Becalmed in Hell

Written three years before "2001: A Space Odyssey," this story similarly explores the psychological confrontation of a man and his spaceship's controlling intelligence system. Instead of an intelligent computer, Howie's ship is controlled by a man's brain and nervous system--a fellow spaceman named Eric who was critically injured in an accident. They are in orbit above Venus on a fact-finding mission when Eric reports the alarming news that he is unable to 'feel' the ramjets they need to get home. Upon investigation, Howie finds nothing wrong with the jets and begins to suspect that Eric is suffering from a paralyzing psychosis. Nebula Award(R) Nominee