# Half Around Pluto explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Manly Wade Wellman.

## What happens

Lieutenant Wofforth, stranded on Pluto with Jenks and Corbett after their scout rocket crashes and the mother ship departs, leads a desperate sled journey across the frozen surface toward Base Camp. Tensions erupt when Jenks shoots Corbett, puncturing their tent and causing a fatal loss of pressure. Wofforth survives by donning a spacesuit, buries the dead, and continues alone at high speed across the plain.

## Themes in this chapter

### Isolation and Otherness

The three men are utterly alone on Pluto, abandoned by their ship, facing the desolate and alien environment.

### Fear and Control

Wofforth struggles to maintain command and morale as fear of death and dwindling supplies drive Jenks and Corbett to violence.

## Character check-ins

### Lieutenant Wofforth

Injured and abandoned, he commands the sled journey, shaves despite the cold, and ultimately survives alone after his companions die.

### Jenks

A sallow, hollow-cheeked crewman who argues with Corbett, shoots him, and dies in the tent collapse.

### Corbett

Beefy and slit-eyed, he is shot by Jenks during an argument and dies in the tent.

## Key lines

> I said it's a dying man that's talking. Won't you let me say my dying say, lieutenant? Let's all die honest.

Jenks insists he is speaking as a doomed man and wants to speak truthfully before they all perish.

_Jenks confronts Wofforth about the futility of their journey._

> I'll make it. I'll make it!

Wofforth declares his determination to survive and reach Base Camp alone.

_After burying his crewmates, Wofforth drives the sled faster, alone on Pluto._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/half-around-pluto
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_37_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters