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BOOK PLOT INCONSISTENCIES PROJECT v.2.00
* BPIP -- Companion to the PIP *
A loving look at everything that's not quite right with the Red
Dwarf novels.
Edited by Annette 'El Skutto' McIntosh (mcintosh@wehi.edu.au).
Original concept by Damone.
%% SPOILER WARNING: This document contains *detailed* plot
%% spoilers for Last Human and Backwards. Those who don't want
%% to know, avoid sections *2.3* and *2.4*, respectively.
NOTICE: This document, its format, and all material contained herein are protected by public copyright, except where it conflicts with the copyright of Grant Naylor. This document *may* be distributed freely in its entirety and posted at electronic sites where no fee is charged for its viewing. It *may not* be sold or published for profit in any form.
BPIP Availability:
The BPIP is posted as updates warrant on the USENET newsgroup alt.tv.red-dwarf.
The BPIP is making its Web at
Also via FTP at
Alternatively, email me on mcintosh@wehi.edu.au and request a copy. It will be sent as text.
DO NOT ask Damone for the BPIP.
C O N T E N T S
All new additions from last version are marked with a: *
- 0.5 Updates and New Stuff.
- 1.0 What is the Book Plot Inconsistencies Project (BPIP)?
- 2.0 What are the Book Plot Inconsistencies?
- 3.0 Additions, Corrections, or Contributions to BPIP.
- 4.0 Acknowledgements.
ABBREVIATIONS:
- JMC = Jupiter Mining Corporation
- RD = Red Dwarf, the JMC ship
- SB = Starbug, the RD shuttle craft
- BM = Blue Midget, the RD shuttle craft
- WG = White Giant, the RD shuttle craft
- GS = Gazpacho Soup, food of Rimmer's greatest humiliation
- GELF = Genetically Engineered Life Form
- AR = Artificial Reality
0.5 UPDATES AND NEW STUFF
New Stuff for:
- Version 1.00: The first version. Born when Cma indicated it was needed. ;-) Posted to group.
(30 Dec. 1995 - 2 Jan. 1996) - Version 1.25: Contributions from Max Kolombos and Raz (once known as The Inconsistency-Buster!). Web availability for the BPIP courtesy of Friday, Michael Nagy, Dave Williamson. Posted to group.
(2 Jan. 1996 - 11 Feb. 1996) - Version 1.50: No longer available on Dave Williamson's page due to the unfortunate demise of same. Very minor updates. Posted to group.
(11 Feb. 1996 - 10 Apr. 1996) - Version 2.00: Major update to account for Backwards. Rob Grant points out two inconsistencies in his own book -- something of a first in this PIP business! :-) Posted to group.
(10 Apr. 1996 - 7 Jun. 1996)
1.0 WHAT IS THE BOOK PLOT INCONSISTENCIES PROJECT (BPIP)?
The Book Plot Inconsistencies Project (BPIP) is an attempt to compile, record, and resolve all of the various plot inconsistencies for the four Red Dwarf novels written by Rob Grant and/or Doug Naylor. The BPIP is a companion document to the PIP (originated by Damone), which deals with the television show of Red Dwarf. The BPIP is not as detailed a document as the PIP, and what qualifies for inclusion in *this* document adheres to more specific criteria than for the PIP. See section 2.0 for what counts, and section 3.0 for how to contribute.
2.0 WHAT ARE THE BOOK PLOT INCONSISTENCIES?
The BPIP will include BPIs of the following type *only*:
-- statements, occurrences, actions, or intentions of
actions which are *directly contradicted* by statements, occurrences,
events or intentions preceding them (including historical events).
No distinction will be made for things which may be printing errors; in these cases, such instances may have no explanation.
Things which will *not* qualify for the BPIP (unless part of a direct contradiction) include hypothetical questions, philosophical questions, speculation on how machinery/equipment works, speculation on what goes on that the novels do not cover, etc. Any 'BPI' that cannot be presented with at least two citation points in the novels probably will not qualify -- assumptions will be made to *explain* the BPIs only, not to *create* them.
The BPIP will be maintained in this way to stop it going the road of the PIP, in which speculative questions mean the document is essentially infinite. With direct contradictions only, the BPIP should be a limiting document and not turn into the monster that its parent has become!
The BPIs will be listed by novel, with part and chapter citations in the format (IWCD, 1:12) -- this means Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers, Part 1:Chapter 12. Each inconsistency will be listed, and if a resolution exists for it, it will be included below it.
