The crater was small and typical, just another unnamed pockmark on the wrinkled and pitted face of the Moon in the vicinity of Petavius.
White's first mood piece/character study. Gregory Mitchell is a misanthropic news commentator who believes that people are "disease spots, just so many wild variables in an otherwise sane and scientifically well-ordered universe." Mitch (likely enough names after the Stephen Mitchell character in Charles Chilton's Jounrney Into Space BBC radio series) rethinks his attitude during a lone vigil on the Moon. Meanwhile, humanity itself might or might not be on the brink of self-destruction from a 'fireworks display' ignited by the Mark 17 Bacteriological Bomb. And what do those three aliens think of it all . . .?
In magazines
| Title | Language | Editor | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nebula 9, August 1954 | English | Peter Hamilton | August 1954 |
In James White's books
| Title | Type | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Futures Past | Collection | 1982 |
NEBULA SCIENCE FICTION No 9,August 1954
Publication History: Futures Past
ISFDB title record (CC BY 4.0).