Time-spanning alien intelligences gamble with the fate of Earth
This earlier question about a seemingly trivial change preventing a nuclear war made me remember a short story I read more than 20 years ago.
In the story, there are 2 intelligences (it is not clear if they have any physical form) that are able to randomly access time. They take turns making a few minor changes to human history and observing the results. I think the story starts with them picking which outcome each is playing for, and then one stating that it will go first.
The first makes a few changes (details forgotten), and they observe that the result is Earth becomes a nuclear wasteland. Then the other takes its turn; as best I recall it makes 3 changes. The one I remember most clearly is that it kills Cato the Elder (by some medical condition like a stroke or aneurysm) before yet another "Carthago delenda est". (The implication being that the 3rd Punic war is averted.) The other 2 changes were similarly minimal, but I have only an impression that they may have involved other historical figures.
Fast-forwarding, the intelligences find a thriving space-going civilization, and the first congratulates the second, remarking that it had not expected such small changes to have such a large effect.
The story ends with one suggesting to the other "best 2 of 3?"
This may be a conflation with another story, but they may have picked the outcome each was playing for in terms of "blood" (life) and "dust" (death).
I definitely read this more than 20 years ago, but probably less than 30. It was most likely in an anthology, since I didn't have many single-author collections at that point. (But I can't rule that out, or that I might have read it in a magazine like IASFM or Analog.)
story-identification short-stories
asked Jan 3 at 18:50
DavidW
1,6521326
add a comment |
This earlier question about a seemingly trivial change preventing a nuclear war made me remember a short story I read more than 20 years ago.
In the story, there are 2 intelligences (it is not clear if they have any physical form) that are able to randomly access time. They take turns making a few minor changes to human history and observing the results. I think the story starts with them picking which outcome each is playing for, and then one stating that it will go first.
The first makes a few changes (details forgotten), and they observe that the result is Earth becomes a nuclear wasteland. Then the other takes its turn; as best I recall it makes 3 changes. The one I remember most clearly is that it kills Cato the Elder (by some medical condition like a stroke or aneurysm) before yet another "Carthago delenda est". (The implication being that the 3rd Punic war is averted.) The other 2 changes were similarly minimal, but I have only an impression that they may have involved other historical figures.
Fast-forwarding, the intelligences find a thriving space-going civilization, and the first congratulates the second, remarking that it had not expected such small changes to have such a large effect.
The story ends with one suggesting to the other "best 2 of 3?"
This may be a conflation with another story, but they may have picked the outcome each was playing for in terms of "blood" (life) and "dust" (death).
I definitely read this more than 20 years ago, but probably less than 30. It was most likely in an anthology, since I didn't have many single-author collections at that point. (But I can't rule that out, or that I might have read it in a magazine like IASFM or Analog.)
story-identification short-stories
asked Jan 3 at 18:50
DavidW
1,6521326
Note: I was actually fairly confident about "blood" and "dust" but had absolutely no luck searching on those terms, so I started to doubt them.
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 18:52
The title alone made me think you were talking about Doctor Who.
– bruglesco
2 days ago
add a comment |
This earlier question about a seemingly trivial change preventing a nuclear war made me remember a short story I read more than 20 years ago.
In the story, there are 2 intelligences (it is not clear if they have any physical form) that are able to randomly access time. They take turns making a few minor changes to human history and observing the results. I think the story starts with them picking which outcome each is playing for, and then one stating that it will go first.
The first makes a few changes (details forgotten), and they observe that the result is Earth becomes a nuclear wasteland. Then the other takes its turn; as best I recall it makes 3 changes. The one I remember most clearly is that it kills Cato the Elder (by some medical condition like a stroke or aneurysm) before yet another "Carthago delenda est". (The implication being that the 3rd Punic war is averted.) The other 2 changes were similarly minimal, but I have only an impression that they may have involved other historical figures.
Fast-forwarding, the intelligences find a thriving space-going civilization, and the first congratulates the second, remarking that it had not expected such small changes to have such a large effect.
