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How did Khan and his people survive on a planet with no food for twenty years? I'm enjoying my new blu-ray of Star Trek II, and a question which has always puzzled me came up again. Khan says something to the effect that only his superior will and intellect allowed them to survive after the planet was laid waste. So -...	A battered portable generator provided just enough electricity to keep the subterranean gardens viable, while the colony’s few surviving protein resequencers allowed them to satisfy their most basic nutritional requirements.
What was the Cylons' "plan"? The opening credits for Battlestar Galactica state that the Cylons "have a plan"; but what it was escapes me. What, exactly, was the Cylon plan; who formulated it, and in what episodes was it explained? Was it ever carried out? <Q> The television movie <S> ‘The Plan’ explained the plan....	The Plan was a line used in the opening credits that never payed off.
How does Spider-Man control his webbing? In the cartoons, I've seen Spider-Man shoot a variety of webs from his web-shooters. the ones I can name now are: Globs of sticky webbing Lines of swinging webbing Sticky lines of webbing If these all come from the same device, how is he able to choose which type of webbin...	As the web fluid exits the spinneret holes, it is attracted to itself electrostatically and thus can form complex shapes.
If a lightsaber is made of contained plasma, how can it deflect blaster bolts and other lightsabers? According to another question on this site it appears that lightsabers are controlled plasma streams. These streams are seen deflecting laser bolts and of course dueling with other lightsabers. But plasma isn't soli...	then when the lightsaber is swung around it will create an opposite directional field like the two poles of a magnet where the rule "like rejects like" will deflect the plasma bolt! No guess; take a look at the lightsaber article on the Wookieepedia: They are charged particles.
How did Princess Leia pay Han Solo's reward in Star Wars: A New Hope? In Star Wars: A New Hope , Leia pays Han Solo his reward for rescuing her from the Death Star. We see him hauling his treasure in the rebel base in metal green boxes: However, the Death Star destroyed Alderaan, Leia's home planet. With her home...	Getting the metals and spices suggests payment on behalf of the Alliance to be correct. In short, his reward (in the boxes we see on screen) is made up of precious metals that are evidently used in the repair of spaceships. Princess Leia was a member of the Imperial Senate. She could very well have pulled some assets f...
Can the Room of Requirement be Two Things at Once? Throughout the Harry Potter story, we've seen the Room of Requirement be a number of different things. It can be a place for Dumbledore's Army to practice, or an extremely huge closet filled with uncountable items (including a horcrux), and more. But can it be two di...	After applying deductive logic, we reach the conclusion that one cannot use the Room of Requirement if there is already a user inside and his/her use of the room is different from how one intends to use it.
What’s the meaning of Hogwarts motto? The motto for Hogwarts is "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus ", or, " Never tickle a sleeping dragon ". This seems like quite obvious advice and rather silly as a school motto. Is it essentially an inside joke that J. K. Rowling made up for those that would actually translate i...	Perhaps less philosophically interestingly, it could also simply be a warning against causing trouble unnecessarily, against opening up a can of worms , or stirring up a hornet's nest . The motto is deliberately practical advice .
Why didn't Palpatine save Padmé? Palpatine seduced Anakin by promising he could save Padmé using the dark side of the Force. But in the end, he lied that she was killed by Anakin by mistake. Anakin had already turned to the dark side, so she couldn't have been a hurdle. The dark side was powerful enough to save Padmé (...	Palpatine didn't really want to save padmé, if she survived she would have been a leader of the Rebellion, and Palpatine didn't like this. So: Either he couldn't do it, didn't want to do it or both.
Are Storm's mutant powers plausible? Most level 4+ mutants in the X-Men universe have powers that have at least partially scientific (or at worst, pseudo-scientific) explanations: Professor X - Brain cells can interact with a 'psionic field', which could be a form of quantum entanglement. Wolverine - Body produces i...	In the real world we live in, such fantastic mutant powers are simply beyond the realm of human experience simply because most of those powers exceed the realm of physical science as we know them. We have seen her gather or create conditions for storms which could be done using telekinesis to alter the relationships of...
Why did Qui-Gon advance against Darth Maul without Obi-Wan? In The Phantom Menace , Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi engage in a two-on-one battle against Darth Maul. Together, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan seem evenly matched against Darth Maul, with both sides getting in an occasional punch or kick against the other party. Da...	According to the film's official novelisation , Qui-Gon felt that Maul (who'd just fallen heavily onto his back from a height) was likely weakened and decided to press this advantage without waiting for Obi-Wan to catch up. I think it all came down to "lightsaber styles". I'm guessing that he tried doing his best by do...
Why Didn't Qui-Gon Free Shmi Skywalker? Qui-Gon has shown that he could easily use the Force to influence a game of chance. Even though Watto is not susceptible to "Jedi mind tricks," he doesn't detect when Qui-Gon influences his chance cubes to create the outcome he wants. While the original deal was to free only An...	Since Watto was greatly opposed to freeing BOTH, he may have gotten pushed over the line and interfered if Shmi went free as well. Qui-Gon Jinn used telekinesis to influence the fall of the chance cube to ensure that Anakin's freedom would be at stake.
How long did it take for the Death Star (1) to reload? In the battle of Yavin, the Empire wants to destroy a moon that is hidden behind the planet Yavin. They circle around the planet because the moon is hidden. Again: They are on a space station that can destroy planets! Planets! Like the one that is obstructing a cle...	This new Death Star's central weapon, the terrifying superlaser, featured substantially increased power, allowing it to be recharged in a matter of minutes, rather than hours .
