La nube cósmica

Catalog Note *La Nube Cósmica* (The Cosmic Cloud), by Ralph Barby, is a science fiction novel in Editorial Bruguera's "Conquista del Espacio" series (issue 334, January 1977). Commander Aquiles Zasbry of the exploration vessel *New Pioner* faces a decision: the ship has encountered an enormous, impenetrable cosmic cloud drifting toward the solar system. While Major Calloway warns that penetrating it risks the lives of eighty crew members and would disable all navigational sensors, Zasbry argues the mission requires obtaining data about this existential threat to Earth. He proposes a democratic vote among the crew—those voting against will return on a shuttle. The narrative follows Zasbry's deliberations with his second officer and shifts to Lieutenant Stephany, the ship's personnel officer, who harbors romantic feelings for the disciplined commander while preparing to tabulate the crew's anonymous votes on this perilous decision.