From Nowhere: Utopian and Dystopian Visions of our - Chris J. Young

51. Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936). With the
Night Mail: a Story of the Year 2000. New
York: Doubleday, Page, 1909.
Although more famous for his children’s novel The
Jungle Book, Kipling also wrote successful science
fiction short stories. First published in McClure’s
Magazine, With the Night Mail explores one aspect of
what life would be like in the year 2000. Narrated
by an unnamed reporter, the story follows a Night
Mail run on an airship from London to Québec.
Battling the perfect storm, the story shows how
technological advancements can affect the lives
of ordinary people. The Aerial Board of Control,
or A.B.C., not only manages the air traffic for the
whole world, including the Night Mail run, but also
enforces a technocratic system of command and
control in world affairs through its ability to control
the skies. Published less than two years after the
Wright Brothers’ first successful flight, this dystopia
depicting the manipulation of technological power
highlights the potential danger of allowing a person,
or group of persons, to monopolize technology.
51. With the Night Mail: a Story of the Year 2000
52. Karel Čapek (1890–1938). R.U.R. Rossum’s Universal Robots. Prague:
Vydalo Aventinum, 1920.
The word ‘robot,’ derived from the Czech word ‘robota,’ meaning ‘work’, was used for the first time in
this dystopian science fiction play by Karel Čapek. First published in Czech, the play was translated into
English in 1923 and performed on the stage in London and New York during the mid-1920s. Set on a
fictional island known as Rossum’s island, robots are manufactured on assembly lines to replace human
labourers that cease to reproduce. Rossum’s Universal Robots are identical to human beings, but lack a
soul and emotions, making them a more valuable work force than their human counterparts. The play
explores a critical approach to the use of machines to replace human labour, while at the same time
providing a warning against technological development. Čapek’s dystopian vision leaves no doubt as to
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