영어로 읽는 고전 _ 헨리 하세의 사탄의 별
헨리 하세(Henry Hasse)의 "사탄의 별(The Star of Satan)"은 1940년대 초에 쓰인 공상과학 소설이다. 이 책은 우주 탐험을 배경으로 생존, 광기, 그리고 절망적 상황에서 직면하는 윤리적 딜레마라는 주제들을 중심으로 돌아간다. 작품은 미지의 소행성 무리의 광활함을 통과하는 주인공의 여정을 따라가며 고립과 절망이 미치는 심리적 영향을 탐구한다.
이 흥미진진한 이야기에서 구조 정거장의 오랜 거주자인 하이프 가스(Hype Garth)는 난파된 "화성 공주호(Martian Princess)"의 구명정이 인근 소행성에 착륙했을 가능성을 알리는 조난 신호를 받는다. 파트너 프로클(Prokle)과 함께 가스는 조사에 나선다. 하지만 구명정을 발견했을 때, 그들은 생존이라는 끔찍한 경험 후에 광기에 빠진 EMV 라인즈의 사장 J. P. 치스웰(J. P. Chiswell)을 발견한다. 프로클이 결국 지배권을 놓고 벌인 격투에서 죽임을 당하면서, 가스는 도덕적 딜레마에 직면한다: 점점 더 위험해지는 치스웰을 처리할 것인가, 아니면 황금을 위해 자신의 자유와 연대의 기회를 포기할 것인가. 가스가 배신, 광기, 그리고 생존을 위한 절망적 투쟁의 결과와 씨름하면서 우주의 가혹한 현실과 인간 본성의 깊이가 검토된다.
Classics Read in English _ The Star of Satan by Henry Hasse
Henry Hasse's "The Star of Satan" is a science fiction novel written in the early 1940s that revolves around themes of survival, madness, and ethical dilemmas faced in dire circumstances, set against the backdrop of space exploration. The work explores the psychological effects of isolation and desperation as it follows the protagonist's journey through the vastness of an uncharted asteroid swarm.
In this gripping tale, Hype Garth, a long-serving inhabitant of a salvage station, receives a distress signal indicating that a lifeboat from the wrecked "Martian Princess" may have landed on a nearby asteroid. Along with his partner Prokle, Garth sets off to investigate. However, upon locating the lifeboat, they discover J. P. Chiswell, the president of EMV Lines, who has spiraled into madness after the harrowing experience of survival. As Prokle is ultimately killed in a scuffle for dominance, Garth faces a moral quandary: whether to deal with the increasingly dangerous Chiswell or abandon his own chance at freedom and solidarity for gold. The harsh realities of space and the depths of human nature are examined as Garth grapples with the consequences of betrayal, madness, and the desperate struggle for survival.
Among the contents
Hype Garth was suddenly awake. He lay there on his cot in the dark, listening intently for the sound he knew would shortly come through the receptor. It almost frightened him, this subconscious awareness of his. He often wondered about it and wished he could explain it. Always, during their sleep period, just a minute before a message came through he was wide awake and waiting, knowing. He supposed nerves had something to do with it. Or the time he'd spent out here? Nerves were bound to go raw and perhaps play strange tricks when two men were thrown together in this black isolated hell of outer space. And Garth had been out here for twenty-three full years and seen his partners come and go.
From the other side of the room came Prokle's slow, sonorous breathing. Garth suddenly hated his partner for his ability to sleep at this moment.
