Rejected by Maurice Renard as an example of the merveilleux-scientifique genre, Le fulgur (1909) by Paul de Sémant pays homage to Jules Verne with a search for ocean treasure and fighting sea creatures… On June 21, 1925, in the Yucatán Channel, an American cruiser, the Vélox, escorts a strange vessel, the Goliath, belonging to the Franco-American Society for Submarine Research. This unusual ship, with no visible propellers, is driven by a luminous globe and carries on board a mysterious apparatus, the Fulgur, suspended beneath a framework. The expedition is directed by Dr. Pierre Claudian, a renowned scientist whose secret discovery involves radio-electromagnetic forces capable, among other things, of partially neutralizing gravity. Financed by the American Joe Kens, he undertakes a mission to recover, at a depth of about 4,000 meters, a vast cargo of gold lost in a shipwreck. After immobilizing the Goliath using luminous effluvia that stabilize the sea and establishing wireless communication with the Vélox, the crew prepares the descent of the Fulgur. The submersible, nearly spherical in shape and equipped with external mechanical devices, is launched with several passengers, including Claudian, his nephew Marcel, and Kens. It descends slowly, attached by a cable, and reaches 3,000 meters without incident. Suddenly, communication is cut off. At the surface, a violent phenomenon begins: the sea swells, a dark cloud approaches, and then a volcanic eruption hurls mud, gas, and burning matter into the air. Panic spreads among the crews. The Goliath and the Vélox are separated, and a gigantic whirlpool forms. The Fulgur’s cable snaps. The Goliath is dragged under, engulfed, and disappears into the liquid vortex…
First Appearance “Le Fulgur” by Paul de Sémant unconfirmed serialization in Le Globe-Trotter in 1907 (sometimes listed as “from March to August 1907”)
First Publisher Le Globe-Trotter
Appearance List “Le Fulgur” by Paul de Sémant unconfirmed serialization in Le Globe-Trotter in 1907 (sometimes listed as “from March to August 1907”); Le Fulgur by Paul de Sémant with illustrations by Marin Baldo (1910, book edition, Paris: Ernest Flammarion); Le Fulgur T01: Au fond du gouffre (2017) by Christophe Bec and Dejan Nenadov, after Paul de Sémant — comics adaptation, steampunk undersea adventure, published by Éditions Soleil (19 April 2017); Le Fulgur T02: Les Survivants des ténèbres (2017) by Christophe Bec and Dejan Nenadov, after Paul de Sémant (Éditions Soleil, 25 October 2017); Le Fulgur T03: Les Terres brûlées (2018) by Christophe Bec and Dejan Nenadov, after Paul de Sémant (Éditions Soleil, 16 May 2018).
Description Rejected by Maurice Renard as an example of the merveilleux-scientifique genre, Le fulgur (1909) by Paul de Sémant pays homage to Jules Verne with a search for ocean treasure and fighting sea creatures… On June 21, 1925, in the Yucatán Channel, an American cruiser, the Vélox, escorts a strange vessel, the Goliath, belonging to the Franco-American Society for Submarine Research. This unusual ship, with no visible propellers, is driven by a luminous globe and carries on board a mysterious apparatus, the Fulgur, suspended beneath a framework. The expedition is directed by Dr. Pierre Claudian, a renowned scientist whose secret discovery involves radio-electromagnetic forces capable, among other things, of partially neutralizing gravity. Financed by the American Joe Kens, he undertakes a mission to recover, at a depth of about 4,000 meters, a vast cargo of gold lost in a shipwreck. After immobilizing the Goliath using luminous effluvia that stabilize the sea and establishing wireless communication with the Vélox, the crew prepares the descent of the Fulgur. The submersible, nearly spherical in shape and equipped with external mechanical devices, is launched with several passengers, including Claudian, his nephew Marcel, and Kens. It descends slowly, attached by a cable, and reaches 3,000 meters without incident. Suddenly, communication is cut off. At the surface, a violent phenomenon begins: the sea swells, a dark cloud approaches, and then a volcanic eruption hurls mud, gas, and burning matter into the air. Panic spreads among the crews. The Goliath and the Vélox are separated, and a gigantic whirlpool forms. The Fulgur’s cable snaps. The Goliath is dragged under, engulfed, and disappears into the liquid vortex…
