The Absolute at Large · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for The Absolute at Large by Karel Čapek.
Chapter 1
I: The Advertisement
On New Year's Day 1943, industrialist G. H. Bondy reads a newspaper and becomes fixated on the fragment 'tion' from a small advertisement. After searching, he finds it is an ad from R. Marek, Engineer, offering a highly remunerative invention for sale. Bondy reminisces about his old schoolfellow Rudy Marek, imagining him as a down-and-out inventor. He decides to visit Marek himself, only to discover Marek is a successful factory owner. Marek greets Bondy, saying he has been expecting him.
Chapter 2
II: The Karburator
G. H. Bondy visits Rudy Marek, who reveals his revolutionary invention, the Karburator, which can completely utilize atomic energy by disintegrating matter. Bondy is skeptical but intrigued, and after a tense exchange, he descends to the cellar to see the machine, where he experiences a strange, ecstatic sensation before Marek urgently pulls him out.
Chapter 3
III: Pantheism
G. H. Bondy recovers from his intense experience in the cellar, where he felt a sense of bliss and transcendence. Rudy Marek reveals that his invention, the Karburator, achieves total combustion of matter, releasing an immense amount of energy. However, this process also liberates the Absolute or God from matter, causing a pantheistic effect that overwhelms those nearby. Marek, an atheist, is horrified by this unintended spiritual consequence and insists Bondy must take over the invention.
Chapter 4
IV: God in the Cellar
Rudy Marek reveals to G. H. Bondy that his Perfect Karburator, a device that completely disintegrates matter, produces not only mechanical power but also a byproduct: pure, unconfined Absolute, or God. Marek describes the terrifying effects of the Absolute, including his own levitation, prophecy, and miracle-working, as well as the religious mania it has induced in others. Bondy, initially skeptical, becomes intrigued by the commercial potential and proposes negotiating with the Absolute, even suggesting a formal contract and calling in clergy to manage the divine presence.
Chapter 5
Bishop Linda
Bondy and Marek discuss the rapid spread of religious ecstasy linked to the Karburator, including an epidemic at the Petřín wireless station and the conversion of the Minister for War. Bishop Linda visits Bondy to negotiate the Church's control over the Absolute, proposing to limit its production and declare the Břevnov site a miraculous shrine. Marek vehemently opposes this, insisting on manufacturing more Karburators. Later, Bondy updates Marek on the chaos: streets closed, processions, and deaths. Bishop Linda, after inspecting the Absolute, rejects it as heretical, refusing to compromise the Church with a new God.
Chapter 6
VI: The Board-Meeting
At a board meeting of the M.E.C., G. H. Bondy reports on the progress of the Karburator factory. Dr. Hubka challenges Bondy's decision to use coal instead of Karburator power for the new factory, questioning the device's reliability. Bondy defends the Karburator's performance with examples, but the meeting is disrupted by Machat, who has given away his property and urges the board to embrace holiness and poverty. Bondy threatens to resign and take over the Karburator production himself, prompting Hubka to protest and insist on retaining the manufacture.
Chapter 7
VII: Developments
G. H. Bondy and his manager discuss the explosive success of the Karburator and atomic motors, with orders pouring in from around the world and traditional industries collapsing. Amidst this triumph, they also report a wave of religious mania sweeping through the company's board and the financial sector, with directors like Rosenthal and Dr. Hubka becoming zealots and the Sugar Bank falling to 'religious Bolshevism.' Bondy is horrified and reluctantly agrees to attend the ceremonial lighting of Prague's central Karburator.
Chapter 8
VIII: The Dredge
Kuzenda, now a prophet aboard the dredge, preaches to a gathered crowd about the divine nature of the Karburator and the machine itself, which he calls an 'iron church.' He levitates, serves miraculously multiplied coffee, and demonstrates supernatural knowledge of the attendees' sins. Two police officers arrive to disperse the unauthorized assembly but are drawn into the worship, floating upward as they recite a prayer.
Chapter 9
IX: The Ceremony
Cyril Keval, a reporter, attends the ceremonial opening of the new Central Karburator Electric Power Station in Prague. Amidst the pomp and speeches, he observes the proceedings from outside, eventually witnessing a disturbing event inside the station that causes G. H. Bondy to flee in panic. The chapter ends with an official press release downplaying the incident.
Chapter 10
X: Saint Ellen
G. H. Bondy reflects on the economic chaos caused by the Karburator, which produces the Absolute and leads to overproduction, religious strikes, and industrial collapse. He encounters Ellen, now a thought-reader due to her connection with the Absolute, and argues that marriage and society are impossible without hidden thoughts. He calls her 'Saint Ellen' and urges her not to marry, then departs.
Chapter 11
XI: The First Blow Struck
Jan Binder acquires a mysterious copper cylinder (the stolen Marek Karburator) and installs it in his merry-go-round, which begins to produce a strange, ecstatic effect on people, causing them to feel the earth spinning and seek refuge on the ride. Binder preaches to the converted crowds. After a week of this, Binder's merry-go-round reaches Stechovice, where it is confronted by Kuzenda, Hudec, and Brych from the dredge camp. A violent brawl erupts, resulting in injuries to Binder, Kuzenda, and Brych, marking the first physical conflict between the two religious movements.
Chapter 12
Doctor Blahous
Dr. Blahous, a fifty-five-year-old lecturer in comparative religion, writes a lengthy scholarly article dismissing the recent religious epidemic as primitive atavism and charlatanry. After finishing over three hundred pages, he steps to the window, feels an overwhelming sense of loneliness and then a mystical presence, leading him to add a conclusion that urges surrender to the Absolute and predicts an era of religious wars. The article is published in part, but overshadowed by other events.
Chapter 13
XIII: The Chronicler’s Apology
The chronicler apologizes for the chaotic nature of Chapter XIII, explaining the difficulty of narrating the global spread of the Absolute through countless Karburators. He confesses his preference for individual stories over historical synthesis, lamenting that he cannot follow each person affected, and reluctantly turns to summarizing the broader social and political consequences.
Chapter 14
XIV: The Land of Plenty
The chapter describes the Absolute's manifestation through religious phenomena and its new role as an infinite artisan, taking over factories and producing goods in vast, uncontrolled quantities, leading to overproduction and economic crisis.
Chapter 15
XV: Disaster
The chapter describes the economic catastrophe caused by the Absolute's influence, where overproduction and a religious mania for giving away goods lead to the collapse of markets, currency inflation, and famine. The farmers, however, resist the trend and continue to sell their produce at high prices, saving the world from starvation.
Chapter 16
XVI: In the Mountains
Rudy Marek has retreated to a mountain hut to escape the chaos caused by the Absolute. G. H. Bondy arrives, visibly worn and confessing he briefly succumbed to religious fervor but fought it off. They debate the nature and strategy of the Absolute, with Marek arguing it is an unsystematic, improvisational force that has created economic chaos through overproduction and the abolition of currency, while Bondy fears it has a deliberate plan for world supremacy through control of industry and the masses.
Chapter 17
XVII: The Hammer and Star
G. H. Bondy, as Worshipful Master of the Free French Masonic Lodge 'The Hammer and Star,' convenes an unusual meeting to address clerical attacks linking the Order to recent miraculous occurrences. The lodge debates whether to condemn or support these events, with Judex Formidabilis defending them as praiseworthy and moral. The Worshipful Master reveals that the Industrial Federation has elected the Absolute as honorary President and that Absolute Stock is rising, while the Grand Lodge instructs Masters to join religious circles to test various faiths for the welfare of mankind.
Chapter 18
XVIII: In the Night Editor’s Room
Bishop Linda berates Father Jost and the night editor Kostal for publishing a leader that attacks the Absolute, as other groups have claimed the Absolute as their own. He orders a reversal of policy, instructing Jost to write a new article welcoming the Absolute into the Church, and announces that G. H. Bondy will be baptized.
Chapter 19
XIX: The Process of Canonization
The chapter details the rapid canonization of the Absolute by the Catholic Church, including theological disputes with other Christian denominations and non-Christian religions, the formal deification ceremony in Rome, and the collection of scientific and medical testimonies to support the miracles attributed to the Absolute.
