# Fictional works where revealing something mysterious ruins everything **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160 "2012-01-30T05:17:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/1 "2012-01-30T05:17:19Z")
Rendezvous with Rama sequels - Rama in the original book is a mysterious biological/mechanical enormous spaceship of unknown purpose and origin. The original book has no real villain or conflict, but it works due to the mystery and beauty of Rama. The mystery is part of why I love it, what is this thing? Is it sentient? What are the biots inside, are they machine or alive? The sequels answer this is such a stupid and unsatisfactory way it soured me on the whole thing, it didn’t even make sense! RWR one of the few novels to properly capture the experience of first contact I think, total bewilderment, has sequels with eagle headed aliens.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/2 "2012-01-30T06:43:15Z")
Star Wars did this with the Force in The Phantom Menace, by informing us that ability to use it is based on the number of midichlorians in the blood. Yeech. I wonder if the Sith engaged in blood doping? ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/3 "2012-01-30T08:14:15Z")
In _Fringe_ **Sam Weiss** seemed a lot cooler before learning about his back-story. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/4 "2012-01-30T14:32:13Z")
Hannibal Lecter was a far better character when you didn’t know much about him and he wasn’t the main character. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/5 "2012-01-30T15:10:32Z")
Audrey Niffenegger’s attempts to provide a semi-scientific background for her time-traveling protagonist in _The Time-Traveler’s Wife_ actually made me focus on just how impossible her scenarios were. She tied his jumps to a genetic ‘clock’ that if you think about it has to be encoded with all the information of the universe, ever. Leaving the jumps as a mysterious, magical, series of events would have worked better than trying to provide that explanation. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/6 "2012-01-30T16:54:00Z")
The Crimson King in the _The Dark Tower series_ seriously. WTF? and again, Stephen King, _It_. A giant f-ing spider. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/7 "2012-01-30T18:11:39Z")
So, so, so many comic characters. Wolverine was cool when all we knew was that he from Canada, his name was Logan, and he liked to kill things. Now he has more backstory than the rest of the X-men. They keep trying to do it for the Joker too, but no one seems to be accepting it. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/8 "2012-01-30T18:39:39Z")
Larry Niven has made a small cottage industry out of writing mediocre sequels that demystify the original. E.g. The Ringworld Throne, The Gripping Hand, Escape from Hell. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/9 "2012-01-30T18:46:26Z")
_Murders In The Rue Morgue_. The beginning of that story is so creepy and weird… and the ending is so stupid. Ditto for _The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo_ (though I’ve only seen the Swedish film). The beginning was eerie and so, so interesting. The end was very formulaic and dull. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/10 "2012-01-30T18:46:30Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Star Wars did this with the Force in The Phantom Menace, by informing us that ability to use it is based on the number of midichlorians in the blood. Yeech. > > I wonder if the Sith engaged in blood doping? Boba Fett. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/11 "2012-01-30T18:58:07Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > Boba Fett. You could definitely argue it’s true for Anakin too. In fact, virtually every plot device in the prequels fits the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/12 "2012-01-30T19:21:07Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Ditto for _The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo_ (though I’ve only seen the Swedish film). The beginning was eerie and so, so interesting. The end was very formulaic and dull. I’m going to disagree simply because it wasn’t mysterious. I had i figured out as soon as the uncle told the story about his missing niece. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/13 "2012-01-30T21:25:25Z")
Well, I’m pretty sure the [Doctor Claw action figure](http://www.progressiveboink.com/archive/drclaw.html) was manufactured not from standard plastic but instead from a resin of pure, concentrated disappointment. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/14 "2012-01-30T21:32:52Z")
The Smoke in _Lost_. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/15 "2012-01-30T21:39:44Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > The Crimson King in the _The Dark Tower series_ seriously. WTF? > > and again, Stephen King, _It_. A giant f-ing spider. :smack: Why does everyone keep saying that? It _wasn’t_ a spider, it was some sort of inter-dimensional being or something. The mind perceived it as spider-shaped because there was no way to comprehend what it really was. Sheesh, didn’t anyone actually _read_ it? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/16 "2012-01-30T21:43:37Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Hannibal Lecter was a far better character when you didn’t know much about him and he wasn’t the main character. He was what I came in to mention too. He started out as a superior, intelligent, unrepentant villain who knew full well that what he was doing was wrong, or at least that most people would think it was wrong, but he didn’t give a shit. He was then portrayed as a victim cannibalising people due to a ridiculously-unrealistic childhood trauma, and the way his kills were portrayed it was as if him eating somebody’s eyeballs was worse than them making a social faux pas. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/17 "2012-01-30T21:50:46Z")
> [@Apocalypso](#): > > Why does everyone keep saying that? It _wasn’t_ a spider, it was some sort of inter-dimensional being or something. The mind perceived it as spider-shaped because there was no way to comprehend what it really was. > Sheesh, didn’t anyone actually _read_ it? Oh, come on. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/18 "2012-01-30T22:40:36Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > The Crimson King in the _The Dark Tower series_ seriously. WTF? > > and again, Stephen King, _It_. A giant f-ing spider. :smack: Just FYI, IT wasn’t a spider, it just took the shape of something scary from one of the kids minds. It could have just as easily been a 50-foot Staypuff marshmallow man. ---
**Author:** ![Shawn1767](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shawn1767](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn1767)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/19 "2012-01-30T22:48:04Z")
Re: Midichlorians, does the Star Wars Universe actually say that they “carry” the Force? Or does having them in your blood merely an indicator? Having high blood sugar doesn’t give me diabetes, it’s a sign I have diabetes. I always looked at midichlorians in this way: a lot of friends doesn’t give someone charisma. But if you see someone with a lot of friends, you know that person has charisma. The more friends, the more charisma. It’s an indicator, not a cause. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160/20 "2012-01-30T22:52:09Z")
The way I remember them being described, they are like messengers of the force. The more you have, the more powerful you are, and they also relay the will of the force to the people they inhabit. So instead of Jedi knights directly in contact with and controlling the force, they get their power from, and communicate with Midichlorians, which then communicate with the force. Or some such B.S. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-where-revealing-something-mysterious-ruins-everything/611160.md?page=2)