The Last Day of Creation
Encyclopedia
The Last Day of Creation (in original ) is a science fiction
novel by German writer Wolfgang Jeschke
, first published in 1981. The English translation was published in 1982 in the USA and Great Britain. In the same year the novel obtained the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis
(Kurd Laßwitz award).
The computer game Original War
(2001) is freely based on the novel.
saintly relic, a clearly recognizable trace of a jeep
discovered during archaeological works on Gibraltar
, found in the same layer as a skeleton of early hominid and an equally old tube of grenade launcher just introduced in the US Army. William W. Francis, an ambitious officer of the US Navy, gets convinced that time travel
is possible and manages to launch a secret project to develop technological device able to transfer people and materiel
through time.
The second part describes the project "Chronotron", the successful implementation of a time machine
, at the moment able only to move things into the past. It is believed that time transfer into the future will be solved soon.
The American administration decides to move an oil pumping machinery 5 million years into the past, set it up on oil deposits in Near East
, and transport the oil through the then dried-up Mediterranean Basin
to the shores of North Sea
where reverse time machines will push it to the modern era. The massively expensive project is kept strictly secret. Objections of scientists that time transfer into the future may be just a dream, that the project could exhaust the country in a new arm race, and that the history of humankind may be irreversibly changed, are ignored.
The third part introduces Steve Stanley, a military pilot picked up to participate in the project. His task is to protect the installations and specialists transferred into the past. Stanley successfully descends into the prehistoric Mediterranean. Unexpectedly, he arrives into middle of all-out war where newcomers are chased by nuclear artillery. He finds out that the plan went completely wrong. Isolated groups of Americans got scattered within the time more than calculated, the reverse time transfer is impossible and the worst: Arabs had discovered the plan and decided to strike back by sending soldiers into the same period to destroy the American expedition.
Stanley meets people who arrived from various different futures, e.g., one where the USA territory is limited to the east of Mississippi
and Mexico is the superpower. Most of the time travellers, unable to accommodate life without modern amenities and without practical skills, have been evacuated to a base on the Bermudas, and the rest try to fend off attackers and to rescue unsuspecting newcomers. Overall, the situation is hopeless and the handful of modern humans has no chance to set up a new civilisation.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by German writer Wolfgang Jeschke
Wolfgang Jeschke
Wolfgang Jeschke is a German sci-fi author and editor, publishing at Heyne publishing house . He lives in Munich.- Novels :* 1981 Der letzte Tag der Schöpfung...
, first published in 1981. The English translation was published in 1982 in the USA and Great Britain. In the same year the novel obtained the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis
Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis
The Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis is possibly the best-known science fiction award from Germany. The award is named after the science fiction author Kurd Laßwitz....
(Kurd Laßwitz award).
The computer game Original War
Original War
Original War is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Altar and released by Virgin Interactive on June 15, 2001. It was re-released in the UK under the budget Sold Out label in 2004.-Plot:...
(2001) is freely based on the novel.
Plot
The book is structured into three different parts. The first part describes several ancient artifacts that turn out to be remnants of modern era items: a part of pilot's breathing pipe worshipped for centuries as a CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
saintly relic, a clearly recognizable trace of a jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
discovered during archaeological works on Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, found in the same layer as a skeleton of early hominid and an equally old tube of grenade launcher just introduced in the US Army. William W. Francis, an ambitious officer of the US Navy, gets convinced that time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
is possible and manages to launch a secret project to develop technological device able to transfer people and materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
through time.
The second part describes the project "Chronotron", the successful implementation of a time machine
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
, at the moment able only to move things into the past. It is believed that time transfer into the future will be solved soon.
The American administration decides to move an oil pumping machinery 5 million years into the past, set it up on oil deposits in Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
, and transport the oil through the then dried-up Mediterranean Basin
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
to the shores of North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
where reverse time machines will push it to the modern era. The massively expensive project is kept strictly secret. Objections of scientists that time transfer into the future may be just a dream, that the project could exhaust the country in a new arm race, and that the history of humankind may be irreversibly changed, are ignored.
The third part introduces Steve Stanley, a military pilot picked up to participate in the project. His task is to protect the installations and specialists transferred into the past. Stanley successfully descends into the prehistoric Mediterranean. Unexpectedly, he arrives into middle of all-out war where newcomers are chased by nuclear artillery. He finds out that the plan went completely wrong. Isolated groups of Americans got scattered within the time more than calculated, the reverse time transfer is impossible and the worst: Arabs had discovered the plan and decided to strike back by sending soldiers into the same period to destroy the American expedition.
Stanley meets people who arrived from various different futures, e.g., one where the USA territory is limited to the east of Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and Mexico is the superpower. Most of the time travellers, unable to accommodate life without modern amenities and without practical skills, have been evacuated to a base on the Bermudas, and the rest try to fend off attackers and to rescue unsuspecting newcomers. Overall, the situation is hopeless and the handful of modern humans has no chance to set up a new civilisation.
Editions
- First edition: 1981, Nymphenburger Verlag, ISBN 3485004030
- English language editions: ISBN 0312470614 (US) / ISBN 0712600426 (UK), 1982.
- Translated into several other languages.
- Last German language edition in 2005.