Battle Station (32 page)

Authors: Ben Bova

Those are powerful ideas. To deal with them directly, in an essay or some other nonfiction form, is less
satisfying than dealing with them in fictionâmainly because fiction allows (requires!) the writer to employ the human dimension. In fiction it is not enough merely to expostulate upon the ideas; the writer must show how these concepts affect human beings, how human lives are altered for the better or the worse.

To do this, the writer must employ symbolism. Just as the markings we call an alphabet are actually code symbols for sounds of language, the symbols within a story form a code that speaks directly to the human heart. Without symbolism, fiction is lifeless. With the special richness of symbolism that science fiction allows, the complex and sometimes frightening world of today can be examined and understood by studying it in the mirror world of the future.

Tor Books by Ben Bova

AS ON A DARKLING PLAIN
ASSURED SURVIVAL
THE ASTRAL MIRROR
BATTLE STATION
ESCAPE PLUS
GREMLINS GO HOME (with Gordon R. Dickson)
THE KINSMAN SAGA (hardcover)
ORION
OUT OF THE SUN
PRIVATEERS
PROMETHEANS
TEST OF FIRE
VOYAGERS II: THE ALIEN WITHIN

THE FIRST LASER BEAM CAUGHT THEM UNAWARE

The second laser hit was a high-energy pulse deliberately aimed at the bridge's observation port. It cracked the impact-resistant plastic as easily as a hammer smashes an egg; the air pressure inside the bridge blew the port open. The six men and women became six exploding bodies spewing blood. There was not even time to scream.

Commander Hazard grasped the console's edge with both white-knuckled hands. “You killed six kids,” he said, his voice so low that he barely heard it himself. It was not a whisper but a growl. Buckbee's lips moved slightly in what might have been a smile, but his eyes remained cold. “We had to prove that we mean business, Hazard. Now surrender your station or we'll blow you all to hell.”

BATTLE STATION

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

BATTLE STATION

A TOR Book

Published by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc.
49 West 24 Street
New York, N.Y. 10010

Cover art by Alan Gutierrez

eISBN 9781429931144

First eBook Edition : June 2011