I was reading some posts earlier today on our sister site Worldbuilding. In particular this question which discussed how an empire could communicate between cities/communities remotely. The question jogged a very faint memory of a story that I read around 10-15 years ago which had a similar sys...

In the history of the Star Wars galaxy, the Galactic Republic is just over 25,000 years old. During this period, it was expanded from a region close to the galactic nucleus, until it occupied half of the galaxy. Why and what are the reasons for a republic that has millions of sentient species, m...

Looking for a short science fiction story which opens with a seemingly normal family-on-vacation scenario, but where any citizen has a rare random chance of being instantly painlessly killed as they insert their admission ticket to enter a recreational park - but the park is so popular with every...

In Agents of Shield, Coulsons team tries to capture Lorelei with the help of Lady Sif. They knew going in that she can control men, so why didn’t they send a team of women instead of sending in men who can be controlled?

I don't remember much about this story. I think I read it in the late 80s, but it could have been old at that time. It's about a group of house painters that are re-painting a neighborhood but as they do it the houses disappear. I think it's told from the perspective of a couple in one of the hou...

In opening scene from Alien Convenant, looks so white & wide: Is there any significance of it?

On Disney Plus, the Iron Man 2008 film doesn't have the first scene.. The one with the Jericho missile test. Any idea why?

Don't remember which was it from, but I recall seeing an episode about a scientist who was the last survivor on Earth and designed a robot to serve him, he's a like a butler. All is good, but the master/scientist is still not happy. I don't remember the middle part, but the end was a sexy woman g...

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Ch. 22): At once, Harry's scar burned white-hot, as though the old wound had burst open again - and unbidden, unwanted, but terrifyingly strong, there rose within Harry a hatred so powerful he felt, for that instant, he would like nothing better t...

As of the first three chapters of Prisoner of Azkaban, we know the following: Aunt Marge breeds bulldogs. As she's in England and they're described as fairly big, they're probably English bulldogs. Furthermore, as she's a professional breeder, they're probably fairly normal dogs. In other words...

In the book Night Watch, during the second story about Maxim, shortly after the events at the Indian restaurant, Anton Gorodetsky is on the run. He takes the subway, and at the exit, he encounters a Dark One... He then makes his way up the TV tower where he encounters a Dark One stationed ...

When I say this series has been haunting me for a couple of decades, it's an understatement. I remember loving this series, but I also remember it being a bit weird, and maybe even a bit science heavy for kids. There were a number of books in it (I believe), and all I can remember is this young ...

Back in the day I had to read a story from the "recommended" books section and I chose this. The story is about a guy (let's call him Steve) having to visit a planet that already has a human base set up, but I think they lost contact with the inhabitants, which prompted the reason for Steve to b...

I recall a short story I read in the 80's or 90's (might be older than that). The premise is that Albert Einstein (pretty sure it was him, might've been another scientist associated with the Manhattan Project) is racked with guilt about his involvement, and spends the rest of his life secretly t...

Many years ago I read a story of a man who experimented with a magnet strapped to his forehead. From what I remember, he examined this experiment in his attic study. He harnessed a magnet on his forehead for what I believe was an hour per day. After a time, he noticed a ghostly boy running thro...

I read a paperback book no later than the 1976 (I strongly believe that I read it before I graduated high school, possibly years before). I think I bought it from a garage sale, so it may have been even older. The setting was modern day (for its time), and the main character worked at (I believ...

It was a isekai otome with the main character being the villainess. She was trying to cancel her engagement to the Prince, because he would invite her over to have her walk in on him cheating on her and then she yelled at him so much he cried. Then later after she got a werewolf pretend boyfrien...

The opening crawl of ROS makes it clear a transmission has already been made. The dead speak! The galaxy has heard a mysterious broadcast, a threat of revenge in the sinister voice of the late Emperor Palpatine. Yet Poe Dameron and all the Rebellion leadership seems caught by surprise whe...

This is from an dystopian anthology I read in the early 1970's. The world is run-down and brutal, reminiscent of Soylent Green / Make Room Make Room. Everyone has a tattoo on their arm indicating their birth date. You can earn a reward (I think: extending your own life) by killing someone and br...

While reading through Sci-fi pre-1985 children's(ish?) book series about a boy who lived next door to an old scientist, I was suddenly struck with a memory of having read a book within the last few years (I'll start trolling through my library history tonight after work) with a kind of similar pr...

This is from a dystopian anthology I read in the early 1970's. Humans encounter a friendly alien race that shares advanced technologies. The protagonist's daughter (maybe) begs him to not use the Star Trek-style transporter. It seems harmless -- he uses it and so do most other people. Later the...