Is Marilyn thrown overboard in Tom Godwin's "The Cold Equations"?

In Tom Godwin's short story "The Cold Equations," Marilyn's jettison from the ship is inevitable, and Barton has no choice but to do so. To be jettisoned does, indeed, mean to be thrown overboard a "vessel of aircraft" to lighten its load (Random House Dictionary). Marilyn's jettison is inevitable because the continuation of her one life aboard the Emergency Dispatch Ship (EDS) will cost the lives of many others.

Godwin's futuristic science fiction story is set in outer space, and mankind is in the process of colonizing the various planets in the galaxy. Since the colonies on the various planets are very far apart from each other, the chances of man's survival in the colonies are slim without some method of emergency transportation. EDSs were designed to be lightweight to reach their destinations and fulfill their emergency missions as quickly as possible. Since they need to be lightweight, they can only carry the precise amount of fuel needed to reach their destination, and fuel is calculated based on mass and distance. The additional weight of a stowaway changes the mass, and the ships do not carry enough fuel to be able to reach their destinations with additional mass. Therefore, authorities have issued the regulation that all stowaways must be jettisoned to ensure the EDSs reach their destinations and save the lives they set out to save. As the narrator explains, "It was a law not of men's choosing but made imperative by the circumstances of the space frontier."

By the end of the story, Marilyn perfectly understands there is not enough fuel to carry her weight and accepts her choice has led to consequences she did not anticipated. After writing her goodbye letter to her parents and talking with her brother on the radio, she is prepared to accept her fate; she steps "into the air lock" and tells Barton, "I'm ready." Barton then performs the necessary actions to jettison her. Although Barton knows he has no choice but to take Marilyn's life to ensure the lives of others are saved, he grieves over her death, still feeling her presence and hearing her words long after she is gone.

What might happen to Marilyn in "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin?

In Tom Godwin's short story "The Cold Equation," authorities have created the interstellar regulation declaring, "Any stowaway discovered in an EDS shall be jettisoned immediately following discovery." This is because the Emergency Dispatch Ships needed to be small and lightweight in design so that they could speedily and effectively reach the distant colonies needing emergency assistance. Due to the necessary small and lightweight design, EDSs can only carry enough fuel needed to reach their destinations. Extra weight created by stowaways would burn up fuel to fast, ensuring the EDS would crash, costing many lives. Therefore, one stowaway must lose his/her life in order to save the lives of many.

Since that's the case, Marilyn will be jettisoned from Barton's EDS. Upon discovering that she was only a young, naive girl, he tried to negotiate a rescue mission with Commander Delhart, but Commander Delhart gave Barton the reply he was expecting, an emergency stop made by the hyperspace cruiser would cost many lives. However, Barton was able to calculate how much time she could safely stay on-board if he reduced his declaration speed and negotiate with the commander to permit her to stay for that long.

Once jettisoned into outer space, since she will not be wearing a space suit, scientists report that, in the vacuum of outer space, her lungs will expand, causing tissue tearing; she will lose vision as the liquid surrounding her eyes boils off in seconds; she will lose consciousness and blood circulation and die of asphyxiation, meaning suffocation. The whole process would take a matter of two minutes.