I'm trying to find a short sci-fi story I read over 10 years ago that I barely remember. It may have involved some or all of the following: bicycle repair, ripe banana smelling bacteria used as deodorant and anti-libido medication. [more inside]
posted by jrishel on Nov 19, 2009 - 7 answers

Looking for a short sci-fi story that I read on the internet. It was about a police force who worked in the very risky highways of the future, where rocket cars zoomed around at hundreds of miles an hour. [more inside]
posted by chrisamiller on Nov 1, 2009 - 5 answers

In the early 1980s, Starlog magazine ran a column called Quest that featured readers' artistic submissions. To this day, I still recall a story called "Bomb Run," which dealt with an Enola Gay-style bombing of an alien planet. Did anyone else read this story, and if so, do you know where can I find it online or at least learn the author's name?
posted by nightengine on Oct 14, 2009 - 2 answers

NameThisMovieFilter: Dystopian society of people living in a domed city, who don't leave their homes and spend a great deal of their time in their dream machines. [more inside]
posted by sunshinesky on Sep 14, 2009 - 10 answers

Please help me find this SciFi story I remember reading as a kid. [more inside]
posted by mahke on Sep 11, 2009 - 2 answers

Another forgotten book from childhood. Time travel/survival. Dinosaurs. And yes, it vibrates. Help? [more inside]
posted by rokusan on Aug 26, 2009 - 9 answers

My visceral dislike of the movie District 9 combined with years of other sub par science fiction movies has pretty much killed any desire to see more films of the genre. Help me rekindle the flame. (Minor District 9spoilers inside) [more inside]
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Aug 19, 2009 - 82 answers

Looking for fiction and non-fiction about Jupiter's moon Europa. [more inside]
posted by moonroof on Aug 13, 2009 - 13 answers

Want to help remember a book title? 'Course ya do! It's from the 80s and, if I remember correctly, involves some kids that discover a new game at the local arcade. There's a pilot's helmet on top of the machine, and when they try it on and attempt the game they find they can travel through time. I believe the cover was a picture of the machine and the helmet. At one point they use it to break into a research facility or something, but before that I think they go back too far and it's still being built (leading to some fretting about jumping forward in time and ending up halfway through a wall or floor). I know somebody out there can field this one!
posted by Monster_Zero on Jun 23, 2009 - 2 answers

Science Fiction films dealing with sex-change? [more inside]
posted by kolophon on Jun 11, 2009 - 21 answers

Science fiction - filter: I used to read and love Dick, Farmer, LeGuin, and others who coupled great writing with directly confronting sex, violence, and societal change. What contemporary authors might I like? [more inside]
posted by Forktine on May 28, 2009 - 40 answers

Name-that-golden-age-SF-bookfilter: a kid wins a contest to go to a space station, and it's not Have Space Suit--Will Travel. [more inside]
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal on May 7, 2009 - 9 answers

Wanted: Science Fiction Books moved by a great central idea such as: Ringworld by Larry Niven or The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. [more inside]
posted by MasonDixon on Mar 25, 2009 - 34 answers

Is there any first contact science fiction (or other types of scifi, more generally) where the characters have actually READ first contact science fiction before? [more inside]
posted by OmieWise on Mar 24, 2009 - 23 answers

Science Fiction Filter: examples of unreliable aliens? [more inside]
posted by arcanecrowbar on Mar 14, 2009 - 36 answers

Here's a geeky one about Larry Niven's Known Space stories... how come Louis Wu doesn't know that Beowulf Shaeffer is his (step) father? [more inside]
posted by ubermuffin on Mar 3, 2009 - 5 answers

Another "what is the name of this barely-remembered movie from childhood?" question. Ingredients: a perfect child getting delivered in a barrel. Maybe he was a robot? [more inside]
posted by jeb on Jan 21, 2009 - 12 answers

I feel like I should know this one but Google has failed me. I recall reading a Sci-Fi-like story about a group of children who were only allowed to play outside in the sun for one day a year. I can't remember if the lived underground or if it rained all of the time. I just remember that there was only one day they could enjoy being outside. Does anyone know the name or author of the story?
posted by extraheavymarcellus on Dec 11, 2008 - 6 answers

Help me identify the name of this science fiction short story or novel about a human child of an interplanetary diplomat. [more inside]
posted by shadytrees on Dec 11, 2008 - 9 answers

I remember reading this sci-fi book a long while ago, but I can't remember anything easily googleable. Can anyone help identify it? [more inside]
posted by flatluigi on Feb 10, 2008 - 2 answers

How can I get in touch with television and movie fandom in Chicago? [more inside]
posted by WCityMike on May 15, 2007 - 4 answers