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Did Draco's wand choose him, or was it chosen for him? It is a somewhat common saying, when referring to Harry Potter, that the wand chooses the wizard. Indeed, Ollivander says this twice when Harry buys his wand. So it is curious that when Harry meets Dracro in the shop Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions , Draco ...	Draco's wand served him well, which indicates, I think, that he and his wand were paired up nicely.
Why didn't the Imperials provide air cover to their forces on Hoth? During the ground assault on the Rebel base on Hoth why didn't the Imperials provide air support to their forces? During many battles here on Earth, military units regulary have access to air support, even more so when they control the air directly ove...	Air support wasn't provided for a couple of reasons. The Empire had overwhelming force and were sure to eventually take out the Hoth base. The AT-AT armor was too strong for the air speeders blasters, and the harpoon/tow-cable maneuver used by Luke was a battlefield improvisation.
What makes a planet 'level 5 '? The Doctor states that by the intergalactic law of the Shadow Proclamation seeding a level five planet is illegal ( Partners in Crime ). Besides implying that Earth is level five, what else do we know about level five planets? <Q> According to the Cubical 7 <S> - Dr <S> Who : Adventure...	To the best of my knowledge, planetary levels aren't really standardized throughout Doctor Who.
Why did the original-Earth have continents that resembled the ones on the final-Earth? So in the end of season three I think, when Thrace comes back and says 'I found Earth', the ending zooms out of the galaxy, zooms back in, and I could have sworn I saw Florida, the continental United States, and the gulf of Mexico, a...	I suspect that image was just used because it was a convenient way to show that Earth was "real" in the Galactica universe, without too much thought about the implications.
In the "Hunger Games" series, how long has Snow been president? I've been wondering, how long has President Snow been president when the "Hunger Games" books (or movies) take place? Given the described medical possibilities, a 75-year presidency doesn't seem unreasonable, but is it explicitly mentioned anywhere? <Q> I ...	Snow had been President of Panem for at LEAST 25 years, as it was mentioned that he was presiding over the nation when Haymitch won the 50th Hunger Games (the trilogy takes place with the 74th and 75th Hunger Games, before the second rebellion and the overthrow of the Capitol).
Is there only one R2-D2 droid in the galaxy or were other R2-D2 droids made? I know there are different versions of R2 droids but are there multiples of each version of those droids? In other words were there any other R2-D2 droids manufactured in the galaxy or is there only one? For instance I can have the same model ...	From the various uses in canon, the "R2" part is normally the model number, and the "D2" portion is the serial number.
How many R2 droid units were there according to canon? We know that most Star Wars droids were designated using 4 letters of High Galactic alphabet (which is basically Latin so base 36 including numbers). Then, the upper bounds on named R2 units would seem to be be 36^2=1296 even assuming random 2 letters at the e...	Apparently, there indeed were tons (at least could have been tons) of R2 units to match the size of the Galaxy, because the 4-letter naming scheme was merely a human convention, out of laziness, to pick something to call their droid.
What is written on Darth Vader's Chest control panel? As I said on the blog, I finally went to the Star Wars Identities Exhibition in Montreal . There, I took this photo of Darth Vader's Chest control panel (You could get it in higher resolution here ) : So, what is written under those buttons? <Q> According to ...	It has no meaning and can't be read.
Is the Jumanji board ever recovered? At the end of Jumanji the board game is dumped, but is later shown to show up on a beach somewhere. Is the game ever recovered at all? Does anyone else play it? <Q> And as for the original short story , it appears to be a yes and no - Zathura is the sequel, and according to the s...	Welcome to the Jungle shows that the Jumanji board game was indeed found on the beach, as we see at the end of the first film.
What is the shape of the world of Westeros and do the Westerosi know? For quite some time now I have been asking myself how the world of Game of Thrones is shaped and if the people living in that world know the shape. In questions here on SciFi.Stackexchange concerning the unnatural seasons or the definition of a y...	George RR Martin confirmed in a recent interview that the world of Westeros is round , etc albeit slightly larger than our own.
Why do the Ramans do things in threes? At the end of the first book, And on far-off Earth, Dr. Carlisle Perera had as yet told no one how he had wakened from a restless sleep with the message from his subconscious still echoing in his brain: The Ramans do everything in threes. This may be an obvious question. I ha...	The fact that triple modular redundancy was routine, I think, was meant to inspire awe as the kind of resources they could command, and the reliability of their constructions.
Can the Unforgivable Curses be Done Non-Verbally? Are there any examples of the three Unforgivable curses -- Cruciatus, Imperius, and Avada Kedavra -- being done non-verbally? I checked Half-Blood Prince , chapter 9, The Half-Blood Prince , where Snape holds the sixth years' first Defence class and they begin non-...	However, I could find no evidence of one of the unforgivable curses being done non-verbally, and as they require immense concentration in and of themselves, it is unlikely that any but the most skilled wizards would be able to perform them silently.
Are there humanoid sentient species in Star Trek which eat other humanoid sentient species? Perhaps a gruesome topic, but what are some examples of sentient species which practice cannibalism and/or eat other sentient species (if any)? I added humanoid to the title, in case someone wanted to claim that the Crystalline...	At the end of the episode Tasha implies that the Anticans are about to make a meal of another delegate: While no longer considered to be ST canon, Kzinti were sentient, bipedal, and not at all adverse to eating their sentient meat-eating enemies.
