Skip to main content

story identification - Sole survivor of attack on mining vessel, abandoned by his employer, has ability to teleport


There's a story my grandpa use to tell me when I was younger, about the sole survivor of of an attack on a mining vessel in space. The man lives in space for months/years, ignored by the company he worked for and never rescued. Then when he thinks he is being rescued, it's actually another set of raiders who attack him and kidnap him. He then wakes up in captivity in some sort of prison inside of an asteroid, and has a word tattooed on his forehead. My grandpa called him Ronin (that's what the tattoo on his forehead said) but I don't know what the character's real name is. Anyways, he learns that he has the ability to teleport after having a brush with death and decides to make his way back to Earth so that he can exact revenge on the mining company who abandoned him and left him floating to die.


Does anyone know what this story or book may be? My grandpa told it to me when I was little, he said that he got it from a book he use to love reading when he was younger. I'm assuming the book is very old (possibly pre 1940's as he was born in the 20s). I can't ask him as he is no longer alive. I'm also unsure as to whether or not all the details in the story he told me, are the same as in the original.



Answer



That sounds like The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1956):


"man lives in space for months/years, ignored by the company he worked for and never rescued."



[Foyle] is marooned in space when the ship is attacked and he alone survives. After six months of waiting for rescue, a passing spaceship, the Vorga, also owned by the powerful Presteign industrial clan, ignores his signal and abandons him




"in captivity in some sort of prison inside of an asteroid, and has a word tattooed on his forehead."



is captured by a cargo cult in the Asteroid Belt which tattoos a hideous mask of a tiger on his face.



"he has the ability to teleport after having a brush with death"



human beings could learn to teleport, or "jaunte" from point to point,



"make his way back to Earth so that he can exact revenge on the mining company who abandoned him"




Foyle is enraged and is transformed into a man consumed by revenge



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?