Short Fiction · Chapter
Through the Blue Haze explained
Six months after the Peace of Shanghai ends the great war, Captain Garin Featherstone, a jobless war pilot, is recruited by Gregory Farson for an Antarctic expedition to investigate a mysterious blue haze.
What happens
Six months after the Peace of Shanghai ends the great war, Captain Garin Featherstone, a jobless war pilot, is recruited by Gregory Farson for an Antarctic expedition to investigate a mysterious blue haze. During the flight into the haze, Garin's plane is taken over by an alien intelligence, forced to dive into a hidden green world beneath the ice. After the presence withdraws, his engine fails and he crashes into a fern-like tree.
Themes in this chapter
War and Its Aftermath
Garin is a war veteran unable to find civilian work, and the war's end directly leads to his recruitment by Farson.
Alien Encounter and Coexistence
Garin experiences an alien intelligence that takes control of his plane, hinting at a non-human presence in the hidden world beneath the ice.
Ancient Wisdom and Technology
The blue haze and the green world below suggest a hidden, ancient realm with unknown technology or forces.
Characters to notice
- Captain Garin Featherstone
Protagonist; a war veteran pilot struggling in civilian life, recruited by Farson, and later controlled by an alien intelligence during the flight into the haze.
- Gregory Farson
The Antarctic explorer who recruits Garin; leads the expedition to investigate the blue haze, believing it may be volcanic activity.
Key passages
“Six months and three days after the Peace of Shanghai was signed and the great War of 1965–1970 declared at an end by an exhausted world, a young man huddled on a park bench in New York, staring miserably at the gravel beneath his badly worn shoes.”
Three days after the Peace of Shanghai ended the global war, a young veteran sat dejectedly on a New York park bench, his worn shoes reflecting his despair.
Establishes the post-war setting and Garin's disillusionment.
“I’m Gregory Farson,” the other returned as if that should answer the question. “The Antarctic man!””
The stranger introduced himself as Gregory Farson, the famous Antarctic explorer.
Introduces Farson and his reputation.
“The haze affects radio. On our trip near it the static was very bad. Almost,” with a laugh, “like speech in some foreign tongue.””
Farson noted that the haze caused radio interference that sounded almost like a foreign language.
Foreshadows the alien intelligence and the hidden world.
“Abruptly Garin sensed that he was no longer alone. Somewhere in the empty cabin behind him was another intelligence, a measuring power. He fought furiously against it—against the very idea of it. But, after a long, terrifying moment while it seemed to study him, it took control.”
Garin felt an alien presence in the cabin that studied him and then took control of his plane.
Key moment of alien encounter and loss of autonomy.
“There came a ripping crash, the splintering of metal and wood. The scarlet cloud gathering before Garin’s eyes turned black.”
The plane crashed into a fern tree, and Garin lost consciousness as a red haze turned to black.
Climactic crash ending the chapter.