How could/did Luke's rescue attempt destroy what his friends fought for? While there are good reasons for Luke not to fly to the city in the clouds (according to Jedi doctrine -- e.g. patience, detachment, and so forth), Yoda explains that although his friends could die if Luke stays at Dagobah, he would destroy everyt...	Their goal is to destroy the Empire, but all this may be in jeopardy if Luke leaves: if either happens, there is no one left to beat the Emperor, except maybe Leia, but no one other than Yoda knows that at this point.
Why did the Tusken Raiders shoot at podracers? During the Boonta Eve podrace, Tusken Raiders shoot at the podracers; from the The Phantom Menace Script Four TUSKEN RAIDERS perched above the race course fire their rifles at the Pods racing in the canyon below them. One shot ricochets off the back of Anakin's Pod...	The Tuskens have apparently had a long history of adversity against external settlers on Tatooine.
What Is the First Same Sex Relationship in Science Fiction? This came up in a talk with someone recently. Science Fiction is a genre that often prides itself of being ahead of the curve on many things, but, as best I can remember, the first same-sex relationship in SF in popular media was in Babylon 5 in the 1990s. ...	True History by the Greek writer Lucian (A.D. 120–185) has been called the earliest surviving example of science fiction and the first ever "gay science fiction story".
Why do people ever leave holodecks? Given that you can have anything you want generated in a holodeck, why would anyone ever leave? That is, apart from the need to eat, drink and use the little Starfleet room, you wouldn't have any need or desire to leave. Aren't holodecks completely addictive? <Q> Yes, Star Trek dea...	There are limited time allowances, at least for Starfleet personel, for holodecks and other people will want to use them, which means limited availability. Relationships (all relationships, not just romantic ones) would get boring after time with programmed personalities.
When (in which year) is Alien set? Does the Alien film give any clue as to in which year it takes place? Or do any of its sequels? If not the exact year then do we have any clues, e.g. 500 years in the future? <Q> From 1976 early screenplay draft , it's 2087 (it's not in the text, BUT in the diagram picture of the ...	Most of Prometheus takes place in the last week of the year 2093, between Christmas and New Year's Day (the events on Earth take place in 2089) -- a full 28 years before the events in Alien. the likely year for Alien is 2134AD. According to IMDb, Ellen Ripley was born in the year 2092 in Olympia, Luna.
Does a reference exist for the A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones)? My wife and I have begun to read Game of Thrones the first book in the series A Song of Ice and Fire . We purchased the four book bundle for our Kindles , but with the large number of characters and spiraling landscape are having a hard time...	As well as westeros.org, there is the Tower of the Hand , which has a pretty cool feature: it has selectable spoiler levels .
Is there a difference between a spaceship and a starship? Is there a difference between a spaceship and a starship? I've been wondering... is it like boats and ships? <Q> "Starship" implies travel between stars (e.g. ships that can only fly within a given solar system are probably NOT going to be called "starship") ...	Starship is that spaceship which could travel from one star system to another star system.
Do children from the Capitol participate in the Hunger Games? There is only mention of tributes from Districts 1 through 12. Are children that live in the Capitol excluded from the Hunger Games? <Q> Yes - children that live in the Capital are excluded. <S> :) <S> That's actually the main point of them; Capital was r...	The children from Capitol were excluded, because the games were meant to remind the defeated districts of the power of Capitol. Only in the VERY LAST HUNGER GAMES.
How are Aluminium objects made in the first Mistborn Trilogy? In the third mistborn book the main characters get their hands on some Aluminium from a set of cutlery from a noble's house. It is stated that is is incredibly rare and valuable, much more so than gold. I don't recall how it compared the Atium (did they ma...	However, it is certainly possible to melt and cast aluminum with primitive technology: http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/ There's no amount of aluminium that a noble would have traded for a single bead of atium.
When Was the First Same Sex Relationship in SF or Fantasy on TV or in the Movies? After a suggestion on this similar question, I've made a change. All the answers for that question were focused on written stories, none on video or film. So I removed that part of the question so it could be focused on specifically, ...	Sailor Moon (1992-1997) also had several homosexual characters (e.g. Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus) - again this is changed for American audiences (Neptune and Uranus are now cousins). In film: Roger Vadim's 1960 Et mourir de plaisir Carmilla (1872), which concerned a same-sex relationship between a female vampire a...
How could Nero's ship communicate with a ship decades younger? When Nero comes out of the singularity in the new Star Trek film (the one directed by J. J. Abrams), he hails the USS Kelvin and is able to communicate with them without any issues. There's a difference of about 150 years between the Narada 's time an...	In the Star Trek universe, I assume that the ship's communication system is listening on all pratical frequencies whenever required. While older technology is not always forwards-compatible, newer technology is usually (or can be altered to be) backwards-compatible.
Are there any major superheroes with living parents? Iron Man's parents are dead. Batman's parents are dead. Spider-Man's parents are dead, and the uncle that raised him is dead (his aunt, however, lives). Superman's entire race was destroyed and in the New 52 DC reboot, both of his adopted parents are dead. Does be...	Jean Grey's parents were alive during most of her career with the X-Men. Most of the mythological Greek heroes had effectively absent fathers, since they were all fathered by Zeus and he never took an active role in any of his kids' adventures. Momotaro the Peach Boy of Japan and Ne Zha of China were spontaneous magica...
