SPOILERS
| Added | Mon, 26/03/2018 |
| Release date | 08-1909
|
| Original title | L'Homme Qui Peut Vivre dans l'Eau
|
| Феномены | |
| References | Жан де ля Ир Иктанэр и Моизэта М.: Резерв-i-М, 2013 г.
|
Most likely, the novel by the French writer Jean de la Ira (Count Adolphe d'espie de la Ir) "The Man who can live in water" or "L'Homme Qui Peut Vivre dans l'Eau", known to the Russian-speaking reader as "Ictaner and Moezetta", became the first work of fiction in which such a creature is mentioned - artificially created half-man-half-fish.
The work was first published by the newspaper "Le Matin" (Paris) from July to September 1909. In the autumn of 1909, an anti-Semitic adaptation of the novel entitled "The Fish Man" appeared in the St. Petersburg newspaper Zemshchyna. The anonymous author who concocted it gave the story a clearly expressed political subtext.
The novel takes place on the island of Cabrera, which is part of the archipelago of the Balearic Islands, in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea.
This is a really interesting fantasy novel. He raises the themes of anarchists, new weapons and the triumph of science. It has a spy network spread all over the world, and encryption, and conspiracies, and betrayal. The plot is dynamic, although it swings for a long time.
Despite the fact that the pisces man is given a central place in the narrative, not all plot issues are solved with the help of his superpowers (at the end of the book it seems that the author forgets about their existence at all).
Thanks to this work, the concept of a half-man-half-fish has found life. Later, he would repeatedly appear in various works of world literature and cinema. So, the novel became the predecessor of the famous science fiction novel by Alexander Belyaev "Amphibian Man".
A novel by the French writer Jean de la Ira (Count Adolphe d'espie de la Ira) "The Man who can live in Water" ("L'Homme Qui Peut Vivre dans l'Eau", known to the Russian-speaking reader as "Ictaner and Moezetta", 1909), became the first work of fiction in which an artificially created half-man-half-fish is mentioned.
The main characters of the work are the evil genius Fulber (a Jesuit who dreams of power over the world) and his brother, friend and scientist Oxus. The latter transplants the gills of a young shark replacing one lung to a small Ictaner and inspires hatred for the entire human race. Iktaner is the son of a woman who confessed to a monk in confession that she accidentally became pregnant. They conclude a contract: the monk hides the woman until the moment of childbirth in the monastery, saving her honor and position in society, and she gives him the child. After giving birth, the mother at first does not want to give up her child, and one of the nuns suggests that Fulber kill her if she resists.
Next, the author tells how the grown-up Ictaner easily lets whole squadrons sink (one by one battleships explode for an unknown reason), and his sinister mentor presents one ultimatum after another to the world community.
The shelter inhabited by Fulber, Oxus and Ictaner is a natural grotto equipped for a laboratory. There, the monks monitor the state of Iktaner and make plans to take over the world. There are also other staff serving the laboratory there (for example, a certain Saverak, to whom two brothers tell about their idea).
Engineer-inventor Saverak turns out to be the biological father of Ictaner, and his ex-lover named Marta is locked in a separate room in the laboratory, is in a confused state of consciousness and only occasionally wakes up. She tells Moisette about her illegitimate child and the priest who took him away.
Moisette, Fulber's niece, who managed to escape the fate of Ictaner in infancy (her name literally translates as "saved from water"), is with them in the same laboratory, but knows nothing about the brothers' plans. Somehow she meets Iktaner and opens his eyes to his origin, after which the young man ceases to obey Fulber.
Saverak turns out to be in love with Moisette, but she already loves Ictaner, so she refuses the engineer. He kidnaps her. Ictaner goes to help. He plans to kill the kidnapper and buy Moisette and freedom from Oxus and Fulber for one country, as a compromise to the idea of world domination.
In a separate chapter about the conspiracy of anarchists, it turns out that Saverak was connected with the anarchist Archilev. One of the anarchists (Archilyev's daughter named Vera) finds out the encryption code and locates Saverak.
Ictaner speaks at the congress with his proposals. He asks to find Saverak and Moisette in exchange for signing a peace treaty between him and the governments of the countries. But Saverak finds himself in the hall and reveals the secret that no one can harm them except the Ictaner present there. A chase begins, but the young man manages to get away.
Saverak locks Moisette in a specially equipped room among the rocks and plans to keep her there for the rest of her life. He also assigns Vera to keep an eye on the prisoner. But anarchists working for Fulber and Oxus track them down and rescue the prisoner.
