The Milltillionaire
Encyclopedia
The Milltillionaire, or Age of Bardization is a work of utopian fiction
written by Albert Waldo Howard, and published under the pseudonym
"M. Auberré Hovorré." The book was one element in the major wave of utopian and dystopian literature that characterized the final decades of the nineteenth century.
, was undated. It is generally assigned to c. 1895; a second, slightly revised edition was also undated, but likely appeared c. 1898.
, to a century or more (Brooks's Earth Revisited
, or Bellamy's
Looking Forward
). Others took a longer look ahead, of even thousands of years (as with Macnie's The Diothas
). Howard similarly took a long though indefinite prospective view, setting his utopia at an unspecified time in the distant future.
Howard's book, like other utopian works that speculate on future technologies, encompasses some elements of science fiction
. In his future, space travel has been achieved, and Jupiter
explored; its natives are humanoid, large, and naked.
The people live in twenty enormous circular cities, which have radii of a hundred miles; there are triple-decker highways and monorails. The capital, "Bardo-Cito-Uno" (which was Boston), has fully a quadrillion
inhabitants. The countryside beyond these megalopolises is kept verdant and park-like. College education is universal, and is followed by a three-year vacation, then graduate school. The people are vegetarians (Howard even provides an illustrative menu); they practice free love. They dress simply; since they don't carry money, their outfits have only a single pocket, for their handkerchiefs. They communicate telepathically
(as, indeed, do the Jupiterians). Hypnotism has been replaced by knowledge of the "psycho-omni-magnetic force."
Electricity has largely been replaced by magnetism (in some indefinite way), though electric vehicles are used along with bicycles. The power system exploits the "calorico-electrico-ether." Aircraft travel at 10,000 miles per hour. The weather is controlled.
. In that book, Gillette proposed an enormous metropolis near Niagara Falls
for tens of millions of residents, surrounded by a preserved natural environment.
Utopian and dystopian fiction
The utopia and its offshoot, the dystopia, are genres of literature that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world, or utopia, as the setting for a novel. Dystopian fiction is the opposite: creation of a nightmare world, or dystopia...
written by Albert Waldo Howard, and published under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"M. Auberré Hovorré." The book was one element in the major wave of utopian and dystopian literature that characterized the final decades of the nineteenth century.
Date
The first edition of the book, published in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, was undated. It is generally assigned to c. 1895; a second, slightly revised edition was also undated, but likely appeared c. 1898.
Genre
Writers of speculative fiction in the later 1800s (as at other times) varied in the approaches they took toward the nearer and farther future. Some novels took a short-term look ahead in time, from 25 years, as in Peck's The World a Department StoreThe World a Department Store
The World a Department Store: A Story of Life Under a Coöperative System is a utopian novel written by Bradford C. Peck, and published by him in 1900. The book was one entrant in the wave of utopian and dystopian writing that occurred in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries...
, to a century or more (Brooks's Earth Revisited
Earth Revisited
Earth Revisited is an 1893 utopian novel by Byron Alden Brooks. It is one entrant in the large body of utopian and speculative fiction that characterized the later 19th and early 20th centuries.-Genre:...
, or Bellamy's
Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy was an American author and socialist, most famous for his utopian novel, Looking Backward, set in the year 2000. He was a very influential writer during the Gilded Age of United States history.-Early life:...
Looking Forward
Looking Forward
Looking Forward is an album by folk rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, released on Oct 26, 1999.-Track listing:#"Faith in Me" – 4:21 Take 1, recorded 5:26 PM, January 23, 1997 at Ga Ga's Room, Los Angeles, CA...
). Others took a longer look ahead, of even thousands of years (as with Macnie's The Diothas
The Diothas
The Diothas; or, A Far Look Ahead is a 1883 utopian novel written by John Macnie and published using the pseudonym "Ismar Thiusen". The Diothas has been called "perhaps the second most important American nineteenth-century ideal society" after Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward .-Synopsis:The novel...
). Howard similarly took a long though indefinite prospective view, setting his utopia at an unspecified time in the distant future.
Howard's book, like other utopian works that speculate on future technologies, encompasses some elements of science fiction
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...
. In his future, space travel has been achieved, and Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
explored; its natives are humanoid, large, and naked.
Howard's future
Howard's future society is called the Bardic State. It is ruled by 26 bards called the Alphabets, half men and half women. Their leader is the Bard Regent, who appoints other officials; there is also the "Positive Poet," the "true poet," who is "the Milltillionaire." (Howard never fully defines or clarifies these titles and distinctions, though the Milltillionaire is "a being of such colossal and illimitable wealth and power, one might say he was a very god....") A powerful state apparatus supplies the needs of the people, who labor in return for "Universal Welfare," without money, crime, taxes, or personal property. Citizens have serial numbers.The people live in twenty enormous circular cities, which have radii of a hundred miles; there are triple-decker highways and monorails. The capital, "Bardo-Cito-Uno" (which was Boston), has fully a quadrillion
Quadrillion
Quadrillion may mean either of the two numbers :* 1,000,000,000,000,000 – for all short scale countries; increasingly common meaning in English language usage* 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 – for all...
inhabitants. The countryside beyond these megalopolises is kept verdant and park-like. College education is universal, and is followed by a three-year vacation, then graduate school. The people are vegetarians (Howard even provides an illustrative menu); they practice free love. They dress simply; since they don't carry money, their outfits have only a single pocket, for their handkerchiefs. They communicate telepathically
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
(as, indeed, do the Jupiterians). Hypnotism has been replaced by knowledge of the "psycho-omni-magnetic force."
Electricity has largely been replaced by magnetism (in some indefinite way), though electric vehicles are used along with bicycles. The power system exploits the "calorico-electrico-ether." Aircraft travel at 10,000 miles per hour. The weather is controlled.
Mega-cities
The idea of the gigantic city was in the air at the time Howard wrote. In 1894, the year before Howard issued his first edition of The Milltillionaire, King Gillette had published his first utopian work, The Human DriftThe Human Drift
The Human Drift is a work of Utopian social planning, written by King Camp Gillette and first published in 1894. The book details Gillette's plans for social and technological advancements that would replace the chaos of contemporary existence, which he termed the "human drift," with steady and...
. In that book, Gillette proposed an enormous metropolis near Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
for tens of millions of residents, surrounded by a preserved natural environment.
Assessment
The Milltillionaire has been called "A very unusual work. The author succeeds, as very few others have, of [sic] conveying the notion of the immensity of the future and the mind-boggling rise in technology. Yet the book is not completely rational. It is as eccentric as can be, but very interesting ideas are buried amidst the disorganization."See also
- ArqtiqArqtiqArqtiq: A Story of the Marvels at the North Pole is a feminist utopian adventure novel, published in 1899 by its author, Anna Adolph. The book was one element in the major wave of utopian and dystopian fiction that marked the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.-Genre:Arqtiq participates...
- The Great RomanceThe Great RomanceThe Great Romance is a science fiction and Utopian novel, first published in New Zealand in 1881. It had a significant influence on Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward, the most popular Utopian novel of the late nineteenth century.-The book:...
- Sub-CoelumSub-CoelumSub-Coelum: A Sky-Built Human World is an 1893 utopian fiction written by Addison Peale Russell. The book is one volume in the large body of utopian, dystopian, and speculative literature that characterized the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.-Genre:Scholar of the genre Jean Pfaelzer...