Sci-fi short story about stranded pilots on frozen planet











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One of those cases where i can recall nearly the entire story, but not the Author or the title.




  • Two Pilots land on a frozen planet (Pluto i think?)

  • The landing thaws the ice, and it subsequently freezes trapping them.

  • They try to escape by brute force of the engine, but the fusion pile goes critical, and they are forced to shut it down.

  • They draw straws to decide who will check out the damage beneath the engine skirt (its near certainty that if the pile has breached, they will die of lethal radiation exposure)

  • the engine has in fact exploded, and the first pilot knowing he will die shortly, says his goodbyes, walks up to the top of an icy ridge, assumes a heroic pose, and takes off his helmet, freezing into a statue.

  • there is a long struggle of the second pilot trying every possible scenario to rescue himself, with no success.

  • eventually he decides that he too will find a tall ridge, assume a pose, and take of his helmet.

  • noticing pilot one has his face and eyes frosted over from the atmosphere that froze from his helmet, he takes precautions so that his face will be clear of frost/ice when he takes off his helmet.

  • in the end after becomeing a frozen statue he realizes he is not dead, and that every time the sun passes and warms him slightly he can think, albeit very slowly.

  • the story ends with him regretting that he did not clear the frost from his friends eyes before he took his pose on his own ridge, and removed his helmet.










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    up vote
    8
    down vote

    favorite












    One of those cases where i can recall nearly the entire story, but not the Author or the title.




    • Two Pilots land on a frozen planet (Pluto i think?)

    • The landing thaws the ice, and it subsequently freezes trapping them.

    • They try to escape by brute force of the engine, but the fusion pile goes critical, and they are forced to shut it down.

    • They draw straws to decide who will check out the damage beneath the engine skirt (its near certainty that if the pile has breached, they will die of lethal radiation exposure)

    • the engine has in fact exploded, and the first pilot knowing he will die shortly, says his goodbyes, walks up to the top of an icy ridge, assumes a heroic pose, and takes off his helmet, freezing into a statue.

    • there is a long struggle of the second pilot trying every possible scenario to rescue himself, with no success.

    • eventually he decides that he too will find a tall ridge, assume a pose, and take of his helmet.

    • noticing pilot one has his face and eyes frosted over from the atmosphere that froze from his helmet, he takes precautions so that his face will be clear of frost/ice when he takes off his helmet.

    • in the end after becomeing a frozen statue he realizes he is not dead, and that every time the sun passes and warms him slightly he can think, albeit very slowly.

    • the story ends with him regretting that he did not clear the frost from his friends eyes before he took his pose on his own ridge, and removed his helmet.










    share|improve this question









    New contributor




    Karl Innes is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.






















      up vote
      8
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      8
      down vote

      favorite











      One of those cases where i can recall nearly the entire story, but not the Author or the title.




      • Two Pilots land on a frozen planet (Pluto i think?)

      • The landing thaws the ice, and it subsequently freezes trapping them.

      • They try to escape by brute force of the engine, but the fusion pile goes critical, and they are forced to shut it down.

      • They draw straws to decide who will check out the damage beneath the engine skirt (its near certainty that if the pile has breached, they will die of lethal radiation exposure)

      • the engine has in fact exploded, and the first pilot knowing he will die shortly, says his goodbyes, walks up to the top of an icy ridge, assumes a heroic pose, and takes off his helmet, freezing into a statue.

      • there is a long struggle of the second pilot trying every possible scenario to rescue himself, with no success.

      • eventually he decides that he too will find a tall ridge, assume a pose, and take of his helmet.

      • noticing pilot one has his face and eyes frosted over from the atmosphere that froze from his helmet, he takes precautions so that his face will be clear of frost/ice when he takes off his helmet.

      • in the end after becomeing a frozen statue he realizes he is not dead, and that every time the sun passes and warms him slightly he can think, albeit very slowly.

      • the story ends with him regretting that he did not clear the frost from his friends eyes before he took his pose on his own ridge, and removed his helmet.










      share|improve this question









      New contributor




      Karl Innes is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      One of those cases where i can recall nearly the entire story, but not the Author or the title.




      • Two Pilots land on a frozen planet (Pluto i think?)

