Yet another sci-fi story ID request...

July 8, 2007 3:14 PM

[ObscureSciFiFilter] Help me identify these science fiction stories please?

I've been having trouble putting a title and author to a short list of science fiction stories. I'm thinking the hive mind should make short work of these, so here goes. Apologies for mild spoilers. Thanks in advance, MeFites!

- Very short story about a scientist-type who accidentally makes first contact with an alien civilization by discovering that the the time it takes to deliver a package apparently decreases as the distance increases, and sending an experimental package off to Alpha Centauri (or some such place). I want to say that this is a R. A. Lafferty story - the protagonist definitely feels like one of Lafferty's matter-of-fact scientist types.

- A team of scientists projects a three-dimensional portal of sorts in an otherwise desolate landscape; the portal opens onto another dimension but inexplicably shows what appears to be a Victorian-era house and the apparently human family who lives there. One of the scientists attempts to interact with the family, with unpleasant results. This story may have appeared in one of the 50s or 60s short-story anthologies.

- A man is given a ticket for a trip which is described as being the ultimate travel experience. He shows up at the appointed time and place to find out that the point of departure is a dilapidated barn in the middle of nowhere, and the rest of the ticket holders are sitting on benches, patiently waiting. I believe the title was something like 'The Trip' or 'The Vacation', though my Google-fu has failed me in finding it that way.

Bonus question: This last story was reprinted in an anthology aimed at young readers, published sometime in the 70s. The book featured Heinlein's "And He Built a Crooked House" among others, and the stories were interspersed with trippy Escher-ish illustrations. As far as I can remember, it was a pretty nondescript book, titled something simple like "Science Fiction", black hardcover, not very thick. It was one of my first exposures to short science fiction and I've been looking for a copy for years, for nostalgia's sake, so if anyone has any clues, please let me know.

- Finally - a novel about a bunch of scientists who are abducted and are being held in a gulag on a space station. Over the course of some experimenting (measuring the effects of their artificial gravity on rolling marbles, etc), they're able to deduce some interesting things about their environment which they use to their advantage. (I'm being a bit cryptic to avoid spoilers in case anyone ends up reading it.) The novel itself was no great literary achievement, but some of the science and engineering geekiness was fun.

posted by herichon to writing & language (15 comments total)

The first one (about the mail delivery times) is "Mail Supremacy" by Hayford Peirce. I found it in my copy of "100 Great Science Fiction Short Short Stories" (ed. Asimov).
posted by jlub at 3:32 PM on July 8, 2007

Number 3 - Previously and that wasn't even the askme I was googling for, but there you go. Clearly one that burrows into peoples' heads.
posted by edd at 3:36 PM on July 8, 2007

jlub - That certainly looks like the one, though I would have never guessed Hayford Peirce. Thanks very much!

edd - Yep, 'On Missing Persons' is definitely it... It certainly does get in your head. I see now that I should have searched on 'barn', as I would have found it pretty easily that way. Thank you!

That puts us halfway there... any takers on the rest?
posted by herichon at 3:54 PM on July 8, 2007

#4- Footfall, by Niven and Pournelle?
posted by signal at 4:00 PM on July 8, 2007

signal - Niven and Pournelle are always worth a read but Footfall's definitely not the one I was thinking of... I don't believe there were any aliens in this book, for one thing. The time range is about right though, this one would probably have been written in the 80s.
posted by herichon at 4:11 PM on July 8, 2007

The second is Window by Bob Leman. Link contains major spoilers! Great story - thanks for reminding me about it.
posted by iconomy at 4:21 PM on July 8, 2007

The last one reminded me of The House of Stairs, but on a second reading of your description I don't think that's right, since it's scientists and not teenagers. Curious to know what it is, though!

And though I didn't recall the title of the first, I definitely remembered it from the Asimov "Short Short Stories" book -- I loved that collection when I was a kid.
posted by tweebiscuit at 4:32 PM on July 8, 2007

iconomy - wow, you're right, Window is definitely the one. I could have sworn this story was older than 1980, but clearly not. Yeah, it is a great story, hard to forget (particularly the ending). Thanks!
posted by herichon at 4:40 PM on July 8, 2007

tweebiscuit, I ran across House of Stairs a little while ago when I was digging through old AskMe posts... it sounds intriguing, I'll have to check it out. No, these were definitely scientists or engineers, or maybe a mix of both, and the science was pivotal to the storyline.

I found a list of the stories in Asimov's collection here, and the other titles are familiar enough that I must have read it sometime in the distant past. I'll have to track down a copy, sounds like it'll be a lot of fun to reread.
posted by herichon at 4:53 PM on July 8, 2007

Ehem... feel free to throw in more scifi suggestions if herichon doesn't mind a little noise.
posted by CautionToTheWind at 5:29 PM on July 8, 2007

FYI to anyone who's interested - the anthology I described above is called "Science Fiction", edited by Sylvia Z. Brodkin & Elizabeth J. Pearson, published in 1973. I found it by Googling the two stories I knew for sure were in it - "And He Built A Crooked House" and "Of Missing Persons". That led me to a page on this excellent site with the book details and a list of the rest of the stories (quite a nice collection!). A bit more poking around online yielded an ISBN, and I just ordered a used copy (library binding and all) through Abe Books.

So - here I've been thinking about finding this book off and on for twenty years, and with any luck it should be here by next week. The power of AskMefi never ceases to amaze me.
posted by herichon at 6:41 PM on July 8, 2007

I am pretty sure the last book is Endgame Engima. I remember reading about 15 years ago, and it has stuck in my mind; not so much for a quality of the writing but by the sheer audacious implausibility of the twist. Great story though.
posted by AndrewStephens at 6:50 PM on July 8, 2007

You've already found it, but for future reference, the ISFDB is a great place to look up sf anthology by included story.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 7:09 PM on July 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

"Window" was also made into an episode of the TV show "Night Visions" called "A View Through The Window" starring Bill Pullman.
posted by Locative at 10:47 PM on July 8, 2007

Andrew, you're dead on about Endgame Enigma; I recognized the cover immediately. And you're right, the writing is no great shakes but the twist makes the book.

Thanks for the help, everybody... I'll keep an eye on AskMeFi and hopefully I can return the favor one of these days.
posted by herichon at 12:10 AM on July 9, 2007