7

In the video game The Outer Worlds, most (or maybe all) quest/mission names refer to works of speculative fiction. So far, I was able to identify some of the works, but the list is incomplete. The missions I have encountered so far and the references I was able to work out, in reverse order of encountering them:

  • Brave New World - Brave New World; Huxley, Aldous
  • Signal Point In Space - ???
  • Kept Secret But Not Forgotten - ???
  • The City And The Stars - The City And The Stars; Clarke, Arthur C.
  • Radio Free Monarch - Radio Free Albemuth; Dick, Philip K. (Thanks to @DavidW)
  • Passage To Anywhere - ???
  • Comes Now The Power - ???
  • Stranger In A Strange Land - Stranger In A Strange Land; Heinlein, Robert A.
  • Long Distance - ???
  • The Demolished Woman - The Demolished Man; Bester, Alfred
  • The Puppet Masters - The Puppet Masters; Heinlein, Robert A.
  • Balance Due - ???
  • Passion Pills - ???
  • The Doom That Came To Roseway - The Doom That Came To Sarnath; Lovecraft, H.P.
  • Happiness Is A Warm Spaceship - Happiness Is A Warm Puppy; Schulz, Charles M. OR Happiness Is A Warm Gun; Lennon, John ???
  • Weapons From The Void - ???
  • Die, Robot - I, Robot; Asimov, Isaac
  • Why Call Them Back From Retirement? - Why Call Them Back From Heaven?; Simak, Clifford D.
  • At Central - ???
  • Slaughterhouse Clive - Slaughterhouse Five; Vonnegut, Kurt
  • Little Memento - ???
  • The Secret People - The Secret People; Wyndham, John (as John Beynon)
  • A Family Matter - ???
  • The Stainless Steel Rat - The Stainless Steel Rat; Harrison, Harry
  • Herrick's Handiwork - ???
  • The Grimm Tomorrow - The Grim Tomorrow; Richmond, Mary
  • By His Bootstraps - ???
  • Journey Into Smoke - ???
  • The Amateur Alchemist - (?) The Neutronium Alchemist; Hamilton, Peter F.
  • Vulcan's Hammer - Lucifer's Hammer; Niven, Larry & Pournelle, Jerry
  • The Silent Voices - ???
  • The Distress Signal - ???
  • Who Goes There? - ???
  • Solution Viral - ???
  • The Frightened Engineer - ???
  • A Few Kindred Spirits - ???
  • The Long Tomorrow - The Long Tomorrow; Brackett, Leigh
  • Fistful Of Digits - A Fistful Of Dollars; Film by Sergio Leone
  • The Chimerist's Last Experiment - ???
  • The Ice Palace - ???
  • Space-Crime Continuum - (A word play on Space-Time Continuum, but is there a work by that name?)
  • Canid's Cradle - Cat's Cradle; Vonnegut, Kurt
  • Sucker Bait - ???
  • Pay For The Printer - ???
  • The Commuter - ???
  • Errors Unseen - ???
  • BOLT With His Name - (?) Bullet With His Name; Leiber, Fritz
  • Friendship's Due - ???
  • The Low Crusade - The High Crusade; Anderson, Poul
  • Star-Crossed Troopers - Starship Troopers; Heinlein, Robert A.
  • Don't Bite The Sun - ???
  • Worst Contact - First Contact; (?) 1996 Star Trek Movie
  • Drinking Sapphire Wine - ???
  • The Cleaning Machine - ???
  • The Empty Man - ???
  • The Illustrated Manual - The Illustrated Man; Bradbury, Ray
  • All Halcyon In A Day - All Summer In A Day;Bradbury Ray (thanks to @DavidW)
  • The Lying Earth - The Dying Earth; Vance, Jack
  • Cupid Of The Laboratory - ???
  • Makes Space Suits, Won't Travel - Have Spacesuit, Will Travel; Heinlein, Robert A.
  • Mandibles Of Doom - ???
  • Flowers For Sebastian - Flowers For Algernon; Keyes, Daniel
  • Mr. Pickett's Biggest Game - ???
  • Salvager In The Sky - (?) Castle In The Sky, 1986 Studio Ghibli Film
  • A Small Grave Matter - ???
  • Foundation - Foundation; Asimov, Isaac
8
  • On a fast read-through, maybe "Radio Free Albemuth" and "All Summer in a Day"?
    – DavidW
    Commented Jun 12, 2020 at 11:46
  • Perhaps this would be better as a community wiki question?
    – Alith
    Commented Jun 12, 2020 at 12:02
  • @Alith, how would I do that? Commented Jun 12, 2020 at 12:13
  • The question is fine not being community wiki... someone could start a community wiki answer for it though.
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Commented Jun 12, 2020 at 12:18
  • So I could post a self-answer, mark it as community wiki? Should I cut and paste the titles from the question to the answer? Commented Jun 12, 2020 at 12:23

