POUL ANDERSON -To Outlive Eternity. Serialized in Galaxy SF, June & August 1967. Collected in To Outlive Eternity and Other Stories (Baen, trade paperback, 2007). An expanded version was published by Doubleday in hardcover in 1970 as the novel Tau Zero. (See Comment #3.)

   The spaceship Lenore Christine, traveling at nearly the speed of light toward Beta Virginis, runs into a small cosmic cloud that disables the deceleration unit. Since by relativity time within the ship is not not so much a factor, the expedition can continue until the empty spaces between galaxies are reached; only then would it be safe to turn off the accelerator force-screens,

   But the velocity keeps increasing, making it difficult to find a region of space empty enough, and the rate if deceleration must be considered in finding a likely galactic cluster in which they could stop.

   And then the universe begins to die. The only possible answer is to continue until its rebirth.

   The captain is not the protagonist, but rather the officer in charge of discipline and morale – what he has to do is keep discouragement and frustration from leading to madness. Sexual relationships are dwelt with, almost frankly, but still not deeply. The stress on the physical situation the expedition finds itself in seems greater than the force [and the] effect has on them.

   Anderson does not seem capable of getting beyond physics, and his enthusiasm for physical ideas does not carry over to his readers. For example, the rebirth of a universe cannot really be told in two paragraphs, but it is, and it does, sad to say, seem dull.

Rating: ***

— August 1968.