Science Fiction Trivia

[ffutures]

Final Fantasy 7 - Sephiroths Final attack Super Nova
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTc9sLmOR0A

Final Fantasy? Doesn't sound like Science Fiction to me. But that's a cool bit of video, so unless someone feels deeply offended I'll accept it!

[Astrobe]

The legend of Archimedes' burning glass

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_glass

[Disembodied]

In the RPG Traveller, the Darrian Confederation have a device called a Star Trigger, which can cause a targeted star to produce devastating flares. Or at least everybody thinks they have, and that's enough to make everyone treat them very carefully.

There's also the meteor defence system in Larry Niven's The Ringworld Engineers.

[Commander_X]

Farscape's first manifestation of the "wormhole weapon" (Season 3 Episode 15 - Infinite Possibilities Part 2).

[ffutures]

Farscape's first manifestation of the "wormhole weapon" (Season 3 Episode 15 - Infinite Possibilities Part 2).

That's no. 2

The legend of Archimedes' burning glass

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_glass

OK, I suppose that counts as a "whatever" - no. 3

In the RPG Traveller, the Darrian Confederation have a device called a Star Trigger, which can cause a targeted star to produce devastating flares. Or at least everybody thinks they have, and that's enough to make everyone treat them very carefully.

There's also the meteor defence system in Larry Niven's The Ringworld Engineers.

OK, that's nos. 4 and 5, the cargo pod is in your scoop!

The one I really expected to see was the Sunbeam from E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman books. Annoyingly the passage describing it doesn't seem to be on line, but basically it turns the whole solar system into an immense vacuum tube with the sun as the emitter and all of the sun's energy momentarily released as one massive energy beam.

[Disembodied]

Commander_X supplied answer number 5, so he's up to bat. Or bowl, or pitch … Commander_X asks the next question, basically!

[Commander_X]

Commander_X supplied answer number 5, so he's up to bat. Or bowl, or pitch … Commander_X asks the next question, basically!

Thank you for the notice!
I'm not sure to what extent the time zones of the server by one side, and of the various clients on the other one, don't contribute to this confusion. E.g. I often see my posts inserted in the RSS list I usually consult to follow the forum.

Ok, another list of 5: sci-fi book realms you'd like captured in other entertainment media (movie, TV series, games).

Two rules: no single book realms, and no releases should've been made yet (e.g. no whining about a real/good/better "Dune" movie, there are two of them already).

[Cody]

The Mote in God's Eye/The Gripping Hand - the best sci-fi movie never made?

[Disembodied]

Harry Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat (although there were comic-strip versions of some of the stories published in 2000AD - the comic, not the year - so I don't know if that counts …).

[Grindalf]

Tanith Lee - Don't Bite the Sun/Drinking Sapphire Wine

[Cody]

I've often thought Allen Steele's Coyote trilogy would make a good sci-fi movie/series.

[Commander_X]

Good oodvertising so far -- 4 good, one to go -- waiting for the icing

[spud42]

Larry Niven Ringworld series....

[Commander_X]

Larry Niven Ringworld series....

It seems a game was already made for it ... sorry!

[ffutures]

Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series.

I've actually got a copy of the Ringworld RPG - it's pretty much unplayable, at least from the GM's point of view. Characters are hundreds of years old with ridiculous skill levels and finding something to challenge them is a total pain.