H. G. Wells; The Prophet Novelist
By James Donahue
Some say the English writer Herbert George Wells was the father of science fiction. French author Jules Verne beat him to the title almost a century earlier, but Wells’ early works, several books and short stories, envisioned an incredible future that was virtually unknown at the time his books were published. Some say Wells ideas helped pioneer our modern world.
Thus H. G. Wells, as he was known to readers, must classify as a prophet. It was as if he saw the future. If nothing else, he certainly envisioned how it might become.
Wells was born in 1866 to a poor family. When he accompanied his mother to her job as a housekeeper he had access to the homeowners extensive library and began reading great books. When in his teens, Wells won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science where he studied physics, chemistry, astronomy and biology; subjects that helped spark his imagination for the books that were to soon follow.
It was while he was in college that Wells published a short story about time travel, The Chronic Argonauts.
Wells soon became a prolific and successful writer. His early works were his science fiction novels for which he is best known. He later wrote school textbooks, and books and articles about history, politics and social commentary. He especially enjoyed satire and social criticism. His book Outline of History not only gave a historical view of the world up to World War One, but also promoted the concept of a socialist styled world.
Wells died in 1946, not long before some of his literary inventions began to come into reality.
Wells was fascinated by the concept of time travel. The idea popped up in his first published short story and in several stories to follow, including the novel The Time Machine. Researchers are only now beginning to discover that time travel may actually be possible . . . at least in theory.
The deadly ray used by the invading Martians in War of the Worlds, published in 1898, has actually been developed by the U.S. Military. It appears that the military’s ray is not a killing machine. Officials say it uses microwave radiation designed to disperse crowds rather than kill people. But knowing how the military keeps secrets, we suspect that a death ray also may exist. Or at least the blueprints for such a weapon are in existence.
That the Martians were defeated in Wells’ novel by the natural bacterial infections in existence on Earth also suggests a concept of biological warfare. That kind of warfare was used during the great wars and remains a constant threat to this day. While we can’t give Wells the credit for inventing the idea, he certainly envisioned it.
In his novel The Shape of Things to Come, published in 1933, Wells described a wireless intercom worn on the wrist. Cartoonist Chester Gould also envisioned a two-way radio worn on the wrist by his character Dick Tracy in 1946. Today people have pocket-sized, battery operated devices that contain not only telephones but radio receivers and powerful computers.
His 1899 Novel When the Sleeper Wakes, Wells described a 90-meter-wide highway that moved like a giant conveyor belt that had seats. Today people movers are common at airports and shopping centers but they are not was wide and long as described by Wells. Also inventors are working on cars controlled by computers that move without drivers and high speed rail service is operating in some countries where the trains reach speeds of over 100 miles per hour.
This same novel also described the automatic sliding door. Such doors were not invented for another 50 years.
The concept of genetic engineering was portrayed in Wells’ 1896 novel The Island of Dr. Moreau, where a doctor creates various creatures through crossing them with humans.
Wells addressed the problem of radioactive decay in his 1914 book The World Set Free. The novel speaks of an invention that accelerates radioactive decay and produces terrifying bombs that once they begin to explode, they cannot be stopped for days. The problem of radioactive decay also was addressed in his book Tono-Bungay. The latter was not science fiction.
Finally, Wells’ book The Invisible Man, published in 1897, seemed to be too fanciful to ever become true. Yet a Tokyo University graduate student produced a coat in 2003 that uses optical camouflage technology that makes its wearer appear to become invisible.
Wells even tackled his own prophetic view of the future in his 1901 non-fiction book Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought. It was subtitled An Experiment in Prophecy. The book was such a best-seller that it was republished in a series of magazine articles.
The book projected aircraft, but said they would not appear until about 1950. But he was right on about the advancement of class warfare with the upper class taking over the leadership. He envisioned trains and cars moving people from cities to suburbs, a decline in moral restrictions as people sought greater sexual freedom, World War II and the defeat of German militarism, and even the existence of a European Union.
Wells was a socialist at heart. He projected the concept of a one world government, or what he called a World State. In his autobiography he said he believed a World State was inevitable. He envisioned a state with a planned society that advanced science and nationalism and allowed people to progress by merit instead of the social standing they are born into.
