The Absolute at Large · Chapters

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Chapter companions for The Absolute at Large by Karel Čapek.

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Chapter 1
I: The Advertisement
On New Year's Day 1943, industrialist G. H. Bondy reads a newspaper and becomes fixated on the fragment 'tion' from a small advertisement. After searching, he finds it is an ad from R. Marek, Engineer, offering a highly remunerative invention for sale. Bondy reminisces about his old schoolfellow Rudy Marek, imagining him as a down-and-out inventor. He decides to visit Marek himself, only to discover Marek is a successful factory owner. Marek greets Bondy, saying he has been expecting him.
Chapter 2
II: The Karburator
G. H. Bondy visits Rudy Marek, who reveals his revolutionary invention, the Karburator, which can completely utilize atomic energy by disintegrating matter. Bondy is skeptical but intrigued, and after a tense exchange, he descends to the cellar to see the machine, where he experiences a strange, ecstatic sensation before Marek urgently pulls him out.
Chapter 3
III: Pantheism
G. H. Bondy recovers from his intense experience in the cellar, where he felt a sense of bliss and transcendence. Rudy Marek reveals that his invention, the Karburator, achieves total combustion of matter, releasing an immense amount of energy. However, this process also liberates the Absolute or God from matter, causing a pantheistic effect that overwhelms those nearby. Marek, an atheist, is horrified by this unintended spiritual consequence and insists Bondy must take over the invention.
Chapter 4
IV: God in the Cellar
Rudy Marek reveals to G. H. Bondy that his Perfect Karburator, a device that completely disintegrates matter, produces not only mechanical power but also a byproduct: pure, unconfined Absolute, or God. Marek describes the terrifying effects of the Absolute, including his own levitation, prophecy, and miracle-working, as well as the religious mania it has induced in others. Bondy, initially skeptical, becomes intrigued by the commercial potential and proposes negotiating with the Absolute, even suggesting a formal contract and calling in clergy to manage the divine presence.
Chapter 5
Bishop Linda
Bondy and Marek discuss the rapid spread of religious ecstasy linked to the Karburator, including an epidemic at the Petřín wireless station and the conversion of the Minister for War. Bishop Linda visits Bondy to negotiate the Church's control over the Absolute, proposing to limit its production and declare the Břevnov site a miraculous shrine. Marek vehemently opposes this, insisting on manufacturing more Karburators. Later, Bondy updates Marek on the chaos: streets closed, processions, and deaths. Bishop Linda, after inspecting the Absolute, rejects it as heretical, refusing to compromise the Church with a new God.

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I: The Advertisement

II: The Karburator

III: Pantheism

IV: God in the Cellar

Bishop Linda