# Ask the guy who is pretty good at SF Story Identification **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [September 7, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417 "2008-09-07T00:08:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 29
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/561 "2020-04-14T04:14:48Z")
Here’s a webpage about stories in which a day is lived over and over: > **[Why We're Drawn To Time Loop Stories Like 'Groundhog Day' | Digg](https://digg.com/2018/time-loop-movies-shows-books-groundhog-day)** > > Which stories involving time loops do interesting things, and which just give us the same old ideas again? Let Fan Service help you sort them out. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/562 "2020-04-14T16:57:40Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Here’s the previous thread [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=20827982](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=20827982) > > I looked at some of the tables of contents in Wendell’s link and didn’t find it. I did the same during the previous thread, and didn’t find it. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/563 "2020-04-14T17:22:29Z")
Is it possible you’re misremembering where you read the story? It was forty-five to fifty years ago when you read it. Sometimes people don’t remember correctly where they read a story. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/564 "2020-04-14T21:46:23Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Here’s a webpage about stories in which a day is lived over and over: > > [https://digg.com/2018/time-loop-movies-shows-books-groundhog-day](https://digg.com/2018/time-loop-movies-shows-books-groundhog-day) I could swear I saw that yesterday… and the day before and… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/565 "2020-04-14T22:54:53Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Is it possible you’re misremembering where you read the story? It was forty-five to fifty years ago when you read it. Sometimes people don’t remember correctly where they read a story. It’s a pretty clear memory. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/566 "2020-04-15T00:10:16Z")
Yup, lots of people have clear memories of things that never happened, especially decades after the fact. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/567 "2020-04-15T00:10:38Z")
I’ve looked at Tvtropes which sometimes helps - but the “People zoo” “Groundhog Day Loop” and “Truman Show Plot” pages (each of which I figured had some shot at being useful) didn’t have a useful answer. I’m trying some more random approaches - but you might want to try [https://scifi.stackexchange.com/](https://scifi.stackexchange.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/568 "2020-04-15T11:25:19Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > I’ve looked at Tvtropes which sometimes helps - but the “People zoo” “Groundhog Day Loop” and “Truman Show Plot” pages (each of which I figured had some shot at being useful) didn’t have a useful answer. I’m trying some more random approaches - but you might want to try [https://scifi.stackexchange.com/](https://scifi.stackexchange.com/) I just posted the question there. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/569 "2020-04-15T12:48:30Z")
> [@Mr.Bill](#): > > I just posted the question there. Thanks! Looks like they found it [SF short story about a man trapped reliving the same day over and over - Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange](https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/229927/sf-short-story-about-a-man-trapped-reliving-the-same-day-over-and-over) “Not for An Age” by Brain Aldiss [personapaper.com is expired](http://www.personapaper.com/article/20276-short-science-fiction-story-review--brian-w-aldiss--not-for-an-age) which was collected in the places listed here [Title: Not for an Age](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?41218) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/570 "2020-04-15T13:38:51Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Looks like they found it [SF short story about a man trapped reliving the same day over and over - Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange](https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/229927/sf-short-story-about-a-man-trapped-reliving-the-same-day-over-and-over) > > “Not for An Age” by Brain Aldiss [personapaper.com is expired](http://www.personapaper.com/article/20276-short-science-fiction-story-review--brian-w-aldiss--not-for-an-age) which was collected in the places listed here [Title: Not for an Age](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?41218) And “Not for An Age” was in “Science Fiction Stories” (edited by Tom Boardman) along with “First Contact” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/571 "2020-04-15T19:15:46Z")
And I think we have the answer- Brian W Aldiss - Not For an Age. > **[Short Science Fiction Story Review – Brian W Aldiss – Not For an Age -...](http://www.personapaper.com/article/20276-short-science-fiction-story-review--brian-w-aldiss--not-for-an-age)** > > 1955 – Friday Project Press – Spoiler alerts >   > A rather scary precursor to Groundhog Day, which wouldn’t be filmed for decades after this Aldiss take on the idea of living a single day over and over. >   > The hero, Rodney has lived his life... Thanks for the suggestion! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/572 "2020-04-15T19:22:48Z")
Oops - should have checked for replies before posting. Then the system wouldn’t let me edit the post. Oh Well. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/573 "2020-04-15T21:28:34Z")
> [@Mr.Bill](#): > > Oops - should have checked for replies before posting. Then the system wouldn’t let me edit the post. Oh Well. No problem. Keep the questions coming. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/574 "2020-04-23T01:36:55Z")
