William Gibson, “Neuromancer (Sprawl Trilogy)”, 1984 a cyberpunk SciFi novel was the topic of an earlier blog post.
Here I present: Hugo Gernsback (1884-1967), “Ralph 124C 41+: A Romance of the Year 2660”, published in 1911 was a cyberpunk SciFi novel.
The book consists of sixteen (16) chapters; and, the “table of contents” is shown BELOW.
Chapter #. “Title”.
#1. “The Avalanche”.
#2. “Two Faces”.
#3. “Dead or Alive”.
#4. “Fernand”.
#5. “New York A.D. 2660”.
#6. “Give us Food”.
#7. “The End of Money”.
#8. “The Menace of the Invisible Cloak”.
#9. “The Conquest of Gravitation”.
#10. “Two Letters”.
#11. “The Flight into Space”.
#12. “Llysanorh’ Strikes”.
#13. “Alice Objects”.
#14. “The Terror of the Comet”.
#15. “Llysanorh Throws off the Mask”.
#16. “The Supreme Victory”.
The first sentence of each chapter is shown BELOW.
Chapter #. “Chapter First Sentence”.
#1. “As the vibrations died down in the laboratory the big man arose from the glass chair and viewed the complicated apparatus on the table”.
#2. “Feeling the need of fresh air and quiet after the strain of the last half hour, Ralph 124C 41+ climbed the few steps leading from the laboratory to the roof and sat down on a bench beneath the revolving aerial”.
#3. “An apologetic cough came through the entrance to the laboratory”.
#4. “On the following morning, Ralph, breakfasting alone, sent Peter to the apartments of his guests to ascertain at what hour they would be ready to do a little sightseeing with him as guide”.
#5. “Being much interested in sports, Alice desired to know presently how the modern New Yorker kept himself in condition and for his answer Ralph stopped at a corner and they entered a tall, flat-roofed building”.
#6. “The following day was set aside for a visit to the Accelerated Plant Growing Farms”.
#7. A few days later, Alice, while rolling along one of the elevated streets of the city with Ralph, inquired how the present monetary system had been evolved: “You know,” she confided, “I know very little of economics.”
#8. “Leaving the Pennsylvania mills the aeroflier, traveling at high speed landed the party within a very short time on one of the tall landing buildings in New York.”
#9. “Alice and her father had been invited, the next day, to Ralph’s laboratory, as he wished to show them some of his latest discoveries.”
#10. “During September Alice and her father had remained Ralph’s guests, extending their stay at his urgent request.”
#11. “How long he was unconscious Ralph did not know, but when he came to his senses the Moon had sunk low on the horizon.”
#12. “For some minutes, Ralph stood motionless, completely bewildered.”
#13. “Alice, on being aroused to consciousness by the ministrations of Lylette, the maid, and Fernand, and finding herself a prisoner on board a space flyer at the mercy of the latter, was overwhelmed with fury.”
#14. “During the next few days Ralph passed midway between Earth and Venus.”
#15. “When Alice saw that it was Llysanorh’ standing on the threshold of her room she experienced at once great disappointment and overwhelming relief.”
#16. “When Ralph burst into the machine-room of the Martian’s flyer and saw Alice lying dead in a pool of her own blood the shock was almost more than he could bear.”
Here I presented: Hugo Gernsback (1884-1967), “Ralph 124C 41+: A Romance of the Year 2660”, published in 1911 was a cyberpunk SciFi novel.
SUMMARY.
By the year 2660 AD, science has transformed and conquered the world, rescuing humanity from itself (shown ABOVE, chapter #7, “The End of Money”).
Spectacular inventions from the farthest reaches of space and deep beneath the earth are available to meet every need. The most brilliant of scientist, Ralph 124C 41+, discovers that this is not without a price.
Our protagonist scientist Ralph saves the life of heroine Alice by directing energy at an approaching avalanche in the beginning of the novel.
As the novel goes on Ralph describes technological wonders of the modern world (setting is New York 2660 AD). The protagonist hero, scientist Ralph in the course of things rescues heroine, love-interest Alice by traveling into space from the agonist Martian villain clutches.
Philip K. Dick, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”, 1968 cyberpunk SciFi novel was the topic of an earlier blog post.
