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Short story about interstellar travel gone wrong
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Trying to find a story I read a couple of years ago in an anthology, not sure when the story dates from but likely to be recent - the last decade or so.
The story has passengers travelling between stars via a series of jumps. The calibration of the drive is affected by a special metal, any of which has to be stored in a shielded compartment (I think the jumps were measured in 'degrees'). One of the passengers unwittingly takes some of this metal on board, which throws off the calculations for the jumps, and they jump into an alternative universe where there are no signs of any humans ever existing. They start to try to reverse their steps to get back to the known universe, but the reverse calculation seems impossible.
That's as much as I read of the story before I lost the book. After many dreams (feverish nightmares!) re-living this story, I need to know how it ends. I know it's not much to go on. The story name, author, or the anthology it appears in would be fantastic.
story-identification short-stories space-exploration
edited Aug 9 at 11:48
TheLethalCarrot
30.9k13174216
asked Aug 9 at 11:40
Steve
17325
add a comment |Â
up vote
34
down vote
favorite
Trying to find a story I read a couple of years ago in an anthology, not sure when the story dates from but likely to be recent - the last decade or so.
The story has passengers travelling between stars via a series of jumps. The calibration of the drive is affected by a special metal, any of which has to be stored in a shielded compartment (I think the jumps were measured in 'degrees'). One of the passengers unwittingly takes some of this metal on board, which throws off the calculations for the jumps, and they jump into an alternative universe where there are no signs of any humans ever existing. They start to try to reverse their steps to get back to the known universe, but the reverse calculation seems impossible.
That's as much as I read of the story before I lost the book. After many dreams (feverish nightmares!) re-living this story, I need to know how it ends. I know it's not much to go on. The story name, author, or the anthology it appears in would be fantastic.
story-identification short-stories space-exploration
edited Aug 9 at 11:48
TheLethalCarrot
30.9k13174216
asked Aug 9 at 11:40
Steve
17325
1
Note, Starman Jones by Heinlein has a similar "lost in space due to bad hyperspace jump calculations - reverse calculation impractical, no one has every become unlost before" plot line, but is clearly a different story.
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 14:01
add a comment |Â
up vote
34
down vote
favorite
up vote
34
down vote
favorite
Trying to find a story I read a couple of years ago in an anthology, not sure when the story dates from but likely to be recent - the last decade or so.
The story has passengers travelling between stars via a series of jumps. The calibration of the drive is affected by a special metal, any of which has to be stored in a shielded compartment (I think the jumps were measured in 'degrees'). One of the passengers unwittingly takes some of this metal on board, which throws off the calculations for the jumps, and they jump into an alternative universe where there are no signs of any humans ever existing. They start to try to reverse their steps to get back to the known universe, but the reverse calculation seems impossible.
That's as much as I read of the story before I lost the book. After many dreams (feverish nightmares!) re-living this story, I need to know how it ends. I know it's not much to go on. The story name, author, or the anthology it appears in would be fantastic.
story-identification short-stories space-exploration
edited Aug 9 at 11:48
TheLethalCarrot
30.9k13174216
asked Aug 9 at 11:40
Steve
17325
Trying to find a story I read a couple of years ago in an anthology, not sure when the story dates from but likely to be recent - the last decade or so.
The story has passengers travelling between stars via a series of jumps. The calibration of the drive is affected by a special metal, any of which has to be stored in a shielded compartment (I think the jumps were measured in 'degrees'). One of the passengers unwittingly takes some of this metal on board, which throws off the calculations for the jumps, and they jump into an alternative universe where there are no signs of any humans ever existing. They start to try to reverse their steps to get back to the known universe, but the reverse calculation seems impossible.
That's as much as I read of the story before I lost the book. After many dreams (feverish nightmares!) re-living this story, I need to know how it ends. I know it's not much to go on. The story name, author, or the anthology it appears in would be fantastic.
story-identification short-stories space-exploration
edited Aug 9 at 11:48
TheLethalCarrot
30.9k13174216
asked Aug 9 at 11:40
Steve
17325
edited Aug 9 at 11:48
TheLethalCarrot
30.9k13174216
edited Aug 9 at 11:48
TheLethalCarrot
30.9k13174216
edited Aug 9 at 11:48
TheLethalCarrot
30.9k13174216
30.9k13174216
asked Aug 9 at 11:40
Steve
17325
asked Aug 9 at 11:40
Steve
17325
asked Aug 9 at 11:40
Steve
17325
17325
1
Note, Starman Jones by Heinlein has a similar "lost in space due to bad hyperspace jump calculations - reverse calculation impractical, no one has every become unlost before" plot line, but is clearly a different story.
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 14:01
add a comment |Â
1
Note, Starman Jones by Heinlein has a similar "lost in space due to bad hyperspace jump calculations - reverse calculation impractical, no one has every become unlost before" plot line, but is clearly a different story.
