PDF chapter test TRY NOW
The lesson is about a future age in which people live in the year 2889, and the events described in this story take place on July 25th. The venue of the story is the office block of the Managing Editor of the 'Earth Herald' newspaper. The author mentions 'Earth Herald' as the world's largest newspaper. Though written in \(1889\), the writer in this story visualises a world thousand years later from his period, equipped with high technological advancements. So there are no printed newspapers but 'spoken'.
It might be the author used the name 'Herald' for the newspaper in this story for two reasons.
1. In general. the term 'herald' refers to 'a future event or a situation'.
2. Also, IHT (The International Herald Tribune) was a daily English-language newspaper in Paris, France, for internationally English-speaking readers. This newspaper was founded in the year \(1887\), and it stopped its publication in the year \(2013\).
Following an introduction to the plot, the author moved on to discussing the future world in the following paragraphs.
Francis Benett is the protagonist of the story "A Day in 2889 of an American Journalist" set in the year 2889. The events were narrated in such a way that Francis lived in a future time (2889), thousands of years from the author's time.
Francis Bennett wakes up in a bad mood, and the cause of his bad mood was that he missed his wife. Mrs. Francis Bennett had gone to France a week earlier, and it was the eighth day after she had left Francis, and he was missing her; he felt lonely without her. As a result, he dialled her number using a 'phonotelephote.' The word "phonotelephote" refers to a phone that displays a picture of two people conversing, similar to the video conversations we have today. It's a surprising fact that the author had predicted the internet we use in today, in 1889 itself though internet was invented in the year 1983.
Despite the fact that the narrative was published in \(1889\), it reflects the author's imagination and predictions for modern technologies. We now have "video call" capabilities after more than a century since his birth. However, it was envisioned by author Jules Verne more than a century ago. It's easy to see why the author has been called "the Father of Science Fiction" based simply on this example.
According to the author, Francis' phonotelephote wires led to the mansion he owned on the Champs-Elysees, where Francis' wife was staying. The Champs-Elysees is the most famous and beautiful avenue in Paris, stretching for 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometres).
And when Francis Benett saw his wife appear on the screen, he blessed the inventor of the phonotelephote. He was overjoyed to see his wife via phonotelephote, when she appeared in front of him and began conversing to him, saying, "Francis... dear Francis!"
Francis had become pleased to see his wife on the screen, and when he heard her voice, he felt much more pleased, and his bad mood shifted to a good one. Francis grew further energized after speaking with his wife and headed to his mechanised dressing room to get dressed for work. In less than two minutes, a machine assisted Francis in washing, shaving, dressing from head to toe, and putting on his boots without any human assistance. And so, Francis got ready and arrived at his office in about two minutes. And then, his day's work had begun. Let's take a look at how things are in the year \(2889\).
Francis went into the reporter's room in the 'Earth Herald' office. There were \(1500\) reporters in that room, all of whom had phones in front of them. They were delivering news to their subscribers from across all four corners. According to the author, each reporter had a commutator in front of them in addition to the phone, which allowed them to change the direction of the alternate telephotic lines and convey the news.
The news was broadcasted to viewers simultaneously with the sight of the events so that people could see what was going on in different parts of the world. There were several astronomical reporters among the general news reporters, and Francis Bennett began his interaction with one of those astronomical reporters about the stellar world. It appears that there have been recent discoveries in the stellar world, and as a result, the 'Earth Herald' newspaper has begun to share updates on or about the stellar world with its viewers.
Mr. Cash, an astronomy reporter, was the person with whom Francis Benett had begun a conversation. Francis began to inquire about the stellar world service, to which Cash replied that he had received phototelegrams from Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Following that, Francis expressed his curiosity about it and asked him whether he had received any signals from 'Jupiter.'
As previously mentioned, since the events in this story take place in the year \(2889\), technological marvels appear to be a common thing for people. Yet, it appears to be too much for our period, as science had not yet progressed to the point where we could receive frequent phototelegrams from other planets.
Mr.Cash answered Francis that they had not yet received any communication from Jupiter and explained why they hadn't received any messages from Jupiter. The astronomical reporters were unable to understand the signals sent by the Jovians, and he added it was owing to the astronomers' signal from 'Earth Herald' not reaching them. The term 'Jovians' refers to people who reside on Jupiter.
'Moon' was the subject of Francis' second question to Mr. Cash. Mr. Cash said, 'none,' when Francis asked whether there had been any updates from the moon since there had been no messages from the 'Jupiter already.'
Francis told Cash that they couldn't blame optical science, and he looked unconvinced by Cash's response. The fact that the moon is 600 times closer to Earth than Mars supported Francis' argument. And, if Earth Herald's communications had been able to reach Mars, connecting with the moon might have been even simpler. As a result, optical science cannot be blamed. 'Optics' refers to the scientific study of 'sight and light'.
