Zaphod

We all know that the Enterprise-D had a wide variety of exciting adventures, exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilizations and just generally going boldly where no one has yadda yadda. They even saved the whole damn Earth on at least a couple of occasions. So how were ...

In the one shot about Galacta (Galactus' 'daughter') it is eventually revealed she is 'pregnant'. Does she ever give birth? Does she ever appear again, to resolve this story?

This was a very short story, involving a Scientist who invents a Time Machine. He invites his friend/colleague and family on a trip through time. They both wish to leave their present due to due to either a repressive political regime or due to restrictions placed on research. It is explained tha...

I think that I read this story in the 1970's, but it was probably from the golden age, possibly from Galaxy or Amazing Stories. It was the first and longest story in the anthology. The story contained several line art drawings. The first of which was the mausoleum and grounds depicted on the firs...

At the end of Mass Effect 2 we see the Reapers outside the Milky Way approaching and during Mass Effect 3 in the Galaxy Map they seem to appears on the edges and make their way inward. I am wondering, do the Reapers just sit and wait outside the Milky Way wanting for the next cycle to begin or i...

Looking for the title and author of a short story that appeared in one of Analog's sister magazines, featuring an astronomer, Electron Spin Resonance, tricyclics, neural superconduction and SETI. The author mentions that the astronomer spends a great deal of time working in a red-lit environment...

The third episode of The 4400 ('Becoming') has a returnee who whistles what I'm sure is a TV or film theme tune while stalking some women and taking photos of them. What is this tune? It drives me crazy every time I watch this episode, and it is not listed on the IMDB trivia page. edit: i'll tr...

Is Godzilla a dinosaur? Is he related to the dinosaurs of the Triassic-Cretaceous period moreso than just a random lizard of today?

I'm trying to recall the name of a book I read in the mid-90s. It was probably new at that time. It was a lengthy, literary, philosophical minded fantasy about a faun who spent quite a long stretch of time as an inanimate statue. At the time, it quite challenged my patience and attention span,...

Some characters in Disney movies are labelled as Princesses. Is there an official list of these Princesses? Rules to qualify, requirements that must be met?

I read the book from my local library in the early- to mid- seventies. It was hardcover (library bound) and the dust jacket had a printed burlap or canvas background. The back flap mentioned that the author's name was a pseudonym. The book had lots of conversation, anecdotes and opinions with lit...

I believe the movie was made in the 70's. (at least it was during that time I saw it). It was in color. The only part I can remember is that Earth was being invaded (of course) by telepathic (or psionic) aliens that are humanoid. I seem to remember a scene during the invasion when the (main ??) ...

The Dance of the Dragons was a wide-scale civil war between two factions of House Targaryen headed by Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Prince Aegon II Targaryen who were both vying for the throne of their father. Dragons fought against other dragons and most of them died as a result. What is t...

This mystery has been plaguing me for years. In grade school, somewhere in the 7-8 grade zone, so about six, seven years back, my teacher had this bookshelf in the class that was pretty much a mix of books that I assume were only found together because they were cheap. The book I'm trying to find...

I read a novel between 8 and 15 years ago (2003 - 2010) which was probably at least ten years old at that point. It was about a small group of humans who were captured by an advanced race that put them in a simulation. The simulation looked good - but all the machines in it were non-functional....

Given how the movie was hyped as being a faithful rendition (and, for the most part, it was), what was the reasoning behind making such a radical change to the ending? I've seen statements from Zack Snyder discussing why he felt the end was as good as the original, as well as claims that the orig...

I grew up watching the 90s cartoon X-Men: The Animated Series, and I'd like to get into reading the comics. I'm faced with a massive backlog of comics if I want to catch up. I figured where the cartoon either starts, ends, or somewhere in the middle would be a good place to start off, but I don't...

We learn in the opening crawl of The Phantom Menace that the Trade Federation has set up a blockade around Naboo in response to taxation of trade routes. The opening crawl states: Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all ship...

More than 5 years ago I read a story about this. Set in 2020 Italy. One school boy's hobby is creating and playing Net-Plugged Games, which apparently have great graphical detail and can be created on a whim. He is creating his latest one to then play it and has the feeling something is lacking,...

Back in the 90's I read a book that either was the whole book or just a short story in it which had a guy stuck in a time loop he eventually discovers is caused by a gypsy who cursed him because his ex girlfriend kills herself. It notes that although the day is repeating weather and other natura...

Hoping for pointer to story. Person lands on planet [having done something bad] in space lifeboat with no windows. Planet has two or three suns. Does bad things on planet. Small children he meets warn him about a danger. Gets comeuppance when caught out in open when the really big blue gia...

My entry into Brandon Sanderson's works is Mistborn Trilogy, I finished and loved it. Then I got to know that many of his series are connected and happen in the same universe - Cosmere. Next I started with the Way of Kings, but am now kind of worried if I might read the series in the wrong order....

Kosh asks Sheridan to meet him at a strange, secluded place. He then asks Sheridan to enter a room. There is a hooded figure in there, and when Sheridan pays him with his rank badge, the figure and many others start singing. The scene is from season 2, episode 14, and is called One Moment of Per...

In reference to this question about the casting of the character "Data" in Star Trek: The Next Generation series, I noticed that there is no mention of the Worf character. Was he even a primary character or added on later?

Some of the books in the Shadowhunters series by Cassandra Clare have rather poetic titles (Queen of Air and Darkness, City of Heavenly Fire, and so forth). The series themselves have some interesting titles as well (e.g. The Mortal Instruments). “The Queen of Air and Darkness” is definitely a ...