How Did Merope Gaunt Procure a Love Potion? In Half-Blood Prince , in chapter 10, The House of Gaunt , Dumbledore shares a memory with Harry in the Pensieve that introduces Merope Gaunt, Voldemort's mother. Merope's father, Marvolo, is cruel to her and calls her "a dirty squib" and "a disgusting little squib." In the...	As we clearly saw from the example of Harry Potter and the Cheating Textbook of Potions, even a completely mediocre wizard with poor potion-making skills can brew great potions if they have good instructions.
Why would Darth Vader find someone's lack of faith (in the power of the Dark Side) disturbing? I find your lack of faith disturbing - Darth Vader What a great Quote! This inspired his own meme . But does it make any sense? Why would the fact that an officer didn't believe in the force disturb Vader in any way?...	The point is to remind the officer of his intense fear (of both Vader and the Emperor) in order to keep him motivated in a subservient manner. As Vader indicated, the Force is still more powerful than the Death Star -- the Force cannot be destroyed and, while the Death Star can destroy a planet, the Empire owed its exi...
Why is River Song's timeline backwards? When River Song first met the Doctor, it was at the end of her life. Since then, on each occasion, she meets the Doctor a earlier in her own life. Why is this? Is there an in-universe explanation? I would have thought that, since they are time travelers, they can meet in any ...	When they meet at specific historical events in time they have each come from different points in their individual timelines and it is these journeys that are in opposing orders. It makes some sense that the way time moves between them is more rigid, else any Time lord meetings would be chaotic, as one could go back an...
Why did Dumbledore dismiss not saying Voldemorts name to Harry? In the first book I believe Harry is told by Dumbledore something like the name Voldemort holds no power and that people were being fearful and silly for using He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Later on it's revealed that using the name Voldemort actually does mat...	Had the Wizarding World listened to him, and everyone spoke Voldemort's name, the Taboo would have been ineffective in locating Order members or anyone rebelling against Voldemort, because there would be nothing to single those people out.
Why didn't Voldemort hide his Horcruxes in impossible-to-reach places? Nobody knew about his Horcruxes (even Slughorn wasn't 100% sure). But still, there was a small probability that someone could discover his secret. So, he hid his Horcruxes very well. But, there was always a way to get to those Horcruxes. Why didn't...	It was unlikely for them to be run across by accident, and less likely that anyone would know of more than one unless they'd gone digging into Voldemort's past - something that was probably very likely to get you killed, given how he's tried to distance himself from certain aspects of his past. The way I always interpr...
Is Supergirl younger than Superman or older? Today, I have been debating with my girlfriend for this. She says, Supergirl is younger than Superman. And, I say, Nope. According to her, Supergirl wasn't born when Krypton was destroyed. She was born on Agro City which survived Krypton's destruction. Wikipedia says, ...	Like everyone else is saying, it depends on which version of Supergirl you're discussing. It's really just a "pick your preferred version of the truth, for this story has been done in just about any way imaginable"-situation. Brainiac stole the City of Kandor from Krypton before its destruction. She was however, due to...
Why was Crusher replaced with Pulaski who was replaced by Crusher? In season 2 of TNG, Dr. Crusher was replaced with Dr. Pulaski. In season 3, Dr Crusher came back. The best information I can find is "On Star Trek TNG, why was Crusher replaced by Pulaski? And...?" on Yahoo Answers . But there must be better mo...	This quote also says it was due to the staff not liking Pulaski, and both the fans and Patrick Stewart wanted Crusher back on the show. According to Memory Alpha , Crusher was written off the show due to difficulties that the writers were having with her:
Why Did the Triwizard Portkey Return Harry to the Outer Edge of the Maze? [Harry] was looking up at the starry sky, and Albus Dumbledore was crouched over him. The dark shadows of a crowd of people pressed in around them, pushing nearer; Harry felt the ground beneath his head reverberating with their footsteps. He had ...	NominSim's hypothesis is great, but there is another possibility: Portkeys are enchanted for a travel, not a destination : for instance, the Goblet of Fire portkey may have not been enchanted for the graveyard, but for 133,789 miles East, 87,7890 miles South. The Portkey was presumably originally charmed to bring the w...
Do different species in Star Wars find each other sexually attractive? Do members of other species find one another attractive and then have sex with each other? <Q> In short yes. <S> Two relationships that leap to mind immediately are with the Twi'lek Nawara Ven and Human Rhysati Ynr in the X-Wing series as well as...	one of jabbas dancers is half human half theelin, zeltron girls are often sexually attracted to human men, ahsoka tano and lux bonteri seem interested in each other in the clone wars also, delia blue flirts with cade skywalker, dexter jetster even has a robot wife!
Is it possible for so many technologies to cease working? In the show Revolution , the world suffers a global blackout. However, the extent of this catastrophe goes far beyond a collapse of electrical grids. Any device that uses electricity stopped functioning (e.g. mobile battery-powered devices). Internal combust...	You can neither create electricity, nor convert any kind of physical effort INTO electricity.
What marked the end of Tolkien's fourth age? I keep running across the following quote from Tolkien's Letter #211 concerning the time between the destruction of the ring at the end of the third age and the present day: I imagine the gap to be about 6000 years: that is we are now at the end of the Fifth Age, if the Ag...	In a Biblical sense, the Exodus from Egypt and death of Christ could be candidates.
