R.u.r. (Rossum's Universal Robots): a Play in Introductory Scene and Three Acts

Publisher Marketing: R. U. R. is a 1920 science fiction play in the Czech language by Karel Capek. R. U. R. stands for Rosumovi Univerzalni Roboti (Rossum's Universal Robots). However, the English phrase Rossum's Universal Robots had been used as the subtitle in the Czech original. It premiered on 25 January 1921 and introduced the word "robot" to the English language and to science fiction as a whole. R. U. R. quickly became famous and was influential early in the history of its publication. By 1923, it had been translated into thirty languages. The play begins in a factory that makes artificial people, called roboti (robots), out of synthetic organic matter. They are not exactly robots by the current definition of the term; these creatures are closer to the modern idea of cyborgs, androids or even clones, as they may be mistaken for humans and can think for themselves. They seem happy to work for humans at first, but that changes, and a hostile robot rebellion leads to the extinction of the human race. Capek later took a different approach to the same theme in War with the Newts, in which non-humans become a servant class in human society. R. U. R. is dark but not without hope, and was successful in its day in both Europe and the United States. Contributor Bio:  Capek, Karel 'There was no writer like him... He made it possible to actually invent worlds, and with laughter into the bargain. This prophetic assurance was mixed with a brand-new surrealistic humour, and it was honed to hard-edged social satire, still a unique combination'. - Arthur Miller. Karel Capek (1890-1938) was one of the most original Czech writers of the 1920s and 30s, whose works were the inspiration for much of the science fiction of Europe and America. Endlessly inventive and extraordinarily prescient, full of humour and wit, his plays explore and defend man's humanity. He is known for "RUR "where the robot - an idea Capek was the first to invent - gradually takes over all aspects of human existence except procreation; "The Insect play", a satirical fable in which beetles, butterflies and ants give dramatic form to different philosophies of life; "The Makropulos Case", which examines human mortality, finally celebrating the average lifespan and "The White Plague", a savage and anguished satire against fascist dictatorship and the virus of inhumanity. Contributor Bio:  Wyllie, David Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 - 3 June 1924) was a German-language writer of novels and short stories, regarded by critics as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. Most of his works, such as "Die Verwandlung" ("The Metamorphosis"), Der Prozess (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle), are filled with the themes and archetypes of alienation, physical and psychological brutality, parent-child conflict, characters on a terrifying quest, labyrinths of bureaucracy, and mystical transformations. Kafka was born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In his lifetime, most of the population of Prague spoke Czech, and the division between Czech- and German-speaking people was a tangible reality, as both groups were strengthening their national identity. The Jewish community often found itself in between the two sentiments, naturally raising questions about a place to which one belongs. Kafka himself was fluent in both languages, considering German his mother tongue.