Life, 1907-12-12 · page 17 of 20
Life — December 12, 1907 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical science fiction piece set in the year 6450 A.D., imagining a future where humanity has achieved peace and created a universal language called "Voleranto." The humor comes from a "Thinking Machine" (essentially an AI) solving an ancient cipher to identify three books from 1907 as humanity's greatest achievements. The joke is that the three books—*Archibald McKackney*, *The Shame of the Colleges*, and *The Sportsman's Primer*—are actually satirical works by contemporary humorists (Ralph D. Paine, Wallace Irwin, and Norman Crowell). Life magazine is playfully suggesting that early 20th-century humor and social satire are so timeless and perfect that a future civilization would treasure them as pinnacle literature. The underlying satire mocks both technological utopianism and intellectual pretension—the idea that advanced future machines would need to decode what is essentially popular comedy. It's also gentle mockery of Life's own contributors' importance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE CIPHER THAT PUZZLED THE MILLENNIUM (From tho Book of the Official Recorder, 6450, A.D.) Showing how a 65th Century Thinking Machine won the Olive Crown by unravelling an age-long puzzle and thereby adding greatly to the joys of the Hereafter. and strife to the Milky Way, and fused the babel of tongues into the glorious and altogether lovely Voleranto, only one thing remained to mar the complete satisfaction. The puzzle of the ages still piqued curiosity. The Riddle of the Sphinx had long ago been guessed correctly, but the shrewdest delvings of profound minds had for generations been for naught when applied to unravelling the following : ¢ Dard the time, three thousand years ago, when world-wide brotherhood banished international rivalry | 19 2s 3% archmo-ka-cknoy-sh-ame > © | col -legessport-sm-anspri- morby - rdpa - inowal- aceirw-innor-mancro-well 18) 2% 37 1907 And now the time was nearly come for awarding the Olive Crown to the Savant Laureate. Fourteen Wise Men were in close running for this supreme honor. Surely the one who could solve the Great Riddle would be It. And thus one of them, J. K. S. Futrelle by name, took up the problem for the hundredth time. A happy thought struck him. He sprang to his feet, exceeding joyful. “Methinks I have it fast,” quoth he. “Let me see. This puzzle was found in the ruins of a great library, 3006, A.D. It evidently, therefore, refers to books, for in that great library were records of the best works of all preceding years—the books that Time had lifted to a place of lasting honor. Only a few—very few—were chosen from each year as fit to be read by posterity. For some years of the 2oth Century there were none chosen. Now the year 1907 is known to be missing. Yes! It must be so—there is 1907 at the end.” He meditated at length and squinted learnedly at the other characters. : “Preceded and followed by numerals with other numerals as exponents,” he mused. “These might be football signals, like the mythical and legendary 4-11-44, but I wis not.” His eyes skimmed the series again. “Lo and behold, the puzzle is mine! Even I have solved it!” he ex- claimed. “Now I have it. The first number 1 signifies a division after the 13th letter, and then we have Arch. McKackney, which evidently means ARCHIBALD McKACKNEY. In the same way 2" shows us THE SHAME OF THE COLLEGES, and so 3° makes plain THE SPORTSMAN’S PRIMER. The ‘by’ is plain enough, it means that the authors are to come.” Hot on the trail, he applied himself with renewed application. He went on: “Now taking the numerals at the end, we have 13. Counting back thirteen letters we get Norman Crowell; 2" in the same way reveals Wallace Irwin; and likewise, 37 brings to light R. D. Paine.” Thus he had: Archibald MoKackney, - - - by Ralph D. Paine Tho Shamo of the Colieges, - - by Wallace Irwin The Sportsman's Primer, - + by Norman Crowell In great glee he reported his findings to the Council of Fifty-six who had to do with the awarding of the Olive Wreath. With this new light, they again sought the ruins of the library and found there the three books named. They were translated at once into Voleranto. These books chosen by a laughter and fun-loving people as the best humorous works of the far-away year, 1907, wrought havoc even to the folks of the Millennium. Couriers ceased their errands and read them on corners; the Couneil of Fifty-six laughed until their sides ached; and even the other thirty-nine Thinking Machines who had been competing for the Great Honor of Savant Laureate agreed that the joys of the Millennium were now complete. On the appointed day, therefore, the Council met and made J. K. S. Futrelle the Savant Laureate, and the whole world agreed that the honor was nobly merited. No other man since the Millennium began had done so much to promote the universal mirth. NOTE.—The books which earned such commendation from the Council of Fifty-six, as related above, are publtshed by THE OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY, 35 West Thirty-first Street, New York. Each of the volumes is a model of humor by a master of the art, and each of them retails at all book stores for $1.25. The most cheering Christmas present possible. comicbooks.com