This might’ve been a novelette or short novel. Some Earthling astronauts of the far future visit a planet that was settled by Earth colonists several generations ago and are welcomed by their descendants–who are just like regular Earth people in appearance and demeanor, with a few minor quirks. There’s a yearly festival the locals celebrate, that none of them can remember afterward, which the “guests” are there to witness, and so discover the new planet’s weird secret. The story has a tragic, violent ending and a lot of Celtic mythology references, and that’s about all I can recall and redact without going into spoiler territory. I’d kind of like to read it again if I could remember the title and author to help me find it.
Just looking back to the beginning of this thread and although this one’s been answered, the story also bears a strong resemblance to City of Ember, but then “post-apocalyptic culture refuses to consider returning to outside/Earth but misfits rebel and discover everything is fine again” is a common trope (see the Silo books and Wall-E and quite a lot of 1970’s sci-fi movies).
There’s probably a category on TV Tropes about this but if I go search for it my whole afternoon will be gone.
I was on the road somewhere, on my way to another Rainbow Gathering I think, and the story was in a coverless paperback I’d traded another beat-up book for from another road rat. I know that’s no real help, sorry; it was a pretty good read. Thx for trying.
Sounds like one of the Dedalus Missions books by Brian Stableford. He wrote 6 of them, published by DAW in the mid/late 70s.
A re-contact ship is sent out to help various Earth colonies that have been on their own for generations and help solve any problems that might have arisen since.
Of course indigenous aliens, weird addictive plants and so on are involved, as well as new customs, rites, beliefs, etc among the colonists, who usually resent the interference, however well intentioned.
It’s too long since I read them to say which book is most likely; I’m afraid. Maybe someone else remembers them better.
Not looking for a specific story, but wondering if there is a story along these lines. Someone invents a TV tuner that can pick up broadcasts from parallel worlds. Imagine being able to watch sit-coms, dramas, or, most importantly, news broadcasts telling you what might be happening on worlds similar to ours but where events unfolded differently. How might people react to that?
At best they’ll either think the guys an imaginative storyteller. At worst he’s convicted of some kind of fraud, or at least spend the rest of his life defending such charges.
I seem to recall at least one story in which a young boy stumbles across a TV advertisement for some weird item while watching late one night. It is made obvious that the broadcast comes from another dimension or planet, but he sends off his order to some odd address and gets the item as advertised. Hilarity ensues.
I’m sure somebody on this thread will be able to identify the story. In fact, I think there may be more than one story with this plot device.
Right. That’s what happens in the real world. Plenty of plot devices can make the story better. Though the story of the persecution of the protagonist could be done well itself.
I could have sworn that I’ve asked about this story in the past, but I don’t see it in this thread.
It’s a short story set in a near future after some kind of devastating war or disaster. This event causes a lot of people to be born mutated, and the government tracks them down and studies them.
The story is about one mutant boy who is mute and, at the beginning of the story, appears unintelligent. It turns out that he doesn’t have the same conscious experience of the present that most humans (or sentient beings in general) do. Instead of experiencing the present, he is experiencing every possible future, and then choosing the best outcomes and acting in whatever way would lead to the best outcome.
As a child he can only see a few seconds ahead, so as he doesn’t actually understand or remember anything, he appears dumb. He gets taken away by the government while still in this state. But as he ages, his power grows, and he can see further ahead. He can dodge bullets by putting himself wherever they won’t be in a few seconds; he can manipulate people by acting in ways that lead to them reacting in desired ways, without actually needing to understand himself or others; etc.
At the end of the book he escapes, and by this point he can see days or weeks ahead, taking actions that ensure he isn’t recaptured and manipulating people successfully. It is implied that he is the first of a new species that will easily outcompete and replace humanity, all without any spark of sentience.
In Rick and Morty, the first time Rick sets up Interdimensional Cable, Jerry and Beth (Rick’s daughter and son in law, and Morty’s parents) watch alternate versions of themselves, who never met each other and are more materially successful, and their relationship nearly falls apart. Summer, their daughter, is also very shaken, because obviously in that universe she doesn’t exist (and her parents are apparently super boring in every reality where she does exist).
So if people had access to Interdimensional Cable, it might lead to some existential crises.