Would the Picard Maneuver work in the Star Wars universe? The Picard Maneuver basically boils down to: "surprise your enemy by jumping right next to him and unload all your cannons". However, Trek canon makes a bit more of a technological fuss about how it works. Seeing that the Star Wars universe also has FTL trave...	It wouldn't be effective in single-ship combat or as a tactic for a surprise attack at the start of combat. If it was possible to enter and exit FTL like in Star Trek, then not only would it "work", it would be a massive advantage against everyone but Force Users, supposing no one else could do it.
In the first HP book, who sent Harry thousands of the same letters? In the first book/movie...When Harry wasn't allowed to read the letter from Hogwarts, there started a bombardment of thousands of the same letters. Who was behind this? Was it ever mentioned in canon? <Q> Why is it stupid? <S> This isn't canon, but ...	Of course, it would have fallen to Professor McGonagall to send the owls , but I still think Dumbledore had a hand in it. In chapter 4 of Sorcerer's Stone , Hagrid makes the claim that he himself was responsible for delivering and sending Harry's letters.
Why did Qui-Gon die immediately after a stomach wound? While it makes sense that getting stabbed in the belly by a lightsaber would be fatal in some way (there are some rather important organs in there), it doesn't really make sense that Qui-Gon died within minutes of getting gutchecked by Maul. He wasn't exactly bleed...	Plus we've seen that the extreme heat of a lightsaber blade cauterizes wounds. Qui-Gon was a reputed practitioner of the breath control technique. I think we should also answer why it took him so long to die. But it's low enough in the spine that that alone probably wouldn't have killed him directly. But if so, he woul...
How powerful are supernovae in the Star Trek universe? In the new Star Trek movie, Spock says that a "supernova threatened the entire galaxy". Yet in various TV episodes (notably ST:VOY - The Q and the Grey ) only those ships and planets that were in close proximity were destroyed by supernova explosions. However, ...	The apparent luminosity of the supernova would be equal to that of the sun if the supernova were 5 light years away, so the brightness would only be horribly problematic for a tiny portion of the galaxy; there are of course other problems (shockwaves of gas, intense gamma rays, etc.)
Why Did Qui-Gon Accept Shmi's "No Father" Birth Story So Easily? When Qui-Gon asks Shmi about Anakin's Father, she tells him there was never a man involved. Why is Qui-gon so quick to accept such a miraculous story? He didn't even bat an eye, but took her at her word from the start. Why didn't he even question it an...	If she thought it true, there wouldn't be much he could gain. Secondly, he very well could have been using Jedi tricks to learn that she at least thought it was true.
Shouldn't Anakin Have Been a Female? Shmi Skywalker made it clear that there never was a Father for Anakin (which Qui-Gon accepted, hook, line, and sinker, without even questioning it at all). Now it's said that, even though Plageuis was suspected of causing this, it was the midichlorians themselves that caused her pr...	Depending on how Anakin was placed within Shmi, heck I don't know, perhaps he provided his own Y chromosome.
How does a Terminator's living tissue actually "live"? It is basic/common knowledge that our skin/flesh requires proteins etc carried by blood and pumped by a heart to travel around the body to live. Its possible that Terminator's have blood underneath their living tissue, we certainlly have seen blood on Terminator's...	So the T-800 will need a heart (not very big or strong, perhaps mechanical), a small lung (somewhere), some kind of blood filter, maybe a little bone marrow, and either a small reserve of fat or a sugar synthesizer. It seems unlikely that the Terminator has enough onboard nutrients to sustain and regrow its flesh in th...
How did Data so easily access and control the Borg ship? From what we know of the "Hive mind," every drone, ship, and mind are all interconnected; each mind has the who Hive in their head. So when Data connected to Picard and his link to the Hive mind, how did he amazingly find and access the control of that particular...	Data was an anomaly and managed to find a unique attack upon the Borg which they had never come across before and hence was able to exploit it.
What's the origin of "One does not simply Telnet into Mordor"? While I realise that it's a parody on "One does not simply walk into Mordor!" (I believe it's a statement made by Boromir), I was wondering where that particular meme comes from. The connection (no pun intended) between Mordor and the Telnet Protocol is j...	It started with "one does not simply walk into Mordor," as you said, then various people just posted "one does not simply walk into x" and "one does not simply x into Mordor" for all x they could think of, and someone just happened to put telnet into it.
What was Obi-wan doing/checking when he puts his hand over Luke's face? When Obi-Wan Kenobi first appears in Star Wars IV - A new Hope he scares a bunch of sand people away and then he proceeds to check Luke Skywalker, first by checking his pulse and then he sticks his hand on Luke's face as if he's checking somethin...	It's also not clear that Luke even needs healing in that scene in A New Hope. Possibly he is checking for a sign of life with this technique, similar to how we check for a pulse. In Episode I, at the Invasion of Naboo , after Qui-Gon and Darth Maul's battle/death, Obi-wan is there for his master. If Obi-wan was doing s...
Why isn't Luke taught about midichlorians We know that both Obi Wan and Yoda know about midichlorians and how they function. However Luke never is taught about them, or explained how it works. In the Jedi Academy series Luke must find alternative ways of discovering who was force sensitive. If midichlorians are so imp...	Luke was the last known untrained Force-sensitive (besides Leia; we don't get that wrinkle till the second act of RotJ), and he needed to learn quickly. It probably wasn't a priority to get into the origins of Force powers given the unlikely senario he was going to survive his next encounter with Darth Vader.
