The Cold Equations by Tom Godwin

46/150/2016

I was not looking forward to reading this again.

It is so well written and stands the test of time so well that every word filled me with terror.

I've reviewed this once before, see it HERE and I have listened to it in podcast form.  Any way you slice this it is an exceptional example of hard science fiction.

A young girl stows away on an Emergency Dispatch Ship to surprise her brother who is on the same planet as the ship is headed.

Not knowing there are strict limitations to the payload aboard these EDS, when she is discovered the sad, lonely, cold truth of it comes bearing down.

This story is head and shoulders at the peak of the form.


My heart raced the whole time I read it even though I knew what was going to happen next.

This makes me want to search out other stories by Godwin.

The Cold Equations by Tom Godwin

1/100

Oh my god!  This story is just as chilling as it was when it was first published in 1954. 

As the title suggests, the universe does not care about good intentions. There is no compromise when it comes to physics and mathematics. 

In this story we run into the desire of a young girl to surprise her older brother. But the laws of physics and the good of the many, to borrow a quote from Star Trek, has something to say about it. 

This is an excellent story and one that should not be missed by any science fiction fan. 

I read this in the July 2011 issue of Lightspeed magazine which includes a follow up short story called The Old Equations by Jake Kerr. 

The original story is now in the public domain and can easily be found with a Google search. Or, if you like you can find it HERE.