Sayomara: As far as I could see, it landed at about the same time as all other first stages, if not sooner. The timing might have been slightly different because this was a polar launch heading south from Florida, rather than east.

Clark Jerrell: Thank you for the kind words about Pioneer.

Had any publisher or agent had been interested back in 1982 in helping me get published, history would have been very different. None were. Over time my writing focus shifted to non-fiction, because I found I could make money writing it without having to go through third parties (agents).

Today those agents are gone, so the book is finally in print. Writing fiction however is not where my mind travels these days, though I do have several still unpublished fiction from years past that probably could be published today. I will consider doing that, when I have time.

Despite the slight veneer of capitalism that the CCP applies to its command-and-control economy, it would appear a fact of communism that they just can’t keep up with a more market-based economic model.

OT: Just finished reading “Pioneer”. Mr. Zimmerman, I really wish you had more such riveting sci-fi for me to devour! I usually don’t much enjoy first-person fiction, but “Pioneer”, I’m happy to say, is a remarkable exception.

He ain’t lying!