Please help me track down this science fiction story
 

Years and years ago (probably 12+ years) I read this really great science fiction story and over the years I have tried to find it a few times, but I've never had any luck. I can't remember who wrote it, either, and I am hoping that some of you out there might know which story it is.

First of all, I _think_ the story might be called "Half Life" or "Halflife", but I am not sure. I went through the search engines, but we all know what comes up when you put any variation of "Half Life" into a search engine.

The plot involves a "utopian" future where everyone lives pretty well (as I remember) but there's a catch: Everyone's life ends at 30. At age 30, you are euthanised. When people turn fifteen ("half life"), they are allowed to participate in a hunt for people who have escaped society and have lived past their alloted thirty years. All people have a code stamped on their hands identifying them and their age. Each year, the kid who comes back with the hand of the oldest person wins a one year extension on their life (I think it's one year).

Anyway, one kid goes out hunting and finds a really old man who would be sure to get him his life extension, but can't bring himself to kill the guy and they become friends. The old man plays piano, talks about his life, etc, and I think the kid decides to stay with the old man instead of going back to society and their 30-year rule.

Some of you will probably recognize parts of the plot as being similar to Logan's Run, but I am 99.99% sure that is not where this story came from.

If you know this story or the author, PLEASE tell me. It's been driving me nuts. Asimov? Heinlein? Greg Bear? George R.R. Martin? Grrrr!

SpaceAce

note to self: beer kills brain cells

Since I don't drink, I wouldn't really know :)

SpaceAce

so, you mean i have to stay away from marijuana ?

I like marijuana:stoned

Makes me fuzzy and warm

I have read alot of science fiction stories & this sounds vaguely familiar but the title & author eludes me (I want to say either Asimov or Heinlein but I could be wrong). The only advice I can offer is go to any of the online Science Fiction forums (Asimov's Message Board is at http://www.asimovs.com/discus/ ) or to Yahoo Groups (look for Science Fiction Readers). Post your message there & you might get lucky.

Thanks, Jamdin. I'll give that a shot.

In the meantime, if anyone knows the story, please post it (the name/author) here!

SpaceAce

Sounds a lot like Logan's Run

yeah. Logan's run

Yep, but I said in my original message I am 99.99% sure it is not Logan's Run. This was a short story, Logan's Run is a complete novel, I believe.

SpaceAce