The Sound of Science (Fiction) Quiz

Answer: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

"We have a winner. Caller 38, you have won a free trip to Iowa, the home state of Captain Kirk, as well as a copy of 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'. The movie stars William "The Voice" Shatner as James Tiberius Kirk, captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

While on a diplomatic mission, Kirk is framed for the murder of the Klingon chancellor and sent to prison. He must escape and unmask the conspirators or his life is forfeit. The sound you just heard was from early in the film shortly before the assassination of the chancellor. Captain Kirk and General Chang, a Klingon soldier and Shakespeare enthusiast, are debating Klingon philosophy. Khaless, a Klingon hero of mythic proportions, preached that the strong will survive and it is therefore a Klingon's right to conquer and subjugate any planet in his travels. Captain Kirk compares this to Hitler's policy of lebensraum initiated in the 20th century.

This sound not only demonstrates Kirk's dislike for the Klingons, it shows how different Klingon and Federation philosophy are and how difficult it will be for peace to be made between the two races. This is Eytank on THX-1138, and I am listening."

Answer: RoboCop

"We have another winner. Caller 38, you have won bus fare to Detroit as well as a copy of 'RoboCop'. The movie stars Peter "Wooden" Weller as Alex Murphy, a dedicated police officer, and loving father and husband. After being crippled in a criminal crossfire, his shattered body is taken by large business conglomerate, OCP, and transformed into a robotic crime fighter.

He goes forth to dispense justice and tries to remember what it means to be human. The sound you heard was taken from the end of the movie, when Robo Cop shoots Dick Jones, the man holding the OCP boss hostage. Jones, the vice president of OCP, was about to be arrested for a murder and he decided to take his boss with him.

This quote is significant because it shows that Robo Cop has remembered who he was.

Instead of telling the OCP boss that he is a machine, he re-claims his humanity by declaring himself "Murphy". This is Eytank on THX-1138, and your call matters."

Answer: Terminator 2: Judgment Day

"Ring the cow-bell, we have another winner. Caller 38, you have won a free tour of the California Governor's Mansion as well as a copy of 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day'. The movie stars Arnold "Da Governator" Schwarzenegger as a machine from the future sent back in time to protect John Conner.

The machine, a T-800, battles with another machine from the future, this one a T-1000. The sound you heard was taken from the end of the movie where the machine (Schwarzenegger) says these few words before it is lowered into a pool of molten steel.

It directs the words to John Conner, and shows that although it can never be human, it can still understand humans. This is Eytank on THX-1138, and we're waiting for your call."

Answer: I, Robot

"We have another winner. Caller 38, you have won a bottle of brown boot polish as well as a copy of 'I, Robot'. The movie stars Will Smith as Del Spooner, policeman and robot hater, who is convinced that a robot named Sonny has committed murder. This is theoretically impossible, since every robot is imprinted with the three laws of robotics, insuring its subservience.

The sound you heard was taken from early in the film. It is a conversation between Del and his police chief, after a dead body is discovered and they have to interrogate the main suspect, Sonny. With those few lines, the police chief acknowledges that he has nostalgia for the past, but he recognizes that things cannot go back to the way they were.

This opposes the view of Del, who is still living in the past. This is Eytank in THX-1138, and I'm allergic to incorrect answers."

Answer: Star Trek: First Contact

"Let's hear that sweet sounding cow-bell, we have another winner. Caller 38, you have won a free limo ride to your local pizza shop as well as a copy of 'Star Trek: First Contact'. The movie stars Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard, wine connoisseur and star ship captain.

After the Borg, a race of cybernetic organisms that attempt to assimilate all other races, travel back in time to change Earth's past, Picard follows them to repair whatever damage is done. He battles with them above the skies of Earth, shortly before the time when humans break the warp barrier and have first contact with an alien species. Picard must destroy the Borg, or the future, as he knows it, will not exist.