Who's older: Treebeard or Tom Bombadil? Tom Bombadil says this to the hobbits, in reply to the question "who are you?": (...) But you are young and I am old. Eldest, that’s what I am. Mark my words, my friends: Tom was here before the river and the trees ; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He mad...	Treebeard was the oldest of the Ents, and so the firstborn of all sentient or perhaps animate things on Arda, or as Gandalf loosely says, 'living creatures'.
What Happened to the Original Models from "Star Trek?" I know now days when a TV show or movie is made, most of the ships are designed as CGI models, so it's possible to produce an entire movie or TV show without ever building a physical model of a space ship. But I would think some models from earlier shows and movie...	Actually, there appeared to be very few models made for the show. I would guess that other than the Enterprise, only the Klingon D7 survived the original series.
In the movie "In Time" how would the transferring of time work? In the movie In Time , people transfer time to each other just by gripping each other's hands. It seems to have some sort of mental component, as in one scene characters grip hands and have a battle of wills to see who gets the time. Also of note is tha...	It seems that to take some Time from someone, you need to have your arm on top, palm facing down like winning an arm wrestle.
Did Superman Ever Meet His Parents or See What Krypton was Really Like? I know that Kara and Jor-El died when Krypton blew up, but in at least one version of Superman (the movie, Superman , from the 1970s or early 1980s), Superman did manage a form of time travel. Did Superman ever end up, through time travel or proj...	Yes he did, through time travel in Superman #141 Superman was also miniaturized and inserted into Krypton so he was able to interact with Kryptonians in a Kryptonian city.
Why was Dale rebuilt? Why was Dale (the city ruined ages ago by the dragon Smaug), featured in Tolkien's The Hobbit, rebuilt after the events of the aforementioned story? As far as I can remember, the dragon laid not only the city to waste, but its surrounding area as well. Why rebuild a city around which there's no ...	The original purpose of Dale was to act as a trading nexus between the Dwarves and Men.
Is Dolores Umbridge Really Only 4 years Older than Harry Potter? Harry Potter was born in 1980. According to the Harry Potter Wiki , it stats that Dolores Umbridge was born, at the latest, in 1976, but was born sometime in the 1970s. At the outside of the range, born in 1970, she's 10 years older than Harry Potte...	It looks like JKR will never give us the exact age, but almost 100% certainly it wasn't "4 years older than Harry".
How Do Starfleet Sensors Detect Life Signs? Often, in many versions of Star Trek, whoever is working with sensors reports life signs. They can detect life signs on other spaceships and on planets. They're even able to detect what type of life sign it is. (In The Enterprise Incident Checkov is able, with trouble, t...	When used in conjunction with optical and chemical analysis sensors 1 , the lifeform analysis software is typically able to extrapolate a bioform's gross structure and deduce the basic chemical composition.
Why were some lightsaber effects in A New Hope different quality? In the below pictures, you can clearly see the difference of quality, when Luke uses Anakin's old lightsaber, its a pale green, almost pure white blade. Its like George Lucas forgot to send this scene to his cgi team and it never got the visual upgrades ...	I always thought it was meant to indicate a mode of the light saber that was specifically for training, perhaps the blade wasn't as strong and wouldn't slice thru the training globe or a person or whatever else someone not used to a deadly weapon might accidentally hit with it. It is easily the most distracting jump in...
Would an unprotected human exposed to the Martian atmosphere be able to recover? In Total Recall, Arnolds character is exposed to the Martian atmosphere without a spacesuit and recovers. It seems unlikely that anyone could survive, not even Arnold. How long could an unprotected human be exposed to the Martian atmospher...	It is possible that the blood itself would not boil immediately: but all saliva, tears, skin moisture and most importantly the water in the alveoli of the lungs would boil away, which would cause death within a few minutes.
Did Qui-Gon's Force ghost try to contact Darth Vader over the years? If Obi-Wan--who was just a student of the art of being a Force ghost--could readily converse with the living immediately after his death, why couldn't Qui-Gon, who learned the trick himself? Did he ever try to talk to Vader over the years after the in...	So based on this info, Jinn could have communicated with Vader, however Darth may have blocked him out. It would make sense if he knew about the future, as it would then explain that he knew about Luke and thus knew that even though Anakin would become Vader he would redeem himself. From what I feel, Qui-Gon always kne...
Did Darth Sidious send Vader to Mustafar as an indirect way of protecting his own "Sith Master" status and power? Sidious told Vader to go to Mustafar to end the Seperatist movement, but did he know that Obi-Wan would show up and defeat Vader based on his "vision" of future events? Was this Sidious' way of ensuring hi...	After Vader kills the Separatist leaders, his eyes glow yellow (a by-product of using the dark side of the Force). : There is no sign of his body, sir. This menace to his apprentice is new for him, so he cannot have planned it. As long as Anakin survived the encounter it served Sidious's purpose. Sidious wanted Anakin ...
Identifying a story about a hot human and a cold alien Any idea who wrote a short story about a human male who strikes up a relationship with an ultra-cold blooded female alien? They can never touch or communicate, except by intercom from behind protective temperature controlled walls. It seem she speaks a language on...	Heaven , by the same authors, is set in the same universe, but with different characters, in fact depicting different species.