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 14:01
1
1
Note, Starman Jones by Heinlein has a similar "lost in space due to bad hyperspace jump calculations - reverse calculation impractical, no one has every become unlost before" plot line, but is clearly a different story.
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 14:01
Note, Starman Jones by Heinlein has a similar "lost in space due to bad hyperspace jump calculations - reverse calculation impractical, no one has every become unlost before" plot line, but is clearly a different story.
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 14:01
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
46
down vote
accepted
The story you’re thinking of is “Cascade Pointâ€, a 1983 novella by Timothy Zahn. It appeared in a collection of his other stories, Cascade Point and Other Stories.
I can’t find any synopsis on-line, and I have hardcopy at home, not here, but what I recall matches your (few) details exactly. Additional details that may be helpful to your recollection is that one of the effects of the drive’s “active†mode is that you will see ghost images of yourself, arranged in a cross with you at the center, each image somewhat different, based on differences in your history due to having made different decisions. The special metal that disrupts the transit was in some sort of psych sensor; it was brought on-board and not secured in the special-metal vault because the psychologist, who was studying another passenger (his patient), didn’t realize that the device had the metal in it.
answered Aug 9 at 11:52
Jeff Zeitlin
5,4972342
WOW! That was quick. Absolutely spot on too - the name rings a bell, as does the psychologist and his patient. Thank you so much!
– Steve
Aug 9 at 11:56
1
This book also shows up at scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/23974/…, scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/49370/…, and scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/154329/…, although they don't match the question details.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:13
1
@FuzzyBoots Those posts appear to be about different stories in the collection.
– TheLethalCarrot
Aug 9 at 12:33
@TheLethalCarrot: Yup. All but one, and that one centers on the "see ghost images of your potential lives" aspect of the space drive.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:35
There is a decent synopsis from a different collection it appeared in on Goodreads
– AShelly
Aug 10 at 0:40
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
46
down vote
accepted
The story you’re thinking of is “Cascade Pointâ€, a 1983 novella by Timothy Zahn. It appeared in a collection of his other stories, Cascade Point and Other Stories.
I can’t find any synopsis on-line, and I have hardcopy at home, not here, but what I recall matches your (few) details exactly. Additional details that may be helpful to your recollection is that one of the effects of the drive’s “active†mode is that you will see ghost images of yourself, arranged in a cross with you at the center, each image somewhat different, based on differences in your history due to having made different decisions. The special metal that disrupts the transit was in some sort of psych sensor; it was brought on-board and not secured in the special-metal vault because the psychologist, who was studying another passenger (his patient), didn’t realize that the device had the metal in it.
answered Aug 9 at 11:52
Jeff Zeitlin
5,4972342
WOW! That was quick. Absolutely spot on too - the name rings a bell, as does the psychologist and his patient. Thank you so much!
– Steve
Aug 9 at 11:56
1
This book also shows up at scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/23974/…, scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/49370/…, and scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/154329/…, although they don't match the question details.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:13
1
@FuzzyBoots Those posts appear to be about different stories in the collection.
– TheLethalCarrot
Aug 9 at 12:33
@TheLethalCarrot: Yup. All but one, and that one centers on the "see ghost images of your potential lives" aspect of the space drive.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:35
There is a decent synopsis from a different collection it appeared in on Goodreads
– AShelly
Aug 10 at 0:40
add a comment |Â
up vote
46
down vote
accepted
The story you’re thinking of is “Cascade Pointâ€, a 1983 novella by Timothy Zahn. It appeared in a collection of his other stories, Cascade Point and Other Stories.
I can’t find any synopsis on-line, and I have hardcopy at home, not here, but what I recall matches your (few) details exactly. Additional details that may be helpful to your recollection is that one of the effects of the drive’s “active†mode is that you will see ghost images of yourself, arranged in a cross with you at the center, each image somewhat different, based on differences in your history due to having made different decisions. The special metal that disrupts the transit was in some sort of psych sensor; it was brought on-board and not secured in the special-metal vault because the psychologist, who was studying another passenger (his patient), didn’t realize that the device had the metal in it.
answered Aug 9 at 11:52
Jeff Zeitlin
5,4972342
WOW! That was quick. Absolutely spot on too - the name rings a bell, as does the psychologist and his patient. Thank you so much!
– Steve
Aug 9 at 11:56
1
This book also shows up at scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/23974/…, scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/49370/…, and scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/154329/…, although they don't match the question details.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:13
1
@FuzzyBoots Those posts appear to be about different stories in the collection.
– TheLethalCarrot
Aug 9 at 12:33
@TheLethalCarrot: Yup. All but one, and that one centers on the "see ghost images of your potential lives" aspect of the space drive.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:35
There is a decent synopsis from a different collection it appeared in on Goodreads
– AShelly
Aug 10 at 0:40
add a comment |Â
up vote
46
down vote
accepted
up vote
46
down vote
accepted
The story you’re thinking of is “Cascade Pointâ€, a 1983 novella by Timothy Zahn. It appeared in a collection of his other stories, Cascade Point and Other Stories.
