This week, Futures welcomes back S R Algernon with his story In a new light, which gives a very fresh meaning to the concept of Hell… Previously, S R Algernon has brought us tales of asymmetrical warfare, phlogiston, intergalactic phishing scams, the dangers of letting AIs look after the remains of the human race and ambitions in time travel, as well as a Christmas story. Here, he explains what inspired his latest piece. As ever, it pays to read the story first.

Writing In a new light

In early drafts of In a new light, the focus of the story was on a hapless extraterrestrial delivery person who, upon bringing cargo meant for Venus to Earth by mistake, is mistaken for a devil. The link between Hell and the Venusian climate seemed like a striking image and metaphor to me, but it wasn’t enough to carry a story on its own. Later on, when I read about the more favourable temperature and pressure conditions in Venus’s atmosphere, it occurred to me that poor Venus might be a promising candidate for colonization, but one that has suffered bad press on account of its unpleasant surface conditions.

Returning to mythological and theological issues, I wondered why Lucifer and other fallen angels would live in such inhospitable surroundings. If Satan or fallen angels ruled Hell, would they not want to live someplace comfortable? Besides, what did they need all those souls for anyway? To me, the existence of Hell did not seem to make sense tactically in the context of a celestial rebellion against God.

I remembered Venus (and Lucifer). What if the fallen angels had taken Venus as their refuge and adapted to its hot conditions? They might need water and organic material that would be hard to come by on Venus. If they could somehow build a portal to Earth, they could use human labour (presumably sinners) to obtain raw materials. Eventually, they might succeed in building floating habitats for the human workforce, so that they don’t have to poach human souls from Earth anymore.

Ned Goodman’s suggestion at the end is intended as a commentary on both theology and planetary exploration. First, deities and their followers might best be judged by how they benefit those around them, rather than where their loyalties lie in some cosmic battle. Second, we might reconsider our warmer neighbour as a candidate for colonization — in big, air-filled, acid-resistant balloons. If Lucifer can offer us a new path to the stars, I think we should at least give it a look.