Nozzle Velocity
Well-Known Member
Tom Godwin’s “The Cold Equations” has been a controversial subject like few others among sf fans. Publisher John Campbell bought the short story for Astounding Science-Fiction (Aug 1954) after suggesting a new ending to what was originally a standard “airlock story”, a topic common in submarine and space tales of the day. Pilot Barton finds a young stowaway girl, Marilyn, onboard his small emergency ship while bringing medical supplies to a desperate party of explorers on the planet Wodon. Improbably, the fuel calculations allow for no extra weight, so the pilot has to choose. He can eject the girl into space and land with supplies on Wodon, or he can let the ship crash into the planet, killing himself, Marilyn, and ultimately the six explorers on the planet - one of whom is the girl’s brother.
This is a fun, if morbid, parlor game for sf fans. What would Author X do? A John Varley pilot might take a skin sample, upload her mind, eject her into space and show up years later at her brother’s door with a perfectly cloned sister. A Philip K. Dick pilot might eject the girl, break down emotionally, take drugs, return to reality, notice another heat signature and find the girl on board again. But a 1954 vintage Hal Clement pilot? He would solve the problem – period – After Action Report to follow. And this is where Campbell deserves some credit for doing the unexpected.
The “The Cold Equations” gave a perfect setup for an engineering challenge to be solved by “competence porn”, the derisive term now given to the problem-solving skills of many Golden Age protagonists. The familiar elements were in place: the boilerplate rumination on the cold, uncaring consequences of life on the frontier; the classic “town and country” theme with pioneers surviving rough conditions, while soft civilians are doomed far from home. A perfect environment for another puzzle solving victory. But Campbell took a sharp turn, and readers are still discussing the story in reading clubs more than 60 years later.
Godwin maintained long afterward that the dilemma had a viable solution. Campbell stated in a letter, “…he simply couldn’t accept that the girl simply had to die.” Campbell has been accused of many things because of this decision. Why did he demand this ending? The most obvious answer is that he merely wanted the story to shine among the pages of Astounding, even if it meant using the questionable “low fuel” plot device. But, oddly, the tragedy gains a mystical quality at the end. “He saw that the white hand of the supplies closet temperature gauge was on zero. A cold equation had been balanced and he was alone on the ship.” Balanced? What equation? This is after six re-writes. There is more here than techno-fetishism and simple misogyny. Campbell was a strange man who believed many strange things. I suspect he was reacting against a story he published nine years earlier by Murray Leinster called “The Ethical Equations” (June 1945).
In Leinster’s story, the Ethical Equations mathematically prove that patterns of behavior and personal actions are interlinked to certain probabilities and outcomes. This is classic Astounding-style speculation, and Campbell’s influence seems clear. But Lieutenant Freddy Holmes firmly believes it. He uses his uncle’s political influence to take command of the Space Patrol ship Arnina to investigate a mysterious alien craft drifting beyond Jupiter. Freddy has created ill will on the ship with his presumptuous actions. The Ethical Equations tell him a catastrophe is looming because of his disruptions. With behavior and results interlinked, a balance in the equation must be regained through proper actions.
Freddy discovers that the intruding craft is a powerful warship containing aliens in suspended animation waiting for regeneration closer to the sun. The ship is powerful enough to destroy humanity when awakened, so the lieutenant has to choose. He can destroy the aliens and salvage the ship for its rare elements and technology, or he can let the aliens live and risk possible Earth destruction. This is the certain doom he's been fearing, linked to his previous behavior. But there’s a third option. The Ethical Equations prove there can be a positive outcome through ethical actions.
The Equations appear to be a new, unsourced, science-based worldview. Freddie talks openly about the Equations to crewmembers, but strangely, no one in the story remarks on his beliefs. He claims the Equations “tell” him where the solutions to his problem can be found. Unlocking the technology of the alien craft, he repairs it, refuels it, resupplies it, and sets it on a return journey back home. Freddie knows the aliens, when they revive, will recognize the favor given to them by humans. According to the final words of the story, “…the Ethical Equations were satisfied.”
