Unanswered Questions
6,622 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
48
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Looking for science fiction assassination story with mysterious girl
For years I've been looking for a short science fiction story about a man who was released from a prison planet in order to assassinate a candidate for galactic president. He does this on a space ...
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46
votes
1
answer
3k
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Novel about an immortal man exposed by world government relates his life through history
I read the book from my local library in the early- to mid- seventies. It was hardcover (library bound) and the dust jacket had a printed burlap or canvas background. The back flap mentioned that the ...
CommunityBot
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40
votes
0
answers
2k
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Humorous sci-fi book with a quirky space captain where everyone is turning into "glass"
I posted this question on another website, but I've yet to find the name of the book. I remember some very specific details, but nothing I can type into a search engine (I've tried).
Here are the ...
- 94.4k
40
votes
1
answer
1k
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Story about Galactic authorities confining humanity to the solar system
I'm looking for a story I once read, in which Humanity sends out a space ship to try leaving the Solar System, and it is promptly destroyed by a military ship belonging to the Galactic Empire, which ...
- 104k
38
votes
0
answers
453
views
Short story where the stars are eyes
A short story I read several years ago in either Analog or Asimov's Science Fiction, probably between 2011 and 2013.
In the story there's a 4th spatial dimension whose axes are skew, so that things ...
CommunityBot
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33
votes
1
answer
1k
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Does the movie described in Flowers for Algernon actually exist?
In Flowers for Algernon (by D. Keyes) (1966) there is a passage describing a movie that main protagonist was watching:
A psychological film about a man and woman apparently in love but
actually ...
CommunityBot
- 1
33
votes
0
answers
649
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Short story about a man in a madhouse who asks the guard for a cigarette and tells him his story about having swapped bodies before
I am searching for a short story about a man locked in a madhouse who swaps his body with the guard/doctor while he tells him the story about his own body being swapped.
I remember the following:
...
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33
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0
answers
848
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Futuristic world where reality is humanity's plaything and God is in a zoo
This is a novel I read in 2015. It was an older book. The cover was black and hardcover. Don't remember any specific details. The book was in English. I believe it was from the 1980s or ‘90s.
It was ...
33
votes
0
answers
2k
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A space story about a desert planet and a cup of water
I read this story over 15 years ago. It is probably a lot older. I read it in Serbian magazine (Politikin Zabavnik) but I think that the language of the original is in English. It's a short story, ...
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33
votes
0
answers
1k
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Old SF novel, set on a military ship, one character can't order spaghetti and meatballs because of sudden mid-voyage rationing?
This one is a real longshot. I won't be surprised if nobody can identify it. I read this book sometime in the early-to-mid-1980s. Science fiction novel, checked out from a public library, written in ...
- 1,862
33
votes
0
answers
948
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Story about man unable to wake up from dream
I am looking for a story which I read a long time back but cannot recall the name. The plot line was:
In a futuristic world, there are dream parlors which provide sleep with dream services. The ...
CommunityBot
- 1
29
votes
0
answers
724
views
SciFi Short Story about an immortal man digging through an asteroid to meet a woman
Short story from the 80's or 90's, I saw someone asking about this on another forum but never got an answer. I've been curious ever since.
The story is set in a decadent future where everyone lives ...
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28
votes
0
answers
524
views
Aliens secretly use video game to get humans to solve their problems
I recall a story probably 20-30 years ago (pretty sure it was a short story) in which a top gamer hears about a new computer game out that no one can beat. So he gets it and starts playing it. (Pretty ...
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28
votes
0
answers
847
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What is the Galactic Senate emblem meant to depict?
Most of the emblems used throughout Star Wars are abstract geometric symbols, often with a radial symmetry pattern. According to the answers to this question, they have a spiritual/religious origin.
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27
votes
0
answers
484
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A story about a doctor who travels to a parallel universe to seek a cure for bubonic plague
Recent news has been reminding me of various things I've read about the Black Death, including a story I believe I only saw once, and never stumbled across again. I encountered it over 30 years ago, ...
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