02319cam a22003493u 450000100060000000300070000600500170001300600020003000700050003200800410003704000110007804100170008905000070010610000310011324500300014426400510017430000470022533600260027233700260029833800360032449000450036050000310040550800960043652012010053253400450173365300200177865300180179865300250181665300400184183000450188185600430192664678UtSlPG20260610134506.0mcr n260607r2021||||utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d  aUtSlPG 7aen2iso639-1 4aPS1 aCoppel, Alfred,d1921-200414aThe First Man on the Moon 1aSalt Lake City, UT :bProject Gutenberg,c2021  a1 online resource :bmultiple file formats  atextbtxt2rdacontent  acomputerbc2rdamedia  aonline resourcebcr2rdacarrier1 aProduced from Planet Stories Spring 1950  aRelease date is 2021-03-03  aGreg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net  a"The First Man on the Moon" by Alfred Coppel is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. The narrative revolves around John Thurmon, a character who is consumed by the ambition of being the first human to land on the moon, yet his journey is tainted by a crime—he has murdered his friend Wayne to ensure that he alone achieves fame. The story intertwines themes of ambition, isolation, and the psychological toll of achieving one’s dreams at any cost.  In the story, John Thurmon finds himself alone on the lunar surface following the crash landing of his rocket, having killed his companion Wayne to secure his legacy as the first man on the moon. As he revels in his triumph, he struggles with the reality of his actions and the fear of dying alone. The story takes a dark turn when Thurmon's sense of victory is shattered by the uncanny appearance of Wayne’s corpse, a manifestation of his guilt and madness. Ultimately, Thurmon's mental state deteriorates as he confronts the consequences of his ambition, leading to a tragic and violent climax that underscores the destructive nature of his obsessive quest for glory. (This is an automatically generated summary.)  nOriginal publication data not identified  aScience fiction  aShort stories  aMurderers -- Fiction  aSpace flight to the moon -- Fiction 0aProduced from Planet Stories Spring 195040uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64678