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Science Fiction Trivia

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RockDoctor
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by RockDoctor »

ffutures wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 2:29 am
In Harry Harrison's In Our Hands, The Stars AKA The Daleth Effect the antigravity machine is invented by Arnie Klein, an Israeli scientist. But he tries to keep it secret and of course never patents it. The discovery eventually results in his death at the hands of spies trying to steal it and the loss of the spaceship he designed. It is then reinvented by a car manufacturer (I think Japanese but I'm not entirely sure) who launch it as their own invention, if I'm remembering it right - apologies, but it's been a long time since I read it and I can't find my copy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daleth_Effect
If I understand this correctly, this is someone deliberately attempting to steal the credit for an invention, not someone being (accidentally) misattributed credit (by other people, in-universe). Which would make that a "no", I think. Appeals are available, but may put you closer to the Poisoned Chalice of Aegidian.

To clarify the example given from Known Space, the Outsiders sold the FTL hyperdrive, but without a manual (and on credit - odd for them); then Prof Carmody, worked out more or less how it worked and she wrote the manual for a device invented by someone else. She was wrongly given the credit for inventing it, but not through any action of her own (being a mad genius).
Since this happened during a war, the dubious claw of the Ministry of Truth may have steered the story towards Our Brilliant Boffin Invents Night Vison Carrot Diet For Those Magnificent Men In Their Spitfires and away from Our Asses Were Saved By Cats With LHe For Blood, for morale immoralities. (A real world example of the same ; radar was Top Secret during WW2, but carrot cake was heavily promoted by MiniTru.) This is a sub-text which I suspect, but it's not in the published story.
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by ffutures »

Any clues? Hints?
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by RockDoctor »

Like I said, it was in a book I was reading at the time (and I'm still ploughing into - too much American political bullshit proselytisation forcibly injected into a homage to a story I've never actually read ; getting tedious), and it appealed to me. But it does seem that no-one else can come up with another example. Which slightly surprises me.
I'll try and come up with something better overnight, and pop a new question up tomorrow evening. Unless someone comes up with an example in the intervening.
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by RockDoctor »

Sorry, out of imagination here.
Anyone else got something for the chailce?
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by spud42 »

bump, hello.... anybody in here?
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by Disembodied »

spud42 wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:28 pm
bump, hello.... anybody in here?
You bumped it, you bought it! I think it's up to spud42 to set the next question …
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by spud42 »

Doh!!!
What book am i reading? 3 clues to start your search
1 Albion
2 Hroom
3 Apex
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by cbr »

Wooh, the British Cheese Game?
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by ffutures »

1 Albion - way too many alternate world novels to narrow things down much.
2 Hroom - allegedly the noise made by Ents in Lord of the Rings, though I doubt that's the answer you're looking for since it's fantasy rather than SF.
3 Apex - weren't they an alien third sex in one of the Iain Banks Culture novels?

I suspect that there's some answer that unifies all three, but short of revving up Google (which takes all the fun out of things) it's escaping me.
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by spud42 »

well it isnt by a well known author im thinking...
ok 3 more clues and google is permitted..

one of them is a civilisation of people who escaped earth 500 ish years ago.
one of them is an alien race in turmoil with civil war and a strange addiction to sugar
one of them is a bird like race intent on eating all other sentient species they find to prove there dominence

and apparently its a box set im reading and im on book 6 of 7...( no not 7 of 9) lol
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by Cmdr James »

spud42 wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:17 pm
ok 3 more clues and google is permitted..
google makes it easy
spud42 wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:17 pm
and apparently its a box set im reading and im on book 6 of 7...( no not 7 of 9) lol
this makes it hard, because the book is generally refered to as a trilogy but set in the same universe as a series of 4.


Im pretty sure you are reading Star Wolf :)
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by spud42 »

pirates are involved..... quite a famous one too.... well his name anyway...
Royal Navy,Pirates.... and aliens too... what more do you want in a rousing adventure..
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by ffutures »

OK, cheating by using Google this appears to be something in a series of stories by Michael Wallace. I'm guessing the Blackbeard series, probably book 6 of the "Starship Blackbeard Box Set #1" which appears to be entitled Dragon Quadrant if the picture of the boxed set is right.

I haven't read anything by this author as far as I know, so apologies if I have it wrong.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/450 ... d-superbox
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by spud42 »

the cheating chalis of poison is all yours...

was the only question i could come up with on short notice.... google is always permitted when all other resourses are exhausted..
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Re: Science Fiction Trivia

Post by ffutures »

OK - quick one - let's have five SF works which explicitly mention a direction (not UP or DOWN) in the title. Usual rules - no two by the same creator or from the same fictional universe etc. And only one answer per post.
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