Friday, December 18, 2015

Tombaugh Station, by Robin Wayne Bailey

(Hard SF) James Dayton commands a Pluto base where the crew all came on one-way trips. After 18 years, there are starting to be some problems--and casualties. (5,800 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆, Needs Improvement

"Tombaugh Station," by (edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt), appeared in Mission: Tomorrow (RSR review), published on by .

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: The idea of the base itself is pretty cool, and the trick of finding the last image in the dead man's eyes doesn't seem totally implausible, given he was flash-frozen.

Con: The dialogue is all very unnatural. The science is full of howlers. "Synthetic mercury," for example, which can withstand temperatures 50-degrees below absolute zero.

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