaning that Avatar refers both to the Na'vi themselves and the artificial copies made by the humans).
Is the "Space, The Final Frontier" quote "in universe"? Probably everyone reading this recognises the most famous split-infinitive in (science) fiction: From Star Trek TOS : Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek o...	In "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home", McCoy says to Spock, "You really have gone where no man's gone before.", which implies that that at least that part of the phrase is known in-universe.
Why did the Goa'uld not invade Earth through the Beta gate? The Beta gate, so far as I can tell, has been in Antarctica functioning for thousands of years. Why didn't the Goa'uld invade Earth through the beta gate at some point in time? Or am I just misunderstanding how two gates on the same planet work? <Q> One good r...	Lastly, we know the DHD was buried rather deep in the ice, so most likely anyone who happened on to the beta gate would have died. There must be some aspect of the human rebellion on Earth that kept the Goa'uld away for all those millenia.
Star Trek Voyager - Species 8472 vs. the Borg How come the Borg could not adapt to Species 8472? Voyager was able to create nano probes that could destroy Species 8472 and yet the Borg couldn't figure that out? Why? <Q> From Memory Alpha : <S> This organically based technology was more than a match for Borg defense...	[T]he Borg learned about different species solely by means of assimilation; they were unable to understand or adapt to Species 8472's technology.
Why did the Goa'uld not send ships to attack Earth after Earth's rebellion? Why didn't the Goa'uld simply send a ship to Earth after Earth's rebellion? This came up after looking at the following question: " why they didn't attack Earth through the Beta Gate ". <Q> Because at the time, the Alliance of 4 races was figh...	The Goa'uld had enough humans on other worlds, so there is no strategic reason to invade again. The conflict with the other 4 Alliance races, plus any internal fighting would make it a non priority for years. I think it's not inconceivable that while the Goa'uld had stargate travel, they had little to no spaceflight ca...
What would have happened in the second season of FlashForward? FlashForward was cancelled after the first season, though it ended on a cliffhanger. Is there any reliable information on what would have happened if it had returned for a second season? <Q> I found a really interesting interview with the British actor who...	Our heroes would have killed the bad guys, and then realized that the bad guys' plan was the only way to save the human race, and they would ultimately end up implementing the bad guys' plans
What is the Bloody Baron's story? In the Harry Potter series, there are several ghosts at Hogwarts. They all seem to have interesting back stories. The story of Nearly Headless Nick was explained early on in the series, but I don't recall what the back story is for the Bloody Baron. Namely, why is he bloody? <Q> Con...	The Baron's nickname comes from the fact that he is covered with blood, which appears silvery on his ghostly form.
Why didn't Dr. Venture grow more clones after they were all killed? In the third season finale of The Venture Bros, all of Hank and Dean's backup bodies were killed in an epic battle. During the fourth season he says that Hank and Dean no longer have any backup clones left, so they need to be more careful. Why didn't...	Perhaps Dr. Venture's cloning method used frozen cells taken from the embryos that would really have been the original Hank & Dean, who were never actually born ...
Is there any evidence for the bet between Robert A. Heinlein and L. Ron Hubbard? It is widely believed that L. Ron Hubbard and Robert A. Heinlein made a bet in a bar one night either that L. Ron could not create a religion, or to see who could create a religion first. (In the second case, Stranger in a Strange Land i...	The simple truth of the matter is that a wager never took place.
“Gardener in the dark” — what is this an allusion to? In Freefall (the webcomic by Mark Stanley), AIs run a neural pruning program called “Gardener in the dark” , a sort of planned obsolescence for robots. I'm convinced the name is an allusion to a fairly famous “—er in the dark” (maybe from sf, maybe from real life...	Most probably it relates to the concept of a "Blind Watchmaker" which is a common metaphor for Natural Selection.
Do these Neal Stephenson books have a recommended chronological order? I've had "In the Beginning...was the Command Line" by Neal Stephenson on my Amazon Wish list for a while, but I do realize it's not much of a science fiction / fantasy book (still going to get it some day). Digging deeper into his work, I've found ...	In my mind Snow Crash is the easiest read.
Story featuring smart people sent on a space mission to nowhere The story in question featured, as the vague title suggests, a "space mission" that is really a cover for forcing a bunch of really smart people to be in close proximity to each other for long enough that they can truly evolve their collective intelligence...	Could it be The Gold at the Starbow's End by Frederik Pohl . The astronauts end up making their way back to Earth in the end, and Knefhausen has to confront them.
