Spaceship that goes on forever? Plus mining story

[fred pink]

Great to find this excellent forum. I have two stories I need advise on as I cannot remember the authors or titles.

The first I have been looking for for years, I heard a radio adaptation when I was about 8. It was a story about astronauts landing on a spaceship, as they investigate they gradually realise the ship goes on forever, or is the universe itself.

The second is about a company arriving on an alien planet and exploiting the natives to work in mines as the planet has rich mineral resources. Eventually the mine too deep under the surface and discover the planet has a sentient core which then destroys the colonists. Possibly by Philip K Dick.

Does anyone have any ideas the titles and authors of these stories?

Thanks!

 

[Toby Frost]

I think the first story is by J.G. Ballard, and might be called something like "The Endless Spaceship", but I can't remember the exact title.

There's a story by Ray Bradbury about a sentient planet that kills colonists. One of the colonists stays behind, to join the planet, while the others flee. Might that be the one?

 

[Ray McCarthy]

There are three stories at least about a sentient planet, I've read, but no mining is involved. One the title is something based on "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned".
I have two volumes of Ray Bradbury shorts and many other of his. The Mining thing doesn't ring a bell.
I've read a lot of J.G. Ballard too.
It's possible both of these are Ray Bradbury & J.G. Ballard I've not read (!) or worse, forgotten.

 

[Toby Frost]

I think the first one is "Report on an Unidentified Space Station" by Ballard. I don't know what it's from, but it dates from 1982.

The second one I'm really not sure about.

 

[fred pink]

Thanks for the replies, I will have a look and see if I can find the JG Ballad story and have a dig through some Bradbury. They certainly sound like something from these guys imagination so I think you are on the right track.

 

[J Riff]

errrM... there's a story about slow-acting acid that dissolves the ship... and , oh, er...

 

[ralphkern]

The first could also be Greg Bear's Eon/Eternity series

 

[PaulMmn]

Although it wasn't a sentient planet, just a computer, and it's a short story or novelette, there's Poul Anderson's "The White King's War." 1969. (In Galaxy: September 1969 )

--Paul E Musselman

 

[fred pink]

I think the first one is "Report on an Unidentified Space Station" by Ballard. I don't know what it's from, but it dates from 1982.

The second one I'm really not sure about.

Yes this is the story! I found it online, very good!