Why is the Rebel Alliance so tiny? The Galactic Republic and then Empire is huge, containing (I think) hundreds of thousands of star systems which would each have millions to billions of sentient inhabitants. Despite this mind boggling size, the Rebel Alliance, particularly in ANH and ESB appears to consist of at mos...	As we see especially clearly in Rebels , the problem is mostly that the population has been so dominated and intimidated by the Empire that, even though they hate it, most people are not able and/or willing to take up arms themselves to actively fight it (they are just too full of fear). There might as well be an IRL a...
Did the pure Daleks survive? In 'Victory of the Daleks' we see the pure Daleks being created: However in 'Asylum of the Daleks' we see their parliament: They're very different. Did the 'pure' ones not survive? Did they change colours? What's going on! <Q> Those Daleks are indeed represented at the parliament. <S>...	Davros was brought out of the Time Lock by Caan, and using his own body cells (showing exposed bones on his chest as he explains), he grew a new breed of Daleks.
Why did Celeborn not go with Galadriel? Galadriel and Celeborn are a strange couple, that's sure. But is there some reference to the reasons why Celeborn doesn't leave for the Grey Havens (which he will do, sooner or later even if we don't know when) together with his Queen? <Q> You're right that we don't know exactly ...	He was a Sinda, so he loved Middle Earth, and didn't really have the longing to go to the Blessed Realm that Galadriel and the other High Elves did.
Could the Horcruxes be destroyed with Avada Kedavra? In The Deathly Hallows Hermione says this about destroying Horcruxes: “It doesn’t have to be a basilisk fang,” said Hermione patiently. “ It has to be something so destructive that the Horcrux can’t repair itself. Basilisk venom only has one antidote, and it’s...	I believe that Avada Kedavra can destroy a torn soul; however, it is a very case sensitive scenario applying only on Harry and Voldemort.
Why would Voldemort break Lucius' wand if he wanted to borrow it? In the movie HP7 Part 1, Voldemort takes Lucius' wand in the dining room scene at the beginning of the movie. He then breaks it and asks about the core. Voldemort: Do I detect Elm? Lucius: Yes, my lord Voldemort: (breaks wand) And, the core... I...	He didn't break the wand; if he had, the wand wouldn't have worked correctly, which it did until Voldemort tried to kill Harry during the Seven Potters scene, at which point it shattered from the force of the magic from Harry's wand.
What is Spock's full name? What is Spock's full, allegedly unpronounceable name? (And no, I don't mean Dr. Benjamin McLane Spock. I mean the son of Sarek.) <Q> From memory-beta: Spock's full name was revealed in TOS novel: Ishmael . <S> In TOS episode: "This Side of Paradise", Spock said that his full name was u...	Spock's full name is S'chn T'gai Spock .
Under what circumstances has The Doctor justified himself in killing unnecessarily? In Doctor Who Episode 2 of Series 7, Dinosaurs in a Spaceship, the Doctor chooses to leave Solomon on the spaceship which is about to be destroyed, allowing him to die. The obvious alternative would be to send the spaceship out unmann...	Those who slaughter others, in his eyes, deserve to die.
Why are so many Earth cultures found across the Star Trek galaxy? The original Star Trek seems to encounter many planets with Earth related cultures: A Piece of the Action - 1920s gangster culture Bread and Circuses - Romans Paradise Syndrome - Native Americans Patterns of Force - Nazis I seem to remember m...	Maybe the cultures saw snippets of our transmissions long ago and decided to use them as templates on the assumption that a society beaming images of itself around the galaxy must be a good one to emulate.
Is the Alice at the end of "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" a clone? In the film Resident Evil: Apocalypse , we see Alice take a serious chunk of shrapnel during her helicopter escape from Raccoon City. Did she die? Is the Alice that Carlos Olivera and Terri Morales rescued at the end of Resident Evil: Apocalypse actual...	I think she survived and that she's the real Alice.
Why did John Henry need a Terminator chip? Spoiler for the last episode ( Season 2 Episode 22: Born to run ) of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles . At the very end, Cameron gives her chip to John Henry and he time-travels to the future, leaving her body and his original hardware there. Why did he need her chi...	Cameron's chip is faulty which is what made her unique as a Terminator; this damage has apparently allowed the development of emotion and empathy
Why Did Dumbledore Let Harry Give the Remains of the Diary Horcrux to Dobby? J.K. Rowling confirms that Dumbledore knew the destroyed diary was the remains of a Horcrux; JKR: "In essence divided," exactly, the "essence" being the soul. So Dumbledore knew all along that he must have- well, he suspected until Chamber ...	Dumbledore had gleaned everything he needed to know about it from Harry's story, that it might have been a Horcrux. What the heck - let Harry do whatever he wants with it. The diary, at this point, was just a piece of junk.
Did the Doctor ever meet Brian Williams before the Dinosaurs? In Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, the Doctor does not seem to recognize Brian Williams (Rory's dad). How is that possible? Wasn't the Doctor at the Ponds' wedding? <Q> He was never specifically mentioned as being there or missing it, either way. <S> The Doctor ...	The actor was not, so Brian was either not on camera at the wedding or they changed the actor who played him (if he was present).
What happens to the people inside when the TARDIS is tilted? If the TARDIS is turned upside down or is laid horizontally, what happens to the contents - including people? Does the TARDIS up / down orientation change? Or does it have an artificial gravity so that internal down is always down as experience by those on b...	Every room in the TARDIS apparently has it's own gravitational controls. The people inside are thrown about.
