Kip Russell, a high school student determined to reach the Moon, wins a surplus Oscar rocket suit in a soap jingle contest. While refurbishing the gear in his backyard, he accidentally signals an interstellar craft and is kidnapped by alien "Wormfaces" alongside an eleven-year-old genius named Peewee and a furry creature called the Mother Thing. Their ordeal spans a secret lunar base, the rings of Saturn, and a trial before the Three-Galaxies tribunal in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud. Kip must rely on his rigorous physics training and the mechanical limits of his pressurized suit to help defend the human race against an indictment of primitive violence.
This story serves readers interested in hard science fiction that prioritizes technical problem-solving and individual competence. It attracts those who value the transition from adolescent ambition to adult responsibility through the lens of Cold War-era scientific optimism. Readers walk away with a clear understanding of the logistics of space survival, such as oxygen recycling and thermal regulation, alongside an perspective on humanity’s fledgling status within a vast, bureaucratic galactic community.
- Published
- 1958
- Language
- EN
