Hard Choices In The Cold Equation By Tom Godwin

799 Words2 Pages

“We all make choices, the hard thing is to live with them, and there ain't nobody that can help you with that”-unknown. This inspiring quote can be the very definition of making a hard choice and living with the consequences. In the short story The Cold Equation by Tom Godwin, people have to make hard choices every day. When society lives in a interstellar universe it can be difficult. The hard choices people make, can change their life; We all have to make hard decisions, and sometimes the right thing is the wrong thing. Marilyn Cross a young teenage girl stowaway, was caught on an EDS ship not knowing the consequences. The pilot did not want to tell Marilyn the consequences, but he had no choice. There is no way the fuel is gonna last …show more content…

Even though, fuel seems like an easy thing, it is much more complicated than people think. “There could be no alternative, additional fuel would be used to compensate for the added weight”(11). Fuel is one example of a hard choice, fuel is important, but fuel is limited in space. The pilot had a choice whether to let the teenage girl live, but risk his life, or risk the life of six other men on Woden; He also had the hard choice to kill Madilyn and save fuel. Since, fuel is limited, the pilot tries to save fuel by going fast to try to save fuel. Madilyn said in a questionable voice “‘We're going faster now aren't we?’ She asked, ‘why are we doing that?’ He told her the truth, ‘to save fuel’”(12). This statement in the book describes the confusion of the stowaway and the hardest decision the EDS pilot has to make. Fuel is limited, and to save fuel the EDS pilot must do everything he can to give the stowaway more time to live. Therefore, the pilot needs to make the hard choice whether to give the girl more time to live but use fuel, or killing her to save …show more content…

Although, he has the kala fever serum; he also has to worry about Marilyn's life, and trying to save her. “The six men will die unless this ship reaches them on schedule”(15). The six men on woden are sick and dying from kala fever. The EDS pilot had the kala fever serum on the ship that Madilyn stowaways on. If the EDS pilot doesn't kill the teenage girl then he risks: his life, her life, and the six men's lives. Since, the EDS ship is carrying the serum, it has to be the most important ship out there. “This ship is carrying kala fever serum to group one on Woden”(15). The situation on the EDS ship, and with Madilyn is a hard decision. The pilot risks killing the six men, himself, and Madilyn. If the pilot doesn't make the right choice he risks everything. Consequently, the pilot can't get away from any hard choices, he can't beat the laws of

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