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It was a short story set in not so distant and a bit dystopian future.

  • Main protagonist (male, I think) lived in a world where paper was not used due to rarity/ecological issues/government ban (and thus all communication could be monitored).
  • The world wasn't pictured as grim, but rather unnerving.
  • The main protagonist is contacted by some underground organization (via paper) which needs his help in order to release probably last living, and possibly telepathic dolphin.
  • The dolphin is not a recurring character, most important thing in the plot is the way main character is portrayed.
  • I'm 90% sure that the protagonist was contacted because he works as a journalist or writer.
  • I remember that they succeed in the release.

I read the story in question about 4 or more years ago, and it may have been a part of some collection or a shortened "beginner level English" book. I may have read it in Russian, or it may have originally been in Russian, although it most probably wasn't.

I am in no way sure about the details (except the dolphin and paper), so I would be glad for anything even distantly resembling the details.

So far it's not

  • Johnny Mnemonic
  • Easy Travel to Other Planets
  • Ishmael in love
  • Star Trek (they save a whale, not a dolphin)
  • The Uplift series
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    A lot of details are a bit off, but I'll ask just to be safe... any chance you're thinking of William Gibson's "Johnny Mnemonic"?
    – starpilotsix
    Commented Aug 17, 2016 at 11:12
  • @starpilotsix no, doesn't look like it. It's too dystopic - in my story the dystopia part was subtle, plus I don't remember any implants or such. Thanks for trying tho!
    – Gallifreyan
    Commented Aug 17, 2016 at 11:17
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    Do you remember roughly when you read it? That might give an upper bound for publishing date.
    – Daenyth
    Commented Aug 19, 2016 at 12:19
  • 1
    It's probably not what you are looking for, but "Ishmael in Love" by Robert Silverberg is about an intelligent dolphin that can communicate with humans.
    – Ubik
    Commented Aug 20, 2016 at 11:39
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    There is a story called “The Last Dolphin” by Martin Livings published in "Fables and Reflections 4, 2003". But I cant find the text or a review so no idea if it is the correct story.
    – C. Tomm
    Commented Aug 26, 2016 at 9:03

1 Answer 1

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+350

This sounds a lot like Ted Mooney's novel "Easy Travel to Other Planets." A dolphin is one of the main characters and there's a description of a neurological illness called "information sickness." The treatment requires isolation from all media in a special facility. The book is available used on Amazon and there may be a full text PDF floating around somewhere.

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    Sorry, doesn't seem like it. Thanks for trying!
    – Gallifreyan
    Commented Aug 17, 2016 at 16:07
  • There's something deliciously ironic about someone asking about a story with those characteristics, and ending the answer with "... there may be a full text PDF floating around somewhere!"
    – Cort Ammon
    Commented May 21, 2017 at 17:08

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