Articulated Restraint

Lady Astronaut Universe #1.5

by Mary Robinette Kowal

Being a Lady Astronaut means being twice as dedicated, and twice as good as everyone else. And sometimes, handling a test run that has turned deadly serious. Mary Robinette Kowal visits an off-stage incident in her The Calculating Stars series.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Alternate History, Historical Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Adult

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 6, 2019

About the author

Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winning alternate history novel The Calculating Stars, the first book in the Lady Astronaut series which continues in 2025 with The Martian Contingency. She is also the author of The Glamourist Histories series, Ghost Talkers, The Spare Man and has received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, four Hugo awards, the Nebula and Locus awards. Her stories appear in Asimov’s, Uncanny, and several Year’s Best anthologies. Mary Robinette has also worked as a professional puppeteer, is a member of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses, and performs as a voice actor (SAG/AFTRA), recording fiction for authors including Seanan McGuire, Cory Doctorow, and Neal Stephenson. She lives in Denver with her husband Robert, their dog Guppy, and their “talking” cat Elsie.

Her novel Calculating Stars is one of only eighteen novels to win the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards in a single year.

Reviews

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for this SF short story, free online here at Tor.com. Review first posted here on Fantasy Literature:

Ruby Donaldson, an astronaut stationed on the Neutral Buoyancy Lab or NBL, is nursing a severely sprained ankle, which she twisted while practicing a Charleston Flip in a dance rehearsal, one of her few remaining non-work activities. She’s scheduled for an NBL training run and is planning to just grit her way through it with her sore ankle, but the training run turns unexpectedly serious: a spaceship has had a docking accident that has locked the ship to the space station and jammed the airlock. The ship’s passengers are stuck, and will run out of air in sixteen hours. The NBL and astronauts there are urgently needed to figure out a viable rescue and recovery plan though a development run or “dev run.” Because of time constraints and limitations with their EVA suits, they can’t simply replace Ruby with another person to do this vital exercise. So Ruby doesn’t tell anyone about her sprained ankle, even when things happen during the dev run that make her ankle worse, and worse …

“Articulated Restraint” is another tale set in the world of Kowal’s LADY ASTRONAUT series, and its events occur during that series. It’s a straightforward story, somewhat simplistic in its essential plot. Where Kowal shines here is in the myriad of believable scientific and technical details, and in depicting Ruby’s personality and point of view, especially her fierce determination to see this exercise through to the end. It made this story feel highly realistic, and made me more interested in picking up The Calculating Stars, which has been on my TBR list for a good long while.

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deleted scene from The Calculating Stars that's well worth reading. In spite of pain, in defiance of Proper Procedure, Lady Astronaut Ruby Donaldson works her hardest to save the life of her trapped and desperate friend Myrtle Lindholm.

Author Kowal understands stakes and investment in characters. If you've been chary of committing time to reading these books, try this short piece. If you're not gripped, maybe they're not right for you.

But I'm confident most of y'all will be gripped.

[Zain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Swollen Restraints.

Ruby is in the space center of the United States. She is trying to help transport colonists to the moon.

The ship that they were using has mechanical failure, so they need a life raft. This is where Ruby and her team comes in.

Things don’t go as planned.

Kinda boring.

Three stars. ✨✨✨

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story set in the author's The Lady Astronaut universe. It's about the incident with the Lunetta that we know about from the novels. Only this time we get Ruby's perspective as she, Eugene and the team try to find a way to save the people trapped before anyone dies.

Thus, we get to experience a test run in one of NASA's impressive test pools and look over the astronauts' shoulders as they work in the water, simulating a space walk.

As I always loved anything about space and stations or rockets and the corresponding science and tech, this was really cool. However, the author once again managed to combine it with a very personal story of one of the Lady Astronauts. Nothing groundbreaking but very nice to read.

Only one (minor) complaint: the saying isn't "slow is fast" but "slow is smooth, smooth is fast".

You can read the story for free here: https://www.tor.com/2019/02/06/articu...

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Being a Lady Astronaut means being twice as dedicated, and twice as good as everyone else. And sometimes, handling a test run that has turned deadly serious. Mary Robinette Kowal visits an off-stage incident in her The Calculating Stars series.“

Nice, despite a staggering, incomprehensible gaggle of space talk. Fairly simple and straight forward story. Don‘t expect any complex plotting.

Can be read for free here: https://www.tor.com/2019/02/06/articu...

[Mitticus · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Ruby was so used to not complaining, because she was short. Because she was a woman. Anything she said would be seen as a failure on her part. But the resistance was an NBLism and not a problem the actual spacewalker would face, and people’s lives were on the line. Ruby sighed as quietly as she could on a live mic. “I could use a diver assist to support the tube.”

Short story set in the Lady Astronaut series during 1960. It is a slice-of-life thing; Ruby is trying to balance her work with the life Before the meteor. The inner thoughts between been a short woman struggling in a ambicious and tough space race shows.

