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<v Speaker 1>This is a LibriVox recording, and all LibriVox recordings are

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<v Speaker 1>in the public domain. For more information, more LibriVox recordings,

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<v Speaker 1>or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. This recording

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<v Speaker 1>read for you by Perry Clayton. Egocentric Orbit by John Cory.

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<v Speaker 1>It took a long time for human beings to accept

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<v Speaker 1>that our little piece of meteoric rubble wasn't the exact

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<v Speaker 1>and absolute center of the universe. It does appear that way,

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't it. It may not take so long for a

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<v Speaker 1>spaceman to learn. Near the end of his fifteenth orbit,

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<v Speaker 1>as Greenland slipped by noiselessly below, he made the routine

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<v Speaker 1>measurements that tested the operation of his space capsule and

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<v Speaker 1>checked the automatic instruments which would transmit their stored data

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<v Speaker 1>to Earth on his next pass over control everything All

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<v Speaker 1>mechanical devices were operating perfectly. This information didn't surprise him.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, he really didn't even think about it. The

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<v Speaker 1>previous orbits and the long simulated flights on Earth during

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<v Speaker 1>training had made such checks routine and perfect results expected.

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<v Speaker 1>The capsules were developed by exhaustive testing both on the

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<v Speaker 1>ground and as empty satellites before entrusting them to carry

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<v Speaker 1>animals and then the first human. He returned to contemplation

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<v Speaker 1>of the panorama passing below and above, although, as he

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<v Speaker 1>noted idly, above and below had lost some of their

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<v Speaker 1>usual meaning, since his capsule, like all heavenly bodies, was

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<v Speaker 1>stable in position with respect to the entire universe, and

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<v Speaker 1>thanks to Sir Isaac Newton and his laws, never changed.

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<v Speaker 1>The Earth and the stars altered over his head during

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<v Speaker 1>each orbit up now meant whatever was in the direction

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<v Speaker 1>of his head. He remembered that even during his initial orbit,

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<v Speaker 1>when the Earth first appeared overhead, he accepted the fact

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<v Speaker 1>as normal. He wondered if the other two had accepted

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<v Speaker 1>it as easily, for there had been two men hurled

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<v Speaker 1>into orbit before he had ventured into space, two others

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<v Speaker 1>who had also passed the rigorous three year training period

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<v Speaker 1>and were selected on the basis of overall performance to

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<v Speaker 1>precede him. He had known them both well and wondered

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<v Speaker 1>again what had happened on their flights. Of course, they

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<v Speaker 1>had both returned, depending upon what your definition of return was,

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<v Speaker 1>The capsules in which they had ventured beyond Earth had

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<v Speaker 1>returned them living, but this was to be expected. For

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<v Speaker 1>even the considerable hazards of the descent through the atmosphere

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<v Speaker 1>and the terrible heating which occurred were successfully surmounted by

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<v Speaker 1>the capsule. Naturally, it had not been expected that the

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<v Speaker 1>satellites would have to be brought down by command from

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<v Speaker 1>the ground, but this too was part of the careful planning.

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<v Speaker 1>Radio control of the retro rockets that moved the satellite

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<v Speaker 1>out of war orbit by reducing its velocity. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>ground control was to be used only if the astronaut

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<v Speaker 1>failed to ignite the retro rockets himself. He remembered everyone's

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<v Speaker 1>surprise and relief when the first capsule was recovered and

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<v Speaker 1>its occupant found to be alive. They had assumed that,

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<v Speaker 1>in spite of all precautions, he was dead because he

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<v Speaker 1>had not fired the rockets on the fiftieth orbit, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was necessary to bring him down on the sixty fifth.

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<v Speaker 1>Recovery alive only partially solved the mystery for the rescuers,

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<v Speaker 1>and all others were met by a haughty, stony silence

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<v Speaker 1>from the occupant. Batteries of test confirmed an early diagnosis,

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<v Speaker 1>complete and utter withdrawal, absolute refusal to communicate. Therapy was unsuccessful.

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<v Speaker 1>The second attempt was similar in most respects, except that

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<v Speaker 1>command return was made on the thirty first orbit after

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<v Speaker 1>the astronaut's failure to deorbit at the end of the

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<v Speaker 1>thirtieth His incoherent babble of moons, stars and whirlds was

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<v Speaker 1>no more helpful than the first test. After test confirmed

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<v Speaker 1>that no obvious organic damage had been incurred by exposure

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<v Speaker 1>outside of the Earth's protective atmosphere. Biopsy of even selected

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<v Speaker 1>brain tissue seemed to show that microscopic cellular changes due

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<v Speaker 1>to prolonged weightlessness or primary cosmic ray bombardment, which had

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<v Speaker 1>been suggested by some authorities, were unimportant. Somewhat reluctantly, it

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<v Speaker 1>was decided to repeat the experiment a third time. The

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<v Speaker 1>launching was uneventful. He was sent into space with the

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<v Speaker 1>precision he expected. The experience was exhilarating, and although he

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<v Speaker 1>had anticipated each event in advance, he could not possibly

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<v Speaker 1>have foreseen the overpowering feeling that came over him. Weightlessness

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<v Speaker 1>he had experienced for brief periods during training, but nothing

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<v Speaker 1>could match the heatey impression of continuous freedom from gravity.

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<v Speaker 1>Earth passing overhead was also to be expected from the

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<v Speaker 1>simple laws celestial mechanics, but his feeling as he watched

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<v Speaker 1>it now was inexpressible. It occurred to him that perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>this was indeed why he was here, because he could

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<v Speaker 1>appreciate the experience's best. He had been told the stars

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<v Speaker 1>would be bright, unblinking, and an infinitude in extent, but

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<v Speaker 1>could mere descriptions or photographs convey the true seeing. On

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<v Speaker 1>his twenty first orbit, he completed his overseeing the entire

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<v Speaker 1>service of the planet in daylight. He had seen more

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<v Speaker 1>Earth than anyone able to tell about it, but only

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<v Speaker 1>he had the true feeling of it. The continents were

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<v Speaker 1>clearly visible, as were the oceans in both polar ice caps.

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<v Speaker 1>The shapes were familiar, but in only a remote way.

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<v Speaker 1>A vague indistinctness born of distance served to modify the outlines,

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<v Speaker 1>and he alone was seeing and understanding. On the dark

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<v Speaker 1>side of the planet, large cities were marked by indistinct

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<v Speaker 1>light areas, which pale to insignificance compared to the star

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<v Speaker 1>and his son. He speculated about the others who had

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<v Speaker 1>only briefly experienced these sites. Undoubtedly they weren't as capable

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<v Speaker 1>of fully grasping or appreciating any of these things as

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<v Speaker 1>he was. It was quite clear that no one else

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<v Speaker 1>but he could encompass the towering feeling of power and

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<v Speaker 1>importance generated by being alone in the universe. At the

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<v Speaker 1>end of his twenty fifth orbit, he disabled the radio

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<v Speaker 1>control of the retro rockets and set back with satisfaction

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<v Speaker 1>to await the next circuit of his Earth around him.

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<v Speaker 1>The End of Egocentric Orbit by John Corey Read for

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<v Speaker 1>You by Perry Clayton.