Sunday Salon - Carl's Sci Fi Mini Challenge

Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings is holding a mini-challenge this weekend, here. I almost missed it, so thanks to Eva at A Striped Armchair for posting about the short stories she'd read for it instead of doing her Sunday Salon. The rules: You simply have to read a science fiction short story some time this weekend - ok, today is left! Then leave a comment on Carl's post, and you are entered in a contest to win a book. This is part of Chris (Stuff as Dreams Are Made Of) and Robin's (A Fondness For Reading) year-long challenge in memory of Dewey (link is on my sidebar).

So I went to Carl's site, and there he provides a link to one of the best science fiction short stories I've read here, Tom Godwin's The Cold Equations. If you are looking for something good, very good, and short to read this Sunday, I recommend this. As does Carl. Warning: you might have to keep a tissue handy. Trust me. I love space exploration stories, and this one is one that gets to the very heart of space exploration:
' "It's different here; it's not like back on Earth," he said. "It isn't that no one cares; it's that no one can do anything to help. The frontier is big and here along its rim the colonies and exploration parties are scattered so thin and far between. On Woden, for example, there are only sixteen men—sixteen men on an entire world. The exploration parties, the survey crews, the little first-colonies—they're all fighting alien environments, trying to make a way for those who will follow after. The environments fight back and those who go first usually make mistakes only once. There is no margin of safety along the rim of the frontier; there can't be until the way is made for the others who will come later, until the new worlds are tamed and settled. Until then men will have to pay the penalty for making mistakes with no one to help them because there is no one to help them."'

Carl's post also has some books to look out for if you enjoy this genre, and the most amazing space photographs. I love space, and dreamed at one time of being an astronomer, until I discovered the math involved. I even tried to do it, but I simply couldn't. I can't do math. Thus ended my dream of being an astronomer, but my dream of travelling in space hasn't died!! In fact, I have a space opera story I've been writing for a little while now, I love the idea of travelling in space and exploring it so much.

This is my 200th post, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to have it be about science fiction stories, and challenges, and Dewey.

For Dewey.