“They’re tricks of the mind, the same neurological smoke-and-mirrors that convinced people throughout the ages that they were being haunted by ghosts, abducted by aliens, hunted by—
—vampires—
—and you wonder whether Sarasti really stayed behind or if he was here all along, waiting for you…” (159).
I think this quote can serve as an example to what csulli says about how “this concept of perceiving something unseen is a reoccurring theme outlining the novel’s plot.” In my excerpt, however, Siri is trying to explain, to himself, that what he actually perceives on Rorschach is not what is literally there. But, the main reason why I chose this sentence is because it captures a lot of the sensory image within pages 158 and 159.They are full of descriptions that relate to the gothic aspects of this science fiction novel.
Also I think that this quote foreshadows the theme that Sarasti may be a villain by the end of this novel. Later, Sarasti decides to blow up the tent (207). I already felt like that was a bad omen considering that the planet, as a result of the blast, “convulsed” (208). And I think this goes back to the idea that Rorschach is “haunted” and like most haunted houses, it is a kind of living entity in itself. Another detail I want to point out is that Sarasti forced Siri to explore the planet (151). Siri mentions, “You can’t observe the system unless you stay outside the system (151). Ironically, this exactly what the vampire Sarasti is doing, “staying outside the system,” while making Siri go within. So I think this can explain why Siri says, “Always at the back of my mind the sense of being watched, the dread certainty of malign and alien observers just out of sight” (158). I think that Sarasti can be classified as one of “the alien observers just out sight.”
I really apologize if I’m getting off topic here, but it is amazing how Blindsight turns what could have been a space opera type sci-fi story into a spiritually haunting psychological thriller by using science to metaphorically create monsters, a heaven, and a hell. The excerpt at the the top seems to relate to this idea. Rorschach could certainly represent Hell, and the virtual world is seen as Heaven (141). Even the ship is a kind of vampire: “He dropped the sample onto the nearest countertop. The [blood] teardrop flattened and burst; the surface drank my blood as if parched” (177).