**** NB. No continuity is intended between the novels Last Human and Backwards, and therefore no 'inconsistencies' between these books will be considered. ****
2.1 INFINITY WELCOMES CAREFUL DRIVERS (IWCD)
- Rimmer says he took his astronavigation exam 11 times,
receiving nine 'F's for fail, and two 'X's for unclassified (1:12).
Yet later in this same chapter, he says he got *ten* 'F's and
two 'X's.
- No explanation needed. This has been corrected in the RED DWARF OMNIBUS, where both instances say nine 'F's and two 'X's.
- Rimmer says he has been on RD for six years (1:12). Yet later,
during his GS story (2:33), it is apparent that he had only been
with the company for 18 months prior to the accident (refer also 1:15).
- If the JMC and the Space Corps are separate yet cooperative entities, then it is possible that Rimmer was on RD as part of the Space Corps but only joined the JMC at a later date.
- Rimmer's timetable is described as a 'three month revision
timetable' (1:14), yet later when he reads it (1:15) it is a
four/five month revision timetable -- August, September,
September, October, November.
- It is just possible that the term 'three month' can refer to the length of time it can take Rimmer to actually make his timetable, and not necessarily to his *total* study time period.
- Red Dwarf's dimensions are given as three miles wide, four miles deep and six miles long (1:10). How then can the cargo hold contain 'hundreds of cubic miles of supplies' (2:5)?
- Red Dwarf is three miles wide and six miles long (1:10). How
then can it have a 40 square mile cargo hold to support the 'sea
of cats' (2:6)?
- If the cargo hold contains at least two decks, the total surface area can be 40 square miles.
- The future-echo old Lister (2:13) has a 'tattoo' on his arm of
U = BIL. Shouldn't this be U = BTL, as this is what Kryten actually
lasers into Lister's arm (3:3; 3:8)?
- The faded scar of the future-echo old Lister probably meant that the 'T' could be easily misinterpreted as an 'I.'
- It is stated and reiterated that the seven crew members in stasis didn't survive the Nova 5's crash (2:14), yet Rimmer later finds one of the stasis booth occupants alive, if not totally whole (2:19). If it were just a statement by Richards, the stasis readouts could have been malfunctioning or been misinterpreted, but the statement is also made as part of the narrative, ie. as a fact.
- Rimmer has nine year and 12 year long service medals (2:32),
yet he had only been on RD six years (1:12) and with the JMC for
18 months (1:15; 2:33) prior to the accident.
- Rimmer may have been with the Space Corps for several years before he signed up with Red Dwarf, so the long service medals may be for the Space Corps rather than the RD or the JMC.
- Lister says that Rimmer has been torturing himself about GS
for the last seven years (2:33), yet the soup incident only
happened 13 months previous to Rimmer's death (1:15).
- Lister apparently knows that Rimmer was on Red Dwarf for over six years (1:12) prior to the accident. Lister may think that Rimmer also joined the JMC at around this time (see the second question of section 2.1 above), thus Lister could erroneously conclude that the soup incident did happen over six years ago.
- When Lister comes out of stasis (2:1), Holly comments that
Lister is 24. Given that Lister arrived on Mimas sometime soon
after celebrating his 24th birthday in October (1:3 corrected
in the RED DWARF OMNIBUS), and the accident happened the
following October 27th (1:15), Lister must have had a birthday
just before the accident -- making him 25 when he went into
stasis. And Holly does know Lister's 'birthdate' (1:9) so he
should know Lister's correct age.
- This may be a lapse due to Holly's computer senility.
2.2 BETTER THAN LIFE (BTL)
- There are several contradictions regarding events occurring
inside the Better Than Life game, eg. Lister has apparently been
playing the game for two years (IWCD, 3:1), and Jim and Bexley
are 15 months old (IWCD, 3:3); as opposed to being in the game
for two years (1:16) with Jim and Bexley being four years old (1:3).
- The game is controlled by the psyches of its players, and the laws of reality do not apply. Therefore *no* contradictions need to be explained, as anything is possible in a fantasy world.
- Holly at his peak had an IQ of 6000 (IWCD, 1:9) and this is also stated in BTL (1:8), where Holly's peak IQ is alternatively described as 'the IQ of 300 Einsteins'. This implies that Einstein had an IQ of only 20, which of course is rubbish.
- If Lister turned 23 just before coming to Mimas (IWCD, 1:3),
and was 24 upon exiting stasis (IWCD, 2:1), then after almost two
years in the Better Than Life game he can only be 26, not 27
as stated (2:4).
