Starburst Author:Frederik Pohl At the instigation of National Science Advisor Dr. Dieter von Knefhausen, a decaying U.S. government has gathered its resources to finance a splendid last hope for America and the human race. Eight astronauts, four brave and brilliant American couples, are to ride the starship Constitution on a ten-year voyage to the newly discovered Earth-like ... more »planet Alpha-Aleph, orbiting Alpha Centauri. What the astronauts don't know—what almost no one knows—is that when they get to Centauri there will be no planet there waiting for them.
What will the learning-accelerated crew of the Constitution do when they find out... and they will find out pretty soon... the trick that has been played on them? Will they reverse voyage and wreak vengeance on Earth? Or will they stay on course and create a planet around Alpha Centauri? They're going to need living space, since they've discovered that the best use of the birth control pills is to mix them with recycling fluid for parties...
[This is an expanded version of the novella "The Gold at the Starbow's End", originally published in Analog in 1972.]« less