Delicious dinos

April 15, 2007 8:18 PM

Yet another Sci-Fi ID request: I once read a tongue-in-cheek short story involving a fidgety time travel portal, dinosaurs, and culinary adventures.

IIRC, the story was told in the first person. The two protagonists are trying, unsuccessfully, to build a portal through which objects can travel in time. At one point, some fluctuation causes a clutch of dinosaur eggs to fall through the portal. The protagonists put the eggs off to the side and keep trying to get the portal to work. They keep at it for several months, during which time the eggs hatch and the dinos start to breed, but they never get the portal to work again. However, through a freak accident they discover that the dinosaurs are delicious, and so they go into business breeding them and live happily ever after. Any ideas?

posted by Johnny Assay to media & arts (6 comments total)

"A Statue for Father" by Isaac Asimov.
posted by Opposite George at 8:31 PM on April 15, 2007

Man, is there any unidentified sci-fi story that Asimov didn't write?
posted by chrismear at 8:39 PM on April 15, 2007

Yeah, odds are pretty good that if you read it long enough ago to barely remember it (i.e., like when you were 12 or so) and it has a goofy twist it's Asimov. Never cared much for Sci-Fi but his short stories were always good for entertainment back in the day.
posted by Opposite George at 9:12 PM on April 15, 2007

Nicely done, Opposite George. And yes, I did in fact read this story when I was about 12.
posted by Johnny Assay at 9:34 PM on April 15, 2007

Me too. Oh Lord, I hope that last comment didn't sound snotty. I really loved those stories and still remember them very fondly.
posted by Opposite George at 9:45 PM on April 15, 2007

This story sounded so wacky that initially I thought it was pure Ray Bradbury.
posted by humblepigeon at 1:27 AM on April 16, 2007