Na srebrnym globie

The first science fiction novel in Polish literature, written in 1903 when space travel remained pure fantasy, follows a group of explorers who make the impossible journey to the Moon's dark side. Among the crew is a woman, and her presence will prove fateful. The story unfolds through the diary of one expedition member, chronicling their struggle against unimaginable hardships and their own human weaknesses. What begins as a scientific endeavor becomes something far more primal: the birth of a new society, complete with its hierarchies, conflicts, and, inevitably, its hunger for the transcendent. Żuławski uses this lunar colony as a crucible to examine questions that haunted his era and ours: how do we confront our own demons, how do we organize ourselves when the old rules no longer apply, and why does religion arise wherever humans gather? The science may be dated, but the psychological and philosophical insights cut through time like a blade.