The story ends with one suggesting to the other "best 2 of 3?"
This may be a conflation with another story, but they may have picked the outcome each was playing for in terms of "blood" (life) and "dust" (death).
I definitely read this more than 20 years ago, but probably less than 30. It was most likely in an anthology, since I didn't have many single-author collections at that point. (But I can't rule that out, or that I might have read it in a magazine like IASFM or Analog.)
story-identification short-stories
asked Jan 3 at 18:50
DavidW
1,6521326
This earlier question about a seemingly trivial change preventing a nuclear war made me remember a short story I read more than 20 years ago.
In the story, there are 2 intelligences (it is not clear if they have any physical form) that are able to randomly access time. They take turns making a few minor changes to human history and observing the results. I think the story starts with them picking which outcome each is playing for, and then one stating that it will go first.
The first makes a few changes (details forgotten), and they observe that the result is Earth becomes a nuclear wasteland. Then the other takes its turn; as best I recall it makes 3 changes. The one I remember most clearly is that it kills Cato the Elder (by some medical condition like a stroke or aneurysm) before yet another "Carthago delenda est". (The implication being that the 3rd Punic war is averted.) The other 2 changes were similarly minimal, but I have only an impression that they may have involved other historical figures.
Fast-forwarding, the intelligences find a thriving space-going civilization, and the first congratulates the second, remarking that it had not expected such small changes to have such a large effect.
The story ends with one suggesting to the other "best 2 of 3?"
This may be a conflation with another story, but they may have picked the outcome each was playing for in terms of "blood" (life) and "dust" (death).
I definitely read this more than 20 years ago, but probably less than 30. It was most likely in an anthology, since I didn't have many single-author collections at that point. (But I can't rule that out, or that I might have read it in a magazine like IASFM or Analog.)
story-identification short-stories
story-identification short-stories
asked Jan 3 at 18:50
DavidW
1,6521326
asked Jan 3 at 18:50
DavidW
1,6521326
asked Jan 3 at 18:50
DavidW
1,6521326
asked Jan 3 at 18:50
DavidW
1,6521326
asked Jan 3 at 18:50
DavidW
1,6521326
1,6521326
Note: I was actually fairly confident about "blood" and "dust" but had absolutely no luck searching on those terms, so I started to doubt them.
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 18:52
The title alone made me think you were talking about Doctor Who.
– bruglesco
2 days ago
add a comment |
Note: I was actually fairly confident about "blood" and "dust" but had absolutely no luck searching on those terms, so I started to doubt them.
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 18:52
The title alone made me think you were talking about Doctor Who.
– bruglesco
2 days ago
Note: I was actually fairly confident about "blood" and "dust" but had absolutely no luck searching on those terms, so I started to doubt them.
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 18:52
Note: I was actually fairly confident about "blood" and "dust" but had absolutely no luck searching on those terms, so I started to doubt them.
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 18:52
The title alone made me think you were talking about Doctor Who.
– bruglesco
2 days ago
The title alone made me think you were talking about Doctor Who.
– bruglesco
2 days ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
This is Roger Zelazny's "The Game of Blood and Dust". It seems like a good match. There are two intelligences, Blood and Dust, and they take turns making changes to history. They are alien, I guess.
To my surprise, I found the text of the story online.
The story begins:
They drifted towards the Earth and took up stations at its Trojan points. They regarded the world, its two and a half billion inhabitants, their cities, their devices.
The last couple of lines are:
"Best two out of three?"
"All Right. I am Blood. I go first."
...And I am Dust. I follow you."
The death of Cato the Elder is another of the changes one of them makes to history.
answered Jan 3 at 18:58
Mark Olson
13.1k24478
4
That is definitely it. I actually have The Last Defender of Camelot, it just didn't occur to me to consider Zelazny as the author!
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 21:26
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "186"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fscifi.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f202703%2ftime-spanning-alien-intelligences-gamble-with-the-fate-of-earth%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
This is Roger Zelazny's "The Game of Blood and Dust". It seems like a good match. There are two intelligences, Blood and Dust, and they take turns making changes to history. They are alien, I guess.
