“ The peasants of the wood use crudely carved symbols to ward off wolves. They think the symbols are emblems of purity and goodness and that keeps the wolves away. The symbols work, but not for the reasons the peasants believe...
The symbols are actually arcance evil symbols which the wolves know and fear, but to which the peasants are oblivious. So how gullible are the peasants going to be when a strange horned man displaying the symbols on his shield turns up and asks for their allegiance?”
“ You type the command into the console. 'Insufficient Guineapigs' the computer responds. Baffled, you retype the command. 'Insufficient Guineapigs' the computer replies again. You decide you should start smaller, with a simpler command. 'Insufficient Guineapigs'
What does cycling the spaceship's airlock have to do with a now-extinct Peruvian rodent?”
“ A supposedly empty desert on the far side of the mountains has started growing. No one knows why. At the center of the desert lies a tall rock outcropping, hundreds of feet tall. Dust storms shroud the outcropping constantly, except for one night a year.”