These are the finals of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Quiz conducted as part of Saahitya 2017 at IIT Madras. The quiz was done by Nithin Ramesan, Aditya YVV and Vishal Katariya.
2. written 1
each question has two parts, each of which
differs from the other part in only one letter
3x +10/0
3. 1.
First winner of the sci-fi triple crown. 1984 novel, first of the author’s Sprawl
trilogy. It involves ‘jacking in’ to the matrix, and is considered to be the seminal
work in its subgenre.
A disguise used by a certain entity after he was vanquished partially. He spent
over a thousand years in an Elven castle.
4. 2.
The main antagonist in a landmark sci-fi novel. Represented in the film
adaptation as a Nikon Nikkor 8mm F8.
(first part required) This person’s original name, which represents Hebrew for
“voice of God”. This leads Larry Tyre to believe that this name alludes to Moses’
role as prophet.
5. 3.
Disambiguation -
● ______ the Old, son of Nain I
● ______ II, son of Thror
● ______, soundtrack from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
An Imperial military commander who has his own trilogy written by Timothy
Zahn.
7. 1.
First winner of the sci-fi triple crown. 1984 novel, first of the author’s Sprawl
trilogy. It involves ‘jacking in’ to the matrix, and is considered to be the seminal
work in its subgenre.
A disguise used by a certain entity after he was vanquished partially. He spent
over a thousand years in an Elven castle.
9. 2.
The main antagonist in a landmark sci-fi novel. Represented in the film
adaptation as a Nikon Nikkor 8mm F8.
(first part required) This person’s original name, which represents Hebrew for
“voice of God”. This leads Larry Tyre to believe that this name alludes to Moses’
role as prophet.
11. 3.
Disambiguation -
● _____ the Old, son of Nain I
● _____ II, son of Thror
● _____, soundtrack from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
An Imperial military commander who has his own trilogy written by Timothy
Zahn.
14. 1.
Here is an excerpt from a conversation from a book.
"Precisely, sir," said Daneel. "In theory, the X was the answer to our
problems. In practice, we could never decide. A human being is a concrete
object. Injury to a person can be estimated and judged. Humanity is an
abstraction.”
This is an allusion to a certain modification that was made. What modification,
that could remind one of a retroactive correction in the realm of physics too?
15.
16. The Zeroth Law of Robotics, which reads - “A robot may not harm humanity, or
through inaction allow humanity to come to harm”.
17. 2.
N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth series follows three different time periods of the
protagonist - her childhood (during which her name is Damaya), her early
twenties (she’s called Syenite) and her late forties (she’s called Essun).
This depiction is an example of a Neopaganistic trio of deities that are often
represented in literature - one that we’d be most familiar with from another
popular epic fantasy series with medieval themes.
Which trio?
20. 3.
Robert Simmons wrote a sci-fi novel in 2004 called Ilium/Olympos which
featured many characters adapted from Greek mythology. In addition, it
featured X, who features as a subhuman character in another
(few-centuries-old) work of literature Y. X has been accepted to be an absolute
monster, both literally and symbolically, and reviewers of Ilium/Olympos say
that X is “a cross between Gollum and the alien of Alien”.
Vladimir Nabokov has always had an issue with the categorising of books as
‘sci-fi’ and once said “after all, if we start sticking group labels, we’ll have to put
Y in the SF category, and of course thousands of other valuable works.” About
this, The Guardian writes, “Of course there was an element of mischief in his
words, but it does lead you to think about the relationship between theatre and
the space age.”
23. 4. ID the two subgenres of SF.
● Space ___ is adventure science fiction set mainly or entirely in outer space or
on sometimes distant planets. The conflict is heroic, and typically on a large
scale. It is also used nostalgically, and modern space ___ may be an attempt to
recapture the sense of wonder of the golden age of science fiction.
● The space ___ transposes themes of American ___ books and films to a
backdrop of futuristic space frontiers. These stories typically involve colony
worlds that have only recently been terraformed and/or settled serving as
stand-ins for the backdrop of lawlessness and economic expansion that were
predominant in the American ___.
26. 5.
The society in the novel X is built on questionable dogmas. Women are believed
incapable of advanced thinking, and are thus prevented from gaining an
education, or even learning how to read and write. <word> that deviate from the
ideal are (rather aptly) treated as untouchables, because their sharpness is
potentially dangerous. Also, parents sometimes resort to dangerous medical
procedures with the hopes of ‘straightening out’ the faults of their offspring.
