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What's the reason for the purple hair on the British 1969-70 television series "UFO"? At the moonbase, the control center personnel (mostly women) wore purple wigs. Is there a reason for this? <Q> Gerry Anderson was the producer and his wife, Sylvia Anderson, did the costume design. <S> The wigs were her idea. <S> ...	Wigs were part of the Moonbase uniform for women so their hair would not float around and the wigs were made of material that would not respond to static electricity. In science fiction movies and TV shows that are set in the future, a major goal for designers of sets, props, costumes and make-up is to give the show a ...
How big is the Matrix? Does it contain the whole universe (whether obeying physics laws as we know it or not)? Or, is it just limited to solar system & fake EM radiations coming from outside? I was just wondering how machines would manage to process detailed simulations of infinite astronomical bodies (which looks i...	If you're on your own in a room, the Matrix is as "big" as that room so far as you're concerned.
What are the death-handles for? Each time a victim bites the dust in The Cabin in the Woods , Steve Hadley (one of the senior technicians) uncovers a handle and pulls it: This triggers a small hammer to break an outlet below the observation room. A red liquid (presumably blood) runs out and onto the stone tablets....	Based on a Q&A with the film's director , We can confirm that they're releasing human blood "
Why were Death-Eaters called Death-Eaters? Why are Death-Eaters called Death-Eaters? What does their name mean? <Q> Voldemort sees this as the sign of ultimate power, which is his foremost goal; to be the most powerful sorcerer ever. <S> Obviously, killing (directing Death toward others) is easy; it's preventing Dea...	Voldemort's followers were called "Death Eaters" because one of Voldemort's key goals was to use magic to fully control Death, directing its powers at Voldemort's sole command.
The Gods Themselves: role of the second part? I recently finished "The Gods Themselves" by Isaac Asimov. While I enjoyed the whole book I was thinking about role of the second part in the book. It doesn't actually provide any details for the story seen from the our universe. All the assumptions and guesses that are m...	I guess it shows that the people/beings in the parallel universe are not as intelligent as Lamont believed them to be and provides a connection from 'Against Stupidity' and 'Contend In Vain'.
Why didn't Rose save herself from the parallel universe while she was endowed with the time vortex? At the end of season 1, Rose looks into the Time Vortex and is able to see and manipulate things throughout all of space and time. Why did she not foresee and save herself from her separation from the Doctor at the end o...	She can see everything , but that means she can't really see individual events with any clarity, and she certainly isn't coherent enough to take specific actions or safeguards against them.
Is Source Code full of paradoxes? Either I have not understood this film or it is full of paradoxes. The Source Code allows its user to experience the last eight minutes of another compatible person's life within an alternative timeline. That part is not hard to understand. The bomb explodes in the Chicago train and ...	This allows the protagonist from the movie to repeatedly travel back in multiple attempts to determine what happened in his home timeline. My understanding is that the bomb has exploded in the main timeline and nothing Stevens can do changes that.
Range of invisibility of the One Ring In The Hobbit , the One Ring turned Bilbo invisible (more or less completely) along with his clothing, armour, etc. However, one passage in chapter 8 suggests that this power did not extend to his sword, Sting : With that he [ ring-wearing Bilbo ] turned and found that the last...	It seems that extraordinary items, particularly those made by elves, can shine though The Ring's invisibility.
What does a Time Lord do? I was looking at the Time Lord Wiki which told me some helpful information but it didn't really say what your average Time Lord or Time Lady actually does. We mainly get the perspective of the most renegade Time Lord ever the Doctor but he doesn't act like the others. This is a large race of...	The Time Lords created and attempted to monopolise time travel technology.
Does Banner have a medical degree? In the Avengers movie, Dr. Banner is discovered treating patients for some unspecified, possibly unknown, disease in what looks to be the slums of India. From my recollection, Banner is a gamma physicist and not a medical doctor (Ph. D not M.D.). While it can be argued that the Indian...	The short answer would be no, he's not specifically an MD. Through all the different writers interpretation of the Hulk story, Banner is a genius physicist and has worked with biologists specializing in human gamma ray exposure. It's quite likely that a genius could pick up a lot of the skills needed to act as a doctor...
Was Mount Doom exclusively the only place the One Ring could be destroyed? I was recently reading some Lord of the Rings/Stargate SG-1 crossover fanfiction. It is a guilty pleasure, I admit :) In this story, it was suggested by Col. O'Neill to destroy the Ring using a nuclear device. Truth be told I stopped reading at ...	My understanding is that there is no magic in Middle-earth that is strong enough to destroy the One Ring, and there is but one natural method to destroy it which is to melt it in a volcano.
Which actor has portrayed the most distinct roles in the Star Trek universe? This question got me to thinking about how there have been many actors who have had several roles across the Star Trek franchise. It seems that once an actor demonstrates good performance in that franchise, it is very likely (at least mor...	Hertzler played Martok, Roy Rittenhouse, Laas, and a patron in Vic's Lounge on Deep Space Nine . Frank da Vinci has portrayed no less than 12 separate and distinct roles in Star Trek TOS. Loskene (voice, uncredited) - ENT Thomas Kopache ( IMDB ) ( Memory Alpha )
What's the point of running from Agents when you can push anything to The Matrix? In the matrix, outsiders were able to bring weapons. If it was based on mental projection, it would be obvious that bringing tanks was beyond their willpower (or, something similar). But, it was shown exclusively in the first movie that w...	So running from Agents is still necessary because they can't just randomly insert a new cache of weapons to wherever our heroes are unless they happen to be right next to a hardline.