Ruby sprained her ankle while dancing, but the next day we find her in a rush for figuring out how to help in a mission where lives are in danger.

The writting pull you in into her life and decitions.

Very interesting and have to google this:



Happens between book 1 and 2.
Here: https://www.tor.com/2019/02/06/articu...

-------------------------------

Historia corta ambientada en la serie "Lady Astronaut" (1960). Es una cosa de la vida cotidiana; Ruby está tratando de equilibrar su trabajo con la vida "antes del meteorito". Los pensamientos internos entre ser una mujer bajita luchando en una carrera espacial ambiciosa y dura se muestran.

Ruby se torció el tobillo bailando Swing Dance


, pero el día siguiente la encuentra apurada por descubrir cómo ayudar en una misión donde vidas están en peligro.

La escritura te atrae hacia su vida y sus decisiones.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s hard when your first experience with an author is a ten/fifteen minute short story leaves you ugly crying. I expect a lot from her and I expected a lot from this story.

I was happy to get another view point then Elma’s, but the story itself just wasn’t there. I think Ruby felt a little more human, a little more flawed, as a character but the story she was given didn’t really shine.

Ruby was out dancing and sprained her ankle. Then she goes to work as a Lady Astronaut the next day and finds it she has a rescue mission to undertake with Eugene, to save his wife Myrtle who’s stuck in Orbit (I think- and yay for Myrtle and Eugene who are awesome!).

So we witness her work through the pain as she tries to figure out in the test pool how they can save Myrtle and the other astronauts onboard.

It was a lot of science and technical jargon and just not much else? It wasn’t boring, I enjoyed it, but it didn’t stand out in anyway and didn’t add a whole lot to The Lady Astronaut of Mars saga.

I’ll be waiting for the next story/novel regardless.

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll also put the name of the story here, in case Goodreads decides to merge it into some other work...
Articulated Restraint by Mary Robinette Kowal- 3.5/5★

I like reading about EVA missions, so this was right up my alley; what I didn’t like was her decision to periclitate the mission two times, one when coming tired and hurt, second when not informing people about the problem..

The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2019 edition and can also be read on Tor.com.

[Jeraviz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Creo que es una escena eliminada de The Fated Sky y está bien eliminada porque el nivel de detalle técnico que tiene hace que se pierda la historia en sí. Se nota la documentación que hace la autora sobre los trajes espaciales, la jerga, etc.
Si no lo leéis no pasa nada, no aporta mucho a la saga.

[Gerhard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice retro piece of SF Space Race nostalgia. The description of getting into, and out of, a Ye Olde spacesuit is surprisingly nerve-wracking. So much for the Star Trek onesies.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kowal has found her calling in writing her alternate history of the US space program. Articulated Restraint is another excellent installment in Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series.

This short story takes place between Book 1, The Calculating Stars and 2, The Fated Sky . An accident has occurred while docking a lunar rocket ferrying colonists from the moon to the Lunetta space station. The colonists are trapped. Ruby Donaldson, one of the Lady Astronauts from Book 1, is called to the Neutral Bouancy Lab (NBL) on Earth. She has only a few hours to devise and test a rescue plan to send to Lunetta before the crew perishes. And she struggling.

As with other installments in this series, great characters, solid well explained science, and terrific storytelling. A winner and quick entry point for those wanting a feel for the series. Go Ruby!

NASA’s NBL:



See friend Mitticus' review for a great pic of the suit Ruby has to don for immersion in the tank.

[Silvana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another story of strength of will, sacrificing your needs especially when it is for saving your friends and colleagues. I should like to watch how this is done in real life pools.

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Articulated Restraint by Mary Robinette Kowal

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

Strong character development? Yes

Loveable characters? Yes

Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

Flaws of characters are main focus? Yes

4.25 Stars

This is another short story in the Lady Astronaut Universe. This is 1.5 in the order. 

The order really doesn't effect the overall story, for the characters are unrelated to any that we've me...to this point, but for me, I like doing things in order...if at all possible

Astronauts are a different bread of people, so getting inside the mindset of Ruby...was "interesting."

What they do for their jobs, and how they have to be "ready" at any given moment, makes them have to think and do differently.

Really enjoyed this story, but as in all short stories...I wish there was more. Which is actually a good problem to have.

[Karen ⚜Mess⚜ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Making a notch in my Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2019 edition.

I did read a short story from this author in the same series and it made me ugly cry. I was hoping this one would be as good. Unfortunately, it wasn't my cup of tea.

[Andria Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for anything by MRK now and forever. I'm going to eventually buy this whole series and have it on my shelves. Worthy of the Nebula and/or Hugo awards, I eagerly look forward to continuing this series!

[JR Dabbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A post-apocalyptic astronaut has to decide what really matters. Even though the entire story is a pool test run, it still is a tense and emotional story.

[Lis Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella is a deleted episode from The Calculating Stars, featuring Ruby Donaldson plunged into helping deal with a major emergency while trying not let the fact that she sprained her ankle the night before slow her down.

Being one of the Lady Astronauts always means having to work hard and be better to get the same recognition and respect as the men. It's not made easier by the fact that Ruby is on the diminutive side, the "Astronette."

Ruby arrives at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab for a training session with a small crew and one other astronaut, only to find that the place is bursting with activity, and four, not two, EVA suits are ready for astronauts to don them. Ryby had been at a dance rehearsal the night before--one of the few things left in her life from before the Meteor--and, having sprained her ankle, went straight to bed rather than watching the news or checking for messages. She's just now learning there was an accident in space, no deaths, but a ship now stranded, with only sixteen hours of consumables, including air. Ruby, her expected partner Eugene, and two other astronauts will be testing rescue procedures for this crisis, before they have to be put to the test in space. Find the flaws and fix them on the ground, not in vacuum and real zero-G.

If Ruby admits to the injury and is replaced, it will take twelve hours of the sixteen they have to prep a suit for another astronaut, because hers won't fit anyone else.

So into her suit she goes, and into the NBL, starts testing the rescue plan. The sprain is annoying, but manageable, until the testing reveals a problem that means the next step will bet testing the Articulated Portable Foot Restraint. That's going to really hurt, and it does.

Ruby has to keep going anyway, and along the way has to make some serious decisions.

It's just a short novella, and not originally intended as a separate story, but it's got real tension, and real characters. Thoroughly worth reading, and very enjoyable.

I received this as part of the 2021 Hugo Voters Packet, and am reviewing it voluntarily.

[Di Maitland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this short story sadly average. It very much relies on you loving the world in which it's set (I do) and wanting to spend more time there (I did).

Ruby Donaldson is an astronaut, a medic and a dancer. When poor timing leaves her injured but desperately in demand, she does what she can, no matter the cost, to help her friends.

It wasn't bad by any means but it also didn't add up to more than the some of its parts, like the best short stories do. Recommend to those needing a Lady Astronaut fix, but you're not missing much if you leave it behind.

[Hestia Istiviani · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am reading in English but this review is in Bahasa Indonesia

Ruby was so used to not complaining, because she was short. Because she was a woman. Anything she said would be seen as a failure on her part.

Rekomendasi di akun Kobo-ku memunculkan judul ini. Dengan hanya 26 halaman saja, sepertinya ini sebuah cerpen seperti tulisan Cixin Liu yang kala itu aku baca. Ya sudah, toh tidak ada ruginya.

Cerita mengambil latar ketika Ruby, seorang astronot perempuan tengah melakukan latihan untuk membuat perjalanan mereka ke luar angkasa kelak menjadi semakin lancar. Tetapi ternyata sebuah kecelakaan menimpa Ruby. Di situlah yang awalnya bersifat latihan, menjadi sebuah mimpi buruk.

Rupanya Articulated Restraint adalah sebuah prekuel untuk serial berjudul The Calculating Stars. Aku rasa, tanpa harus membaca keseluruhan serialnya, pembaca masih bisa paham dengan cerita. Siapa tahu, malah tertarik untuk membaca petualangan Ruby di luar angkasa sana.

All the mistakes that Ruby had made were ones that the real rescue team wouldn’t have to. The pool was hard. Space would kill you.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nail-biter of a short story. The focus is all on one woman's "astronette" abilities to solve a deep orbit recovery mission of astronauts in distress. A taut, tension filled glimpse into Kowal's space opera.

[Kes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruby dies in the Calculating Stars but this is a short story about her deciding to focus on space. It's a good insight into her character. I didn't feel that it added much to the series though.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple little story. After re-reading book 2, I'll validate where this short story slots in. It does take place on the moon. This is a short crisis taking place in one character's head. Not sure that it adds a lot. But it has pretty good flavor.

[Alyssa (HeartwyldsLibrary) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn’t make heads or tails if this was taking place in space or in water. And I honestly didn’t care about how she hurt ankle but was trying to fight through it. The mission to save the crashed rocket was intriguing but ultimately the execution just did not work for me.

[Monica Valbuena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how this short story deals with how women feel they have to be better than their best.

[Jelka · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it here: https://www.tor.com/2019/02/06/articu...

[As You Wish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I see the author wrote this one after , and I think it was a beautiful way to show us a little more about Ruby and who she was before--before the meteor and before she went to Mars. What a beautiful profile of someone who knows the cost of failure.

[Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is less a short story (or even a novelette as the author calls it) and more like a scene that didn't make it into The Fated Sky. There's nothing objectively bad about this other than the fact that so far every book in this series seems to be fighting between is it a novel or is it a vehicle to show off how much research Kowal has done. For a story that Goodreads says is only 32 pages, all of the "action" is the main character trying to get a clip hooked onto a rod. What a snooze.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I want more. Good thing I have the two books this is related to! 5, shiny spaceship, stars!

[Peter Tillman]

Recommended by Neil Clarke in his "Best Science Fiction of the Year" #5.