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Science fiction plays Books
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Karel Čapek
R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) A Fantastic Melodrama in Three Acts and an Epilogue
"R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)" by Karel Čapek is a science fiction play written in 1920. It introduced the word "robot" to the English language. The play is set in a factory that produces artificial workers from synthetic organic matter—living beings of flesh and blood who serve humanity. When Helena arrives to advocate for robot liberation, she encounters a world transformed by these artificial beings. But the very universality of robots may present an unforeseen danger to humanity itself.
Karel Čapek
R.U.R.
"R.U.R." by Karel Čapek is a science fiction play written in 1920. The title stands for Rossum's Universal Robots. Set in a factory that manufactures artificial workers from synthetic organic matter, the play explores what happens when these creations—capable of being mistaken for humans but lacking original thought—become essential to industry worldwide. The work introduced the word "robot" to the English language and quickly gained international recognition, translated into thirty languages by 1923.
Heikki Välisalmi
Tuhatvuotinen valtakunta : $b Nelinäytöksinen näytelmä Upton Sinclairin romaanin mukaan
"Tuhatvuotinen valtakunta : Nelinäytöksinen näytelmä Upton Sinclairin romaanin…" by Heikki Välisalmi is a four-act play written in the early 20th century. Set in a gaudy pleasure-palace of the third millennium, it satirizes plutocratic power and spiritual emptiness as a scientific super-weapon imperils humanity. The drama centers on engineer Billy Kingdon, the oligarch Lumley-Gotham, his daughter Helena, and the cynical statesman Granville, fusing futuristic spectacle with class struggle and moral choice. Expect a dystopian political allegory where survival, love, and the collapse of social conventions collide. The opening of the play unfolds in the Huvipalatsi: Billy, undercover as an airship captain, reunites with Helena and urges a clandestine escape, but Granville intercepts them; she prevents Billy from shooting him, and Billy is jailed. Amid a parade of vain guests, the frail magnate Lumley-Gotham frets over security and a new element, “radiumiitti”; when word arrives that its inventor might unleash it, panic erupts. The party stampedes onto a giant aircraft Billy can pilot, abandoning others as an unseen catastrophe wipes out life below. Six hours later the survivors return to a silent, frozen palace dotted with ash, discover there are no servants or systems to rely on, and watch the butler Tuttle turn mutinous while Granville drinks and jeers. Billy scouts the dead city, confirms the emptiness, proclaims a “year one” without property or old marriages, and publicly claims a future with Helena as the scene breaks off.
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