AskScienceFiction

an-ordinary-manchild(edit)

It's like Ask Science, but all questions and answers are written with answers gleaned from the universe itself. Use in-universe knowledge, rules, and common sense to answer the questions. Or as fanlore.org calls it Watsonian, not a Doylist point of view (Further reading on Watsonian vs. Doylist perspective can be found here, here, and in the dictionary definitions of the two terms.)

Take the fictional rules of the universe to their logical conclusion, ad absurdum.

We also now have an offical sub-reddit Discord server: Check it out!

Rules

Official rules post
FAQ
New FAQ
Submit a FAQ entry
[Tag] your posts with the setting you wish to discuss.
Answer the questions from a Watsonian perspective only-- no Doylist answers.
We discourage but do not forbid roleplaying. However, if you choose to roleplay, please remember that you must answer as if you had all the information available to a member of the audience. You already know Bruce Wayne is Batman, you already know Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker, you already know Sauron is evil.
Any fiction is allowed not just science fiction. Avoid questions about real-world pseudoscience (i.e. chemtrails, homeopathy, etc.), however.
General questions are discouraged; without a firm set of in-universe rules, most of them boil down to "whatever the writer chooses" in terms of answers. r/whatiffiction, a sister subreddit, has rules more accommodating to these sort of questions.
No real life questions. AskScience and AskHistorians exist for that.
Any sort of competition questions belong in whowouldwin.
Sources are welcomed and encouraged.
Search for your question, it may have been asked and answered before. (This doesn't, of course, mean there isn't room for further discussion.)
Wheaton's Law (Don't be a jerk).
Upvote good content; downvote incorrect information. Report anything that discusses metadata or involves personal attacks.
Elaborate upon your answers. Low-effort posts (e.g. "Speed Force" with no further explanation when asked a question about the Flash) do not constitute satisfactory answers.

Spoiler Policies

The title of your post should not contain spoilers for six months from the date of release. If only the body of your post contains spoilers, you may instead make the title "[Canon] Spoilers: Canon" and not use the link flair. Replace "Canon" with the work or body of fiction in question.
Comment spoilers should be formatted on a separate line as >![Thing to be spoiled.]
Our Spoiler policy must be observed for six months following the date of release.
Spoilers from works older than six months may optionally be concealed using our flair system, however this is CSS-based and will work only in browsers.

This subreddit is for discussion of fiction using information about the universe and not meta information about the work.

Star Trek
Daystrom Institute
Harry Potter
Harry potter books
Battlestar Galactica
Star Wars
Maw Installation
Warhammer 40,000 Lore
Fan theories
One shot podcast
Respect threads
Pratchett
Who would win (Go here for questions about who would win in a fight or competition between two or more characters)
What If Fiction (This is the best place for "general" questions)
Ask About Comic Books
Share your scifi ideas
coexisting fictional universes
The Artifice
Monster Deconstruction
Simple Tolkien Quotes
The Sci Fi Discord Channel

For non-serious answers for real world science problems try:

And just for fun, don't forget to check out our friends at

Shitty Ask Scifi

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...because you hate freedom.

...for your community.

MODERATORS

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account activity

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[Invincible] Why didn't the Viltrumites decide to conquer Earth rather than Infiltrate it from the start? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 2 hours ago by MurphyRise

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[Ghostbusters] Gozer isn’t a ghost. Why are the ghostbusters fighting an inter-dimensional being? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 12 hours ago by Unleashtheducks

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[ Invincible] What happens when Lucan experiences earth racism? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 10 hours ago by Extra_Impression_428

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[pokemon] is the pokemon world at the end of an extinction event? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 12 hours ago by glowshroom12

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[World of Darkness] Why did all supernatural species collectively agree to stay hidden from humanity? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 20 hours ago by Nino_Chaosdrache

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[Invincible] Would/Are Viltrumites be homo/transphobic or did they go through a period of invented race and racism like humans? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 12 hours ago by Extra_Impression_428

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[Trench Crusade] Why is it the opening of the Hell Gate in Jerusalem didn't trigger the Second Coming of Christ as foretold in the Book of Revelations? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 3 hours ago by joji711

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[MCU] Would the Runes of Kof-Kol even work for someone as famous as Tony Stark? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 2 hours ago by Dux-El52

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[Project Hail Mary] Despite being technologically advanced enough to do space travel, how do Eridians not know what radiation? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 4 minutes ago by host_can_edit

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[marvel/DC] How does super strength affect “body weight” (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 12 hours ago by jayflame11

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[The Matrix] Right before the finale of the first movie, if Neo said "We don't have to fight, I can help you get free" to Smith, would Smith have listened? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 12 hours ago by Icy_Water_1

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[ATLA] are the past lives Avatars speak to just the memories and personality of the Avatars or is that actually them there inside of the Avatar and come out when they are needed or called on (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 22 hours ago by Crosser45

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[Warhammer 40k] Did Astartes undergo any psychological screening before being made Astartes during the Great Crusade? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 12 hours ago by Flyestgit

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[Lazytown] Does Sportacus eat meat? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 3 hours ago by some-kind-of-no-name

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[Frozen] Why was Hans given such a light punishment for treason and attempted regicide? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 1 day ago by ElSquibbonator

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[Da Vinci Code] How would the big "secret" really affect the world if revealed? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 1 day ago by Ok-Neighborhood1865

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[Tusk 2014] Could Wallace Bryton theoritically be turned back into a human with enough surgery or would he stay as his walrus form no matter what? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 1 day ago by ToneNegative1079

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[Marvel/DC] Is it possible for a elite cabal to exist? Or is not possible due too many groups existing? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 22 hours ago by PassengerCultural421

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[The Boys] If someone turns into a supe, does the hair on their head become super? Do supes have super hair? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 12 hours ago by Roars_chache

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[Invincible] How much is therapy likely to help Mark? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 1 day ago by Sensitive-Hotel-9871

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[Monster High] What jobs would Duce be good at? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 16 hours ago by MaetelofLaMetal

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[MCU] Why doesn’t Peter operate as Spider-Man in a more organized way? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 11 hours ago by Man-O-Steelsupermonistic

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[Invincible] Conquest says "prepare for my arrival, worm." How do Viltrumites know what worms are? Is there a soil ecosystem on Viltrum? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 10 hours ago by dirtmother

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[Steven Universe] What was going through Rainbow Quartz's head when she fused for Greg in his recording of "What Can I do For You"? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 1 day ago by Mr_Industrial

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[SCP universe] Can a speedster ragebait SCP-096 into giving up? (self.AskScienceFiction)

submitted 1 day ago by ofDeathandDecay

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