The novel is a critique of Victorian society and a certain literature blog says
that the author may have found the perfect platform for representing a narrow
viewpoint. What novel?
27.
28.
29. 6. only masquerading as SFF
Neal Stephenson worked for a few years, from 1999 to 2006 at the company X. He
says about his time as a visiting scientist there, “the bulk of my efforts were devoted
to investigating possible alternatives to conventional rockets as ways of getting
into space. Basically this involved producing a lot of Mathematica notebooks.”
Stephenson credits employees at X for thoughtful decisions which led him to write
his nice 2015 novel Seveneves. The plot involves the unexpected disintegration of
the moon and the subsequent catastrophe on Earth. A large number of moon
fragments fly around and create what is called a “white sky”. What happens next
can be described by the title of a Bob Dylan song, and two words from that title are
used in the book to describe subsequent events.
What is the two-word company X, and what are these two words?
32. 7.
This ‘scourge’ in fantasy novels apparently was popularised by Anne McCaffrey
in 1968 and ever since, it has become a staple in SFF literature. Its popularity
can also (perhaps apocryphally) be attributed to the inauguration of Hawaii as
a state of the USA. (hint?)
This facet may have a meaning in other languages, but in English there is no
place for glottal stops and therefore they are by and large ignored by readers,
rather ironically. They serve merely as visual seasoning. What scourge is this?
33.
34. The insertion of rand’om apostrophes for no reason at all. Hoo dat Muad’dib?
35. 8.
This was first launched by Wizards of the Coast in 1993. It was the first trading card
game produced, preceding other major movements like Duelmasters, Yu-Gi-Oh,
Digimon and Pokemon.
The game was first just called X, but lawyers said that the name was too generic to
be trademarked. Therefore, two words were appended to the name making it X: ___
_________.
If it helps, in 2014, Hasbro announced a franchise film deal with 20th Century Fox to
“launch a massive franchise on the scale of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings."
What game?
39. 1.
The power of magic in this world originates from the two god-like entities
Preservation and Ruin. Most people capable of channeling this magic can
channel only one type. One who can channel all is powerful beyond measure
and the name given to such a person lends itself to the name of the series.
What series?
40. 2.
The magic in the Wheel of Time series, the One Power, originates from
something called the True Source. The Source has a masculine and a feminine
part, and both of these are complementary.
A subset of channelers in the series are able to wield a power called the True
Power. This power is not differentiated into male and female parts, and can be
used only if permission to use it is given.
What is the origin of the True Power?
41. 3.
X is a word found in Austronesian and Polynesian languages which means
“power, effectiveness, prestige”. In most cases that it is used, it is understood
that the power is supernatural. This word has now entered the world of fantasy
and gaming to represent the specific energy required for specific tasks.
Wikipedia now says “The number of works using the term since are too
exhaustive to list.” What is the good word?
The game Magic: The Gathering was once called X Clash.
42. 4.
The four styles are based on four existing Chinese martial arts, namely Tai Chi,
Hung Gar, Ba Gua Zhang and Northern Shaolin. There are also subcategories of
each of these. Only some people are able to harness this ‘magic’ where they
manipulate the classical elements by use of psychokinetic variants of the
above martial arts described.
Additionally, whether this series can be considered as anime or as an
American cartoon is often discussed. Which series is this?
44. 1.
The power of magic in this world originates from the two god-like entities
Preservation and Ruin. Most people capable of channeling this magic can
channel only one type. One who can channel all is powerful beyond measure
and the name given to such a person lends itself to the name of the series.
What series?
45.
46. 2.
The magic in the Wheel of Time series, the One Power, originates from
something called the True Source. The Source has a masculine and a feminine
part, and both of these are complementary.
A subset of channelers in the series are able to wield a power called the True
Power. This power is not differentiated into male and female parts, and can be
used only if permission to use it is given.
What is the origin of the True Power?
48. 3.
X is a word found in Austronesian and Polynesian languages which means
“power, effectiveness, prestige”. In most cases that it is used, it is understood
that the power is supernatural. This word has now entered the world of fantasy
and gaming to represent the specific energy required for specific tasks.
Wikipedia now says “The number of works using the term since are too
exhaustive to list.” What is the good word?
