Project Gutenberg
2010-04-14
Public domain in the USA.
195
Stockham, Richard
Hunter, Mel
1927
2004
Hunter
Perfect Control
Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction January 1955.
Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
"Perfect Control" by Richard Stockham is a science fiction short story published in the early 1950s. The narrative takes place in a future where space travel is a reality, exploring themes of adaptation and psychological impacts of prolonged isolation in space. The story follows Colonel Halter as he attempts to persuade the crew of the derelict starship Alpha to return to Earth after spending nearly seventy-five years in deep space. The plot unfolds as Colonel Halter communicates with the aging crew aboard the Alpha, who have become deeply accustomed to life in space, and are reluctant to abandon their existence. Through tense exchanges, Halter learns about their psychological adjustments and their fears regarding life on Earth, which have left them scarred by memories of conflict and violence. Each member, while initially resistant to returning, ultimately reveals aspects of their humanity and contributions to science and art, which are valuable to society. The climax reveals the captain's struggle with control over the crew and the ship's fate, but as the story progresses, the crew's desires for purpose and connection lead them toward a path of reintegration into society, highlighting the importance of community and engagement with the world. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
http://book.klll.cc/files/31985/31985-h/images/cover.jpg
Reading ease score: 86.6 (6th grade). Easy to read.
en
Science fiction
Short stories
PS
Text
Browsing: Literature
Browsing: Science-Fiction & Fantasy
Browsing: Fiction
Category: Short Stories
Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy
67036
2025-06-13T07:39:14.795745
text/html
63015
2010-04-14T11:29:16
text/html; charset=iso-8859-1
275987
2010-04-14T11:29:16
text/html; charset=iso-8859-1
application/zip
272292
2025-06-13T07:39:17.073790
application/epub+zip
271092
2025-06-13T07:39:15.248787
application/epub+zip
66406
2025-06-13T07:39:15.002777
application/epub+zip
311565
2025-06-13T07:39:18.649303
application/x-mobipocket-ebook
303308
2025-06-13T07:39:16.818781
application/x-mobipocket-ebook
100016
2022-09-14T15:53:17.314830
application/x-mobipocket-ebook
57826
2025-06-13T07:39:14.604748
text/plain; charset=us-ascii
57741
2010-04-14T11:29:16
text/plain; charset=us-ascii
22108
2010-04-14T11:29:16
text/plain; charset=us-ascii
application/zip
19256
2025-06-13T07:39:18.800213
application/rdf+xml
26291
2025-06-13T07:39:15.079778
image/jpeg
4574
2025-06-13T07:39:15.040767
image/jpeg
289115
2025-06-13T07:39:14.833759
application/octet-stream
application/zip
Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at
https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog
en.wikipedia