Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with sci-fi

Sci-fi spitting in Mona Lisa's eye

bollockovnikov — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:56:52 -0800

Short Story Askme: I read a short dystopian story many years ago set in a run-down, post apocalyptic future. A queue of people line up on a street to spit at a painting. The painting represents all the problems of the past. It is implied that the painting is The Mona Lisa. What is the story?

Help me find more amazing, and epic, sci-fi and fantasy audio books

Kraki — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 03:06:12 -0800

Help me find more great, epic scope, sci-fi or fantasy audiobooks. I just finished all of Frank Herbert's Dune Series, both his own work, and the work of his son and Kevin J. Anderson. I've also listened to the entire Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov, and the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, as well as the Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan. (frustratingly enough, only the Foundation Series is fully complete at this time. Edit. I just found out that Dune 7 part two "Sandworms of Dune" is finished, but I can't seem to find the audiobook for it yet.)

Of those four I liked the Foundation Series and the Dune Series the best.

What are some other fantastic and (hopefully) long novels or series of novels?

Bonus points if the audiobook is read by Scott Brick

What is this science fiction book?

lazy robot — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:02:25 -0800

Several spaceships enter a region of space and disapear. Another spaceship goes to investigate, containing humans and other futuristic sentient species. They find themselves at the bottom of an ocean that is composed of deuterium isotope water. There are sentient creatures living on the ocean floor. Later, two humans are captured by a group of cockroachy creatures. Hilarity ensues. In the end, they escape. A sequel seems possible. What is the book? Who is it by? Is there a sequel?

Sci-Fi novels on unusual planets

mamessner — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:32:39 -0800

What are some great sci-fi novels that take place on planets with unusual climate/geography? Traveling through the Middle East, I just finished Frank Herbert's Dune, set on a desert planet, for the third time. I also loved Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, set on an ice planet.

What are some other fantastic sci-fi novels that take place on planets with unusual climates/geography? Gas planets, water planets, dual suns, etc. Since there are thousands of novels like this, I'm sure, I'd like to lower it down to award-winning novels in which the characteristics of the planet play a major role in the book, like the two named above. Stories (Nightfall comes to mind) could also work.

Thanks!

Lost Colony, Lost Title...

strangelove — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:44:26 -0800

Science-Fiction-Novel-Filter: Lost colony of Galactic Empire, in which a man is dispatched to the planet with an automated legged probe. There is a technology on the planet that is perceived as magic(?) to the natives... Lost colony of Galactic Empire, in which a man is dispatched to the planet with an automated legged probe. There is a technology on the planet that is perceived as magic(?) to the natives (who are human); this technology improves any inanimate object with continued use. A saw will develop diamond tips and become more efficient in use, nobles would hire people to wear their clothes so they retain their quality. Even the probe becomes subtly improved over time, enough so that the first-person narrator comments on how it appears more camouflaged and better suited to it's surveillance job.

I think the technology is nano-tech dispersed by the Galactic Empire prior to collapse, so the colonist would be able to adapt to the collapse. The man and probe are part of a team of people mandated to survey lost colonies.

I read this book maybe ten years ago, in English.

It would be great if this book is part of a series.

Thanks!

sodden vests? sounds uncomfortable...

russm — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:47:17 -0800

please help identify this "young adults" sci-fi-ish novel - "I'm an Est, for Ests are best, down to their sodding woollen vests"... read back in the '80s, set in a near-ish future UK in which everyone gets the same education but are streamed into their future lives based on their final exam results... if you score poorly you become a Prole and face a life of manual labour or service industry work... score well and you become an Est (presumably "Establishment"), and go into business or whatever... the rhyme above the fold is sung by kids in school, because, hell, who wouldn't want to be an Est...

4 main characters in their final year of school, exam results posted, one fails and is destined for Prole-hood, 2 pass and will become Ests, the last (smartest of the 4) has no result posted but a "please come see the principal" note... he goes to see the principal and is informed that since he scored 100% he's obviously not a team player and therefore unsuited to be an Est, so please leave with these men in white coats... turns out that a perfect score gets you streamed as a Tech, but the general public doesn't know about them because... ummm... something I don't remember...

oddly enough, I was reminded of this by cortex and TheOnlyCoolTim's comments in MeTa...

