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From: RG.JMTURN%MIT-OZ@MIT-MC.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Here's The Plot, What's The Title # 23
Message-ID: <13283@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 14-Sep-84 00:41:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.13283
Posted: Fri Sep 14 00:41:00 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Sep-84 04:44:20 EDT
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    Date: Tuesday, 4 September 1984  14:39-EDT
    From: Caro.PA at XEROX.ARPA
    To:   SF-LOVERS at MIT-MC
    Re:   Here's The Plot, What's The Title # 23

The story in question is "Gateway", by Fredrick Pohl, with the following
comments:

    The story takes place in the future, where resources are scarce.  My
    aunt recalls a description of taking a shower, with a five minute
    hot water allotment.

On the asteroid, this is certainly true. Back on Earth, food is pretty
short, but water isn't a problem.

    On an asteroid, some <thing> (machine, device, computer) directs
    adventurous individuals on a random expedition.  

The "thing" is a governing council from the United Nations. The missions aren't
so much random as that the scientists have no idea how the ships work.

                                                     These expeditions
    are exploratory.  If a valuable astronomical body is found (like a
    double star), then the adventurers can claim overwhelming rewards.
    More often that not, however, the adventurers never return alive.

Pretty accurate, except the board is much more interested in Heechee
junk than neat stars.

    The story has a humorous tone.  The hero is a bumbler.  

The story is very tragic in tone, and Robin is portrayed sympathetically.

                                                         It turns out
    that the crew that he gets shipped out with does indeed find a
    double star, but they have trouble escaping from it's gravitational
    pull.  To get away, they decide to jettison one of the pods of their
    two pod ship.  They put all the heavy unnecessary stuff in one pod,
    and they climbed into the other ... all but the hero that is.  By
    his clumsiness, he and his girlfriend were stuck in the pod about to
    be jettisoned.  Somehow, by deciding to sacrifice himself and stay
    in the bad pod, he manages to get his girlfriend over into the good
    pod.

For double star read black hole, and he isn't clumsy.


    In the end, he feels regret, for he knows that although years have
    passed for him (he's wealthy now for the discovery), because of the
    near light acceleration of the other pod, his crewmates are still
    suffering and have not yet died!

Fairly accurate again, except that the time dilation is due to the
event horizon of the black hole.

It should also be noted that there are two sequels (mentioned recently):

Beyond the Blue Event Horizon
Heechee Rendezvous

						James