The Broome, John 1913-1999 creator Leydenfrost, Alexander 1888-1961 text utu 2020 monographic en 1 online resource : multiple file formats "The Cosmic Derelict" by John Broome is a science fiction novel likely written in the early 1940s. The story revolves around Captain Christopher Douglas and his crew aboard the spaceship "Lucifer", as they navigate the dangerous Pass of the Twin Witches in order to deliver a cargo of precious platinum on time. As they venture into uncertain territory, the crew must confront both external threats and internal superstitions that challenge their scientific understanding of space travel. In the narrative, Captain Douglas faces significant delays caused by his bo'sun, Tug Skelly, who inadvertently brings chaos to the ship by chasing a stowaway. As tensions rise, they consider an ancient and risky route, the Cross Straits, rumored to be guarded by mythical witches. Tug's reliance on superstition leads him to perform a "ritual of purification," resulting in the ship's hull being painted with the valuable platinum meant for cargo. As they navigate through the perilous Straits, Douglas and his crew confront both the consequences of superstition and the unyielding nature of scientific principles, ultimately arriving at a greater understanding of their experiences and the importance of empirical knowledge. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Release date is 2020-05-18 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Original publication data not identified Science fiction Short stories Space ships -- Fiction PS Original publication data not identified https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62169 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62169 UtSlPG 260607 20260610134431.0 62169