The Hercules Text

1986 novel by Jack McDevitt

The Hercules Text

First edition

Author| Jack McDevitt
Cover artist| Earl Keleny
Language| English
Genre| Science fiction
Publisher| Ace Books

Publication date

| November 1986
Publication place| United States
Media type| Print (Paperback)
ISBN| 0-441-37367-4
OCLC| 15476626

The Hercules Text is a 1986 science fiction novel by American writer Jack McDevitt. It tells the story of a message of intelligent extraterrestrial origin received by SETI scientists. The Hercules Text was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in 1986.[1]

Science fiction author Michael Swanwick said, in an overview of McDevitt's work, "Jack's first novel, The Hercules Text, appeared in 1986 as an Ace Special, putting him in the august company of such luminaries as William Gibson, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Lucius Shepard. It was a good book."[2]

## Plot summary

[edit]

The story emphasizes the various characters' reactions to the event, according to their specific scientific backgrounds. Examples include a priest's speculations on the implications for religion, a psychologist's theorizing about the aliens' psyches, the scientists' consideration of the implications of the new knowledge for their own specialties, and the president's concern for the implications for national defense.

The novel is set in an ongoing Cold War scenario. Unlike typical first contact stories, there is no dialogue between the senders of the message and mankind, as the received radio signals have traveled through space for one and a half million years.

### The extraterrestrial message

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The message is received with a large radio telescope, the fictional Hercules Array, which was built on the far side of the Moon. It is later discovered that the message was sent with an artificial pulsar built by the alien race. This pulsar with the name Althea has been known by the scientists for years. It was believed to be a normal pulsar. However, what made it special was its almost perfectly regular interval between the observed pulses.

One day, some of the pulses suddenly fail to appear. This incident draws more attention to this particular pulsar, as the newly discovered gaps show a remarkable pattern.

The first gap consists of one missing pulse, the second of two missing pulses and the third gap consists of four missing pulses. The following gaps also consist of numbers representing powers of 2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, ...). The transmission of these numbers goes on for a couple of days until the pulsar falls completely silent.

The silence lasts for several weeks, until it breaks again. This time, not just a simple sequence of numbers is received by the Hercules Array. Now, a very large and complex amount of binary data is sent from somewhere close to Althea. Scientists are able to decipher this data. It consists of several mathematical and physical formulae and simple graphical information. Later, more complex information is found, e.g., parts of the sender's DNA, schematics for very advanced technology, philosophical texts or poems.

## Publication history

[edit]

The Hercules Text has been rewritten by Jack McDevitt, before being re-published in the year 2000 as part of the two-novel-book Hello Out There (ISBN 1-892-06523-1). The story received some changes, taking into account the end of the Cold War and some technical developments such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the Internet.

## See also

[edit]

* Contact
* Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence

## References

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1. ^ "1986 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
2. ^ Swanwick, Michael. "Profile of Jack McDevitt". Michael Swanwick. Retrieved July 19, 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* The Hercules Text at Worlds Without End

* v
* t
* e

Locus Award for Best First Novel

1980s|

* Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward (1981)
* Starship & Haiku by S. P. Somtow (1982)
* Courtship Rite by Donald Kingsbury (1983)
* Tea with the Black Dragon by R. A. MacAvoy (1984)
* The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robinson (1985)
* Contact by Carl Sagan (1986)
* The Hercules Text by Jack McDevitt (1987)
* War for the Oaks by Emma Bull (1988)
* Desolation Road by Ian McDonald (1989)

1990s|

* Orbital Decay by Allen Steele (1990)
* In the Country of the Blind by Michael Flynn (1991)
* The Cipher by Kathe Koja (1992)
* China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh (1993)
* Cold Allies by Patricia Anthony (1994)
* Gun, with Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem (1995)
* The Bohr Maker by Linda Nagata (1996)
* Reclamation by Sarah Zettel / Whiteout by Sage Walker (1997)
* The Great Wheel by Ian R. MacLeod (1998)
* Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson (1999)

2000s|

* The Silk Code by Paul Levinson (2000)
* Mars Crossing by Geoffrey A. Landis (2001)
* Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey (2002)
* A Scattering of Jades by Alexander C. Irvine (2003)
* Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow (2004)
* Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (2005)
* Hammered/Scardown/Worldwired by Elizabeth Bear (2006)
* His Majesty's Dragon/Throne of Jade/Black Powder War by Naomi Novik (2007)
* Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (2008)
* Singularity's Ring by Paul Melko (2009)

2010s|

* The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)
* The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (2011)
* The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (2012)
* Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed (2013)
* Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (2014)
* The Memory Garden by M. Rickert (2015)
* The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu (2016)
* Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee (2017)
* The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss (2018)
* Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (2019)

2020s|

* Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (2020)
* Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (2021)
* A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark (2022)
* The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (2023)
* The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera (2024)

* Best Novel (1971–1981)
* Best SF Novel (1980–present)
* Best Fantasy Novel (1978–present)
* Best First Novel (1981–present)
* Best Horror Novel (1989–1997, 1999, 2017–present)
* Best Young Adult Book (2003–present)
* Best Novella (1973–present)
* Best Novelette (1975–present)
* Best Short Story (1971–present)

* v
* t
* e

Novels by Jack McDevitt

Academy series|

* The Engines of God (1994)
* Deepsix (2001)
* Chindi (2002)
* Omega (2003)
* Odyssey (2006)
* Cauldron (2007)
* Starhawk (2013)
* The Long Sunset (2018)

Alex Benedict series|

* A Talent for War (1989)
* Polaris (2004)
* Seeker (2005)
* The Devil's Eye (2008)
* Echo (2010)
* Firebird (2011)
* Coming Home (2014)
* Octavia Gone (2019)
* Village in the Sky (2023)

Ancient Shores series|

* Ancient Shores (1996)
* Thunderbird (2015)
* Doorway to the Stars (2024)

Others|

* The Hercules Text (1986)
* Eternity Road (1998)
* Moonfall (1998)
* Infinity Beach (2000)
* Time Travelers Never Die (2009)
* The Cassandra Project (2012)

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