"Misfit" is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

by American writer

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...

. It was originally titled "Cosmic Construction Corps" before being renamed by the editor

John W. Campbell John Wood Campbell Jr. (June 8, 1910 – July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (later called ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') from late 1937 until his death and wa ...

and published in the November 1939 issue of ''

Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

''. "Misfit" was Heinlein's second published story. One of the earliest of Heinlein's

Future History A future history, imaginary history or anticipatory history is a fictional conjecture of the future used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for stories. Sometimes the author publishes a t ...

stories, it was later included in the collections '' Revolt in 2100'' and ''

The Past Through Tomorrow ''The Past Through Tomorrow'' is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in 1967, all part of his ''Future History''. Most of the stories are parts of a larger storyline about the future r ...

''.

Plot summary

coming-of-age story In genre studies, a coming-of-age story is a genre of literature, theatre, film, and video game that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from childhood to adulthood, or "coming of age". Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or interna ...

that follows Andrew Jackson Libby, a boy from Earth with extraordinary mathematical ability but meager education. Finding few opportunities on Earth, he joins the ''Cosmic Construction Corps'', a future military-led version of the US Depression-era

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

employing out-of-work youth to construct the infrastructure needed to colonize the Solar System. With a group of other inexperienced young men he is assigned to a ship traveling to the

asteroid belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids ...

, where their task is to build a base on an asteroid and then move it into a more convenient orbit between Earth and Mars. Libby comes to the Captain's attention during the process of blasting holes in the asteroid for rocket engines when Libby realizes that a mistake has been made in calculating the size of the charge, preventing a catastrophic blast. He is assigned to the ship's astrogation computer. During the move to the destination orbit, the computer malfunctions, and Libby takes over, performing all the complex calculations in his head. The asteroid is settled successfully into its final orbit. " Slipstick" Libby became one of Heinlein's recurring characters and would later appear in several works associated with

Lazarus Long Lazarus Long is a fictional character featured in a number of science fiction novels by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Born in 1912 in the third generation of a selective breeding experiment run by the Ira Howard Foundation, Lazarus (birth ...

, among them ''

Methuselah's Children ''Methuselah's Children'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Originally serialized in ''Astounding Science Fiction'' in the July, August, and September 1941 issues, it was expanded into a full-length novel in 1958. ...

'' and ''

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls ''The Cat Who Walks Through Walls'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, published in 1985. Like many of his later novels, it features Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw as supporting characters. Plot summary A write ...

''. The story includes one of the earliest uses of the term "

space marine The space marine is an archetype of military science fiction describing a kind of soldier who operates in outer space or on alien worlds. History The earliest known use of the term "space marine" was by Bob Olsen in his short story "Captain ...

s".

References

External links

*
"Misfit"
on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

1939 short stories Fiction about main-belt asteroids Mathematics fiction books Short stories by Robert A. Heinlein Science fiction short stories Works originally published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact {{1930s-sf-story-stub