Sometimes we just need to get away, to be by ourselves, collect our thoughts, figure out what to do next.
But Halley may have taken it too far when she took a job as a caretaker on a spaceship full of cryogenically frozen people. And not just because the people-sicles are terrible conversationalists.
In the following email interview about her scary sci-fi novel Cold Eternity (hardcover, Kindle, audiobook), author S.A. Barnes talks (non-spoilery) about what happens to Halley…and why.
Photo Credit: Mila Duboyski
To start, what is Cold Eternity about, and when and where does it take place?
In Cold Eternity, a young woman who witnessed something illicit is in danger and on the run. To keep out of sight, she takes a caretaker position, of sorts, aboard the Elysian Fields. It’s a nearly abandoned ship full of cryogenically frozen wealthy people from a century before. Her job is to check on them and the ship itself, with rounds every three hours.
But the longer she’s on board, the more she starts to notice strange things. Odd sounds coming from within the walls, shadowy figures in the corridor, and cryptic warnings from the glitchy AI system.
It’s set in 2223 on a space station (EnExx-17) and on board the Elysian Fields.
Where did you get the idea for Cold Eternity?
Honestly, I’m never sure where ideas come from. They’re usually two or three things that end up fitting together, surprising me.
In this case, I knew I wanted to tell a story that would involve the lengths people go to to extend their lives and what that might look like in the future. I’m fascinated by Egyptian tombs and mummies, and I suspect that played into the development of this idea. And one of my vivid childhood memories of peeking behind the curtain at Chuck E. Cheese to see the animatronics frozen and still with their mouths hanging open was certainly an influence on the AI holograms.
So, is there a reason Halley’s troubles are a political scandal as opposed to, say, a sexual one, or maybe she’s on the run from the law, or the mob? And is the reason she’s on the run even all that important to the story?
I’m going to answer you in reverse order.
Halley has to be on the run and / or is hiding from something because no one in their right mind would stay on the Elysian Fields after experiencing some of what she experiences. But because she’s in grave danger to begin with, her calculus is different. Is she in more danger here or wandering around a populated space station where she might be recognized? So from a practical writing standpoint, it has to make sense that she stays on this creepy ship.
As for why a political scandal, I think it’s because I was developing this story this 2022 and into 2023. If you’ll recall, that was roughly the period of time when the January 6 Committee hearings were going on. And frankly, sometimes I’m working through things for myself when I write.
We are not aligned politically — at all — but Cassidy Hutchinson’s bravery in testifying, despite pressure from the head of her own party and the effects it might have on her career, made an impression on me. People — men, specifically — twice her age were hemming, hawing, and “I don’t recall”-ing, but she told the truth even though it might hurt her. It made me start thinking about how I might behave in a similar situation. And from that, Halley’s situation was born.
Similarly, is there a significance to Halley hiding out in a space barge full of cryogenically frozen people and glitching AIs as opposed to an abandoned space station with frozen people and glitching AIs or a place on an alien planet with frozen people and glitching AIs?
Many times, I just write what shows up in my head. So it was a ship from the beginning, always a ship.
I think in practical terms a ship that is constantly in motion is easily forgotten by others. Literally here today and gone tomorrow. Makes it easier to forget about it, which then makes it possible for all the goings on there to be unnoticed.
Cold Eternity sounds like it’s a sci-fi horror novel. But is it a specific kind of horror novel?
I would say it’s psychological and body horror. Psychological because Halley is experiencing extreme sleep deprivation and isn’t quite sure what’s real and what’s not for a time. Body horror because the cryogenically frozen residents of the Elysian Fields are trapped and…I can’t say more without spoilers.
Also, how scary is it? Obviously, it’s all relative, but there’s “freaky scary” and there’s “gory scary,” and there’s “no fuckin’ way am I reading this after dark” scary.
That’s a hard question to answer because everyone’s threshold is different.
I think there are definitely gory moments and some that are a little freaky. I mean, it’s a ship full of frozen people! But there are more scenes that I hope will have you questioning all those strange clicks and thumps in your house after dark, wondering if maybe you’re not as alone as you thought. So I hope it falls in the last category.
Cold Eternity is your third novel after Dead Silence and Ghost Station. Or, more accurately, it’s your third novel as S.A. Barnes; you’ve written nearly a dozen as Stacy Kade. Are there any other authors, or specific stories, that had a big influence on Cold Eternity but not on anything else you’ve written?
Oddly, for being the big reader that I am, I don’t think there were stories that influenced this one. Movies and shows definitely, but not other books that I can think of.
Well, that’s my next question: Was Cold Eternity influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games? Because glitching AIs make me think of HAL from 2001.
Movies and TV are always a big influence for me. I have to confess, I’m familiar with HAL’s famous line to Dave, but I haven’t actually seen 2001. (I know, my father was horrified when he heard that. We are a big sci-fi family.)
In this case, my sister described this book as The Mummy meets Storage Wars, which is a weird combination but accurate.
There’s also an episode, I believe, of Star Trek: Next Generation where the crew comes across a ship full of cryogenically frozen people and wakes them up.
And while I didn’t think of it when I was writing the book, some have said that Halley’s need to push the button every three hours reminds them of Lost. I did watch Lost back in the day, so it may have subconsciously worked its way in there.
And what about your dogs, Wyatt, Calla, and Finnegan? How, if at all, did they influence Cold Eternity?
Ha! Have you seen that book dedication written to the author’s children that says something like, “without whom this book would have been written two years sooner”? I have three French pointers, all of whom are the best and worst combination of active and needy for attention. I love them all, but they keep me very busy with other tasks.
If any of them helped, it would be Calla, who likes to curl up on my feet when I’m writing on my office couch. Warm toes and puppy snores are, after all, essential to the creative process.
Wyatt, Calla, Finnegan
As I mentioned a moment ago, Cold Eternity is your third sci-fi horror novel after Dead Silence and Ghost Station. Dead and Ghost were both stand-alone stories. Is Cold one as well?
Cold Eternity is a stand-alone book. I think it’s a pretty self-contained story. Halley’s in a difficult situation, and once she’s out, one way or another [insert ominous music here], the story is pretty much over.
Earlier I asked if Cold Eternity had been influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. But to flip things around, do you think Cold Eternity could work as a movie, TV show, or game?
I think it would work best as a movie or a limited-series show — eight episodes and done kind of a thing — for the same reason it’s a stand-alone book. The story is very self-contained and limited to a specific situation.
And if someone wanted to make that 8 episode TV show, who would you want them to cast as Halley and the voices of the glitching AIs?
Oh, gosh, I’m terrible at casting. The advantage to being a writer is that you can mentally “cast” anyone you like, regardless of age or availability or budget, you know?
I wrote this envisioning Taylor Swift as Halley — the adult red-haired Taylor from the “All Too Well” music video. And hilariously, completely independently, I picked Harry Styles as Aleyk, only remembering belatedly that the two of them had dated in real life.
I think I would pick [American Horror Story‘s] Emma Roberts for Ianthe and Theo James [Divergent] with an obnoxious mustache for Bryck.
Finally, if someone enjoys Cold Eternity, and it’s the first novel of yours they’ve read, which of your other books would you suggest they check out next?
If you enjoyed the touches of humor and Halley trying to work out what to do, I think you should read Dead Silence.
If Halley’s struggle to figure out if what’s real resonated with you — along with the body horror elements — then you should try Ghost Station.
