Graham Isbister, a man suffering from chronic insomnia, falls into a trance-like sleep that lasts two hundred years. He wakes in a future London where his modest inheritance has grown through compound interest into the dominant global fortune, making him the legal owner of the world. He discovers a society restructured into a rigid corporate hierarchy where the White Council rules in his name while the working class lives in underground poverty. Isbister must navigate the betrayal of political leaders and join a violent uprising to dismantle the oppressive industrial system built upon his unintended wealth.
Science fiction readers interested in the origins of the dystopian genre find here a detailed study of urban expansion and technological fatigue. The book serves those looking for a historical perspective on social inequality and the long-term consequences of unchecked capital accumulation. Readers finish the story with a clear visualization of how aviation and automation were predicted to reshape human labor at the turn of the twentieth century. It provides a sobering look at the psychological weight of waking up in a world that has outpaced one’s own values.
- Published
- 1899
- Language
- EN
