Project Gutenberg 2019-06-09 Public domain in the USA. 138 Walton, Bryce 1918 1988 O'Hara, Kenneth Orban, Paul 1896 1974 The Floater Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, February 1957 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Floater" by Kenneth O'Hara is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. The narrative revolves around the unique psychological predicament of a solitary Watchman, Harry Barton, stationed in a man-made observational meteor—referred to as a "basketball"—floating in the vast emptiness of space. The story explores themes of isolation, sanity, and the human condition in extreme circumstances. The plot unfolds through interactions between Barton and a neuropsychologist, Dr. Von Ulrich, who visits Barton to assess his mental state as he endures long stretches of solitude. Over the course of many years, Barton grapples with his reality, confronting memories of his past and the effects of prolonged isolation. While Von Ulrich believes that Barton is on the verge of a psychological breakdown due to his unusual resilience, Barton remains content and detached, perceiving time differently, and almost relishing the lack of external stimuli. The story culminates with the discovery of Barton years later, suggesting he has adapted to his environment in a way that defies human expectations of aging and mental stability, leaving readers to contemplate the boundaries of human adaptability. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 76.9 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Psychological fiction Space stations -- Fiction Time -- Fiction Psychologists -- Fiction Solitude -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 57004 2025-07-23T14:28:52.729391 text/html 53419 2019-06-09T07:40:28 text/html 350842 2025-07-23T14:28:54.475358 application/epub+zip 349690 2025-07-23T14:28:53.092361 application/epub+zip 87628 2025-07-23T14:28:52.882396 application/epub+zip 388224 2025-07-23T14:28:55.668375 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 381322 2025-07-23T14:28:54.278347 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 119573 2022-09-27T02:19:43.990027 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 49936 2025-07-23T14:28:52.475367 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 50167 2019-06-09T07:40:28 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20286 2025-07-23T14:28:55.812356 application/rdf+xml 27275 2025-07-23T14:28:52.961363 image/jpeg 4930 2025-07-23T14:28:52.920350 image/jpeg 466070 2019-06-09T07:40:28 application/octet-stream application/zip 18858 2019-06-09T07:40:28 application/octet-stream application/zip 468621 2025-07-23T14:28:52.742360 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