      • The landing thaws the ice, and it subsequently freezes trapping them.

      • They try to escape by brute force of the engine, but the fusion pile goes critical, and they are forced to shut it down.

      • They draw straws to decide who will check out the damage beneath the engine skirt (its near certainty that if the pile has breached, they will die of lethal radiation exposure)

      • the engine has in fact exploded, and the first pilot knowing he will die shortly, says his goodbyes, walks up to the top of an icy ridge, assumes a heroic pose, and takes off his helmet, freezing into a statue.

      • there is a long struggle of the second pilot trying every possible scenario to rescue himself, with no success.

      • eventually he decides that he too will find a tall ridge, assume a pose, and take of his helmet.

      • noticing pilot one has his face and eyes frosted over from the atmosphere that froze from his helmet, he takes precautions so that his face will be clear of frost/ice when he takes off his helmet.

      • in the end after becomeing a frozen statue he realizes he is not dead, and that every time the sun passes and warms him slightly he can think, albeit very slowly.

      • the story ends with him regretting that he did not clear the frost from his friends eyes before he took his pose on his own ridge, and removed his helmet.







      story-identification hard-sci-fi golden-age






      share|improve this question









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      Karl Innes is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      share|improve this question









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      edited Dec 8 at 7:31









      Mat Cauthon

      15.7k475130




      15.7k475130






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      asked Dec 8 at 7:11









      Karl Innes

      533




      533




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      New contributor





      Karl Innes is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.






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      Check out our Code of Conduct.






















          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          7
          down vote



          accepted










          This is Wait it Out by Larry Niven. Two astronauts get stuck on the surface of Pluto.




          After the fiasco with the Nerva-K, one of us had to go down and see how much damage had been done. That meant tunneling down with the flame of a jet backpack, then crawling under the landing skirt. We didn't talk about the implications. We were probably dead. The man who went down into the bubble cavity was even more probably dead; but what of it? Dead is dead.I feel no guilt. I'd have gone myself if I'd lost the toss.The Nerva-K had spewed fused bits of the fission pile all over the bubble cavity. We were trapped for good. Rather, I was trapped, and Jerome was dead. The bubble cavity was a hell of radiation.




          and are finally both frozen semi-solid




          Stars rolling up the sky. The same patterns, endlessly rolling up from
          the same points. Does Jerome's corpse live the same half-life I
          live now? He should have stripped, as I did.



          My God! I wish I'd thought to wipe the ice from his eyes! I wish that
          superfluid blob would come back.



          Damn. It's cold.







          share|improve this answer























          • Thats the one, many thanks)
            – Karl Innes
            Dec 8 at 7:40










          • @user14111 - lol. Next round starts shortly :-)
            – Valorum
            Dec 8 at 7:54











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          1 Answer
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          active

          oldest

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          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes








          up vote
          7
          down vote



          accepted










          This is Wait it Out by Larry Niven. Two astronauts get stuck on the surface of Pluto.




          After the fiasco with the Nerva-K, one of us had to go down and see how much damage had been done. That meant tunneling down with the flame of a jet backpack, then crawling under the landing skirt. We didn't talk about the implications. We were probably dead. The man who went down into the bubble cavity was even more probably dead; but what of it? Dead is dead.I feel no guilt. I'd have gone myself if I'd lost the toss.The Nerva-K had spewed fused bits of the fission pile all over the bubble cavity. We were trapped for good. Rather, I was trapped, and Jerome was dead. The bubble cavity was a hell of radiation.




          and are finally both frozen semi-solid




          Stars rolling up the sky. The same patterns, endlessly rolling up from
          the same points. Does Jerome's corpse live the same half-life I
          live now? He should have stripped, as I did.



          My God! I wish I'd thought to wipe the ice from his eyes! I wish that
          superfluid blob would come back.



          Damn. It's cold.







          share|improve this answer























          • Thats the one, many thanks)
            – Karl Innes
            Dec 8 at 7:40










          • @user14111 - lol. Next round starts shortly :-)
            – Valorum
            Dec 8 at 7:54















          up vote
          7
          down vote



          accepted










          This is Wait it Out by Larry Niven. Two astronauts get stuck on the surface of Pluto.




