Small detail in 3ACV08

     Dr. Zoidberg refers to himself, in his letter to Harold Zoid, as
"Norm and Sam and Sadie's boy".  Apparently his species mates in sets
of three.
     Obviously, this is a very old and well-worn concept in science
fiction, but I feel I should mention that at least one well-told story
using this concept is Part II of "The Gods Themselves" by Isaac
Asimov.  The entire third of the book deals with a civilization which
is about as alien as one can get and still be told well in English,
much of the drama being the actual discovery of just how their
universe functions, just what their situation is (as it is with a lot
of Asimov).  So ... go read Asimov.  Thanks.

<< Dr. Zoidberg refers to himself, in his letter to Harold Zoid, as "Norm and Sam and Sadie's boy". Apparently his species mates in sets of three. >>

Hmm.... This contradicts "Why Must I Be A Crustacean In Love".

=v= Perhaps not ... we didn't get a good look at what went on in that underwater mating frenzy. Perhaps Sam (or maybe Norm) was some sort of creature that never came above water.

=v= Yes, this is a very good story, despite the inevitable <ObAnimation>pronoun trouble</ObAnimation>. I can't imagine Zoidberg's people mating that way, though. :^) <_Jym_>

[email] (Jordan Eisenberg) wrote in message news:...

Although we did see his species mate. And it was in twos. Although as many of these twos simultaneously.

Since we ar at it... Also go read Stanislaw Lem. I can't remember right away if he has any stories about aliens mating in threes, though. Even if he does, his best stories are not about that.

If case you didn't know Stanislaw Lem is David S.(X.) Cohen's favorite sci-fi writer (according to the his interview. David Cohen's, not Stanislaw Lem's). Several references to his writing showed up on Futurama, not to mention lots of similarities in overall feel.

[email] (Jordan Eisenberg) wrote in message

Also, speaking of Asimov. Do you find "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" contained references to Asimov's "Foundation" novels? Exact center of the universe, the brain-game ending, etc?

Sorry for the insanely late reply ... : ) I'll catch up with the newsgroup, I swear!

[email] (Jordan Eisenberg) wrote in message

Bobbie said that Katie said that Susie said that her mommy told her that [email] (Ostap Bender) said this on 26 Aug 2001 14:46:36 -0700:

The Nibblonians DO seem a little Second-Foundation-esque, being the secret mental powers behind the universe. And the Brains would fill the role of the Mule. But I don't think the references were direct, unless I'm forgetting something. Asimov has influenced a lot of science fiction.

Speaking of Asimov, I can think of a few more almost-references (WARNING: possibly major spoilers for those who haven't read all the books):

- Calculon is really a thousand-year-old robot who has secretly influenced history (well, Hollywood history ... )

• 3ACV02: the crew takes a "Fantastic Voyage" inside Fry

- 3ACV02, again: the holophoner, or whatever it's called, recalls the Visi-sonor from "Foundation and Empire"

• The rebellious all-robot planet is ... sorta ... like Solaria.

There are lots of possibilities, of course. The Church of Robotology could introduce the Three Commandments of Robotics. While Bender is accused of murder. The murder of the President of a planet on which night only falls once in a thousand years. And getting him acquitted might prevent a nuclear war and save mankind from declining into another 1,000-year-long Stupid Age ...

But what we really need are some Olaf Stapledon references. We've had similarities, such as Professor Farnsworth moving the stars ... but the stars didn't come to life!

• Jordan Eisenberg

=v= Another one: Asimov fleshed out lyrics to "A Clone of my Own" (a song parody of "Home on the Range"), which was the title of [2ACV10].

=v= This is actually embedded deep within positronic brain technology, which clearly doesn't exist in _Futurama_. Bender first appeared in a scene where he was violating one of those laws, and he's beeen violating the other two ever since. :^) <_Jym_>

On Sun, 26 Aug 2001 19:00:32 GMT, [email] (Jordan Eisenberg) wrote:

That is very curious. Since Zoidberg's species dies after mating, they wouldn't know their parents and likewise wouldn't refer to themselves in terms of family relationships.

Perhaps, Zoidberg is referring to the family that raised him rather than his genetic parents. That would explain why they appeared to mate in groups of two and yet Zoidberg was raised by three people.

--Larry

"Larry" wrote in message news:[email]...

What about a third asexual sex which doesn't participate in the frenzy and raises the children?

On Mon, 27 Aug 2001 02:37:39 GMT, "Loosechanj" wrote:

That is also possible.

Zoidberg commented to Vinnie that he's not so big and tough any more, then he ate him. From that we can assume that when he was younger, Vinnie was bigger than him.

It may also be that Zoidberg's race reproduces in very large numbers and they have a very high mortality rate. Only after reaching a certain age are the adults interested in protecting and raising them. Similar to George R.R. Martin's sandkings.

If they emerge as tiny larva from the mating frenzy, and fend for themselves for their early childhood, they wouldn't know who their parents are. Zoidberg's uncle could be the brother of one of his adopted parents.

Even in the year 3000, very little may be know about the social order of that species. Not so much because they are mysterious, but because no one cares about them.

--Larry

=v= Hmm. Y'know, they *have* been on Earth since the 2200s (shortly before anchovies went extinct). <_Jym_>

"Jym Dyer" schrieb

What a coincidence. :)

<< Y'know, they *have* been on Earth since the 2200s (shortly before anchovies went extinct). >>

I was wondering... In 'The Deep South', Hermes uses sardines as bait (which Zoidberg promptly eats). So, what's the difference between sardines and anchovies?

On Wed, 29 Aug 2001 13:19:48 GMT, "Robert J. Muldoon" wrote:

AFAIK the only difference is the how they are prepared. Both are "Young fish of the herring family". I don't think either one is a specific species.

Good spot, I hadn't noticed that before.

--Larry

On Wed, 29 Aug 2001 13:19:48 GMT, "Robert J. Muldoon" wrote:

http://www.wa.gov/wdfw/fish/forage/anchovy.htm

They are different species that share a habitat (schooling in coastal waters)

Northern Anchovy is "Engraulis mordax mordax" Pacific Sardine is "Sardinops sagax caerulea"