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chisue

Is There a Sci-Fi Forum?

chisue
11 years ago

I'm trying to remember the name of an old Sci-Fi story. Is there a place I could post a question?

I keep thinking of this short story, part of a collection in a paperback. I think I read it on the train to Montreal in 1968. Much of what the author described is becoming today's reality.

The protagonist lives in/on a chaise in a climate-controled single room. One wall of the room is a giant screen that shows him pictures of Earth. He can read stories, hear music, and visit with friends via this screen. He orders meals that are delivered automatically. His waste is removed automatically. He is barely ambulatory, with a large head and stomach, but his legs are little more than appendages.

One morning his 'screen' stops showing views of a pleasant Earth and he sees only devastation. His climate control, food-delivery and waste-removal systems stop working. He can't raise any signals from his family members or friends. He has to get out, but has no idea how to do it. He doesn't know how to physically locate other people. He knows only their screen addresses.

Sound familiar?

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