During Cash and Francis' talk, another reporter named Corley also said it was because of the natives. 'Did Corley mean that people don't live on the Moon?' Francis asked, interrupting Corley's argument. Francis' enraged query implies that there are people on the Moon. In general, there is no evidence of people living on the moon till recently. Also, since the planet 'Jupiter' is entirely made of hydrogen and helium gas, it has a hot atmosphere, which causes people to float freely on Jupiter if we try to land on it. In addition, unlike Earth, Jupiter does not contain oxygen.
Mr. Cash argued with Francis that no signals had been received from one half of the Moon, implying that there were no human beings. However, he assumed that the same could be true on the other side and that there were better chances for people to survive there. When Francis heard this, he suggested to Cash that they shift the satellite to the other side to solve the problem. As a result, scientists at Francis Bennett's factory began working on the idea of turning the satellite to the other side that same day.
Francis initially appeared dissatisfied because there were no new messages to broadcast from astronomical reporters. Francis Bennett, on the other hand, had reason to be pleased after some time because there had been news of a new astronomical discovery. One of the Earth Herald's astronomers had started figuring out the elements of the new planet Gandini. That planet (Gandhini) circles the sun every 572 years, 194 days, 12 hours, 43 minutes, and 9.8 seconds at a distance of 12,841,348,284,623 metres and 7 decimeters. Francis Bennett was delighted at the new astrological prediction and the precise information on the new planet 'Gandhini.'
Francis was pleased to learn about the new finding and its precise calculations of how long it takes for Gandhini to orbit around the sun. He expressed his appreciation for the discovery and requested that the astronomers inform the reporting service team about the details of the new planet 'Gandhini' so that it might be reported as soon as possible. Francis stated this because, according to him, astronomical questions pique the public's interest. Francis also expected the news to be broadcasted the following day.
The next room after the astronomical lab was a large gallery space that was nearly a quarter-mile long and was solely for advertising. Advertisements are required even in small newspapers with low circulation. As a result, one might understand how difficult it would be for the world's largest newspaper, such as the 'Earth Herald,' to make a daily average of three million dollars. Earth Herald advertises not just in newspapers and on television channels, but on clouds. They're huge mirrored signs in the sky that can be seen from all around the country. Thousands of projectors were utilised all the time from that quarter-mile-long gallery to convey those massive advertisements to the sky, where they were replicated in colour.
Francis was getting ready for lunch at twelve o'clock in the afternoon. Francis, the director of Earth Herald, sat on a moving armchair outside the advertisement hall. And, what a miracle, the rolling chair took him away to the dining room, which was half a mile away and at the far end of the office.
Francis then took a seat at the previously prepared table. His hand could reach a number of taps, and in front of him was the curved surface of a phonotelephote, which showed his Paris dining room. Nothing could be more enjoyable than meeting someone face to face despite the distance, as said before. According to the author, the phonotelephotic technology allows people to see and converse with one another. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett had planned to eat lunch at the same time, and they were able to see and talk to each other via phonotelephote. This example shows another benefit of technology: even if Mr. and Mrs. Francis are thousands of miles apart, they have the impression of having dined together due to technology.
People need not spend time even on their basic morning chores such as bathing or dressing in a world of tremendous technology when everyone is preoccupied with their own work. As a result, it's understandable that Francis Bennett, like everyone else in those times, has quit household cooking and is a subscriber to the "Society for Supplying Food to the Home," which sends out dishes of a thousand sorts via a network of pneumatic tubes.
Without a doubt, this method is expensive, but the cooking was also much better. Though technology has advanced significantly, hand-made dishes will always be superior, but technology has made it feasible to serve delicious food to people regardless of their number. And, thanks to technology, Francis Bennett didn't have to eat his lunch alone any longer. Mrs Bennett, who had arrived home, appeared on the telephote screen as Francis drank his coffee, indicating that Mr. and Mr. Francis were always connected through technology.
After finishing his meal, Francis stepped near his office window. He then noticed his aero car, which was waiting for him to it pick up. The term 'aero car' refers to a car that can fly through the air. The author's vision of a flying car in the year 2889 is fantastic; people have their own aero cars to fly in the air, similar to the cars and other vehicles we have now, according to the author's vision. When the driver or aero-coachman noticed Francis approaching the window, he would inquire about Francis' plans. Francis then told his driver(aero-coach) that he had time and asked him to drive him to Niagara, where he was working on accumulators.
Currently, travelling \(400\ \)miles by train takes eight hours. A flight would take around 3 hours to cover 400 miles. Francis's aero-car flew through space at a speed of roughly 400 miles per hour. Apart from Phonotelephote, the aero-car is their period's conquest (2889). Moving pavements, as indicated by the author in this story, were another notable achievement of their period 2889. The wayfarers are carried along the streets and through the countryside by those moving pavements, which are covered in an enormous spider's web of electric cables. People (wayfarers) just need to step onto the moving pavements, and they will be whisked away to their destination without even having to walk. In general, a sedentary lifestyle is evolving as a result of technological advancements.