1 Answer 1

7
  • Brave New World — Brave New World, by Huxley, Aldous; itself a reference to The Tempest, by Shakespeare
  • Signal Point In Space — "Signal Point in Space," by Bott, Henry
  • Kept Secret But Not Forgotten — ???
  • The City And The Stars — The City And The Stars, by Clarke, Arthur C.
  • Radio Free Monarch — Radio Free Albemuth, by Dick, Philip K.; itself a reference to Radio Free Europe
  • Passage To Anywhere — "Passage to Anywhere," by Merwin, Sam Jr.; itself a possibly reference to A Passage to India, by Forster, E. M.
  • Comes Now The Power — "Comes Now the Power," by Zelazy, Roger
  • Stranger In A Strange Land — Stranger In A Strange Land, by Heinlein, Robert A.; itself a reference to Exodus 2:22 in the King James Version of the Old Testament
  • Long Distance — [multiple possibilities with this name]
  • The Demolished Woman — The Demolished Man, by Bester, Alfred
  • The Puppet Masters — The Puppet Masters, by Heinlein, Robert A.; although the expression "puppet master(s)" is much older
  • Balance Due - ???
  • Passion Pills — Passion Pills; Kornbluth Cyril M.
  • The Doom That Came To Roseway — "The Doom That Came To Sarnath," by Lovecraft, H. P.
  • Happiness Is A Warm Spaceship — Happiness is a Warm Spaceship, by Tiptree, James Jr.; itself a reference to Happiness is a Warm Puppy, by Schulz, Charles M.
  • Weapons From The Void — ???
  • Die, Robot - I, Robot, by Asimov, Isaac
  • Why Call Them Back From Retirement? — Why Call Them Back From Heaven?, by Simak, Clifford D.
  • At Central — ???
  • Slaughterhouse Clive — Slaughterhouse Five, by Vonnegut, Kurt
  • Little Memento — "Little Memento," by Collier, John
  • The Secret People — The Secret People, by Wyndham, John (as John Beynon)
  • A Family Matter — "A Family Matter," by Miller, Walter M. Jr.; however, "a family matter" is a common and much older phase
  • The Stainless Steel Rat — The Stainless Steel Rat, by Harrison, Harry
  • Herrick's Handiwork — "Hate's Handiwork," by Henry Kuttner (as Will Garth)
  • The Grimm Tomorrow — The Grim Tomorrow, by Richmond, Mary
  • By His Bootstraps — "By His Bootstraps," Heinlein, Robert A.; famous for originating the term "bootstrap paradox" in connection with time travel
  • Journey Into Smoke — "Journey into Smoke," by Sansom, William
  • The Amateur Alchemist — "The Amateur Alchemist," by Leinster, Murray
  • Vulcan's Hammer — Lucifer's Hammer, by Niven, Larry & Pournelle, Jerry; however, "Vulcan's hammer" is itself a much older phrase
  • The Silent Voices — ???
  • The Distress Signal — ???
  • Who Goes There? — "Who Goes There?" by Campbell, John W.
  • Solution Viral — "Solution Vital," by Kubilius, Walter & Pratt, Fletcher
  • The Frightened Engineer — "The Frightened Engineer," by Harding, Allison V.
  • A Few Kindred Spirits — "A Few Kindred Spirits," by Youd, Samuel (as Christopher, John)
  • The Long Tomorrow — The Long Tomorrow, by Brackett, Leigh
  • Fistful Of Digits - Fistful of Digits, by Hodder-Williams, Christopher; itself a reference to A Fistful Of Dollars, a film by Leone, Sergio
  • The Chimerist's Last Experiment — "The Professor's Last Experiment," by Edmonds, Harry
  • The Ice Palace — "The Ice Palace," by Baldwin, Michael; however, "ice palace" is much older phrase