In the Silmarillion, what was Morgoth's "dark design" against Luthien? In the chapter "Of Beren and Luthien", we're told that, when Morgoth discovered Luthien in Angband, he "conceived in his thought an evil lust, and a design more dark than any that had yet come into his heart since he fled from Valinor." Now, w...	Morgoth's intewntion would have been (as I understand it) to corrupt Luthien - by whatever means - and therefore destroy her destiny under ERU.
Can a transport in progress be blocked or stopped by the bridge? In The Next Generation and Voyager (and maybe Deep Space Nine) it will semi-frequently happen that someone will use the transporter to escape the ship, and when the bridge detects this, someone will call out to have the transport stopped or blocked. To ...	So yes, a transport can be canceled.
Who wrote "Don't Open, Dead Inside" on the doors inside the hospital? Who wrote "Don't Open, Dead Inside" on the doors in the hospital that Rick sees after waking? Do they ever show it? <Q> It was never shown in the comics, upon which the series was based. <S> The words were written there presumably before the hospit...	They presumably left the hospital when it was abandoned by the living (or were killed there, when it was overrun by the dead).
Which one did Dalek Caan mean when he said "one will still die"? In The Stolen Earth / Journey's End , Dalek Caan famously said " one will still die ". Did he mean Davros or Donna? <Q> Earlier in the episode, Dalek Caan says, The Children of Time will gather. <S> And one of them will die! <S> I always belie...	I think he was referring to Donna, because she did not physically die but she is no longer one of the Doctor's Children of Time.
In what order should I read the MaddAddam Trilogy (Oryx & Crake / The Year of the Flood / MaddAddam)? I recently got my hands on a copy of " The Year of the Flood " by Margaret Atwood. Reading its description on Wikipedia, I realized that it's set in the same universe as two of her other novels; " Oryx and Crake " and ...	As far as MaddAddam is concerned, she's keen for you to read both earlier novels first (in whichever order) as they introduce important plot elements and characters that are explored in more detail:
What is the outer hull of Enterprise (NCC-1701) constructed from? What is the outer hull of Enterprise (NCC-1701) supposed to be constructed from? Are the later vessels in the franchise made from the same material(s)? I'm hoping for a Gene R. answer, but if not, the next best example from the franchise would suffice. ...	Tritanium alloy was a widely-used construction material.
How did the Hive Queen arrive in Ender's hands? At the end of Ender's Game, a Hive Queen egg is found by Ender exactly on the planet where he happens to arrive. As far as the rest of the Ender works indicate, this is the only Hive Queen egg found after the Xenocide. It seems that most of the queens were on the home pla...	It seems the particular planet that the egg was planted on was the nearest planet to Earth, making it the most likely for Ender to visit.
Why were the twins named Luke and Leia? In G-Canon, it is not revealed that Padme is pregnant with twins until she is in the medical bay ready to give birth. When asked what they should be named, she immediately responds without much thought. From the script : OBI-WAN: Don't give up, Padme. PADME winces from the p...	Throughout the movies both Anakin and Padme constantly refer to "the baby" - so it's clear that despite whatever technical level prenatal care may have been at, they did not know that they were going to be having twins ( It's less clear for Padmé, but a scan of her Wookieepedia article don't reveal any occurrence of th...
How did the Borg witness the first Vulcan & Human (pre-warp) contact? In the Voyager episode Year of Hell - Part 1 Seven of Nine says that the Borg witnessed Human and Vulcan first contact before either of them were warp-capable civilizations: SEVEN: The correct response to your query. The vessel Ensign Kim was des...	One possibility could be that a Vulcan who was present at first contact was later assimilated giving the Borg access to the experience.
In the Aliens franchise how could the hive possibly survive? In Aliens , how can a hive possibly survive? As far as I know, the xenomorphs' life cycle requires a host, but it apparently seems that in the movies/games/comics aliens have the single goal of wiping out the native species. Once they have successfully don...	As adults die off (assuming they can starve or die of age, neither of which I believe are confirmed), the colony will simply go dormant, relying upon suitable hosts finding the facehugger cocoons so that the cycle can begin again.
Why was the DeLorean in Back To The Future not always covered in ice after time travel, and why didn't it fly in 1885? I have noticed some things that I can't understand in the Back To The Future films about the DeLorean. In part I, when Einstein is sent 1 minute into the future the DeLorean comes back completely froz...	The scenes where Marty goes from 1985 to 1955 are slightly different, in that the car is surrounded by mist, but there is little evidence of ice on it while in the barn.
Why leave in a ship? At the end of Inheritance Cycle, Eragon leaves in a ship from Alagaesia supposedly never to return. But why is that he needed a ship, he had Saphira and the powerful magic of the ancient dragons at his disposal. Why couldn't he have just flown away? <Q> As I recall Eragon was leaving to find and se...	A ship is a much more logical choice for carrying the large amounts of supplies and resources rather than Eragon and Saphira having to fly everything all back and forth! Because he wasn't traveling alone
What would happen if a Barrow-Wight had taken the One Ring and why didn't they? When the Hobbits are take by the Barrow-Wights, they are all held in a barrow and are unconscious for a time and both they and the Ring are at the mercy of the Barrow-Wights. This event is clearly considered a very dangerous event by Gandal...	A Barrow-Wight who took the ring would become the focus of Sauron's search and would quickly have to decide whether to return the ring or not.
