Forgotten prophecies of Albert Robida. It is no secret that some have the gift of foresight, they know how to look into the future. We know about many of these people. But there are also unknown or forgotten prophets …
The Frenchman Albert Robid had an amazing destiny. He seemed to have lived several lives, for he possessed many wonderful talents: he was an artist, a science fiction writer and, moreover, knew how to look into the future. And laugh at him. His brilliant foresight and drawings are still amazing. Possessing a colossal capacity for work and wide knowledge, he wrote 54 books, providing them with 55 thousand first-class illustrations.
Albert Robida was born on May 14, 1848, and began to paint very early - in elementary school. At the age of 18 he made his debut as a cartoonist in the "Entertaining Newspaper", and at the age of 23 he became a member of the editorial board of the luxurious magazine "Parisian Life", collaborated with the Viennese satirical magazine "Philipon", where the world famous cartoonist Daumier and famous illustrator Gustave Dore worked.
In 1883, Albert Robida's book "The Twentieth Century" was published in Paris, and a few years later, "Electric Life". Soon the books were even translated into Russian. They had a lot of exciting and interesting and very instructive things. Robida not only described the "technical wonders of the coming century", but also with great sadness told that we will regret a lot, for humanity can be reckless and surprisingly short-sighted. This idea was illustrated by Robida on the very first page of Electric Life: The Gray-haired Genius, attaching the globe to a tricycle as a front wheel, and overthrowing Faith, Hope and Love, pedals and rushes through space and time along a huge spiral. Under the picture there is an eloquent inscription: "Forward, without looking back."
Leafing through this book now, one is surprised with what amazing insight he foresaw the coming technological progress and the events awaiting humanity.
"Electric life" begins with a description of the "terrible catastrophe" that happened at a powerful power plant under the letter "14" (nuclear?) Due to an accident "in a large tank" (reactor?): "In the afternoon of December 12, 1955, due to what -to coincidence … a terrible electric storm broke out over the whole of Western Europe, causing deep perturbations in the course of public and state life …”Despite the fact that the date was given with an error of more than 30 years, the current reader will involuntarily think about the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant …
Albert Robida also wrote about our achievements in the field of technology and interplanetary flights: “Electricity serves as an inexhaustible source of heat, light and mechanical force … sets in motion a huge number of colossal machines in millions of factories and factories, as well as the most delicate mechanisms of advanced physical devices. It instantly transmits the sound of a voice from one end of the earth to the other, removes the limit to human vision and carries through the air … a person …
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Not content with the fact that electrical energy is a powerful instrument of production, a light, a mouthpiece, transmitting a voice over any distance … and in interplanetary space (the issue of telephony from one celestial body to another, although not yet satisfactorily resolved, is obviously approaching permission), electricity fulfills thousands of other responsibilities. By the way, it also serves as a weapon in the hands of a person on the battlefields - deadly and formidable …"
As a result of scientific discoveries, we read in the novel about the following events: it became possible to grow people in test tubes - with many advantages, including ideal genes, and almost no human disabilities; the French generals are practicing the methods of "chemical and medical (bacteriological?) warfare"; in the "laboratory of miasms" a test tube with extremely dangerous pathogenic bacteria is accidentally broken, and in Paris an epidemic of a new, unknown disease instantly breaks out, reminiscent of the descriptions of the "plague of the 20th century" - AIDS.
All these events develop against the background of a love story, but the readers of that time were fascinated and aroused by burning interest not in love twists and turns, but in Robida's illustrations: huge airships, aerial competitions on "propeller-driven aircraft", air crews and convertibles, images of the subway, telephonoscope (TV and simultaneously a videophone), a phonograph, chemical artillery guns, torpedoes and submarine battleships …
Aeronaut Santos Dumont was delighted with the drawings of Albert Robida and based on them (!) He built several of his "air convertibles-airships", on which he "moored" right to the balconies of Parisians, unexpectedly appeared at balls and receptions. After giving a brief speech on technical progress, spectacularly illuminated by the flashes of newspaper reporters, he left the meeting the same way he arrived at it - through the window. Just like in the novel, where Albert Robida assured that in 1955 Paris would look quite amazing: “air yachts and convertibles” would fly in the sky, mooring to “landing stages” on the rooftops (for this reason, the numbering of floors in the houses will be conducted from above), the city will completely entwine a network of electric wires, under the ground and above it will stretch giant "pipes of the subway and electric pneumatic trains,which will allow people to cross France from end to end in a short time. " Parisians will live "in houses made of glass and artificial granite" using "refractory plastics and tubular aluminum." Houses 10-11 m high will be cast by builders right on the spot from the foundation. An indispensable attribute of the interior of every home will be a telephonoscope, which will allow the residents of Paris to listen to the "TV newspaper" with news, business advertisements, lectures or music by simply pressing a button. The telephonoscope will make it possible to "visit relatives and be on a visit without leaving home." Kitchens in homes will be absent as unnecessary. Parisians will be able to order ready-made meals by telephonoscope or eat "concentrates in the form of pills."Parisians will live "in houses made of glass and artificial granite" using "refractory plastics and tubular aluminum." Houses 10-11 m high will be cast by builders right on the spot from the foundation. An indispensable attribute of the interior of every home will be a telephonoscope, which will allow the residents of Paris to listen to the "TV newspaper" with news, business advertisements, lectures or music by simply pressing a button. The telephonoscope will make it possible to "visit relatives and be on a visit without leaving home." Kitchens in houses will be absent as unnecessary, because Parisians will be able to order ready-made meals by telephonoscope or eat "concentrates in the form of pills."Parisians will live "in houses made of glass and artificial granite" using "refractory plastics and tubular aluminum." Houses 10-11 m high will be cast by builders right on the spot from the foundation. An indispensable attribute of the interior of every home will be a telephonoscope, which will allow the residents of Paris to listen to the “TV newspaper” with news, business advertisements, lectures or music by simply pressing a button. The telephonoscope will make it possible to "visit relatives and be on a visit without leaving home." Kitchens in houses will be absent as unnecessary, because Parisians will be able to order ready-made meals by telephonoscope or eat "concentrates in the form of pills."which will allow the residents of Paris to listen to newsgazer, business advertisements, lectures or music at the push of a button. The telephonoscope will make it possible to "visit relatives and be on a visit without leaving home." Kitchens in homes will be absent as unnecessary. Parisians will be able to order ready-made meals by telephonoscope or eat "concentrates in the form of pills."which will allow the residents of Paris to listen to newsgazer, business advertisements, lectures or music at the push of a button. The telephonoscope will make it possible to "visit relatives and be on a visit without leaving home." Kitchens in homes will be absent as unnecessary. Parisians will be able to order ready-made meals by telephonoscope or eat "concentrates in the form of pills."
