Aphelion

... It made more sense than, say, 'Soldier' (the Kurt Russell movie), where they transport trash and obsolete / injured / leave 'em for dead soldiers to a distant planet for dumping purposes.

I wonder how our world, where we pay pennies to workers in Third-World countries to grow and harvest crops or do assembly-line work, then fly the results thousands of miles and charge tens or hundreds or thousands of dollars for the final products, would look to someone from (say) Elizabethan England?  Postulate energy and materials so cheap and plentiful that the supply seems infinite.  Add a population large enough that people, too, are throw-away commodities. Sprinkle with the human propensity for short-sightedness and waste.  And just for fun, throw in solid and projected artificial people so that nobody can ever be sure who or what is real.

Think of this one as being in the tradition of Philip K. Dick with a little Kafka thrown in.  Or maybe Rudy Rucker?  I don't think Ms. Searles meant it to be 'hard sf' ...

Robert M.

What a mess! I don't think that I'll ever become a space pilot----I'll stay with tow-motors and cranes. But the holograms were interesting and even delightfull at time. I'm glad that in the future space pilots are really and I mean really put to the test! The expression 'We Want the Best' takes on another dimension in this story!

The dead man? Or the dead hologram? Well, she failed the test, and I guess whatever it was doesn't matter much. But maybe she passed the test! Just think!

An unsual story, but it kept my interest and was entertaining! What more do you want?