The Answer

"The Answer" by H. Beam Piper is a science fiction story where the world is struggling to heal after a nuclear war. Two scientists, Lee Richardson and Alexis Pitov, work together on a dangerous experiment with a negamatter missile. Both carry heavy memories of the past, especially from a terrible event called the Auburn Bomb that destroyed their cities. As they proceed, they must face their own feelings of guilt, deal with the remnants of old rivalries, and consider frightening potentials of their research. The story builds to a surprising discovery about the nature of their experiment, intertwined with echoes of past traumas, and highlights lasting effects, regret, and the possibility of redemption.