
In the near‑future, three engineers aboard an American satellite find themselves on a razor‑thin collision course with a Soviet counterpart. As the two craft drift through Earth's shadow, the crew must decide whether to adjust their orbit or risk a public standoff, all while the political stakes of the Cold War loom large. Their calculations are precise, their nerves taut, and the quiet hum of machinery becomes the backdrop for a tense chess game played at 200 miles above the planet.
The story follows the quiet professionalism of Morgan, Kaufman, and McNary as they weigh pride, duty, and the potential fallout of any move. Their dialogue reveals the pressure of representing a nation while confronting the stark reality of space—a realm where a misstep could spark far‑more than a simple crash. The narrative captures the blend of technical detail and human emotion that defines early space‑age intrigue.
Language
en
Duration
~22 minutes (21K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2019-11-02
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
1920–2005
A chemical engineer and patent attorney by profession, he brought a sharp, practical mind to science fiction and turned scientific ideas into tense, memorable stories. He is best known for more than 50 short stories and for the novels he wrote with Kate Wilhelm, including The Clone.
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