What's the first instance of fictional profanity in sci-fi? There's a tradition of sorts in sci-fi where aliens or future humans use profanity that doesn't exist in the real world. I'm curious when this started. Which story or novel is the first time the writer made up profanity? It's acceptable if they used real pr...	In Glory Road Robert Heinlein does actually discuss the use of profanity, and uses a word he considers profane. Anthony Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange" was written in 1962, and contained an entire lexicon of "Nadsat" slang.
Reading order for Dragonlance? I wanted to try out more of Weis and Hickman's works(I liked the Deathgate Cycle very much), and I decided to do it with Dragonlance. Since there are a lot of books in the series, can somebody clarify whether I should be reading in the chronological order or not? <Q> The first set of Tal...	I would start with the Chronicles and move on to the Legends series.
Is there an issue-by-issue summary of Sandman? I am looking for some place that has an issue-by-issue summary of Sandman. Could anybody provide me such a link? <Q> There's a summary at Neil Gaiman's site <S> but I don't know if that's granular enough for what you want. <S> Ralph Hildebrandt's page has lots of inf...	The Sandman Companion has quite detailed summaries of the original ten "Sandman" collections, followed by analysis and interviews with Gaiman as well as the artists.
How is it that the outer planets in Firefly are not frozen? Is there an in-universe explanation for how it is that the outer planets in Firefly all seem to have temperate climate zones, despite their distance from the sun? I am assuming here that the outer planets (or moons) must be farther away from their star than S...	The planets most distant from the sun must have more greenhouse gases in their atmospheres.
Why do science fiction movie writers love to use nukes to solve Earth crises? I've noticed that there is a reoccurring theme of sci-fi movies that solve problems by using nukes: In Sunshine (2007) , the solution to our dying Sun was to send the entire Earth's payload of nukes to give it enough energy to apparently ...	The reason that nukes are used (imo) because they are the only explosives strong enough to do some damage with our current technology level.
Why is Good Magician Humphrey "Good"? Most of the Magicians in the Xanth novels I've read to date are pretty decent folk. However, the only one called a "Good" Magician (as opposed to just "Magician") is Humphrey, who of the lot is the most ornery and cranky of all of them. So why is he called "Good Magician", instea...	He is good, in part, because he helps people find our the answers to their quests.
Why is there a lot of low-tech in Battlestar Galactica? On one hand, residents of the Twelve colonies perfected travel in spaceships and FTL jumps, but on the other hand, they have some really low-tech technologies, such as disconnecting a network by pulling at a lot of cables [ 1 ], or having no better way of checking...	They didn't have time to develop or build new technology during the events of the series, or foreknowledge to pack every high-tech device they might need aboard these ships.
Why do we hear Leia's Theme during Kenobi's death? This was an interesting point brought up by a music professor; by the second third of Star Wars, John Williams has introduced and reinforced a number of musical themes: the "Force theme", Luke's theme, and an Imperial theme. However, at the moment of Kenobi's death (ce...	As far as "why Leia's theme was used for Kenobi's death" part, the most "official" source (short of someone managing to outright pose this question to John Williams) is Michael Matessino 's liner notes on RCA release of " Star Wars: A New Hope: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ": ...
Men In Black: After Agent K's retirement, why was Agent J left as senior partner? From my limited understanding, generally police-type agencies partner an experienced senior agent/detective with a junior one. However, at the end of "Men In Black" movie, Agent K announces that he's ready to retire and he has been trai...	Agent J was accepted into the MiB - despite the obvious advantages of all his competition - because of his skills.
What sort of linkage is there between the Stargate movie and television universes? I rewatched the Stargate movie recently, and it got me wondering about what I've been missing with regards to the TV series that have been spun off. I enjoy reading people's opinions on which series is better, but I'm curious about what...	There's a loose link.
Story about dead people coming back for a limited time I have a very vague memory of a novel/short story/film/perhaps even graphic novel, where dead people were able, for some time after their death, to return to their family and speak with them for a limited amount of time. I seem to remember an image of people in a k...	In the first episode of Torchwood they used a device (a mysterious glove) to bring people back to life for a short amount of time to interrogate a murder victim. It was time-limited, maybe 30 seconds, and had to be done soon after death (no more than a day IIRC).
