Looking to identify a short story I read in a sci-fi anthology as a child, about an angry, bullied somewhat misanthropic boy who is given immense near-omnipotent powers by an alien intelligence. I read this in English, sometime in the late 1990s/early 2000s. He goes on to use this power to destroy the human race, which causes him to age terribly in a very short amount of time. At the end of the story he is a lonely old man stripped of the powers he held briefly, and is alone on an isolated Earth. The aliens then proceed to invade Earth.
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Sorry, I should add that I read this in English, sometime in the late 1990s/early 2000s so anytime before then.– GerardJun 28, 2016 at 13:14
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2It appears you created two accounts, you might want to look into merging them.– SkoobaNov 28, 2017 at 21:01
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Also since it's never been linked to you yet, you might have more success looking at this guide which might help you add more details.– EdlothiadNov 29, 2017 at 6:50
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This question seems similar. scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/141303/…– M. A. GoldingJan 10, 2018 at 18:56
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@M. A. Golding - thanks for linking the two queries. The extra detail on Gerard's description sounds in line with my own hazy memories. It would definitely have been in the mid-1980's I read 'my' story. Hopefully we'll get a positive ID yet!– user71888Jan 18, 2018 at 8:36
1 Answer
The story according to Moo's comment is "Master of All The World" from Science Fantasy Stories: a child is given the ability to destroy the world by an alien race.