Mein Sci-Fi Kampf

pedmands — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:10:09 -0800

There was a post (I believe on Boing Boing) a few months ago about a sci-fi short story in the form of an internet message board. The message board was for a group of time travelers, and the new members were always being scolded for going back in time and killing Hitler (this was against the rules, as without Hitler we wouldn't have many technologies, etc etc). I have Google strings that I've tried inside... time travel sci-fi story message board
Hitler sci-fi short story
hitler sci-fi story message

ad infinitum...

I've tried the various strings in Google, on Boing Boing, and on MetaFilter to no avail. Anyone out there have this story?

I haz a weird movie memory.

ninazer0 — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:09:52 -0800

Help me locate a weird 80's sci-fi movie with almost no info. I don't remember much of the movie for....various reasons. However, I'd very much like to find it again and fill in the blanks.

It was called something like "Living on the Edge" or "Life in the Tubes" and was a sci-fi comedy. People were living in a futuristic subterranean suburbia. It was all done in a very "just regular folks" sort of style. Kids come home from school and mom prepares a snack, which is some sort of toad creature pushed through a grid so that it pops out in slices. One of the kids is playing a sling-shot/target shooting game in his bedroom and has picked parasites off the family pet to use as missiles, with a very messy result.

I'm sorry, but the plot (if it had one) completely escapes me. I recall that Mom was upset because the "tubes" had stopped working and she sent the two kids with a bucket to the engineer for some gloopy stuff for dinner. The kids didn't want to go because they were scared of the engineer.

It was made in the late 70's or early 80's. I believe it was a US movie, or possibly Canadian.

That's all I've got. Does this ring any bells for anyone???

Childhood movie memory

I, Credulous — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:38:43 -0800

A childhood memory of two science fiction films has been nagging me lately. I have just a little to go on... Movie One: is in colour, probably mid-sixties. The plot involves a "mirror image" of the Earth, orbiting 180 degrees from us, so on the other side of the Sun. Some astronauts from Earth discover it and land there. Everything's the same as our (future) world, but flipped left-to-right (they shot on the same sets and simply printed the film "flipped"). The "other Earth" may have been called Nemesis.

Movie Two: is in B&W, probably early sixties or very late fifties. There's something of a thriller aspect to this one. I recall a man sneaking into and office look at some files. Later, he goes into a darkroom in his apartment (office?) and removes one of his eye balls: it's a camera, concealed in a glass eye. He develops the pictures of the documents that he's snapped with his fancy eye.

Both are probably American productions.

I saw them on television, of course.

I will continue to function as an adult and a human being if I don't find out what these films are, but I'd really like to scratch this mental itch.

Dim memory of a dark world

pointystick — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:23:27 -0800

Television show where half the planet is always dark? For some reason I can't get this out of my head, even though I have a sneaking suspicion this was a stinker of a show. I seem to remember a sci-fi/fantasy movie or mini series on TV in the 80's or 90's that featured a world where half the planet was dark all the time. There may have been a physical barrier between the light and dark halves. I also recall (dimly) there were several subplots one of which involved a hospital or place-of-healing and another with a rural family. What was this show and was it dreadful?

Singularity + Sci-Fi = My Nerdy Request

pedmands — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:57:03 -0800

What are some good sci-fi stories (both short and full-length) that explore the idea of singularity? There's a lot of good sci-fi out there, and googling leads me to chase red herrings while trying to find summaries of collections and novels that aren't yielding what I'm looking for...

