The Barrier

"The Barrier" by Bryce Walton is a science fiction tale about John Stevens, a prisoner who gets a shot at freedom by piloting a super-fast spaceship. The story looks at what it means to push human limits, the dangers of space travel, and the mental and physical struggles of those who try to overcome challenges. Stevens flies on a risky trip in a spacecraft made to go faster and endure more than any human ever has. As he zooms through space at incredible speeds, he thinks about his past and the decision that landed him in this situation, remembering his feelings of guilt about accidentally killing someone. On this test flight, Stevens has a strange experience that boosts his awareness, showing him that he briefly moved into another world. When he comes back, he's surprisingly unharmed and ready for new adventures, but he can't forget the deep experience that suggests there are unknown levels of reality beyond what humans can understand.