Oolite Bulletins

The Overlords in Clark's Childhood's End . They bring world peace as part of helping the human race to ascend. The Asgard in Stargate SG-1 . Generally helpful in preventing the Go'auld from destroying the human race on several occasions, eventually bow out giving humanity their technology. The Over...

cbr wrote: ↑

Fri May 29, 2020 10:08 am

The Vulcans.

That's one, definitely.

RockDoctor wrote: ↑

Fri May 29, 2020 1:01 pm

The Berserkers want to help us with all our existential problems. Permanently.

I don't think that can be classed as help!

Another list of five, then: name five alien cultures/species (as opposed to individuals) who offer aid and assistance to humanity. This is not simply just being peaceful and friendly: these aliens are here to help us solve at least some of our civilisational problems. NB: not all of humanity might w...

Also for those of us from Scotland who are old enough to remember: "blue sticks".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tQsXJEza6A

Freslin: a drug in Farscape, extracted from the glands of sentient creatures. It's a euphoriant and an aphrodisiac.

In Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, the brightly coloured alien Puffies snacks on the planet Kitson have psychotropic and hallucinogenic effects on humans.

OK, here's one. In the RAH/ Spider Robinson posthumous collaboration " Variable Star " […] OK, that's one. […] the Second Foundation […] Two! Would the dimension-jumping of Charlie Stross's "Merchant Princes" quintet by staring at an eyeball-twisting pattern count as psi? If I recall correctly, it ...

Psi-powers seem to have dropped out of fashion in science fiction of late (or in the SF books I'm reading, at least). Can you list five psychic organisations, from separate SF universes: max 1 per universe, etc. Randomly psychic individuals don't count: there has to be some group/body/etc. of psychi...

There's the Crimson Permanent Assurance, an interstellar insurance company from Charles Stross's Neptune's Brood.

CHOAM (Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles), from Dune : because it has its fingers in so many pies, it's difficult to say exactly what it does, but since the bulk of its profits depend on melange, I'd classify it as a spice merchant. General Products, from Larry Niven's Known Space stories. B...

1) Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster
2) Romulan Ale

From Larry Niven's Known Space series: Whitefood, also know as Bandersnatchi - especially their large, delicious brains - as eaten by the Thrintun during their ascendancy some 2 or 3 billion years ago. Alternatively, Tree-of-Life root, native to the Pak homeworld: simply irresistible to hominids onc...

Carl Sagan, Contact (novel)
Ted Chiang, "Story of Your Life" (novella)
Iain M. Banks, "The State of the Art" (novella)

I wasn't quite sure how to add detail the blank sides. I think I was trying to go for a guard housing complex here, but I'm not entirely satisfied. Any ideas would be appreciated. These are looking good! As well as structures and general greebling, a few lighted windows (and maybe some gun-turrety-...

In Charles Stross's Accelerando, various people/things are uploaded to various places … there's the uploaded, uplifted lobsters who end up getting a job running a space-based factory, for example. Or the uploaded crew of the tiny spaceship, the Field Circus.

Cmdr James wrote: ↑

Sun May 03, 2020 6:22 pm

Very good!

There is also (a little hint) a well known scifi series about tanks which shares a name with a common household tool.

Ah, of course - the Hammer's Slammers series by David Drake.