Hell's Heart: A Moby-Dick Reimagining on Jupiter

Overview

The Scientific American interview with Alexis Hall centers on Hell's Heart, Hall's queer reimagining of Moby-Dick set aboard a spacecraft orbiting a gas giant, Jupiter. Hall explains the inspiration behind turning Ishmael into a trans woman and recasting Ahab as a captain guided by a complex, AI-assisted shipboard psyche. The host and Hall explore the balance between a faithful literary echo and inventive science fiction, highlighting how the novel leverages deep-cut details from the original work to interrogate contemporary themes of identity, power, and obsession.

"I spent lockdown reading a chapter of Moby Dick every day and then tweeting about the silly bits because obviously things have value in context." - Alexis Hall

From Melville to Jupiter

Hall discusses why Moby-Dick remains a potent scaffold for a science-fiction reimagining, noting the book’s fascination with the unknowable and the “random detail” that can carry a narrative. The conversation emphasizes how science-fiction is a natural home for detailed depictions of non-terrestrial ecosystems and speculative planetary physics, while acknowledging that the author does not intend to substitute for real science.

"There is no other genre where you can have just a whole chapter about how they process a whale's penis, which is a real thing in Moby Dick." - Alexis Hall

Leviathans on Jupiter

The discussion turns to the Leviathans at the heart of Hall’s universe, including the four classifications—true Leviathans, worms, Krakens, and Behemoths—and the role each plays in the Jovian ecosystem. Hall explains the narrative need to mirror Moby-Dick’s own whaling tropes (sharks and scavenger birds) in a space-faring context, adapting them to a science-fiction setting while remaining true to marine biology instincts.

"The worms exist to fill that narrative role in the book, but then also that biological role in the ecosystem." - Alexis Hall

Science, Chemistry, and Endlessness

The hosts discuss the hydrogen sea at Jupiter’s center, ammonia skies, and the broader physics of a gas giant. Hall emphasizes that the chemistry is not meant to be a precise primer but a framing device to explore how space and perception intersect, citing a balance between plausible science and imaginative storytelling. The conversation also touches on whether readers should refresh their memory of atmospheric science, noting that the book invites curiosity rather than serving as a textbook.

"You should look into liquid hydrogen and liquid helium because they are really cool and do weird superfluid things, but you should not rely on my fiction for real Jupiter education." - Alexis Hall

Character, AI, and Language

The interview delves into Captain A, their AI navigator Fadala, and the Terran Queequeg-inspired character Q, who speaks Latin to create a communicative barrier much like in the Melville original. Hall discusses the ethical and creative decision to replace a racially charged historical character with a more nuanced, externally situated figure and how AI can reflect contemporary social issues while remaining a tool of the story’s moral inquiry.

"The entity reflecting our worst impulses back at us is definitely AI" - Alexis Hall

Earth, Language, and Future Society

Q’s Terran background is described as solarpunk, a contrast to the late-stage capitalist societies aboard the Pequod. Hall explains why Q’s Latin is used to underscore cross-cultural differences and to signal that a future Earth might be radically different yet still human in its humanism and flaws. The host asks where the author imagines herself in this world, and Hall humorously imagines herself as a non-harpooner, more of a caretaker for the ship and its machinery.

"The reason she speaks Latin is because needed there to be this communication barrier, much like there is in the original Moby Dick." - Alexis Hall

Closing Thoughts

The conversation closes with reflections on how fiction can illuminate scientific questions while urging readers to seek real sources for scientific learning, and how Hell's Heart uses storytelling to explore endless questions about space, self, and community.

"Please don't learn about Jupiter from my fiction" - Alexis Hall