Sail On! Sail On!
Sail On! Sail On!
Sail On! Sail On! is a science fiction short story by American author Philip José Farmer. It first appeared in the pulp magazine Startling Stories in 1952.
Plot in brief:
In an alternate 1492, Christopher Columbus heads west to reach Asia, funded by the Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella. In this world, the Earth is flat and some scholars doubt its true nature. A character named Angelo Angelli is mentioned in relation to old ideas about gravity. On the ship, radio-like communication is described in religious terms, with angels, cherubim, and signals explained as holy phenomena. Terms such as kilo-cherubs and continuous wingheight are used for frequency and measurement.
Columbus’s crew keep sailing despite growing unease and ominous warnings. The story reveals that the Americas do not exist in this timeline, and the world is a disc. Like other travelers who reach the edge, Columbus and his companions sail beyond the edge and enter Earth orbit, never to return.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:21 (CET).