I can't remember where I read this prose story, but in it there are super heroes. One of the super heroes can travel backward in time, but experiences all of the time that they travel through (so traveling 1 day back would cause him to experience 1 day of time in limbo.) The hero ages faster beca...

So, in The Last Jedi we see So what was that under it, that could do that? It's not near the engines. Was that

Please help me identify this character. He's on a button that only says "1986 Marvel comics" on the back.

This is my first time posting, so hopefully I won't leave out any details. I read this YA book about ~15 years ago. It was about a princess/daughter of a king who was sent to the desert/uncivilized nation to be married to this prince. When they first met, he thought that she was a "dancer" becaus...

My girlfriend and I have been watching (and very much enjoying) Star Trek: The Original Series recently, resulting in us deciding to try to watch the whole lot in the order it was released. The problem is that we have no idea what that order actually is. As far as I know, none of the films were ...

One boy goes to a magic school, where he is excited to meet his roommate only to find out that he is (a year older than him?) a green mage, while he is a red or fire mage. At some point they go to a party. The green mage makes him stand a the head of the table and stares at him, while controllin...

Several science fiction and fantasy franchises have different approaches to what is or isn't considered 'canon' to the body of work. As an example Star Wars used to use a tiered system of determining what is and isn't canon, developed by Leland Chee, to cope with having multiple writers contribut...

Paperback book, in English bought in USA in the 1970s. Spaceman in suspended animation wakes up in underground city/bunker. How he got there... I THINK he was a crewman on a spaceship, and was doing exterior repairs (maybe in a work-pod.) Something happens and the ship warps out and leaves him (o...

The story I'm looking for takes place in the far future. Humans have long since left for space. The Earth is dominated by intelligent dogs and cats, who are in conflict with each other. The dogs, who were domesticated for far longer than cats, miss humanity and create androids to take their place...

According to James Gunn, the creator(s) of Rocket Raccoon is identified somewhere in Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2. Specifically in the MCU, who created Rocket Raccoon? @ConceptsComics: So... Who do you think probably created rocket, in all his misery? If you were to have any character, eve...

I was just re-watching the Stargate SG-1 episode "Threads". As Carter finds herself in an awkward moment with Jack and his recently found companion at his backyard barbecue, she is interrupted by her cell phone. To answer the call, she takes out something looking more like a woman's compact than ...

I am looking for a short story about an alien or possibly a robot looking for sources of food. The story was read in a school English comprehension text book in the UK in the early 1980's. Story is as follows: A man is running a petrol/gas station and diner in the desert, I assume in the US from ...

I think I read this book around 8 to 16 years ago, but I think it was a few years old at that point. What I remember of the plot: The singularity has taken place, most of the world are transhuman There are large reserves where baseline humans (such as the Amish) can live as though the singula...

According to the Star Wars script, C-3PO introduces himself: I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. What does he mean, cyborg? Is he claiming to be one?

I don't remember if this is a short story or a cartoon. It would be mid-90s or older. A man has clocks all over his house, and he keeps trying to synchronise them by checking the time on one clock, then going to the next room and changing the time on the next clock to be the same as the first cl...

In Big Hero 6, one of the central plot points is when Hiro tries using Baymax to kill Robert Callaghan. He tries to do this to avenge his brother, who died in a fire at the university Callaghan taught at. Is it ever stated explicitly that Callaghan started that fire? It is certainly implied that...

Out of Universe: I was having a chat conversation recently regarding the TARDIS from the Doctor Who television series. I became curious as to how many TARDIS props were created for the television show beginning with the first episode that aired in 1963. I know that Doctor Who has a huge fan ba...

In Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, did Mr. Murry (Meg's father) use a device, a body motion, or only his mind to tesser? Did the non-earthlings tesser by the same means? Is such a detail given? I'm not asking about the bug-on-fabric analogy. I haven't read the story in decades, and I can't...

Kim Stanley Robinson's newest novel 2312 shares a lot of themes with his classic Mars Trilogy. Are they set in a shared universe?

I believe I read this story in a fantasy anthology in the early nineties. It was about a child who is the only other human being in a tiny world created by a wizard who is all-powerful within their reality. He has created and destroyed a number of different things to amuse himself, but without ...

During the events of the Black Magician Trilogy, The High Lord Akkarin mentions that he communicates with his servant Takan using a Blood Gem, which is created using forbidden Black Magic. Where does Takan hide this gem? I didn't find any reference to where it was hidden in the text.

In the Seven Kingdoms series by Kristin Cashore, we first are introduced to Gracelings, each of whom has a particular gift (for survival, cooking, mind control, whatever), and is distinguished by their different-colored eyes, often of an unusual color. As I recall, it's not heritable. Meanwhile, ...

What was the time it took Gordon to get from the beginning of the story (anomalous materials facility of Black Mesa) to the Nihilanth? I believe he arrived in the morning but I don't recall walking around outside during night. Was it just another day at the office?

I don't have a ton of details for this story, and unfortunately mostly only remember details from the end of the story. I'm fairly certain that it was the first book in a series, and was hoping to find the rest of it. Time frame: I read this around ten years ago, and I think it was just a few ye...

One of the staples of The Amazing Spider-Man is that Peter Parker sells pictures of Spider-Man to J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle for money. The irritable editor frequently underpays him, and Peter occasionally threatens to sell to other newspapers in order to strike a deal. For instance, h...