Why do they need "16 female, 7 male" to re-establish Zion? So, re-reading this: After which, you will be required to select from the Matrix 23 individuals - 16 female, 7 male - to rebuild Zion. It got me thinking - why exactly this ratio (and why exactly on that scale)? Is it based on some out-of-universe scient...	Theory may also be calculated by the machines giving the minimum number of individuals needed to operate a society (minimum being the chosen amount to prolong the people numbers growth to delay the next war).
What became of the backup Doctor from Living Witness? In the Voyager episode Living Witness a backup copy of the Doctor sets off to follow Voyager's path, to see if they ever made it home. As this copy of the Doctor did not begin his pilgrimage until roughly 700 years after being separated from Voyager, I would imagi...	I would like to think the cunning and resourceful hologram made it back; the last voyager crewmember to return home. There is no canon information of what happened to him.
How could a Terminator ride a vehicle that was made to support the weight of a human? In Terminator Judgement Day (1991) (T2) there is a scene of where Arnold is riding the motorcycle to follow John Connor, who is being chased by Robert Patrick (T1000). When Arnold jumps off the ledge with the motorcycle and lands, w...	If a terminator weighed much more than a human of the same size/build, it would be a dead giveaway - and really easy for the resistance to spot.
Does Banner's strength affect the Hulk's? While the magnitude depends on writer, the Hulk's strength is generally believed to increase with his rage. However, if Banner should decide to increase his strength, would this have an effect on the Hulk's baseline strength? <Q> Probably not. <S> The Hulk's physical power has ...	It is rage which powers the Hulk, so the angrier Banner is, the more powerful the Hulk's will be physically.
Why do Predators flay people? And what do they do with the skin? Why do Predators flay people? And what do they do with the skin? We know that they collect skulls, but why skin? <Q> The Predators were supposed to be a metaphor for human sport hunters. <S> In fact that was the working title according to Wikipedia : ...	Predators skin their prey when they feel that the prey was not a challenge to kill so it is not a worth trophy; they take the skull and spine of a prey when they were worthy and fought and made it hard to be killed.
First "big" Science Fiction novel about colonization? I'm trying to find out what the first "big" science fiction novel that dealt with human colonization on other planets was? When I say "big" I mean successful and impactful to future generations (or at least from an author that achieved such a legacy), and with human...	This particular novel had a huge impact on a lot of modern sci-fi, for instance the first space marines, global government, mechanized warfare etc. you could say that the Mahabharatha (400 BCE) was one of the first to see humans (King Ravti) depart the earth to some other far off place, in this case to meet the creator...
Why didn't Star Trek: The Next Generation change their uniforms when Deep Space 9 came out? DS9 came out during the 6th season of TNG . From the onset of the show, DS9 used uniforms that looked like this: However, TNG continued the use of this uniform(taken from episode 10 of season 7): Why did they not change...	It seems it may have depended upon the type of environment where personnel were primarily stationed. New uniforms could be issued, when the old uniforms were recycled. My theory is, initially only DS9 and a few other facitlities used them when they were introduced but by the time of the third season (which is when Gene...
Why did Voyager use up their transwarp coil all at once? In the Voyager episode " Dark Frontier ", Voyager got a transwarp coil from a Borg sphere. They used it all up and traveled 20,000 light years at once. It would have been very good for them to use about half of that or maybe a bit more and save a lot of it to u...	Getting another functional coil was probably out of the question, and "coil" doesn't sound like a battery that simply discharges predictably, but more like an engine component that will just randomly break. If you don't know how long you have, you can't plan around it, so you might as well go for broke. Given the shena...
What is the difference between a warg and a skinchanger? Many times both terms are used as synonyms. In A Storm of Swords, Jon mentions that he sees skinchangers and wargs among the wildlings. George R.R. Martin, when asked about the difference said: A warg is bound to a wolf. Skinchanger is a more general term. ...	I think the term " Warg " is most often used in a superstitious fashion, and " skinchanger " more matter-of-factly.
What is Blüdhaven's status post New 52? In the New 52 era of DC Comics has the status of Blüdhaven been mentioned, either in conjunction with Nightwing or any other characters? Before Flashpoint and the change over it was basically a toxic wasteland, but I'm wondering if that is still in place. <Q> The New 52 has ma...	For the record, in the previous continuity Blüdhaven no longer exists having been rendered a chemical wasteland using the villainous construct Chemo as a bomb.
Is there an Upper- and a Lower-earth along with Middle-earth? I have always wondered are there more types of earths besides Middle. Is there an Upper and Lower? <Q> Until someone comes along with a better answer based explicitly on Tolkien's writing, I will simply suggest the link to the Norse Midgard . <S> Remembe...	Middle-Earth is generally regarded as a continent If I remember correctly.