I can’t find any synopsis on-line, and I have hardcopy at home, not here, but what I recall matches your (few) details exactly. Additional details that may be helpful to your recollection is that one of the effects of the drive’s “active†mode is that you will see ghost images of yourself, arranged in a cross with you at the center, each image somewhat different, based on differences in your history due to having made different decisions. The special metal that disrupts the transit was in some sort of psych sensor; it was brought on-board and not secured in the special-metal vault because the psychologist, who was studying another passenger (his patient), didn’t realize that the device had the metal in it.
answered Aug 9 at 11:52
Jeff Zeitlin
5,4972342
The story you’re thinking of is “Cascade Pointâ€, a 1983 novella by Timothy Zahn. It appeared in a collection of his other stories, Cascade Point and Other Stories.
I can’t find any synopsis on-line, and I have hardcopy at home, not here, but what I recall matches your (few) details exactly. Additional details that may be helpful to your recollection is that one of the effects of the drive’s “active†mode is that you will see ghost images of yourself, arranged in a cross with you at the center, each image somewhat different, based on differences in your history due to having made different decisions. The special metal that disrupts the transit was in some sort of psych sensor; it was brought on-board and not secured in the special-metal vault because the psychologist, who was studying another passenger (his patient), didn’t realize that the device had the metal in it.
answered Aug 9 at 11:52
Jeff Zeitlin
5,4972342
answered Aug 9 at 11:52
Jeff Zeitlin
5,4972342
answered Aug 9 at 11:52
Jeff Zeitlin
5,4972342
answered Aug 9 at 11:52
Jeff Zeitlin
5,4972342
5,4972342
WOW! That was quick. Absolutely spot on too - the name rings a bell, as does the psychologist and his patient. Thank you so much!
– Steve
Aug 9 at 11:56
1
This book also shows up at scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/23974/…, scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/49370/…, and scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/154329/…, although they don't match the question details.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:13
1
@FuzzyBoots Those posts appear to be about different stories in the collection.
– TheLethalCarrot
Aug 9 at 12:33
@TheLethalCarrot: Yup. All but one, and that one centers on the "see ghost images of your potential lives" aspect of the space drive.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:35
There is a decent synopsis from a different collection it appeared in on Goodreads
– AShelly
Aug 10 at 0:40
add a comment |Â
WOW! That was quick. Absolutely spot on too - the name rings a bell, as does the psychologist and his patient. Thank you so much!
– Steve
Aug 9 at 11:56
1
This book also shows up at scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/23974/…, scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/49370/…, and scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/154329/…, although they don't match the question details.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:13
1
@FuzzyBoots Those posts appear to be about different stories in the collection.
– TheLethalCarrot
Aug 9 at 12:33
@TheLethalCarrot: Yup. All but one, and that one centers on the "see ghost images of your potential lives" aspect of the space drive.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:35
There is a decent synopsis from a different collection it appeared in on Goodreads
– AShelly
Aug 10 at 0:40
WOW! That was quick. Absolutely spot on too - the name rings a bell, as does the psychologist and his patient. Thank you so much!
– Steve
Aug 9 at 11:56
WOW! That was quick. Absolutely spot on too - the name rings a bell, as does the psychologist and his patient. Thank you so much!
– Steve
Aug 9 at 11:56
1
1
This book also shows up at scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/23974/…, scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/49370/…, and scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/154329/…, although they don't match the question details.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:13
This book also shows up at scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/23974/…, scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/49370/…, and scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/154329/…, although they don't match the question details.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:13
1
1
@FuzzyBoots Those posts appear to be about different stories in the collection.
– TheLethalCarrot
Aug 9 at 12:33
@FuzzyBoots Those posts appear to be about different stories in the collection.
– TheLethalCarrot
Aug 9 at 12:33
@TheLethalCarrot: Yup. All but one, and that one centers on the "see ghost images of your potential lives" aspect of the space drive.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:35
@TheLethalCarrot: Yup. All but one, and that one centers on the "see ghost images of your potential lives" aspect of the space drive.
– FuzzyBoots
Aug 9 at 12:35
There is a decent synopsis from a different collection it appeared in on Goodreads
– AShelly
Aug 10 at 0:40
There is a decent synopsis from a different collection it appeared in on Goodreads
– AShelly
Aug 10 at 0:40
add a comment |Â
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1
Note, Starman Jones by Heinlein has a similar "lost in space due to bad hyperspace jump calculations - reverse calculation impractical, no one has every become unlost before" plot line, but is clearly a different story.
– Todd Wilcox
Aug 9 at 14:01