Thirteen to Centaurus
Ballard, J. G. "Thirteen to Centaurus" (vt. "Thirteen for Centaurus"). Amazing April 1962. Collected Passport to Eternity. New York City: Berkley, 1963. Reprinted in A Spectrum of Worlds. New York City: Doubleday, 1972. See Internet Speculative Fiction Database for translations, other collections, other reprints.[1]
Mentioned in Paul T. Beattie's review of [[The Generation Starship in Science Fiction, which see (p. 31). Discussed on the website SCIENCE FICTION AND OTHER SUSPECT RUMINATIONS: Reviews of Vintage Science Fiction (1950s to mid-1980s).[2] In several passes, the RUMINATIONS writer argues cogently that the story "functions as a meta-commentary on the idea of the generation ship."
At first glance “Thirteen to Centaurus” explores a common pattern: multiple generations into a voyage a young boy, Abel, approaches a conceptual breakthrough as he discovers the “true” nature of his unusual enclosed world. Most of the fourteen members of the crew assume that they live on a space station. [...] Abel [...] poses increasingly penetrative questions to the ship’s psychiatrist Dr. Francis, “Why is the Station revolving?” (27). Up to this point, Ballard’s story fits into the pattern of countless others. Francis, who has an emotional attachment to the crew, removes parts of Abel’s conditioning and suggests that they are on a generation ship on a lengthy voyage to Alpha Centaurus [sic].
At this point all pretenses at a standard story evaporate [...]. But more mysteries emerge: “Sometimes Abel asked himself where Dr. Francis had come from, but his mind always fogged at a question like that, as the conditioning blocks fell like bulkheads across his thought trains” (28). Dr. Francis uses the sleeping-pod in his office, set on twelve-hour cycles, to exit the craft….
Dr. Francis, an outside plant, helps implement the simulation of the generation ship. The experiment seeks to identify feasible strategies and the psychological effects space travel for future exploration, in a vast domed-hanger [sic] rigged with advanced technology to simulate spaceflight. The crew are brainwashed into thinking they are on the a vessel.
So see for nested containment within high-tech structures, giving a twist to the usual generation starship theme.
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There is a TV adaptation: "Thirteen to Centaurus" episode of Out of the Unknown (aired 13 Dec. 1965); see IMDb entry at link.[3] IMDb Summary: "Interstellar travel at sub-light speeds: the enormous distances, isolation from human culture and the aching loneliness of space are enough to drive the strongest personality insane. Better to block all memories of human contact and to program the 12-strong crew to accept only the reality they can see and touch within their spacecraft. But a child born on 'the Station' becomes insistent on learning the truth about 'Outside'."[4]
RDE, Finishing, 25Ap21