# Favorite sci-fi short story (Difficulty: Must be online right now) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523 "2005-11-17T18:23:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![archmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@archmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/archmichael)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/1 "2005-11-17T18:23:58Z")
Man, I have been on a short story kick lately. I am looking for your favorite sci-fi short story, but it has to be available online for immediate reading. Just came across [They’re Made out of Meat](http://www.terrybisson.com/meat.html). ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/2 "2005-11-17T19:16:31Z")
_All You Zombies_, by Heinlein. I didn’t post a link, because I don’t think the site is legit (AFAIK, the work is still copyrighted and not up for free anywhere). But you can find the full text if you google the title. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/3 "2005-11-17T19:30:21Z")
Well, clearly this is my choice: [Occurrence at Arroyo de Buho Bridge](http://tinyurl.com/7vsad) (hey, it got honorable mention in the Years Best SF anthology). For better-known authors, there’s anything at the (soon-to-be-gone) [scifiction.com](http://scifiction.com), but I’ll pick [The Screwfly Solution](http://tinyurl.com/7dkhx). ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/4 "2005-11-17T23:05:47Z")
[When It Changed](http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/russ/russ1.html) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/5 "2005-11-18T02:30:44Z")
Get thee to [www.craphound.com](http://www.craphound.com) Corey Doctorow not only has some of his best short stories in free e-form there, he has all three of his novels. Free. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/6 "2005-11-18T03:14:29Z")
[“The Last Question” by Isaac Asimov](http://mit.edu/tylerc/www/twt/LQ1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/7 "2005-11-18T04:10:42Z")
> [@](#): > > there’s anything at the (soon-to-be-gone) [scifiction.com](http://scifiction.com) What have you heard about it shutting down? ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/8 "2005-11-18T04:18:04Z")
_The Father Thing_ by Philip K Dick ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/9 "2005-11-18T04:33:03Z")
Eep. My apologies. I didn’t see the request for a link, and I can’t find the text. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/10 "2005-11-18T11:24:44Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > _The Father Thing_ by Philip K Dick **Scarrowfell** by Robert Holdstock (Though it’s more fantasy than SF): > **[Scarrowfell wins Prix d’Imaginales](https://robertholdstock.com/2004/05/28/scarrowfell-wins-prix-dimaginales/)** > > The French market is new to some of Robert’s work. At the recent Festival des Imaginales in Epinal, France, Robert won a Prix d’Imaginales for his short story “Scarrowfell”,… ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/11 "2005-11-18T11:53:06Z")
> [@Yumblie](#): > > [“The Last Question” by Isaac Asimov](http://mit.edu/tylerc/www/twt/LQ1.htm) That just made my brain explode. Seriously, wow. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/12 "2005-11-18T12:47:27Z")
Gregory Benford’s “Relativistic Effects” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/13 "2005-11-18T13:33:06Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > What have you heard about it shutting down? It’s over – they’ll stop publishing stories at the end of the year. Ellen Datlow has confirmed it; and the web page mentions it: [http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/](http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/) It’s a damn shame. They were one of the best SF markets out there, and publshed a bunch of great stories. Ellen is looking for other possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![cantara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@cantara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantara)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sci-fi-short-story-difficulty-must-be-online-right-now/331523/14 "2005-11-18T15:11:40Z")
No mention of [The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect](http://www.kuro5hin.org/prime-intellect/mopiidx.html)? I learned about from these boards… I suppose it’s a little longer than a short story, perhaps novella…[checks]…oh, so it’s a novel (58,000 words)…but it’s online, it’s scifi, and it’s interesting.