The sound you heard was taken from the end of the movie, when the Borg have captured the ship and will use it to stop first contact. Worf believes that blowing up the ship will save the Earth, but Picard is so caught up in his hatred for the Borg (he was captured and assimilated by them once) that he refuses to concede that they have the upper hand. This is Eytank on THX-1138, and you will be assimilated by my voice. Resistance is futile."

Answer: Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace

"We have another winner. Caller 38, you have won a genuine leather belt as well as a copy of 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace'. The movie stars Liam Neesom as Qui-Gonn Jin, Jedi Master and savior of pathetic life forms. He rescues an angelic queen from her conquered planet and is forced to land on gangster-run Tatooine to have his damaged ship repaired. Thanks to the largesse of a slave boy, Qui-Gonn is able to fix his ship and he leaves the planet with the slave boy in tow.

He returns to the queen's planet and destroys its invaders.

The sound you heard was taken from the middle of the film, shortly after Qui-Gon landed on Tatooine. The Jedi Knight is using a bartering philosophy known as aggressive negotiations that does not appear to be working. Watto is a Toydarian, and like the Ferengi, they are obsessed with money. This is Eytank on THX-1138, and I hate this job."

Answer: X-Men 2: X-Men United

"Caller 38, you have won an autographed copy of the book 'Brussel Sprouts: From Seed to Plant' as well as a copy of 'X-Men 2: X-Men United'. The movie stars Patrick "Martha" Stewart as Professor X, powerful telepath and leader of the X-Men, a group of mutants dedicated to protecting Earth from other mutants. One of these other mutants is Magneto, a holocaust survivor and homo sapien hater who, along with his brotherhood of evil mutants, plots to rid the world of human beings.

The sound was taken from the middle of the film, after Wolverine (Mr. Logan) and some of the students are forced to flee their school.

He is talking with Mrs. Drake, the mother of one of the students, after he and the students were discovered hiding in her house. This is Eytank on THX-1138, and I think the end is near."

Answer: Independence Day

"Caller 38, you have won an eye exam with Dr. Buckowski as well as a copy of 'Independence Day'. The movie stars Will Smith as a hotshot pilot who teams up with a computer hacker to destroy a host of invading aliens. The rallying speech you heard before was given by the President of the United States right before the climax of the film when pilots from all areas of the world go forth to do battle with invading aliens. With those few words, the president is able to unite all of humanity, making them forget all of their individual differences and fight for survival of their world. This is Eytank on THX-1138, and I've got a fever.

The only prescription is more cow-bell."

Answer: Minority Report

"Ring the cow-bell, we have another winner. Caller 38, you have won a can of blue paint as well as a copy of 'Minority Report'. The movie stars Tom "Snooze" Cruise as John Anderton, the head of Pre-Crime, a section of the police department that predicts murders before they occur and arrests the future perpetrators.

After being accused of a future murder himself, Anderton must avoid his former comrades and exonerate himself. The sound you heard was taken from the middle of the film, shortly after Anderton is accused of murder and forced to flee. Akin to Logan in 'Logan's Run', Anderton now understands what it feels like to be hunted and forced to run, just like all those criminals that he hunted down and put away. This is Eytank on THX-1138, and I think that they're trying to fire.

They won't be successful. I'll die in this chair if necessary."

Answer: Blade Runner

"The police are attempting to break through with an axe. It's a good thing that my door is axe proof. Anyways, Caller 38, you have won a box of tissues as well as a copy of 'Blade Runner'. The movie stars Harrison "Henry" Ford as Rick Deckard, an android hunter and a possible android himself.

He is assigned to hunt down a group of murdering androids led by Roy Batty. Rick slays all the androids save Roy, but is left helpless after he loses his weapon. As Rick is about to lose his tenuous grip on the side of a building and plunge to his death, Roy saves him.

This demonstrates empathy, which is supposedly an emotion only humans can feel. Roy dies before Rick's eyes, and challenges Rick's definition of what it means to be human. The sound you heard was taken from the end of the film right before Roy shuts down forever. Ray saves Deckard's life as he says that line, and shows Deckard that he can feel empathy, even for the man sent to kill him. This is Eytank on THX-1138, and the roof is on fire, literally. See you out there."