And a Star to Steer Her By
Encyclopedia
And a Star to Steer Her By is a science fiction
short story
by G. Harry Stine
under the name Lee Correy originally published in the June 1953 edition of Astounding Science Fiction. It was later published in Every Boy’s Book of Outer Space Stories
. The title comes from a line in John Masefield
’s poem Sea-Fever.
"In every age, in every time, there have been those who are not content to settle down. They miss the kick of the wheel, the wail of the wind in the rigging, the exotic sights and smells of a harbor half across the world, the roar of engines cutting through the slipstream, and the powerful, body-shaking thunder of the jets..."
Rod Garver is a 35-year-old spaceman
who has just lost his left hand and had it replaced with an artificial one. Unfortunately, he can no longer work as a jetman on rockets
because his new hand isn’t strong enough, and must be left behind on the planet Mars in the spaceport of Canalopolis. His ship, the Timurlane heads on to Jupiter’s moon Ganymede
, while he attempts to return to Terra
.
He spends several months waiting around in the bars spacemen frequent, including the club for the League of Free Traders, hoping to find a captain willing to hire him for a return trip to Terra. The Fafnir, an aging cargo ship, makes an emergency landing near Canalopolis after its jetman is killed when a machine in his power room explodes. The Dutch captain, Vanderhoff, offers Garver the open post, on a run back to Terra. Despite some misgivings about serving on a ship in such disrepair, Garver accepts and after several weeks of repairing Fafnir, they depart—along with the electronics man, Winchell ‘Winch’ Astrabadi, an Arab ‘Moslem’ with a New York accent and his cat, Cosmo. During the nine month flight, Garver decides he will open a restaurant catering to the tastes of spacemen, as he isn’t ready to retire. The three men get to know each other and enjoy watching Cosmo, who, like most cats, has adapted well to zero-g life. Arriving at Terra, they land at White Sands, New Mexico
with only a minor mechanical incident. Garver departs to open a spaceman-oriented bar and grill, Vanderhoff puts the Fafnir up for sale as scrape and Winch takes a job on a shuttle to and from Luna
.
Garver’s business is successful, but he yearns for the life of a spaceman. He meets Harvey Bernotte, a young southerner from a Venus
ian farm, who was just beginning as a spaceman when he was temporarily black-listed and is currently grounded on Terra. Now Harvy isn't sure if he wants to be a spaceman. Garver gives Harvey a job as a bartender, and Garver’s old captain, Tomaszewski, returns to Terra and the two share news. Garver realizes he still wants to be a spaceman and convinces Vanderhoff to sell him the Fafnir in exchange for half ownership of the restaurant. Vanderhoff reveals he never put the Fafnir up for sale because he knew Garver wouldn’t be able to resist the life of a spaceman. Garver, Winch and Harvey set off for Venus, but Vanderhoff and Garver observe that some people are born to be spacemen and there is nothing they can do to change that. They agree that Harvey is like Garver and will also eventually realize that he too belongs in space.
The story closes with:
"In every age, in every time, there have been those who are not content to settle down. They miss the kick of the wheel, the wail of the wind in the rigging, the exotic sights and smells of a harbor half across the world, the roar of engines cutting through the slipstream, and the powerful, body-shaking thunder of the jets. It is to these restless men with the wanderlust that the human race owes a priceless debt ast he wanderers push the horizons out to the stars—"
political system. Most of the people seem to live with little government control. Some kind of unified economy exists, because the traders flying to Earth from other planets and then back out have to deal with fluctuating market prices that can cause the cargo they carry to lose its worth by the time they reach their market. There are organizations created by civilians, including the League of Free Traders, a guild
of some sort with clubs on different planets. The civilization is advanced, but appears to have taken on some aspects of a frontier society. It is unclear if each planet has its own government, but some central government still has control over all planets. When the Fafnir lands on Earth, decommissioned and then put up for sale as scrap, the decommissioning process involves the Bureau of Space Commerce (BSC) removing the "bricks of fissionable material from her atomic pile." So some government oversight still exists to monitor and regulate certain dangerous substances. The story does not have the feel of a ‘wild west,’ but it does seem to be a capitalist libertarian utopia
, where there are understood codes of conduct and everyone acts in a law-abiding manner——only without any evidence of laws or law-enforcement. Capitalist because all of the characters have jobs or are looking for something to do. A Utopia because everyone seems to be treated equally and different races have mixed and coexist peacefully.
The audience is probably meant to be boys, because there are no female characters, and the setting and plot (space and space travel) deal with subjects appealing to young boys, especially of the 1950s. The opening and closing paragraphs could be seen as specific encouragement for the youths reading the story to become explorers and general encouragement to follow their dreams.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by G. Harry Stine
G. Harry Stine
George Harry Stine was one of the founding figures of model rocketry, a science and technology writer, and a science fiction author.-Education and early career:...
under the name Lee Correy originally published in the June 1953 edition of Astounding Science Fiction. It was later published in Every Boy’s Book of Outer Space Stories
Every Boy’s Book of Outer Space Stories
Every Boy’s Book of Outer Space Stories is a 1960 anthology of science fiction short stories edited by T. E. Dikty and published by Fredrick Fell. Most of the stories had originally appeared in the magazines Astounding, Thrilling Wonder Stories and Galaxy Science Fiction.-Contents:* "And a Star to...
