The Lost Bradbury by Ray Bradbury

get a nice easy job on a morgue ship—”
    Lines appeared in Brandon’s gaunt cheeks, his eyes were closed, the lids pale. He said, and tried to believe it himself, “Someone has to pick up the bodies after the battle. They can’t go flying on forever in their own orbits. They deserve burial.”
    The bitterness of Logan struck even deeper. “Who are you tryin’ to convince?” He was on his feet now. “Me, it’s different. I got a right to running this ship. I was in the other war.”
    “You’re a liar,” Brandon retorted. “You hunted radium in the asteroids with a mineral tug. You took this Morgue Ship job so you could go right on hunting radium, picking up bodies on the side.”
    Logan laughed softly, but not humorously. “So what? Least I’m no coward. I’ll burn anybody gets in my way.” He thought it over. “Unless,” he added, “they give me a little money.”
    Brandon turned away, feeling ill. He forced himself to climb up the rungs toward that air-lock, where that fresh body lay, newly still-born from space by the retrieving-claw. His palms left wet shining prints on the rungs. His climbing feet made a soft noise in the cold metal silence.
    The body lay in the cold air-lock’s center, as thousands had lain before. Its posture was one of easy slumber, relaxed and not speaking ever again.
    * * * *
    Brandon took in his breath. Numbly he realized it was not his son. Every time a new body was found he feared and yet hoped it would be Richard. Richard of the easy laughter and good smile and dark curly hair. Richard who was now floating off somewhere toward some far eternity.
    Brandon’s eyes dilated. He went to his knees and with efficient darts of his eyes, he covered the vital points of this strange uniform with the young body inside it. His heart pounded briefly, and when he got up again he acted like he had been struck in the face. He walked unsteadily to the rungs.
    “Logan,” he called down the hole in a numbed voice. “Logan, come up here. Quick.”
    Logan climbed lazily up, emitting grunts and smoke.
    “Look here,” said Brandon, kneeling again by the body.
    Logan looked and didn’t believe it. “Where in hell’d you get that?”
    Lying there, the face of the body was like snow framed by the ebon-black of the hair. The eyes were blue jewels caught in the snow. There were slender fingers reclining against the hips. But, most important of all, was the cut of the silver metal uniform, the grey leather belt and the bronze triangle over the silent heart with the numerals 51 on it.
    Logan held onto the rungs. “Three hundred years old,” he whispered it. “Three hundred years old,” he said.
    “Yes.” The Numerals 51 were enough for Brandon. “After all these centuries, and in perfect condition. Look how calm he is. Most corpse faces aren’t—pretty. Something happened, three hundred years ago, and he’s been drifting, alone, ever since. I—” Brandon caught his breath.
    “What’s wrong?” snapped Logan.
    “This man,” said Brandon, wonderingly, “committed suicide.”
    “How do you figure?”
    “There’s not a mark of decompression, centrifugal force, disintegrator or ray-burn on him. He simply stepped out of a ship. Why should a Scientist of the 51 Circle commit suicide?”
    “They had wars back there, too,” said Logan. “But this is the first time I ever seen a stiff from one of them. It can’t happen. He shoulda been messed up by meteors.”
    A strange prickling crept over Brandon. “When I was a kid, I remember thumbing through history books, reading about those famous 51 Scientists of the Circle who were doing experimental work on Pluto back in the year 2100. I memorized their uniforms, and this bronze badge. I couldn’t mistake it. There was a rumor that they were experimenting with some new universal power weapon.”
    “A myth,” said Logan.
    “Who knows? Maybe. Maybe not. But before that super weapon was completed, Earth fell beneath Mar’s assault. The