영어로 읽는 고전 _ 조지 O. 스미스의 숨겨진 고속도로
조지 O. 스미스의 "숨겨진 고속도로"는 20세기 중반에 쓰여진 공상과학 소설이다. 이 이야기는 약혼자 캐서린 루이스와 함께 도주하던 중 충격적인 사고를 겪는 초감각자 스티브 코넬을 중심으로 전개된다. 사고 후 스티브는 심각한 육체적 부상뿐만 아니라 캐서린의 갑작스러운 실종을 둘러싼 미스터리에 직면한다. 텔레파시, 지하 고속도로, 그리고 불가사의한 질병에 대한 이러한 탐구는 개인적 상실과 더 큰 음모를 엮어내는 설득력 있는 서사의 기초를 형성한다.
서사의 시작에서 스티브는 심각한 자동차 사고 후 병원에서 깨어나지만, 담당 의사로부터 사고 당시 그가 혼자였으며 함께 있었다고 주장하는 캐서린은 행방불명이라는 말을 듣는다. 그가 자신의 트라우마와 그녀의 존재에 대한 기억을 뒷받침할 증거의 명백한 부재와 씨름하면서, 소설은 정신적 인식, 현실 대 환상, 그리고 캐서린의 운명과 인류에 영향을 미치는 신비한 질병 모두에 대한 비밀을 간직하고 있을지도 모르는 숨겨진 지하 사회라는 주제를 파고든다. 진실을 향한 스티브의 탐구는 그로 하여금 존재의 본질, 텔레파시, 그리고 인류의 구조 자체를 변화시키는 질병의 사회적 함의에 대해 의문을 갖게 만든다.
Classics Read in English _ Highways in Hiding by George O. Smith
"Highways in Hiding" by George O. Smith is a mid-20th century science fiction novel centered on Steve Cornell, an esper who suffers a devastating accident while eloping with his fianc?e, Catherine Lewis. In the aftermath of the crash, Steve confronts not only severe physical trauma but also the baffling mystery of Catherine's sudden vanishing. This investigation into telepathy, subterranean transport networks, and enigmatic diseases creates the framework for a gripping narrative that weaves together personal tragedy with far-reaching conspiracies.
The story opens with Steve regaining consciousness in a hospital following a catastrophic car accident, only to be told by medical staff that he was alone at the scene and that Catherine, whom he adamantly remembers being with him, is nowhere to be found. As he struggles with his injuries and the disturbing absence of evidence supporting his memories of her presence, the novel explores themes of psychological perception, the boundaries between reality and delusion, and a clandestine underground civilization that may possess answers to both Catherine's disappearance and a mysterious ailment affecting humanity. Steve's relentless pursuit of answers compels him to question fundamental aspects of consciousness, extrasensory perception, and the societal ramifications of a disease that threatens to transform the very essence of human existence.
Among the contents
I came up out of the blackness just enough to know that I was no longer pinned down by a couple of tons of wrecked automobile. I floated on soft sheets with only a light blanket over me.
I hurt all over like a hundred and sixty pounds of boil. My right arm was numb and my left thigh was aching. Breathing felt like being stabbed with rapiers and the skin of my face felt stretched tight. There was a bandage over my eyes and the place was as quiet as the grave. But I knew that I was not in any grave because my nose was working just barely well enough to register the unmistakable pungent odor that only goes with hospitals.
I tried my sense of perception, but like any delicate and critical sense, perception was one of the first to go. I could not dig out beyond a few inches. I could sense the bed and the white sheets and that was all.
Some brave soul had hauled me out of that crack-up before the fuel tank went up in the fire. I hope that whoever he was, he'd had enough sense to haul Catherine out of the mess first. The thought of living without Catherine was too dark to bear, and so I just let the blackness close down over me again because it cut out all pain, both physical and mental.