Ideally I'd like the story to outline Terry Gorssman's idea of singularity arriving in stages:

"According to Grossman and other singularitarians, immortality will arrive in stages. First, lifestyle and aggressive antiaging therapies will allow more people to approach the 125-year limit of the natural human lifespan. This is bridge one. Meanwhile, advanced medical technology will begin to fix some of the underlying biological causes of aging, allowing this natural limit to be surpassed. This is bridge two. Finally, computers become so powerful that they can model human consciousness. This will permit us to download our personalities into nonbiological substrates. When we cross this third bridge, we become information. And then, as long as we maintain multiple copies of ourselves to protect against a system crash, we won't die."

But I'd also settle for immortality and the possible dystopian nature of it. Macabre and tragedy yield brownie points.

What can you wonderful sci-fi-natics dig up for me?

Strange Sci-Fi Animated Film

ChaoticIndustry — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:44:40 -0800

A while back, on this site, some lovely soul posted a YouTube link of a very strange full-length animated sci-fi film from the 70s. The story involved men being kept as playthings/servants by a giant race on a strange planet. The humans wore some sort of collar that restricted their movements. It was a very unusual film, quite obviously NOT North American. I believe the original film was French and that it had not been available for many years. Can anyone recall the name of this film? Much thanks :)

Balls? Check. Ovaries? Not anymore...

junkbox — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:53:53 -0800

Help me understand the methaphor/mythology behind female sci-fi characters losing their ovaries (slightly spoilery for Alias, X-Files, and S2 of Battlestar Galactica). I just watched the Battlestar Galactica episode "The Farm," in which Starbuck awakens during her recovery from a gunshot wound to discover a mysterious scar over one of her ovaries. It reminded me of a similar scar Sydney Bristow received in S3 of Alias, as well as the fertility saga of Dana Scully in the X-Files.

Strong, ass-kicking female character has her ovaries stolen by an unknown but powerful group because she is somehow "special" or "chosen." Further plot developments usually include the discovery of hybrid "children" created from the harvested eggs, and the emergence of powerful maternal feelings that had previously been dormant/repressed. Both Dana Scully and Sydney Bristow were ultimately able to conceive and bear children of their own, although Scully gave hers up while Sydney got to live happily ever after. Not sure what will happen to Starbuck's ovaries, but no further spoilers, please.

As a woman with ovaries of my own, I have ambivalent feelings about this storyline, especially now that I'm about to watch it play out for the 3rd time. I think I'm bothered by how it subtly reinforces the idea that women who carry guns and fight bad guys must be disconnected from their maternal side (their ovaries), and that the only way they can develop as characters is to discover their repressed maternal instincts, recover their stolen ovaries and bear children of their own.*

So: are there essays or books (fan-produced okay, if they're quality) analyzing the lost-ovaries storyline and the different ways it works metaphorically? Can the Hive Mind offer a different viewpoint on why strong women in sci-fi keep misplacing their reproductive parts? Bonus points if you or your resource can identify the original lost ovaries in sci-fi or earlier mythology.

* I was a huge X-Files fan, and I'm confident that Battlestar Galactica will do something awesome with Starbuck's storyline. Not trying to pick on these shows, just trying to better understand what they're doing with these characters.

Help me ID this sci-fi short story

Auden — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:52:38 -0800

Help me identify this sci-fi short story, involving a hunter who is "impregnated" by a sphinx-like creature, and slowly evolves into such a creature himself while under scientific study. I'm trying to identify a sci-fi short story I read in an anthology roughly 20 years ago.

While not told in a linear fashion, the plot essentially involves a hunter who spots a "UFO", which emits a yellow cloud (thought to serve a spermatophyte-like function) after being shot.

While kept under scientific observation, the protagonist experiences several disturbing changes: He begins to dream of being a sphinx-like creature, has episodes of physical metamorphosis into a saucer-like object, and exhibits a defensive, murderous telekinesis. Eventually, he escapes his scientific captors after the transformation is complete.

Any ideas?

What sci-fi book is this?

flatluigi — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:37:14 -0800

I remember reading this sci-fi book a long while ago, but I can't remember anything easily googleable. Can anyone help identify it? I don't remember any of the character names, but I do remember some shadows of the plot. The main character, a big blue ox-like alien (with backstory parallels to the Paul Bunyan tales, yes) comes to this city, gathers friends which each represent the sleeping 'services' of the city, and reawakens the ancient services.

