Science Fiction Trivia

[Tichy]

Tip: she is sent to a school to become a psychotherapist ... a kind of "cyberpunk" psychotherapist

[Disembodied]

Pat Cadigan's Mindplayers?

[Tichy]

Correct!

[Disembodied]

OK, I'll apologise for this in advance. We all know that Spock has pointy ears, but not many people know that Captain Kirk has unusual ears too. Specifically, he has three: identify them all.

[Gimbal Locke]

OK, I'll apologise for this in advance. We all know that Spock has pointy ears, but not many people know that Captain Kirk has unusual ears too. Specifically, he has three: identify them all.

Left, right & final front?

[Disembodied]

Left, right & final front?

Gimbal Locke gets the coconut! Also known as the chance to ask the next question ...

[Gimbal Locke]

Interestingly enough, David Braben also has a front ear, but I'm not sure if it's final.

New question: ancient knowledge which may give the humans the upper hand in an interstellar war is rediscovered by a technician.

What knowledge?

[JensAyton]

Interestingly enough, David Braben also has a front ear, but I'm not sure if it's final.

He says it isn’t, but it sounds a bit fourced.

[Disembodied]

Oh no! What have I begun?

[Gimbal Locke]

Oh no! What have I begun?

As long as captain Slog Supplemental does not hear about this, you don't have to worry.

[Gimbal Locke]

New question: ancient knowledge which may give the humans the upper hand in an interstellar war is rediscovered by a technician.

What knowledge?

The technician does not like the way in which his rediscovery of the ancient knowledge (or methods) is used, and kills himself.

Of course, this does not stop the military to use it in their war against their enemies from Cygnus Alpha.

[Gimbal Locke]

The military hope to get two advantages from the discovery:

1. Strategic: cheaper (and as a consequence of that also more) battleships and missiles. (This might have been plausible when the story was originally written, but I guess most of us would come up with plenty of arguments why this hope would be idle. The story does not state whether this succeeds or or not.)

2. Tactical: the surprise element of how their ships would fight.

[Zieman]

As nobody seems to know (or remember this), Google-Fu kicks in:
pen-and-paper arithmetic

[Rxke]

ooooh yes yes yes!

(cr@p.... brainmelt... Heinlein... i think.


EDIT: Wut? Zieman is not Gimbal, so he knows the answer?

[Zieman]

Not Heinlein, Asimov.

Google-Fu

makes me 99,8% sure.
Might be wrong, though.