          After the fiasco with the Nerva-K, one of us had to go down and see how much damage had been done. That meant tunneling down with the flame of a jet backpack, then crawling under the landing skirt. We didn't talk about the implications. We were probably dead. The man who went down into the bubble cavity was even more probably dead; but what of it? Dead is dead.I feel no guilt. I'd have gone myself if I'd lost the toss.The Nerva-K had spewed fused bits of the fission pile all over the bubble cavity. We were trapped for good. Rather, I was trapped, and Jerome was dead. The bubble cavity was a hell of radiation.




          and are finally both frozen semi-solid




          Stars rolling up the sky. The same patterns, endlessly rolling up from
          the same points. Does Jerome's corpse live the same half-life I
          live now? He should have stripped, as I did.



          My God! I wish I'd thought to wipe the ice from his eyes! I wish that
          superfluid blob would come back.



          Damn. It's cold.







          share|improve this answer























          • Thats the one, many thanks)
            – Karl Innes
            Dec 8 at 7:40










          • @user14111 - lol. Next round starts shortly :-)
            – Valorum
            Dec 8 at 7:54













          up vote
          7
          down vote



          accepted







          up vote
          7
          down vote



          accepted






          This is Wait it Out by Larry Niven. Two astronauts get stuck on the surface of Pluto.




          After the fiasco with the Nerva-K, one of us had to go down and see how much damage had been done. That meant tunneling down with the flame of a jet backpack, then crawling under the landing skirt. We didn't talk about the implications. We were probably dead. The man who went down into the bubble cavity was even more probably dead; but what of it? Dead is dead.I feel no guilt. I'd have gone myself if I'd lost the toss.The Nerva-K had spewed fused bits of the fission pile all over the bubble cavity. We were trapped for good. Rather, I was trapped, and Jerome was dead. The bubble cavity was a hell of radiation.




          and are finally both frozen semi-solid




          Stars rolling up the sky. The same patterns, endlessly rolling up from
          the same points. Does Jerome's corpse live the same half-life I
          live now? He should have stripped, as I did.



          My God! I wish I'd thought to wipe the ice from his eyes! I wish that
          superfluid blob would come back.



          Damn. It's cold.







          share|improve this answer














          This is Wait it Out by Larry Niven. Two astronauts get stuck on the surface of Pluto.




          After the fiasco with the Nerva-K, one of us had to go down and see how much damage had been done. That meant tunneling down with the flame of a jet backpack, then crawling under the landing skirt. We didn't talk about the implications. We were probably dead. The man who went down into the bubble cavity was even more probably dead; but what of it? Dead is dead.I feel no guilt. I'd have gone myself if I'd lost the toss.The Nerva-K had spewed fused bits of the fission pile all over the bubble cavity. We were trapped for good. Rather, I was trapped, and Jerome was dead. The bubble cavity was a hell of radiation.




          and are finally both frozen semi-solid




          Stars rolling up the sky. The same patterns, endlessly rolling up from
          the same points. Does Jerome's corpse live the same half-life I
          live now? He should have stripped, as I did.



          My God! I wish I'd thought to wipe the ice from his eyes! I wish that
          superfluid blob would come back.



          Damn. It's cold.








          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited Dec 8 at 8:02









          user14111

          97.9k6384492




          97.9k6384492










          answered Dec 8 at 7:33









          Valorum

          391k10228433078




          391k10228433078












          • Thats the one, many thanks)
            – Karl Innes
            Dec 8 at 7:40










          • @user14111 - lol. Next round starts shortly :-)
            – Valorum
            Dec 8 at 7:54


















          • Thats the one, many thanks)
            – Karl Innes
            Dec 8 at 7:40










          • @user14111 - lol. Next round starts shortly :-)
            – Valorum
            Dec 8 at 7:54
















          Thats the one, many thanks)
          – Karl Innes
          Dec 8 at 7:40




          Thats the one, many thanks)
          – Karl Innes
          Dec 8 at 7:40












          @user14111 - lol. Next round starts shortly :-)
          – Valorum
          Dec 8 at 7:54




          @user14111 - lol. Next round starts shortly :-)
          – Valorum
          Dec 8 at 7:54










          Karl Innes is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










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