To my surprise, I found the text of the story online.
The story begins:
They drifted towards the Earth and took up stations at its Trojan points. They regarded the world, its two and a half billion inhabitants, their cities, their devices.
The last couple of lines are:
"Best two out of three?"
"All Right. I am Blood. I go first."
...And I am Dust. I follow you."
The death of Cato the Elder is another of the changes one of them makes to history.
answered Jan 3 at 18:58
Mark Olson
13.1k24478
4
That is definitely it. I actually have The Last Defender of Camelot, it just didn't occur to me to consider Zelazny as the author!
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 21:26
add a comment |
This is Roger Zelazny's "The Game of Blood and Dust". It seems like a good match. There are two intelligences, Blood and Dust, and they take turns making changes to history. They are alien, I guess.
To my surprise, I found the text of the story online.
The story begins:
They drifted towards the Earth and took up stations at its Trojan points. They regarded the world, its two and a half billion inhabitants, their cities, their devices.
The last couple of lines are:
"Best two out of three?"
"All Right. I am Blood. I go first."
...And I am Dust. I follow you."
The death of Cato the Elder is another of the changes one of them makes to history.
answered Jan 3 at 18:58
Mark Olson
13.1k24478
4
That is definitely it. I actually have The Last Defender of Camelot, it just didn't occur to me to consider Zelazny as the author!
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 21:26
add a comment |
This is Roger Zelazny's "The Game of Blood and Dust". It seems like a good match. There are two intelligences, Blood and Dust, and they take turns making changes to history. They are alien, I guess.
To my surprise, I found the text of the story online.
The story begins:
They drifted towards the Earth and took up stations at its Trojan points. They regarded the world, its two and a half billion inhabitants, their cities, their devices.
The last couple of lines are:
"Best two out of three?"
"All Right. I am Blood. I go first."
...And I am Dust. I follow you."
The death of Cato the Elder is another of the changes one of them makes to history.
answered Jan 3 at 18:58
Mark Olson
13.1k24478
This is Roger Zelazny's "The Game of Blood and Dust". It seems like a good match. There are two intelligences, Blood and Dust, and they take turns making changes to history. They are alien, I guess.
To my surprise, I found the text of the story online.
The story begins:
They drifted towards the Earth and took up stations at its Trojan points. They regarded the world, its two and a half billion inhabitants, their cities, their devices.
The last couple of lines are:
"Best two out of three?"
"All Right. I am Blood. I go first."
...And I am Dust. I follow you."
The death of Cato the Elder is another of the changes one of them makes to history.
answered Jan 3 at 18:58
Mark Olson
13.1k24478
edited Jan 3 at 21:05
answered Jan 3 at 18:58
Mark Olson
13.1k24478
answered Jan 3 at 18:58
Mark Olson
13.1k24478
answered Jan 3 at 18:58
Mark Olson
13.1k24478
13.1k24478
4
That is definitely it. I actually have The Last Defender of Camelot, it just didn't occur to me to consider Zelazny as the author!
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 21:26
add a comment |
4
That is definitely it. I actually have The Last Defender of Camelot, it just didn't occur to me to consider Zelazny as the author!
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 21:26
4
4
That is definitely it. I actually have The Last Defender of Camelot, it just didn't occur to me to consider Zelazny as the author!
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 21:26
That is definitely it. I actually have The Last Defender of Camelot, it just didn't occur to me to consider Zelazny as the author!
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 21:26
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.
Please pay close attention to the following guidance:
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fscifi.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f202703%2ftime-spanning-alien-intelligences-gamble-with-the-fate-of-earth%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Note: I was actually fairly confident about "blood" and "dust" but had absolutely no luck searching on those terms, so I started to doubt them.
– DavidW
Jan 3 at 18:52
The title alone made me think you were talking about Doctor Who.
– bruglesco
2 days ago