What purpose does Alfred Serve? As the question states, What does Alfred do in Batman? Alfred at first glance seems just to be an ordinary butler of the Wayne Manor who gives good advice to Bruce, but is it just that? Just a butler? Is Alfred only a keeper of the Mansion as well as the bat cave? <Q> It depends on co...	He maintains equipment such as BatComputer. There have been instances where has acted as security for the mansion and has worn a Batsuit to act in his stead. He is frequently portrayed as a capable combatant.
Could a house elf be made into a Secret Keeper? They are already extremely loyal to their master(s); They are certainly capable of telling the secret to their master(s) after the charm is cast and are almost completely unable to betray them; They rarely if ever leave the house; No one would ever consider them a pote...	Here's what we know about House-elves: I believe, if a house-elf could be made into a Secret Keeper, it would not be a good idea for the elf to be its master's Secret-Keeper, as its master could order the elf to divulge the secret
Why is Pandora's atmosphere so toxic to humans, yet still so conducive to life? I wasn't able to put my finger on it. Avatar wiki says: Pandora's toxic atmosphere is unbreathable by humans due to the presence of high concentrations of carbon dioxide (>18%) and hydrogen sulfide (>1%). However, entire planet seem...	We see Pandora as being not only rich in plant life, but also full of high-metabolism animal life, which I assume would expel even greater quantities of carbon dioxide. Pandora then is further away, and gets less solar radiation and so can only sustain heavy plant growth with a high CO2 driven greenhouse effect.
Is archery underestimated in the wars of a Song of Ice and Fire It seems to me that archery is very underestimated in Westeros and Essos in the tactics/strategy point of view. Below are ALL the references I remember of the mentions of marksmanship: Bran and Arya training archery in Game of Thrones Theon says (to Br...	One of the problems with archery in feudal society was that the relatively heavy armor used by the knighted nobility required use of heavy longbows in order for archery to be effective in piercing the targets. During the Red Wedding crossbowmen are used to ambush the guests and also to kill their wolf.
Why are portkeys always made of rubbish? WHY do Portkeys always seem to be made out of rubbish, even the ones made for use in the magical world? If they are meant to be left where a random muggle could accidentally activate them, then it would make sense, but otherwise what is the point??? If only a magical will us...	As noted (by Cornelius Fudge at the end of Order of the Phoenix ) setting and maintaining Portkeys is really difficult.
What is the origin of the name "Obi-Wan Kenobi"? I'm a big fan of flying, and I noticed a possible similarity between some flight control terminology and the name "Obi-Wan Kenobi", and I'm interested in finding out if this is coincidental, or if there is a deliberate link. Every airplane has two devices used as a shor...	Obi is the Japanese word for "belt" in the context of martial arts.
A series of books involving reptilian-alien protagonists I'm trying to track down these books I read when I was younger. I've done some fruitless searching online and am stumped. It's been a good 10 years since I read any of them. Cover is very 70s/80s (lots of blue I want to say?). The series of books involves reptil...	The books of the series are Empire , Confederation and Final Battle . It's about a reptilian race named the Kreelans who are waging war against humanity across the galaxy.
Why did the Iron Man suit and ARC Reactor stop working in Avengers? At the climax of the Avengers, Tony Stark flies a nuclear missile through the wormhole created by the Tesseract. Shortly after he crosses the threshold of the wormhole and releases the missile, his suit's systems and even the ARC reactor appear to fail...	The nuclear weapon he directed through the wormhole emitted an electromagnetic pulse which should cause any electronic device to stop working. His suit prob froze up like it did when he went too high and with him running out of breath he passed out.
Was Gollum completely naked in the books? This might sound like a weird question, but here goes anyway. In the LotR and the Hobbit movies, Gollum is always shown with a piece of cloth hiding his private area. It seems dull to me that he would actually have the decency of putting up with that. A better explanation to m...	I have always imagined Gollum wearing at least pants The Gollum of the original version of the Hobbit was a bit more obsequious, at least at the end of the riddle game. Nowhere in the narrative is there any mention of clothing, as if, like a real animal, he does not need to be provided with covering.
What is the end of A Dance With Dragons meant to convey about the fate of this character? I'm trying to discern if I am meant to definitively know what happened in one of the last chapters of the book. (Spoilers A Dance With Dragons) In one of the final chapters of the book, Jon Snow is betrayed by his own men, who...	Jon is well and truly dead.
Why was Luke chosen as the last hope instead of Leia? Yoda and Kenobi chose Luke to make Jedi knight. Why? We've seen many female Jedi in the canon. Why couldn't Leia became a Jedi knight? <Q> ... <S> Hidden, safe, the children must be kept. <S> Foundation of the new Jedi Order, they will be." <S> "We should split ...	As is shown in ROTS, they were BOTH intended to be trained as Jedi, and the timing of the training was pretty much left by Yoda to the Force. Luke wasn't "chosen" - he just happened to be the first to get around to, you know, train to become one.
Is the identity of the ship destroyed by Capt. Nemo towards the end of 20k Leagues Under the Sea ever revealed? Towards the end of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea , the Nautilus first toys with, and then later completely destroys, a large steam warship from an unknown authority. Is the identity of this ship's owner ever...	Yes, The Mysterious Island ( L’Île mystérieuse ) says captain Nemo had rammed and sank an English frigate.
