The Floater by Kenneth O'Hara (1989)
The story revolves around Harry Barton, a watchman who was assigned to duty in a basketball-shaped space station 53 years ago. The basketballs were designed to rotate and move with the galaxy, but they eventually became forgotten during a war that lasted for 30 years. When the search party finds the second basketball, they are shocked to discover that Harry Barton is still alive inside it. He looks hardly any different than when he was left there, and his heart is beating regularly at an incredible rate of once every 37 hours and 14 seconds. The medical officer, Zeiger, is skeptical about Barton's condition, but Von Ulrich, a retired doctor who had previously worked with Barton, insists that he is alive. After conducting further tests, it becomes clear that Barton has developed a unique adaptation to his environment, where time no longer holds any meaning for him. Von Ulrich believes that Barton's autonomic nervous system has lost its identification with the time factor that conditioned it, and as a result, his organs function in a necessary regularity. He also notes that Barton's metabolism has slowed down significantly, which could potentially lead to an extended lifespan. The story raises questions about the nature of time and how it affects human beings. It challenges the conventional understanding of time and its relationship with our bodily functions. The fact that Barton's heart beats at a rate that is not synchronized with Earth's rotation or orbit around the sun highlights the arbitrary nature of time. Ultimately, the story leaves the reader wondering about the implications of Barton's condition and what it means for human existence. Is he still alive in the classical sense, or has he transcended the boundaries of time and space? The story raises more questions than it answers, leaving the reader to ponder the mysteries of time and its relationship with humanity.
By Kenneth O'Hara · First published 1989 · Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Adventure · 6,323 words
First lines
_Barton was unique -- an absolutely self-sufficient human being. The biggest problem he had in space was holding on to his sanity. And he solved it by altering time itself to suit his needs._
As a Watchman in a man-made kind of observational meteor floating millions of miles from nowhere out among the planets, Barton had two main duties. To keep his sanity and to keep the watch. The second was simple. The gadgets all took care of themselves. All Barton did was send in a report in case an alarm went off indicating something was wrong with some gadget or other.
What this Textopian page supports
The Floater is listed on Textopian as a novel by Kenneth O'Hara, dated 1989 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Novel
- Author: Kenneth O'Hara
- Date: 1989 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Adventure, Crime, Action
- Length: 6,323 words
- Structure: 1 section, 198 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Floater by Kenneth O'Hara
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering The Floater?
- How does this novel by Kenneth O'Hara fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Mystery first become important in the reading?
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Genres
- Mystery — The book revolves around a central mystery that propels the storyline, focusing on unexplained occurrences and the protagonist's efforts to uncover the truth.
- Thriller — Elements of suspense and tension are found throughout the story. These components add a thrilling narrative to the mystery plot.
- Adventure — The protagonist's journey to unwrapping the mysteries involves him traversing to various places, akin to an adventure.
- Crime — The book involves the investigation of crimes which are part of the central plot, hence categorizing it under Crime genre.
Tags
contemporary · fiction · drama · identity · self-discovery · relationships · urban · psychological · narrative · character-driven · emotional · life choices