Way Station by Clifford D. Simak
"Way Station" is a science fiction novel that delves into the philosophical and psychological journey of Enoch Wallace, the Station Master of an interdimensional bridge located in rural Wisconsin. The narrative explores Enoch's unique position, where he maintains the secrecy of the Way Station, isolating him from humanity while simultaneously connecting him to a broader cosmic community. This duality creates a central conflict as Enoch grapples with imminent threats from a renegade alien while weighing his responsibilities toward humanity against those of the universe.
The story unfolds through a mix of present-day investigations by a CIA agent, Claude Lewis, and flashbacks to Enoch's past interactions with alien beings, particularly a race known as the Mizar. As Enoch learns to predict a potential nuclear war using advanced statistical methods imparted by the aliens, he faces a moral dilemma when he chooses to help a local deaf-mute girl, Lucy Fisher, who is escaping an abusive situation. Lucy's unique abilities play a crucial role in averting an intergalactic crisis linked to a powerful artifact, the Talisman, left by another alien. Ultimately, "Way Station" intertwines themes of isolation, community, and the weight of choice in a universe teetering on the brink of conflict.
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Subject Terms
Way Station
First published: 1963 (serial form as Here Gather the Stars, Galaxy, June and August, 1963)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—alien civilization
Time of work: 1964, with flashbacks to the 1860’s
Locale: Millville, in southwestern Wisconsin
The Plot
Although Way Station is the story of an Earth man’s contact with alien civilization through a dimensional bridge in rural Wisconsin, its focus tends to be philosophical and psychological, exploring the personality of Enoch Wallace, the Station Master of this bridge to the stars. The necessity of keeping the Way Station a secret isolates him from human society but at the same time opens him to a wider society—the universe—and larger modes of thought. The necessity of thinking of himself in terms of a larger community introduces the conflict that generates the plot: When Earth is threatened by a renegade alien, Enoch must choose between thinking and acting like a citizen of the universe or like a member of the human race.
The first chapter is a glimpse of the Battle of Gettysburg, in which Enoch fought in 1863. The second chapter jumps ahead one century, to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent Claude Lewis discussing the peculiar longevity of this mysterious man in rural Wisconsin. Lewis is sent to Wisconsin, disguised as a ginseng forager, to investigate. Lewis discovers the buried body of an alien, which he sends away to be analyzed. The rest of the novel alternates the forward progression of Lewis’ discoveries with flashbacks to Wallace’s first contacts with the aliens, particularly one Enoch calls “Ulysses” in honor of his Civil War hero, General Ulysses S. Grant.
From an alien race called the Mizar, Enoch learns a superior system of statistical analysis that enables him to predict a nuclear war on Earth. He is torn between the need to warn his race and his realization that the only proof he could offer would entail revealing the secret of Way Station 18327 in his backyard. When Enoch offers refuge in the Way Station to a local deaf-mute named Lucy Fisher who is running from her violently abusive father, he impulsively chooses the needs of a fellow human over the needs of the alien civilizations. Lucy proves to be the key to averting intergalactic catastrophe. The alien Enoch had buried, called a Hazer, left a trinket called the Talisman that is crucial to intergalactic harmony because it acts as a conduit for emotions. Lucy’s psi powers are able to keep the Talisman working, whereas others had failed. The alien Ulysses takes her to an intergalactic peace conference, and war on Earth, as well as throughout the local universe, seems to have been averted.