Could the Stargate Program have stolen a DHD from an uninhabited planet? In "48 Hours" they destroy the last functioning DHD on Earth in order to save Teal'c, however at the same time they establish at least a rudimentary knowledge about how to hook up and unhook a DHD device. It has also been proven in many other ti...	Removing a DHD could potentially trap someone who arrived on the world and with no way to effectively survey a world beyond 10 to 15 miles from the gate it wasn't worth the risk. Early in the SG-1 era, it would have been difficult, as you need a ship to transport the DHD, and until the Prometheus Earth didn't have one....
How do Mogwai or Gremlins Drink? When a Mogwai or a Gremlin is exposed to water, it multiplies. But how then do they drink? <Q> <A> The only time we see Mogwai reproduce from water is when it contacts their skin. <S> There is no indication that drinking water (or taking it internally) results in spontaneous reprodu...	They drink on the back, directly from the tap :
How did the Goa'uld develop interplanetary travel? As was pointed out in an answer to " Are Goa'uld naturally evil? ", the Goa'uld were once a fledgling race with the Unas as the only attachment outside of their little pond. However, suddenly this brand new race, and its bronze age level hosts began traveling to dist...	Finding a stargate got them off their home world and gave them access to and insights into advanced technologies, including FTL space travel.
Are there "Aces" in the Star Wars universe? On Earth, when a pilot shoots down 5 or more enemy aircraft, that pilot is called an "Ace". Is the title "Ace" awarded to pilots in Star Wars? <Q> Yep. <S> Details on Wookieepedia <S> but here's the relevant info: <S> The title of ace or space ace was conferred onto a...	Many pilots throughout the history of the galaxy earned the title of ace, with many of them exceeding the minimum number of victories by considerable margins.
Why does Darth Vader raise his prosthetic arm when channeling the Force? Many Force users channel their powers (pull, push, lightning) through their hands. But in the case of Darth Vader, this does not seem to make sense. Because there is nothing there . His limbs are prosthetic and contains no midichlorians. Could th...	The same idea applies to shoving motions when doing a Force Push, and grasping motions to summon a light saber; in each case, what he is doing with the force is a mimicry of what his body is doing. - it may be that the mental signals to perform the gestures are linked to his focus while using the force, and the suit is...
Are Zombies in the Walking Dead flammable? Sometimes zombies are flammable, while other times they are not at all (since they are a big squishy wet blob). Have the zombies in The Walking Dead been shown to be more or less flammable as a living human? <Q> It would appear they burn just as well as normal folk. <S> I put ...	I think that we can safely say that zombies on The Walking Dead TV show are in fact flammable.
What determines whether or not an animagus can retain their clothes? In Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius Black transforms a couple times without any special attention given to his clothes - it's either implied or pretty explicitly presented that his clothes morph with him. When Peter Pettigrew is first revealed, he is full...	Generally wizards prefer to have their clothes Transfigure with them, to escape the embarrassment of reappearing naked.
What was the first story to depict a vampire who does not feed on humans? As I asked the question about whether or not modern day vampires were merely super heroes , it got me wondering: Where is the first depiction of a vampire who does not kill humans? In other words, a vampire who must drink blood to survive, but ...	The vampires in The Saga of Darren Shan don't kill people when they feed on them. Desmond Tiny is responsible for this, as he is responsible for their sterility and being nocturnal.
Were the Middle-earth Wizards born as Wizards? In Middle-earth, Elves were born as Elves, Hobbits as Hobbits, and so on. Were the Wizards born as Wizards, or were they young men that somehow evolved as they matured into Wizards? <Q> Like Raphael says , Tolkien's wizards, called " Istari " by the Elves, were not men bu...	So the Wizards were actually beings that existed before the world and came into it after it's creation, and were not born but made.
Who is the ghost on the back of The Goblet of Fire? On the back cover of the Bloomsbury edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is this picture: Who is the ghost? <Q> The costume definitely reminds me of Nearly Headless Nick. <S> The picture on the cover definitely resembles the description of his costume...	As for which ghost Greenfield wanted to depict, we simply can't say. Given the costume I would assume that it is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington aka Personally, I think his portly demeanour suggests the Fat Friar, but that really is just a guess.
Why did Palpatine wait so long before giving Order 66? Order 66 was used after about 3 years of fighting during the Clone Wars. The primary goal was to wipe out the Jedi. When it was given, the excuse was that there were signs of a Jedi rebellion against the Republic, which was an entirely manufactured reason. If Pa...	By delaying issue of Order 66, he was able to use the Jedi as tools to help eliminate those that stood in the way of his ultimate goal.
Why did the Empire discontinue the clone trooper program? I understand why the Empire would want to start using more than one genetic template to create clone troopers, but why did it start using non-clone troopers instead of just continuing the cloning program? It seems that with cloning they were able to use a train...	Inferiority - The Emperor thought of the clones as inferior beings, so he simply didn't want them to fight what "pure" people could fight. Clones were too expensive (and either too slow to mature or too unstable - take your pick).
Fantasy Novel - Female Protagonist who climbs a tower and encounters magical obstacles before facing off with a wizard I'm trying to remember the title of a fantasy novel I read years ago. I remember reading it in paperback format in the early to mid 90's, so I'm guessing it was written in the 80's or 90's. The prota...	Near the end of the book she climbs a magical tower to fight a wizard.
