The Dangerous Frontier

        In “The Cold Equations,” written by Godwin, the scientific fiction short story tells of an EDS

pilot who is delivering medicine to a group of workers who are facing a life threatening disease

without any supplies. On his way towards his destination, he discovers a teenage girl stowed away

in his spaceship, the Stardust, and must now decide between the lives of the ill workers or the life

of one innocent girl. The eventual death of the stowaway portrays, not the immutable laws of

physics, rather the merciless laws created by the human civilization to facilitate the galactic

expansion they desire.

        Godwin’s depiction of space is cruel and brutal to all genders, male and female; it is not

lenient to any one sort of individual. Contrary to this statement, authors Sherryl Vint and Mark

Bould in their chapter “There is No Such Thing as Science Fiction” insist that a gender bias exists

within the short story since Marilyn Cross was able to live a “full hour past the time her presence is

discovered rather than being executed ‘immediately’” (Vint 46). They further support their claim by

mentioning the fact that “the entire story depends upon the fact that the stowaway is ‘not a man’

but a ‘girl in her teens’” (Vint 45). Along with the gender bias, Vint and Bould believe that Marilyn

Cross was able to receive sympathy from the commander and the EDS pilot due to her gender.

However, a younger boy of similar naivety or inexperience with an equivalent desire to see his

sibling could elicit the same emotional response from the affected members. Many of the unique

aspects of the story, like the surprising closet reveal, the indescribable reaction of the child to

being jettisoned from the space shuttle, and the inevitable loss of life, could be applicable even if

Marilyn Cross’s gender was switched with that of a younger boy. The purpose of Marilyn Cross

was to highlight the dangers of the space frontier and the harsh rules created by mankind that

governs its status.

        Although space, in itself, is dangerous, it is because of the strict rules and regulations passed

by mankind that causes the death of Marilyn Cross; it does not allow for any mistakes or for any

interruptions in the schedule for expansion. In Godwin’s “The Cold Equations, to prevent

distractions from ever occurring, EDS cruisers “were forced by necessity to carry a limited amount

of bulky rocket fuel, and the fuel was rationed with care, the cruiser’s computers determining the

exact amount of fuel each EDS would require for its mission” (Godwin 9). Due to the inadequate

amount of fuel given to EDS cruisers, the pilots are unable to attend to any distractions in space.

They are prohibited from deviating away from their designated path to accomplish any other tasks

like aiding another shuttle or taking a detour since it will delay their schedule for space expansion.

The world that Godwin creates “accepts colonialism but also imagines a human ‘Galactic

expansion’ which does not allow margins of error” (Vint 45). Contrasting from the present Earth,

Godwin’s world is similar to a factory in that any sort of tinkering or change could endanger the

entire status of the operation. On the other hand, in the present Earth, mistakes are allowed and

sometimes even encouraged for a learning experience. However, making a simple mistake in

Godwin’s short story could lead to a person’s death. This is the true nature of the cold equations; it

is not caused by the laws of physics but the laws that govern space made by mankind.

        In Godwin’s short story “The Cold Equations,” the aforementioned cold equation is not only

influenced by the fixed laws of physics and gravity. The human laws that the EDS pilots strictly

follow aids in labeling Marilyn Cross or other stowaways as the unwanted factor that must be

jettisoned to space. These regulations apply to every human being equally, regardless of the

gender, race, or status. In the eyes of the Earth’s government, the sacrifice of one life is

considered acceptable if it is for expansion.