("Set Phasers on Stun")

[fiefoe]

When conditions are right, we all have the making of a gawker. But POV from the hapless victims in true-life tales ("of Design, Technology, and Human Error") is exactly the wrong condition. Steven Casey tells the stories straight, which makes them all the more chilling.

The first story: 'The engineers for the Canadian manufacturer of the Therac-25, Atomic Energy of Canada, had not considered it possible for a technician to enter this sequence of commands in less than eight seconds.'

The second: 'Thousands of small pockets of air and gas trapped inside the sinus cavities of his face had expanded, shattering much of the bone behind his cheeks and forehead. The oxygen in his blood was boiling away, escaping through his veins and arteries into adjoining tissues... His arms and legs had ballooned to half again their normal size!'

At least the third story (innocuously titled 'Rental Car') has a survivor, so I decided to get out when we are on top. 'But he never did figure out why someone would redesign a fighter plane's instrument panel in the middle of a war.'