Saverak is captured and interrogated, but his friends help him escape. When trying to escape, he is wounded, he falls into the water, but the corpse is not found. He comes to the laboratory, where he is killed.
Marta regains consciousness, Moisette is returned home. Fulber and Oxus conceal her arrival and incite Ictaner against the fleet. Representatives of the fleet pretend to agree to his ultimatum, but as soon as he is on board the receiving ship, they take him prisoner. The staff of the laboratory of Fulber and Oxus is disbanded, the main actors leave the grotto and blow it up.
Ictaner is sent to Paris, where his gills are removed. Then he reunites with his beloved and they move together to live in Tahiti.
Phenomena in artwork: Aquatic creatures
Half-man, half-polurama in the novel is Ektanar. The Ledger indicates that the word Ektanar is a Greek word composed of two things: "Ektos — fish" and "Aner" — man". Therefore, "Ektanar" means "Man-fish".
Ektanar indirectly related to the phenomenon of aquatic creatures, because it is not inherently mystical being, and was created artificially: the evil genius even as a child he replaced his one lung on the gills of a young shark. However, among the explanations of the phenomena under consideration at this website, you can find a natural mutation, and direct human intervention in the structure of a creature that could be considered mystical. Therefore, this work can be considered within the framework of our theme. In addition, this fiction that continues in some degree the history of mystical mermaids, acquired quite a lot of popularity and is reflected in the real world. For example, it is obvious that this book influenced the creators of the famous horror movie "creature from the Black lagoon", the echoes of which, in turn, can be found in the actual testimony that describes lizard-like human with webbed hands and feet, known in the media as "the Monster of lake Thetis".
So how do the described half man, half fish in this work? First and foremost it should be noted that this creature feels equally comfortable both in water and on land. Before conducting experiments on humans, Jesuit created a APE, half-foxy fish, possessing the same abilities. Ektanar can stay under water for 23 hours and move at a speed of 137 miles per hour due to the fact that clings to a special device similar to a torpedo (this mechanism is called "torpedo", and its advanced version allows Itanaru to move under water with a maximum speed of 300 km per hour).
Externally, Ektanar more like a person than some unknown creature:
[...] some sparkling form appeared among high algae; graceful floating, this form was defined clearly and was a man. [...]
The body of this man, with his young and perfect forms, was entirely covered with silvery scales, olevassa all the colors of the rainbow! His nervous and delicate hands were bare. Glass mask covered his face, and her dazzling reflection was not allowed to consider its hidden features. Stood out only large black eyes.
Who was this man who lived and moved under the water as in its native element? These silvery scales, whether they were artificial preparations, or was it the robe that gave him some fish, nature?..
[...]
He was of medium height, graceful and harmonious addition. He seemed naked, so upon his cloth of silver scales, just cover all the lines of his body and limbs, from the neck to the hands and feet. On top of the scales reached his chin, followed the line of the jaw to the end of the ears, and disappear back under his short black hair, Raven, color, and stopped still, despite being in the water. This extraordinary creature now wore the mask that the day before, when his appearance in the aquarium, covers his face. And so now you can see how it is, its slim, transparent pale, like mother-of-pearl skin, his delicate straight nose, his purple, beautiful, handsome sculptured lips; under his open forehead shone the great black eyes that shone with intelligence and a proud consciousness of the dignity... He opened and closed his mouth to speak, just as humans do on earth. He smiled and found a beautiful small teeth of dazzling whiteness.
According to the authors, the evil monk-the genius of inspired Itanaru that there are two species of intelligent beings that was shared between the globe: one lives on land and floats on the ships, and the other lives in the water. Ektanar is allegedly a representative of his people, and kill people (neither the monk, nor anything brother the Oxus did not appear before Ictprom without spacesuits). This system of education determines the aggressive behavior of Iktara against the people.
The earth's air is not his natural environment, on land so it can conduct no more than 48 hours, after which it begins to suffocate and can die.
Girl sees the first meeting with him:
Unexpected creature, the human species, but all covered with silvery scales gleaming in the sun, jumped onto the stone and stood upright, with arms outstretched to the sun; the back of it was facing Mozete.
Man in silvery scales lowered his hands and turned slowly, as if wanting to look at the boundless horizon.
And soon Mozete appeared a strange face, as if covered with a glass mask.
For her it is a mysterious humanoid sea creature.
Translated by «Yandex.Translator»
Log in or register to post comments
