Skid Row Pilot
By Randall Garrett
Flunking a physical was the greatest worry
a space pilot had. It was the one worry Kendall
never bothered about—until he landed on Mars....
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy
August 1957
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Ted Kendall waited with thinly-concealed impatience in the unheated outer office of Mars' branch of Space Service, cursing the red tape that kept him anchored on this cold, miserable pebble of a planet.
"We'll have that analysis in just a moment, Pilot Kendall," came the voice from the inner office. "Please be patient."
"I'll try," Kendall growled bitterly.
Actually, he thought, it was his own fault. A spacepilot had to have a reflex checkup every six months, to determine whether or not he was still capable of the myriad split-second decisions that had to be made during the course of the Earth-Mars run.
Kendall's six-month exam had been scheduled to fall due about four days after he left Earth for his present run. A midflight due-date of this sort gave him an option: he could take the test four days early, on Earth, or he could wait till the journey was completed and be tested at the Mars end of the run.