Science Fiction Trivia

[ffutures]

In this pre-war novelette the moon of another planet colonised from Earth experiences a 72 hour eclipse at intervals of more than a decade, triggering catastrophically cold weather. The protagonists face a prolonged trek for survival after their home is destroyed a few days before the eclipse. Name the story and author.

[ffutures]

Hints
(1) The story is astronomically inaccurate, though some of it was based on the (then) current theories.
(2) The author was American.
(3) The author has been mentioned by me at least once before in this thread.

[ffutures]

Hints
(4) The author died prior to WW2
(5) The story is set in our solar system

To clarify, it's the moon that's colonised, not the planet itself.

[Disembodied]

Aha! That gave me something to google with … I think it's "Flight on Titan", by Stanley G. Weinbaum.

[spud42]

google fu has left me...... still searching..... dang gazumped at the post...lol

[ffutures]

Aha! That gave me something to google with … I think it's "Flight on Titan", by Stanley G. Weinbaum.

Absolutely right - the [insert object of your choice ending in 'pper'] is yours!

[Disembodied]

Ta … here goes:

A nonhuman intelligence arrives at a backwater human colony world, and begins to grant wishes in return for stories. Name the novel, and explain what the problem is with getting a goose that lays golden eggs (besides potentially undermining the local economy, that is!).

[spud42]

could it be Singularity Sky (Eschaton #1) by Charles Stross ???

[Disembodied]

could it be Singularity Sky (Eschaton #1) by Charles Stross ???

That's the book! Now explain the potential risks of having a golden-egg-laying goose, and the snipper is yours …

[Disembodied]

To be a bit more specific: it's a health risk, although not one the rather low-tech inhabitants understand …

[Disembodied]

Another clue: we're talking about the transmutation of elements, and laws of physics still apply …

[Malacandra]

Another clue: we're talking about the transmutation of elements, and laws of physics still apply …

Radiation? You'd need fusion to create gold from the elements in a normal egg...

[Disembodied]

Radiation? You'd need fusion to create gold from the elements in a normal egg...

Correct! When you wish for a goose that lays golden eggs, don't forget about “the deluge of ionizing radiation spewing invisibly from the nuclear alchemist's stone in its gizzard.”

Over to you!

[Malacandra]

Okay then. Similar theme: why should Qadgop the Mercotan have died horribly?

[ffutures]

Okay then. Similar theme: why should Qadgop the Mercotan have died horribly?

This is the alien in the novel Kimball Kinnison writes, isn't it? As I recall, he touches neutronium, which is only stable at hundreds of gravities, which should have pulled him in and squashed him to a uniform layer of molecules spread over the surface of the neutronium.

Or am I thinking of something else?