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The Absolute at Large

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First published: 1922
Pages: 146

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About this book

A Czech engineer perfects the Karburator, a reactor that burns matter so completely it yields nearly limitless free energy. There is one side effect he never planned for: destroying matter releases the Absolute, a kind of loose divinity, into the air around each machine. People near the reactors fall into ecstasy, work miracles, and start to preach. As the devices spread across the globe, so does religious mania, and the world tips from cheap power into famine, schism, and at last a war fought in the name of a hundred competing gods. Capek published this satire in 1922, aiming his wit at industry, mass belief, and the human talent for turning any good thing into a reason to fight.

About the author

Karel Čapek

Karel Capek (1890-1938) was a Czech novelist, playwright, and journalist, and one of the most influential Central European writers of his time. His science fiction, including R.U.R. and War with the Newts, gave the word robot to the world and warned repeatedly against fanaticism and mechanized cruelty.