The game Magic: The Gathering was once called X Clash.
50. 4.
The four styles are based on four existing Chinese martial arts, namely Tai Chi,
Hung Gar, Ba Gua Zhang and Northern Shaolin. There are also subcategories of
each of these. Only some people are able to harness this ‘magic’ where they
manipulate the classical elements by use of psychokinetic variants of the
above martial arts described.
Additionally, whether this series can be considered as anime or as an
American cartoon is often discussed. Which series is this?
54. 9. title
Larry Niven wrote a few books with a certain Jerry Pournelle, some being
Inferno (1976) and Escape From Hell (2009). In 1978, they wrote the book X -
_______’_ Hammer which deals with the imminent danger of an asteroid
impacting Earth.
Arthur C Clarke also wrote a novel on similar lines in 1993, where the asteroid
impacting Earth is called Kali. This novel has a four word title which could be
interpreted in some manner as an opposite to X.
Identify the titles of both novels.
57. 10. author
From an eulogy written in 2007, identify who is being spoken of.
I’m sure many see this as an opportunity, not a tragedy. Who is the heir apparent? I wonder how many authors emailed their
editors Monday, asking if someone was needed to [...]. Even if none of them are chosen for that task, there will be a feeling that Tor
needs to push somebody to fill the hole in their line-up.
And yet, I sit here thinking that something has CHANGED. Something is missing. Some hated you, Mr. X, claiming you
represented all that is terrible about popular fantasy. Others revered you as the only one who got it RIGHT.
Personally, I simply feel indebted to you. You showed me what it was to have vision and scope in a fantasy series—you showed me
what could be done. I still believe that without your success, many younger authors like myself would never have had a chance at
publishing their dreams.
You go quietly, but leave us trembling.
Also, who wrote the eulogy, which is rather apt?
60. 11. abstract
A mysterious cosmic particle that is integral to the plot, this is also said to be
the physical manifestation of Original Sin, which makes it an object deeply
studied by the Church. The name of this ‘particle’ is said to come from an
alternate version of the Bible in this world.
"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground;
for out of it wast thou taken: for X thou art, and unto X shalt thou return"
What particle, and which series is this?
63. 12. equipment
The three of these are, aptly, in the three realms of the world - in the sky,
beneath the earth and in the sea. The presence of these in the earth and the sea
arose because the last owners of these had come into these unrightfully (by
theft) and their hands were burned by these objects’ light. One thief committed
suicide by jumping into a fiery pit and the other threw his into the sea. The first
one that is currently in the sky was recovered from its original thief, and was
used then as a token of repentance was then permanently set as a star.
66. 13. theory (science)
An ansible is a device used in more than one significant science fiction book.
Ursula K. Le Guin invented the concept in her 1966 novel Rocannon’s World
saying that she derived the name from the word ‘answerable’ because it would
reduce delays to a reasonable amount. The device was also used later in Orson
Scott Card’s seminal Ender’s Game trilogy. Some scientific work later says that
these devices could have used the principle of quantum entanglement to work.
Simply put, what purpose does this ansible serve?
69. 14. theory
A plot device that is essentially used to refer to “unknown future technology”, this
author’s use of Xs sadly has next to no scientific explanation. Some initial
speculation says that the nature of Xs automatically implies the presence of
powerful magnetic fields. They are also described to be made of a platinum and
iridium alloy.
They are supposedly vulnerable to radiation and feature a volatile memory, which is
justified by the fact that _____s in storage require power to keep their Xs “alive”.
This author focused less on the technical aspects, and more on the psychological
aspects of his characters and his stories. His reliance on Xs made his 1940s and 50s
stories not too dated, because he spoke about Xs instead of transistors and vacuum
tubes.
72. 15. X?
The following is an excerpt from the Reddit AMA of C. Robert Cargill, a novelist
and more recently, the screenwriter of the movie X.
“Scott Derrickson wanted The Ancient One to be an Asian woman, but felt that it would be perceived
as exploiting Asian fetish and "a fanboy's dream girl." He decided to cast a non-Asian actor in the role,
but to still take the opportunity to cast "an amazing actress in a male role." The casting of _____
_______ as The Ancient One was particularly controversial and drew accusations of whitewashing, as
the character is portrayed as a Tibetan man in the source material. However, one proposed reason for
the change is that a movie featuring a Tibetan character will not be acceptable in China, which has
become a very important foreign market. So the deviation from the source material was probably to
not hurt the movie's box office chances.”
