What It Was, Was Like This
Much of the book is given over to describing things that have never been seen by human beings before. The concept of the metaphor—and especially the simile—was almost invented expressly for this purpose. Science fiction is one of those literary genres would almost be impossible to exist without the magic of metaphorical comparison:
“It looked like a whale made of dark metal—maybe a ship, or a submarine, though it seemed a little small. It was sleek and curvy, like the body of a 747, but with no apparent opening, no propeller. It looked more like an Italian work of art than it did anything practical. Turquoise veins were running through the surface at regular intervals forming a weblike pattern.”
The Interlocutor
Structured for the most part as a series of government files written an interview Q&A, the interlocutor of these interviews is a shady, mysterious character with a definite bent toward the sarcasm. He actually also provides some of the most memorable lines, including those covering the realm of metaphor, though often these are expressed with a certain level of insult attached:
“—Perhaps, deep down inside that rugged shell of yours, there is a little girl desperately waiting for her Prince Charming to propose.”
The Interlocutor on the Other Side
The man conducting the interviews is obviously quite powerful. Just how powerful is part of his mystery. He absolutely must answer to the President but has a tendency to treat anyone who is not actually the Chief Executive with the same sort of superior attitude. This applies even when he is the one who seems to be in trouble:
“—I feel as though I have been summoned by the principal.”
The Parts Are the Whole
There is a giant robot on earth buried here by alien visitors of an ancient past. Finding a robot of this size shouldn’t be that difficult once you find a limb; kind of like how it doesn’t nearly as long to find the rest of the dinosaur once you stumbled across the tail. There is only one problem to that analogy: the aliens buried the giant robots in parts scattered to the four winds. One of the interviewees ticks of the interview by talking about individual parts when all he wants to know about is the whole. She replies quite effectively with a very appropriate metaphor:
“You can’t ask about the Sistine Chapel and expect me not to mention the ceiling.”
Pop Culture
Pop culture references are—no pun intended—a popular means of introducing metaphor. Such imagery does come with a built-in hazard, however. Captain America was wildly popular during World War II and its aftermath. By the 1970’s, however, metaphor referencing him written in a 1950’s novel might well have gone sailing over the head of many readers. The reference below is riding high on the Marvel movie franchise, but that popularity isn’t going to last forever and this metaphor might become obscure to future readers:
“Ryan’s a nice guy. He’s a little too Captain America at times, but he grows on you.”