Joe Haldeman says he doesn’t believe works of science fiction are in dialogue with one another. But they certainly appear to be, even if it’s an illusion. In John Campbell’s case, two such works came from the same desk. “The Ethical Equations” reads like A. E. van Vogt in a good mood. It’s mangled Jung and a lot of Handwavium. But whether the cosmic equation idea was Leinster’s or Campbell’s, Godwin’s ending was certainly not his own, and Campbell’s increasingly eccentric mind seems to have taken a darker turn by 1954. “The Ethical Equations” required good deeds to regain cosmic balance, whereas “The Cold Equations” required a human sacrifice.
This is a fun, if morbid, parlor game for sf fans. What would Author X do? A John Varley pilot might take a skin sample, upload her mind, eject her into space and show up years later at her brother’s door with a perfectly cloned sister. A Philip K. Dick pilot might eject the girl, break down emotionally, take drugs, return to reality, notice another heat signature and find the girl on board again. But a 1954 vintage Hal Clement pilot? He would solve the problem – period – After Action Report to follow. And this is where Campbell deserves some credit for doing the unexpected.
The “The Cold Equations” gave a perfect setup for an engineering challenge to be solved by “competence porn”, the derisive term now given to the problem-solving skills of many Golden Age protagonists. The familiar elements were in place: the boilerplate rumination on the cold, uncaring consequences of life on the frontier; the classic “town and country” theme with pioneers surviving rough conditions, while soft civilians are doomed far from home. A perfect environment for another puzzle solving victory. But Campbell took a sharp turn, and readers are still discussing the story in reading clubs more than 60 years later.
Godwin maintained long afterward that the dilemma had a viable solution. Campbell stated in a letter, “…he simply couldn’t accept that the girl simply had to die.” Campbell has been accused of many things because of this decision. Why did he demand this ending? The most obvious answer is that he merely wanted the story to shine among the pages of Astounding, even if it meant using the questionable “low fuel” plot device. But, oddly, the tragedy gains a mystical quality at the end. “He saw that the white hand of the supplies closet temperature gauge was on zero. A cold equation had been balanced and he was alone on the ship.” Balanced? What equation? This is after six re-writes. There is more here than techno-fetishism and simple misogyny. Campbell was a strange man who believed many strange things. I suspect he was reacting against a story he published nine years earlier by Murray Leinster called “The Ethical Equations” (June 1945).
In Leinster’s story, the Ethical Equations mathematically prove that patterns of behavior and personal actions are interlinked to certain probabilities and outcomes. This is classic Astounding-style speculation, and Campbell’s influence seems clear. But Lieutenant Freddy Holmes firmly believes it. He uses his uncle’s political influence to take command of the Space Patrol ship Arnina to investigate a mysterious alien craft drifting beyond Jupiter. Freddy has created ill will on the ship with his presumptuous actions. The Ethical Equations tell him a catastrophe is looming because of his disruptions. With behavior and results interlinked, a balance in the equation must be regained through proper actions.
Freddy discovers that the intruding craft is a powerful warship containing aliens in suspended animation waiting for regeneration closer to the sun. The ship is powerful enough to destroy humanity when awakened, so the lieutenant has to choose. He can destroy the aliens and salvage the ship for its rare elements and technology, or he can let the aliens live and risk possible Earth destruction. This is the certain doom he's been fearing, linked to his previous behavior. But there’s a third option. The Ethical Equations prove there can be a positive outcome through ethical actions.
The Equations appear to be a new, unsourced, science-based worldview. Freddie talks openly about the Equations to crewmembers, but strangely, no one in the story remarks on his beliefs. He claims the Equations “tell” him where the solutions to his problem can be found. Unlocking the technology of the alien craft, he repairs it, refuels it, resupplies it, and sets it on a return journey back home. Freddie knows the aliens, when they revive, will recognize the favor given to them by humans. According to the final words of the story, “…the Ethical Equations were satisfied.”
Joe Haldeman says he doesn’t believe works of science fiction are in dialogue with one another. But they certainly appear to be, even if it’s an illusion. In John Campbell’s case, two such works came from the same desk. “The Ethical Equations” reads like A. E. van Vogt in a good mood. It’s mangled Jung and a lot of Handwavium. But whether the cosmic equation idea was Leinster’s or Campbell’s, Godwin’s ending was certainly not his own, and Campbell’s increasingly eccentric mind seems to have taken a darker turn by 1954. “The Ethical Equations” required good deeds to regain cosmic balance, whereas “The Cold Equations” required a human sacrifice.