- No explanation needed. This has been corrected in the RED DWARF OMNIBUS where Lister celebrates his 24th, not 23rd birthday. Therefore the age 27 reference is correct but the age 24 reference is not (see the last question in section 2.1 above).
- Kryten and Rimmer take a total of 47 skutters with them to
prime the RD engines (2:3). This total is up to 31 more skutters
than remained after the Nova 5 was repaired, with there being
initially a total of 96 skutters (IWCD, 2:25) before the Rimmers
destroyed 'eighty-or-so' (IWCD, 2:30).
- There may be a skutter repair/construction facility on board the RD, which was operational at some point during the two years (1:16) that the crew were playing the Better Than Life game.
- Kryten and Rimmer take a total of 47 skutters with them to
prime the RD engines (2:3). Rimmer then squashes to death 40,
called half, of the skutters.
- Either somebody's mathematics is badly wrong, or a skutter repair/construction facility has churned out about 33 skutters within three weeks.
- Lister says that he lost his virginity at age 12 to Michelle
Fisher on the Bootle Municipal Golf Course -- ninth hole, par four,
dogleg to the right, in the bunker behind the green (2:6). It seems
to be a *staggering* coincidence that he was 'taken advantage
of' at a tender age by Susan Warrington, on the ninth hole (par
four, dogleg) of the Bootle Municipal Golf Course (IWCD, 2:16).
- Lister doesn't actually say that he had sex with Susan Warrington, or how old he was, so maybe this encounter just gave him the idea of the golf course as a place to go ('It was just a place to go' -- 2:6), and he returned at a later date with Michelle Fisher and lost his virginity then. Of course, this means that Lister has had his 'lucky scoring underpants' (IWCD, 2:16) since around the time he was 12...nothing we couldn't believe about Lister!
- Talkie Toaster, repeating education from Holly, says that
'lightspeed is the speed limit for the universe' (3:3). Yet Holly
knows that this is not the case, as the RD has travelled faster
than light (IWCD, 2:9), and Holly also said that to escape a Black
Hole, faster-than-light travel must be achieved (3:3). Is Holly
contradicting himself?
- Holly knows that faster-than-light travel is possible -- his statement of lightspeed as the universe's speed limit is made simply so that he can explain the *theory* behind Black Holes to the Toaster.
- The RD's cargo bay doors are ripped off their hinges and sent
spinning into space courtesy of blasts from the mining lasers (3:6).
However, later (3:11), the bay doors are described as being merely
open and damaged.
- It is possible that the doors in question are different doors, or it is a case of distinguishing between inner/outer doors, or even a matter of definition of what constitutes 'open' or 'damaged'.
- Blue Midget is shot off into space and apparently destroyed in an effort to eliminate the polymorph's remains; Starbug is destroyed on Garbage World, leaving the crew with only one transport craft (3:11). It is later stated (3:13) that the supplies are to be loaded onto BM, the 'one remaining shuttle craft.' The one remaining shuttle craft should be the White Giant.
- When Lister dies (3:20), Kryten, who could reasonably be expected
to know these things, says the cause of death was a heart attack.
Yet the remaining crew members ask themselves 'How did he die?'
in the weeks following (3:19).
- Given that the other questions are of a 'pondering the waste of it' type, the 'How did he die?' question is probably more of a 'How could this have happened?' musing, rather than the literal question.
- * Old Lister in the cafe on Backwards World smells his coffee (4:2) and sees 'Steam...coming off it'. If the backwards force is working properly, then Lister should actually be seeing steam condensing *onto* the coffee.
- What happened to the Nova 5? Couldn't they have used it for
their evacuation of RD? It was 'fuelled and ready to go' just
before they started playing the Better Than Life game (IWCD,
2:31), and they were planning to leave on it and probably leave
Holly to his fate anyway.
- * For some reason the Nova 5 apparently was not a viable option for evacuation -- perhaps all the thorium had been converted to uranium 233 (IWCD, 2:24) which had decayed in the Nova 5 during the two years the crew were in the Better Than Life game (2:4), making the ship fuel-less until they did some more thorium mining. Or, perhaps the Nova 5 *was* in take-off condition, and it might have been considered when they finally did decide to evacuate Red Dwarf (2:4) after ascertaining that the Red Dwarf could not be saved (they may have been attempting to make sure the RD was safe, though lonely, before they left it; Lister and Cat may also have needed the time in the RD's Medical Unit before they were fit for travel in the Nova 5). Trying to save the RD by playing planet pool (2:5) then distracted them from their evacuation plans, and then subsequent events precluded them all going back together to the Nova 5.