  • Space-Crime Continuum — "Space-Crime Continuum," by Ellis, H. F.; itself a play on "space-time continuum"
  • Canid's Cradle — Cat's Cradle, by Vonnegut, Kurt; itself a reference so to a game played with string
  • Sucker Bait — "Sucker Bait," by Asimov, Isaac; however, the phrase is much older
  • Pay For The Printer — "Pay for the Printer," by Dick, Philip K.
  • The Commuter — "The Commuter," by Dick, Philip K.
  • Errors Unseen — "Terrors Unseen," by Schoepflin, Harold Vincent (as Vincent, Harl)
  • BOLT With His Name — "Bullet With His Name," by Leiber, Fritz; itself a reference to a "bullet with his name on it," the slug that kills a man
  • Friendship's Due — "Friendship's Due," by Sitwell, Osbert
  • The Low Crusade — The High Crusade, by Anderson, Poul
  • Star-Crossed Troopers — Starship Troopers, Heinlein, Robert A.; also a reference to "star-crossed lovers" from Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare
  • Don't Bite The Sun — Don't Bite the Sun, by Lee, Tanith
  • Worst Contact — "First Contact," by Leinster, Murray; Star Trek: First Contact, 1996 movie, directed by Frakes, Jonathan
  • Drinking Sapphire Wine — Drinking Sapphire Wine, by Lee, Tanith (sequel to Don't Bite the Sun)
  • The Cleaning Machine — The Killing Machine, Vance, Jack
  • The Empty Man — The Hollow Man, by Simmons, Dan
  • The Illustrated Manual — The Illustrated Man, by Bradbury, Ray
  • All Halcyon In A Day — "All Summer In A Day, by Bradbury Ray
  • The Lying Earth — The Dying Earth, by Vance, Jack
  • Cupid Of The Laboratory — "Cupid of the Laboratory," by Lemkin, William
  • Makes Space Suits, Won't Travel — Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, Heinlein, Robert A.; itself a reference to Have Gun — Will Travel, an American radio and television series
  • Mandibles Of Doom - (?) reference to the phrase "Jaws of Doom"
  • Flowers For Sebastian — Flowers For Algernon, by Keyes, Daniel
  • Mr. Pickett's Biggest Game — "John Solomon's Biggest Game," by Beford-Jones, H.
  • Salvager In The Sky — Farmer in the Sky, by Heinlein, Robert A.; itself a reference to the old expression "castle in the sky"
  • A Small Grave Matter — "A Small Grave Matter," by Dark, James
  • Foundation — Foundation, by Asimov, Isaac
18
  • There's a 1956 short story by Sam Merwin Jr. called "Passage to Anywhere," but I don't know if it's high-profile enough to be referenced.
    – DavidW
    Commented Jun 12, 2020 at 14:02
  • "{plural} of Doom" suggests Trumps of Doom (Zelazny) to me, but it could also be McKiernan's Shadows of Doom.
    – DavidW
    Commented Jun 12, 2020 at 14:09
  • Herrick is literally a character from the game
    – Valorum
    Commented Jun 12, 2020 at 14:28
  • Anything containing "of doom" is usually an Indiana Jones riff.
    – Valorum
    Commented Jun 12, 2020 at 14:29
  • @Valorum, yes as far as I can tell, there are quite a few mission names formed by replacing a name with a character or location name from the game, such as Flowers For Sebastian, The Grimm Tomorrow, Slaughterhouse Clive, All Halcyon In A Day, etc. Commented Jun 12, 2020 at 15:15

Your Answer

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

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