Why did the all member of the middle earth council agree with Frodo as ring-bearer? In the Fellowship of the Rings movie, the Middle Earth Council(' Elrond's Council ') were arguing about who was to bear the Ring. The scene was fierce because of the differences between races (conflicts between Dwarves and Elves, Huma...	When Frodo volunteers, everyone is relieved because they don't have to, and they happily accept Frodo as the Ring-bearer.
Was Mobile Infantry in Starship Troopers modeled on the Marines or the Army? A comment on this question got me thinking - was Heinlein explicitly modeling Mobile Infantry on US Marines? Or More the Army? I'll accept either a word-of-god answer (e.g. sourced from Heinlein himself), or a good analysis showing how spec...	Heinlein's military service in the Navy would push me towards the Marine Corps as the influence. Contrasting some other answers, I feel that the sheer number of MI, the lack of another separate force of ground troops, and their basic status as the "regulars" of Earth's military, generally lends itself to an Army-style ...
Why did the snake wink at Harry at the zoo? This is mostly a memory question - I'm having a hard time remembering this and I can't read the book right now. On the first book, a snake at the zoo winks at Harry. For the sake of the question, we'll assume that snakes can in fact wink. I have a fuzzy memory here - I thin...	If, indeed, the presence of a Parselmouth grants a level of intelligence to the snake, the snake was likely suddenly dealing with an increased intellect, emotions, and such and reacted to Harry accordingly.
Why was the Cosmic Cube named the Tesseract in the Marvel movie series? Is there any specific reason for the name change? According to me, Cosmic Cube seems a nice and cooler name. <Q> Because they aren't specifically the same thing. <S> While they share a similar abilities (the power to alter the environment around ...	So the Tesseract is an Infinity Gem that looks inspired from the cosmic cube.
What's the point to the houses? In universe, students are sorted into houses based on their qualities. But when Harry Potter was sorted he was told, "He would do well in Slytherin." The question is why? There doesn't seem to be specific classes or instructors just for the specific houses. While you could assume the...	All of the heads of house are presumably mentors to their students, so if you had a preference for one, then being in their house would be to your advantage. Because Voldemorts powers and gifts were unwittingly passed on to Harry in the attempted murder, which resulted in Voldemor giving a small part of himself to Harr...
Why is Eddard Stark's coffin so small? In episode 4 of season 2 Lord Baelish "Littlefinger" delivers a chest containing Eddard Stark's remains. Why is the chest so small? Does it only contain Eddard's head or ashes? <Q> In Westeros, the prevalent practice is to give the body to a religious order known as the Silent S...	The casket shown in the series contains only his bones, which is why it's so small.
Who was flying the Y-Wing when the Death Star exploded? Near the end of Star Wars IV: A New Hope , we see four spacecraft flying from the Death Star just moments before it explodes. As you can see, there is the Millennium Falcon crewed by Han and Chewbacca, a pair of X-Wings which has to be Luke and Wedge, and th...	Wookieepedia indicates that Keyan Farlander is the pilot of the Y-wing fighter seen leaving the Death Star alongside Luke, Wedge and the Millennium Falcon. The books say he was a Y-wing pilot (Tierfon Yellow Aces) before being an X-wing pilot. More Extended Universe pilots, who survived Battle of Hoth and Battle of End...
Is the Encyclopaedia Galactica in the Hitchhiker's Guide a reference to Asimov's Foundation Trilogy Encyclopædia Galactica or a tribute to Carl Sagan? While reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I was thinking if the Encyclopaedia Galactica mentioned in the book is the same as Asimov's Foundation Trilogy's Ency...	It's possible that the reference to the Encyclopedia Galactica was a joke at Asimov's expense, rather than a tribute to him - as THHGttG says, "In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitchhiker’s Guide has already supplanted the great Encyclopaedia Galactica as the standar...
Where did the bombers go in Independence Day? In the movie 'Independence Day', they decided to launch a nuclear strike against the alien craft hovering over L.A. and the scene cuts to five B2 bombers flying at about 10k feet in tight formation like fighter planes. When the order is given to 'launch', a single nuke is f...	Based on what we see in the script , we can assume that they simply returned to base : On the monitors as well, we can see the target remain.
'80s book about kids stranded on a planet A friend and I are trying to remember the title and author of a book we both read as kids in the 80s. It was about a group of students who go on a mission that's supposed to be some sort of survival test, but has been secretly taken over by their chaperone who has a secret agen...	Well the hormone-suppressing food and chaperones is straight out of the radio drama Earthsearch by James Follett.
Why did this character want to establish Psychohistory? I re-read the Foundation series a few months ago but I was just thinking about it now in a case of very late Fridge Logic . If Daneel already established Gaia a long time ago, why did he feel the need to establish psychohistory and the Foundation? Wouldn't Gala...	Daneel's mission, due to the three laws of robotics embedded in him (plus the zeroth law), was to ensure that humanity survives.
Short story or small novel about space pirates on a planet luring and robbing ships I only read this in Russian translation, but the original was in English. It was either a small book (novelette?) or long story. Somewhat oldish (even the translation was definitely from before 1980s, so the work may be more than that...	Sounds a little bit like Sargasso of Space by Andre Norton. Space pirates discover an ancient machine that causes space ships to crash on their planet allowing them to loot the wrecks.
