Help me find a short story I read.

July 28, 2012 11:08 AM

I'm trying to remember the name and author of a science fiction short-story. Description inside.

The story revolves around a man who dies, ends up in a purgatory-like place and gets reincarnated. After a few times of this happening, he talks to "god" and god tells him that he is every person that ever lived, and the entire ordeal is the birth process and that he is his (god's) child.

For some reason I think it's Ted Chiang or Charles Stross, but I'm not sure.

posted by sauril to media & arts (4 answers total)

"The Egg" by Andy Weir?
posted by radwolf76 at 11:13 AM on July 28, 2012 [5 favorites]

there's a big bit like this in 'the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy' (or one of the sequels) where Aurthur Dent keeps accidentally killing one character who keeps getting reincarnated over and over until he eventually confronts him (and ends up getting killed again...)
posted by sexyrobot at 11:21 AM on July 28, 2012

radwolf has got it - thanks!
posted by sauril at 12:45 PM on July 28, 2012

You're welcome. Interestingly enough, my first exposure to the story was in the form of a screenshot of a thread on 4chan's /b/, where it had been posted uncredited.
posted by radwolf76 at 12:57 PM on July 28, 2012