75. 16.
The X and the Y is a 2013 historical fiction/fantasy book that tells the story of
two displaced magical creatures in 19th century NYC. It is an immigrant tale
that combines elements of Jewish and Arab folk mythology. One of the
creatures is an X, created out of clay to be her master’s wife. The master dies in
the journey to NYC, however. The other creature is a Y, a being of fire, who is
freed after a thousand years by a tinsmith in NYC.
The second book of a trilogy featuring a (rather hilarious) Y as a protagonist
has the word X in its title.
80. 1.
While killing off the older versions trigger a warning that summons law
enforcement almost immediately, surely they can be injured or incapacitated
to make the younger versions’ jobs easier?
81. 2.
Although the movie ended on a happy and triumphant note, the filmmakers
seem to have conveniently forgotten that the explosion of a 500-mile long
mothership would cause debris to rain down, killing a large number of people.
Considering an asteroid a mile long is enough to destroy Earth, and since there
were multiple smaller ships 15 miles in length that also exploded, there’s a
pretty big plothole here.
82. 3.
This one has a bunch of scientific plot holes, but maybe the most obvious
question to ask is this: training to be an astronaut takes a minimum of 8-9
years, but training to be a driller takes maybe a year. Why not train astronauts
to be drillers instead of the other way ‘round?
83. 4.
In the first movie, the lack of weapons on a time traveller is explained by the
fact that only organic materials can make it through time travel. Since X has
living tissue over a metal endoskeleton, he was able to travel back.
The plot hole appears in the second movie, where Y is made of a “mimetic
polyalloy” - no organic materials.
84. 5.
A (shitty) explanation for this plot hole is that the ___ is quite literally a giant
bullseye - all the bad guys aim for the star.
86. 1.
While killing off the older versions trigger a warning that summons law
enforcement almost immediately, surely they can be injured or incapacitated
to make the younger versions’ jobs easier?
88. 2.
Although the movie ended on a happy and triumphant note, the filmmakers
seem to have conveniently forgotten that the explosion of a 500-mile long
mothership would cause debris to rain down, killing a large number of people.
Considering an asteroid a mile long is enough to destroy Earth, and since there
were multiple smaller ships 15 miles in length that also exploded, there’s a
pretty big plothole here.
90. 3.
This one has a bunch of scientific plot holes, but maybe the most obvious
question to ask is this: training to be an astronaut takes a minimum of 8-9
years, but training to be a driller takes maybe a year. Why not train astronauts
to be drillers instead of the other way ‘round?
92. 4.
In the first movie, the lack of weapons on a time traveller is explained by the
fact that only organic materials can make it through time travel. Since X has
living tissue over a metal endoskeleton, he was able to travel back.
The plot hole appears in the second movie, where Y is made of a “mimetic
polyalloy” - no organic materials.
97. 17.
This is the X Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation is awarded every
year to recognize excellence in screenwriting. A bigger image follows on the
next slide. The design of the logo is inspired by one of X’s most famous novels,
which is, in the words of X himself, a “half-cousin to a novel” and “a book of
stories pretending to be a novel”. X, and the novel.
101. 18.
This book was first published in 1987, and was followed by The Long Dark
Tea-Time of the Soul. It features as its protagonist Svlad Cjelli who operates
based on the "fundamental interconnectedness of all things”. His MO is to do
things wholly, and this results in him running up large expense accounts and
then claiming that every item (such as needing to go to a tropical beach in the
Bahamas for three weeks) was, as a consequence of this "fundamental
interconnectedness", actually a vital part of the investigation.
The protagonist, however, uses a pseudonym that he says “has a Scottish
dagger feel to it”. What is the name of the 1987 book, that had a TV series
released on Netflix in December 2016?
102.
103.
104. 19.
In the novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, the villain is a certain L Bob Rife,
whose name is a shoutout to a real-life person who, among other things, was
also a sci-fi writer.
L Bob Rife and this person share an investment in science and technological
advancement as a means to understanding the mind and influencing the spirit.
The real life person also developed what he called "the modern science of
mental health".
Who is L Bob Rife’s real-life analogue, somebody most famous for something
sci-fi-y?