2.3 LAST HUMAN (LH)
Many 'contradictions' exist between this book and the two previous. One blanket explanation may be that the participants from Last Human are from a slightly different reality than are those of Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers and Better Than Life; a reality in which the main points of the story are the same, but some details differ (compare with the Universal Explanation found in the PIP). This is probably the only explanation that will make any sense to account for several of Last Human's inconsistencies.
- Rimmer is a Third Technician (3:17), whereas it has been said before that he is a First Technician (IWCD, 1:9).
- If Starbug was destroyed on Garbage World, and it was stated that
only one shuttle craft was left -- the WG (BTL, 3:11), how can the
crew now be travelling in SB again (2:1)?
- Perhaps the RD has a repair/construction facility to make new Starbugs.
- Kryten and Rimmer wouldn't age, but shouldn't Cat have gotten
36 years older while waiting for Lister and Kochanski to de-age?
- If (despite the temporal differences between realities) the Cat would have aged significantly while waiting for Lister and Kochanski, then he would have gone into stasis or Deep Sleep.
- Why did the crew need to undergo the 20 year Deep Sleep on the
way back to RD (2:1)?
- The temporal anomalies caused by traversing the Omni- zone (eg. BTL, 3:6) must mean that time in the reality the Red Dwarf was left in moves at a rate such that the Red Dwarf's position is now up to twenty years of Starbug travel away, so the crew need to go into Deep Sleep. This means the position of the RD could be as much as 20 light years away (Starbug has to be able to travel at lightspeed in order to traverse the Omni-zone -- BTL, 3:5).
- It has been stated before (BTL, 3:3; BTL, 3:5) that for
ships to traverse the Omni-zone, they must travel faster than
light. Starbug obviously has this capability (2:1), so why is
the lightspeed of Starbug not used in other instances; eg. to
escape getting caught in the suction beam from Blerios 15 (2:3)?
- Lightspeed may take a good length of time to reach and come down from (this is possibly why the crew needed to be in Deep Sleep for 20 years -- 2:1), therefore the lightspeed capability is no good in this type of emergency situation (where Starbug was travelling relatively very slowly to begin with).
- Kochanski is a flight coordinator, first class (2:2), yet earlier
she was called Third Console Officer (IWCD, 1:13).
- One may be a subsidiary of the other -- Third Console Officer may be a position on RD held by a flight coordinator.
- Kochanski was brought back to life on Backwards World (BTL,
4:4). Rimmer was upset to be dead (IWCD, 2:2), so couldn't the
same have been done for him so he could be alive again?
- After his initial depression over his death, Rimmer seems to have reached an impasse in his feelings about his own dead state (2:2). The fact of his being dead gives him comfort in situations of danger where he's grateful that he can't be killed (BTL, 2:5). Perhaps during the initial depositing of the dead Kochanski and Lister on Backwards World, Rimmer may have considered the possibility of the same being done for him (and maybe again once he saw it had been successful), but once he got his hard-light body, which made him feel somewhat 'whole again' (2:2), he seemed to be satisfied to stay as a hologram.
- Lister and Kochanski spent 36 years growing young together on
Backwards World (2:1; 2:11; also BTL, 4:4). However, on a couple of
occasions it is said that Lister and Kochanski have spent the last
half-century together (2:1; 2:2).
- These occasions may be counting the 20 years of Deep Sleep, and then rounding 56 years to a half-century approximation.
- The first of several references to 'Star Fleet' is made (2:1).
Surely it should be 'Space Corps'?
- Star Fleet is probably an interchangeable name for the Space Corps, or one may be a subsidiary of the other. Also, it may in some instances be a term describing that particular organisation's headquarters.
- Rimmer is now a hard-light hologram and able to touch things.
Yet on one occasion, both he and Kochanski behave as if he's still
soft-light and intangible (during the discussion of fetching the MG
and the lamps -- 2:2).
- Rimmer apparently *was* in his soft-light form at this time. Just after he is powered up, it is stated (2:1) that he is on battery backup -- he must be soft-light and intangible at the time that Kochanski makes such a statement. The first proof that Rimmer is in his hard-light, tangible form is when the crew land on Blerios 15 and are all 'bound...with a thick rope' by the Blerions (2:3) -- extra power supply for the hologram hard-light drive was probably salvaged from the derelict Starbug.
- Rimmer has failed the engineering exam 11 times (2:2). It has
been stated previously (IWCD, 1:12) that it was the astronavigation
exam that he made 11 unsuccessful attempts at.