How is a holocron activated? From Wookieepedia : A Sith holocron was a device used by Sith to store information. Typically, they required use of the dark side to activate. It took a great deal of willpower for a Jedi to access the dark devices, and some of the more inexperienced Jedi often felt sickly or fell ill m...	He uses the Force to re-arragne parts of the holocron which makes it accessible.
In the original war, why was there a colonial fleet? With no other beings in the world other than the humans in the colonies,why was there a colonial army with battleships and vipers who train to fight space wars? In the original series it would have made a bit more sense because there were other beings in the galaxy,...	The Cylons were originally built to supplement their forces to defend against outside incursions. There were other sentient races and they knew about them.
How did Sylar survive being mortally wounded without getting Claire's regenerative power? As it seems Sylar never had the cellular regeneration ability from Claire until later episodes based on the future, how did Sylar ever survive... ... falling off the stands with Peter Petrelli in the home coming episode? ... ge...	He likely used telekinesis (acquired by that point) to deflect or stop the bullets.
Does Flash age slower because of his ability to run at relativistic speed? Due to Time dilation , time is perceived differently at greater speed. Time dilation is an actual difference of elapsed time between two events as measured by observers either moving relative to each other or differently situated from gravita...	Well consider this: the Flash's metabolism is faster than any human's and as a side effect he ages slower. Given the extremes of speed once you start reaching Mach 10 or more, the Flash, even with his speed aura is reluctant to approach relativistic speeds.
Why does Draco's wand connect with Voldemort's in the movie? In the movie, not the book, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry and Voldemort's wands connected when Expelliarmus and Avada Kedavra were cast in order to kill one another. It was stated in Goblet of Fire (both book and movie) that only wands with similar cor...	Voldemort could not use the Elder Wand effectively because he was not the master of the Elder Wand - Harry was.
What are the two types of Woge? In Grimm there appear to be two types of Woge , one that normal people can see and one they can't. What is the difference between the two and what are they called? <Q> A "lesser Woge" can only be seen by a Grimm or other Wesen. <S> It can be a reflexive response triggered by fear or su...	There is no separate name for the varying levels of Woge, though it has been called a full-on Woge when normal humans are able to see the transformed states of Wesen.
1980's children's novel about present-day post-nuclear USA? I'm looking for the title to a book I read in the 80's about a family set in the present day surviving after a nuclear holocaust. The whole family survives for a time. The little girl hides under a table and suffers less radiation sickness than her family. Eve...	The book details three generations of a family during the aftermath of a nuclear war. The survivors of the blast suffer through radiation, nuclear winter, feuds between rival groups and radiation-induced mutations, eventually evolving into a new species, Homo superior. There is a children's book called "Outside" that a...
Identify film which mashed film noir with voodo and supernatural I remember watching a film when I was a teenager that seemed to be set in a 1930s film noir kind of setting. I think the main character was a private detective, who somehow got caught up in some kind of plot to bring some big malevolent supernatural for...	Clancy Brown plays Harry Bordon, a nightclub owner/crime lord who uses zombies as his muscle. A private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite.
Did the gatekeeper and the keymaster get intimate in Ghostbusters? According to TVTropes ( usual warning, don't follow the link or you'll waste half your life in a twisty maze of content ): In Ghostbusters, it's strongly implied that Dana Barret, while possessed by Zuul the Gatekeeper, had sex with Louis Tully, wh...	The only way to get a canon answer would be for the movie or official novelization to give one, and they do not.
Why do some Time Lords choose to have a title, and why does everyone else go along with the title they choose? In one of the episodes of the Master Saga, The Master is talking with The Doctor and says "You chose your name, the one who helps everyone", when they are making their "greetings". (I'm looking for the exact w...	"Doctor" can also mean "learned person", and arguably that was the original meaning (Capt Holt of Brooklyn 99 has a particular pet peeve about how the doctorate was "stolen" from actual scholars by medical practioners).
Can someone help me find an early 1980 SciFi Cat space adventure story I read in the mid '80's? I'm having a heck of a time researching a science fiction, humanoid cats book(s). I'd like to find again that I beleive was published in the mid to early 1980's. I read this book when I was in junior high school around 1982-...	Cat people feature in several of the stories.
How do the wand makers get the cores into the wands? One of the sellers of magic wands, Ollivander, sells wands with Dragon heartstring, Phoenix feather, or Unicorn hair cores in them. What does JKR say about how the wandmakers get the core materials into the wands? <Q> As far as I know there is no canon reference to h...	Just as a Harry Potter fan, I would imagine that getting a wand core into a wand is exceedingly difficult and, yes, is a magical process.
Why can't Star Trek Replicator Technology and Transporter technology be combined to replace vital systems parts to the ship, say a new warp core? They seem to have self-replicating mines, for god-sakes... how about replicating phaser arrays, plating, life-support systems, etc. <Q> The question assumes facts not in evid...	The on-board replicators do not have the capacity to produce a warp core.
looking for a short story about a college/high school kid who lives billion of years and witnesses the end of the universe A few years ago I read a great online short scifi story about a boy (either in high school or college) who kept wondering what the point of life is. The story then describes how immortality became ...	It sounds like " The Days of Solomon Gursky " by Ian MacDonald, found in various sci-fi collections including ' The Furthest Horizon ' edited by Gardner Dozois.
