Project Gutenberg 2022-10-23 Public domain in the USA. 129 Coppel, Alfred 1921 2004 Gilman, Robert Cham Marin, A. C. Coppel, Alfredo José de Arana-Marini Coppel, Alfredo Jose de Arana-Marini Galaxan, Sol Finlay, Virgil 1914 1971 Finlay Touch the sky $aUnited States :$bStandard Magazines, Inc.,$c1955. Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. "Touch the Sky" by Alfred Coppel is a science fiction short story first published in the summer of 1955. The narrative explores themes of ambition, dreams, and existential dread as it follows the character Pete Moore, who is preparing for a moonshot mission. The story captures a moment of reflection during his last night before the journey, contrasting his hopeful aspirations with the surreal and often disappointing nature of reality. In the story, Pete Moore grapples with the tension between his ambitions and the nagging fear stemming from a carnival ride that is meant to symbolize the excitement and wonder of space exploration. As he prepares for his moonshot, Pete navigates his complex feelings about leaving the familiar world behind for the allure of the cosmos. His reality shifts dramatically during the flight, where he experiences a hallucination that reveals a startling perspective: the universe may not be as it seems, potentially a mere illusion, leading to a profound realization about man's aspirations and the limits of his journey. In the end, the story culminates in a poignant moment where he acknowledges the frailty of his dreams but embraces the profound experience of touching the sky. (This is an automatically generated summary.) 20220530042259coppel 1955 US Reading ease score: 86.2 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Space travelers -- Fiction Spouses -- Fiction Amusement rides -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 38116 2025-06-27T10:12:46.614290 text/html 14118 2024-10-19T01:33:57 text/html 320470 2025-06-27T10:12:49.504188 application/epub+zip 319303 2025-06-27T10:12:47.847259 application/epub+zip 213639 2025-06-27T10:12:47.079278 application/epub+zip 1071060 2025-06-27T10:12:50.720201 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1064164 2025-06-27T10:12:49.006247 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 31729 2025-06-27T10:12:46.514202 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 11862 2024-10-19T01:33:57 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17824 2025-06-27T10:12:50.845196 application/rdf+xml 27267 2025-06-27T10:12:47.427198 image/jpeg 4412 2025-06-27T10:12:47.250269 image/jpeg 1940269 2025-06-27T10:12:46.637185 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 en.wikipedia