Ralph 124C 41+

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RALPH 124C 41+

[Illustration]

A ROMANCE OF THE YEAR 2660

RALPH 124C 41+

by

HUGO GERNSBACK

Forewords by Dr. Lee de Forest and Fletcher Pratt

New York: Frederick Fell, Inc.

Copyright 1925 by the Stratford Company

Second Edition Copyright 1950 by Hugo Gernsback

All rights in this book are reserved. It may not be used for dramatic or motion- or talking-picture purposes without written authorization from the holder of these rights. Nor may the book or part thereof be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission in writing, except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address: Frederick Fell, Inc., 386 Fourth Avenue, New York 16, N.Y. Manufactured in the United States of America by H. Wolff, New York. Designed by Sidney Solomon.

Published simultaneously in Canada by George J. McLeod, Ltd., Toronto.

CONTENTS

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION 7

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 11

FOREWORD BY DR. LEE DE FOREST 15

FOREWORD BY FLETCHER PRATT 19

1 The Avalanche 25

2 Two Faces 40

3 Dead or Alive? 52

4 Fernand 66

5 New York A.D. 2660 79

6 "Give Us Food" 97

7 The End of Money 110

8 The Menace of the Invisible Cloak 118

9 The Conquest of Gravitation 127

10 Two Letters 140

11 The Flight Into Space 147

12 Llysanorh' Strikes 164

13 Alice Objects 172

14 The Terror of the Comet 176

15 Llysanorh' Throws Off the Mask 188

16 The Supreme Victory 195

PREFACE

TO THE SECOND EDITION

Since the first edition of Ralph 124C 41+ in 1925, an eventful quarter century has passed. Since I first wrote the story, 39 amazing years have been swallowed into the Einstein space-time-continuum--years pregnant with scientific progress.

Since 1925, the 5,000-edition volume has had a rather remarkable career. It has been quoted by hundreds of authorities both great and small, in hundreds of publications--not only in the United States but also in many other countries. Whenever a history of science-fiction was written, Ralph nearly always was included routinely, much to my surprise.

In the meanwhile the book became a sort of museum piece. Early in 1950 the quoted price in the second-hand book market was $50.00 for a single copy. Left with only two copies of the 1925 edition I myself endeavored to buy a copy for a friend in France, but no copies were forthcoming even at $50.00!

Authors avowedly never read their own books--I am no exception to that rule. So the other day when I was reading proofs for the 1950 edition, after a lapse of 25 years, I began to ask myself a lot of questions.

Why for instance was Ralph written, in the first place?

In 1911 I was a young publisher--not yet 27 years old. I had started publishing Modern Electrics in 1908, three years before. It was the world's first radio magazine. By 1911 it had attained a print order of around 100,000 copies and was for sale on all the principal newsstands in the U.S. and Canada, and sold by subscription all over the world.

Yet, today I must confess I do not recall just what prompted me to write Ralph. I do recall that I had no plan whatsoever for the whole of the story. I had no idea how it would end nor what the contents would be.