The Reluctant Heroes
Chapman, a pilot who came to the Moon with the First research group, has served three years — twice the normal eighteen-month stopover — when the story opens with Earth radioing to ask him to remain until the next relief ship. He refuses. In the crowded bunker he shares with Dowden, Dahl, Klein, Donley, and Bening, the men prepare for their last day before rotating home, while Dahl, young and engaged to a girl named Alice, is set to stay behind for the next stopover. A grave outside marked with a cross of condensed-milk tins belongs to Dixon, a scientist who died after forgetting to check his suit and oxygen valve; Chapman explains that his own job has been less science than keeping others alive by enforcing safety checks. Chapman and Klein, who is secretly married, talk about what they miss most — sky, rain, ordinary people, home. Chapman is engaged to a woman named Ginny and plans to marry her. Before the relief ship lands, Dahl panics and asks Chapman to trade places for stopover again, even offering his father's money; Chapman refuses and tells him to file his report. The relief ship (the Third group) arrives, led by Captain Eberlein, bringing news, mail, and a symbolic box of real grass. Eberlein privately asks Chapman, on the Commission's behalf, to stay on permanently as "Director of the Luna Laboratories" for double salary; Chapman refuses, saying money can't buy it. Chapman then reads a letter from home: his fiancée has broken off the engagement. Devastated, he burns the letter and smashes his phonograph record ("Way Back Home"). When the others prepare to leave, Chapman announces he isn't going back after all, since he has "nothing to go back for," and stays to train the Third group. Aboard the departing ship, Dahl confesses to Eberlein that he offered Chapman money out of cowardice. Eberlein reveals the truth: the Commission arranged for Chapman's fiancée to write the breakup letter, deliberately removing his reason to leave, because they needed an experienced, careful non-scientist to safeguard the incoming groups. The woman who agreed to write it was Ginny Dixon, sister of the dead Dixon. Eberlein justifies the deception by citing the stakes of establishing humanity's foothold in space and calls the volunteers, including Chapman, "reluctant heroes," expressing regret at having to manipulate lives for the larger goal. The story closes with a framing scene, paralleling the opening: an older man — revealed to be Chapman himself, now established at the grown Tycho colony — and his wife Ginny discuss with a young man the coercive way the Commission once recruited and retained people, noting the Commission "made up for it" over time, before the young man must decide whether to accept his own expedition assignment.
By Frank M. Robinson · First published 1968 · Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama · 8,592 words
First lines
Pioneers have always resented their wanderlust, hated their hardships. But the future brings a new grudge -- when pioneers stay put and scholars do the exploring!
_The very young man sat on the edge of the sofa and looked nervous. He carefully studied his fingernails and ran his hands through his hair and picked imaginary lint off the upholstery._
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The Reluctant Heroes is listed on Textopian as a novel by Frank M. Robinson, dated 1968 CE.
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- Work type: Novel
- Author: Frank M. Robinson
- Date: 1968 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama, Thriller, Political
- Length: 8,592 words
- Structure: 1 section, 240 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
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- Work identity for The Reluctant Heroes by Frank M. Robinson
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Discussion starters
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Similar titles
- The Hunted Heroes by Robert Silverberg
- The Firing Line by George O. Smith
- Strange Alliance by Bryce Walton
- Savage Galahad by Bryce Walton
- War Game by Bryce Walton
- Problem On Balak by Roger Dee Aycock
Genres
- Science Fiction — The plot revolves around futuristic and speculative concepts.
- Adventure — The narrative includes a journey and significant action sequences.
- Drama — The story explores complex emotional and relational dynamics.
- Thriller — The book contains suspenseful and tension-filled moments.
Tags
science fiction · adventure · heroism · dystopia · survival · conflict · courage · friendship · sacrifice · betrayal · moral dilemmas · teamwork