I have two. One I posted in another thread, but didn’t get an answer. My Google Fu is failing me. 1). I’m pretty sure it involved one character telling the other character this story as a parable or metaphor, but I don’t remember the framing story, or whether it was a film, show, book, short story, or comic book unfortunately. It went something like this: But basically, and told much less poetically, a man is alone on a spaceship on an endless journey. Unfortunately there is some kind of subtle noise he can’t locate the source of. Normally not a big deal but in his isolation and boredom it starts to become all he notices and it starts to slowly drive him insane. He goes through various stages of resistance and anger and frustration. But finally he relents. Gradually he notices his foot tapping. Over time the subtle rhythm begins becoming the seed for his imagination to become coauthor to a million epic internal symphonies. 1. I’m pretty sure this is a graphic novel, though it could be a limited comic book or webcomic series or short animation, maybe it was a novel that was particularly vivid. Theres some kind of post human apocalyptic event, wherein the majority of humans join their bodies together into some unified mass of fleshy orgasmic rapture tendrils. Someone, maybe an outsider teen girl, isn’t affected immediately. Maybe she didn’t use her phone or maybe she’s deaf, or some other reason. Maybe she has one or two friends who didn’t immediately get involved but they all gradually relent. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/575 "2020-04-23T01:43:14Z")
The second one might be Blood Music by Greg Bear, which has a handicapped teenage girl unaffected by the transformation of humanity in the last third of the novel > **[Blood Music (novel)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Music_(novel))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Blood Music is a science fiction novel by American writer Greg Bear. > It was originally published as a short story in 1983 in the American science fiction magazine Analog Science Fact & Fiction, winning the 1983 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the 1984 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. > Greg Bear published an expanded version in novel form in 1985. > Blood Music deals with themes including biotechnology, nanotechnology (including the grey goo hypothe... ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/576 "2020-04-23T02:34:38Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > The second one might be Blood Music by Greg Bear, which has a handicapped teenage girl unaffected by the transformation of humanity in the last third of the novel > [Blood Music (novel) - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Music_(novel)) That does sound really close, and the title is familiar. I can’t find a great description of the last third though to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/577 "2020-04-23T12:59:05Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > That does sound really close, and the title is familiar. I can’t find a great description of the last third though to be sure. Yeah, the best description I found it is “These story threads, particularly the one featuring the odyssey of a lone teenage girl wandering through a horrifically transformed Manhattan, are often indelibly haunting. But they would have been more effective had Bear introduced these characters at the novel’s beginning, just like Vergil, giving us a greater involvement in their lives before everything hits the fan, and thus drawing even greater sympathy out of us for them. Introducing a slew of new characters over 100 pages in throws off the story’s momentum just slightly, and the subsequent jumping back and forth of the narrative disrupts the excellent pace of the early scenes.” [SF REVIEWS.NET: Blood Music / Greg Bear ☆☆☆½](http://www.sfreviews.net/bloodmusic.html) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/578 "2020-04-23T13:41:11Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > 1. I’m pretty sure this is a graphic novel, though it could be a limited comic book or webcomic series or short animation, maybe it was a novel that was particularly vivid. > > Theres some kind of post human apocalyptic event, wherein the majority of humans join their bodies together into some unified mass of fleshy orgasmic rapture tendrils. > > Someone, maybe an outsider teen girl, isn’t affected immediately. Maybe she didn’t use her phone or maybe she’s deaf, or some other reason. Maybe she has one or two friends who didn’t immediately get involved but they all gradually relent. Suggestion: could be Mambo from the British anthology comic 2000AD. Originally published in weekly serial form. I’m not sure if it was ever reprinted as a TPB. Basically, the plot involves a human woman, Rachael, who goes to an alien planet, where she makes friends with a young man, Jay Dee. At the end of book one, all life on the planet merges to form a single organism, with Rachael and Jay Dee the only survivors. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/579 "2020-04-23T15:55:57Z")
Here’s a description of Mambo: > **[Mambo](https://britishcomics.fandom.com/wiki/Mambo)** > > Detective Rachel Verlaine was born on Maldoror, home to the no-longer-human New Flesh. Her father, Theodore Verlaine, was a scientist investigating them, and her mother died giving birth to her. At the age of ten the New Flesh forcibly infected... ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/580 "2020-04-23T17:32:43Z")
I’ve had one haunting me for a long time and it’s frustrating because I recall so little of it in anything approaching concrete terms. It’s wizardry and fantasy not science fiction. Should I ask about it in here nonetheless? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417.md?page=30)