by F. L. Wallace
Imagine, if you can, that Christopher Columbus never existed--that in
his place was a fantastic crew of circus freaks. They would be our
heroes of history as discoverers of the New World. We all would honor
the Fat Woman, erect statues to the Human Firefly, perhaps name a
continent after the Half Man-Half Machine. Ridiculous? Preposterous?
Well, maybe not....
Mankind is faced with such a possibility in this unusual science
fiction novel. In a future age of interplanetary travel new worlds and
alien races are awaiting discovery and a decision must be made. Who
will be the first interstellar explorers--and make the first alien
contact?
On a tiny asteroid between Mars and Jupiter a handful of people seek
the honor. They are "the Accidentals." They are pathetic, crippled and
deformed humans, half or quarter men and women, fractional organisms
masquerading as people. To many they are just "circus freaks", but to
themselves they are still members of the human race. Their plan is
sound. The galaxy has long since been conquered and now the distant
stars await the probing of Earthmen. Yet the stars are very very far
away and the exploratory trips will be very very long. Ordinary men
would find the voyages nearly unbearable. The Accidentals, though, are
not ordinary men. The medical skills which have kept them alive have
given them incredible endurance. They are unbelievably tough, nearly
immortal. They are the ones who could be the star-flung explorers.
From that begins one of the strangest flights to the Stars that mankind
may ever see.
"Science-Fiction at its Best"