Torpeda czasu

Literal: Time torpedo No English release

by Antoni Słonimski

Release: circa October to mid-December 1923
Format: Novel
Genre: Science Fiction
Audience: Adults
Content: Definite Time Travel
Original Language: Polish

Torpeda czasu is important enough to list even though I’ve read only summaries, I’ve never found a translation, and I’m uncertain about the date. The notes accompanying this particular cover indicate a 1923 publication date, but elsewhere the date of 1924 is common, and Wikipedia has 1926. Never mind!

The short novel’s heroes—Professor Pankton and his beautiful daughter Haydnee, historian Tolna, and journalist Hersey—set out from the year 2123 to change the Napoleonic Wars, starting with the French Revolution and aiming to fix matters so that mankind can advance intellectually without the hindrance of war. But the outcome is even more miserable than the original bloody history.

Should I ever track down a copy, I shall need help from my Polish colleagues in computer science to translate the story to English.

Nie zapominajcie, że to Francuzi, najwaleczniejszy naród europejski, że to są ludzie, których brawura i dzielność oślepia.

Do not forget that the French, bravest among all the European nationalities, are a people blinded by their very own braggadocio and past prowess.

English

DEBUT

[ex=bare]Torpeda czasu | Time torpedo[/ex], serialized in Kurjer Polski Nr. 281-352 (Rok. XXVI, circa October to mid-December 1923).

VARIANTS

1 Polish variant

TAGS: We haven’t yet tagged this work.

TIME TRAVEL ITINERARY: We haven’t yet mapped out the time travel itinerary.