Are there any important, extraordinary, or accomplished Hufflepuffs? It seems like getting sorted into Hufflepuff is a pat on the head and a kindly expectation that you'll never accomplish much. Has anyone disproved that stereotype? <Q> Adding to freaknsick's answer , there were some other Hufflepuffs those surely ...	Cedric Diggory was a prefect, and captained the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, playing as Seeker .
In which Hogwarts House would each of the Peverell brothers be in? Had the Peverell brothers been at Hogwarts, which house would each of them have been Sorted into? I assume their respective choices of hallows is reflective of their traits and desires. Just so everyone knows which brother had which hallow: Antioc...	I believe he would have been in Ravenclaw. Antioch would have been in Slytherin as he clearly has self interest at heart and had the desire for ultimate power.
Why has the Stargate been kept a secret for so long? The Earth Stargate was first activated in 1945 . According to the in-universe timeline, it has been at least a decade since the events of the Stargate movie and at least nine years since regular operations began at Stargate command. Yet it has been kept a secret. ...	Stargate is a resource whose value is tempting enough to warrant any state (or powerful actors within a state - think NID) with resources to try and obtain it to actually do so.
How come the portkey at the maze didn't transport "at a prearranged time"? In Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, when Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggory are leading a group to the Quidditch World Cup, Mr. Weasly explains: I believe there’s a handy wood they’re using as the Apparition point. For those who don’t want to App...	Almost any inanimate object can be turned into a Portkey.
Are there any supporting Westeros tales apart from the three Dunk and Egg shorts? Having finished the current ASOIAF books, I discovered the three Dunk and Egg shorts and really enjoyed reading about Westeros from a historical perspective, removed (in part) from the ASOIAF narrative. Has George R. R. Martin written an...	The only works not in the Ice and Fire series that are still set in Westeros are the three Dunk and Egg short stories. Blood of the Dragon, based on a Daenerys chapter from A Game of Thrones.
How do Machines Breed Humans in "The Matrix"? Did the Machines in the Matrix use human women to have baby humans, or did they have some type of mechanical womb? It's clear, from the variety of humans we see in the film, that they kept some kind of genetic diversity, but was that intentional? Did the Machines have any...	If the humans are all clones, perhaps they are all genetic variations of only two humans that the machines deemed as exceptional and killed off the rest.
Did Odo create his communicator or hide it? Odo has a working communicator: Is that a part of himself (like his clothes)? Or is it real but he conceals it? I imagine it is the latter (would be hard for him to create) but I don't know if it is ever addressed. <Q> It is real. <S> I remember at least one scene in which...	In the episode " Broken Link ", when Odo is losing control of his shape shifting, there are a couple of shots where you can see his communicator is partially liquefied, indicating it is actually part of him, and not a device.
In Chronicle, what happened to Steve? The last time we see Steve, he was confronting Andrew while flying above some storm clouds. As Andrew became more and more agitated, we see more and more lightning activity in the storm clouds. Right when Andrew seems to lose his temper, it appears that lightning strikes, and n...	The release of the pent up energy of that lightning is what killed Steve once it connected.
Were there other marital relationships besides Anakin and Padme in the Jedi order? There is a vague idea that Obi-wan and Queen of Mandalore had a thing, but this isn't properly addressed in the Clone Wars series AFAIK. But are there other instances of Jedi who go against the order for love/relationships? <Q> Cereans ...	In New Jedi Order, Jedi could marry; matter of fact: Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Siri Tachi fell in love but this did not continue due to Tachi's demise.
Shouldn't Darth Maul's double bladed lightsaber have broken? One question I have had since watching Star Wars Episode 1 on BluRay: When Obi-Wan is dueling Maul after Qui-Gon's death, he hits Maul's lightsaber hilt and cuts it in half. In the movie, one end falls to the ground and the blade vanishes, while Maul continu...	Was mostly a simple design of 2 joined lightsabers connected together at the pommel.
If the brain stem is left intact, does severing the head from a zombie render it harmless, or would it become a lurker? In Romero's zombie lore, destroying a zombie's brain kills the zombie. Merely severing a zombie's spine won't kill them. If you severed the head from a zombie, and the neck was still attatched to the ...	The only thing that will 'kill' a Romero zombie is traumatic damage to the brain.
Do People In the Matrix Feel Anything Their Real Body Feels? When someone is in the Matrix (under normal conditions), do they have any awareness of the sounds their ears would hear in their "real" body? Do they feel any sensations that their real body feels? Bodies are normally kept in tanks where the climate and any...	Given that you see them 'Jack-in' via a jack at the base (more or less) of their skulls, I would guess that the jack short-circuits the regular neural process, although possibly routing the data to the Matrix system, in case of relevance.
Why Was Morpheus So Sure the Oracle Told Him The Truth? When Neo sees the Oracle, she tells him that he's not the One. She also told Morpheus he would find "The One" and told Trinity she would fall in love with The One. Later Morpheus tells Neo that The Oracle told him "what [he] needed to hear." In other words, Mor...	Maybe Morpheus isn't sure the Oracle told him the 100% factual truth. If she tells people what they need to hear, and she tells him that he will find the One, then he may conclude that it is important for him to believe that he will find the One whether or not he actually does so .
Did Time in the Matrix Pass in Real Time? There are some scenes in The Matrix that seem like they take a long time in the Matrix, but not as long in real life. Do people in the Matrix experience events in real time, or is the Matrix time speeded up (or even slowed down)? <Q> Well, operators (outside The Matrix) can ...	Unless you're The One, your brain works exactly the same in The Matrix than in "the real world" -- you can perform fancy stuff inside The Matrix, if you're trained, but your cognitive abilities are the same.
