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