AboutGeoff Expertise I have read most of the short stories and books produced by the Top 80-100 authors in the SF field, as well as more obscure authors such as Robert Sheckley, and can answer any queries regarding author, title or theme of a short story(or novel). I can also answer questions on the history and influence of Science Fiction past to present, as well as on specific SF genres such as Cyberpunk,Golden Age SF, H G Wells-style scientific romances etc.
Experience Am currently doing a writing course for writing Science Fiction Books, with the Writer's Bureau in the UK.<
Question I read a fascinating short story (1980's?) about the spontaneous appearance of a capsule containing a frazzled looking, bearded dead old man and lots of torn up paper. After a period of time the man seemed to come to life and appeared to be insane. As the story continued it became evident that "time" for the man inside the capsule was moving backward. The people outside the capsule tried to communicate with him by writing on a chalkboard and showing it to him through the glass. He seemed to be responding with answers not connected to the questions. He was answering questions before they were asked. To him it seemed that as time went on the questions got more and more basic, yet his inquisitors were more informed as he got younger.
I hope this story rings a bell. It has been one of those nagging mysteries to me for years.
Thank You! -Craig
In the story, I seem to recall that a sort of religious fervour builds up in the world outside towards the old man, due to all the mystery. The whole idea is that the man in the capsule has to go back in time slowly in order to go forward(from his original time) into the future - sort of like a rubber band being pulled one way, and when released, goes the other way, due to a physical law.
