Lost in the Future

"Lost in the Future" by John Victor Peterson is a science fiction story where two astronauts, Albrecht and the narrator, journey to a planet far from Earth. Making history as the first to arrive on this inhabited world, they soon realize their faster-than-light hyperspace travel has warped their sense of time relative to the alien population, causing themselves to live slightly in the future. Hampered by their temporal offset, the duo struggles to communicate and connect with the aliens and must look for a ticket home. Realizing they could be forever severed from meaningful interaction, they attempt to remedy their state by returning to their ship where they hope to recalibrate their temporal position. The story demonstrates the wonders and risks of traveling the cosmos.