The Incredible Adventure and Other Interstellar Excursions

The Incredible Adventure (1902) by Louis Forest is about the inventor of a material vehicle capable of carrying passengers anywhere in the universe, and devotes considerable attention to hypothetical physical and psychological effects of the experience of approaching and transcending the velocity of light. The Triumph of Humankind (1911) by Francois Leonard sees the Earth moved out of its orbit and become an interstellar vehicle itself, eventually reaching the star Vega; it describes the adventure of our planet in its interstellar journey, and the future of humankind as a result of that displacement. Wireless Communication with the Stars (1930) by Paul Gsell features the development of a system of interstellar television, which provides its protagonist with a means of investigating life on twelve different planets scattered throughout the galaxy, in search of a possible key to human happiness. Three amazing tales of interstellar explorations written in the early years of the 20th century by French pioneers of science fiction, edited and introduced by Brian Stableford.