That makes me think of “The Marching Morons” by Henry Kutcher, but that’s probably not what you’re looking for.
Hmm. I think maybe he was.
Henry Kuttner (stupid autocorrect!)
Thanks- that’s the one!
Also sounds like the B Plot of the Simpsons Monorail episode.
…in SPACE!!!
Does this sound familiar to anybody? Time travelers send their mental selves “Quantum Leap” style into past people in order to experience life in the past. One gets stuck in Edgar Allen Poe because Poe has such a strong personality. His repressed memories inspire Poe’s fiction. (I’m trying to ID this for someone over at Stack Exchange. Come up with the answer and I’ll give you the credit.) I know I read this one but can’t remember the title/author.
Castaway, by Ed Hamilton.
Ray Bradbury also wrote a short story about Poe (or a Poe-like author) being helped by time travelers who wanted him to get healthy and keep writing, rather than die too soon due to alcoholism and poor medical care. But it wasn’t the story E_DUB asked about, I think.
Bingo. Thanks
The story is that there is this isolated beach that is a time nexus. You go in, and as long as you stay, time doesn’t pass outside. There’s a group of people there than don’t want anyone to leave, not because they are evil, but because in the far future the Earth is destroyed, and they came into the nexus at the last possible moment. They have nothing to go back to.
I have it in one of my many many short story collections, I just haven’t been able to find it so far.
Whats the problem with them staying?
If I remember the story correctly, there really isn’t anything to do, other than interact with whoever comes in. And because the beach is so isolated, people don’t come in very often. And they all eventually leave. It’s ultimately boring, but the future people can’t leave.
Here’s one I’ve mentioned in other contexts on here a few times:
A missionary goes to a planet occupied by aliens that are friendly, simple but utterly rational. He tries to convert them to Christianity. The aliens aren’t sure whether to believe him. So they do the logical thing and crucify him.
Probably read it about 30-40 years ago
“The Streets of Ashkelon” by Harry Harrison. (Not the sort of lighthearted romp you might expect from that author if you’ve only read his Stainless Steel Rat novels.)
Thanks that was quick.
One of those “All leads up to the final line” short stories
Humanity has been sending out radio waves for a century now trying to contact extraterrestrial life. Now they suddenly get a single clear and unmistakeable message from an alien planet near our solar system that simply reads Quiet, don’t let them hear you.
Oh, that does sound familiar. I’ll see what I can come up with.
Ha - I love that! There’s a lot packed into that message.