Pohl Anderson... the way the world ends. Help?

MattinSTL

MattinSTL

Sound Modulator
Anybody ever read short stories by Pohl Anderson? There was a short story in an OLD Omni magazine... from something like 1989... and I've tried to find it off and on... via the net... and so far no luck. I'd like to re-read that short story and see if it's as good as I remember it. Considering the TimeFest I thought it might be particularly interesting to me since it encapsulates a total earth experience starting at the extinction of man and continuing through our sun's super-nova.

It's arguably a depressing story... but I remember it as being effective in helping "regular people" grasp what I would call "universal time" instead of nebulous terms like "millions and millions"... or "ka-zillions". :grin:

The story gave me that buzzing feeling in the back of my head... the feeling you get when you're learning something cool without deciding you want to... although it's fiction... it doesn't matter. It still puts things in a unique perspective.

Anybody know how to find it?
 
In about 15 seconds. What can I say, I'm a Google masta. :)

Great story, I just finished reading it. I love that kind of thing. Very cool.
 
This thread made me think of a sci fi story I read as a kid called "The Black Destroyer". I don't know if it's considered a classic, but I loved it as a kid and it's similar to the "Alien" franchise, though it was written in te 50's I think.

Anyone read it?
 
Jared Meyer said:
In about 15 seconds. What can I say, I'm a Google masta. :)

Great story, I just finished reading it. I love that kind of thing. Very cool.
Click to expand...

Now I'm pissed, 'cause up to this point I was the google masta! Hope my crown fits you. :thumbsup:

I just finished it... maybe not as good as I remember it... but still works for me. There's a little bit in the middle that puts my head back in today. Some oddly "current" bits that break the fantasy... seems out of place... but overall... yeah... still works for me. Not as depressing as I remember it... that was very satisfying... thanks.

Mark... that short synopsis is cool as sh*t... if it were me I wouldn't publicly post that... for as much as I like a couple of my own TimeFest ideas... that one is uber-kickass. I was about one to two steps ahead of where it was going... but still... very good and doable on a low-budget.
 
Last edited:
MattinSTL said:
Now I'm pissed, 'cause up to this point I was the google masta! Hope my crown fits you. :thumbsup:

.
Click to expand...

Nope, I'm the masta!

By some accounts, "The Black Destroyer" started it all. In 1939 imaginative 20 somethings didn't have digital video or 3D max, all they had was a typewriter. And look what mischief they were able to make!

Want to know how cool A. E. Van Vogt was? He was Philip Dick's inspiration!

1939...

http://www.webscription.net/chapters/0743498747/0743498747___5.htm
 
Last edited:
I just read that... it gets really good before it bugs me... then it gets good again. One of the things that drives me insane in movies is when people make obviously ridiculous choices just to move the story forward... if you can combine equal parts excitement, intrigue, and logic... you got yourself a story. That was good... but it could have been great... still... that must have been inspirational for the time it was written.

In that picture of the universe thread I was trying to allude to all of this... about how funny it is that we are on the literal cusp of discovery... less then 50 years into a million year journey... and we're so arrogant to think we're ready to talk with intelligent life from another planet... think SETI, etc.
 
MattinSTL said:
I just read that... it gets really good before it bugs me... then it gets good again. One of the things that drives me insane in movies is when people make obviously ridiculous choices just to move the story forward... if you can combine equal parts excitement, intrigue, and logic... you got yourself a story. That was good... but it could have been great... still... that must have been inspirational for the time it was written.

.
Click to expand...

Hahah! Yes, totally true. It's like, "We've got a 600 pound alien with claws, fangs, tentacles, and a possible superior intelligence and it just slaughtered one of the crew. I know! Let's bring it inside the ship!" I was contrasting that to how Dan O'bannon handled a similar scene in the original "Alien" where a major plot conflict revolves around the decision to break quarantine protocol and bring a parasite onto the ship.

When I finished it, my thoughts were, totally awesome but needs a re-write!

But on the other hand, it's outstanding storytelling in so many ways, it ratchets tension up in almost every sentence and keeps you off balance the whole way through. And to think, he wrote it before Hitler invaded Poland. Talk about being out in front of the curve. Wow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top