Asimov’s Science Fiction, March/April 2026
This poignant novelette follows Theo and her best friend Celeste from childhood through young adulthood, united by their fierce dream of reaching space.
As ten-year-olds, the two girls and their friends are “astrogirls,” obsessed with the video game Star Explorer and astronaut Amelia Singh. They create elaborate pretend spaceships and wear homemade spacesuits for Halloween. By age twelve, only Theo and Celeste remain dedicated to their space dreams. Celeste builds a matchstick rocket that accidentally ignites her father’s shed—her dad’s calm response to this “rapid, unexpected disassembly” reveals his gentle nature.
The girls’ paths diverge academically: Celeste attends MIT while Theo goes to the University of Wyoming. But their shared passion endures. When MIT announces the revolutionary Dirac Drive—enabling 1G acceleration and turning multi-year Solar System journeys into days-long trips—the friends recognize it as their ticket to the stars. They hold hands three times in their lives: watching a lunar eclipse at prom, at Celeste’s father’s funeral, and in a hospital ICU.
Theo pursues flight training obsessively, working with instructor Dusty at Snowy Mountain Air School. She flies F-16s, helicopters, and eventually trains in a sophisticated Dirac One cockpit simulator. Despite her qualifications, she’s repeatedly rejected for space programs while Celeste excels, publishing papers and earning prestigious awards. Celeste secures a position as flight engineer on Dirac One’s maiden voyage—the Gustav Holst Tour visiting every planet.
Tragedy strikes twice. First, legendary astronaut Amelia Singh dies in a catastrophic launch explosion when the Launch Escape System fails. The disaster grounds manned spaceflight temporarily and devastates both young women. Then, just before her scheduled mission, Celeste suffers a massive stroke while teaching high school students. Theo rushes to Cambridge to find her friend brain-dead on life support.
At Celeste’s hospital bedside, Theo meets Robert Riley, Dirac One’s flight director, who reveals that Celeste had been advocating for Theo’s inclusion in the space program “for months.” After Celeste’s death, Riley recruits Theo based on her friend’s recommendations and Theo’s extensive simulator experience.
The story concludes with Theo aboard Dirac One at Whitson Station, preparing for launch. Initially, reaching space feels anticlimactic—a “Christmas present that underwhelmed.” She experiences survivor’s guilt, unable to fill “the Celeste-shaped hole.”
But moments before departure, Theo notices a bronze plaque mounted in the cockpit: Celeste’s portrait with her childhood declaration, “I rule the wild steel.” In that instant, Theo realizes they achieved their dream together. Despite Celeste’s physical absence, her fierce need propelled them both to the stars. As acceleration kicks in, Theo finally understands that their childhood promise has been fulfilled—the astrogirls made it after all.
Van Pelt crafts a bittersweet meditation on friendship, determination, and how those we lose continue to launch us toward our dreams.
James Van Pelt retired after a full career teaching high school English in western Colorado, and now writes full time. His fiction has made numerous appearances in most of the major science fiction and fantasy magazines. The American Library Association recognized his first collection of stories, Strangers and Beg-gars, as a Best Book for Young Adults. The next, The Last of the O-Forms and Other Stories, includes the Nebula finalist title story, and was a finalist for the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award, while The Radio Magician and Other Sto-ries received the Colorado Book Award. His most recent, the huge The Best of James Van Pelt, is available in both hard-back and paperback.