Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

FReeper Help Requested in Science Fiction (Vanity)
LonePalm | 4/18/2014 | LonePalm

Posted on 04/19/2014 9:48:57 AM PDT by LonePalm

I am trying to find the name of a Science Fiction story I read thirty to forty years ago.

The plot line revolves around a former Mercenary stranded on a newly settled planet. The leaders of the planet have decided that they have about a hundred years to get their population up to a level that will allow them to fend off others. The solution is to pair post pubescent women with slightly older men and breed as rapidly as possible while building the infrastructure necessary for a society.

I seem to remember that the main item of value on the planet was a crab whose carapace was a natural semi-conductor. I want to use the idea in my book and don't wish to tread on anyone else's work without permission.

I already have Larry Niven's very kind permission to use his Kzinti in my story as long as I keep them 'off stage'.


TOPICS: Books/Literature
KEYWORDS: sciencefiction
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-39 next last
If anyone can provide the title of the story and author I would be much obliged. A publication source would also be helpful.

Extensive Google searches have not returned anything useful.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)

LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

1 posted on 04/19/2014 9:48:58 AM PDT by LonePalm
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: LonePalm

Sounds like an area John Ringo wrote about.


2 posted on 04/19/2014 9:51:30 AM PDT by Spartan302
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LonePalm

30 years ago?
Keith Laumer, Jerry Pournelle, possibly an episode in the BOLOS series?.


3 posted on 04/19/2014 9:53:05 AM PDT by Spartan302
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LonePalm
The solution is to pair post pubescent women with slightly older men and breed as rapidly as possible while building the infrastructure necessary for a society.

sounds like Rick Shelly, "Sylph" or "The Sylph", in Analog.

4 posted on 04/19/2014 9:53:52 AM PDT by Lee N. Field ("He will swallow up death forever")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lee N. Field
Got your March 1989 Analog, right here.
5 posted on 04/19/2014 9:56:02 AM PDT by Lee N. Field ("He will swallow up death forever")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: LonePalm

Do I get a piece of the action?


6 posted on 04/19/2014 9:59:51 AM PDT by SpeakerToAnimals (I hope to earn a name in battle)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LonePalm
I know this isn't the one but I remember reading a science fiction story that talked about how Earth got overcrowded and the only solution was to keep building taller and taller skyscrapers.

Eventually it got to the point where only the underclasses lived on the bottom of the Earth and they would get stuck doing all the dirty work and whatnot. Meanwhile, hundreds of stories off the ground, the "elite" would live in super-luxury and they would spend their entire lifetimes living in the upper reaches of the skyscrapers - all connected by magnetic trains that would take you from city to city on tracks that were thousands of feet off the ground.

Anyway, the storyline is that some of these privileged people decided to band together and "explore" the lower levels of their skyscraper city. You see, most of these people have never been beneath say the 500th floor level, and they saw themselves as adventurers with a goal to reach the actual ground level of Earth (which existed only in their imaginations). The ordeal these people went through to reach the ground was pretty incredible. They had to evade security patrols and roving gangs of thugs and as they descended to the lower levels, well, things got more and more dangerous for them.

Eventually they made it to the bottom (some of them were killed or were captured along the way) and they had to go through some really bizarre stuff to get to the outside world. But when they finally were able to put their feet on the actual earth and see flowers, trees and bugs for the first time, it was like they journeyed to a totally different planet.

Really cool story. I read it as a library book when I was about 12 and was never able to find that story again. Have no idea who wrote it or even what the title was.

7 posted on 04/19/2014 10:11:07 AM PDT by SamAdams76
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LonePalm

If the right people like Lucasfilms were thinking they would do a mega series of either BOLOS or The Man/Kzin Wars.


8 posted on 04/19/2014 10:13:48 AM PDT by Spartan302
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LonePalm

What is “offstage”?


9 posted on 04/19/2014 10:14:02 AM PDT by winodog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SamAdams76
I vaguely remember that one.

I want to say it was Robert Silverberg.

Not sure though.

10 posted on 04/19/2014 10:27:57 AM PDT by DarthFuzball ("Life is full of little surprises." - Pandora)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: LonePalm
...pair post pubescent women with slightly older men and breed as rapidly as possible...

Hmm... How much older? Would 56 be too old? If not, I am available.

11 posted on 04/19/2014 10:42:05 AM PDT by Alas Babylon!
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LonePalm
Good afternoon.

The solution is to pair post pubescent women with slightly older men and breed as rapidly as possible while building the infrastructure necessary for a society.

I wish I could comment, but the First lady reads my posts.

5.56mm

12 posted on 04/19/2014 10:44:26 AM PDT by M Kehoe
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SamAdams76
I know this isn't the one but I remember reading a science fiction story that talked about how Earth got overcrowded and the only solution was to keep building taller and taller skyscrapers.

The novel was by Robert Silverberg. I forget the title. People in the arcologies reproduced freely. People in the agricultural lands that fed the arcologies had not-nice ways of limiting population (IRRC, YMMV).

13 posted on 04/19/2014 10:46:11 AM PDT by Lee N. Field ("He will swallow up death forever")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: SamAdams76
Last week I watched Matt Damon's movie Elysium. It is basically a story of the privileged leaving Earth because it had become so toxic, so they had built a gigantic space station type modernistic facility for themselves.

Even though it takes place about 150 years in the future, I was surprised at how the Hollywood Libs portrayed the land of the unprivileged. They lived in squaller, had little to no health care facilities [apparently Obamacare wasn't around by then], few year 2150 modern conveniences, etc.

When the main character was on Earth, his city (Los Angeles) seemed to be a new azland resembled many across-the-border towns of today. Even half the dialog was screen captioned [Spanish to English].

My impression was: this is what we will see in 150 years if Congress continues to push through more amnesties. Of course, that was not the intended message the movie was wanting to make.

Otherwise, the movie was so-so. Lots of CGI, lots of things blowing up, etc.
14 posted on 04/19/2014 10:52:36 AM PDT by TomGuy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: winodog
"Off stage" means that you can not have a character present while a discussion is taking place. This means that my characters can talk about the Kzinti but I can not have a Kzinti as an active character in the book.

In the play "Waiting for Godot" Godot is talked about but never shows up 'on stage'.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)

LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

15 posted on 04/19/2014 10:52:58 AM PDT by LonePalm (Commander and Chef)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: SamAdams76

The story you just described was made into an episode of Star Trek.

There’s some history about the story development at this site -

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708456/

The original story was written by KGF Vissers.


16 posted on 04/19/2014 10:55:40 AM PDT by shibumi (Cover it with gas and set it on fire.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: SamAdams76
The ordeal these people went through to reach the ground was pretty incredible. They had to evade security patrols and roving gangs of thugs and as they descended to the lower levels, well, things got more and more dangerous for them.

Hmmm...sounds like a typical day in Baltimore.
17 posted on 04/19/2014 11:02:03 AM PDT by Delta Dawn (Fluent in two languages: English and cursive.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Lee N. Field
Thanks but unfortunately I can not find a synopsis of the story to know if it is the right one.

The good news is that I probably have that issue of Analog in a box somewhere in the garage.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)

LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

18 posted on 04/19/2014 11:07:46 AM PDT by LonePalm (Commander and Chef)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: shibumi
Thanks but that is not the one.

I know that episode and it is nothing like the story I am looking for.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)

LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

19 posted on 04/19/2014 11:09:23 AM PDT by LonePalm (Commander and Chef)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: LonePalm

That’s because I was responding to someone else.


20 posted on 04/19/2014 11:11:20 AM PDT by shibumi (Cover it with gas and set it on fire.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-39 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson