Omega: The Last Days of the World

by Camille Flammarion

Autour d'une histoire de probable fin du monde l'auteur dresse la liste des fins possibles de notre planète et du système qui l'abrite. Il en profite aussi pour nous rappeler comment l'humanité a pu craindre depuis toujours ce que serait sa propre fin... Cet ouvrage est à la frontière du roman, de l'essai philosophique, et du documentaire scientifico-historique.

Genres: Science Fiction, Classics, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, French Literature

178 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1894

About the author

Nicolas Camille Flammarion was a French astronomer & author.

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Will the world end in the daytime? I really don't know"

This book is gorgeous. The typeset and page design is very late 19th century, probably an exact copy of the original English translation. The illustrations and layout of the text around them is a treat to look at, and the font is so clean and simple; it's the kind of font I always wanted for my zine, maybe with a little less space between the letters, but this would have been my choice if I had it. I have no idea what font it is, I can't tell things like that by just looking at it. Amateur appreciation of design aside then there is what these illustrations and nicely placed letters actually mean.

In the best (worst?) tradition of 19th century pedantic fiction this book is really a scientific treatises in the guise of a novel. There is little story here. The story that is supposedly in this book is that a comet is about the smack into the Earth. 25th century man freaks out that they are all going to die, so what do they do? Well in Paris they all gather into a great hall to listen to a bunch of scientists expound on what they think the end of the world will be (will it be the comet? will it be a great deluge? will it be fire from the sky? a leveling of the land? heat? cold?). So the first half of this book is a bunch of different scientists each giving their view on how the world will end (insert Smiths line here). Lots of scientific facts are given, conclusions drawn, and one feels like he is reading Plato, sort of like the Symposium, as opposed to one of Plato's more 'teaching' dialogs.

So the first half of the book is this. All these different views on how the world will end, and then for a handful of pages the reader gets a break to see what happens about the comet, and (spoiler... although the spoiler is on the back cover too), the world doesn't end from the comet. Yay!. Oh. There is still half the book left. Well in the Symposium this is where Socrates gets up to say that the 'beast with two backs' isn't the greatest form of love, but man-boy love is--and that it's beyond refute. The man-boy love in this story is a long drawn out description of life after the comet misses. Man develops, the world eventually starts to die, and so much science is given. The number of times velocity is described and I'm pretty sure the same numbers are given over and over again, and he draws some conjectures about infinite return and the scope is dragged out to millions and billions of years and more science is given, and then you (I) realize that I (you) have no idea if any of this science is even right, and you (I) wonder about black holes, and think, "but the earth was never a sun, that is just silly", and then think "and the sun will not one day become a planet, that's even sillier, especially when you have destroyed the idea of their being a near by sun for it to have, and I don't know much about astronomy, but what about the big bang, and duck-billed platypuses, and other things that happen that I can't explain, and is your science right? And relativity and other things I don't know about but which came after you, and really your whole idea of time is just kind of wacky from any kind of philosophical view, I mean, what about mother fucking Empedocles!!" and you're (I) staring at the book while writing a review and wanting answers from a book, and I (you) have no idea why you even care so much, but instead you (actually I here) keep writing and writing this review, because it won't fucking stop, there is no end, just like this authors whole universe, that will never end, everything will die and come back in a gazillion years, but that's like nothing when facing the vast infinity of time and space, so what the fuck does it even matter......

but did I mention the layout is really great?

Post Script: After thinking it over I'm only giving you two stars. You're layout was nice, and you were inoffensive, but your three star rating was kind of a slap in the face to all my other three star books. Sorry.

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't know what to say... Let us sleep and perchance dream... and maybe a review will come.

First Part of the Novel
After sleeping on it I must say that this book will be an hard book to review. It tries to be several things at the same time. It's a scientific novel veiled by SF/Pseudohistory/philosophy/theological elements. It tries so hard to teach us that fails because of it...

At times I thought I was in:


Now the plot... Well again it's hard... The first half of the book is a serie of conferences between the great geniuses of earth as they try to discern the impact of a comet on earth. Several people have opinions and you listened to them all. And it's boring as hell. Why? Because it's full of information useless and it doesnt go anywhere.

The first chapter of this novel introduce us to the grim reality that is going to befall on earth. The comet, thirty times bigger than earth will collide with Earth and everyone will die. The comet itself is made of Carbonic-oxide.

I am no astrophysics or astronomer but I do know if that collided on earth it didn't matter what it was made off. Earth would be destroyed. But after several attempts to discern that we will die of asphyxiation or heat or cold or whatever it happens... page upon page of this:

"The hydrogen and the oxygen, combining with the carbon of the comet, will take fire. The temperature of the air will be raised several hundred degrees; woods, habitations, edifices, cities, villages, will all be rapidly consumed ; the sea, the lakes and the rivers will begin to boil ; men and animals, enveloped in the hot breath of the comet, will die asphyxiated before burned..."

"If it collided with Jupiter it would raise the temperature of that globe to such a point as to restore to it its lost light, and to make it for a time a sun again, so that the earth would be lighted by two suns, Jupiter becoming a sort of minor night-sun, far brighter
than the moon, and shining by its own light of a ruby-red or garnet color, revolving about the earth in twelve years. A nocturnal sun!"

So they thought that Jupiter was a sun... interesting.

And what was said was the absolute true: "Unfortunately, I must admit that the calculations of the astronomers are in this case, as usual, entirely correct." (The writer was an Astronomer)

Blah blah...

"We believe,that we may fearlessly accept the above estimate of 24cubic klm,as a basis of calculation;and as this figure is contained 4,166,666 times in 100,000,000,which represents the volume of the continents, we are authorized to infer that under the sole action of forces now in operation, provided no other movements of the soil occur,the dry land will totally disappear within a period of 4 milion years."

The all book is like this... tedious information... It's a new genre... it's call scientific fiction. It's harder than Hard SF... sorry the pun but that's it... It's tedious as hell.. page upon page of endless information.

After 110 pages of scientific debate of what would happen if a comet hit the earth we turn into theological debates and now the narrator tells us in a 20 page thesis "Everytime the church said that the end was near... it wasn't" ....
To say this book is apocalpytic fiction is to say I am Cristiano Ronaldo.. We are both portuguese so... --- after reading 150 pages I say:

STRIKE US OH MIGHTY COMET AND END MY PAIN!!!



"Then later statistics of the comet's victims were obtained, it was
found that the number of the dead was one-fortieth of the
population of Europe." - If a comet of that size had it earth, earth would be destroyed. Complete obliterated. Imagine something larger than the moon impacting on Earth. Goodnight everyone... But on this case....

"Scarcely a half hour had passed before people began to issue from their cellars, feeling again the joy of living, and recovering gradually from their apathy. Even before one had really begun to take any account of the fires which were still raging, notwithstanding the deluge or rain, the scream of the newsboy was heard in the hardly awakened streets."

This novel is full of entries like this...

Medical statistics, subtracting from the general total the normal mean, based upon a death-rate of twenty for every one thousand inhabitants, that is, 492 per day, or 15,252 for the month, which represents the number of those who would have died independently of the comet, ascribed to the latter the difference between these two numbers, namely, 222,633..."


But not all things are bad. At times it has some good prose or images...

"This apparent decrease in brilliancy was chiefly due to contrast, for when the eye, less dazzled, had become accustomed to this new light, it seemed almost as intense as the former, but of a sickly, lurid, sepulchral hue. Never before had the earth been bathed in such a light, which at first seemed to be colorless, emitting lightning flashes from its pale and wan depths"





Second Part of the Novel

After the first part of the novel was concluded we came to the pseudohistorical novel of Earth. From the time of the comet forward until the end of earth, galaxy and the universe...

It begins with a feminism propaganda (it was a guy who wrote the book... even with a name like Camille :) )

Now this book has turn into a feminism propaganda...

"Under the inspiration of a woman of spirit, a league was formed of the mothers of Europe, for the purpose of educating their children, especially their daughters, to a horror of the barbarities of war. So the women deprive man of sex.

"For about five years there was scarcely a single marriage or union. Every citizen was a soldier, in France, in Germany,in Italy, in Spain, in every nation of Europe. The women held their ground ; they felt that truth was their side, but their firmness would deliver humanity from
the slavery which oppressed it, and that they could not
fail of victory."

Of course man stop ... war!

And then the writer says that the future is Socialism

"It was this state of affairs which led to the great social revolution of the international socialists, of which mention was made at the beginning of this book, and to others which followed it."

"All philosophy, all religion, was founded upon the progress of astronomy."

"Humanity had tended towards unity, one race, one language,
one general government, one religion. There were
no more state religions ; only the voice of an enlightened
conscience, and in this unity former anthropological differences
had disappeared."

So this is his perfect view of the world? I think future looks boring as hell...

The evolution of mankind continues with the raise of a seven sense (electric) and eight sense (Psychic).

The last forty pages is a philosophical debate about the meaning of life and the ending of earth.... Oh.. and she destroy my beautiful city of lisbon engulfed by the Sea.

"The earth,an extinct sun, has cooled more rapidly than the sun.Jupiter,so immense, is still in its youth.The moon, smaller than Mars,has reached the more advanced stages of astral life,perhaps even has reached its end. Mars, smaller than the earth, is more advanced than the earth and less so than the moon. Our planet, in its turn,must die before Jupiter,and this,also,must take place before the sun becomes extinct."

The last chapter (about 10 pages) is resumed by All is Dust. Everything is energy and so nothing really perish. Not a person, planet or a sun. Everything is transformed. I guess Flammarions interest on life after death was a dominant theme.

"And all these things possessed nothing of the earth, whose very memory had passed away like a shadow. And these universes passed away in their turn. But infinite space remained, peopled with worlds, and stars, and souls, and suns ; and time went on forever.
For there can be neither end nor beginning."


Final Thoughts
This book is not for everyone. Heck it wasn't for me but I had to finish what I started. This book is an ode. Mainly an ode to science but also for Woman, Socialism and Evolution. In the end is an Ode to Mankind and reading the last couple of pages is an Ode to Life.

"It is sweet to live. Love atones for every loss ; in its joys all else is forgotten. Ineffable music of the heart, thy divine melody fill the soul with an ecstasy of infinite happiness ! What illustrious historians have celebrated the heroes of the world's progress, the glories of war, the conquests of mind and of spirit ! Yet after so many centuries of labor and struggle, there remained only two palpitating hearts, the kisses of two lovers. All had perished except love ; and love, the supreme sentiment, endured, shining like an inextinguishable beacon over the immense ocean of the vanished ages."

[Maria Carmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The text starts in a very scientific way. It is immediately interesting and informative, but for someone less "mathematical" in thought is not immediately enticing. There is a marvelous surprise closer to the end, though. The text becomes extraordinarily poetic, with true Poetry of the Universe and a depth of thought that brings one close to a spontaneous meditation about the invisible that sustains everything visible and the wonder of the infinitude that cannot be contained even by eternity itself. Marvelous.

Maria Carmo,

Lisbon 31 st. July 2013.

[Norman Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Camille Flammarion was a French astronomer and science popularizer. Omega: The Last Days of the World was published as a novel in English in 1897, but the first half of the novel was published as a serial in Cosmopolitan in 1893.

The first half of Omega is a tour de force of hard science applied to a fantastic scenario: the end of the world and how it might actually take place, scientifically speaking. Like many Victorian books, it is written more as an essay with a story only marginally layered on top. The various scenarios that could cause the end of the world are delivered as a series of infodumps by learned professors of various specialties. The situation that sets off the discussion, the approach of a large asteroid towards the Earth, is quickly set aside for more esoteric Armageddons.

The second half is an impressive extrapolation, using the science of the time (for example, they did not know stars like the Sun create energy with nuclear fusion, instead speculating that it was due to gravitational forces), of the evolution and ultimate extinction of humans, the planets, and the universe millions of years in the future. Flammarion abandons any pretense of a story, but still manages to make it interesting. Science fiction historians often call this second part a Victorian version of Olaf Stapledon’s astonishing Last and First Men (1930).

Despite it’s sometimes pedantic style, Omega is an astounding accomplishment, filled with a sense of wonder.

This 1999 reprint has a marvelous introduction by Robert Silverberg and the beautiful artwork that graced the original publication. Omega is well worth the effort to track down.

[Budge Burgess · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, as a piece of fiction, this book gets 1 star. It is pretty awful. Rambling, incoherent, in places it’s about as entertaining as toothache. As a piece of social history, as a piece of science fiction archaeology, it gets 4 stars, bordering on 5 - there’s some fascinating evidence of how the scientifically informed in the 1890s viewed the prospects for the future of the planet … and, as this is the product of a leading sceintist of the era, you have to say he got it wrong.
If you’re looking for a good read, forget this, if you’re interested in the history, it’s possibly a must-read!
The first part of the book presents us with page after page of astronomical calculations, mathematical equations evaluating the likely impact and effects of the Earth colliding with a comet. It’s a story written by a professional astronomer, of course – and a perfect example of why you need to step back and think whenever you see / hear the oft-repeated advice to would-be writers – “Write about what you know!”
So, I’ll repeat Camille Flammarion was a professional astronomer, and there’s abundant evidence in the first two thirds of this novel that he knew what he was writing about. There’s very little evidence that he knew how to write fiction.
Writing in the 1890s (‘Omega’ was published in 1894) with science fiction clearly in vogue – Jules Verne handing on the baton to HG Wells - Flammarion sets his novel some 500 years later. The great advances to have been achieved by then include the fact that there will be a lot of professional astronomers and even working men will possess excellent telescopes which will enable them to watch the stars of a night.
So, page after page of will a comet on collision course vapourise the Earth – or, because it’s not solid, will it simply suck the atmosphere from the planet and leave its population to asphyxiate in the trail of toxic gasses?
Maybe it’s not surprising that Flammarion should write a scientific treatise, his concentration on the role of religion is perhaps a tad more problematic. He reviews the planet’s Apocalyptic literature and beliefs, from Millenarianism to Armageddon. For a potential Apocalypse set in the 25th century, you have to query the survival of 19th century religion and religious institutions.
Flammarion envisages a future in which people have telephones! And telescopes! And there will be a sort of TV which enables everyone to communicate and watch events from the other side of the planet.
Over the next 80 centuries war and militarism will finally be ended because women will adopt the Lysistrata strategy and refuse to have sex with soldiers. Women will make great intellectual strides - women’s brains will grow bigger so they can cope with the demands of the modern world and they will be able to learn new skills. But, of course, men’s brains will also get larger.
We get speculation on airships flying round the globe, on control of the weather, on the domestication of monkeys as household servants. The world will have been flattened out. The last of the forests will have been felled to make way for agriculture, and much of the planet’s wildlife will have been extinguished by human expansion. It’s a pretty depressing prospect. You could almost hope a comet would hit Earth.
To describe the book as ‘interesting’ really would be to damn it with faint praise, but the only interest I could find in it is as a piece of scientific and sci-fi archaeology … interesting if you’re researching a doctorate on the subject, rambling, incoherent and tediously boring if you’re not.

[marykate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I see that there is only ONE review written on a book that deserves so much more! Incredible and fascinating example of very early science fiction. Flammarion was an astronomer, so there are many long passages of equations and calculations that are very tedious. Being a student of literature, I am wholly unqualified to judge whether the equations actually mean anything, so I pretty much skipped them. Aside from that, this book is terribly interesting. Flammarion's refusal to adhere to the conventions of plot and structure means that this book that is less of a novel than four or five somewhat-related essays.
The first section of the book is set in the 25th century, where mankind awaits a comet that may or may not destroy the Earth. Flammarion composes several debates between scientists regarding the possible ways the Earth may meet its end, all very interesting.
Later, however, book morphs into an intense philosophical rumination on the incomprehensible magnitude of the universe and the totally inconsequential nature of humanity. The book gets pretty deep here, but can also be quite silly. Along with being an astronomer, Flammarion was a spiritualist: hence the cameo by the ghost of a pharaoh that escorts some souls to a new plane of being on Jupiter. Yep.
It's also quite amusing to read Flammarion's predictions for future society. For instance, all people will be adherents of astronomy. There will be free public telescopes so that the peasants too may pursue this interest...but there will still be peasants! He was apparently entirely unable to predict any measure of female equality, which is hilarious. He also describes the Russian monarchy of the 30th century, which is funny when you realize that said monarchy was overthrown only thirtyish years after Flammarion's publication. You almost feel sorry for him and his total lack of clairvoyant talent, but the book is still a great read.

[Wreade1872 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok so i started this thinking it would be apocalyptic, and indeed the human race goes extinct.. however since this also goes as far forward as the end of the sun and the eventual heat death of the universe.. i don’t think it really counts as apocalypse.

Anyway the first half of this one is like that Simpsons episode were they’re waiting to die from the meteor impact. In this case a series of science meetings takes place in Paris.. meetings which quickly go off topic and discuss all the various ways the earth and humanity might eventually end.
It includes math and can get pretty dry, i didn’t mind skimming some of those sections. Like the guy who proved the earth had at most 4million years before becoming perfectly flat, due to erosion etc.

Many books even older works make you more educated. However the science here is so out of date that remembering it will actually have the opposite effect.

There are a couple of other tangents including one discussing all of the times that humanity predicted the apocalypse. Its generally interesting.
Its also set in the 24th century and is peppered with these little speculative tid-bits about future society, which also help. Oh and there’s one pretty funny bit aimed at the Catholic church, i liked that one.

The second half then is a look at both how we got to the this 24th century society, which includes world peace, due to women, a common trope I’ve seen in other works of the period such as Terrania by Columbus Bradford. We then move forward showing the continued progress and evolution of humanity and as mentioned the eventual end of the earth, the rest of the solar system and eventually the sun.

There are some odd religious and sci-fi bits thrown in towards the end, these were.. interesting at least.
Overall this is an attempt to demonstrate the best known astrophysics of its day. Quite readable, but I’m not an astrophysicist and literally don’t know how bad the science is here but I’m assuming its really, really bad :) .

Made available by the Merril Collection.

[mica · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book felt excruciatingly long, despite the fact that I apparently read it in four days. (How? It feels like I've been slogging through for weeks)

The first half of it is given to astronomers of the 25th century worrying about a giant comet hurtling towards Earth and potentially wiping out life. It doesn't wipe out life on Earth. The second half tells a "history of the future of Earth".

On the whole, this book is every bit as yeeeeuch as one might assume the imagination of a stereotypically white man in the Victorian era to be - which is to say Flammarion's ideas of men, women, race, religion and environmental sciences are entirely tied to patriarchal, white supremacist, colonial thought. (And may those thought processes be discarded long before the last humans on the planet).

This book mixes outdated astronomy and environmental sciences with a heavy, heavy dose of Christian theology. It is certainly a work of science fiction, but doesn't really have much of a plot or characters, so it reads like Flammarion was speculating about the potential end(s) of the Earth, the solar system and the universe, and kind of forgot to write a story with it.

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published in 1893, this is speculative fiction but not really a sci-fi novel. The narrative is in two parts. The first is set in the 25th century, when Earth is threatened by an impending impact from a comet. This prompts a scientific debate about what effect this may have on the planet, and then the impact and its aftermath is described. The second part partly dramatises the slow death of the planet some ten million years hence, with a mawkish spiritual conclusion.

Both parts are interesting in that they set out the scientific knowledge of the time. Particularly absent are notions of plate tectonics (which stymies the proposed slow death scenario to a large extent) or interplanetary travel, and there are discussions of inhabitants of Mars, Venus, Jupiter, or even the Sun (which is described as a molten mass of rock, rather than a gazous body in nuclear fusion), which are now discredited. The author would have been astounded at how much the world was transformed in the century following the publication date, let alone another four centuries beyond that.

It’s a fun read, but not something I’d read more than once. Three stars.

[Chris Fauls · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t think this can justifiably be called a novel. The story in this book is secondary to the author’s use of astronomical data to support his thesis on the end (or lack thereof) of the universe.

I think viewing this book less like a novel and more like a philosophical take on science as a whole makes it a lot more enjoyable. A lot of what Flammarion has to say holds up (though a substantial amount of it doesn’t) despite being almost 150 years old.

For anyone interested in the fields of history, astronomy, or just really passionate about really old science fiction, I would recommend giving this a read.

[JuanPa Ausín · Rating 5 out of 5]

El mundo se acaba. No necesariamente ahora. Cuando sea. Dentro de varios siglos. Y Flammarion nos lo cuenta desde este tiempo (el suyo) hablando de cómo fue aquello. Cómo era la sociedad en ese tiempo -hacia ese tiempo- en que nos extinguimos. Cómo evolucionó la tierra, el espacio. Una ficción llena de fallos comprobados un siglo y pico después, pero con muchos aciertos de su imaginación.
Qué reflexión excelente de lo que ha de venir y de cómo las expectativas y la realidad tal vez estén bastante desencaminadas... por ahora.

[Kamakana · Rating 2 out of 5]

080815: what little remembered of this book: kind of loopy science speculation, end of the world from troublesome galactic visitors (meteors) sets up a future history of the sort hg wells would do much better, with much of humankind's problems down to the male of the species... evolution will take care of that...

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty interesting book. At times the unloading of scientific facts can be tedious to get through. He often repeats himself over and over again. Gets more enjoyable towards the end when some actual characters are given. If you like end of the world books, you would probably enjoys this.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bat shit crazy, but it is so bad it is kind of good.

[Will Flowers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love to hate this book. That is all.

[Marcela Columba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro 30 y último del año 🙌💕 y le doooy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

No puedo ser objetiva cuando se trata de Camille Flammarion. ¡Es que me vuela la cabeza lo visionario y adelantado que está a su época! Es increíble cómo un hombre nacido en 1842 pudo anticipar conceptos como la expansión del universo, los agujeros negros como centros galácticos, las videollamadas, la inmediatez en telecomunicaciones, la eugenesia, la exploración de sentidos como la magnetorrecepción y el uso de microorganismos a favor de la humanidad, entre otros. ¡Es una locura!

Publicado en 1893, El fin del mundo refleja la fascinación de finales del siglo XIX por los avances científicos y las preguntas filosóficas sobre el lugar de la humanidad en el universo. Era una época en la que los descubrimientos en astronomía y física sacudían creencias antiguas y daban paso a nuevas especulaciones. Flammarion, con su formación como astrónomo y su talento como escritor, canalizó este espíritu de exploración en una obra que mezcla ciencia, filosofía y narrativa especulativa. En el contexto literario, se le considera precursor de la ciencia ficción moderna, pues sus ideas visionarias allanaron el camino para autores posteriores. Por ahí dicen que era el Carl Sagan de su época, yo diría que Carl es el Camille de la nuestra. 🙊

Podemos dividir el libro en 3 momentos.

Primera parte: La amenaza del cometa

En El fin del mundo, Flammarion nos transporta al año 2400 aproximadamente, donde un cometa gaseoso, colosal y hostil para la vida, amenaza con colisionar con la Tierra. La humanidad, consciente de su vulnerabilidad, enfrenta este evento con una mezcla de asombro y resignación. La trama inicia en el observatorio de Francia, donde expertos de diversas disciplinas debaten sobre las posibles formas en que el mundo podría llegar a su fin: fuego, sequía, enfriamiento, asfixia, envenenamiento, entre otros.

Flammarion, mediante una narrativa novelesca, logra no sólo mantenernos expectantes, sino también enriquecernos con conocimientos cosmológicos, físicos, químicos y geológicos. A medida que se acercan los días fatídicos, el autor captura el temor humano al olvido y la inevitabilidad del destino. Cuando finalmente llega el 14 de julio y el cometa impacta la Tierra, se produce un giro trascendental en la historia.

Segunda parte: Después del cometa

La segunda parte de la obra explora las secuelas del impacto desde una perspectiva científica y filosófica. Aquí, Flammarion profundiza en la percepción de la realidad, la adaptación social y cómo las creencias y la ignorancia perpetúan ilusiones. En este contexto, critica el misticismo y la superstición, argumentando que estas nos ciegan ante la belleza tangible del mundo.

El autor describe la Tierra como "una pequeña isla en medio del infinito", un instante único de vida y naturaleza que muchas veces ignoramos en nuestra búsqueda de lo intangible. Mientras buscamos redención, reencarnación o respuestas más allá de lo comprobable, Flammarion nos recuerda que terminamos viviendo sin realmente vivir nuestra existencia.

Y por último, para mí, lo mejor del libro: el Epílogo.

Se trata de una disertación filosófica que aborda la relación entre la eternidad, la infinitud y la renovación constante de la materia en el cosmos.

«Cuando llegan el reposo y el equilibrio, su consecuencia es la muerte; pero después de ésta, las sustancias de que estuvo formado el cuerpo van a reconstituir otros seres. La disolución es el preludio de una renovación y de la formación de entes nuevos. La analogía nos conduce a pensar que en el sistema cósmico sucede lo mismo (…) Nada puede ser destruido. Lo que subsiste, invariable en cantidad, pero siempre mudable de forma bajo las apariencias sensibles que el universo nos presenta, es una potencia inconmensurable que nos vemos obligados a admitir como desprovista de límite en el espacio y sin principio ni fin en el tiempo.» – Camille Flammarion.

Aunque he visto reseñas duras contra este libro, creo que es una obra incomprendida. Su lenguaje, un tanto anticuado, y la combinación de géneros como ciencia ficción, filosofía, narrativa apocalíptica y ensayo especulativo pueden hacerlo denso. Los tecnicismos y cálculos, además, pueden desalentar a quienes no disfrutan de los temas científicos.

Sin embargo, ahí yace su encanto: hacer tangible lo desconocido y darle un significado a la vida desde una postura racionalista. Flammarion nos invita a reflexionar sobre nuestro lugar en el universo, alejándonos de ilusiones y acercándonos una existencia consciente.

Sin duda, estamos de paso por lo eterno, y este libro nos lo recuerda.🩷

Tkm, Camille Flammarion. Tú sí me comprendes.😫🫶

[Stoffia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Écrit par l'astronome français Camille Flammarion vers la fin du 19e, il est souvent mentionné dans la liste des premiers livres de SF. Je comprends maintenant pourquoi il ne mérite jamais plus qu'une mention.

Pour la première partie du roman, on apprend qu'au 25e siècle, une comète fonce vers la Terre. Le narrateur omniscient nous explique longuement (plusieurs chapitres) la science derrière le phénomène des météorites. Il n'y a pas de personnages ni d'histoire.

Puis l'Académie des sciences de Paris réunit les plus grands scientifiques, tous domaines confondus, à expliquer ce que cela implique pour leur branche. On a plusieurs chapitres de monologues sur la météo, la géologie, etc. Ils en arrivent à la conclusion que la Terre survivra dans problème à la collision avec une météorite plus grosse que le soleil. Ouf.

Ils sont tellement rassurés qu'ils cessent de parler de la météorite et passent plusieurs chapitres à monologuer au sujet de l'apparence que prendra la mort naturelle de la Terre selon leur discipline.

Puis, le roman nous fait l'exact même scénario mais au Concile du Vatican au lieu de l'Académie des sciences. Pendant des chapitres.

Puis un chapitre sur la collision, qui se déroule exactement comme prévu.

Deuxième partie : Là, le narrateur nous amène à la mort naturelle de la Terre et de l'humanité dans plusieurs millions d'années. On a encore des chapitres de narrateur omniscient qui décrit la science derrière les évènements (en répétant ce qu'on dit les scientifiques de la première partie).

On a droit à un chapitre à la toute toute fin avec... *Roulement de tambour* des personnages. Des genres d'Adam et Eve inversés qui voient la Terre mourir et sont tout heureux, en regardant Jupiter, de se dire que sa croûte commence à durcir et que la vie reprendra sûrement là bas.

Le tout dans une prose qui essaie trop fort d'être profonde et poétique.

Ah, oui, et à travers tout ça, il faut passer par dessus de longs passages mysogynes et antisémites.

Bref, Flammarion voulait écrire un essai sur les morts possibles de la Terre. Et il a cru pendant un instant qu'il avait du talent, ce qui l'a poussé à commettre l'erreur d'en faire un roman mal écrit, sans intrigue ni personnages.

[Janne Wass · Rating 3 out of 5]

French astronomer, philosopher and author Camille Flammarion was the Carl Sagan of the 19th century. "La fin du Monde" is one of his best known works, and has been adapted for two films, with the central premise of the world preparing for the supposed impact of a comet. The book has virtually no plot, but reads more like a pop science book disguised as fiction.

The first part of the book is in essence around 100 pages of scientific exposition and speculation, set mostly at a great symposium in Paris in the 25th century. Scientist have discovered a comet heading toward Earth, and we get to follow the speeches given by authorities in different fields debate whether the thing will hit Earth and what the consequences will be. Mostly interesting today as an exposé on fin-du-siecle dread and for gauging the different social debates of the time, it is a prime example of 19th century pedantic fiction, filled with long mathemathical and physical observations and explanations. Finally the comet hits and causes great suffering and death, but humanity survives.

The second part is omitted from both movie versions, but is significantly more interesting to a modern reader, as Flammarion predicts the future of human social and biological evolution. He, for example, sees a scientifically ruled utopia arise with the help of feminism and socialism, and the eventual discarding of all religions. He also predicts the evolution of two additional senses, the electrical and telepathical. He then follows history hundreds of millions of years until the eventual "death" of the Earth.

This is a daunting read, even for Flammarion, despite the books relative shortness. Flammarion's influence on both H.G. Wells and in particular Olaf Stapledon is obvious, as the second part of the book reads like a Victorian precursor to "The Last and First Men" (1930). It is easy to see why this was so popular upon its publication, even if it is mostly interesting as a curio today.

[Temucano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novela apocalíptica de ciencia ficción, escrita en 1894, que trata sobre el inevitable choque de un cometa con la Tierra del siglo XXV. En un tono discursivo científico, Flammarion logra una muy interesante discusión sobre las diferentes formas en que este cometa acabaría con la raza humana (ahogados, achicharrados, cegados, etc...), mientras el inexorable fin se acerca y el pánico se acrecienta.

Bien curioso personaje este autor francés, astrónomo de profesión y espiritista por deseo, estas inquietudes se traspasan a sus novelas, lo que a veces chirría un poco los argumentos, más en esta novela el aspecto científico predomina y entretiene, sin caer en demasiados sobrevuelos.

Actualmente no tengo mi ejemplar conmigo, más apenas lo recupere subo la ficha.

[Caio Santos Silva · Rating 1 out of 5]

È una merda

[Steve Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this recently for the second time. I think I liked it better this go ‘round. That probably because I didn’t try to read too many pages at a time. The prose does go on and on (and on) and my revised method reduced the tedium a tad.

At times “Omega: The Last Days of the World” reminded me of H.G. Wells on a bad day and, by that, I mean mainly some of his later works where he writes “fiction” but with scant characterization. Other times? The scope was so far-reaching that it was somewhat reminiscent of Olaf Stapledon.

A couple of brilliant quotes in my humblest of opinions:

‘This conception of the planet’s future conforms to our present knowledge of the universe. Doubtless, our logic is radically incomplete, puerile even, in comparison with the real and eternal Truth, and might be justly compared with that of two ants talking together about the history of France.”

“Time lapses into eternity. But eternity remains, and time is born again.”

SLIGHT SPOILERS

Flammarion’s work goes back in time. It chronicles past comet after comet (for some slow going scientific detail) then describes the evolution of life on Earth. There are electric machines! There is artificial food! (keep in mind when this was written). Humans develop electric and psychic senses. By the 200th century, the world has only one language. Of course, he goes even farther than that (in the later chapters) to the days of Omegar and Eva who are the last humanoids on the planet.

As for the present, there is a gathering of learned men (much like Abel Gance’s film adaptation and not unlike a number of science fiction films from the silent era). They discuss the presumed impending doom of all of them.

That's pretty much it by way of characters. This is really a vast fictional future history book. As previously said, this one covers a lot of ground. Interesting mainly for history… not of the world but rather of the science fiction genre.

The novel cries out for an annotated version.

[Softymel · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai été très surprise à la lecture de ce livre : il ne correspond pas du tout à ce à quoi je m'attendais. L'histoire n'est pas romancé, d'entré de jeu, on nous informe qu'une comète gazeuse, 30 fois plus grande que la Terre, et dont la composition n'est pas certaine, va rencontrer la Terre dans la nuit du 13 au 14 juillet. Les conséquences de cet accident sont inconnues.

Le roman est divisé en deux parties. La première partie se passe au XXVe siècle, à l'époque où la comète doit rencontrer notre chère planète.
Le reproche que je ferai sur cette partie, est que ce monde du futur n'est pas très détaillé, on ne sait pas grand chose de ce qu'il s'est passé entre l'époque où le roman a été écrit (fin XIXe) et le XXVe siècle. Finalement, le gros de cette première moitié est constituée d'une grande conférence scientifique, où différents savants expose leur théorie concernant la fin de notre planète. C'est intéressant, mais un peu long, trop scientifique à mon goût (j'avoue avoir lu certains passages en diagonale).

Ensuite vient la seconde moitié du livre, qui est selon moi la plus intéressante. On repart au XIXe siècle, et de là on retrace l'évolution de la Terre jusqu'à sa fin. Camille Flammarion nous y expose donc sa vision de notre futur, ce que les hommes vont devenir, de son point de vue de scientifique du XIXe siècle. C'est très intéressant à lire, d'autant qu'en tant qu'habitant du XXIe siècle, on peut comparer l'évolution prévue par ce scientifique, avec l'évolution qui a effectivement eu lieu sur ces 2 derniers siècle, et c'est assez amusant.
De plus, ce livre, qualifié de roman sf, a donc été avant l'essor de l'aviation!! Et surtout à une époque où personne n'avait encore jamais envisagé la possibilité de voyager en dehors de l'atmosphère terrestre! Avant également les robots (auxquels Camille Flammarion propose une alternative intéressante!).
Selon moi, ce livre correspond à ce que Camille Flammarion considérait comme une utopie (un détail intéressant : dans le futur, tout le monde s'intéresse à l'astronomie, et même les plus pauvres se privent pour pouvoir s'offrir une lunette astronomique!! PS : l'auteur est astronome! ^^)

En bref, un livre intéressant, que je recommande fortement! Enfin, surtout la seconde partie, qui, je pense, peux se lire indépendamment de la première.

[Juliana Morgensten · Rating 5 out of 5]

A obra conta todos os "finais do mundo" que já tiveram até o dia da publicação do livro, ou seja, 1894.

Ao longo da narrativa, o autor mostra todo um embasamento matemático, teórico e filosófico sobre o assunto.

O Fim do Mundo é dividido em duas partes: A primeira comenta sobre as teorias e traz cálculos astronômicos, fala dos cometas, as crenças que aconteciam e a opinião do Vaticano sobre o mundo terminar.

A segunda parte é o que aconteceria daqui a 10 milhões de anos e suas etapas futuras, as metamorfoses, Eva e o último dia.

Durante o percurso da obra, Camille vai contando as histórias que aconteciam na época e suas superstições. Um exemplo é da Páscoa não poder cair no dia 25 de Abril.

Também mostra como muitas cidades da Europa "sumiram" do mapa por questões do "fim do mundo".

Lendo, a mensagem que me foi passada é: Todo fim de mundo é um fim de um ciclo e começo de outro. Se formos analisar, esses eventos que participamos nos dias atuais, é a mesma sensação.

O livro é bastante interessante, apesar de ser extremamente cabeça e de escrita antiga. Não é para todo mundo e a leitura em si só engrena da metade para o fim quando passa a ser mais teórico e histórico.

No começo você acha que está lendo um livro de química com matemática junto e depois se encontra em uma obra de história.

Nesse primeiro contato, não tive liga com o autor, mais gostei do leitura em si. Tentarei outras vezes, principalmente com livros não tão científicos.

Uma pena que Camille Flammarion não esteve presente fisicamente nos finais de mundo atuais. E nem estar vivenciando a "data limite". :P

Todos os fins de mundo, até hoje, foram metafóricos. Será que algum dia será verdade? Aguardaremos. :P

http://hidratarvicia.com.br/2019/05/2...

[Taksya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lungo e ripetitivo, di certo non ha superato il passaggio del tempo.
Nulla di avventuroso o di catastrofico. Con la scusa della cometa in collisione si passa la prima parte del libro a leggere delle teorie su come il mondo finirà. Freddo, caldo, acqua, fuoco... qualsiasi teoria viene raccontata e ripetuta più volte, nel caso il lettore si distragga.
Poi ci raccontano delle varie fini del mondo che sono state minacciate negli ultimi secoli e, alla fine, non abbiamo neppure il gusto di assistere ad una bella catastrofe.
Nel momento in cui la cometa non causa la fine.del mondo, si passa la seconda parte assistendo alla crescita e alla successiva caduta della civiltà umana (quella composta da individui istruiti ed elevati socialmente... i poveracci non contano e di loro, allo scrittore e al lettore, non deve importare nulla).
Con il progressivo invecchiamento del sistema solare, la Terra ripercorre tutti gli scenari che già ci avevano raccontato. Fino ad arrivare alla fine e i soli due sopravissuti, casualmente un uomo e una donna (dei poveracci che moriranno di fame e freddo su un mondo morente si fa solo un superficiale accenno), filosofeggiano sull'amore che fa muovere il creato... e...
... un antico faraone egizio disincarnato, attualmente residente su Giove, salva i giovani portando con sé i loro spiriti, verso un futuro rinnovato.

Ora... ho letto il tutto in francese e spero che la poca dimestichezza con la lingua mi abbia fatto capire poco della conclusione... ma, nel complesso, è una storia che offre solo filosofeggiamenti e teorie ora ben datate.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual novel/science essay/scripture from 19th-century French science popularizer Camille Flammarion. In the first half of the book, 25th century Earth anxiously awaits a collision with an immense comet. Will it end the world? At a scientific meeting in Paris, arguments (based on the latest 19th cent. science) are given pro and con for whether the end is at hand. One calculation, that of the size of Earth's atmosphere, 36,000 km, sticks with me. How do you get that number? Balance the outward centrifugal force of Earth's rotation with the downward weight of the air. This half I give 3 stars. The second half is a history of Earth and the Universe from after the comet to the real end of everything. It is a vast story of everything winding down, the Earth freezing, the last humans, the Sun a cold cinder, the triumph of entropy. This half gets 4 stars.