Desire No More

By Algis Budrys

He had but one ambition, one desire: to pilot the first manned rocket to the moon. And he was prepared as no man had ever prepared himself before.... Algis Budrys was the Hugo and Nebula award nominated author of Rogue Moon and Michaelmas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wilder Publications, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781515445791

Algis Budrys

Algis Budrys (1931–2008) was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, where his father served in the Lithuanian diplomatic corps. The family came to the United States when Budrys was five years old. A Renaissance man, he wrote stories and novels, and was an editor, critic, and reviewer, a teacher of aspiring writers, and a publisher. In the 1960s Budrys worked in public relations, advertising products such as pickles, tuna fish, and four-wheel-drive vehicles. His science fiction novels include Rogue Moon, Hard Landing, Falling Torch, and many others. His Cold War science fiction thriller Who? was adapted for the screen, and he received many award nominations for his work. Budrys was married to his wife, Edna, for almost fifty-four years.  

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Desire No More

by Algis Budrys

©2020 Positronic Publishing

Desire No More is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, locales or institutions is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except for brief quotations for review purposes only.

ISBN 13: 978-1-5154-4579-1

Table of Contents

Desire No More

Desire No More

He had but one ambition, one desire: to pilot the first manned rocket to the moon. And he was prepared as no man had ever prepared himself before....

"Desire no more than to thy lot may fall...."

—Chaucer

The small young man looked at his father, and shook his head.

"But you’ve got to learn a trade, his father said, exasperated. I can’t afford to send you to college; you know that."

I’ve got a trade, he answered.

His father smiled thinly. What? he asked patronizingly.

I’m a rocket pilot, the boy said, his thin jaw stretching the skin of his cheeks.

His father laughed in the way the boy had learned to anticipate and hate. Yeah, he said. He leaned back in his chair and laughed so hard that the Sunday paper slipped off his wide lap and fell to the