By James Donahue
Some say the English writer Herbert George Wells was the father of science fiction. French author Jules Verne beat him to the title almost a century earlier, but Wells’ early works, several books and short stories, envisioned an incredible future that was virtually unknown at the time his books were published. Some say Wells ideas helped pioneer our modern world.
Thus H. G. Wells, as he was known to readers, must classify as a prophet. It was as if he saw the future. If nothing else, he certainly envisioned how it might become.
Wells was born in 1866 to a poor family. When he accompanied his mother to her job as a housekeeper he had access to the homeowners extensive library and began reading great books. When in his teens, Wells won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science where he studied physics, chemistry, astronomy and biology; subjects that helped spark his imagination for the books that were to soon follow.
It was while he was in college that Wells published a short story about time travel, The Chronic Argonauts.
Wells soon became a prolific and successful writer. His early works were his science fiction novels for which he is best known. He later wrote school textbooks, and books and articles about history, politics and social commentary. He especially enjoyed satire and social criticism. His book Outline of History not only gave a historical view of the world up to World War One, but also promoted the concept of a socialist styled world.
Wells died in 1946, not long before some of his literary inventions began to come into reality.
Wells was fascinated by the concept of time travel. The idea popped up in his first published short story and in several stories to follow, including the novel The Time Machine. Researchers are only now beginning to discover that time travel may actually be possible . . . at least in theory.
The deadly ray used by the invading Martians in War of the Worlds, published in 1898, has actually been developed by the U.S. Military. It appears that the military’s ray is not a killing machine. Officials say it uses microwave radiation designed to disperse crowds rather than kill people. But knowing how the military keeps secrets, we suspect that a death ray also may exist. Or at least the blueprints for such a weapon are in existence.
That the Martians were defeated in Wells’ novel by the natural bacterial infections in existence on Earth also suggests a concept of biological warfare. That kind of warfare was used during the great wars and remains a constant threat to this day. While we can’t give Wells the credit for inventing the idea, he certainly envisioned it.
In his novel The Shape of Things to Come, published in 1933, Wells described a wireless intercom worn on the wrist. Cartoonist Chester Gould also envisioned a two-way radio worn on the wrist by his character Dick Tracy in 1946. Today people have pocket-sized, battery operated devices that contain not only telephones but radio receivers and powerful computers.
His 1899 Novel When the Sleeper Wakes, Wells described a 90-meter-wide highway that moved like a giant conveyor belt that had seats. Today people movers are common at airports and shopping centers but they are not was wide and long as described by Wells. Also inventors are working on cars controlled by computers that move without drivers and high speed rail service is operating in some countries where the trains reach speeds of over 100 miles per hour.
This same novel also described the automatic sliding door. Such doors were not invented for another 50 years.
The concept of genetic engineering was portrayed in Wells’ 1896 novel The Island of Dr. Moreau, where a doctor creates various creatures through crossing them with humans.
Wells addressed the problem of radioactive decay in his 1914 book The World Set Free. The novel speaks of an invention that accelerates radioactive decay and produces terrifying bombs that once they begin to explode, they cannot be stopped for days. The problem of radioactive decay also was addressed in his book Tono-Bungay. The latter was not science fiction.
Finally, Wells’ book The Invisible Man, published in 1897, seemed to be too fanciful to ever become true. Yet a Tokyo University graduate student produced a coat in 2003 that uses optical camouflage technology that makes its wearer appear to become invisible.
Wells even tackled his own prophetic view of the future in his 1901 non-fiction book Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought. It was subtitled An Experiment in Prophecy. The book was such a best-seller that it was republished in a series of magazine articles.
The book projected aircraft, but said they would not appear until about 1950. But he was right on about the advancement of class warfare with the upper class taking over the leadership. He envisioned trains and cars moving people from cities to suburbs, a decline in moral restrictions as people sought greater sexual freedom, World War II and the defeat of German militarism, and even the existence of a European Union.
Wells was a socialist at heart. He projected the concept of a one world government, or what he called a World State. In his autobiography he said he believed a World State was inevitable. He envisioned a state with a planned society that advanced science and nationalism and allowed people to progress by merit instead of the social standing they are born into.