What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
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Ship of Strangers
SOLVED: Adult Fiction
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SF anthology - solved by Andy! [s]
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"Three-Phasing" is from a story by Haldeman called "Anniversary Project" which has been collected a few times - here's a link to a list of the places it was collected http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cg... . The most likely of these to be the book you're looking for is Haldeman's "Infinite Dreams" - since it also includes a story called "Juryrigged" - which seems to be the jury story you're looking for
Sounds like you know your science fiction, Andy ole pal. I'm much obliged to you! Ah'm a-going to check out this lead of yours. Hurrah!
p..s That looks like it Andy. Thank you! You are the man.I will leave the topic open until someone comes up with some insight on the 'surveying crew' stories..
Yes, you got that one too! Impressive!I am coming to you for all my future SF inquiries. Top man! :^D
Feliks wrote: "Yes, you got that one too! Impressive!I am coming to you for all my future SF inquiries. Top man! :^D"
Keep them coming (the distinctive details (Three-Phasing and dwindlar) you provided for both your questions made the identifications fairly straightforward)
In this collection is a story in which the characters are future earthlings who are almost no body; almost all energy/thought. The narrative is 1st-person singular as told by a 13-yr old child, not really a story but more just a detailed description of a typical day in the life of one of these aerodynamic organisms as they race around their higher-physics lives. The subject of the story is a precocious kind of 'bundle' of pulsing light called 'Three-Phasing' that's his name--and he is so-called because of the waves of energy that mostly make up what he looks like.
Another story centers around a futuristic American city where people's brains behave like removable hard-drives, they can be stolen, lost, etc. Bodies are almost a negligible aspect of human life, (I think) people can float; and these shell-like forms are referred to merely as 'braincases' or 'cranium-cases' or 'brainboxes' or something.
Another one of the stories features a vision of a dystopic America where our justice system selects jurors by lottery--a practice dreaded by all citizens--because when you are chosen, your brain is taken out of your skull and networked together with other brains to serve as an 'objective' panel.
I may be confusing this collection with a story --or another story collection--by a SF author who created a consecutive series of books revolving around a 'surveying' spaceship and its 'surveying' mission. This vessel and its crew are tasked with going around to new planets and using their hi-tech equipment to make planetary maps of the terrain, vegetation, seas..and naturally wind up in all manner of odd adventures when they go racing out in tiny hi-speed craft, zooming over these alien landscapes, bringing back info to the mother ship. The larger vessel has no captain, just a computer but the 'lead' surveyor is a wizened old veteran, named 'Big John' or 'Big Ed' something. He's of taller-than-usual stature physically and in general is respected by the other crew for his even-tempered, cautious approach to things. Moot detail: when a crewman of this ship wants to speak to the computer, he announces this by speaking the phrase, "Hear these words," (for example, in his own cabin) and the computer then automatically takes down commands from that person, or records whatever information he has to provide. A typical adventure for this ship and it screw would be to find themselves trapped in a 'dwindlar' (a star system collapsing on itself)
But all this may either be found collected with the other tales above; or it may be a collection all its own. I'm interested in pinning down either!
But it may be a jumble of books and stories I'm recalling, instead of just one.
Thx for any assistance!