Written in 1922, the story begins at what was a future date at the time of writing, New Year's Day 1943. An engineer and inventor, Rudy Marek has created a type of reactor which can produce cheap and abundant energy. After placing an ad in a newspaper, Marek is approached by tycoon, G.H.Bondy, head of the Metallo-Electrical Company.
Marek explains to Bondy that one of the main by-products of the production of the energy is the release of the absolute into the environment. The absolute is described as the spiritual essence that permeates all matter and those people exposed to the absolute undergo an over powering religious experience.
According to the wikipedia article on the novel, R. D. Mullen called the novel "one of the genuine masterpieces of SF" and I'm inclined to agree with that assessment. I highly recommend the novel to Sci Fi enthusiasts.
As a side note, a tycoon named G.H.Bondy is also prominent in War with the Newts yet events in the two stories preclude the two G.H.Bondy's from being the same character.
My copy of The Absolute at Large comes from fadedpage.com. A newer translation by David Wyllie can be purchased from amazon.com.
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