Science Fiction Trivia

[ffutures]

I'm very glad you posted that link - while I was looking at the Wiki I idly typed my name in and found that one of the links was a book published under my name I'd never heard of - turns out that the publisher (now deceased) converted a Star Trek scenario I'd written to Traveller rules and adapted it to the Traveller universe. Would have been nice if he'd asked permission or paid me for it...

Looks like the groats aren't the only ones getting fleeced …

I'm far from the only author affected - I've had some feedback from people I asked about this, the publisher's business model was to rip off other publishers and authors. I suspect he got away with it because the amount he was stealing from them was less than the cost of suing him would have been. By all accounts a thoroughly despicable person.

[spud42]

ok cody, that makes 4.... next one wins

[ffutures]

OK, since nobody seems to be posting... do genetically modified organisms count?

The butter-bugs of the Vorkosigan universe, genetically modified insects created on the colony on Alpha Centauri and shipped to Barrayar. They eat plant waste (leaves etc.) and produce fertilizer (their waste) plus organic goo that can be processed into a wide variety of foods, such as ice cream. Can also be tailored for aesthetic appearance.

[spud42]

source?
seeing as i didnt rule out gene moding it will probably stand....

[ffutures]

source?
seeing as i didnt rule out gene moding it will probably stand....

Sorry - the Vorkosigan novels by Bujold, especially A Civil Affair.

To clarify this, it's never explicitly stated where the ancestral stock of the insects comes from - it might be Earth. But they're so heavily modified that they might as well be an alien species.

[ffutures]

OK, since nobody seems to be objecting I'll post another question.

Let's have another five things - mysterious artificial objects, NOT spaceships or space stations - found drifting in space. Any source, but you can only use a given source or author once, e.g. you could have had the giant space pizzas from Oolite, but that would rule out anything else from the Oolite / Elite universe. In fact let's just rule this universe out now, way too many things floating around there. Also no Ringworlds, Dyson Spheres, death stars etc., there are way too many of them in fiction. If you use a source from one medium (e.g. Marvel comics) that also rules out related works such as the Marvel films.

[Cody]

Would a message in a bottle count? If so, it's the Planet of the Apes novel again...

... a rich couple sailing alone in space rescue and translate a manuscript from a floating bottle.

[Disembodied]

What about the mysterious machine entities known as Watchkeepers, from Alastair Reynolds' "Poseidon's Children" trilogy?

[GearsNSuch]

How 'bout 2001's Monolith?

[ffutures]

Would a message in a bottle count? If so, it's the Planet of the Apes novel again...

... a rich couple sailing alone in space rescue and translate a manuscript from a floating bottle.

That's one.

What about the mysterious machine entities known as Watchkeepers, from Alastair Reynolds' "Poseidon's Children" trilogy?

I really don't know this one, but if they're mysterious objects in space that's OK

How 'bout 2001's Monolith?

Ok, yes, the second monolith in the story is found floating in space. That's three.

[Cody]

What about that Outside Context Problem in Excession?

[ffutures]

What about that Outside Context Problem in Excession?

Yes, that's another. One to go!

[spud42]

how about the "great evil" that is to attack earth in "The Fifth Element" ?

[ffutures]

how about the "great evil" that is to attack earth in "The Fifth Element" ?

Yep, that's the fifth answer... Well done! Your turn.

[spud42]

cant think of a list of 5 at the moment, well one that hasnt already been done.....
so here is a quick lightning round. name the series or first book will do. as well as the author your starting clues for 100 pts are.

Von Neumann Probe . He wakes up 117 years later and finds that he has been harvested from his frozen disembodied head and installed in a computer matrix as an artificial intelligence.