For how long was Darth Vader alone in space? Darth Vader's TIE fighter was spun out into space at the end of Ep.IV and I always wondered how long it took him to limp into a space station or back to some civilization. I imagined his suit being the only thing that kept him alive in the cold dark of space - where others m...	According to C-canon, Vader made it in his damaged TIE Advanced/x1 fighter (which posessed hyperdrive) to Imperial Relay Outpost V-798 (nearest Imperial post to Yavin). Therefore, the only thing that can be said was that Vader was in space at most between 9 and 25 days, but could be as little as 1.
Was there ever a queen for Melkor? I am reading for the first time the Valaquenta. It mentions right at the beginning the seven Lords and Queens of the Valar (the Valiers). Melkor is excluded from the count of the Lords and from the numbers of the Valar: but I wonder if there ever was a Queen for him. Who knows, being ...	No, there was no Queen for Melkor, though he was not alone in that. Strictly speaking, "Queen" is just a title
Does the front door of the TARDIS always open up to the control room? In all of the episodes of Doctor Who that I've seen the TARDIS' front door opens up to the control room. However, it would seem that given the TARDIS' capabilities it would be possible for the door to open up to any internal space within the TARDIS...	The TARDIS has at least one alternative control room - as seen for a whole sequence of storylines in the Tom Baker period:
Do Wizarding Photographs Kept in Muggle Homes Violate the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy? Obviously Wizarding homes can be chock full of magical and enchanted items, devices and potions and not violate the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. As well, many Wizarding families eschew any kind of Muggle...	No it would not violate the Statue.
Are "agenothree" flame-throwers ever described as igniting the liquid? Reading Anne McCaffrey's Dragonrider novels back in the day, I always pictured the "agenothree" flame-throwers borne by the queen riders as spraying flame at the falling thread. Later in the series, it is revealed that "agenothree" is really HNO3, ...	: If I am reading correctly, the books ALL imply that the HNO3 was not just sprayed as a mist/vapour (although it WAS used as a liquid in AWOP to erode the anti-matter engines) but was ignited to produce flame. The first mention of agenothree is in Dragonsdawn:
In Doctor Who S6, who are The Silence, really? ===== minor Season Six Spoilers ===== So in the beginning of Season Six of Doctor Who, we meet a species that's been controlling earth's development for centuries... the funny creatures with the big heads, no mouths, who make you forget them as soon as you no longer see t...	"The Silence" (The Kovarian chapter) were a cult within the Silents, who went back in time to stop the Doctor, so as to avoid the events of Trenzalore altogether.
How do you make a combine soldier? In the half-life series, post seven-hour war, earth or at least part of it is beset by an alien force the combine, who use a modified transhuman creature that serves as the main enemy. How are they made? Bred? Forcibly changed in some kind of factory, or is it more of a chemical proc...	Assuming you mean the human-based soldiers when you refer to "Combine soldiers" (properly known as "Overwatch soldiers") - they are originally fully human, who are then modified with bio-tech and mechanical augmentation and "programmed".
How is "tekeli - li" pronounced? In At The Mountains Of Madness the "piping sound" of the shoggoths is transcribed as "tekeli - li". This has always bothered me, as I have no idea how to imagine that sound as piping or whistling. How is "tekeli - li" pronounced (if that is meaningful at all)? <Q> The real answer: <S> L...	In my mind it started really low with a sort of "fuzzy" or "filmy" v sort of sound (Poggle the Lesser) for the "Te" syllable.
Do benders have to bend parts of their body to bend the elements? I have noticed that in Avatar the last airbender, everyone seemingly has to move a body part to bend an element. Do they have to even move? And why? For instance, Katara can be on land and use a nearby water source so is there some psychic connection? <...	Certain benders are able to effectively manipulate their element with very minimum bodily movement, such as only their head.
Movie featuring a little girl and cyborgs, with an old -west feel Back in the 90's I remember watching a late-night movie on one of the networks. The story took place in an arid, post-apocaliptic future. The plot revolved around a little girl who befriended a cyborg killing machine. The cyborg killing machine spent th...	He later rescues Nea by killing the cyborg Simon.
First-person fantasy novel, protagonist at different stages: in an army, retreating from the world, others I'm struggling to remember/identify a fantasy story I read, probably 10+ years ago. From memory, it was written in first person narrative and/or memoir style. The protagonist went through various stages, at one ...	It sounds a bit like Michael Moorcock's Hawkmoon books - at the start of the first series ( The History of the Runestaff ), Hawkmoon is captured by his enemies and has a device implanted in his skill, with which they intend to force him to work for them; subsequently, he becomes one of the commanders of their enemies. ...
Are all Starfleet officers trained pilots? It seems like every officer I've ever seen on the show is also a skilled pilot, with each more skilled than the last. Is pilot training a requirement at Starfleet academy? Or is piloting a space ship as common place as driving a car? <Q> In the episode <S> "The First Duty" ...	The short answer is yes all Starfleet officers would require flight training and be pilots.
