{"product_id":"2940015501964","title":"Salvage in Space","description":"His \"planet\" was the smallest in the solar system, and the loneliest,\u003cbr\u003eThad Allen was thinking, as he straightened wearily in the huge,\u003cbr\u003ebulging, inflated fabric of his Osprey space armor. Walking awkwardly\u003cbr\u003ein the magnetic boots that held him to the black mass of meteoric\u003cbr\u003eiron, he mounted a projection and stood motionless, staring moodily\u003cbr\u003eaway through the vision panels of his bulky helmet into the dark\u003cbr\u003emystery of the void.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis welding arc dangled at his belt, the electrode still glowing red.\u003cbr\u003eHe had just finished securing to this slowly-accumulated mass of iron\u003cbr\u003ehis most recent find, a meteorite the size of his head.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFive perilous weeks he had labored, to collect this rugged lump of\u003cbr\u003emetal--a jagged mass, some ten feet in diameter, composed of hundreds\u003cbr\u003eof fragments, that he had captured and welded together. His luck had\u003cbr\u003enot been good. His findings had been heart-breakingly small; the\u003cbr\u003espectro-flash analysis had revealed that the content of the precious\u003cbr\u003emetals was disappointingly minute.[1]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[Footnote 1: The meteor or asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars\u003cbr\u003eand Jupiter, is \"mined\" by such adventurers as Thad Allen for the\u003cbr\u003eplatinum, iridium and osmium that all meteoric irons contain in small\u003cbr\u003equantities. The meteor swarms are supposed by some astronomers to be\u003cbr\u003efragments of a disrupted planet, which, according to Bode's Law,\u003cbr\u003eshould occupy this space.]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the other side of this tiny sphere of hard-won treasure, his Millen\u003cbr\u003eatomic rocket was sputtering, spurts of hot blue flame jetting from\u003cbr\u003eits exhaust. A simple mechanism, bolted to the first sizable fragment\u003cbr\u003ehe had captured, it drove the iron ball through space like a ship.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough the magnetic soles of his insulated boots, Thad could feel the\u003cbr\u003evibration of the iron mass, beneath the rocket's regular thrust. The\u003cbr\u003emagazine of uranite fuel capsules was nearly empty, now, he reflected.\u003cbr\u003eHe would soon have to turn back toward Mars.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47084368527600,"sku":"2940015501964","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015501964","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}