The Altar at Midnight

The young spacer carries his scars like currency in a world that values him only for what he's endured. In the neon-lit bars of a future Earth, he searches for something the stars couldn't give him: genuine human connection. An older man becomes his guide through the nighttime city, their conversations weaving between dark humor and raw confession. What emerges is a stark portrait of what humanity asks of its pioneers - not just their bodies risked in the void, but their souls surrendered to a cause that will never know their names. This is science fiction with noir bones, interested in the physical cost of progress and the loneliness that persists even when you've touched the infinite. Kornbluth writes with cold precision about hot subjects: what we owe those who risk everything for a future they'll never see.