Yes, it's another round of that classic guessing game - Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Abstract [or any combination thereof]. This effort - '03/'04 should address any queries, but then again, may just serve to confuse and baffle which some might say is the point of the game. Patience, integrity and a decent search engine may be useful ....
Moving quickly on a geological timescale, pausing only to thank the tectonic forces that fashioned this earth with the odd helping hand from extraterrestrial meteorites, read this carefully-arranged eruption which spells
ABSTRACT (as well as trouble for a few geological theories when it's discovered).
Welcome, welcome to one and all. [DrQ] It's abstract. Really quite abstract. So yes, if only in our minds. [Duj] Not the flat-earthers. [Boo] No Amazons here (with Black Friday coming, that may be a relief) [Raak] Not our twin from the dark side. [Gus] Topical in this epoch, but not relevant.
Lots of good stuff coming now. Both on the right evolutionary branch. [DrQuuxum] If you mean ems, ens and that sort of thing, no. [Raak] No, though in a sense, as you taught us to say, isn't everything?
[Boolbar] No "e" whatever, nothing to do with maths. Look, it begins with "b", it's short (hint: 3 letters), it's not a verb, a noun (notwithstanding a famous phrase in which it gets used as both a noun and a verb),or adjective and I'm regretting having used it. Not enough to give the answer?
Summary: mainly metal (but note the "strictly speaking" concerning the glass question), made now and before 1900 (perhaps predominantly the latter, judging by the audience reaction), can be larger than a toaster, not unique, not naturally occurring, no moving parts, not furniture, not a measuring device, not a kitchen item, not a lamppost.
[KagomeShuko] Welcome. Others who've played more will correct me if I get this wrong I'm sure, but I think it's pretty straightforward - ask a question to narrow down the possibilities (just as you have!), then await the answer from Boolbar - later on make specific guesses, once you've an idea. Scroll back to earlier rounds for the flavour of it... Q: Is it a heraldic animal?
[KagomeShuko] Questions should be those which can be answered with a simple "Yes" or "No". Speaking of which... (KagomeShuko) Mythical? YES. But that wouldn't be the first thing you'd think of when the answer on the card is revealed. So I predict a lot of questions which are going to go down the wrong path. (blamelewis) Heraldic? NO.
I think it is better to say Mythical creature? NO as the AOTC is not a creature of ancient myths itself, but belongs to a group that is based on creatures of myth. (Raak) A metaphorical animal? NO.
Belonging to a class of mythical creatures, the specific animal was originally from an English piece of fiction from over twenty years ago (but possibly re-used since). Not a heraldic animal, nor a monster, not from Tolkien, not Scandinavian.
Note : English language but not necessarily English. And as I put it "belongs to a group that is based on creatures of myth" but that won't help much. (Bismarck) Doggy? NO (Bismarck) A song? YES (more of a by-product) and at least one other obscure and dreadful song that I know of.
*Some of the audience hums at the mention of transformation* (KagomeShuko) Human that turns into another creature? NO but within their history, the AOTC has had a few methods of "changing" :) (Bismarck) Science fiction? Hmm, there are many Sci-fi elements that come into this, so it is involved, yes. I thought this could be simple but I forgot the AOTC has had so much variation over the years.
(KagomeShuko) AOTC = "Answer on the Card" or in other words : the answer you are looking for. As for the tiny hint about transforming: it is an everyday transformation that we are all capable of doing. The AOTC has a few nifty ways of doing it. (Raak) Superhero? YES. *cue audience going wild with excitement*
This is bothering me. Everything I can think of that involves superhero persons changing doesn't involve little green men, and everything I can think of involving little green men doesn't involve changing. I'm stuck.
(Raak) Fast? YES. "Incredibly fast"? Possibly. The AOTC can move faster than us, some versions extremely fast. Not usually as fast as the previously mentioned Superman though.
(Bismarck) See note I made just above about changing to KagomeShuko. And "little green men" was only one or two story lines of many. Neither are particularly important in the grand scheme of things. Non-Marvel superhero : that does narrow things down a tad. :)
(Superman) Anything to do with Star Trek? NO. (Aside from any actors who have appeared in roles connected with both Star Trek and the AOTC. Oh, and the occasional transporter use.)
(blamelewis) Invisible at times? *Some muttering in the audience* Well, the AOTC can't become invisible themselves but can use something they own to make themselves invisible (even though within comics and other media they are usually still visible, otherwise you'd be looking at scenery for a few frames!)
(Superman) Caped crusader? Given that the AOTC comes from the same era as most of the famous caped crusaders and has often appeared alongside other caped crusaders then I guess they would belong to that class. However the AOTC does not usually wear a cape (except for ceremonial or official duties). (Chalky) Nice to see you. And Supergirl? NO *Audience applauds guess though*