
The story takes place in a future where technology has advanced significantly and the world is vastly different from what it is today. The narrative follows two men, who are descendants of wealthy families, as they travel through time to the year 2889. They witness firsthand the incredible advancements that have taken place, including flying machines, submarines, and other technological marvels.
By Jules Verne · First published 1889 · Genre: Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Satire · 8,048 words
Little though they seem to think of it, the people of this twenty-ninth century live continually in fairyland. Surfeited as they are with marvels, they are indifferent in presence of each new marvel. To them all seems natural. Could they but duly appreciate the refinements of civilization in our day; could they but compare the present with the past, and so better comprehend the advance we have made! How much fairer they would find our modern towns, with populations amounting sometimes to 10,000,000 souls; their streets 300 feet wide, their houses 1000 feet in height; with a temperature the same in all seasons; with their lines of aërial locomotion crossing the sky in every direction! If they would but picture to themselves the state of things that once existed, when through muddy streets rumbling boxes on wheels, drawn by horses -- yes, by horses! -- were the only means of conveyance. Think of the railroads of the olden time, and you will be able to appreciate the pneumatic tubes through which to-day one travels at the rate of 1000 miles an hour. Would not our contemporaries prize the telephone and the telephote more highly if they had not forgotten the telegraph?
In the Year 2889 is listed on Textopian as a novel by Jules Verne, dated 1889 CE.
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Science Fiction · Utopian · Dystopian · Speculative Fiction · Future Studies · Predictive Fiction · Social Commentary · Technological Satire · Satirical Fiction · Philosophical Fiction · Anthology · Short Story Collection