The Coming Race · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for The Coming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
Chapter 1
I
The narrator introduces himself as an American of English descent, well-traveled and adventurous. While visiting a mine with an engineer friend, they discover a mysterious chasm. The engineer descends and reports seeing a broad, illuminated road and hearing human voices deep underground, suggesting an unknown civilization. The narrator resolves to descend with him.
Chapter 2
Chapter II
The narrator and his engineer friend descend into the chasm, where the engineer falls to his death after the rope fastenings give way. The narrator then flees from a monstrous reptile and realizes he is trapped alone in the subterranean world.
Chapter 3
III
The narrator descends further into the subterranean world, exploring a landscape illuminated by lamps and filled with strange vegetation, lakes, and artificial structures. He observes distant buildings and human-like forms, a flying boat, and a prehistoric-looking animal, all indicating a hidden civilization.
Chapter 4
IV
The narrator comes into full view of a mysterious building, which he compares to early Egyptian architecture but with more ornate, vegetation-inspired capitals. A human-like figure emerges, tall and clad in wing-like garments, with a face reminiscent of a sculpted sphinx—beautiful yet terrifying. The narrator is overcome with awe and fear, sensing that this being possesses forces hostile to humanity.
Chapter 5
V
The narrator awakens among the Vril-ya, experiencing their healing powers and serene demeanor. He is taken to the home of his guide, meets the family, and observes their advanced technology and winged flight. The chapter explores his initial interactions and the cultural shock of encountering this peaceful yet formidable race.
Chapter 6
VI
The narrator awakens after weeks of unconsciousness to find himself in the home of Aph-Lin, where Zee has taught herself his language by creating a bilingual dictionary. She reveals her role as a member of the College of Sages and commands him to rest.
Chapter 7
Chapter VII
The narrator is sworn to secrecy about his upper-world origins by Aph-Lin, who fears the disruptive potential of such knowledge. Zee explains the nature of vril, a unified force encompassing electricity, magnetism, and mental influence, which the Vril-ya use to control weather, minds, and bodies. The narrator describes the surface world, particularly American democracy and New York, but his account fails to impress his hosts, who view it with skepticism and concern.
Chapter 8
VIII
The narrator awakens to find Taë, the magistrate's son, by his bedside. He has made further progress in the local language and converses with Taë about the monstrous reptile from his descent. Zee intervenes to enforce her father's law that the guest must not be questioned about his origins, a rule Taë faithfully observes thereafter.
Chapter 9
Chapter IX: The History and Government of the Vril-ya
The narrator learns the history of the Ana, who descended from a race that fled a great flood into subterranean caverns. He describes their evolution from primitive states to a civilization that discovered vril, a powerful fluid that ended war and transformed society. The Vril-ya now live in small, peaceful communities with a simple government headed by a Tur, no crime or poverty, and a culture of voluntary obedience and mutual aid.
Chapter 10
Gender Roles and Marriage Customs Among the Vril-ya
The narrator details the social structure and gender dynamics of the Vril-ya, focusing on the roles, rights, and physical capabilities of the Gy-ei (women) compared to the Ana (men). He describes their equality in education and vocations, the historical incident of a Gy killing her husband and the resulting emigration of males, the subsequent marriage customs including three-year renewable contracts and the rare practice of polygamy, and the Gy-ei's privilege of being the wooing party. The chapter emphasizes the Gy-ei's amiable and submissive nature within marriage despite their theoretical superiority.
Chapter 11
Chapter XI
The narrator grapples with the scientific paradox of habitable subterranean realms defying known geothermal laws. Zee offers conjectures about the porousness of the earth, the role of vril in regulating temperature, and the life-giving medium 'Lai.' She also explains how the Vril-ya have cultivated vegetation and improved climate through vril light. The chapter then transitions to a discussion of the Vril-ya language.
