Escape Artists
Escape Pod => Science Fiction Discussion => Topic started by: Boggled Coriander on August 11, 2009, 04:50:37 AM
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From the Onion: Sci-Fi Writer Attributes Everything Mysterious To 'Quantum Flux' (http://www.theonion.com/content/news/sci_fi_writer_attributes?utm_source=onion_rss_daily)
A reading of Gabriel Fournier's The Eclipse Of Infinity reveals that the new science-fiction novel makes more than 80 separate references to "quantum flux," a vaguely defined force the author uses to advance the plot, resolve conflict as needed, and account for dozens of glaring inconsistencies.
"I'm really excited about this latest bookâthere's action, adventure, drama, and a little bit of something for everyone," said Fournier, who decided to introduce the narrative device after realizing that the galactic ambassador vaporized in chapter two needed to be alive a lot longer. "And, of course, there's something I call quantum flux, which is like the binding force behind everything in the universe. Plus, it can cause time travel. And it's an energy source, too."
I think somebody at the Onion has been reading TV Tropes. Applied Phlebotinum (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AppliedPhlebotinum), anyone?
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Funny that the phlebotinum article references the "sonic screwdriver" (which was never a full deus ex machina, really, it was just a weapon that wasn't an actual weapon and a way of opening locks) but not the classic example from DR. WHO for what their grasping for, Jon Pertwee's "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow". I guess even haughty geeks writing internet articles can't know everything...