The Cold Equations
Encyclopedia
"The Cold Equations" is a science fiction
short story by Tom Godwin
, first published in Astounding Magazine in 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.
The story, first published in the August 1954 issue of Astounding, has been widely anthologized and even dramatized. It is in the form of a cautionary tale, which commonly has three parts. First, a cautionary tale presents a restraint or restriction, in which something is said to be taboo, dangerous, or forbidden. The story's fifth paragraph sets up the first part by including a quotation from "Paragraph L, Section 8, of Interstellar Regulations: Any stowaway discovered in an EDS shall be jettisoned immediately following discovery." Second, the story introduces a hero figure who disregards—wittingly or unwittingly—the restriction. Readers of "The Cold Equations" learn that Marilyn has not seen her beloved brother for ten years, and because she has not traveled before, she is unaware that "the laws of the space frontier must, of necessity, be as hard and relentless as the environment that gave them birth." The third part of a cautionary tale consists of the transgressor coming to a tragic end. In "The Cold Equations," Marilyn realizes that nothing can be done to save her. She accepts her fate and is ejected into space.
, the story is good physics
, but lousy engineering
. Writer Don Sakers' short story "The Cold Solution"(Analog, 1991), which debunks the premise, received the 1992 Analog Analytical Laboratory award as the readers' favorite Analog short story of 1991.
However, the context in which the story was published bears on its premise. Science fiction was still a fairly young field, and was still working free from its roots in pulp fiction
. In the story, the girl addresses the distinction, contrasting the frontier she had imagined, which was "a lot of fun; an exciting adventure, like in the three-D shows" and the frontier she discovered, where the danger was real and proved fatal. The story recognized that if space travel ever did come about, then sometimes there would be little margin of error, and fatalities would happen.
Another trend to which "The Cold Equations" is a reaction is the science fiction sub-genre of the puzzle story, where impending disaster is prevented when one of the characters works out an ingenious application of scientific principles, thereby saving the day. Though pleasing to fans, these stories were seen by those outside science fiction as evidence that the genre was all about escapism
. By echoing the conventions of the puzzle story, but focusing on the fates of characters trapped by the puzzle instead of the machinations of solving the puzzle, the story showed critics that science fiction would not always be about "lesser" subjects than other literature.
The story was shaped by Astounding editor John W. Campbell
, who sent "Cold Equations" back to Godwin three times before he got the version he wanted, because "Godwin kept coming up with ingenious ways to save the girl!"
, have alleged that Godwin essentially took the story from a story published in EC Comics' Weird Science
#13, May–June 1952, called "A Weighty Decision," scripted by Al Feldstein
. In that story there are three astronauts who are intended to be on the flight, not one, and the additional passenger, a girl that one of the astronauts has fallen in love with, is trapped aboard by a mistake rather than stowing away. As in "The Cold Equations", various measures are proposed but the only one which will not lead to worse disaster is for the unwitting passenger to be jettisoned. Algis Budrys
said that "The Cold Equations' was the best short story that Godwin ever wrote and he didn't write it."
Other sources note that the theme of Feldstein's story is itself strikingly similarly to the story "Precedent", published by E.C. Tubb in 1949; in that story, as in the others, a stowaway must be ejected from a spaceship because the fuel aboard is only enough for the planned passengers. These sources argue that neither Feldstein nor Godwin intentionally "swiped" from the stories that came before, but merely produced similar variations on an ancient theme, that of an individual being sacrificed so that the rest may survive.
Arthur C. Clarke
's 1949 short story Breaking Strain
is based on two people on a spacecraft and only one can live. But this is a male crew of two and they are short of oxygen, not fuel.
series Out of This World
; as part of the 1985–1989 revival of The Twilight Zone
("The Cold Equations"
) and again in 1996 as a made-for-TV movie on the Sci-Fi Channel
. The story was also adapted into an episode of the radio program X Minus One
in 1955, an episode of the radio program Exploring Tomorrow in 1958, and for "Faster Than Light" on CBC Radio
's Sunday Showcase in September 2002 by Joe Mahoney (hosted by science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer
). In the X Minus One
broadcast the girl was trying to visit her husband to make amends for an affair she had.
