Fantastic novel. Drawings by A. Robid. Translated by V. Rantsova. Albert Robida (fr. Albert Robida; 1848-1926) - French cartoonist, illustrator and writer. For 12 years he edited and published La Caricature magazine. In the 1880s, he wrote a futuristic trilogy of novels, becoming the forerunner of steampunk. Predicted tanks, battleships, aviation, video phones, distance learning, remote shopping, intercoms, video intercoms, video discs, video libraries, television, reality shows, video surveillance systems (including the Big Brother concept under a different name), chemical weapons, bacteriological weapons, gas mask, nuclear weapons, man-made disasters, skyscrapers, drywall and trial marriages (cohabitation before marriage). He lost popularity during the First World War, when his predictions began to come true with terrifying accuracy, and Albert himself, frightened by his prophetic creations, stopped drawing.