- The terms may be able to be used interchangeably, as the scope of the exam may cover both fields. This is backed up by Rimmer's labelling of the exam also as astro-engineering (3:17).
- Lister takes the cigar from the lips of the head of Kryten from
the derelict Starbug (2:2) -- a Kryten supposedly identical to
the crew's Kryten. Yet it has been stated on several occasions
(eg. IWCD, 2:16 and IWCD, 2:23) that the Kryten Series 4000
mechanoid has a lipless mouth.
- There are obvious differences between the two realities (eg. the Lister-doppelganger is evil, and Kochanski-doppelganger and Rimmer-doppelganger were the lovers). The precise anatomical detail of the Kryten Series 4000 mechanoid is apparently another, and more minor, difference between the two realities.
- Kryten is a Series 4000 mechanoid (2:5; also eg. BTL, 3:11), yet he is labelled on one occasion as a Series 3000 (2:2).
- Lister says he's a Pisces (2:7), meaning a birthday between
February 20 and March 20. Lister's birthday is decided on as the
14th of October (IWCD, 1:7), making him a Libra (or a Scorpio if
the zodiac shift -- IWCD, 1:4 -- is taken into account).
- There's nothing to say that Lister necessarily knows enough about astrology to even get his own star sign correct.
- Kochanski says she and Lister rendezvoused on Backwards World with the rest of the Red Dwarf crew, on Lister's 24th birthday (2:11). The personal notice in the Backwards World newspaper (BTL, 4:4) is dated the 21st of some month, and tells Lister to make the rendezvous in 36 years' time (presumably the 21st of the same month). This wouldn't then be Lister's birthday, as his birthday has been nominated as the 14th, not 21st (IWCD, 1:7). Also, Lister was 61 years old when he died (BTL, 3:12), so after 36 years of de-aging, he would be 25 (as stated earlier -- 2:1), not 24.
- Kryten does not discover that 'Lister' is actually the Lister-
doppelganger until he checks dental and scar records (3:6).
When the Lister-doppelganger was rescued from Lotomi 5,
leaving Lister behind (2:13; 2:14), the Starbug crew should
have been able to tell immediately that the doppelganger
was not their Lister. The doppelganger had been in Cyberia
for four months (2:13), meaning that his head would have been
bald or nearly -- standard fashion for the Cyberian inmates
(1:2). The real Lister still had all his hair at this stage, his
rasta plaits he'd had since age 17, which wouldn't be removed
until his own term in Cyberia began some weeks later (1:2).
- The Lister-doppelganger may have concocted a passably- believable story about why his hair was gone -- for instance, he may have said that the plaits were burnt off when he was 'pushed into the fire' (a possible four months' growth of hair in Cyberia may approximate to Lister's hair sans rasta, leaving only the lack of actual plaits to be explained away).
- * A comment about saving his suits if Starbug has to be abandoned is obviously a Cat sentiment; however this speech is wrongly attributed to Rimmer (3:7).
- Yvonne McGruder is referred to as a geo-mapper (3:17) when
previously she has been called a flight technician (BTL, 2:6).
- One may be a subsidiary of the other.
- Rimmer says that Lister teased him about Yvonne McGruder,
saying that she called Rimmer 'Simon' (3:8). Rimmer admits
to himself that she called him 'Alan' (BTL, 2:6).
- Rimmer's low self-esteem might be playing tricks with his mind such that he cannot truly believe that Yvonne wanted him for himself -- especially in the light of how things with her panned out (3:8), seeming to confirm this. The actual name Alan/Simon is not important to him, just that he believes it could never have been 'Arnold.'
- Rimmer muses about his one sexual encounter with Yvonne
McGruder (IWCD, 2:32; BTL, 2:6) which took place on the 16th of
March. The affair is later described as occurring over 'one long
glorious weekend' (2:9) -- it seems strange that they had sex only
once during this time, especially given Yvonne's feelings for
Rimmer (3:8). Also the 'March 16th' in question must have been
March 16th in the year 2180, as this was the year Lister joined
RD (he joined RD around March, approximately six months after his
24th birthday during October 2179 -- IWCD, 1:3 corrected in the
RED DWARF OMNIBUS; IWCD, 1:7); yet this date will fall on a
Thursday, not during a weekend.
- It is not impossible (though improbable), that for some reason or other the actual intercourse instances were restricted to one, leaving Rimmer and Yvonne to engage in other forms of 'glorious weekend' activities... As far as the day/date is concerned, there may be some changes/rearrangements in the 22nd century calendar (such that it is slightly different to the 20th century calendar) that means that March 16th 2180 may fall on a weekend.
