<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Actually, the Kessel Run has a basis, if not intended by Lucas, in fact. The key is that the Maw, a collection of black holes, is next to Kessel. Most vessels go around the Maw with plenty of distance to spare. However, if a ship could go in closer to those black holes, it would shorten the distance travelled considerably.One clear example of Science Fantasy would be dragon stories. Sure, Arthur C. Clarke made them fly in 3001, but only in reduced gravity. One Star Trek book (I don't remember which) had horses with wing (genetically engineered) that could also fly, but again, only in reduced gravity. <br /> Posted by willpittenger</DIV><br /></p><p>I have refused to touch "3001" with a ten-foot pole after reading on the book jacket that they resurrect Frank Poole. That seemed just plain silly.</p><p>A better-known example of SF dragons would probably be "Dragonriders of Pern". The dragons on Pern are big flying reptiles. They evolved a small size, but were genetically engineered to be big so that they could be ridden and directed to attack specific targets. They have the ability to move through hyperspace ("Between") and are telepathic. (The fire lizards from which they were bred were empathic, but lacked the intelligence to communicate more precisely with their masters.) Their telepathic bond evolved as a means of communicating with their parents, but human colonists on Pern discovered that they could easily get the hatchlings to imprint on a human instead. The creatures eat special rocks which are processed in a second stomach to produce flame. The flame evolved as a means of killing Thread, a strange possibly-alive substance that lives on the Red Star (another planet in Pern's system) and periodically comes close enough that the Thread falls onto Pern. Thread destroys any living tissue it touches, and can only be destroyed by fire or acid, though it also perishes if it lands in water. It's not really clear how the fire lizards evolved fire breath from this evolutionary pressure alone, since the Thread only falls once every thousand years.</p><p>Not a bad series, but squarely in the category of "science fantasy", I would say. I would put Star Wars into that category as well, because of the mystical nature of the Force. </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em> -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>