Trail, Minnesota and Houston, Houston, Do You Read?

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 2.1 2010 census 2.2 2000 census 3 References

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.99 square miles (2.56 km2), all of it land. Demographics 2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 46 people, 26 households, and 12 families residing in the city. The population density was 46.5 inhabitants per square mile (18.0/km2). There were 36 housing units at an average density of 36.4 per square mile (14.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 100.0% White.

There were 26 households of which 7.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.6% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 53.8% were non-families. 46.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.77 and the average family size was 2.42.

The median age in the city was 52.5 years. 6.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 17.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 10.9% were from 25 to 44; 50% were from 45 to 64; and 15.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 56.5% male and 43.5% female. 2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 62 people, 26 households, and 13 families residing in the city. The population density was 62.4 people per square mile (24.2/km²). There were 35 housing units at an average density of 35.3 per square mile (13.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.16% White, 1.61% Native American, 1.61% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.61% of the population.

There were 26 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.8% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.0% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.6% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 158.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 152.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,000, and the median income for a family was $36,250. Males had a median income of $35,833 versus $33,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,211. There were 20.0% of families and 22.2% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 22.2% of those over 64.

Houston, Houston, Do You Read? and Trail, Minnesota

The novella first appeared in the anthology Aurora: Beyond Equality, edited by Vonda N. McIntyre and Susan J. Anderson, published by Fawcett in May 1976. It was subsequently reprinted several times (amongst others in the James Tiptree collections Star Songs of an Old Primate in 1978 and Her Smoke Rose Up Forever in 1990) and in 1989 was published in a Tor Doubles mass market paperback (number eleven in that series) with the flipside novella "Souls" by Joanna Russ (ISBN 0-8125-5962-2). It remains Tiptree's most famous and most reprinted story.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Adaptations 3 References 4 External links

Plot summary

The story portrays a crew of three male astronauts launched in the near future on a circumsolar mission in the spaceship Sunbird. A large solar flare damages their craft and leaves them drifting and lost in space. They make repeated attempts to contact NASA in Houston, to no avail. Soon, however, they begin to pick up strange radio communications.

They are puzzled that almost all of the voices are female, usually with a strong Australian accent. They overhear conversations about personal matters (including the birth of a cow) as well as unknown slang terms. Various theories are discussed by the perplexed astronauts: hallucinations? A hoax? A hostile power trying to trick them? They record and play back the conversations over and over, trying to figure out what is going on. Soon, they realize that these unknown people are aware of them and are offering to help.

At first, the Sunbird's commander refuses to communicate with them, suspicious of their motives. As they continue to plead with the astronauts to accept their rescue offer, the men are chilled to hear their mission referred to in historical terms. They come to realize that they were not only thrown off-course in space, but in time as well, and that their flight was lost centuries ago. They are given bare details of the current Earth: an undefined cataclysm has reduced the human population to a mere few million. Eventually, the Sunbird agrees to rendezvous with the spaceship Gloria to allow the astronauts to spacewalk to safety.

The Gloria is an enigma to them. Besides having an almost all-female crew, the ship is haphazard and cluttered with plants and animals on board. None of the technology seems very advanced and some of the ship's functions are powered by stationary bikes. Their culture shock is compounded by the cryptic and incomplete answers they are given concerning the Earth.

Little by little, the three gather clues from both observations and slips of the tongue. While crew members often refer to their "sisters," there is no mention of husbands, boyfriends, or families. There are twins on board (both named Judy), yet one seems older than the other. The one male, a teen named Andy, seems strangely feminine. Technology, and science and culture in general, seems to be relatively unadvanced considering the centuries that passed.

Eventually, they learn the truth. A plague wiped out most human life, including all males. Only about 11,000 people survived, mostly concentrated in Australasia and a few other areas. They reproduce by cloning, and all living humans are clones of the original 11,000 genotypes. Babies are raised communally in crèches, and all members of each genotype are encouraged to add their story to a book that is passed on for the inspiration and education of future "sisters." Certain genotypes are given early androgen treatments (hence, the pseudo-male crew member) to increase bulk and strength for physical tasks. The resulting almost communal maleless society has settled into a peaceful pattern—without major conflict, seemingly happy, but with little advancement.

The Sunbird's crew react to these revelations in different ways. The commander considers this to be a great tragedy, and believes he was chosen by God to lead these females back, with men as family leaders. Another drools at the prospect of millions of women who have not known a man's touch, and fancies himself the object of desire for them all when he returns.

It is then uncovered by the third crew member that his crewmates have been given a drug—one that causes them to show their "true selves". He realizes that they are most certainly not headed home, and the crew of the Gloria do not intend for them to survive. They are perfectly happy living without men, and the astronauts are merely being studied, pressed for any useful information, and (in the case of the overamorous astronaut) used to obtain sperm samples, presumably to introduce fresh genetic material and create new genotypes. Adaptations "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" (1990) - radio drama for the National Public Radio series Sci-Fi Radio. Originally aired as two half-hour shows, February 4 & 11.
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