- Yvonne McGruder became pregnant to Rimmer in March 2180 (see
above) and left the ship when RD stopped at Miranda (3:16). Red
Dwarf must have stopped at Miranda around about September 2180
(IWCD, 1:12; IWCD, 1:13), meaning that Yvonne must have been 6-7
months pregnant when she left the ship -- it's highly unlikely that
she or others would not have known about her condition. Might not
Rimmer have found out too?
- Given how desperately Yvonne wanted to be with Rimmer (3:8), the realisation that the affair *had* been real, and that Rimmer apparently wanted nothing more to do with her, must have hurt her. If she believed that there was no future for them together, she may have kept the pregnancy from him to save herself further humiliation and trouble.
- How could Red Dwarf's black box have ended up on Earth (3:1; 3:11)
containing information not available until three million years hence?
For example, Holly didn't create Rimmer's hologram immediately
Lister exited stasis, but a few days after (IWCD, 2:1) with every
indication that Rimmer's hologram had not existed previously, and
no indication that Holly had planned this from the outset (IWCD, 2:2).
- The black box recording must have been made after Lister's exit from stasis, but apparently has travelled through some time anomaly (worm hole, swirly thing, whatever) to make it splash down on Earth three million years before it is due to be made. The recording is very incomplete, obviously missing such details as its three million years hence origin (else Michael McGruder, who even with his longevity could not expect to clock up the big 3,000,000, would not expect that he might possibly meet Rimmer one day -- 3:1), or that Rimmer was only a technician and not the great soldier Michael McGruder believed him to be (3:11).
- How can Michael McGruder (and even the GELFs, despite their
longevity -- 2:4) be alive at the same time as the RD crew,
when the Mayflower's journey (apparently taking upwards of
400,000 years, with its passengers in Deep Sleep most of the
time -- 3:4) must still have ended with its entry into the Omni-
zone hundreds of thousands of years before Lister came out of
stasis?
- The Mayflower fell into a worm hole before it was sucked into the Omni-zone and ended up in the reality which came to support the GELF asteroid belt (3:4). Perhaps falling through the worm hole sent the Mayflower into the future near to the time when Lister came out of stasis. Alternatively, the effect may be that time in the GELF belt reality may be moving much more slowly relative to the Red Dwarf reality -- the Mayflower may have entered the GELF belt reality hundreds of thousands of years before Starbug did, but from the GELF reality point of view, it has been a *much* shorter time taken for the two ships' crews to meet.
- During 20 years of Deep Sleep, Starbug has traversed the
Omni-zone (reaching lightspeed for the crossing -- eg. BTL, 3:3)
and has slowed to a speed (2:1) enabling it to rendezvous with
the derelict Starbug. However, 20 years seems excessive, given
that Starbug (while in the GELF asteroid belt reality) never
appears to be even a tenth this far from the Omni-zone (eg.
32 weeks' travel for Starbug from the lava planet to the Rage's
planet -- 3:14).
- Starbug may be able to come down from lightspeed in much less time than it takes to power up to lightspeed, in which case the majority of the 20 year (Deep Sleep) journey may have been spent in the Backwards World reality, gathering speed for the Omni-zone crossing.
- The Lister-doppelganger killed the Kinitawowis before they
got back to their own ship (3:18), which they had docked onto
Starbug (3:6). There is no indication of the Kinitawowi ship
disengaging from Starbug, but it does seem to have disappeared.
- Lister-doppelganger may have disengaged it to make it seem that the Kinitawowis had gone, in order that the others did not become suspicious and discover him before he was well enough to attack them. Alternatively, the Kinitawowi ship may have been lost in the crash on the lava planet (3:7), and the others were too busy with their problems with Starbug to notice that the ship didn't disengage in the standard way.
- Kochanski appears to have three vials of luck virus (3:20), yet
there were only two (3:10).
- There *are* only two vials of luck virus, and one of quick- growing broccoli virus (the purpose of which is yet to come). Kryten finds the first vial of luck virus (3:10), and Kochanski uses a minute dose from this first vial to find (amongst others) another vial of luck virus and the broccoli virus vial. Kochanski then apparently hangs the *first* vial of luck virus and the vial of broccoli virus (better keep *it* handy too as she doesn't know when she will need it) around her neck, and presumably puts the second vial of luck virus somewhere safe (maybe even in her bra). The first luck virus vial is cracked by the Longman-leopard (3:14). The crew then use this same vial of virus to work out the coordinates and means to find Lister, before Kochanski hangs the 'almost empty' vial back around her neck (3:14). It is this same vial that Kochanski later uses to prevent herself being shot, and that the Lister-doppelganger finally takes and crunches up to make the Rage choose him (3:18). The second, untouched vial of luck virus is the one that Kochanski finally takes out of her bra- cup for herself and Lister to drink (3:20).
