Armageddon 2419 A.D.

Armageddon 2419 A.D. is a science fiction story by the American author Philip Francis Nowlan and first appeared in 1928 in the August issue of SF pulp magazine Amazing Stories. The story was first published in 1962 under the same title as a paperback and supplemented with the sequel "The Airlords of Han " ( Amazing Stories, March issue 1929).

Content

The amendment describes an eschatological catastrophe ( Armageddon ) in the America of the 25th century the country was conquered by the Huns, a yellow Asian nation. These Huns ( in the original " Hans " ) possess a highly developed technology and have large aircraft with disintegrator beam weapons that act by spraying and therefore deadly. From time to time they fall into the American country to track down the last "wild American ", so they can not grow into a threat to the Huns culture.

The last Americans live in small networked groups and hide from the Huns in the woods. They are hoping for the secret rebuild their civilization through the development of new technologies " Ultron " and " Inertron ".

Inertron is a substance with reverse gravity or anti-gravity property: A person who has a certain amount Inertron belting itself, most often that of their body weight, is correspondingly lighter. Attached this person now a jumper on the back - these are rocket motors Inertron jacket - they can fly in wide leaps over the country.

Ultron other hand, is an absolutely invisible and the non -reflective substance of large molecular density at moderate elasticity. It has the property of a 100 - % - conductivity of electromagnetic radiation such as light, electricity and heat. In addition to missile throwing and radio frequencies that can not track the enemy, want to use these two technologies in the fight against Hans resistance fighters.

Main character and narrator of Armageddon 2419 A.D. Anthony Rogers, who later referred to in the various comic strips, radio shows and film series as " Buck Rogers ". Rogers tells the events of the " second war of independence " which leads to the first victory of the Americans over the Hans. More Synopsis see Buck Rogers.

Criticism

The concept of unconditional struggle of a white race against an act threatening, inhuman yellow race has often been criticized as racist. Nowlan reached here on an idea that was common to the turn of the century in the Western world and was called " Yellow Peril ". In other books, comics and movies that time the villain is represented by an Asian arch-villain. A well-known example is the novel and film character Dr. Fu Manchu or the despot Ming in "Flash Gordon".