Love and Hydrogen by Jim Shepard is probably my
favorite story so far. In high school, I loved Native Son because of the
metaphorical white snow which surrounded Bigger Thomas. His environment was
directly expressive of his life and the plot. This story is a lot like that.
The place – aboard the doomed Hindenburg – has the effect of the movie Titanic
in a lot of ways. For one, we know how it’s going to end, but somehow it still
shocks us. Also, the love story aboard the vessel is a secret and as precarious
as the ship itself. In the end, Gnuss’ emotion has welled within him, doomed,
and just as explosive.
In
this way there is that harmony between the characters and their place, but that
harmony is due to conflict. The gay lovers sneak around and enjoy a life much
better than what they grew up with. They enjoy food and housing and jobs. They
enjoy one another. Nevertheless, this is a golden time and it must come to an
end. Who knows Meinert’s intentions with the woman passenger? Maybe he was
securing a reputation so that his gay relationship was less suspect, or maybe
he really did have feeling for her. Sexuality and relationships are just as
precarious as a hydrogen balloon – one can only hope that not too many people
are aboard should it explode.
Further,
Meinert’s experiences in another place –a place of war – outshine Gnuss and
leave him troubled. Meinert has experienced the sensation of being “like Zeus”
and Gnuss can do little better than making him feel like “Pan”. The truth of course is that, high above in a
death cloud, neither has as much control as they’d like to believe they do.
These are the men
responsible for maintaining the ship, but their love is distracting. Which is
ironic in a way, because life is short and these sorts of things are what make
it worth living – but if they hadn’t been enjoying themselves with jobs and
food and sex maybe the shit would not have engulfed them in the inferno.
One thing that shouldn’t
be forgotten is that Gnuss is a least 10 years younger than Meinert. For Gnuss,
this is very well his first true romance, while Meinert has been through war
and who knows what else. It is also Gnuss’ mixed emotions – his lust, and his
jealousy – that engulf him just as the airship is engulfed. So, one could also
see a similar message about youth here – young technology, unweathered, and
ultimately defeated. Perhaps the author feels a young mind cannot really have a
mastery over love, to know love beyond sex or possession, and will inevitably
over tighten his grip and destroy the whole relationship. Only with age and
time can real love be appreciated (so a sequel with a happier ending might be
on a plane).
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