greenray, its not a time-travel story.

You could call it a "close-encounter" story!

Good luck all!

For any still wanting to play, here is another line from the same story:

"His shaking hands went wildly up to touch his coppery hair as if he'd never seen or felt of it before."

Have fun!

Dear Brother,

Another clue please, if possible. Yes, many of us still want to play. This is my favorite part of this board. I really appreciate the challenging selections, such as yours.

Well great!

Another clue: This isn't a martian tale, but it has something in common (a Bradbury motif perhaps) with the stories "The Messiah" and "The Martian".

And another line: "A star blinked on the summer sky and vanished."

Good luck!

Dear Brother,

How about "The Man." (At least it begins with an M.) Thanks again for all the clues.

Hi greenray!

Its not "The Man". Like a character in "The Messiah" and "The Martian", a being in this story becomes a 'someone' or 'something' according to the thoughts or emotions of the person most near it.

Final clue: the hero/student escapes!

Will give title in a couple of days.

Good Luck again!

I cheated, too. I'm soooooo baaaaad ...

I recently purchased the PS Publishing Edition of "The Day It Rained Forever." On page 77, the last line of the story, The Referent, is the quote from Brother Tarkas. (This edition has a great photo of Roby and the Sandman. A beautiful book, highly recommended and illustrated.) Brother, please confirm.

Confirmed greenray! Your turn.

I have the same edition. PS Publishing will shortly be releasing illustrated editions of LONG AFTER MIDNIGHT and THE MACHINERIES OF JOY.

quote:

Originally posted by douglasSP:
I cheated, too. I'm soooooo baaaaad ...

Hey, douglasSP!
High five! Let's keep this show on the road.

Not with my time. Sorry.

quote:

Originally posted by Brother Tarkas:
Not with my time. Sorry.

Ouch!

It's interesting that "Referent" is one of the few early stories (before 1960) that appeared in only one collection, and never again. It missed the cut for both 100 story super-collections, and of course it wasn't in A Medicine for Melancholy.

Robert, thanks for the high five. It's greenray's turn, though.

Thanks, douglas. I was being irreverent, if not Irreferent.

Thank you for the past quote challenge, Brother. Now here we go;

"It was such a machine that even in the dark you felt it alive and full of its own dream behind the doors, oiled and ready, filled with tremors of dark earth and suggestions of summer lightning."