United States » Los resúmenes

Ray Bradbury: The Rocket. Summary

Fiorello Bodoni, a humble junk dealer, dreams of traveling into space but knows it is a privilege reserved for the wealthy. After years of work, he manages to save enough money to buy a single ticket on a rocket to Mars. When he shares the news with his family, they try to decide who will go, but no one wants to be the only one to benefit. In the end, Bodoni buys a realistic rocket model with his savings and installs it in his yard. Secretly, he transforms its interior with visual effects, sounds, and simulated movements. For seven days, he makes his children believe they are on a space journey, and they live it as if it were real. Upon returning, they are all happy and grateful for the adventure. Even though they never left their home, Bodoni fulfilled his family’s dream thanks to his ingenuity and dedication.

Stephen King: The Jaunt. Summary and analysis

In a future where teleportation—called “The Jaunt”—allows instant travel between planets, the Oates family is preparing to move to Mars. While they wait, the father tells his children the story of The Jaunt and the experiments that revealed a disturbing detail: although the physical journey lasts a fraction of a second, the conscious mind perceives it as an unbearable eternity. For this reason, before traveling, all passengers are anesthetized so that they face the procedure asleep. Fascinated by the story, the eldest son decides to experience the journey awake. Upon arriving on Mars, his body survives, but his mind goes mad when confronted with the temporal abyss of consciousness without stimuli.