Albert Robida believed that chemistry as a science would reach the highest level and find wide practical application in the national economy. With the help of chemistry, fertility will be restored in the soil. The seeds will undergo electrical treatment to stimulate their germination and growth.
He also reports on some other fantastic things that aroused interest and at the same time anxiety in the 19th century. For example, the fact that people of the 20th century will wear out the nervous system much faster and the French at 45 years old will correspond to seventy for health reasons. Therefore, rejuvenation "in the feverish haste of life" will become necessary. The revival of an aging organism will be carried out in special devices under special caps, which Robida depicted in illustrations.
Albert Robida predicted that “photo painting” and “photo panels” on the walls of houses would flourish in Paris, and the plots would change all the time (indeed, such panels have now been created). In the aquariums, "electric fish" will swim, indistinguishable from the real ones. In general, people will learn to counterfeit everything, especially products, and ersatz will be sold everywhere.
In the seas and oceans "elusive underwater mineships from different countries" will scour. In this regard, Robida describes in detail the large exercises of all the armed forces of France with the participation of electric bombs from shells (tanks). Humanity will begin to populate the vast Antarctica.
However, he warns that the man of the XX century. many technical miracles and crazy speeds can be fatally boring: "A feverishly hasty existence among monstrous plants and factories polluted with smoke will make a person flee from everything created by him, in search of silence and a breath of clean air …" "What an amazing sight a live horse will become for our descendants, the spectacle is completely new and full of the greatest interest for people accustomed to flying through the air! " People will be treated with tranquility in boarding houses, where there will be special music and songs for them, and they will be happy that they have escaped from smoky cities, where rivers are full of miasms, and the water in them is almost not drinkable …
This is what Albert Robida, the author of other novels, wrote 130 years ago: "War in the XX century", "Paris at the crossroads of centuries" (history of Paris in pictures), "Travels to the country of sausages" …
His last science fiction novel "Hours of Ages Past" (about the consequences of a nuclear war) was also translated into Russian in 1904. In it, Robida described the events that await mankind due to the confrontation between large and small states and because of the aspirations of some to enrichment at the expense of others; many technical inventions (including "a pea-sized bomb capable of destroying a city") that will make some politicians extremely violent, which will inevitably lead to "great disaster" and "great horror".
But Robida in this amazing novel also tells about humanity, which, finally, having come to his senses from the "great horror", tries to reunite, creates the "Great Council for Preventing the Errors of the Past without Politicians" and will adopt a new chronology: "The human race, survived and did not die, at least completely, has finally cleared up. The man came out of the great calamity and began to walk along the furrows drawn by his ancestors. " It is a pity that this prophecy has not yet come true …
One of the characters in the novel speaks prophetic words: “The communists, who will seize power tomorrow, perhaps rudely and on not entirely legal grounds, will overthrow the old order. All the leadership of the country will be carried out by people from a special Central Committee (!), And half of its own population will be imprisoned …"
It remains a mystery how Robida in 1899 guessed the terminology of the revolution! By the way, in her memoirs Maria Ulyanova writes that in their family there was a book "by the famous French cartoonist Robida, which Volodya liked to look at." Did she influence Lenin to some extent? It is quite possible that it influenced, like the "Communist Manifesto" of Marx and Engels.
Robida's prophecies, as well as his drawings, amused the readers. They were especially amused by the seemingly incredible statement that at the end of the 20th century. in England, the prime minister will be … a woman! The prediction that the revolution in Russia would take place after the war in Europe was also surprising.
Unfortunately, the novel has never been reprinted. The current reader would certainly ponder over the fantasies that once caused bewilderment and laughter and suddenly became the realities of our turbulent time.
It is noteworthy that Robida's humor wins in this book as well, and the novel "Hours of Ages Past" ends like this: "Behind each era a new one is visible, behind each generation you can already hear the steps of the next one, which will appear on the stage when its hour strikes on the clock of eternity."
The prophet was destined to see the First World War and learn about the use of mustard gas (he once described something similar); cities destroyed by bombs dropped from airships and aircraft, and many other fulfilled prophecies.
Albert Robida died, surrounded by honor, in 1926.
So what is the gift of Albert Robida? An ingenious analysis based on technical inventions existing in his time or a fantastic gift? A gift of foresight or even prophecy? It is a pity that the works of this man are practically forgotten and are not studied by scientists …