Why Did Colin Creevey's Muggle Camera Work at Hogwarts? Hermione says in Goblet of Fire : ‘All those substitutes for magic Muggles use – electricity, and computers and radar, and all those things – they all go haywire around Hogwarts, there’s too much magic in the air.' Goblet of Fire - pages 475-476 - Bloomsbury ...	Wizards do not need electricity to make these things work; they function by magic, but in the case of such objects the wizards liked the Muggle invention enough to appropriate the idea without adding cumbersome plugs/batteries.
identifying sci-fi novel about color-coded highways of the future. I remember reading a short novel in the mid nineties, though I think it was probably written a few years before. It was based in the near future and revolved around the crew of a police vehicle that patrolled the "super highways" of the future. A few...	It's definitely Code Three, but there seems to be a (longer) short story, and a later (short) novel that expanded on the story.
Is Vaarsuvius male or female? Is there anyway to guess at Vaarsuvius's gender? I know the author has stated he won't give it away, but is it perhaps likely that there are hints, and indicators I may have missed in the comics. Is it possible to tell? Or is it not? <Q> Vaarsuvius's gender is intentionally ambiguous; i...	Keep in mind that while certain other characters might refer to V as being male or female, that simply reveals their perception, not the actual reality of the situation.
Is Middle-Earth a time, or is it a place? I was looking at the map of Middle-Earth and it made me wonder. Does Middle-Earth refer to the time frame in which the LOTR stories took place, or does it refer to the area in which the LOTR tales unfold? To help clarify what I'm asking: Is the rest of Tolkiens' unmapped world ...	Middle-earth is the name for the parts of the world in Tolkien's universe where men lived.
Collection of YA horror short stories late 80s early 90s called "Chills" or "Shivers" I am looking for a series of books from the late 80's early 90's. There were at least 2 books in the series, called "Shivers" or "Chills". They were a collection of horror stories for Young Adults. I used to borrow them from my local ...	The third book, called Scary Stories 3: More Tales To Chill Your Bones , was published in 1991.
Why are planets not self sufficient enough to support their population? It seems whenever the Trade Federation blockades a planet from trade, the inhabitants suffer greatly. Frequently running out of food and even water. This even happens on the home worlds of some species. Do these species rely so heavily on trade tha...	If a planet has a booming economy from off-planet trade (let's say they export minerals and import food & water), it could easily become dependent on that income to sustain a population greater than the natural food & water supplies available on the planet.
Did Obi-Wan sense Darth Sidious at the beginning of Phantom Menace? At the beginning of The Phantom Menace , Obi-Wan remarks that he has a bad feeling, not about the mission, but something else elusive. Is it Sidious? <Q> " I have a bad feeling about this " is a running gag in Star Wars franchise. <S> Linked Wikia a...	Sidious appears shortly after on-screen and is revealed as the character who is masterminding the Trade Federation invasion/giving orders.
Why did they shoot fireballs at Katniss, and was it cheating? Why did the gamemakers shoot fireballs at Katniss and was it cheating? I thought that the fight was between the players not the organizers. <Q> The books explain it. <S> It's not cheating, it's a way to ensure the games are interesting for the viewers. <S>...	When katniss started to run away from the fire the game maker put fireball to make it more fun to the audience, which burns katniss leg and into the career pack. It was not cheating, in my opinion, because their intent was not to kill her but to bring her within the proximity of the other tributes.
Are there any resources for recipes from the Star Trek universe? The Star Trek universe has many displays or references to some exotic and interesting foods from alien cultures. Some interesting examples include: Hasperat Niccel Strips Chech'tluth And who can forget classics like... Gagh Saurian Brandy Romul...	There are a number of one-off receipes on the internet for people who invented their own versions for the more popular foods mentioned on the show, particularly Klingon.
What happened to Seneca Crane at the end of the movie? At the end of the movie we are shown a bowl with berries in it and Seneca Crane looked like he was locked in a room with them and was supposed to eat them. Did he eat them? Why did that happen? <Q> Seneca Crane, the Head Gamemaker, was the one responsible for ...	Locking him in a room with the same poison berries is Snow's way of telling Crane: "You'll be taking your own life, taking responsibility for the fiasco, and thus shifting it away from me".
Why did Tony Stark keep the electromagnet in his chest? The ARC reactor and electromagnet chest piece are originally there to prevent pieces of shrapnel from piercing his heart. That happens because he was fixed by a Chinese/Afghan doctor who doesn't have anything else to do it properly. However, when he got back to t...	After finally healing from having his arc removed, Tony would have a vulnerable spot above his heart where his ribs used to be. There's also another purpose to remind himself of his savior and "creator", his reason becoming Iron Man. The chest piece also serves a purpose for the story and character. Now IRON MAN 3 has ...
Pre-1985 sci-fi/cyberpunk-ish book about a man who can't adapt to the widespread implant technology interfacing its user with an Internet of sorts I'm trying to find a sci-fi book written before 1985. It's set in the (then) near future, which is a kind of Blade Runner -esque cyberpunk-ish setting in which everyone ha...	The date would set this as very early cyberpunk. A lot of cyberpunk could be described as “ Blade Runner -esque”, and the basic plot of having a hero who cannot fully participate in the cyber society is a fairly common one, so there isn't much to go on.
Are there any works of fiction canon in the Harry Potter Universe? There are some works of fiction which treat other works of fiction as canon (for example, the race of E.T. in Star Wars). Are there any works of fictions (from a different author, of course) which are treated as canon in the Harry Potter universe? I t...	According to Pottermore, Merlin apparently has existed in HP canon (and belonged to house Slytherin).
What does Bruce Wayne fear? Bruce Wayne, or Batman, lives in the face of danger. Fighting criminals in the shadows and facing super villains such as the Joker, Two Face or even Mr. Freeze. What did he fear? Did he get over his fear of bats? <Q> In Knightfall , Batman is dosed by the Scarecrow's fear gas in (Batman ...	Bruce Wayne or Batman say that they (he) does fear death.