Chapter 12
XII
The narrator delves into the language of the Vril-ya, describing its evolution through isolating, agglutinative, and inflectional stages, and provides examples of word formation, grammar, and political terminology such as Koom-Posh and Glek-Nas.
Chapter 13
XIII
The narrator describes the religion of the Vril-ya, which is characterized by universal belief and practice, worship of a single divine Creator, and the use of vril to transmit thoughts to the source of life. They hold that only humans can conceive of a Deity, and they practice private and public devotion without pomp. Theological speculation has been discouraged to avoid conflict, and they believe in a future state without clear notions of reward or punishment, as their society lacks crime and moral variance.
Chapter 14
Chapter XIV
The narrator elaborates on the Vril-ya's belief system, particularly their solution to the problem of evil. They hold that all life, once given by the Supreme Being, is indestructible and progresses through improved forms, retaining a sense of identity. This belief, they argue, is necessary to reconcile the existence of suffering with the perfect justice of an all-wise, all-good, and all-powerful Creator. The narrator connects this philosophy to the work of zoologist Louis Agassiz and notes how this conviction supports the Vril-ya's mild and egalitarian social system.
Chapter 15
Chapter XV
The narrator learns about the Vril-ya's beliefs in racial superiority and their view of other races, including humans from the upper world, as inferior. Zee and Aph-Lin discuss the Vril-ya's history of natural selection and their eventual destiny to supplant inferior races. The narrator adopts Vril-ya dress and visits the city, observing their advanced agriculture, commerce, and humane treatment of animals. Zee critiques the competitive, strife-ridden societies of the upper world, contrasting them with the Vril-ya's ideal of serene equality.
Chapter 16
XVI
The narrator describes the Vril Staff in detail, its construction, powers, and the hereditary aptitude required to wield it. He recounts a visit to the College of Sages' museum, where obsolete weapons and steam-powered models are displayed as relics of a savage past. Zee explains the philosophical basis of vril, arguing that matter is animated by the will of an intellectual agent. The narrator also examines ancient portraits, noting a shift from expressive, passionate faces to serene, uniform beauty after the vril revolution, and views three prehistorical portraits of a legendary philosopher with webbed digits and reptilian features.
Chapter 17
Chapter XVII
The narrator describes the Vril-ya's division of time, their longer lifespan, and the absence of seasons. He learns about their serene society, which lacks ambition, crime, and political strife, and contrasts it with the savage Koom-Posh societies that resemble the upper world. Aph-Lin explains why literature, especially poetry, has declined among the Vril-ya due to the absence of strong passions and social change.
Chapter 18
Chapter XVIII
The narrator walks through the countryside with Taë, observing the Vril-ya's advanced agricultural machinery and automaton figures. Taë explains the structure of Vril-ya communities, their emigration practices, and their disdain for Koom-Posh and Glek-Nas political systems. The narrator reveals he is from a Koom-Posh, which Taë dismisses as a youthful state destined to decay. Later, Taë uses the narrator as a decoy to lure a giant Krek from a lake, then destroys it with a vril-powered flash, demonstrating the ease with which the Vril-ya eliminate threats.
Chapter 19
XIX
The narrator describes a tour of the Vril-ya transportation station, including land and aerial vehicles powered by vril, and provides a detailed account of their economic system, including currency, taxation, and the unique labor system where children work for the state until marriageable age, ensuring all adults have an independent competence and fostering a society that blends democratic childhood with aristocratic adulthood.
Chapter 20
Chapter XX
The narrator recounts his failed attempts to learn to fly using the Vril-ya's artificial wings, guided by Zee and accompanied by the child Taë. Zee explains that the ability to control the wings is an inherited instinct developed over generations through the mastery of vril, and that the narrator's organic defect in volition makes success impossible. The chapter also describes the custom of Gy-ei women wearing wings only while virgins, suspending them upon marriage, and Zee's softening demeanor hints at a romantic interest that alarms the narrator.
