Latent Image

"Latent Image" by George O. (George Oliver) Smith is a science fiction tale that drops us into a future where people live across the solar system, centering on the harrowing journey of John McBride. When John learns his pregnant wife, Enid, is really sick and needs him, it kicks off desperate race against time and space. Stuck on Pluto, a man-made version of Hell, John must fight tooth and nail to get back home. His quest becomes intertwined with a quirky crew and their experimental spaceship, the "Haywire Queen," which is riddled with problems. Using his smarts, John helps fix the ship, pushing the crew to make the impossible journey. The story really hones in on doing what’s right and how far a person is willing to go for family, especially as the damaged ship throws them into dangerous situations, like going faster than light. In the end, it’s all about John getting back in the nick of time for the birth of his son, which connects the idea of a "latent image" because the baby looks just like his dad, capturing the result of his struggles to get home.