Evolved Publishing presents a short, quick trek through space with "Paradox" by Lane Diamond. At less than 2,700 words, this is the perfect short distraction from your daily grind.~~~~~...When I'm able to set aside the terror and the realization of what a horrible predicament I face, I have so many questions. Why didn't Space Command abort the trip and stop the ship remotely? Couldn't they see that something was wrong? They must have, as telemetry for remote control was one of their precious safeguards. Did that fail too? We have ourselves a regular comedy of errors, it seems, though I find it not even remotely funny. It could be worse, I suppose; I could be dead......."Think about it, Ted." I might as well talk to myself since there's nothing else to do. "What do you think is going to happen now?"....~~~~~Ted volunteered for the mission because, after all, it was just a routine trip to Mars. What could possibly go wrong?In the deepest, darkest reaches of space, one must fill the vacuum, the void, the emptiness. Yet do we humans have the "psychological stuff" for deep space travel? If not, we may end up like Ted.