A Long Way Back by Ben Bova Episode #504

Ben Bova | March 1, 2026

A Long Way Back by Ben Bova Episode #504
Ben Bova

A LONG WAY BACK

Episode #504 · Written by Ben Bova · Narrated by Scott Miller

The world below is shattered, its cities scarred by war and its knowledge fading year by year. A small settlement has staked its future on an abandoned satellite designed to beam solar power back to Earth—but someone must assemble it in orbit. Thomas H. Morris is that someone.

Tom is not an engineer. He is a historian chosen because he can be taught through hypnosis and because he can be spared. Alone in space, encased in a failing ship with limited oxygen and no margin for error, he works piece by piece to bring the silent machine to life. The cold creeps in. The batteries fail. The radio crackles with voices that urge him onward. Down below, the settlement believes the satellite will solve everything. Up above, Tom begins to see that power without knowledge is only another fragile illusion.

As the final components lock into place, Tom makes a discovery that changes the mission entirely. With fuel nearly gone and no safe return guaranteed, he must decide not only whether to survive—but what kind of future he is willing to secure for those who sent him into the void. The last maneuver he makes will determine where civilization begins again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ben Bova (1932–2020) became one of the most significant figures in modern science fiction. He served as editor of Analog Science Fiction and Fact from 1972 to 1978, following John W. Campbell, and won six Hugo Awards for Best Professional Editor. As a novelist, Bova authored more than 120 books, including the expansive Grand Tour series—Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and many others—which explored humanity’s expansion into the solar system with scientific rigor and political realism. His nonfiction works, such as The Craft of Writing Science Fiction That Sells, influenced aspiring writers for decades. In early stories like A Long Way Back, Bova combined hard scientific detail with sharp ethical tension, focusing not only on technology but on the human decisions that shape its use.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to A Long Way Back by Ben Bova — a vintage science fiction short story about a lone astronaut forced to choose humanity’s future from orbit.

ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST

The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is the most listened-to vintage science fiction podcast in the world. Ranked the #1 Science Fiction Podcast in 43 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 4.2 million listens.

Each episode features carefully selected stories from the Golden Age of science fiction, professionally narrated. Timeless storytelling the way it was meant to be heard.

What listeners are saying:

★★★★★ “I don’t remember how exactly I found this podcast, but I fell in love with it right away, probably after the first two paragraphs of the narrated story I listened to first. I have a rather big list of podcasts I’m subscribed to, but whenever I see an update from the Lost Sci-Fi, it immediately gets to the first position in my listening queue. Great selection of SciFi works, unparalleled narration where everything only adds up to creating a very enjoyable listening experience: the narrator’s deep and clear voice, just the right speed of the narration, and a perfect balance between narrating and voice acting.”
— ThatsMeMomLetMeIn

★★★★★ “Professional & High Quality. Exceptionally well-produced narration of classic sci-fi short stories. The quality is as good as any audiobook you would pay for on an app. The narrator has a wonderful tone and creates distinct voices for each character. Story selections are also well curated.”
— Becallsberg

Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.