02464cam a22003613u 450000100060000000300070000600500170001300600020003000700050003200800410003704000110007804100170008905000070010610000330011324500250014626400510017130000470022233600260026933700260029533800360032149000590035750000310041650801490044752012370059653400450183365300200187865300180189865300390191665300280195583000590198385600430204299900170208524135UtSlPG20260610133543.0mcr n260607r2008||||utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d  aUtSlPG 7aen2iso639-1 4aPS1 aGarrett, Randall,d1927-198714aThe Measure of a Man 1aSalt Lake City, UT :bProject Gutenberg,c2008  a1 online resource :bmultiple file formats  atextbtxt2rdacontent  acomputerbc2rdamedia  aonline resourcebcr2rdacarrier1 aProduced from Astounding Science Fiction, April, 1960.  aRelease date is 2008-01-03  aE-text prepared by Greg Weeks, Bruce Albrecht, Mary Meehan, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)  a"The Measure of a Man" by Randall Garrett is a science fiction novella published in the early 1960s. The story is set against the backdrop of a future war between humans and a superior alien race known as the Rats. The narrative explores themes of sacrifice, courage, and the human condition as it follows the lone survivor, Alfred Pendray, aboard a damaged battleship trying to save humanity from impending doom.  The plot centers on Alfred Pendray, who finds himself as the last living crew member of the battleship "Shane", after an ambush by the Rats. With the ship severely damaged and lifeboats destroyed, Pendray must navigate through the wreckage and face devastating challenges to potentially save Earth from a catastrophic attack – a device capable of destabilizing a star. After repairing one of the engines, he discovers his only hope lies in reaching Earth with vital information encoded on microfilm within a limited timeframe. Ultimately, Pendray makes the ultimate sacrifice, exposing himself to deadly radiation to shorten his journey in a lifeboat, showcasing the measure of a man's resolve and the difficult choices one must face in the face of insurmountable odds. (This is an automatically generated summary.)  nOriginal publication data not identified  aScience fiction  aShort stories  aExtraterrestrial beings -- Fiction  aSpace flight -- Fiction 0aProduced from Astounding Science Fiction, April, 1960.40uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24135  c65136d65136