The story behind the story: In Cygnus and in Hell

Futures this week welcomes back an old friend in the shape of S R Algernon and his story In Cygnus and in Hell. Regular readers will know that S R Algernon has penned several tales for Futures over the years covering topics as diverse as war, phlogiston and Christmas. Here, he gives a brief insight into what inspired his latest piece — as ever, it pays to read the story first.

Writing In Cygnus and in Hell

I wrote In Cygnus and in Hell very recently, but it’s inspiration goes back a long way. For the past several years, I have been working on novels set on an exoplanet in a trinary star system with an eccentric orbit. At WorldCon last year, it occurred to me that I should find a real exoplanet meeting those specifications, so I looked online and found 16 Cygni Bb. It was a bit more extreme than I had initially envisioned, but it served my story arc well. I decided to inaugurate the new approach to the novels by writing a story set at the birthplace of the colonial venture, with a first-generation colonist as the main character. Why would she decide to leave Earth behind? That question seemed to have more weight this year. It seems to me that there is a sense of the world being at a crossroads, with so many of us seeking refuge from an uncertain future.

In uncertain times, we look for heroes and symbols. We build walls and we seek safe spaces. The swan reminded me of the fairy tale of the ugly duckling. When we feel weak and forgotten, we long for a simpler past or familiar faces. Sometimes, we turn against people who don’t fit with our view of the world. As we grow up, we see more of the world’s complexity and we try to stand on our own two feet. We have to somehow decide when to let go of a comforting illusion and when to fight tooth and nail to turn it into reality.

The phrase ‘In Cygnus and in Hell’ captured that duality for me. In the cosmos and in our human relationships, there will always the potential for hardship. There will be births. There will be tragedies. Our response to the challenges of the early twenty-first century will set the stage for humanity’s expansion. Will the first interstellar travellers look back on us with reverence or pity? Will they take those first steps in desperation or in hope?

Personally, I hope we can acknowledge our fears and our disagreements without letting them define us or drag us down into unwinnable conflicts. I don’t believe in eternal victories, in angels or devils. I believe that we can draw upon the strengths of our species — its capacity for reason, empathy and communication — to find a way forward that leaves room for all of us. If we can rise above our fear and wounded pride, I believe that in time we can find common ground. Then, maybe, we can turn Earth back into a paradise and set out together towards the stars.

Other Futures stories by S R Algernon