The Lights in the Sky Are Stars by Fredric Brown
"The Lights in the Sky Are Stars" is a science-fiction novel by Fredric Brown, set at the dawn of the twenty-first century, that explores themes of ambition, loss, and the pursuit of dreams in the realm of space exploration. The story follows Max Andrews, a fifty-seven-year-old former astronaut and rocket mechanic, as he navigates political machinations surrounding the launch of the first spacecraft to Jupiter. Tension arises from the conflict between Conservationists, advocating for Earth-based improvements, and the Stardusters, who yearn for interplanetary travel.
Max's journey is intertwined with Ellen Gallagher, a Senate candidate advocating for the mission. Their ambitions lead to successes, but tragedy strikes when Ellen dies before the mission's execution. Max's deception regarding his space travel experience leads to his dismissal from the project, prompting a downward spiral into alcoholism. Awakening in the year 2000, a time he long envisioned, Max resolves to continue his work in rocketry despite his limitations.
As the narrative unfolds, Max reflects on the legacy of space travel he hopes to pass on to his nephew, Billy, Jr. The story concludes with a poignant moment of hope as they watch the launch of the Jupiter rocket, symbolizing the enduring human spirit and the aspiration to reach the stars.
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The Lights in the Sky Are Stars
First published: 1953
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—extrapolatory
Time of work: 1997-2001
Locale: San Francisco and Los Angeles, California; and Washington, D.C.
The Plot
The Lights in the Sky Are Stars was the second science-fiction novel by Fredric Brown, an author primarily known for his mysteries. The story is set near the opening of the twenty-first century; it concerns the launch of the first spacecraft into orbit around Jupiter and the political scheming that makes that launch possible.
The protagonist is fifty-seven-year-old Max Andrews, a former astronaut with an artificial leg who works as a rocket mechanic. He travels to San Francisco to be near the Treasure Island Rocket Base, where he has worked before, and also to meet Ellen Gallagher, who is running for the Senate and has expressed support for a mission to Jupiter.
Since 1964, when atomic engines replaced chemical ones on spacecraft, interplanetary travel has been possible. The moon, Mars, and Venus were reached shortly thereafter. Space travel has gone no further, however, mainly because of opposition by Conservationists, who insist that making things better on Earth is more important than launching rockets into space. Opposed to them are the Stardusters, who dream of traveling farther out.
Max and Ellen scheme to get her elected and to place Max in charge of the Jupiter mission. Both these goals are realized, although Ellen dies before the flight takes place. When it is discovered that Max has lied about his experience in space (he lost his leg on Earth, not on a trip to Venus, as he had claimed), he is fired as project director and responds by going on a long drinking binge.
He recovers consciousness in the year 2000, which has great significance to him. It is the year he had always envisioned as “the future.” He vows to continue working on rockets, even if he can never ride one. He returns to San Francisco, where he looks in on Chang M’Bassi, a friend who had proposed to travel to the stars by mental, rather than physical, means. He finds M’Bassi dead and wonders if he has, indeed, managed to teleport into outer space.
The story closes in Seattle, where Max has established his new home, mainly to be with his brother’s family. Central to his decision is his brother Bill’s agreement that it is all right for Max to talk to Billy, Jr., about traveling through space. Now that Max can no longer hope to travel to the stars himself because of his age, he hopes that his dreams can be realized through the life of his nephew.
The story ends with Max and Billy, now ten, watching the launching of the Jupiter rocket. Billy wants to know if human beings will ever travel farther and reach the distant stars. He talks about a star named Sirius he read about in a science-fiction story. Max points out Sirius to Billy and says that surely people will get there someday.