Niagara is 496 kilometres from New York City and is located between the United States and Canada. In about half an hour, Francis Bennett had arrived at his destination, i.e., his workplace in Niagara, through his aero-car. And at Francis' workplace in Niagara, energy was generated by the force of cataracts, which were sold or rented to consumers as accumulators (batteries).
After finishing the job at Niagara, Francis returns to Centropolis, to his office, at 5 p.m. via Philadelphia, Boston, and New York.
When Francis returned to the Earth Herald office, he found a large crowd waiting for him. They were waiting for Francis to arrive with their new project proposals, which they wanted to present to him for his approval. Since Earth Herald was the world's largest newspaper, one can imagine how tough the competition would be among those proposing projects for approval.
Among the different projects that were assigned before Francis, he was about to pick up the good projects which could benefit or make profits for 'Earth Herald'. Obviously, he rejected the bad proposals and then kept the doubtful ones on hold and welcomed the good ones.
Francis discarded all unimpressive, useless, and impractical undertakings and focused on the most impressive ones, as mentioned earlier. A few projects got a warm welcome, such as the one that came from a young man with a broad forehead that indicated a high level of intelligence. In general, studies show that people with a large forehead have more intelligence than others. It's possible that the author used it as a hint to emphasise the young man's intelligence.
The young man started to explain his project. He claims that the world contains \(75\ \)elements (in \(2889\), according to the author. Presently, in 2022, we have 118 elements in the world like hydrogen, helium, etc.), as well as the fact that it was reduced to three. Francis agreed to what he said. Furthermore, the young guy proposes that those three aspects be reduced to just one. He went on to say that if he didn't run out of money, he could complete the project in three weeks, which implies that his project would require more investment.
Mr. Francis was quite interested in the project that the young man was explaining to him. As a result, Francis asked him for further information on the project's specifics. The young man was certain he'd find what he was looking for. Francis was impressed and inquired what the outcome of his discovery would be, to which the young man replied that he could make all types of matter with his discoveries, including stone, wood, metal, fibrin, and so on. Francis was pleased and asked the young man if he could build a human being as well if he succeeded in making anything.
When Francis asked the young man if he could make a human being, the young man said that he could create a full human being with the exception of one thing: the soul. In a nutshell, Francis and the young man were talking about a 'robot'.
Francis Bennett was so fascinated by the ideas that the young guy told him that he immediately appointed him to his journal's scientific editorial section.
Francis then met a second inventor. He developed the idea of shifting an entire city into a single block based on some historical experiments from the nineteenth century. He also claims that he can demonstrate his point with an example. He could move the town of Saaf, which was fifteen miles from the sea and make it into a seaside resort by transporting it on trains down to the beach. Francis was interested in this initiative and agreed to put invest half a share in it.
After finishing the day's work and dealing with the new project offers, Francis Bennett reclined in an easy chair in the audition room. By pressing a button, he was able to connect to the Central Concert. He was glad and delighted to listen to such a pleasant musical event conducted by experienced musicians after such a hectic day. Here, 'a series of delicious harmonico algebraic formulae!' refers to the melody music does not change to different keys but rather travels in the same phase, resulting in music that harmonises with the scale's basic note (harmonic) that is pure. This music has much more harmony than conventional Western music, and even though there are no lyrics in these melodies, they have great meaning and purpose, which will deeply touch your heart once you start playing them! This is true music for your soul!
Then Francis got ready for dinner, and as is usual, he set up a phonotelephotic communication system to talk to his wife Edith Francis during his meal. During their talk, Francis inquired about her return to Centropolis, to which she said that she would begin right then. She'd also tell him she'd be taking the tube rather than the aero-car. She was certain that she would arrive in Centropolis at \(11:59\ \)p.m. local time. Francis bids Edith farewell after inquiring about her journey and assuring her of arrival. and cautions her not to miss the tube.
Submarine tubes are closed ships that travel inside the sea. Mrs. Francis chose to travel by submarine tubes from Paris because they were faster than aero-trains. The author had also mentioned that people could reach Centropolis from Paris in about two hundred and ninety-five minutes, which is much preferable to aero-trains. It was because one can travel only six hundred miles through aero-trains in an hour compared with Submarine tubes.
The above information brings out the other two travelling technologies, which were aero-trains and submarine tubes, apart from aero-cars.
Francis decides to take a bath before going to bed after a long day's work, though he always has a regular bath in his office. When he clicked a button during his bath, a machine assisted him. The sound of a rumble began, grew louder, then intensified. Finally, the bath appeared, gliding along on its rails, via one of the doors. Hence, the author concludes his story.
Register for free to see more content