# Trying to find an SF story **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [July 8, 2026, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517 "2026-07-08T19:59:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/1 "2026-07-08T19:59:17Z")
The punch line is that someone says “I want it Yesterday” and in fact some odd package had shown up in the mailbox yesterday without them realising it. The protagonists run a consulting agency offering mathematical help to companies. They say something like " A few lines of vector calculus can give you a result that would take pages of rusty algebra." I think one of the characters may be called ‘Sita Lal’, though I wouldn’t swear to that. Interestingly, none of the usual AIs can find it…? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/2 "2026-07-08T20:24:19Z")
Paging @Andy_L. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/3 "2026-07-08T20:32:03Z")
Or a mod to paste it into the “ask a guy” thread… ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/4 "2026-07-08T22:03:37Z")
When I put that plot description into Google, it claims that the story is “The Mind Digger” by F.L. Wallace. I found a copy of the story online. It’s at [The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Mind Digger, by Winston Marks.](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/32353/pg32353-images.html) . Is that the story? I skimmed through it and it doesn’t look right. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/5 "2026-07-08T23:55:08Z")
Different story, clearly - but a good one (I’ve read it before). I don’t know what the OP’s story is, yet, but I’m thinking about it. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/6 "2026-07-09T00:05:32Z")
There is a story called “[We Can Get It to You Yesterday](https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?255693)” ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/7 "2026-07-09T01:41:30Z")
I get an error message from that link. Any other sources available? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/8 "2026-07-09T01:47:27Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > There is a story called “[We Can Get It to You Yesterday](https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?255693)” maybe the short story “We Can Get It for You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. 1954, the protagonist discovers the existence of time-traveling telepaths—and decides to use their services for getting rich. The protagonist is George Miller, a shipping clerk who learns that people from the future are sending items backwards in time to his period. Discovering that their service is really fast and cheap , George realizes he can cheat the stock market, place bets, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/9 "2026-07-09T01:54:23Z")
[https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2556930](https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2556930) is the right link ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/10 "2026-07-09T01:56:12Z")
I bet it is Phillip K Dick, not Heather Morris. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/11 "2026-07-09T01:57:47Z")
That sounds like a garbling of the real Dick title, “We Can Remembe It For You Wholesale” with a story description from some other story. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/12 "2026-07-09T02:06:34Z")
> **[Authors, Developing Words – Philip K. Dick](https://blog.acereader.com/general/authors-developing-words-philip-k-dick/)** > > \[Editor’s note: This post is part of a continuing series on how writers craft words to express their ideas and to connect with readers.\] “Philip K. Dick has been given many labels over the years an… > Other notable adaptations include _Total Recall_ (“We Can Get it for You Wholesale”), But maybe I have gotten the precis wrong. Hmm. Weird. But I cant find that title by Heather Morris either. I am getting too much wrong, I give up. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/13 "2026-07-09T02:41:29Z")
I don’t think any of the answers so far really match the OP. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/14 "2026-07-09T11:27:14Z")
I agree. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Dick: doesn’t seem to match his style. There were no telepaths in the story I remember, and time travel was definitely not an established thing in the story world…? ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/15 "2026-07-09T11:54:38Z")
And having just looked up Heather Morris on Wikipedia, it doesn’t sound at all like her style either…? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/16 "2026-07-09T12:19:33Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > and time travel was definitely not an established thing in the story world…? Then how did the package arrive yesterday? That sure sounds like time travel… ---
**Author:** ![Humbagger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@Humbagger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Humbagger)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/17 "2026-07-09T12:33:52Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Interestingly, none of the usual AIs can find it…? Indeed, simply pasting your OP into Gemini produces output that isn’t helpful at all, but quite entertaining to read… ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/18 "2026-07-09T13:45:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Then how did the package arrive yesterday? That’s the surprise punch line. Time travel is not a known thing in-story. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/19 "2026-07-09T13:51:18Z")
Ah, gotcha. It was a thing, but not an established thing. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517/20 "2026-07-09T16:47:28Z")
I’m beginning to wonder if this is a sort of ‘Yesterday’-like dream… a story that only exists in my subconscious. Except that I have a quite clear impression of having actually read the story…? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-sf-story/1031517.md?page=2)