Before The Matrix: Henry Kuttner’s Forgotten 1947
Sci-Fi City of Illusion
What If the World Isn’t Real? A Psychological Pulp Classic from Astounding Stories.
Happy Christmas Eve 2025! It sounds so futuristic, doesn’t it? And we’re closing in on 2026 fast! Who knows what we’ll all get up to in the New Year?
This week’s Rocketeer Podcast is about “Jesting Pilot,” a story with a terrible title but some really interesting ideas. It’s by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore under the pen name of Lewis Padgett.
The story came out in Astounding Stories in the May, 1947 issue. It explores hypnosis, psychological control, and the terrible cost of truth inside a sealed post-apocalyptic city. Long overshadowed by the Kuttners’ more famous works, “Jesting Pilot” turns out to be a quiet ancestor of Logan’s Run, The Matrix, and our modern fascination with simulated reality.
Listen to the podcast over on Substack:
https://lucinarocketeer.substack.com/p/before-the-matrix-henry-kuttners
Curious about what else is happening at Lucina Press? Try our Exhibition Hall.