Questions tagged [plot-device]
An element introduced into a story, film, play etc. to advance the plot.
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Which story describes this aircraft maneuver?
I'm looking for an aircraft maneuver described in (I believe science) fiction. In order to get going fast a jet climbs higher than it needs to, then in a powered descent or dive gains additional speed ...
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Explain rift plot points of Season 2 finale of Lost in Space (2018)
I'm having great difficulty understanding the basic Rift-related plot points of S2E10 Ninety-Seven of Lost in Space.
Since ships can follow others through the Rift (as jeffronicus points out, the ...
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Was a hand-held Claymore mine-based space weapon or anything similar described in fiction before it was proposed in reality? (ca. 1959)
This answer in Space SE contains the images below which come from a 1959 report on project Horizon which was found here (direct link to PDF).
The images show an astronaut on the Moon using a hand-...
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Why did Rey not change her clothes for 6 years (three movies)?
Why was Rey’s character made so unhygienic by making her wear the same clothes the entire time?
I shiver every time I think how she must have smelled.
And if she did change, where on Earth did she ...
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Why were wayfinder directions written on a dagger?
In The Rise of Skywalker, the heroes find the location of a Sith wayfinder by reading a runic inscription on Ochi's dagger.
What purpose does it serve to inscribe a random artifact's location on an ...
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What is special about "Quantum spatial entanglement"?
In book 2 of Peter Hamilton's Salvation sequence, there is some talk about elements having tried to subvert the key portal teleportation technology, similar to his FTL/wormhole trains in previous ...
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When does Logan become a runner?
I'm somewhat confused by the ambiguity in the intentions of Logan in Logan's Run (the movie). He seems genuinely interested in running as soon as he leaves his mission briefing with the supercomputer ...
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Why did the Andromeda Strain start digesting rubber (polychron) and human bodies?
Michael Crichton's 1969 science fiction thriller The Andromeda Strain and the 1971 film of the same name ficticiously describe/depict a Phantom F-4 where a biological agent recovered from a satellite ...
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Has a hard SciFi story addressed launching from Venus and its high-density atmosphere, especially after 1967?
Background:
The answer to the first part of When did planetary scientists realize Venus' surface pressure was almost 100x that on Earth? How did they find out? is 1967, though it was known or at ...
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When was DNA evidence from a crime investigation in space first used in a SciFi plot?
In the Space SE question Why were blood and hair follicles from 25 people put on the Moon? I wrote
It sounds more like a potential plot for a future CSI Spaceforce episode.
That got me thinking, ...
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Why do wizards in OTBTW restrict their magic to their staffs?
In Off to be the Wizard the shell program that does all the magic for the wizards is programmed so that it only listens to the spells if the wizard is holding his staff (or wand). But why would they ...
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In Avengers: Infinity War, what did Dr. Strange need to do to ensure the outcome in Endgame?
Dr. Strange explains to Stark in Infinity War as follows:
Strange: I went forward in time, to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict."
Stark: How many did ...
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What is the status of the Infinity Stones post Avengers: Endgame?
In Avengers: Endgame, the heroes travel back in time to "borrow" the Infinity Stones from the past to use them in the future.
I get that. At the end of the movie,
But because the movie has ...
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Does every generation of Starks have a Brandon?
I'm playing catch up with Game of Thrones and relying on YouTube to help fill in blanks, but have noticed there are a lot of Brandon Starks who all have important roles in shaping the story.
I know ...
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Is this a time-travel discrepancy in Gone World?
This is a question on Gone World.
At one point, Shannon gets back in time without the formal channel (i.e. getting on her ship and heading back over a period of 3 months). She actually uses the time-...
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