QUIZ ANSWERS

The correct response is Krypto, obviously named after Kal-El's home planet of Krypton. Before the Crisis on Infinite Earths, which substantially reduced the number of characters in the DC Universe, Krypto was a regular character who had many of Superman's abilities. After the Crisis, Superman was the only survivor of Krypton--or so it was believed. Krypto has appeared in several publications since the Crisis in the 80's. It just goes to show that you can't put a good dog down.

I would also like to apologize for the new header. It seems Alfonso may have misunderstood me when I asked him to add some new graphics to the site. We'll have that cleaned up in a week or two--so long as Alfonso understands my directions this time.

Enjoy the rest of your break!

Regards,

Prof. Sci-Fi

CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT: Reboot

Class,

I hope you all had a good winter break. Now that the next semester is beginning, I'm sure you are all looking forward to classes and homework.

I wanted to inform you about some changes that will be taking place in the next few weeks in our class, "Sci-Fi: A Narrative to Live By" or AWSM 101. First, I'd like to introduce you to a new member of our class, Alfonso, our TA. You will see him posting occasionally to keep you updated about changes to the syllabus, assignments, and other administrative things that help make the class run smoothly. It was necessary for me to hire Alfonso due to yet another change.

I am teaching a new course--some lectures of which will be appearing on our class website as supplementary material. The class is called: "Practical Skills for Sci-Fi Environments." This course is largely designed for people who will be doing field research in Sci-Fi environments and will cover topics such as safety tips for encounters with the Borg, guidelines for operating DeLoreans, and the many uses for Kryptonite. Check this space often for new material in this course.

Obviously, my busy schedule required me to hire Alfonso as an aide. I will also be participating in several conferences this semester, and so we will be having guest lecturers from all over the Sci-Fi universe. This semester, guest lecturers will come exclusively from the Star Trek mythology. Their lectures will be available as video blogs on the class website. The first lecturer will be Cowboy Worf and he will be visiting on Jan. 11. The topic will be forthcoming.

Because I will be out of the classroom so much, I believe it will be beneficial for you, the students, to have more direct access to me in case of any questions. Of course, as this is a class about Sci-Fi and morality, feel free to send me any questions regarding our class topics. You can reach me at profscifi@gmail.com . You can also contact Alfonso if you have any questions about grades or administrative things. Alfonso: alfonsothewitlessta@gmail.com . If the questions pertain to the whole class, I may answer them on the class website--with your permission, of course.

Of course, also keep watching this space for your homework assignments and weekly quizzes. The quizzes will be explained at the end of each week in order to better facilitate your learning.

It has been a great semester, and I look forward working with you in the new year, 2010. Sounds like something out of Sci-Fi, doesn't it?

Regards,

Prof. Sci-Fi

CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT: Upcoming Changes

Class,

There will be changes coming to the website. Stay tuned to find out how the timeline is about change.

Prof. Sci-Fi

Homework #4: Time

Time travel is a common plot device and theme in sci-fi. Usually in a sci-fi movie, ep, or book, the timeline gets distorted somehow and the job of the heroes is to fix it.

Of course, "distorted" is a pretty loaded term. In a story, we see the timeline as being "distorted," but in reality there's no "right way" for events to unfold. This leads me to a question:

Why does time travel intrigue us so much? And in the absence of even the possibility of time travel, why do we dream about it? Before sci-fi was invented, did people dream about changing the past or the future?

Feel free to answer any of these questions--or all of them.

Homework #3: Dark Side

Why is the Dark Side of the Force so appealing? Why do people turn to it? Would you?

Experience

We never really understand our own experience. Yet our experience is what defines us and what guides our decisions. And that's living. I learned that from Buffy.

Angel's experience is a conundrum (whose isn't?). He is a vampire--a monster who took great pleasure in torturing and inflicting pain on others. But he also has a soul--which means his own conscience tortures him with guilt for what he has done. And one Christmas, Angel's experience was almost his undoing.

Wracked with the suffering of those he killed, Angel decides to kill himself by standing on a hill, waiting for the sun to rise. But then Buffy finds him.

Buffy has had her own experience. But hers, like most of ours, is not nearly as cut-and-dry good-and-evil as Angel's. Hers is filled with nuance. She has a tendency to fall for guys who are likely to hurt her. Plus she has a calling: she is the Vampire Slayer. She never wanted to be the Slayer, and so her experience of living has been the tension between fate and free will, duty and liberty. Buffy's done some bad things, but she's mostly a good person. And she has come to talk some sense into Angel.

But Angel is just trying to make sense of his own experience. And he has a point.

"Am I thing worth saving? Am I a righteous man?" he cries.

Buffy doesn't buy it. She loves him and wants him to live. So she accuses him of being a coward for not fighting--for not dealing with the conundrum of his dual experience. Angel sees it another way: he thinks he IS dealing with that problem and solving it. He asks her to let him be strong.

But Buffy says: "Strong is fighting! It's hard, and it's painful, and it's every day. It's what we have to do. And we can do it together."

The real beauty of this moment is that even though Buffy and Angel's experiences are so wildly different, she sees herself in him. That's why she helps him. That's why we help each other. Because our experience is the same on some basic level. We understand and know what others need--we know this from our own experience. It's all we can offer to people in need. Our own experience. And even though we can never be sure, we can hope that we share something in common. And that it will be enough.

Buffy's right. The only way we can get through and make sense of our own experience is if we do it together.

From the University of Awesome, Prof. Sci-Fi wishes you Happy Holidays.

Homework #2

Which sci-fi ideal do you aspire most to? What are you doing to achieve it?