BLOOD AND IRON (8)
By:
December 26, 2023
“Blood and Iron: A Play in One Act,” A Radium Age proto-sf ancestor of The Six Million Dollar Man and RoboCop, was first published in the December 1917 issue of The Strand. (Note that the play predates Karel Čapek’s “R.U.R.: Rossum’s Universal Robots” by four years.) HiLoBooks is pleased to serialize it here for HILOBROW’s readers.
ALL INSTALLMENTS: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8.
EMPEROR: You are a man again — you are whole once more!
241: Yes — Majesty. But — my — heart — is — broken.
EMPEROR: Why?
241: My — people — are — starving — my — wife — is — lonely —
EMPEROR: Then you are not proud that Science has found a way to double the strength of our Army!
241: By — bringing — me — twice — to — slaughter.
EMPEROR (Leaning forward, with ferocity, his hands on the arms of his chair.): What, ingrate?
241: By — doubling — the — strength — of — your — army — you — have — multiplied — human — grief. (Takes two steps laboriously toward EMPEROR.)
EMPEROR: You dare rebel in the presence of your Emperor?
241: Dare? The — fear — has — gone — out — of — my — tortured — body — into — yours. (Takes another step toward electric button, his heavy feet sounding ponderously. EMPEROR cowers back in the chair, hollow eyed.)
EMPEROR: Down on your knees and crave your Emperor’s pardon!
241: That — part — of — me — which — is — steel — cannot — bend — to — mortal — man. I — will — get — down — on — my — knees — only — to — God — and — ask — Him — to — forgive — me — what — I — now — intend — to — do. Twice — in — the — red — shambles — of — the — trenches! I — am — the — hope — of — the — dynasty! (throws his arm wide). No — I — am — the — hope — of — the — people! (with trembling rigidity 241 reaches toward electric button). The — day — of — your — birth — shall — henceforth — be — known — as — the — day — of — your — death — and — celebrated — as — the — birthday — of — liberty!
(241 smashes electric button with his steel hand. Total darkness follows. Two slow footfalls are followed by a gasping intake of breath from the throne-chair.)
VOICE OF EMPEROR (In terror.): Lights. Lights!
VOICE OF 241: I — need — no — lights.
VOICE OF EMPEROR (Gaspingly.): Lights!
VOICE oF 241: You — have — made — me — live — in the dark — and — now — you — shall — die — in the dark!
VOICE OF EMPEROR (Choking.): Mercy!
VOICE OF 241: You — cannot — escape — me — in — the — shadows. I — can — see — you — I — can — hear — you. Come — to — my — iron — arms! Don’t — tremble! Don’t — shrink! Go — as — a — king — should — go — to — meet — the — King — of — Kings!
(A rush of feet; an overwhelming impact of bodies; a shriek of agony from the depths; the overturning of the throne; a scuffle in which the human body mingles with the rattle of metal; a long, choking, gasping blast; a ripple of stertorous breath; the clink of metal as 241 gets to his feet. Silence. Again the ponderous footfalls are heard crossing the room, which is still in darkness. 241 puts on his overcoat, his helmet, etc. Footfalls are again heard crossing to the table. 241 presses the electric button. Lights.)
(There stands 241 in full equipment, the EMPEROR lying at the foot of the shattered throne crumpled up in the most unkingly attitude, the emblem known as the Reward of Heaven glittering in the light. 241 bends down, rends it from the EMPEROR‘s bosom, fixes it upon his own left breast, comes to attention, and rings the gong on the table, which gives out a low reverberating note. 241 then turns to the door and stands with his arms stiffly suspended at his side, his chest thrown out and a light of victory in his eyes.)
(ENTER SCIENTIST, left. He takes in the whole terrible scene, cowers back.)
SCIENTIST (Gasps as he stares at 241.) What is this?
241 (Raising his metal fingers to heaven with an air of thunderous, choking finality.): EF — FI — CIEN — CY!
(Curtain.)
RADIUM AGE PROTO-SF: “Radium Age” is Josh Glenn’s name for the nascent sf genre’s c. 1900–1935 era, a period which saw the discovery of radioactivity, i.e., the revelation that matter itself is constantly in movement — a fitting metaphor for the first decades of the 20th century, during which old scientific, religious, political, and social certainties were shattered. More info here.
SERIALIZED BY HILOBOOKS: James Parker’s Cocky the Fox | Annalee Newitz’s “The Great Oxygen Race” | Matthew Battles’s “Imago” | & many more original and reissued novels and stories.