107. 20. tiny written round. (3*+4/0)
We wanted to make an entire special round on this beautiful thing called Cage
Match by a blog called Unbound Worlds, but we aren’t that unprofessional so
we’re restricting to one question (or maybe two).
edit : we are very unprofessional.
very. a. Identify this
species.
111. 21. Connect (exhaustive list)
● Zeus (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)
● Odysseus (Troy)
● Chris Da Silva (Silent Hill)
● Stinger Apini (Jupiter Ascending)
● Mitch Henderson (The Martian)
● Snow White’s Father (Mirror Mirror)
● Corporal Hill (Pixels)
112.
113. Sean Bean characters in Sci-Fi/Fantasy works that do not die.
Note: Sean Bean alone gives no points
114. 22.
This photo is one from a series that depicts mashups of Disney princesses with
video game character classes.
The character class depicted here is broadly that of a Holy Warrior, combining
the abilities of warrior and priest. The concept is believed to have originated
from the Knights Templar, as well as the right-hand men of the Emperor
Charlemagne - who shared the same name as the class.
In game terms, an X is thus a Warrior character first, proficient with heavy
arms and armor. Yet at the same time an X is gifted with blessings or magical
capabilities such as healing, protection, and countering evil magic.
WTGW?.
121. 24.
___ is a departure from its predecessors, in that it depicts darker and grittier themes than one
would normally see. Creator Mark Millar was inspired by Western-themed movies during his
creation of ___.
When a consortium of bad guys decide to attack, X is fooled by a psychic attack into killing
most of his friends, prompting him to first attempt suicide, and later move out to California to
lead a peaceful life until a blind Hawkeye enlists his services as a driver. Then, of course, in
true X style, all hell breaks loose.
Editor Axel Alonso remembers thinking, “A Spaghetti Western set in a brutal, dystopian future?
What’s not to like?”
FITB, or give me X.
142. 25.
“The raid is set off balance at the outset by the ___’s determination not to support
operations against Scarif because they cannot verify intelligence reports that the plans
are located on Scarif and that they might hold a secret to the station’s weakness. This
leaves the raiding party without conventional support, such as tactical lift and close air
support. However, the commander of a special operations detachment, Captain Cassian
Andor, volunteers his detachment to X for the mission. This force is composed of light
infantry and numbers approximately 20-30 troopers. Armed with mainly light weaponry,
they are capable of swift movement, infiltration, and demolitions. However, with no
crew-served weapons and very few anti-armor guided munitions, they are not equipped
for sustained conventional battle. Cassian directs his men to take anything “that isn’t
tied down” to augment their meager supplies. Critical to their operation are demolitions
charges, which they are able to acquire.”
An excerpt from a military blog describing a skirmish from where?
148. 27.
A post seen on r/asksciencefiction:
I've been offered an internship at both Aperture Science and Black Mesa, but I'm not sure
which to pick. I'm looking for some input before I decide.
And a reply:
I work in the applied chaos theory laboratory at Black Mesa, and let's just say it is a hoot and a
half. Getting to play with the [REDACTED] is nothing but a joy, and [REDACTED] serves as an
excellent way to order pizzas so they arrive right when you want them.
My buddy works at Aperture and he's been trying to come over here for years. Something
about, and I'm writing him here, "The crazy cancer man bounced a lemon off the blue wall and
into my nuts."
2 parts: where would you have seen Aperture Science, and what is Black Mesa a remake of?
151. 28.
This guy who goes online as NalakaG has written a 120 page biography about
someone. Who?
152.
153.
154. 29.
The person Chris Hadfield is tweeting at essayed a role (his most well-known)
in which his character was required to carry out duties similar to what
Hadfield is describing.
Who?
157. 30.
The author of this series cites the following as her sources of inspiration for
the setting of her novels -
● The Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur
● The Roman gladiator games
● Reality television programs.
Which series?
160. 31. Y?
While this concept was made famous by much more recent series, modern
writers have credited X for introducing the idea of a Y. The author of X has said
that Y was in part a response to the image of wizards as ancient and wise, and
to her wondering where they come from and how they became so.
Born in 1929, the author of X has often been called “the greatest living
American science fiction author”.
Other, slightly more obscure examples of Y include Brakebills (The Magicians
by Lev Grossman), Balamb Garden (Final Fantasy) and Wizard’s Hall (Wizard’s
Hall, by Jane Yolen)
