In Cadwell Turnbull's sci-fi novel The Lesson, powerful aliens occupy the US Virgin Islands. Turnbull, who grew up on Saint Thomas, says he meets many people who have no idea that the Virgin Islands even exist. "When I first went to Pittsburgh for my undergrad, I would talk to people about the Virgin Islands, and a lot of people just had no idea that we were territories of the US," Turnbull says in Episode 387 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "Because it's so small--the population is a couple hundred thousand people--it's easily overlooked." Turnbull first got interested in fantasy and science fiction from watching shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the first show on American television to use the word "Google" as a transitive verb. It was 2002, in the fourth episode of the show's seventh and final season. Buffy, Willow, Xander and the gang are trying to help Cassie, a high school student who cryptically says she's going to die next week. In Buffy's dining room, they search through hard copies of Cassie's medical records and find nothing noteworthy. Willow, tapping away on a thick white iBook, turns to Buffy and asks, "Have you Googled her yet?"