7

My question is about an old SF short story from a compendium of them which I had as a child back in 1965/1966.

Story is about a sleeper ship traveling to a nearby star with two guys on board who split shifts being conscious and in hibernation. As they approach the end of their journey a starship from Earth approaches them, it is FTL capable utilizing newly-discovered technology of electron psychology, or "addiclenendar", to achieve FTL travel. For some reason I thought it was Van Vogt, but haven't been able to find a story of his that matches this storyline.

Improve this question
4
  • Possible duplicate of Sublight Starship "passed" by FTL
    – LAK
    Apr 30, 2019 at 21:27
  • 1
    Similar questions have been asked several times - the answer is probably Far Centaurus by A.E. van Vogt.
    – LAK
    Apr 30, 2019 at 21:28
  • 1
    @LAK Probably. And linking to it (or posting an answer) is fine, but not yet flagging it as dupe, as we don't yet have acceptances, which per consensus on Meta are mandatory before dupe-closing. Voted to leave open
    – Jenayah
    Apr 30, 2019 at 21:47
  • Maybe. The cincher woud be a mention of using "electron psychology" tech for the FTL drive. For some reason that has stuck with me all these years. I'll have to try to find the story.
    – ucnick
    Apr 30, 2019 at 21:55

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
15

This is the story "Far Centarus" by A.E. van Vogt as suggested by the comment.

If you check out page 81 of the story in the January 1944 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, you'll find the term "adeledicnander electronic psychology" used for the technology which powers their FTL drive, which pretty much conclusively matches what you remember.

Improve this answer
1
  • ...and this would definitely make it a duplicate of the older question.
    – DavidW
    Apr 30, 2019 at 22:07

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.