. The title comes from a line in John Masefield
John Masefield
John Edward Masefield, OM, was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967...
’s poem Sea-Fever.
Plot summary
The story opens with:"In every age, in every time, there have been those who are not content to settle down. They miss the kick of the wheel, the wail of the wind in the rigging, the exotic sights and smells of a harbor half across the world, the roar of engines cutting through the slipstream, and the powerful, body-shaking thunder of the jets..."
Rod Garver is a 35-year-old spaceman
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
who has just lost his left hand and had it replaced with an artificial one. Unfortunately, he can no longer work as a jetman on rockets
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
because his new hand isn’t strong enough, and must be left behind on the planet Mars in the spaceport of Canalopolis. His ship, the Timurlane heads on to Jupiter’s moon Ganymede
Ganymede (moon)
Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively...
, while he attempts to return to Terra
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.
He spends several months waiting around in the bars spacemen frequent, including the club for the League of Free Traders, hoping to find a captain willing to hire him for a return trip to Terra. The Fafnir, an aging cargo ship, makes an emergency landing near Canalopolis after its jetman is killed when a machine in his power room explodes. The Dutch captain, Vanderhoff, offers Garver the open post, on a run back to Terra. Despite some misgivings about serving on a ship in such disrepair, Garver accepts and after several weeks of repairing Fafnir, they depart—along with the electronics man, Winchell ‘Winch’ Astrabadi, an Arab ‘Moslem’ with a New York accent and his cat, Cosmo. During the nine month flight, Garver decides he will open a restaurant catering to the tastes of spacemen, as he isn’t ready to retire. The three men get to know each other and enjoy watching Cosmo, who, like most cats, has adapted well to zero-g life. Arriving at Terra, they land at White Sands, New Mexico
White Sands, New Mexico
White Sands is a census-designated place in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,323 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area...
with only a minor mechanical incident. Garver departs to open a spaceman-oriented bar and grill, Vanderhoff puts the Fafnir up for sale as scrape and Winch takes a job on a shuttle to and from Luna
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
.
Garver’s business is successful, but he yearns for the life of a spaceman. He meets Harvey Bernotte, a young southerner from a Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
ian farm, who was just beginning as a spaceman when he was temporarily black-listed and is currently grounded on Terra. Now Harvy isn't sure if he wants to be a spaceman. Garver gives Harvey a job as a bartender, and Garver’s old captain, Tomaszewski, returns to Terra and the two share news. Garver realizes he still wants to be a spaceman and convinces Vanderhoff to sell him the Fafnir in exchange for half ownership of the restaurant. Vanderhoff reveals he never put the Fafnir up for sale because he knew Garver wouldn’t be able to resist the life of a spaceman. Garver, Winch and Harvey set off for Venus, but Vanderhoff and Garver observe that some people are born to be spacemen and there is nothing they can do to change that. They agree that Harvey is like Garver and will also eventually realize that he too belongs in space.
The story closes with:
"In every age, in every time, there have been those who are not content to settle down. They miss the kick of the wheel, the wail of the wind in the rigging, the exotic sights and smells of a harbor half across the world, the roar of engines cutting through the slipstream, and the powerful, body-shaking thunder of the jets. It is to these restless men with the wanderlust that the human race owes a priceless debt ast he wanderers push the horizons out to the stars—"
Politics
The world of the story seems to have a largely anarchic or libertarianLibertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
political system. Most of the people seem to live with little government control. Some kind of unified economy exists, because the traders flying to Earth from other planets and then back out have to deal with fluctuating market prices that can cause the cargo they carry to lose its worth by the time they reach their market. There are organizations created by civilians, including the League of Free Traders, a guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
of some sort with clubs on different planets. The civilization is advanced, but appears to have taken on some aspects of a frontier society. It is unclear if each planet has its own government, but some central government still has control over all planets. When the Fafnir lands on Earth, decommissioned and then put up for sale as scrap, the decommissioning process involves the Bureau of Space Commerce (BSC) removing the "bricks of fissionable material from her atomic pile." So some government oversight still exists to monitor and regulate certain dangerous substances. The story does not have the feel of a ‘wild west,’ but it does seem to be a capitalist libertarian utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
, where there are understood codes of conduct and everyone acts in a law-abiding manner——only without any evidence of laws or law-enforcement. Capitalist because all of the characters have jobs or are looking for something to do. A Utopia because everyone seems to be treated equally and different races have mixed and coexist peacefully.
The audience is probably meant to be boys, because there are no female characters, and the setting and plot (space and space travel) deal with subjects appealing to young boys, especially of the 1950s. The opening and closing paragraphs could be seen as specific encouragement for the youths reading the story to become explorers and general encouragement to follow their dreams.