Weird News: Another "Mountains of Madness" Expedition?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The technology enhancing exploration has come a long way since H.P. Lovecraft's day. We can put men and robots on other worlds, safeguard long supply lines, and defend against some of nature's worst abuses. Yet, Antarctica remains one of the world's most nebulous regions. Those venturing into the wild snows of the southernmost continent can still come back as heroes. And if they don't, then perhaps they have met with the some of the most fantastic endings available on planet Earth. Lovecraft's novella "At the Mountains of Madness" contained all of these eerie features, and more strangely, the tale continues to suggest uncanny connections to real mysteries today.
The true "mountains of madness"--the Gamburtsevs--are already known to exist beyond all explanation. Now, the latest band of intrepid adventurers is setting out to study these "ghost peaks," buried under mounds of snow and ice. Who knows what remarkable wonders or unspeakable horrors are waiting within those smothered titans? Something tells me their icy casket will not last for long, either, regardless of whether this upcoming quest meets with success. Subsequent waves of scientists or nature's own fits of old age will one day remove the glacial covering of these mountains. We probably won't live to see it, but at least the present generation of weird readers is the best equipped to imagine what's down there...
