It is a story about a group of people in a spaceship who are part of a campaign to defeat a barrier around a region of space, in order to get to the riches within.
On reaching the Barrier, Captain Steev invites the experts to present their plans to the rest of the crew and passengers.
The plan was to use Virginia's psychic ability, which he calls the "doubt field" to neutralize the "cold fusion" reactors that run both the ship and the Barrier controls.
The pod would then arrive at the asteroid, burrow into its surface, and set off a thermonuclear bomb, killing Virginia as well as destroying the Barrier.
Before the pod exploded, the race that built the barrier contacted her and told her how to use a spacesuit and jet pack to get clear.