The Concentration City
Encyclopedia
"The Concentration City" is a dystopian short story by British
author J. G. Ballard
, first published, under the title "Build-Up" in New Worlds
volume 19 number 55 in January 1957. It was reprinted in the collections Billennium and Chronopolis and later, under its revised title, in The Disaster Area
and The Complete Short Stories of J. G. Ballard: Volume 1
.
The short story follows a physics student named Franz, who devotes his time to the concept of "free space
" – the idea that somewhere, there must be just infinite amounts of space, a concept labelled as nonsensical by most of the other city's inhabitants. He also wishes to develop a machine for flight – a relatively unknown theory due to the complete lack of partially open spaces.
Eventually, Franz decides to travel on one of the high-speed rail coaches for as long as possible in one direction in order to discover what lies beyond the urban zoning and trying to find free space. The story ends when Franz after ten days of travelling realises that the coach is travelling back in the opposite direction. When he is finally stopped by the authorities, he notices the date of a calendar is unchanged from when he set forth travelling. Franz discovers that if one keeps travelling forward, one finally ends back in the same place at the same time.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author J. G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
, first published, under the title "Build-Up" in New Worlds
New Worlds (magazine)
New Worlds was a British science fiction magazine which was first published professionally in 1946. For 25 years it was widely considered the leading science fiction magazine in Britain, publishing 201 issues up to 1971...
volume 19 number 55 in January 1957. It was reprinted in the collections Billennium and Chronopolis and later, under its revised title, in The Disaster Area
The Disaster Area
-Contents:*"Storm-bird, Storm-dreamer"*"The Concentration City"*"The Subliminal Man"*"Now Wakes the Sea"*"Minus One"*"Mr F. is Mr F."*"Zone of Terror"*"Manhole 69"*"The Impossible Man"-External links:*...
and The Complete Short Stories of J. G. Ballard: Volume 1
The Complete Short Stories of J. G. Ballard: Volume 1
The Complete Short Stories of J. G. Ballard: Volume 1 is a short-story collection by J. G. Ballard, published in 2006.The collection is the first installment of the J. G. Ballard's complete collection, followed by The Complete Short Stories of J. G...
.
Setting and plot
"The Concentration City" is set in a "city" encompassing everything in known existence to its inhabitants. The districts comprises endless streets and buildings and seemingly infinitely high and low levels, or floors, with few trees and little wildlife. Cubic space is in shortage and expensive; high speed transportation is in use, but it is implied that many people do not find the need to leave their particular area. The people do not know what lies beyond the endless urban expansion, but seem to care little, and generally assume that there are just endless levels and districts that have existed forever.The short story follows a physics student named Franz, who devotes his time to the concept of "free space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
" – the idea that somewhere, there must be just infinite amounts of space, a concept labelled as nonsensical by most of the other city's inhabitants. He also wishes to develop a machine for flight – a relatively unknown theory due to the complete lack of partially open spaces.
Eventually, Franz decides to travel on one of the high-speed rail coaches for as long as possible in one direction in order to discover what lies beyond the urban zoning and trying to find free space. The story ends when Franz after ten days of travelling realises that the coach is travelling back in the opposite direction. When he is finally stopped by the authorities, he notices the date of a calendar is unchanged from when he set forth travelling. Franz discovers that if one keeps travelling forward, one finally ends back in the same place at the same time.
Similar Conceptions
Similar conceptions litter speculative fiction, but two distinct types of 'infinite cities' are noteworthy:- "Diaspar", from Arthur C. Clarke's The City and the StarsThe City and the StarsThe City and the Stars is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. It is a complete rewrite of his earlier novella, Against the Fall of Night.-Overview:...
, said to contain all wonders and marvels: a possible influence on this city - The City from the Tsutomo Nihei's Blame!Blame!, pronounced "blam", is a ten-volume 1998 cyberpunk manga by Tsutomu Nihei published by Kodansha. A six part original net animation was produced in 2003, with a seventh episode included on the DVD release.- Plot :...
manga - a near infinite structure larger than the solar system, finite, but unbounded. The exterior is also the goal of the protagonist.