
Part 1
In a newly built desert town that lives in the shadow of a colossal launch ship, Phil Conover prepares for a mission that could make him the first human to break free of Earth’s gravity. The town’s uniform homes and endless sand mirror the uncertainty that hangs over the launch pad, while Phil’s excitement is tempered by the weight of his promise to be the first to venture beyond. At home, his wife Mary wrestles with the fear of becoming “the wife of a space pilot,” a role she never imagined she’d have to bear.
The night before the take‑off, the couple’s conversation teeters between love and dread, exposing the personal cost of a dream that could change humanity. As Phil straps into his “monkey suit” and drives toward the field, the tension between duty and devotion becomes the story’s heart, inviting listeners to wonder whether the allure of the stars outweighs the ties that bind us to the ground.
Language
en
Duration
~12 minutes (11K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
Nov 22, 2007
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
A mid-century science-fiction writer remembered mainly for the short story Breakaway, first published in Astounding Science Fiction in December 1955. Very little biographical information is easy to confirm, which gives the work an intriguing, almost lost-pulp aura.
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