Chapter 21
Chapter XXI
The narrator reflects on Zee's affection for him, which he finds both awe-inspiring and terrifying due to the vast differences between their races. He describes Zee's benevolent and protective nature, her role as a comforter and healer among the Vril-ya, and his own inability to reciprocate her love, fearing the consequences of such an alliance.
Chapter 22
XXII
The narrator discusses with Aph-Lin the dangers of traveling alone among the Vril-ya, including the risk of being dissected or killed by a child with a vril staff. He confesses his fear of Zee's romantic advances, and Aph-Lin warns that yielding would lead to his destruction. The chapter also describes the family's daily life, including Bra's management of the household, the sons' occupations, and the narrator's gift of a watch to the elder son.
Chapter 23
XXIII
The narrator visits Aph-Lin's country-seat, admiring its beauty but troubled by Zee's persistent romantic advances. Aph-Lin explains Vril-ya customs, including the Tur's authority, the selection of a chief magistrate, and the lack of personal choice in certain duties. Zee confronts the narrator mid-flight, openly declaring her love, which he rejects. Aph-Lin advises that contradicting a Gy only strengthens her resolve. The chapter also describes Vril-ya agriculture, animal husbandry, and food sources.
Chapter 24
Chapter XXIV
The narrator attends a funeral with Aph-Lin, witnessing the Vril-ya's unique cremation ceremony, which they treat as a cheerful 'Birth Song' celebrating the deceased's transition to a happier world. The body is placed in a machine that reduces it to dust, which is then sealed in a patera and stored in a wall recess.
Chapter 25
XXV
The narrator attends a grand festival in honor of a kinsman's recall to the All-Good, observing Vril-ya burial customs and gender dynamics where females court males. Zee later visits him, confessing her love and proposing a pure spiritual union, offering to flee with him to the upper world. The narrator, tempted but conflicted, considers the dangers of introducing such a powerful being to his world.
Chapter 26
Chapter XXVI
The narrator falls into a profound melancholy after his conversation with Zee, feeling oppressed by the Vril-ya's utopian society. He reflects on how their perfect state—free from war, class conflict, and vice—realizes the dreams of philosophers but is ultimately incompatible with human nature. He fears the Vril-ya would exterminate upper-world races if they emerged, and he despairs of escaping back to the surface.
Chapter 27
Chapter XXVII
The narrator goes for a walk with Taë and encounters a group of young Gy-ei, who treat him with chivalrous courtesy. Taë's sister, a princess, approaches and questions the narrator about his absence, but Taë rebukes her for violating gender norms. The Tur (chief magistrate) then appears, and his ominous presence fills the narrator with terror.
Chapter 28
XXVIII
Taë reveals that Aph-Lin has ordered the narrator's death due to Zee's confession of love, and that the chasm back to the upper world has been sealed. The narrator, despairing at the loss of hope to return home, prays and finds courage. Taë offers to intercede for his life or even to accompany him in death, but the narrator refuses the latter as a crime, asking only for time to prepare if death is inevitable.
Chapter 29
The Escape
Zee awakens the narrator during the Silent Hours and reveals that Taë failed to sway his father, who, with the council of three sages, has decreed the narrator's death at dawn. She leads him through the deserted streets to the chasm she has reopened, then carries him aloft through the darkness using her wings and a starry circlet. They emerge in a mine gallery, where she bids him a tearful farewell, explaining that the chasm will be sealed forever. The narrator returns to the upper world, settles in his own country, and, facing a fatal illness, records his account as a warning about the Vril-ya.
Chapter 30
Endnotes
The endnotes provide additional commentary on various topics mentioned in the main narrative, including descriptions of a tiger-like creature in the underworld, references to Max Müller's work on language stratification, the narrator's experience with a vril bath, the Vril-ya's unique timekeeping, a comparison to Nero's musical machine, animal instincts regarding danger, and the Vril-ya's polite phrasing for laws and decrees.