2.4 BACKWARDS (BKW)
- * If Starbug was destroyed on Garbage World, and it was stated that
only one shuttle craft was left -- the WG (BTL, 3:11), how can the
crew now be travelling in SB again (1:2)?
- * Perhaps the RD has a repair/construction facility to make new Starbugs.
- * Kryten and Rimmer wouldn't age, but shouldn't Cat have gotten
three decades older while waiting for Lister to de-age?
- * If (despite the temporal differences between realities) the Cat would have aged significantly while waiting for the rendezvous with Lister, then he would have gone into stasis or Deep Sleep.
- * It is stated when the old Lister first comes to life on Backwards World (BTL, 4:4) that the rendezvous with the others will take place at Niagara Falls in 36 years' time. This is contradicted in BKW ("So Far...") which says that the rendezvous takes place after only 34 years, BUT is then reiterated as 36 years a little later (1:8). Also, it is apparent that Lister has had no contact with the remaining crew, from the time he comes to life on Backwards World right up until the rendezvous (eg. 1:3), so the rendezvous appointment could not have been altered. In this case then, Lister was 61 when he died (BTL, 3:12), and would have de-aged to 25 by the time of the rendezvous. This means that waiting on Backwards World a further 12 years for the second escape window (1:13) would actually reduce Lister to the age of 13, and not 15 as stated (3:4).
- * Lister muses that for more than thirty years of his time on Backwards World, he'd had Krissie to keep him company (1:3). However, he later reflects on how Krissie had gone away and forgotten him upon their introduction, nine years previous (1:8) -- plus of course he had unserved an eight-year jail sentence (1:4). Whether his time on Backwards World constituted 34 years ("So Far...") or 36 years (1:8), this adds up to Krissie keeping him company for only 25 or 27 years, certainly *less* than thirty.
- * Ace and Billy-Joe Epstein fight, and Billy-Joe pockets Ace's St. Christopher medal and forgets about it. This happening is described by 'that simple act would save quite a few lives' (2:1). The implication being that the fact that Billy-Joe and not Ace keeps the medal, will cause lives to be saved. If this is so, then in order for events (to do with the medal) to be attributed with lives-saving, then there must be some *acknowledgement* of the medal's part in this -- this does not happen. The medal is a clue, as it appears, melted, in the charred cockpit of the beta Wildfire One (2:3). However it is not one of *the* clues acknowledged as cracking the mystery of the burnt Wildfire One -- these are rather the date, and Ace's black eye courtesy of Billy-Joe (2:6). Thus it would make sense to say that Billy-Joe punching Ace in the eye saved quite a few lives; but, the *medal's* part in all of this is unsupported.
- * Kryten notices that a few of the rents in Starbug had recently started giving off smoke (3:4). If the backwards force is working properly, then Kryten should actually be seeing smoke falling *into* Starbug's damaged underside.
- * Rimmer muses on the results of procreation between the Cat and his sexual partner (3:4). His thoughts imply that he is worried for what is *going* to be spawned, what is *going* to be lurking on the Earth. The musings read as if the 'child' is yet to be, rather than that if it was to exist at all, then it already *had* existed and was now gone. Rimmer's use of future and present tense, rather than past tense, imply that he has forgotten the physical laws of the Backwards World -- even though he should be well familiar with backwards existence after 12 years of living it. PLUS soon after this he shows that he *can* think in backwards concept (telling Cat that he actually *became* a virgin -- 3:5).
- * Rimmer is running in a two hundred *yards* dash, yet at one point he looks at the one hundred *metre* mark ("Midlogue").
- * Red Dwarf is described as being five miles long and three miles
wide (4:1; 5:14), yet previously has been described as nearly six
miles in length (IWCD, 1:10).
- * This discrepancy may be due to just the rounding-up or rounding-down whim of the person describing the ship at the time.
- * Rimmer describes Lister as having a chronological age of 142
(4:1). Given that Lister reached 61 before dying (BTL, 3:12),
and then de-aged up to 48 years on Backwards World (1:8; 1:13),
then isn't his chronological age in fact 109?
