By the 1960s, the idea developed into that of the “space elevator,” a transport system consisting of a cable attached to the earth’s surface near the Equator, anchored by a counterweight out beyond geosynchronous orbit. Though popular with science fiction writers and the longer-haired kind of engineer, space elevators remain theoretical. In “Counterweight,” by the pseudonymous Korean science fiction writer Djuna, nanotubes are part of the intellectual property of the sprawling, multinational LK corporation. Caught up in the dragnet is a hapless midlevel LK employee called Choi Gangwu, who is in regular contact with one of the Liberation Front’s agents. Detained by the company for his involvement with the resistance, Choi is instructed to meet his contact, who he appears to believe is just a fellow butterfly enthusiast.

---

Persons: Anton Hur, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, LK, Mac, Choi Gangwu, Choi Organizations: Djuna, LK, Liberation, Mac Locations: Patusan, Southeast Asia