31
votes
Accepted
Short fantasy about disappearing items - Asimov's early 1980s
This is "The Sorceress in Spite of Herself" (1982) by Pat Cadigan, published in Asimov's, December 1982.
The story starts with Lou hunting for her expensive diamond earrings, a gift of her ...
- 103k
27
votes
Accepted
Short story featuring a detective and his alien sidekick
This is probably "Garbage In, Garbage Out" (1995) by Grey Rollins, published as far as ISFDb knows, only in Analog, December 1995 (vol 115, issue 14).
"Dead body? What do you mean, ...
- 103k
25
votes
Accepted
Short story taking place on a toroidal planet or moon involving flying
I believe this story to be "Moonbow" by J. P. Boyd, which appeared in the May 1981 issue of Asimov's magazine. The toroidal planet had an intelligent avian species, and the planet's ...
- 2,421
25
votes
Accepted
Short story where space travellers must move the planet they've crashed on, or die in a supernova
"Mother of Invention", a novella by Tom Godwin, also the (unaccepted) answer to an old question About an anti gravity drive on a planet with a heavy diamond content; first published in ...
- 153k
23
votes
Science fiction short story about teleportation and a tiny civilization
This is "Prominent Author" (1954) by Philip K. Dick.
The story itself is a precursor to THE CRACK IN SPACE (1965) in that a businessman takes the ‘jiffi-scuttler’ short-cut through space to ...
- 331
21
votes
Short story featuring a detective and his alien sidekick
You're thinking of Grey Rollin's "Martin and Victor" stories published in Analog from 1990 to 2004 - in particular the December 1995 story "Garbage In, Garbage Out"
This review of ...
- 24.2k
20
votes
Accepted
Photographs of people with their eyes closed leads to a faster-than-light device
This is "QTL" by Arlan Andrews, published as Analog's "Probability Zero" column for February 1987.
"It was the term, faster than C, that finally revealed to me, in a flash,&...
- 103k
17
votes
Accepted
Trying to find a short story about criminals who are given implants so they can be controlled by aliens
I'm reasonably sure this is We Purchased People by Frederik Pohl.
The controlled people are called "purchased people". The protagonist and the woman he is in love with are both purchased.
At ...
- 47.5k
16
votes
Accepted
Looking for the short story about two men stranded on an alien planet, discover stones are actually alive and use them to fight each other
Adagio by Barry B. Longyear. I read it in the Fifth Omni Book of Science Fiction.
The story ends when another ship responds to the distress signal from the crashed spaceship:
When they came to ...
- 87.1k
12
votes
Science fiction short story about teleportation and a tiny civilization
There's a lot more to the story than this, but it sounds a lot like "Cantata 140" (1964) by Philip K. Dick, published only in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1964.
The ...
- 103k
11
votes
Accepted
Short story: robot butler helps elderly man decide when to commit suicide
Living Will by Alexander Jablokov, perhaps. This was published in Asimov's in 1991 and in the The Year's Best Science Fiction: Ninth Annual Collection in 1992.
This review says:
A very poignant ...
- 24.2k
11
votes
Accepted
Short story in which shapeshifting woman scares man by shaping herself like a bustle
This is "A Shape in Time" by Anthony Boucher.
It ends
"No, don't change back. Leave it that way. I'm curious as to the effects of -what was the word they used for it in 1880 - of a ...
- 47.5k
10
votes
Accepted
Isaac Newton (actually not Newton) visited by time traveller who has confusion about human anatomy
This is "A Shape in Time" by Anthony Boucher.
It ends
"No, don't change back. Leave it that way. I'm curious as to the effects of -what was the word they used for it in 1880 - of a ...
- 47.5k
10
votes
Accepted
70s? Two or three short stories involving the discovery of a time sensitive molecule/compound/substance
You may be thinking of the thiotimoline series by Isaac Asimov, which was also the answer to this old question. Quoting Wikipedia:
Thiotimoline is a fictitious chemical compound conceived by American ...
- 153k
10
votes
Accepted
Short story from 70s sci-fi anthology for high schoolers featuring neighborhood warfare and a deadly football game
"No Gun to the Victor" a.k.a. "Consumer's Report", a short story by Theodore R. Cogswell, also the answer to this old question among others; first published in Imagination Science ...
- 153k
8
votes
Post-apocalyptic published in Asimov's in the 1980s; main character named Georges - travels in time on highways (on foot)
Just to be complete, since Andrew notes that he read the story in Asimov's, what he read is likely "All the Time in the World" (Asimov's, May 1982), which was later expanded into Armageddon ...
- 103k
8
votes
Accepted
U.S. President has amnesia after terrible war - protected by folks in a small town
This is "Executive Clemency" by Gardner Dozois and Jack C. Haldeman II, originally published in Omni, November 1981, and available in several anthologies. The setup is pretty much as you ...
- 976
8
votes
Novella about a man stuck on a moon or small planet, in a facility run by extraterrestrials that resemble stalks of broccoli
Holy cow, it’s not just your memory talking: the aliens really are described as “[resembling] stalks of broccoli”.
It might as well have been an exotic plant for all the life it showed. Its head was ...
- 2,890
8
votes
Accepted
Short Sci-fi Story about a door on the Moon?
I love this story. It was a pleasure to reread it yet again to refresh the details.
Your question is such a cogent, accurate summary that it doesn’t need any details fixed.
The brilliant author and ...
- 2,890
8
votes
Science fiction noir-ish story with bird-people and mirror portals
"The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag", a novella by Robert A. Heinlein which was also the answer to the old question Story ID: A man who suffers from blackouts hires a husband and ...
- 153k
7
votes
Trying to identify self-published story about fans of a children's book series
This sounds a lot like The Northern Caves (link to story) by nostalgebraist (don't know their real name). It's described by the author as "about a cult fantasy author and his bizarre, seemingly ...
- 976
6
votes
Accepted
Story telling of the future of humanity: cyborg elite class, moss or mold on counters
This is Geoffrey Landis's A History of the Human and Post-Human Species
Quotes from the story that match my memory - first, regarding mold
In a house, every clear surface became covered with a fine, ...
- 24.2k
6
votes
Short story where humans colonizing an alien planet begin to get sick and then start turning into blob aliens
The closest match I'm aware of, but possibly not what you're looking for, is "Drop Dead" (1956) by Clifford D. Simak. The aliens aren't exactly blobs but they come close. And the humans turn ...
- 9,107
5
votes
Accepted
I'm looking for a short story involving Time Tower minds
This is Grist by Tony Daniel. It was published in in The Year's Best Science Fiction 16th Annual Collection as you remembered, though I first read it in the anthology Supermen Tales of the Posthuman ...
- 87.1k
4
votes
Accepted
A Story/ Movie about a Robot Boy from ca. 2005-2009
Is this A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)...?
From TV Tropes:
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence is a 2001 American Science Fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. Adapted from the Brian ...
- 88k
4
votes
Short story that reminds me of 65 movie premise
This question was solved in the comments section by @Sueelleker, and the OP has verified that it is indeed the answer.
The short story's name is Genesis, written by H Beam Piper and was published in ...
- 6,700
4
votes
Accepted
Short story about lucid dreaming and a gun that protects the protagonist in his sleep
Is it this one? https://www.goodreads.com/comment/show/228071616 (Dreams are sacred)
- 11.1k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible