1) INTRODUCTION

Canada is on fire!

Across the width of the country, Canada is experiencing an unprecedented wildfire season, with over 400 forest fires burning, about half of these vast and out of control. Firefighters are overwhelmed in the face of this scorching onslaught. Canadian crews have been augmented by teams and equipment from the U.S., France, Spain, and countries as far away as South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

The season started earlier than usual this year, and with a hot, dry summer forecast, in almost every province and territory, fires may well burn for weeks to come, and perhaps longer. Predictions are that this wildfire season could extend through July and August!

Some 3.5 million hectares of Canadian forest has already been reduced to ashes, roughly 13 times more than the typical ten-year average, as communities in the path of monstrous columns of advancing flame were evacuated. Homes have been destroyed, thousands of people displaced, and a pall of acrid smoke and haze descended upon Canadian cities and towns at various times these past couple weeks, drifting south, as well, to blanket the American Northeast. People were advised to avoid strenuous activity outdoors, such was the elevated degree of smoke in the air. About ten days ago, New York City recorded the worst air quality levels in the world! Rain and shifting winds seem to have since mitigated the worst of what was playing out as a truly apocalyptic scenario one might expect only in an over-the-top science fiction/disaster movie.

Climate change, the science tells us, is at the heart of the extreme weather and environmental conditions—storms, flooding, heat waves, drought—that we are likely to experience regularly in the years to come. But in a more direct way, we are to be held responsible, at least with regard to these forest fires; most were ignited by the carelessness of people—a casually tossed cigarette butt, improperly extinguished campfire, etc.

Meanwhile, in another sign of an impending Armageddon, authorities are warning Quebecers to remain on guard for rabid racoons migrating across the border from Vermont! Steer well clear of any unusually aggressive racoons you may encounter on the hiking trail or in your backyards, wildlife experts advise.

This afternoon, we welcome a special guest speaker on the topic of “Fantasy as Satire,” and recall some of the voyages of the Enterprise. We’ve also prepared for you a sci-fi trivia quiz (below).

All of this and more is on the agenda today! And so, let us begin…

2) JOIN THIS AFTERNOON’S VIDEO-CHAT ON ZOOM!

To join our ZOOM video-chat, which will run throughout the next few hours, simply click here and follow the prompts: This Afternoon’s MonSFFA e-Meeting on ZOOM

If you’re not fully equipped to ZOOM, you can also take part by phone (voice only); in the Montreal area, the toll-free number to call is: 1-438-809-7799. From out of town? No problem; find your ZOOM call-in number here: Call-In Numbers

Also, have this information on hand as you may be asked to enter it:

Meeting ID: 851 4737 3414
Passcode: 246023

3) MEETING AGENDA

Here is the agenda for this afternoon’s get-together:

As always, all scheduled programming is subject to change.

4) TWO-FOUR SCI-FI TRIVIA QUIZ

Those long, languid days of summer have arrived, and again do we enjoy an afternoon poolside, or better, a day at the beach, where we can dive into a good beach read. We relish farmer’s markets, an outdoor concert on a warm evening, vibrant neighbourhood street festivals, and of course, a cold one quaffed with friends on a downtown terrace. “Summertime,” as the song evokes, “and the livin’ is easy…”

With that vibe in mind, we offer this afternoon a little light entertainment in the form of a trivia challenge. Our Two-Four Sci-Fi Quiz is so named in honour of that penultimate Canadian backyard barbecue refreshment, a case of two-four!

Your challenge is to correctly answer all 24 of the following SF/F-related questions? Good luck, and, of course, play fair; no resorting to Google or another search engine for the answers! You can ask a friend for help, however, as long as your friend’s name isn’t Siri or Alexa!

1) Fill in the blank! These SF/F titles are missing a single word: The ______ Tree; Haunted______; Dinosaur ______; and Without a ______. What is that missing word?

2) First seen in the opening minutes of Star Wars (1977), what is the name of this CR90 corvette, employed as an Alderaanian diplomatic cruiser and rebel blockade runner?

3) Which of these characters does not belong? A) Jaime Reyes, B) Samuel “Sam” Guthrie, C) Dan Garrett, D) Theodore “Ted” Kord

4) Most Worldcons have been held in the U.S.; how many have been held outside of the United States?

5) Who played youngster David MacLean in the original Invaders From Mars (1953), in which the vanguard of a Martian invasion force lands in the boy’s hometown?

6) The novels Omnivore (1968), Orn (1970), and OX (1976) constitute which SF trilogy?

7) What is the title of the fifth Indiana Jones movie, scheduled to premiere later this month, on the 30th?

8) “They Were Looking For Chicks…To Go All The Way!”—the marketing campaign of which sci-fi movie employed this tag line? A) Teenagers from Outer Space (1959), B) Mars Needs Women (1968), C) Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), D) Invasion of the Saucer-Men (1957)

9) How many Worldcons has Canada hosted?

10) The Humanx Commonwealth, an organization similar to Star Trek’s Federation of Planets, is featured in the science fiction stories of which writer?

11) What two sentient species jointly administer the Humanx Commonwealth?

12) Which of these men develops psychohistory, a fictional algorithmic science that allows general predictions to be made of the future in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series? A) Harrison Bergeron, B) Harry Harrison, C) Harry Mudd, D) Hari Seldon

13) Who played Camie Loneozner in the original Star Wars (1977), only to see her scenes excised from the final cut?

14) Match the robots (left column) with the science fiction titles in which they appear (right column).

15) Who played astronomer Dr. Stuart Kelston in the original Invaders From Mars (1953)?

16) The protagonists of the science fiction novel Icerigger (1974) crash-land on what frozen world?

17) “Derelict of Space” (1939), “Meteor” (1941), “Tyrant and Slave-Girl on Planet Venus” (1951), and “The Red Stuff” (1951)—who wrote these science fiction short stories?

18) Which of these science fiction characters does not belong with the others? A) Ethan Frome Fortune, B) Hellespont du Kane, C) Raymus Antilles, D) Skua September

19) Rudolph Martin, Gary Oldman, Frank Langella, and Nicolas Cage—other than their profession, what do these actors have in common?

20) With regard to the horror genre, what do the towns of Rockbridge, Midwich, Haddonfield, and Antonio Bay have in common?

21) André Morell, Andrew Keir, Brian Donlevy, and John Mills have all played which acclaimed scientist-hero?

22) In which Canadian province is set American International Pictures’ 1976 B-movie The Food of the Gods?

23) The Lady of the Sorrows (2002) and The Battle of Evernight (2003) are the second and third books, respectively, of Australian fantasy writer Cecilia Dart-Thornton’s Bitterbynde trilogy. Name the first book in this series.

24) Who played army commander Colonel Fielding in the original Invaders From Mars (1953)?