I remember that the blue ox's friend and the ancient inhabitants of the city were amorphous aliens called "toolies," perhaps. They used anything as 'bones' to provide structure to their bodies to move around. A female toolie who put on an elaborate human outfit to interact with humans at her job (as people were racist against toolies) was also a character. She had a part-time job as an archaeologist.

Other characters in the motley group were a long, worm-like taxi driver, a bouncing dog? that could shape-change, and a drug addict who somehow was transformed into a waste-disposer.

I also remember a chapter that was written especially to include as many sci-fi cliches as possible, including a story that looped around, a crazy hotel and its nonchalant manager, and a woman who wants to personally repopulate the world.

Anyway, I thought it was an interesting story and it's stuck with me. I'd love to read it again, if I could only find it.

Looking for the name of a near-future sci-fi series from mid-90s.

sparklejess — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:18:05 -0800

I'm looking or the name, and possibly other information on a five or six part sci-fi series that aired in the mid nineties, I think on the BBC (not sure). It was set in London/UK and dealt with repercussions of various theorised technological advancements. The final episode is the one I remember clearest - an virus was infecting computers and nobody could immediately see a way of stopping it, but in stead of causing damage, it was amassing a network of nodes that together started to form an artificial intelligence. It was bypassing regular security, doing thing like sharing research data between rival medical laboratories, with the result of making discoveries that wouldn't otherwise have been made.

Towards the end, the authorities started to talk about shutting down the internet to stop its progress, and the final shot before the screen goes blank is of a kind of pale CGI face addressing the audience (but not speaking) for a second, then the feed/connection being cut off.

Does this ring any bells with anybody?

Thanks!

My god, it's full of Stars

Artw — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:27:24 -0800

I'm looking for a series of hardback science fiction anthologies I dimly remember from childhood (sometime in the mid 80s). I think it had a one word title with a number, and the series went up to at least number five. I remember two stories in particular... In one a childs home starmaking experiment goes wrong when he puts too much matter into his simulated universe, creating a spinning cylindrical black hole which escapes and destroys the earth.

In another two creatures, essentially sentient stars, play a game in which they throw their cores at each other. The cores are of different colors, and the color difference is analogous to a gender difference. In the end the "male" star impregnates the "female" star but loses it's core. As a dying act it creates life on an earth like planet and then flings the planet out into space.

Any ideas?

Animated Star Wars homages and rip-offs

TheSecretDecoderRing — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 00:01:56 -0800

Are there any good (or at least decent) animated features that have that Star Wars-esque space opera adventure feel to it? I always wondered why there are countless live-action movies that were heavily inspired by the original Star Wars series (and by the stuff that inspired Star Wars, including Buck Rogers and Star Trek), yet I can't really think of any examples off-hand that were of the animated variety. "Titan AE" is really the only American one that seems to best fit what I'm thinking of, and that was a disappointment. The original Transformers movie (which I still love) is often said to have obvious parallels, but I'm not sure that'd count. I enjoyed "Sky Captain" but I'd consider it live-action.

While I'd prefer something I can see in one day, TV series would work, too. I'm starting on the original Japanese version of Robotech, which is somewhat close to what I'm looking for.

I've seen the first couple episodes of Star Blazers (which was pre-SW), but it didn't really capture my imagination. Does it get better?

Also, I've never read Heinlein, but from what I know of his young adult novels, those seem to be deserving of an animated adaptation or two. Has anything been made along those lines?

I'd hoping for something serious but still fun (ie, not like Battlestar). And something accessible... For all the unanimous praise I hear of Miyazaki's work, I often have a hell of a time trying to make sense of it.

