@Fauxcused: Agreed on the weather being a major problem in the terminator zone that is described as potentially habitable. Assuming an atmosphere and water of course, it would seem that there would potentially be constant and severe storms. Most weather fronts on earth occur at temporary temperature boundaries.

@pirukas: Therru has made some good suggestions below. I'd say you might want to start with the short-story collections.

@Shini: R.O.A.C.H.: Well. what would be the reaction if your wife became either a vampire or cyborg?

@go-falcons: While on the topic of things that should not be, have you ever seen the YouTube videos about the Gay Daleks?

@ilos: I'd nominate Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. He's more representative physically than Dr. Hawking, and speaks in public often. Dr. Hawking has also recently expressed concern over the advisability of contacting aliens at all, as he thinks it could be detrimental to our civilization. Maybe not the best spokesman.

@J_Frank_Parnell: We knew there was more to this than they are letting on.

@Burke: I agree with your assessment. I would add that keeping it dark makes it easier to use lower cost special effects and sets. It did have a miniscule budget after all, and I think they spent most of that on CGI. They say there are a lot of great location shots in Mexico though, but again that didn't cost too…

Is that a brain slug on the head of Bob the Ape in picture # 4? I also noted space-going apes like diamond earrings.

@Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.: That's another good point. Peat bogs are not too uncommon, in the right climates. You essentially would end up mummified as I understand it. I think the acid conditions & lack of oxygen do the trick.

@The_Cuttlefish_of_Cthulhu: That's a good point! I wonder why Esther didn't mention it given all the other possibilities that were covered?

@Zenuflecked: You have a star by your icon, so you should be able to approve or promote comments. Comments that you can approve will have pink text and a green checkmark under the commenter's icon click on that. Likewise comments that are in lighter text can be promoted by clicking on the thumbs-up icon below the…

@Annalee Newitz: Good point! I think doubledeckard should apply for grant funding right away. Then seek out college-student volunteers to participate in the study (they can be paid in pizza, so they are cost effective). Soon he can publish, and gain academic accolades, etc.

@Cory Gross: Sorry, I was oversimplifying. Of course both Theology and Exobiology do have subject material.

Here's a good artist conception of what the two dinosaurs looked like. It's from a National Geographic article which can be read at this link:

@Captain_Tripps: Yep, that was the reasoning stated. However, the dual nature of the equipment also gave Nesseus "plausible deniability" and he could claim to be unarmed when dealing with the races of the Ringworld.

@Brian Schlosser: Punny! "Lying Bastard" was the name of the starship in Ringworld that was piloted by the "mad" Puppeteer, Nessius. Although, it was given that name by the human Louis Wu.

@Captain_Tripps: Well, there are no aliens in the majority of LeGuin's stories, but there are exceptions. "The Word for World is Forest" is one of her novels that does have an alien race living on a forest planet.

@Tatterfoal: Well, there is Theology, which by its name seems to be a scientific discipline. However, it and Exobiology have a total absence of any empirical data to support their hypotheses.

@MaiAriSquee: In addition to the very good recommendations given below, you might also look at the "Jesus Incident" by Frank Herbert

@Fauxcused: That's a very good point. AI will be very different from any other form of life we are familiar with. Consider these points: