Science Fiction: The Short Stuff discussion

"The Cold Equations" is a novelette by American writer Tom Godwin (1915–1980), first published in Astounding Magazine in August 1954. In 1970, the Science Fiction Writers of America selected it as one of the best science-fiction short stories published before 1965, and it was therefore included in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929-1964. It has been widely anthologized and dramatized.

I guess that this is an SF story which have received the largest number of stories-responses, including a piece from a fan writer nominated for Hugo a few (three?) years ago. The second place I guess, goes to Le Guin's Omelas, but for quite a different reason.

Oleksandr wrote: "I guess that this is an SF story which have received the largest number of stories-responses, including a piece from a fan writer nominated for Hugo a few (three?) years ago. The second place I gue..."

As long as you confine yourself to SF shorter than a novel, I'd be inclined to agree that Godwin's "The Cold Equations" is number one in generating responses. The only story or novella that I think is more widely read is "Flowers for Algernon" and also maybe "Ender's Game." But both those are less controversial thus less response generating than "The Cold Equations."

I just reread it for the first time after the only other time I read it 43 years ago. At that time, I read it as a passed around photocopy from an anthology, I think. This time I read it from the original source, complete with illustrations: https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/lu....

I am sure I need not read it again. I imagine a pediatric oncologist probably feels a lot like this pilot did, only with less reason to feel responsible.

This story had a few repetitions, I thought, but was otherwise about as close to perfectly written as I can imagine a story being. I wonder where the controversy comes in. It seems as straightforward, realistic, and airtight a story as one could write.

Dan wrote: "This story had a few repetitions, I thought, but was otherwise about as close to perfectly written as I can imagine a story being. I wonder where the controversy comes in. It seems as straightforward, realistic, and airtight a story as one could write...."

The Wikipedia page on this story mentions some of the criticism, parts of which seems justified to me, particularly:

In 1996, critic and engineer Gary Westfahl wrote that because the story's premise is based on systems that were built without adequate margin for error, the story is "good physics", but "lousy engineering", and that it frustrated him so much he decided it had been "not worth [his] time".

I don't necessarily agree with that 100% (I do feel it is a good story), but can understand his frustration with the premise, especially for a hard science fiction work.

It does seem to me that one person's weight causing there to be insufficient fuel is a highly dubious proposition scientifically. If I were the author, I would have written it as a longer trip and that there was insufficient oxygen for two people. But however dubious the premise may be, I have no trouble granting it to the author. It makes for a great science fiction story once one does.

I also don't consider this to be hard science fiction, although a reader can choose to look at that science aspect foremost if they want to. I think such a reader ridiculous though. Reading the story as hard science fiction story ignores the story's emotional power, which was clearly the author's (or in this case editor's) entire point. The author's point is not to argue for the need to build redundancies into space vehicles for safety's sake.

Dan wrote: "It does seem to me that one person's weight causing there to be insufficient fuel is a highly dubious proposition scientifically. "

Definitely, the pilot should make every one of his moves perfect, all in a single run, w/o multiple approaches - and this is on a totally new route for him

As for offshots of this story, I liked the version where both people on the ship amputated their legs to lower total mass