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support any given side in the conflict). At some point, it also becomes interested in production of material goods and produces them, in a supernatural manner, in enormous quantities. This leads to economic collapse and, absurdly enough, deficit of all manufactured items because, allegedly, once the
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in 1922. The first sentence opens the story on New Year's Day 1943 - a future date at the time of writing - and describes the fundamental transformations in society as the result of a new mystical source of virtually free energy.
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lakes." Some of the more prominent political changes the war causes include expulsion of the
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naturally do not let the price drop to zero. In fact they force every last penny from the urban population in return for food, hence saving humanity.
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does more than affect minds. It also does physical work. During the war, it causes catastrophes against the enemy (various parts of
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is a spiritual essence that according to some religious philosophies permeates all matter. It is associated with human
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to produce cheap and abundant energy. Unfortunately, it produces something else as a by-product, the
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that cuts the
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into the world. This leads to an outburst of religious and
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fervor, causing the greatest, most global war in history.
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The story centers on the invention of a reactor that can
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359:Audiobook of David Wyllie's English translation
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472:Pictures from the Insects' Life
441:Život a dílo skladatele Foltýna
197:riflemen on the shores of the
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586:Novels set in fictional wars
561:Czech science fiction novels
138:The Factory for the Absolute
556:1922 science fiction novels
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135:, literally translated as
86:Published in English
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16:1922 novel by Karel Čapek
277:"Reviews: November 1975"
581:Novels about technology
282:Science Fiction Studies
211:Austro-Hungarian empire
20:The Absolute at Large
591:Novels by Karel Čapek
482:The Makropulos Affair
411:The Absolute at Large
340:The Absolute at Large
329:The Absolute at Large
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108:The Absolute at Large
571:Philosophical novels
309:at Wikimedia Commons
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502:The Mother
354:(in Czech)
345:Faded Page
264:References
195:Senegalese
113:Wikisource
351:Full text
203:East Asia
193:with the
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347:(Canada)
252:See also
234:absolute
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221:Absolute
180:absolute
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168:absolute
141:), is a
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199:Finnish
191:Chinese
149:author
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402:Novels
170:. The
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207:Japan
147:Czech
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65:Genre
60:Czech
158:Plot
103:Text
90:1927
80:1922
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