02403cam a22003613u 450000100060000000300070000600500170001300600020003000700050003200800410003704000110007804100170008905000070010610000150011324500210012826400510014930000470020033600260024733700260027333800360029949000550033550000310039050801290042152012390055053400450178965300200183465300180185465300260187265300280189883000550192685600430198199900170202424101UtSlPG20260610133543.0mcr n260607r2008||||utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d  aUtSlPG 7aen2iso639-1 4aPS1 aCory, John10aEgocentric Orbit 1aSalt Lake City, UT :bProject Gutenberg,c2008  a1 online resource :bmultiple file formats  atextbtxt2rdacontent  acomputerbc2rdamedia  aonline resourcebcr2rdacarrier1 aProduced from Astounding Science Fiction May 1960.  aRelease date is 2008-01-01  aProduced by Greg Weeks, Bruce Albrecht, Stephen Blundell
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net  a"Egocentric Orbit" by John Cory is a science fiction short story that was likely written during the mid-20th century. The story explores the psychological effects of space travel and the profound experiences of an astronaut orbiting Earth. It delves into themes of isolation and the human perspective on the universe, as the protagonist reflects on his solitary journey and the transformative nature of seeing the Earth from space.  In this narrative, the astronaut undergoes the routine of space exploration, making checks on his capsule while contemplating his surroundings. As he completes multiple orbits, he experiences a mix of exhilaration and introspection, feeling a crushing sense of individuality and importance at being alone in the cosmos. While he is aware of the two previous astronauts who had returned from their missions altered and withdrawn, he believes that his perceptive abilities heighten his appreciation of the beauty and vastness around him. Ultimately, he chooses to disable the controls meant for his return, succumbing to the allure of the infinite, suggesting a profound psychological change regarding his existence and identity in relation to the universe. (This is an automatically generated summary.)  nOriginal publication data not identified  aScience fiction  aShort stories  aPsychological fiction  aSpace flight -- Fiction 0aProduced from Astounding Science Fiction May 1960.40uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24101  c65102d65102