영어로 읽는 고전 _ 로버트 W. 크렙스의 내일의 세계
"지오프 세인트 레이너드의 '내일의 세계!'는 1950년대 초에 쓰인 것으로 추정되는 공상과학 소설입니다. 이 책은 정체성, 진화, 그리고 특히 네안데르탈인의 후손들과 현대 인류 사이의 갈등 주제를 탐구합니다. 이야기는 충동적인 폭력 행위를 저지른 후 고대 유산의 각성을 경험하는 한 남자의 원초적 본능과 기억을 파고드는 현대적 배경에서 펼쳐집니다. 주인공인 빌 커프는 박물관 경비원과의 폭력적인 대치 이후 자신의 원초적인 측면을 무의식적으로 일깨운 모험 작가로, 그는 자신이 단순한 인간이 아닌 네안데르탈인의 후손임을 발견합니다. 이야기가 진행됨에 따라, 커프는 새롭게 발견한 자신의 정체성과 신체적 능력에 대해 고뇌하며, 자신의 혈통과 인간과 네안데르탈인 사이의 피로 물든 역사를 성찰합니다. 그는 자신과 같은 고대의 기억과 본능을 공유하며 세계에서 자신들의 위치를 되찾으려는 계획을 세우고 있는 '옛 동료들'이라고 알려진 다른 이들을 만납니다. 이야기는 네안데르탈인들이 일어나 그들의 지배력을 주장하기 위해 준비하면서 인류에 대한 전쟁 선포로 절정에 이르며, 공포와 공상과학의 요소를 혼합하여 인간이 된다는 것의 의미에 대한 개념에 도전합니다."
Classics Read in English _ Tomorrow the World! by Robert W. Krepps
"Tomorrow the World!" by Geoff St. Reynard is a science fiction novel likely written in the early 1950s that explores profound themes of identity, evolution, and the ancient conflict between Neanderthal descendants and modern humans. The narrative unfolds in a contemporary setting but delves into primal instincts and ancestral memories awakened in a man following an impulsive act of violence.
The protagonist, Bill Cuff, an adventure writer, experiences a startling self-discovery after a violent confrontation with a museum guard. This incident triggers an awakening within him, revealing that he is far more than just an ordinary man?he is a descendant of Neanderthals with inherited memories and abilities from his prehistoric ancestors. As the story progresses, Cuff struggles to reconcile his newfound identity and enhanced physical capabilities while reflecting on his ancient lineage and the blood-soaked history of conflict between humans and Neanderthals.
Cuff's journey leads him to encounter others like himself, known as the Old Companions, who share his ancestral memories and primal instincts. These individuals have maintained their genetic heritage through generations and are now organizing to reclaim their place in a world dominated by their ancient rivals?modern humans. The narrative builds toward a dramatic climax as the Neanderthal descendants prepare to rise up and assert their dominance, effectively declaring war against humanity.
St. Reynard masterfully blends elements of horror and science fiction to challenge conventional notions of what it means to be human. The novel raises provocative questions about evolution, genetic memory, and whether ancient rivalries embedded in our DNA might one day resurface. Through Cuff's transformation and internal conflict, the story examines how quickly civilization's veneer might crumble when primal instincts are awakened, creating a thought-provoking exploration of humanity's past and potential future.
Among the contents
It was like a cave, a great vaulted cave which echoed back my first hesitant movements on the slab and tossed them from wall to wall until the darkness about me was all one vast rustling. I felt my skin prickle into gooseflesh. In that moment of waking I was oddly frightened. I had no memory of location. I might have been in a subterranean grotto, with enormous stalagmites of supergrotesque shape rising all about me in the thick gloom.
I sat up. The slab was cold beneath me. Directly in front of it towered a thing like a nightmare skeleton of stone.
It was just that: the fossil of a duckbilled dinosaur. I had gone to sleep on a marble bench in the palaeontology room of the museum.
I laughed. The panic that had touched me was gone, and I felt ashamed of myself. Not for falling asleep, because I had been very tired; but ashamed of the fear.