- * Rimmer appears to be overestimating/exaggerating in making his bitter point to himself. He also muses that Lister has the emotional age of two and a half (4:1), which he is also doubtless exaggerating to himself in order to increase the insult to Lister.
- * Lister says that Rimmer failed his astronavigation exam 13 times
(4:2). Rimmer actually only took the exam 11 times, receiving
variously two X for unclassified, and the remainder F for failure
(IWCD; 1:12).
- * Lister may not know or care about the exact number of Rimmer's exam attempts, if he is just making an approximation to get his point across. And Rimmer is hardly likely to want to be discussing his academic failures, even given a situation more conducive to such talk.
- * Sheriff Carton's guns' handles change colour (and design). Initially
the gun handles are described as being of white pearl (5:7); later,
they have changed and are now made of black pearl, and with white dove
designs on them (5:9).
- * In the world of Artificial Reality, things don't have to, and certainly don't, follow the laws of realism. The changing gun handles could be a reflection on the progress of the viral antidote being constructed by Kryten.
- * Lister, as Brett Riverboat, is described by Sheriff Carton as a
man (5:7), yet Lister is actually only a boy in his early teens (3:4).
- * - Once again, in the AR world, anything is possible. If Lister has chosen to be a character which in the game is represented as an adult, then there is no reason why Brett Riverboat *shouldn't* manifest as Lister-the-man rather than as Lister-the-boy.
- * Lister and Cat seem to have jumped to a dimension in which the
differences from their own dimension are minimal (5:14). Shouldn't
they have burned up like the beta Ace and Wildfire One did (2:6) from
jumping to a reality too close to home?
- * The new reality at first may appear to be almost identical to the old, but without a better look it is not possible to say. Many, not-immediately-obvious, differences may be present. In fact, it is actually guaranteed that the new reality was definitely far enough away from the old one so as not to cause damage to the dimension-jumper. This is because Ace programmed Wildfire One himself for the next jump (5:13), and he would have ensured that the drive burn was sufficient not to cause a Wildfire-chargrilling during the jump.
- * There may be a problem with young Ace's age. From the time
he was kept down, at no younger than seven and almost three months
("Prologue"), to the time he is running the two hundred yards dash
in Junior C ("Epilogue"), aged no older than seven and eight-and-
a-half-months, the time span can be no more than about six months.
However, from Ace's musings before his race ("Epilogue"), it can
be inferred that the time span between Kept Down and the race is
as much as a year. In particular, Ace's three terms in a class
where he is a good foot taller than his classmates (meaning that
these have *not* been the same classmates of Junior C -- first time
around -- for any of the three terms) imply that he has been in
Junior C, second time around, for a year. If this is the case,
then he cannot be the age he is credited with in one of either
"Prologue" OR "Epilogue".
- * There is nothing to say that three terms at Ace's school need necessarily make up a year. In not knowing the length of one of Ace's school terms, it is perhaps implausible, but not impossible, that three Ionian school terms do in fact constitute only six months' time. If this is the case, then there are no age discrepancies for young Ace.
3.0 ADDITIONS, CORRECTIONS, OR CONTRIBUTIONS TO BPIP
If you have an inconsistency, resolution, or other input about the BPIP, please address your e-mail to: mcintosh@wehi.edu.au
Provide as much information as possible about the BPI -- I cannot include it if I cannot identify it.
%% Do not, repeat *NOT*, send *book* contributions to Damone. %%
Please consider the criteria for BPIP inclusion, detailed in section 2.0, before posting a contribution. I cannot afford to have my mailbox explode with instances that will not even qualify, and I intend to be strict with what can go in and what can't.
Names of contributors will be included in the Acknowledgements section.
Note that there are *no* book/series contradictions. For this reason also, the Red Dwarf Log No. 1996 is included in *neither* Project as it is essentially a companion book dealing with the television series, in which story continuity with either novels or series appears not to be regarded.
4.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost to:
*** Damone ***
...who provided the original concept of the PIP and allowed this companion document to exist in the same format as its parent. (Yes it's a mutual backscratch, innit?) ;-)
Special thanks to:
*** Friday and Michael Nagy ***
...for providing the BPIP with a Web home or two.
CONTRIBUTORS...
Edward Castle
Cma
Rob Grant
Max Kolombos
"John Q. Public"
Raz
Jim Richards
Daniel Snyder
Lee Weinert
Dave Williamson
Jim Wraith
And of course, thanks to Grant Naylor, who really made it all possible.