Highways in Hiding — Key Ideas to Explore

Telepathy as a Typographic and Thematic Device

The novel’s most immediately visible feature is the use of # to bracket telepathic speech, as explained in the prefatory “Historical Note.” This is not merely a gimmick; it reflects a systematic approach to mental communication. In the excerpts, characters use telepathy for rapid, covert exchanges, but Smith also emphasizes its limitations: after his accident, Cornell notes that “perception was one of the first to go,” and he can only sense a few inches beyond his body. Later, a telepath character complains that knowing what will happen next “takes all the pleasant element of surprise out of their lives.” The symbol thus serves as a constant visual reminder that the story operates under rules where minds are both connected and vulnerable.

The Mekstroms: Biology and Paranoia

The catalog subject “Extrasensory perception” is paired with “Epidemics,” and the excerpts reveal a biological threat: “Mekstrom Flesh” and the concept of being a “Mekstrom Carrier.” Cornell desires a “body of Mekstrom Flesh, to be a physical superman,” but the condition is also a liability. A female character warns that Scholar Phelps would “use you for his own purpose,” and that Cornell’s ignorance of his own carrier status previously made him useful. The disease or transformation is contagious via unknown means, and carriers can be tracked or herded. Smith blends superhuman strength—a woman described as “steel hard and monster strong”—with the paranoia of a hidden epidemic, creating a world where physical enhancement and social ostracism go hand in hand.

Narrative Voice and the Unreliable Protagonist

Steve Cornell narrates in a colloquial, self-deprecating first person that recalls mid-century noir detectives. He admits he “couldn’t pull the trigger” even when he wanted to, and describes his own weapon as “about as useful to me as a stuffed bear.” His internal monologue is laced with dark humor and frustration. Yet the excerpts also show him outmaneuvered: telepaths anticipate his plans, and he is repeatedly captured or coerced. The opening scene’s stalemate—where he holds a gun but cannot act—establishes a protagonist whose agency is constantly undermined. This tension between Cornell’s tough-guy voice and his actual helplessness drives the narrative, as he struggles to understand the conspiracy he is trapped in.

Readers should pay attention to how Smith uses the # symbol not just for dialogue but for moments of internal conflict and sudden revelation. The novel’s pacing alternates between action set-pieces—like the car chase with rifle fire—and tense conversations where telepathic subtext matters as much as spoken words. The incomplete excerpts leave the full nature of the Mekstroms and the Highways organization unclear, but the groundwork is laid for a story that treats telepathy as both a tool and a curse.

I kept thinking about Steve Cornell’s lonely pursuit through the telepathic static, and how that particular paranoia lingers long after the last page. It reminded me of something quieter, an understated meditation in World Edge — Background and Themes about walking the margins of a story, where the real edge isn’t geography but trust. Both feel like old friends’ whispers.