Did the Original Enterprise Have Landing Gear? This is something that's bothered since, well, literally since the 1960s. On the original Enterprise (NCC-1701) there are two long triangular regions marked on the bottom of the saucer section (circled in red in the picture below). I never saw anything documented about...	According to Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise , the original Enterprise had landing gear stored underneath the two triangle-shaped hatches on the ventral side of the saucer. I was able to find confirmation from a production designer, Andrew Probert (who helped design both the refit Enterprise from the films and the ...
Are there vampires and werewolves and aliens in the Matrix? At one point, the Oracle tells Neo: Oh, of course you have. Every time you've heard someone say they saw a ghost, or an angel. Every story you've ever heard about vampires, werewolves, or aliens, is the system assimilating some program that's doing something...	In the current version of the Matrix (current as of the start of the first movie), the machines did not create any monsters or other fantastical elements.
First use of secret identities in comics? After reading some comics today and thinking about one of my previous questions, I was wondering "When was the first use of secret identities in Comics?" The earliest one I can think of is Superman from his 1938 debut, but I can't tell anywhere if this is the first. This is w...	I would still say that even Superman was designed as a weekly strip he is still the first original superhero with a secret identity in comic books.
Are Living Beings Turned Into Horcruxes Suceptible to Age, Disease, or Injury? From the HP books I know that Horcruxes grant a form of immortality. So, it is not possible for someone who created a Horcrux to die from old age or succumb to diseases. I guess the same is true for living beings turned into a Horcrux. But d...	So if a wizard chooses a living object as a Horcrux, the living object, the vessel, is not immune to death, injury, or destruction.
Would Neo Have Been "The One" If He Had Believed He Was? When Neo sees the Oracle, this is part of the conversation: Oracle : But you already know what I'm going to tell you. Neo : I'm not The One..... Oracle : Sorry, kid. You got the gift, but it looks like you're waiting for something... Neo : What? Oracle : ...	In short, Neo does not become The One until he begins to believe in himself (we assume, somewhere toward the end of the film). If in that stage start to belive that is the One with out first discover the power of the One and be able to use it, then it was going to fail as you say also in your question.
Can lightsabers ever bend? Mandalorian Crushgaunt is so resistant to lightsabers, that they can hold/stop lightsaber blades (source: comments on Why did Vader choose to take potshots from Han ). Does that mean with lightsaber resistance armor, that a lightsaber blade can be bent? Perhaps its length would be truncate...	To answer the question in your title, rather than the specific scenario of using lightsaber-resistant materials, yes, it appears that the blade of a lightsaber can be bent using the Force.
Do The Fremen Realize Their Plans Will Destroy Sandworms? On Arakis the Fremen have a deep spiritual regard for the sandworms (and essentially consider them an embodiment of their view of god), but they are also collecting water and saving it, with the idea that one day they can use their water to make Arakis a green p...	Most Fremen probably were so far away from the idea of a desert-less planet that they did not really associate their work of collecting water with the eventual outcome of the end of Sandworms.
Why Do Some Time Lords Use Names (And Why Does The Doctor Keep His Secret)? We know many of the Time Lords by titles, like The Second, and, of course, The Doctor. There's also Time Lords we know by name, like Lady Romana and Rassilon. We also know of some where we know their names and their titles, like The Master (K...	First, it's a personal choice on the part of the Time Lord, which can change during their various life spans.
Why Did Neo Think His Powers Would Work Outside the Matrix? After asking about how Neo could use his powers outside the Matrix , it left me thinking about this from another point of view. While there is a question about how Neo could use his powers outside the Matrix, there is another question that comes with that: H...	Given that the machines were outside agents of the Matrix, perhaps he was simply able to exploit their connection to it.
Where Do Babies Come From (In the Matrix, That Is)? After asking about how the Machines would breed humans , one of the answers raises a related issue in the Matrix universe. People in the Matrix are going to have sex and have children. It's not clear (at least from what I remember) if those in the Matrix are in the...	Now, as for infants created in the Matrix simulation; I suggest when copulation takes place, the machines simply inseminate the host female artificially (while lying in her pod).
Why does Arthur Dent need to bring a towel with him in the film version of "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy"? Ford Prefect instructs Arthur Dent to bring a towel with him before they leave Earth. Why? <Q> To quote from the first book : The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has a few things to say on the subject of to...	For some reason, if a strag (strag: nonhitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit etc., etc.
Are the Nazgûl Harmed by Water? So I'm watching the LOTR trilogy and I'm on Fellowship of the Ring . It seems as if the Nazgûl actively avoid water, such as at the Bucklebury Ferry and the river at Rivendell. Does water harm the Nazgûl or lessen their powers in any way? Or are they just fussy and don't want to get the...	The Nazgul, being wraiths, may fear water, but they are not harmed by water. The Silmarillion states that all water is under the control of Ulmo, the second most powerful of the Valar:
What do wizard children do before attending Hogwarts? Most of the wand-carriers that come from a non-Muggle family seem fairly uneducated when it comes to interacting with Muggles. This implies that they don't go to any type of Muggle school before entering into their education at Hogwarts (or whichever Wizarding scho...	The ones that seem to have no concept of the Muggle world must have been home-schooled.
