Wanted: One Sane Man

In Short

Frank M. Robinson’s science fiction story follows Mr. Whiteford, the ruthlessly efficient young president of Personnel Incorporated, as he attempts to find a pilot for Atlantic Motors and the government's second lunar rocket after the first pilot crashed. When automated psychological sorting reveals that no entirely sane person would volunteer for such a perilous voyage, Whiteford impulsively pilots the rocket himself. Enduring weeks of grueling isolation, weightlessness, space-sickness, and mounting terror, he ultimately completes the historic mission, returning to earth with a hardened resolve and a new understanding of what it takes to conquer the stars.

The Story

The narrative opens in the bustling, monolithic headquarters of Personnel Incorporated, where Frank Maxwell and George Burger of Atlantic Motors confront the confident young director, Whiteford. They explain that their first moon rocket crashed because its pilot suffered a mental breakdown, and they need an immaculately stable replacement. When Whiteford brags that his agency never fails, he initiates a massive international screening process using advanced tabulating cards and psychological tests. To his shock, the sorting machine yields zero qualified candidates. Dr. Burroughs, the company psychologist, explains the inescapable truth: no entirely sane, balanced person would voluntarily risk their life on a plutonium-powered rocket around the moon.

Refusing to accept defeat and guarding the infallible reputation of his empire, Whiteford abruptly leaves his stunned secretary, Miss Hancock, in charge, and secretly volunteers to pilot the rocket himself. After a brief briefing and a look at the film footage of the first crash, Whiteford straps into the cramped cabin. The crushing acceleration of the take-off leaves him gasping and disoriented. Once in free flight, he encounters the immediate, agonizing onset of space-sickness, persistent headaches caused by increased blood flow to the head, and the disorienting hazards of weightlessness. He struggles with erratic water pipes, broken equipment, and the relentless, nerve-fraying ticking of the geiger counter, which triggers paranoid fears of radiation poisoning and meteorite strikes.

As the days bleed into a monotonous, unwashed blur of solitary confinement, boredom, and failing health, Whiteford's psychological endurance frays completely. He battles severe insomnia, skin breakouts, and creeping hysteria. At his lowest point on the thirteenth day, overwhelmed by physical misery and depression, he seriously considers intentionally crashing the ship into the moon just to end the torment. However, a sudden realization stays his hand: if he fails, the reputation of Personnel Incorporated will be ruined, and his life's work will collapse.

Recovering his composure, he endures the remainder of the trajectory around the moon. Upon returning to earth, the cabin parachutes safely into the ocean, where Whiteford is swarmed by eager reporters and Coast Guard rescuers. Brushing aside their sensationalized questions, he announces his intention to return immediately to his office. In the final confrontation, Maxwell visits Whiteford and delivers a sharp psychological insight: Whiteford only succeeded because he possesses a streak of monomania and neurosis, proving that the original pilot qualifications were flawed, and that true achievement requires a rare, unmeasurable brand of courage.

How It Unfolds

The appointment at Personnel Incorporated sets the premise as Maxwell and Burger confront Whiteford about their desperate need for a psychologically perfect lunar pilot.

The automated screening failure unfolds when thousands of international applicant cards pass through the sorting machines, resulting in an empty acceptance hopper and Dr. Burroughs' blunt revelation that no sane person would volunteer.

The agonizing launch and weightlessness begin as Whiteford takes his place in the rocket, suffering immediate physical shock from heavy G-forces followed by severe space-sickness and disorientation in free fall.

The mounting psychological terror tracks Whiteford's descent into isolation, where routine maintenance tasks are overshadowed by chronic headaches, erratic equipment, spoiled meals, and a terrifying paranoia regarding radiation and meteorites.

The near-fatal impulse to crash reaches a climax on the thirteenth day when overwhelming despair drives Whiteford to contemplate destroying the ship, until his fierce corporate pride and identity pull him back from the edge.

The triumphant return concludes the journey as the capsule splashes down in the Atlantic, and Whiteford brushes off the press to resume his administrative duties, leaving Maxwell to reflect on the nature of his success.

The People

Frank Maxwell, a government representative, initiates the search for a lunar pilot and acts as a sharp-eyed observer of human nature. He challenges Whiteford's corporate hubris and ultimately recognizes the hidden neurosis and raw courage required to make the journey.

George Burger, the director of the experimental division at Atlantic Motors, brings the initial personnel problem to Whiteford. He is skeptical, testy, and doubtful that the employment agency can solve an impossible engineering and psychological crisis.

Mr. Whiteford, the thirty-year-old president of Personnel Incorporated, is an overfed, meticulously dressed corporate genius who exudes absolute confidence. Driven by an unwavering belief in his agency's infallibility and a deep-seated monomania, he pushes himself through unbearable physical and mental torment in space to protect his life's work.

Miss Hancock, Whiteford's loyal and overworked secretary, manages the chaotic switchboards and is left in charge of the entire global corporation during Whiteford's secret month-long absence.

Dr. Burroughs, the company psychologist, administers the pilot tests and delivers the sobering reality check that brings Whiteford's automated empire to a temporary halt.

In Its Own Voice

"Maxwell looked surprised. 'You haven't heard of him? The newest boy wonder in the business world? He's the genius who runs this modern slave market.'"

This observation introduces the scale and reputation of Whiteford's centralized employment empire at the story's outset.

"'Let me pose a question. What entirely sane man would volunteer, for any amount of money, to pilot a plutonium engine rocket around the moon and back?'"

Dr. Burroughs cuts straight to the core thematic dilemma facing the corporate search for a space pilot.

"The cabin exploded into a pinwheel of stars that quickly faded into blackness."

This visceral description captures the sudden physical violence of firing the manual correction jets inside the cramped rocket.

What It's Really About

The book explores the tension between mechanized efficiency and the unpredictable nature of the human psyche. It interrogates the modern corporate obsession with control, standardization, and psychological testing, questioning whether complex, high-risk human endeavors can truly be reduced to IBM sorting cards. Underneath the plot lies an examination of ambition and sanity, suggesting that monumental achievements are rarely accomplished by well-adjusted, ordinary people. Instead, the narrative argues that progress often requires a degree of monomania, neurosis, and stubborn pride—qualities that conventional metrics deem flawed but which ultimately drive humanity into the unknown.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy mid-century psychological science fiction and tightly focused character studies will find this a rewarding, briskly paced experience. Reading it feels like stepping into a vintage corporate boardroom that abruptly telescopes into the suffocating silence of deep space. The story captures the claustrophobia of early space flight long before modern computer navigation, grounding its terror in physical miseries like dry heaves, tangled plumbing, and the maddening tick of a geiger counter. While some period elements, such as the rigid mid-century business culture and occasional casual attitudes, reflect its 1955 publication in Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy, its sharp critique of corporate arrogance remains remarkably modern. What stays with you is the unvarnished portrayal of a driven man confronting his own psychological limits in the dark void, and the lingering question of whether true greatness requires sacrificing one's peace of mind.