In Looper, how does Sara know about loopers? When young Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is explaining himself to Sara (Emily Blunt), she asks him if he's a looper. Does she know about loopers? If so, how? Could it also be that Joe mentioned/explained loopers off screen, or did I just miss a piece of dialogue? <Q> No, you...	Loopers, their lifestyles, their specific technology (the blunderbuss) and how they make a living seem to be an urban legend with enough substantiated fact, people simply accept it as a matter of course.
Why didn't the empire check for life forms on the Millennium Falcon? Yestrday I watched "A New Hope" again. I noticed that at the beginning, when R2-D2 and C-3PO escape in the escape pod, the empire checks for life forms on the pod, and finds there are none. Later, when the Millennium Falcon is pulled by the Death Sta...	After all it's obviously been a hideaway officials haven't found yet (while smuggling). They did scan the ship: As such, the goal that Vader and Tarkin had was in no was served by actually finding and killing the smugglers on the Falcon.
How could Chihiro tell that none of the pigs were her parents? In Spirited Away, Chihiro is tested to identify her parents from a group of pigs. Chihiro answers that none of them are. Good. But how did she come to that conclusion? Surely it made sense to say that none of them were her parents (they're pigs, after all ...	She was able to identify (or fail to, in this case) her parents because they were her parents, and there was a significant bond; had there not been one, she would have failed, and deserved to fail, as they weren't significantly a family.
Why does a Looper have to kill his older self? One thing I’m not clear on from the movie is- Why a Looper has to kill his older self. Wouldn’t it be more reliable to have someone else in the past kill them instead? Is there anything behind this? <Q> In an interview with Slashfilm , the director, Rian Johnson, addr...	A Looper killing his older self signifies that his time as a Looper is done, he can retire. They are paid well by essentially something like the mob.
Where was the TARDIS made? In the Angels Takes Manhattan before the Doctor meets up with River he looks into something that looks like a mirror to fix his hair and then it comes into focus: Does that mean the TARDIS was made by Rolls-Royce or was it just showing that the TARDIS has some Rolls-Royce pieces in it? <Q> ...	An important scene in the episode features The Doctor and Idris building a TARDIS from what looks like complete junk from literally anything they could find laying about. It's a 12-cylinder boat engine manufactured by Rolls Royce under license from Foden .
Did Qui-Gon Jinn's Force Ghost communicate to Obi-Wan Kenobi post-RotS? Did Qui-Gon Jinn's Force Ghost communicate to Obi-Wan Kenobi post-RotS? Yoda-"An old friend has learned the path to immortality. One who has returned from the netherworld of the force, your old master." Obi-Wan Kenobi-"Qui-gon?" Yoda-"How to ...	From the Disney canon novel, From A Certain Point of View , Qui-Gon visits his former padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi as a force ghost after Luke and Kenobi discover the stormtroopers' slaughter of the Jawas in Episode IV: A New Hope.
How rare are untouchables in the Warhammer 40k universe? I've been lead to believe that in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, untouchables - those who are psychic blanks, and act to cancel psychic powers - are very rare. However in two separate series the main character has a friend/companion/awkward love interest who is a...	The Soulless are very rare in the galaxy since perhaps only one person on an entire world will be a carrier of the gene in every human generation. The numbers of Untouchables is sufficient the Imperium employs them in a variety of support fashions and even created entire armies out of them at one time.
When were fixed points in time first introduced? The 11th doctor seems to address the idea of fixed points (creating them, changing them, etc) far more then previous Doctors. Is this a recent thing, or has fixed points always been a "thing" in Doctor Who? The first time I can recall it ever being mentioned is the Fir...	There is something in the classic Doctor Who series about fixed points.
What is the name of the Goa'uld species? It is strongly implied, or even stated explicitly over the course of the series that Goa'uld is not a species name, but the name of a race or faction within the species, with Tok'ra being another subdivision of similar nature. Does what the Goa'uld and Tok'ra have in common hav...	However though it is apparent that neither Goa'uld nor Tok'ra satisfactorily represents the name for the entire species, Goa'uld for all intents and purposes is the name of the species.
Are most Star Wars characters illiterate? Update Someone randomly upvoted this and so it came back to my attention. Recently in Bloodlines (Star Wars), a canon novel, I read this: Leia settled into her chair, picked up her napkin--and stopped. Something was written on the paper streamer on plate. Actual writing. ...	However, I think it is likely within certain populations that entire groups of people were illiterate.
Were there ever any depictions of non-android robots in any Star Trek episode or movie? Possible Duplicate: Why are there so few robots in Star Trek? I would say that the relative lack of onscreen robots had to do with show budgets, but even some of the cheesiest science fiction shows have depicted them quite comm...	Two more are Satan's Robot on Voyager's holodeck in Night and "Automated personnel unit 3947" together with a whole robot race from Voyager's Prototype . I don't recall seeing any robot-like machines that move on the ground, either by walking or using wheels, as most robots in other shows usually do.