I'm looking for a short story about super intelligent/ Telepathic children I don't remember the story exactly but I know it has to do with an experiment or discovery that made a group of children extremely intelligent or telepathic. I don't exactly remember the plot all the way but I remember the military got involved...	Manifold: Time by Stephen Baxter.
Who exactly was Hagrid expecting in the Chamber of Secrets? In the second Harry Potter movie, Hagrid comes to the door slowly while carrying his crossbow only to see Harry and Ron under the invisibility cloak. Then afterwards he does the same only to reveal Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge with the late entry of Lucius M...	Our first theory was that Hagrid was expecting the monster in which attacked other classmates.
Was Primrose exempt from future games? Primrose was selected for the 74th hunger games, but Katniss volunteered to take her place (the first for this district). In other districts it is even more common for volunteers to take the place of people drawn. Once you are drawn (whether you ultimately play or not) are you e...	It actually might be possible that Prim's chances would increase, as it mentioned in book 2 how the children of victor's somehow managed to be more likely to be selected, and thus a reason for victors not to have children. If a 12 year old went in and won, their name would technically be eligible for the next 6 years. ...
What's the meaning of the fossilized engineer in the Alien space jockey scene? Despite watching Prometheus and understanding the purpose of the navigation machine, I'm still not sure what was the significance of the space jockey in Alien , specifically... Why was the engineer fossilized in the chair? Why did the ...	It was because the Space Jockey got infected by a facehugger. By including an unknown alien there, it shows that the in-universe situation is larger than the characters or audience is aware, that there is something more that's happened there.
Why did Nightwing's costume change from black and blue to black and red in the DC New 52? With the recent revamp of the DC comics, I noticed that Nightwing has changed his costume from black and blue to black and red. The only reason I can think of for this would be to sell toys. Does anyone know whether there is anoth...	It certainly appears that the changes came as a result of DC wanting to modernize all the characters and make them distinct from the previous continuity.
Why does Cersei have to be defended by a knight of the Kingsguard? When Qyburn first brings news to Cersei of an invincible champion they agree that as queen she must be defended by a knight of the Kingsguard. Why? At this point Tommen has already married Margaery Tyrell so he is the king and she is the queen, not Cers...	Besides, in the eyes of the public she still is a queen, so must be defended by the Kingsguard.
Do male elves have long or short hair? I've noticed that almost every fan drawing of elves (as well as their portrayals in the movies) show them with long hair, both the men and the women. But did Tolkien ever write anything that proved that male elves had indeed long hair? I had always imagined them with short hair (t...	Most of the Elves we meet in Lord of the Rings (with some exceptions: Gildor, Glorfindel, Galadriel) are of the Teleri, but there's nothing I'm aware of to suggest whether or not the Teleri of Middle-earth also collectively had long hair, so you can just run with your own preferred image of them.
Do the septons and septas of the Seven have magic powers? In Game of Thrones, the priests of the Red God and the Old Gods of the Forest exhibit magic powers. Do the devotees of the Seven exhibit similar power? <Q> If they do, they are considerably more subtle powers than those of R'hllor and the Old Gods. <S> During my...	TLDR, there is no evidence that the clergy of the Faith have any magical powers.
Why are the people in Westeros so afraid of the white walkers? Why are the people in Westeros so afraid of the white walkers? From what we have seen in the series there seems to be a relatively small amount of white walkers in existence. And judging from the first episode of season 3, they seem to be beaten quite ...	They are quite resilient compared to humans, but susceptible to fire. Second, they can't be hurt by normal weapons, they are vastly stronger than humans, , they can control the weather, and they can add anyone they kill to their army of undead. It is during the time of the Game of Thrones that the numbers of White Walk...
In The Walking Dead (TV), how do zombies walk without blood circulating? In The Walking Dead (and most zombie movies), the zombies reanimate and then are able to walk again, eat again, and see again without respect to any injuries the person received before "dying." How does a reanimated being walk if the heart or ce...	The only "scientific" explanation I've ever been able to imagine would be if the virus/pathogen was somehow able to produce oxygen and other nutrients locally, thus sustaining some of the cellular functions of tissue immediately around it.
Is it possible to die in a Holodeck? In Star Trek, characters are often depicted as being in danger because "the safety protocols" are offline. Does this imply that Holodecks can result in death to characters or just injury? Are there any examples of death in a Holodeck? <Q> Yes, there is a good example from the movi...	As already stated by AlanBarber and ewanm89, when the safeties are disabled Holodeck people and objects can kill. The first example of someone being mortally wounded in the Holodeck that I am aware of was in the TNG epsiode The Big Goodbye .
What was Tyrion's motive in asking his father for Casterly Rock? In the first episode in Season 3 of Game of Thrones , Tyrion had a conversation with his father, Tywin, where he demanded ownership of Casterly Rock. Given how he has generally been treated with scorn throughout the first two seasons, did he really expe...	He's the only remaining direct heir for Tywin. It is possible that his brush with death, his belief Cersei tried to kill him, his father's ingratitude, the unfairness of what people think of him, etc. My guess is that he wanted a reward for his role in the defense of King's Landing.