Chapter 20
XX: St. Kilda
The chapter describes the secret St. Kilda Conference, where representatives of the Great Powers gather on a remote island to discuss colonial policy and the growing influence of the Absolute. The diplomats reveal their national biases and conflicting views on how to handle the religious phenomenon, while G. H. Bondy arrives for an audience. The conference ends without a clear decision, as unforeseen events begin to unfold.
Chapter 21
XXI: The Telegram
A telegraph messenger battles a severe blizzard in the mountains to deliver a frozen telegram to Rudy Marek at the Hut in Bear Valley. The telegram, from Bondy, reads simply: 'Your predictions confirmed.'
Chapter 22
XXII: The Old Patriot
In the Prague office of the People's Journal, Cyril Keval and Mr. Rejzek discuss the chaotic state of the world, marked by religious and civil conflicts, sectarian violence, and absurd miracles. Keval reads a letter from an 'Old Patriot' who laments the division of the Czech nation and proposes a forced union under Orthodox faith. The chapter highlights the pervasive madness and fragmentation of society.
Chapter 23
The Augsburg Imbroglio
The chapter reports the outbreak of a religious war triggered by the Augsburg incident, where Catholic workers attacked Protestants, leading to a Holy War declared by Bavaria against Prussia. The conflict rapidly escalates into a global war involving multiple nations, with the Karburator technology causing catastrophic destruction and supernatural interventions. The chapter provides a detailed account of the war's progression through February and March, culminating in a worldwide conflagration.
Chapter 24
XXIV: The Napoleon of the Mountain Brigade
Lieutenant Toni Bobinet, a young mountain artillery officer, reads a newspaper calling for a strong leader, then stages a coup, destroys Karburators, rises to First Consul and later Emperor of the French, imposing state atheism and launching a global military campaign.
Chapter 25
XXV: The So-Called Greatest War
The chronicler reflects on humanity's tendency to take pride in superlative suffering, and describes the vast, chaotic global war from 1944 to 1953, focusing on absurd and fragmented events rather than grand military strategy, ultimately noting that even greater wars will come.
Chapter 26
The Battle of Hradec Králové
The chapter recounts the comic and chaotic 'Battle of Hradec Králové' during the Greatest War, where a tailor and adventurer named Hampl, inspired by Bobinetism, stages a coup against the city's clerical administration. After a bloodless march and a mock battle, he becomes mayor, but his rule is also marked by peace under the guidance of Bishop Linda and the city fathers.
Chapter 27
A Coral Island in the Pacific
G. H. Bondy and Captain Trouble discuss the nature of God and religious conflict while stranded on a coral island, surrounded by hostile natives who have turned to cannibalism as a religious rite. Bondy reflects on how people claim fragments of an infinite God as absolute truth, leading to violence and war.
Chapter 28
At Seven Cottages
Amidst the global war, the elderly residents of Seven Cottages—Grandfather Blahous, Mrs. Blahous, and Mrs. Prouzova—engage in mundane conversations about potato prices, candle costs, and the war's origins, revealing their confusion and skepticism about the conflict's religious justifications.
Chapter 29
XXIX: The Last Battle
In the autumn of 1953, the Greatest War ends not with a decisive military engagement but with a whimper: the last battle is fought by a handful of exhausted soldiers near a birch tree, and the survivors simply decide to stop fighting and go home. The chapter reflects on the impossibility of identifying the final battle, citing conflicting historians and a series of prophecies that all point to a symbolic birch tree as the site of the war's conclusion.
Chapter 30
XXX: The End of Everything
Years later, Brych, Binder, Canon Jost, and Rejzek gather at the Damohorsky tavern, discussing religion, sauerkraut, and the lingering legacy of the Karburator movement, now suppressed by police raids. The chapter ends with a familiar debate about faith and reason, echoing pre-war arguments.
Chapter 31
Endnotes
The endnotes provide a brief commentary on the naming of Marek's atomic boiler, noting the inaccuracy of the term 'Karburator' and listing alternative proposed names, while observing that the incorrect name was the one that became widely adopted.