In Star Trek: Insurrection did the reasoning make sense? Why didn't the Son'a want to share the planet with the Ba'ku? The admiral seemed to agree the only option was to move the Ba'ku? <Q> The Son'a were exiled from the Ba'ku planet after their hostile takeover failed 100 years previous. <S> The Son'a were using the...	The Son'a hated the people on Ba'ku - mostly because the Son'a had fallen from paradise and were angry about that. The Son'a are too far gone for the normal affects of the planet to work for them. This seems to make sense. They are also the only ones with the technology to be able to extract special radiation.
Do people normally own more than one wand? Is there any canon information in Harry Potter that proves one way or another whether a wizard always owns only one wand as a matter of routine? What I am talking about is a wizard buying and owning one wand and also a second wand (for backup, or simultaneous use, or separa...	In Pottermore, when you get your wand, it's mentioned that there are regulations by the Ministry for Magic regarding the purchase of wands.
Why doesn't the Federation have a law for genocide? In The Survivors , Picard makes the following statement towards Kevin Uxbridge: We are not qualified to be your judges. We have no law to fit your crime. You're free to return to the planet, and to make Rishon live again. That sounds like a gigantic cop-out; Fir...	Such an act is so far outside their realm of possibility that they never drafted a law against it.
Can a Person Be Chosen By More Than One Wand? A spin off of Do people normally own more than one wand in Harry Potter ? wherein it's asked whether there are any canon examples of a witch or wizard owning more than one wand for practical reasons. As DVK 's question doesn't specify regarding The wand chooses the wiz...	If you think about it, everyone seems to be chosen by a wand in the Potter universe.
Was Aragorn's First Language Elvish? Aragorn was taken to Rivendell by his mother when he was two years old; presumably he lived in Rivendell for some time, as in one of the Peter Jackson movies he mentions to, I believe, Éowyn that he was raised there. Was Elvish Aragorn's first language? Or did he speak another lan...	The only thing we can say with certainty is he was fluent in Westron, and knew a significant amount of Elvish, likely being fluent in that as well. Note that adoption at age 2 does develop near-native fluency, but still typically results in some minor phonemic deficiencies.
Book where a girl's reflection tricks her into swapping places? I could have sworn the book was one of the Goosebumps series but I can't seem to find it. The book was about this girl who didn't like how she looked and one day she looked in the mirror and her reflection started talking to her. The reflection wanted to b...	--it wound up being "Mirror Mirror on the wall" by RL Stine.
What was the first depiction of China as a future superpower? There is a recent trend to portray China as the future's next dominating superpower / rulers of the world or other things among these lines. They have been in the news in the last couple of years, with a rising economy and population but I believe the trend ...	Hans Dominiks 1923 "Die Spur of Dschingis Kahn" (roughly: "In the footsteps of Genghis Khan") has China (or rather the newly forged "Great Heavenly Empire" including China, Mongolia and Japan) duking it out for World domination with an Alliance of the European states and Russia. Earlier writers who "warned" against the...
What does "anti-midian" mean for Hellsing's Victoria Seras' signature weapon Harkonnen? Hellsing ARMS Anti-Midian Cannon 'Harkonnen'. What does "Anti-Midian" mean? <Q> A long time ago there was a movie called "Nightbreed" directed by Clive Barker. <S> Clive Barker is the guy who made the "Hellraiser" series. <S> This...	But in general "anti-midian" probably refers to any creatures that are against humanity, and Hellsing's objective to stop monsters from populating the Earth.
What was the first SciFi work that theorized that Homo Sapiens were seeded on Earth by intelligent aliens? What was the first SciFi work that theorized that Homo Sapiens were seeded on Earth by intelligent aliens (as opposed to all the other Earth species which evolved separately)? The earliest one I can think of was...	"The Judgment Day in the Moon" , a short story by Walter Malone , included in his collection The earliest of which I'm aware is James P Hogan's Inherit the Stars (1977). A ship full of the useless members of another planet are shipped off and crash land on Earth, where they eventually usurp the native population. L. Ro...
What was the monster in Deep Rising supposed to be? If it is nothing more than "generic monster cooked up for bad B-movie", I can settle for that. Please provide an explanation of how it can only be such. If there is more to it (and the characters do hint at it in a few places in the movie) please explain it. http://...	Vampire squid is what it's called, it looks actually like that creature in Deep Rising, except mutated. This creature doesn't seem to have any bones.
What time period is "Batman: The Animated Series" set in? I've been re-watching "Batman: The Animated Series" (still as awesome as ever!) and I'm confused on what time period it's set in. The cars, buildings, and clothing imply that it's mid-twentieth century but Batman has advanced technology in the bat cave which mak...	There are dirigibles and helicopters, so it mixes and matches technology from a range of modern eras ranging from the 40s to the 90s. Overall I like to think it's set in the fifties, and the dialogue is intentionally written to reflect the common lingua franca of the era.
If the Sentry's powers are limitless, can he truly be killed? Many references I've read about The Sentry say his powers are limitless and no one actually know what he can't do. So my question is he can truly be killed? In Seige, Thor kills him with a massive bolt of electricity then used the sun to destroy what was...	So it seems unlikely that lightning from Thor will be a final death for him in Siege #4 .
Why did the Engineer eat the alien substance? In the opening scene of Prometheus , do we know why the alien eats the thing that kills him? The alien looks at his spaceship and then eats the thing that modifies his DNA after killing him. <Q> This is described on the Prometheus <S> Blu-Ray's extras section, in the c...	The Lone Engineer at the beginning of Prometheus drank the black liquid in order to seed Earth with intelligent life.
