Saturday, April 29, 2017

On the Ship, by Leah Cypess

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(Exploration SF) A child on a spaceship worries that the first five planets they've found weren’t habitable, and the sixth isn’t looking good. (6,437 words; Time: 21m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

"On the Ship," by (edited by Sheila Williams), appeared in issue 05-06|17, published on by .

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

Pro: It's a nice twist to learn that the narrator is living in simulation of the ship, that they’re exiles, not explorers, and that the narrator has made the choice to return to Earth—like the St. Louis did, long ago.

Con: The science is rather weak. A ship that traveled from star to star wouldn’t be easy to turn. It’d need to refuel at each destination before it could change course. And it makes zero sense to send a manned ship to unknown planets. We’d have reports from unmanned probes long before we’d send people anywhere.

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5 comments (may contain spoilers):

  1. My only potential counterpoint to your con about it making zero sense... I thought that was the point, that the authorities on Earth were just trying to get rid of these people, not to have them succeed in any way. Whether that's cost-effective for Earth to do or not is probably a different point. :)

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    Replies
    1. Good point, but in that case, it has to be the most expensive way ever devised to get rid of people!

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  2. The cost factor was what killed my suspension of disbelief. But I found it quite immersive and compelling until the end.

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  3. The cost factor was what killed my suspension of disbelief. But I found it quite immersive and compelling until the end.

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  4. Reprinted online at Lightspeed 140 (Jan 2022):

    https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/on-the-ship/

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