Does anyone actually wear eyeglasses in Star Wars? Does anyone in The Galaxy Far Far Away wear eyeglasses? (specifically to correct for bad vision, NOT sunglasses or some special optics designed to enhance you natural senses ala whatever optics Vader's suit or Mandalorian armor provided). (this arose out of random co...	Though unclear whether or not they were corrective (rather than for safety or magnification), the Parwan Doctor Gubacher wore some manner of lenses in "Secret Weapons", an episode of The Clone Wars and his only appearance: Noa Briqualon from Ewoks: The Battle for Endor wears glasses :
In The Rings of Akhaten why was the Doctor unaffected by the reading of his memories? In the new episode we see that the "memory eating parasite" feeds off The Doctor.Now my question is that if he feeds of the memories of The Doctor, are those memories erased from his mind? ( like the leaf was "erased" from existence w...	The memories wouldn't be able to return physical objects that had been destroyed, but the memories could be returned to the living, still.
How can electricity not work at Hogwarts? In the Goblet of Fire, Hermione says: 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 - chapter 28,...	It's not that the lights wouldn't turn on if properly installed, it's that the magic in the area would make the light malfunction in some way.
How long does the average Orc live? The average or expected lifespan of Hobbits, Men and Dwarfs is easily found but I can find no definitive answer for the 'expected' lifespan of an Orc. All I can find so far is, 'unknown'. <Q> In the 10th volume of The History of Middle-earth (specifically in the "Myths Transformed" e...	Since orcs were a corruption of another race (Maiar, elves, men, depending on which fragment you chose as canon), their lifespan would have been similar to that of that race.
Book about two children who traveled through time using a circle of stones This book is about 2 children who traveled trough time using a circle of stones similar to Stonehenge. It was read to me in 5th grade, around 1985. I am having trouble remembering more details. They had to find a way back home at the end of th...	Set in the village of Milbury which is in the middle of a megalithic stone circle. There's a seven episode TV drama, Children of the Stones , that aired on the UK ITV network in Jan/Feb 1977 that has certain elements of your description.
Is Marty McFly Traveling to Parallel Universes? Marty has always been inexplicably protected from the changes in the timeline. Thus he operates with a memory of the original timeline in which the "time machine" was never invented (or never used). In Back to the Future when Marty returns from the past; Marty is unawar...	I suppose the flux capacitor keeps him from the very likely overwelmimg disturbances his actions in the past are causing. In part II of the series, Doc himself explains that when one travels back in time and modifies history, a new alternate universe is created at the point-of-entry.
Why did Dumbledore never ask Harry how to destroy a horcrux? Here is the thing, Harry destroyed a Horcrux in his second year with a basilisk fang, even if he didn't know at the time. But in his sixth year, Dumbledore says to Harry, and I quote: "Horcruxes are difficult to find .. Even more difficult to destroy.", but t...	Furthermore, Dumbledore most likely already knew by then how Harry destroyed the diary, as he’d held it, heard what its powers were, and suspected the Dark Lord had Horcruxes before then.
Does Westeros know that Daenerys is coming? I'm currently halfway through A Storm of Swords . Dany has acquired her Unsullied and is trying to amass a greater army before heading over to Westeros. She is trying to convince The Second Sons and Mero to join her, but Jorah and Arstan Whitebeard don't think it's a good id...	People in Westeros are not concerned with Daenerys.
Can Starfleet doctors make Captain rank? In TNG, Beverly Crusher has the rank of Commander. Since she is a high-ranking officer, it got me thinking about doctors in general. Is there a rank for doctors that is higher than Commander? Could a doctor make it to Captain, even if they are not in command of a starship? O...	Well if Starfleet patterns its ranks after the US Navy, or Navies of the world, then having physician with the rank of Captain (Colonel), or even Admiral would not be too far.
Why didn't Brennan turn Roy into a protector as soon as possible after Kobold? In the book Protector, Brennan takes Roy on a voyage to intercept the Pak scouts and lead them away from Sol. Throughout the five to ten year voyage Brennan teaches and trains Roy how to handle the ship and the weapons, how to fight Pak vess...	Several secondary factors may figure in: Roy-as-Protector might not agree with Brennan-as-protector's decisions on how to protect humanity Roy as a protector can not be trusted to remain subordinate to Brennan Roy as human, even buff human, is capable of spending other humans' lives.
What were the other injuries to Weasley family members? There are nine main Weasleys in the Harry Potter books. Most of whom got inured in the course of the books. Arthur: attacked by the snake Bill: bitten by werewolf Fred: killed George: ear cursed off Ron: many, including injured during ches...	He had had his hand cut off when bringing Voldemort back, and was likely tortured on several accounts before being killed.
How did people know so fast that Voldemort died/vanished/disappeared? This question has been treated (for example here or here ) but I want to know a very specific detail that struck me as I re(-re-re-re)-read the first book. People celebrated the defeat of Voldemort hours after he tried to kill Harry. But how di...	We know Voldemorts attack came while Harry was still awake for the night, and he lived in a Wizarding community so other wizards would have been aware of the house being blown up.
Identify source of picture (probably "Doom" related) I cleaned up my hard drive and found this picture. The file is dated 1997, so the source must be older (obviously). It is probably related to the computer game Doom by id-Software. Somehow, that was the first thing that came to my mind after i saw the image for the...	So, my final conclusion is that this image comes from some low-budget horror movie, and only has a coincidental resemblences to Doom's Cyberdemons.

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