Why does Leia's accent change during A New Hope? In the first 30 minutes of Star Wars IV, Leia has a pseudo-British accent. As the movie progresses she loses her accent and gets a more American-tough girl accent. Is there a reason behind this? <Q> In the documentary Wishful Drinking , Carrie Fisher brings up her cha...	Leia grew up as a princess on Alderaan, which as we all knew developed an accent similar to our "British" accent.
How different are the US and UK versions of Being Human? I've watched the UK version of Being Human , and I'm curious about the US version . If they are different shows with the same basic concept, then I'll probably watch the the US series as well - but if it's just a remake of the same plot, then I'm not that int...	Ultimately, the UK one is amazing and directed so well that you can tell most scenes have an artistic or dramatic stitched in meaning with what’s going on WHILE the US version is more realistic (if these creators existed), relatable, and entertaining. All of the characters have different names and slight changes to the...
If the Wraith know about Atlantis, why don't they go there more often? I haven't watched every Stargate: Atlantis episode, but I've watched quite a few from the later seasons and have been watching some lately from an earlier season. One thing that really confuses me is in the three part episode "The Siege" from an ear...	The Wraith also know that Atlantis is capable of space flight.
What is a Hedge Knight? Reading the Ice and Fire books, I keep on coming across the term Hedge Knight (and, also, the apparently pejorative, Hedge Wizard). What specifically does the prefix Hedge refer to? <Q> A Hedge Knight is an individual who has been dubbed as a knight, but does not owe his allegiance to any mast...	A Hedge Knight is a Knight who does not have service with any Lord and does not posses land himself from a Lord.
Does C-3PO ever do his job? C-3PO is a protocol droid that is fluent in over six million forms of communication, but it seems like everyone in the galaxy can understand every other language. Has C-3PO ever had to translate? I do recall him translating R2's beeps at one point, but I'm not positive. <Q> Early in Return...	In A New Hope, he translates R2D2 while they're on the Death Star and R2's getting information from the computers.
Can I skip these books in the Magician/Riftwar series? The official site provides the recommended reading order for Raymond E. Feist's "Magician" series / Riftwar Universe. I've read the first three (Magician, Silverthorn, Sethanon) and have just had a friend loan me the Riftwar Legacy / Krondor trilogy (Krondor: ...	I believe that it is possible to read the Legacy trilogy without missing a significant amount from the Empire series.
Does the crew of the Destiny have a large enough population to found a colony? In a recent episode of Stargate Universe, we learn that alternate versions of the crew ended up back in time stranded on a planet. They proceed to establish a colony, which over the years grows to a massive population of millions. Is this ...	Assuming they carefully watched the family lines they could probably eventually make it to a large enough population to breed safely.
Why doesn't Shadow realize that? According to Neil Gaiman's account , Shadow's real name is Baldur Moon, which translates to the fact that the protagonist of American Gods is a god . How is it possible that he does not realize that? Or does he? <Q> Actually, there seem to be an apparently convincing argument t...	To make him a god strips him of his humanity, which weakens him in my opinion.
Who is the third head of the dragon? In the series A Song of Ice and Fire , dragons always occur in groups of three - The three conquering dragons, the three eggs etc. Somewhere, it's also implied that there should be three dragon-controllers (I forgot where, but this is what I remember). So if Danaerys is one, Jo...	The most common suggestion for the third head is Tyrion.
Did Leia know Luke was her brother when she kissed him? In ROTJ Leia says "somehow I've always known" If she has always known then did she know when she kissed him? <Q> There's a difference between consciously and unconsciously knowing. <S> No, she didn't consciously know this - i.e. she wasn't aware of it. <S...	She was not aware of the blood relationship at that time, though she certainly felt the connection that most fiction insists is there between twins. It's entirely likely that her 'always knowing' represents the way that the Force tried to guide her away from Luke, possibly directed thusly by the spirit of Kenobi.
Where did Luke Skywalker learn to build his own lightsaber? I know that, as part of their training, all Jedi were required to build their own lightsaber. Did Yoda teach Luke on Dagobah before heading to Bespin? <Q> In the book Shadows of the Empire Luke goes to Obi-wan's old place on Tatooine and finds his lightsa...	Partly Obi-Wan and Yoda, but mainly the Force Luke had some basic background on lightsaber building from Obi-Wan and Yoda, but he was mainly guided by his intuition, which of course was a product of the Force:

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