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This story is available to read right now on the Internet Archive, linked to the exact page where it begins.
Read on Archive.org → Cover image from Wikimedia CommonsC. M. Kornbluth · 1952 · Short Story
This story is available to read right now on the Internet Archive, linked to the exact page where it begins.
Read on Archive.org → Cover image from Wikimedia CommonsA scientist sits in a bar and strikes up conversation with a young spaceman whose face is covered in broken veins and radiation burns. The spaceman drinks heavily to manage chronic pain from the unshielded rockets he flew. The scientist, who helped design those rockets, realizes he bears direct responsibility: the program was rushed, shielding was cut to save weight, and young men were sent up knowing they would be destroyed. The 'altar at midnight' is the bar itself, where broken spacemen gather like sacrificial offerings to progress. The scientist leaves unable to finish his drink.
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