Nerd Oprah book club

Jacen — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 05:35:44 -0800

I need books for a sci-fi discussion group Well, I got nominated (or appointed, really) to do a sci-fi book discussion that meets weekly. The good news is that sign up is voluntary, so I should get people who are at least curious. The bad news, is I'm not at all sure what books to put on my 'to read' list. So far, I'm thinking Enders Game (of course) KDicks Kiln People, maybe that book by Barnes where the kids run an asteroid, and possibly Dune. However, I feel I need about a dozen more books to pick and choose from, so, any good suggestions? Also, any discussion questions that should be brought up about them would help. Thanks!

Dystopic Sci-fi screencaps?

Pinwheel — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:43:19 -0800

I'm looking for screen caps of several different dystopic sci-fi movies. Any idea where I should look?

Please help me find this sci-fi story again.

Specklet — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 23:17:07 -0800

Do you remember a sci-fi short story about the last man on earth and suspended animation and the evolution of algae? I read this short(ish) story many years ago. My memory of the story is vague, but it's haunted me for years, and I really want to find it again.

I think it was by one of the old school sci-fi greats, like Ben Bova or Poul Anderson, and it told the story of the Earth destroyed by WWIII/ The last man on earth who'd figured out a way to put himself into a suspended animation, in an attempt to find some meaning to life. At first he'd just put himself under for a thousand years or so, but when he realized that all life on the planet had been destroyed and needed time to re-evolve (or just evolve, I suppose) he put himself under for longer and longer amounts of time.

There was one re-awakening that sticks in my head: he came out of his hibernation to discover that there was only one species of life on earth: a beautiful green algea that was slowly creeping out of the sea to adopt to life on land.

What the heck was this story?!

Name This Short Run TV Flop - It Had An Exploding Head...I Think

roryks — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 21:31:50 -0800

Do you remember a show - around the time of the a team, knight rider street hawk etc.. This guy, was an astronaut... The sun's radiation got through his visor He used to get really angry, could run fast but his head almost exploded and would pulsate. I think in the last episode his head actually did explode. Quite a crud super power I suppose. But he could run after cars and flipped out whenever anybody picked on his girlfriend. It really flopped and was a short run thing - I think they killed him off (hence his head exploding).

Calling all publishing professionals and authors

humblepigeon — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 04:56:58 -0800

Should I follow in the footsteps of Douglas Adams? I'm writing my first novel. I have a strong idea that's similar to Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently series—comedy sci-fi/fantasy (but mainly humor). I'm concerned that this might not be a commercially sound idea for a novel. Put simply, is my novel likely to appeal to mainstream publishers? Or will the sci-fi/fantasy tag turn them off? Will the novel be classed as children's fiction and, if so, is this a bad thing? I'm in the UK and will approach UK agents/publishers. I know there are publishing professionals and even authors here on MeFi. I'm hoping to tap into some commercial publishing nous. Thanks!

What's the title of this B-monster movie, possibly starring Kurt Russell?

shoseph — Wed, 30 May 2007 21:25:53 -0800

My friend is searching for the title of a low-budget B-monster movie. The plot: The crew of a spaceship find a derelict spacecraft and awaken a demon/alien creature who possesses the crew one by one. Also, the movie might star Kurt Russell. At the end of the movie the protagonist (Russell?) is the only crew member left alive, and the demon/alien has possessed another crew member. After a conversation, the protagonist fires a missile at his own ship from somewhere, blowing up the creature and himself.

Clearly this film was a rip-off of The Thing, Alien, Lifeforce, etc. And, no, it's not Event Horizon. My friend saw it as a kid (in the 80's), so he can't remember any more details.

Gonna party like it's 2099

Jezztek — Tue, 29 May 2007 20:48:10 -0800

What Science Fiction movies feature dancing? Dear Hivemind,

I'm working on a silly little project, and would like to get my hands on as many Science Fiction movie dance scenes as possible.

My only requirement is that they need to look, well, future-silly, with people dressed in their poorly thought out quasi-futuristic clothes. So any Sci-Fi that attempts to present a realistic future (and thus won't be immediately identifiable as supposedly futuristic) won't really work for me.

In other words:

Matrix = No good
Logan's Run = Great.

Thanks much!