F. L. Wallace 1 hr 43 min read

Cast out for their differences by a society of the physically perfect, a group of 'accidents' find there's only one way left to go, up.

F. L. Wallace's 1952 story sits with Docchi and his fellow exiles as the Medicouncil denies their request, in a poignant tale of outcasts too damaged to belong on a flawless Earth. Humane, inventive social SF that would grow into the novel 'Address: Centauri.' Read it for a moving golden-age story about disability, belonging, and the desperate ingenuity of the unwanted.

In its time

Published in 1952, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

1 hr 43 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).

Illustrated by

Ed Emshwiller