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 by Tom Godwin
Tom Godwin
Tom Godwin was an American science fiction author. Godwin published three novels and thirty short stories. His controversial hard SF short story "The Cold Equations" is a notable example of the mid-1950s science fiction genre.-Novels:...
, first published in Astounding Magazine in 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.
Summary
The story takes place entirely aboard an Emergency Dispatch Ship (EDS) headed for the frontier planet Woden with a load of desperately needed medical supplies. The pilot, Barton, discovers a stowaway: an eighteen-year-old girl. By law, all EDS stowaways are to be jettisoned because EDS vessels carry no more fuel than is absolutely necessary to land safely at their destination. The girl, Marilyn, merely wants to see her brother, Gerry, and is not aware of the law. When boarding the EDS, Marilyn sees the "UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL KEEP OUT!" sign, but thinks she will simply have to pay a fine if she is caught. Barton explains that her presence dooms the mission and will result in the deaths of the colonists. After exhausting all other options (such as calling the mothership, The Stardust), he is forced to eject her into space.The story, first published in the August 1954 issue of Astounding, has been widely anthologized and even dramatized. It is in the form of a cautionary tale, which commonly has three parts. First, a cautionary tale presents a restraint or restriction, in which something is said to be taboo, dangerous, or forbidden. The story's fifth paragraph sets up the first part by including a quotation from "Paragraph L, Section 8, of Interstellar Regulations: Any stowaway discovered in an EDS shall be jettisoned immediately following discovery." Second, the story introduces a hero figure who disregards—wittingly or unwittingly—the restriction. Readers of "The Cold Equations" learn that Marilyn has not seen her beloved brother for ten years, and because she has not traveled before, she is unaware that "the laws of the space frontier must, of necessity, be as hard and relentless as the environment that gave them birth." The third part of a cautionary tale consists of the transgressor coming to a tragic end. In "The Cold Equations," Marilyn realizes that nothing can be done to save her. She accepts her fate and is ejected into space.
Reactions
Critic Gary Westfahl has said that because the proposition depends upon systems that were built without enough margin for errorFactor of safety
Factor of safety , also known as safety factor , is a term describing the structural capacity of a system beyond the expected loads or actual loads. Essentially, how much stronger the system is than it usually needs to be for an intended load...
, the story is good physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, but lousy engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
. Writer Don Sakers' short story "The Cold Solution"(Analog, 1991), which debunks the premise, received the 1992 Analog Analytical Laboratory award as the readers' favorite Analog short story of 1991.
However, the context in which the story was published bears on its premise. Science fiction was still a fairly young field, and was still working free from its roots in pulp fiction
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
. In the story, the girl addresses the distinction, contrasting the frontier she had imagined, which was "a lot of fun; an exciting adventure, like in the three-D shows" and the frontier she discovered, where the danger was real and proved fatal. The story recognized that if space travel ever did come about, then sometimes there would be little margin of error, and fatalities would happen.
Another trend to which "The Cold Equations" is a reaction is the science fiction sub-genre of the puzzle story, where impending disaster is prevented when one of the characters works out an ingenious application of scientific principles, thereby saving the day. Though pleasing to fans, these stories were seen by those outside science fiction as evidence that the genre was all about escapism
Escapism
Escapism is mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation, as an "escape" from the perceived unpleasant or banal aspects of daily life...
. By echoing the conventions of the puzzle story, but focusing on the fates of characters trapped by the puzzle instead of the machinations of solving the puzzle, the story showed critics that science fiction would not always be about "lesser" subjects than other literature.
The story was shaped by Astounding editor John W. Campbell
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science Fiction , from late 1937 until his death, he is generally credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in...
, who sent "Cold Equations" back to Godwin three times before he got the version he wanted, because "Godwin kept coming up with ingenious ways to save the girl!"
Allegations of borrowing
Some sources, including Kurt BusiekKurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.-Early life:...
, have alleged that Godwin essentially took the story from a story published in EC Comics' Weird Science
Weird Science (comic)
Weird Science was a science fiction anthology comic book that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a four-year span, the comic ran for 22 issues, ending with the November–December, 1953 issue...
