# Sci-fi/horror predicaments you wouldn't want to find yourself in **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036 "2005-08-15T02:11:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/61 "2005-08-16T00:20:01Z")
I dunno, dying alone in a spacesuit sounds like a pretty decent way to go. At least there’s a nice view. I think the smart move, if you were 100% sure you weren’t going to get rescued, would be turning off your heaters. Hypothermia is supposed to be pretty peaceful. 'Specially compared to suffocation. It might not be feasible to freeze to death if you’re in full sunlight, though . . . I’m much, much, much more creeped out by the idea of being trapped on a failing submarine, space station, moon colony, or whatever. In that situation, I’d be that guy who freaks out and explosively decompresses in the airlock. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/62 "2005-08-16T00:25:45Z")
> [@Podkayne](#): > > I’m much, much, much more creeped out by the idea of being trapped on a failing submarine, space station, moon colony, or whatever. In that situation, I’d be that guy who freaks out and explosively decompresses in the airlock. “Now, how’d she do _that_? We’re 400 meters down. And she blew up!” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/63 "2005-08-16T00:29:41Z")
A specific dilemma, both horrific & science fictiony: Father Duré’s death in _Hyperion_. ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/64 "2005-08-16T00:55:06Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > Being taken captive by a slaver race with superior technology doesn’t sound fun to me, not even if I get to wear the Leia slave-girl outfit. Would it be so bad if the superior tech made you look _good_ is the Leia slave-girl outfit? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/65 "2005-08-16T02:38:38Z")
_I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream_ ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/66 "2005-08-16T03:43:01Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > _I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream_ I have no anus and I must take a massive crap Being a soldier equiped with anime/Starship Troopers style powered armor and having the power run down before I get back to base. Being sent to a robot insane asylum Being a lawyer for Interplanetary Holodeck and Transporter Corporation. Finding myself part of a hand picked team of scientists, explorers and soldiers of fortune sent off to go to…prety much anything. Bytegeist - The 5th Element New York wasn’t really a dystopia. I remember watching a “making of” show where the director said he wanted to portray a world that was big and busy and futuristic but basically klunked along. This is in contrast to Blade Runner, Judge Dread or other dystopia megalopolis’ where society was in an unstable and unsustainable state and on the verge of collapse. ---
**Author:** ![NoPretentiousCodename](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/82dd89/32.png) [@NoPretentiousCodename](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoPretentiousCodename)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/67 "2005-08-16T04:14:53Z")
Tentacle Porn. what do I win? Gaining the power to pause time every time I said “shut up” and restart it again by saying “start talking” and then pausing time… just as the first nuke is dropping over my city heralding the beginning of WW3. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/68 "2005-08-16T04:16:50Z")
I’m not a big SG1 watcher, but I did see one episode where it became clear that the parasitic organisms that inhabit those Guaould (sp?) nasties don’t completely obliterate the minds of their human hosts. So the host is aware of everything that’s going on, but is a fully captive spectator for the rest of his/her life. As these Goo-ah-whatever-the-hell-they-are dudes commit rather heinous acts on a regular basis, it’d be like watching yourself chronically behave as badly as Hitler, witnessing all the cruel attrocities, while being powerless to do anything. You couldn’t even close your eyes to the sight of it all. That’d probably blow pretty hard. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/69 "2005-08-16T04:53:07Z")
Being stuck in an insulated suit while you swing back and forth through time with no hope of ever landing anywhere. (Weapon Shops) Being shot through time so far that you have no idea where you are and it’s so wrong that you have to leave but the time-travel mechanism has stranded you there and there’s only one way to get back… (The Man Who Walked Home) Being sent back in time to get a horse, but the only one you can find has a big horn in the middle of his head. (Get a Horse) Going back in time as a male to progenerate yourself and then realizing that everyone else got born some other way. (All You Zombies) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/70 "2005-08-16T10:54:55Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > I’ve seen/read stories set in the future where things we find common today become rare and expensive. You see a guy come home from shopping saying, “They actually had real tomatoes at the store today! They were $20 each, but it was worth it!” > > I often wonder if that type of thing will ever happen. In a sense, sort of. Pohl The Merchants War and Space Merchants ‘universe’ Essentially the whole world is controlled by corporations, essentially overseen by advertising agencies. Wood is extremely rare, and someone is seen as incredibly rich if they can afford a wooden finger-ring. All the food is essentially synthetic, and is frequently doped up with addictive substances - ensuring excessive brand loyalty. Harry Harrison Make Room Make Room [Soylent Green] where food is essentially people kibble of different types, and real food is rationed and also sold on the black market [the protagonist is a cop, and essentially steals a jar of IIRC strawberry jam, or maybe cherry jam, and there is a food porn scene where he eats it by the spoonful.] ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/71 "2005-08-16T11:58:33Z")
Trying to keep my kids safe and fed in a post-Apocalyptic world. Having my house invaded by an oversexed poltergeist, because who the heck would believe me? Who am I gonna call for help - John Edward? Zombies. I’m freaking terrified of zombies. Mindless brain-eating machines, nigh unstoppable, shuffling towards you, and you can run away but they’ll keep shuffling, and you have to stop and rest sometime and they don’t… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/72 "2005-08-16T12:02:05Z")
> [@](#): > > I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream The Harla Ellison title was the inspiration for _Dilbert_, right? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/73 "2005-08-16T12:15:44Z")
> [@Marlitharn](#): > > Zombies. I’m freaking terrified of zombies. Mindless brain-eating machines, nigh unstoppable, shuffling towards you, and you can run away but they’ll keep shuffling, and you have to stop and rest sometime and they don’t… Wait…are you talking about zombies or telemarketers? Ba-da-boom! Thank you, I’m here all week. Please, tip your waitress. ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/74 "2005-08-16T12:42:13Z")
And this is no shit… When I had my closed head injury in 1995 and I was unable to move but had regained self-awareness, I spent one morning (few minutes/few hours ?) thinking, “I’m an organ donor and they are coming to take my heart.” :eek: Brain damage is an awful experience. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/75 "2005-08-16T13:53:08Z")
> [@hlanelee](#): > > Brain damage is an awful experience. Tel me about it. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/76 "2005-08-16T14:21:10Z")
Dying in an explosion of gore thanks to a chest burster, or being ripped apart by zombies holds no true terror. At least you get to go down swinging – no matter how futile the gesture. Having the very thoughts and persceptions inside you own head be unreliable, aka “A Beautiful Mind” (not sci-fi, I know but it illustrates the point) – that is an unending hell…or is it? ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/77 "2005-08-16T14:23:23Z")
> [@rainy](#): > > Dying in an explosion of gore thanks to a chest burster, or being ripped apart by zombies holds no true terror. At least you get to go down swinging – no matter how futile the gesture. > > Having the very thoughts and persceptions inside you own head be unreliable, aka “A Beautiful Mind” (not sci-fi, I know but it illustrates the point) – that is an unending hell…or is it? If I get to fool around with Kate Winslet, how bad could it be? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/78 "2005-08-16T14:35:10Z")
I would hate to be a kid that is magically transported to some other place/time/dimension/weird school. Oh sure, the place is weird and cool and filled with beings that are both strange and yet a tiny bit familar. Only to discover that the future of this wonderful new place _depends entirely on me._ Who needs that sort of responsibility? Especially when you’re a kid! ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/79 "2005-08-16T15:25:53Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > If I get to fool around with Kate Winslet, how bad could it be? Well, there is that. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/80 "2005-08-16T15:28:12Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > If I get to fool around with Kate Winslet, how bad could it be? Do you mean Jennifer Connelly? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036.md?page=5)