Was Lando trying to warn off our heroes? It's funny how after having seen it a hundred times, all these years later, I keep finding new things in the Star Wars Trilogy. It never occurred to me until the other day why the Millenium Falcon received such a chilly welcome to Cloud City - because Lando was hoping that they ...	He probably was chilly so Han and the others wouldn't be suspicous.
How did Jake Sully arrive in time? In Avatar, Jake Sully is the paraplegic marine brother of a scientist who had been working on the Avatar program. Jake was needed as his brother had died, and only a similar genetic match would work with his brother's Avatar. My question is, how long did it take for the message to go...	An interpretation: Jake's brother was a scientist, and would have gone to Pandora with the expectation of being part of the science program, which the film implies was looking somewhat rosier in the past, with better relations between the humans and the Na'vi and the probable expectation that the humans would have been...
How does the Room of Requirement work? How does the Room of Requirement work? Yes, I know it's magic, but is the Hogwarts castle itself sentient? <Q> When Neville in DH was hiding there and running out of food, the room responded by creating a NEW passage from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade, to Aberforth Hog's Head inn. <S> Not...	There is at least one piece of evidence that it is somewhat sentient.
In Arrow, is John Diggle's name a reference to Andy Diggle? Has it been confirmed either way if the character John Diggle 's surname is a reference to Andy Diggle who wrote the Green Arrow Year One mini series? <Q> Most likely yes. <S> In fact they make reference to Andy Diggle at least once. <S> They refer to John ...	But to answer your question, yes, John Diggle and his brother's surname is a direct reference to the real life Andy Diggle.
When/How would Star Trek captains update their log? Frequently during episodes of Star Trek: TNG, we would hear Captain Picard (or sometimes other characters) read out his log entries. It was fairly apparent that out-of-universe this was often intended to provide context and reminders of the plotline after commercial b...	In Star Trek the Captain's log, a form of ship's log, is used to fill in the audience as to the events in progress, and acts as a more realistic form of soliloquy.
The cliche science fiction glass tube filled with liquid and a person floating in it, what do you call it? For nearly every other science fiction trope there is a name. A movie where the heroes travel faster than light, whether they actually name the mechanism or not, will be called subspace/warp/hyperspace. Even the b...	They capitalize on the creepy factor of humans in jars, that (for a long time) people associated with biological experiments and medical oddities. Wikipedia has a list of many of the Artificial Uteri in fiction.
What was the intention of Dr. Lanning in I, Robot? In the movie I, Robot , Dr. Lanning created Sonny (the humanoid robot protagonist) with a thicker alloy and a second positronic brain that could bypass its link to VIKI. He also gave Sonny dreams and autonomous thinking. Why didn't he just ask Sonny to go and destroy...	In universe it's assumed that VIKI is "powerful" enough to disrupt any direct attempts to kill her via direct action so that the presence of a human is necessary for Sonny to actually understand why VIKI's logic is flawed.
Have the Tau ever allied with Space Marines or Eldar? In the 6th edition rule book for Warhammer 40K, it states that Tau consider (and vice versa) Space Marines and Eldar to be battle brothers. The only encounter I know the Tau have had with Space Marines is during the Damocles Assault (?) where the Tau helped Sp...	The Tau also briefly allied with the Ultramarines on Dolumar IV during the events of Fire Warrior (both the game and novel) against Chaos.
Why didn't Hermione use "Accio" spell to get the correct key in Philosopher's Stone? "They're not birds!" Harry said suddenly. "They're keys! Winged keys -- look carefully. So that must mean..." he looked around the chamber while the other two squinted up at the flock of keys. "... yes -- look! Broomsticks! We've go...	Accio only works on inanimate objects
Death of the younger version of a Looper The first time we see an older Looper who is not properly killed, they do that horrific thing where they carve a message into his arm about his needing to go to an address, and then begin surgically removing body parts to get him to obey. Yet later in the film when Joe ...	It isn't portrayed explicitly this way in the film but there could also be a psychological angle to it. This means that they will be more dogged in killing their older selves and there will be less chance of future escape attempts.
Why did the Science Officer not get chosen for the mission to the alien spacecraft? After the Nostromo detects a signal from a potentially intelligent alien, the crew are arguing what to do about it. Most of the crew want to ignore it and return home, but Ash (Science Officer)reminds them that they signed a contract i...	It is unlikely that Ash would be able to do any serious scientific research out of the ship.
Why does Cylon number 6's back glow in episode 1? In episode one, when Baltar is seduced by what turns out to be a Cylon in the form of a human, the Cylon's spine glows red and shines through her skin. Was this just a special effect for the benefit of the TV audience? Do any or all of the other human looking Cylons in ...	In short, the " glowing spine " thing wasn't retconned, it just wasn't something that came up again (much). Potentially the fact that these Cylons were expressing love to humans cause this abnormal appearance to manifest itself. The most likely explanation is probably as you put it "just a special effect", which is bac...
Why did Remus and Sirius fight in Prisoner of Azkaban (werewolf vs. dog)? In Prisoner of Azkaban , Remus Lupin tells Harry, Ron, and Hermione that werewolves are dangerous only to humans: ‘They couldn’t keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals,’ said Lupin. ‘A werewolf is only a danger to people...	It was likely a combination of human emotion and animal instinct causing what could be described as bloodlust; Sirius was the first target of opportunity (likely by design) and he fixated on him while ignoring everybody else. Sirius was trying to protect his godson, and (Harry's) friends.

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