What other medical options are there in Star Wars As this quote shows, it seems that bacta use has pushed other medical treatments out as obsolete: "Everyone uses Bacta. We've been using it so long, it's replaced most conventional medicine." Did other medical treatments exist? How advanced were they? (No need for...	There are still mechanical protheses for cut off limbs and other parts (see Luke and Vader's hands) where Bacta can't regrow them, and there are known rare cases of allergies against Bacta, so there are as well cybernetic replacements for internal organs (see Tom Phanan ).
What was Euron "Crow's Eye" Greyjoy doing in Valyria? Euron returns to the Iron Islands the day after Balon Greyjoy dies and claims to have sailed all over the world. During his travels he made a trip to Valyria. After reading of A Dance with Dragons I was under the impression that getting into/near Valyria was impos...	It is also not impossible to reach Valyria, just that you are more likely to die than to return.
Is R'hllor, The Lord of Light, the only "real" god? There are a few religions in the world of Ice and Fire: R'hllor, The Old Gods, The Seven, The Drowned God, The Faceless Ones... However, the only religion where we see tangible results are when R'hllor is prayed to. Priests have been shown to raise the dead, see futu...	What we do know is that some characters believe their gods exist.
What age did Dumbledore live to? I have tried to figure this out but I cannot come to a specific conclusion. I am just asking this to confirm my own theory. In Half-Blood Prince , Dumbledore's memory proves that he was the headmaster when Tom Riddle came to ask for a professor's job at Hogwarts. He also tells in the ...	Dumbledore was 116 when he died. Birthdate: 1881 (JKR), probably in July or August. Albus Dumbledore 1881 - 1996 Brilliant and often controversial headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore is most famous for his 1945 defeat of Grindelwald and his steadfast championing of Harry Potter, t...
Why would Supergirl be stronger than Superman? For this question Why is Supergirl so weak? I answered that it wasn't definitive that Supergirl was possibly stronger than Superman. However in Supergirl #6 a Worldkiller says this about her: And it isn't as if the Worldkiller doesn't know about Superman, because just ...	Reign's interest in Supergirl was due to her watching Supergirl from afar and gaining the mistaken impression that Supergirl was stronger than Superman because she fought him and appeared to be winning the conflicts.
Can a Muggle become a potions maker? While potions are very magical in their action, the actual technology of making them seems more like chemistry than magic, assuming one has access to already-provided magical ingredients. If that's the case, can a Muggle who found/was provided with all the right magical ingredients...	As per Rowling herself, the answer is mostly "no". Since a muggle is incapable of performing wanded magic, they would by definition be incapable of brewing a magical potion.
What Is the Difference Between a Wraith, a Wight, and a Ghost? I always heard the terms "ghost" and "wraith" used interchangeably, until I read Lord of the Rings . Clearly the Ring Wraiths are not ghosts, since they interact with the physical world. I also know, in the same work, there are the Barrow-Wights and I've...	In some mythology Ghosts are completely incorporeal unable to affect the physical world, Wights are able to affect the physical world but are mostly mindless (think zombie ghost), and Wraiths are able to affect the physical world and are intelligent and malicious.
How was Rebekah able to enter the Salvatore home? 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 Salvatore house is no longer owned by Elena because if you remember, Elena died in Season 2 and thus now no longer owns the house. All vampires can enter freely into that house.
Do the Jedi deal with non-Force users? In most of the Star Wars media I've seen, it always seems like the Jedi only concern themselves with other Force users. It seems like they only got involved in the Clone Wars because of the Sith influence. Do they ever deal with non-Force users/non-Force based threats? <Q> Of cou...	The Jedi would also work with local police in the course of their investigations if it was warranted.
Are the Grimms Wesen? Are the Grimms, as exemplified by Nick Burkhardt , Wesen (the monster people of the series)? He has demonstrated unusual fighting ability as well as the ability to recognize Wesen and seems to be immediately recognized as a Grimm, in the same way as other Wesen. The powers are also passed on ...	Based on the idea that Wesen are all distinct species (or perhaps sub-species), no, Grimms are not. Grimms are all descended from human knights that participated in the Fourth Crusade, where they found a treasure that apparently needed protecting.
Is There a Cultural Significance to Japanese Monster Movies? After asking a recent story identification question of mine about a film that turned out to be Gamera vs. Gyaos , the answer led me to the term "daikaiju", which, in the Wikipedia, redirected to "kaiju" , which translates to "strange beast," but which, in...	The giant monster can be seen as a metaphor for the devastation, power and lack of control of a nuclear blast.
Who is the first minority superhero in mainstream US superhero comics? This came up after talking with a friend recently. I commented that, with my relative lack of knowledge of comics, I didn't think I had seen any minority superheroes in comics until I saw the Justice League cartoon on Boomerang and realized they ...	The Black Panther, one of the Avengers, was originaly from Wakanda Africa. The Phantom began as a daily comic strip in 1936 (at that time he was the 20th Phantom, the first Phantom took on the role in the 1500's) and he became a world renown fictional hero. DC's next black superhero appeared in Green Lantern #87 publis...
Why did Cobb personally drug Fischer in the air? In Inception when they embark onto the plane, Cobb covertly gives a sleeping drug to Fischer in a glass of water. In the next scene we can see that the air-hostess is also working with them. So why does he have to give the drug secretly when the air-hostess could have do...	A simple mistake by the attendant passing Cobb the drugged glass or a deliberate double cross from someone who might drug him for a reward would ruin the attempt at Inception - leaving him in the USA where he would be arrested.

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