Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

This is our discussion of the short story....

"Protocol A235" by Theresa Kay

From the scifi anthology Dark Beyond the Stars, part of our discussion of Dark Beyond the Stars anthology.

We drop in on a colonization starship in which the crew and passengers are in the usual cryosleep. Our main character, Beth, is one of the maintenance crew scheduled for periodic revival to perform a you months of work shift before returning to cold storage. As she awakens, it becomes clear that not everything is as it should be. Apparently protocol A235 has been invoked.

Viewed within the claustrophobic scope of the short story, this story works, at least on the basic level. Viewed in a more expansive context, it's harder to understand.

First, we're told that humanity is dying off on earth, though no particular reason is given. Were also told this colonization starship is the last best hope for mankind to survive. A couple of things: If the Earth is dying, how does it muster the resources to create a interstellar ship serving 50,000 cryosleep humans? I've never bought into the scifi concept that when the earth becomes exhausted, it's easier to move out and settle in space or on a distant planet man to fix things up here. Space is hard, and no matter how messed up Earth gets, it's still got the basics to support life: solid ground, gravity, air pressure, oxygen, water, organics...

Secondly, (view spoiler)[ if you're going to fly off to settle on a new planet, you really have to have a destination in mind. You can't just fly around and hope you'll run into a star system what a habitable planet if you're not even aiming. "Space is big. You wouldn't believe how mind bogglingly big it is." (hide spoiler)]

So, for me the story fails at one of the basics of sci-fi, which is producing a credible premise in which to tell its story. I'm willing to suspend disbelief and a lot of magical technologies, but the author has to meet me at least halfway.

I can agree with you on a number of technical/scientific flaws in the story. Right at the beginning, I was somewhat bemused by the authors attempt to build some suspense about being trapped in the cryo-cylinder when there was a switch inside to open it. Huh?

Michael wrote: "Right at the beginning, I was somewhat bemused by the authors attempt to build some suspense about being trapped in the cryo-cylinder when there was a switch inside to open it. Huh? ..."

Yeah, that was pretty thin. A desperate attempt to start the story with a little excitement that falls totally flat.

OMG, I'm trapped in the limo. Why hasn't the chauffeur opened the door? I'll starve to death in here! How long will the air last? No, wait! We covered this in training. There's a door handle on the inside! I'm saved!