#13, May–June 1952, called "A Weighty Decision," scripted by Al Feldstein
Al Feldstein
Albert B. Feldstein is an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine Mad. Since retiring from Mad, Feldstein has concentrated on American paintings of Western wildlife...
. In that story there are three astronauts who are intended to be on the flight, not one, and the additional passenger, a girl that one of the astronauts has fallen in love with, is trapped aboard by a mistake rather than stowing away. As in "The Cold Equations", various measures are proposed but the only one which will not lead to worse disaster is for the unwitting passenger to be jettisoned. Algis Budrys
Algis Budrys
Algis Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names "Frank Mason", "Alger Rome", "John A. Sentry", "William Scarff", and "Paul Janvier."-Biography:...
said that "The Cold Equations' was the best short story that Godwin ever wrote and he didn't write it."
Other sources note that the theme of Feldstein's story is itself strikingly similarly to the story "Precedent", published by E.C. Tubb in 1949; in that story, as in the others, a stowaway must be ejected from a spaceship because the fuel aboard is only enough for the planned passengers. These sources argue that neither Feldstein nor Godwin intentionally "swiped" from the stories that came before, but merely produced similar variations on an ancient theme, that of an individual being sacrificed so that the rest may survive.
Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's 1949 short story Breaking Strain
Breaking Strain (short story)
"Breaking Strain," also known as "Thirty Seconds Thirty Days," is a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1949. It was adapted into a movie in 1994 under the title .-Plot summary:...
is based on two people on a spacecraft and only one can live. But this is a male crew of two and they are short of oxygen, not fuel.
Adaptations
The story has been adapted for television at least three times: as part of the 1962 British anthologyAnthology television series
An anthology series is a radio or television series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each episode. These usually have a different cast each week, but several series in the past, such as Four Star Playhouse, employed a permanent troupe of character actors who...
series Out of This World
Out of This World (UK TV series)
Out of This World is a British science fiction anthology television series made by ABC Television and broadcast in 1962. A spin-off from the popular anthology series Armchair Theatre, each episode was introduced by the actor Boris Karloff. Many of the episodes were adaptations of stories by...
; as part of the 1985–1989 revival of The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
("The Cold Equations"
The Cold Equations (The Twilight Zone)
The Cold Equations is the fifty-first episode The Cold Equations is the fifty-first episode The Cold Equations is the fifty-first episode (the sixteenth episode of the third season (1988–1989) of the television series The New Twilight Zone.- Opening narration:-Synopsis:...
) and again in 1996 as a made-for-TV movie on the Sci-Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
. The story was also adapted into an episode of the radio program X Minus One
X Minus One
X Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio drama series broadcast from April 24, 1955 to January 9, 1958 in various timeslots on NBC.-Overview:...
in 1955, an episode of the radio program Exploring Tomorrow in 1958, and for "Faster Than Light" on CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
's Sunday Showcase in September 2002 by Joe Mahoney (hosted by science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer
Robert J. Sawyer
Robert James Sawyer is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 20 novels published, and his short fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Amazing Stories, On Spec, Nature, and many anthologies. Sawyer has won over forty awards for his fiction, including the Nebula Award ,...
). In the X Minus One
X Minus One
X Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio drama series broadcast from April 24, 1955 to January 9, 1958 in various timeslots on NBC.-Overview:...
broadcast the girl was trying to visit her husband to make amends for an affair she had.
See also
- Factor of safetyFactor of safetyFactor of safety , also known as safety factor , is a term describing the structural capacity of a system beyond the expected loads or actual loads. Essentially, how much stronger the system is than it usually needs to be for an intended load...
- The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929-1964, an anthology of the greatest science fiction short stories prior to 1965, as judged by the Science Fiction Writers of America
External links
- Online copy of the story (w/quote from original introduction)
- Online copy of the story (from a freely distributable Baen ebook CD)
- Adrian T. Miller: B/S Flag on "The Cold Equation"
- "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin - a review of the story with resources for where to find it.
- The "MathFiction" review of the story
- Richard Harter: the story has "deep flaws" -- The 1996 feature-length adaptation
- Baen Books' 2003 anthology, The Cold Equations & Other Stories
- A Usenet thread in which Kurt Busiek states his belief that the story was essentially taken from Feldstein
- A rebuttal of the claim that Godwin took the story from Feldstein