Hinterlands
Written by William Gibson
www.ink2quill.com

“Hinterlands” is a Scifi, cosmic horror, short story written by William Gibson. It is one story from his Burning Chrome collection of 10 short stories, which include well known stories like “Johnnie Mneumonic”. William Gibson is also the author of the Scifi, cyberpunk classic “Neuromancer”, arguably the greatest novel in the cyberpunk genre. This is a story of great imagination.

William Gibson Goodreads webpage

William Gibson: Burning Chrome, Goodreads webpage

William Gibson: Neuromancer Goodreads webpage

“Hinterlands” is the story of Toby Halpert, the narrator who tells the story of the space station near the wormhole called ‘The Metro’, ‘The River’ and ‘The Highway’. Toby describes how the astronauts who went through the wormhole only to come back insane. The story takes an interesting turn when some of the astronauts come back with artifacts, Like Olga’s seashell. Astronaut after astronaut return dead, catatonic or suicided. A strange fascination develops with the artifacts that come back through the wormhole. This is a story of humanity’s discovery and exploration of the hinterlands of space.

I like the mystery and unknown in this story and how space travel and anomalies in space can pose one question after another with no end to questions. The element of cosmic horror is a nice touch too. The idea that space or the unknown in general can be so foreign to the human mind and experience that it could render a person insane. A reality so strange that the mind cannot handle it and breaks. H.P. Lovecraft was another author who explored this subgenre with mastery.

Another story element I really enjoyed was how ‘The Highway’ was probably used by races, intelligences that did not build it or understand it. It was a kind of airport where travelers passed through and sometimes exchanged communications. So The Highway is the big mystery of the story. It is probably what drives the astronauts insane, time after time. In my opinion, the astronauts have to be prepared or even modified before approaching The Highway, like keeping a goldfish in its plastic bag inside the tank so it will adjust to the aquarium tank temperature. I suspect that future space travel will require that people/ astronauts be modified in order to travel the stars and beyond. Oh but firstly I would send technology in first. I would send in robots, drones and the like.

This is a great short story worth the read. It’s an enjoyable read.

John Ink2Quill

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