Red Star, Winter Orbit
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| Author | William Gibson |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Series | Burning Chrome |
| Genre(s) | alternate future |
| Released | |
| Preceded by | Hinterlands |
| Followed by | New Rose Hotel |
Red Star, Winter Orbit is a short story written by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling and published in Gibson's Burning Chrome collection of short fiction. The story is set in an alternate future where the Soviet Union controls most of the Earth's resources, especially oil. As a result of this the United States is no longer a dominant economic power on earth and the Soviets have won the space race.
[edit] Plot
The main character is Colonel Korolev, the first cosmonaut on Mars, who is forced to become the caretaker of 'Museum of the Soviet Triumph in Space' on a space station 'Salyut', in his old age. Budget cuts are announced by the Soviet Union lead to a decision to destroy the space station by putting it in a decaying orbit. Although the Union cannot afford the station any more, it plans to save face by blaming the degradation of the station on Korolev.
The story follows the steps taken by an ailing Korolev to save his remaining crew from the space station, who will be prosecuted by the Soviet regime in the face saving exercise.
The story ends when an American family uses a DIY rocketship to reach the decaying Salyut as part of a plan to create a new community in space and thus give hope to the last member of Salyut: Colonel Korolev.
[edit] External links
Novels: The Sprawl Trilogy: Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive • The Difference Engine (with Bruce Sterling) • The Bridge trilogy: Virtual Light, Idoru, All Tomorrow's Parties • Pattern Recognition • Spook Country
Short stories Johnny Mnemonic • The Gernsback Continuum • Fragments of a Hologram Rose • The Belonging Kind • Hinterlands • Red Star, Winter Orbit • New Rose Hotel • The Winter Market • Dogfight • Burning Chrome • Skinner's Room
Film adaptations: Johnny Mnemonic • New Rose Hotel • Pattern Recognition
Miscellanea: Agrippa (A Book of the Dead) • No Maps for These Territories • X-Files episodes
