Dilley: I was referring to the people here who are eager to judge Laidlaw based on his preferences. Deference to the "holy trilogy" is the entire problem. At the risk of repeating myself, I am grateful that Star Wars has not influenced Laidlaw's writing, and I would submit that the Half-Life 2 story is BETTER science fiction than Star Wars - which is all fiction, and no science. saadniazi: while we're making assertions based on nothing, how about you demonstrate that you're not a spambot? Not only do I think you didn't write your own comment, I don't think you're even a human being.

I'm grateful for the extent to which Star Wars has not influenced Laidlaw's fantastic sci-fi universe. Lucas's fantasy "mythology" and Roddenberry's ridiculous technobabble cop-outs and shallow xenobiology have both done immeasurable damage to the imaginations of the generations they've inspired, and have forged the childish dogma on display here.