# Help me ID a short story, sci fi

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-short-story-sci-fi/710755>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 24, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-short-story-sci-fi/710755 "2015-01-24T15:09:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-short-story-sci-fi/710755/1 "2015-01-24T15:09:49Z")

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I read this story many years ago, could be twenty-five to thirty years.

The story is told in the first person, by a guy who is some kind of missionary.

In space he discovers that Heaven and Hell are individual places for everyone. That is, you will wind up on a planet, or in a situation, when you die, that is the best or worst you can imagine. I seem to remember he found Livingston on a planet that resembled a vast, African savannah.

The character even visited the place that had been prepared for him when he died.

I may have asked this question before, but don’t recall getting an answer. If I did I’m sorry. The story was intriquing and if I find it, and the author, I may look for other things they have written.

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**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-short-story-sci-fi/710755/2 "2015-01-25T22:24:27Z")

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I’ll give this the one allowed bump from me.

I just know it’s not in any of the collections I now have on the shelf. There was a mention in the story that may have meant the character had been seen before, and that the story I read was the second one featuring the character.

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**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-short-story-sci-fi/710755/3 "2015-01-26T00:42:03Z")

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Sorta sounds similar to the Riverworld series. The first book being To Your Scattered Bodies Go, but a lot of it doesn’t fit some of your remembered details.

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**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-short-story-sci-fi/710755/4 "2015-01-26T01:07:42Z")

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Sounds something like the Book of Mormon.