In the 1949 novel "The Emperor of Mars," a prophecy about Elon Musk has been discovered.

The German scientist Wernher von Braun predicted the emergence of Elon Musk! In his 1949 novel “The Martian Project”, an emperor of Mars named Elon is featured. This caught the attention of social media users. Musk was so taken with this revelation that he reposted the message. We delved into the text of this old book, and there are nuances that will make your hair stand on end.

THE LEGEND TURNED OUT TO BE TRUE

Word has spread that Wernher von Braun seemed to have written a book about Mars, featuring “Emperor Elon”, and the informed public was aware of it. In the Russian-speaking internet community, we found posts about this as far back as 2021, and possibly even earlier. However, very few people had actually read von Braun's novel “The Martian Project,” and many believed it was just a legend without any real basis.

Someone on social media platform X (owned by Musk) decided to debunk the “old myth,” and was unexpectedly convinced: it was indeed true. They copied a fragment from the printed book and published it. “How is this possible?” Musk immediately reacted and reposted.

In the comments, billionaires (and emperors, as it turns out) were soon asking: “Are you a time traveler?” Musk replied: “I’ve always said this, but no one believes me.”

Another user asked: “Are you an alien?” Musk responded: “The prophecy will come true.”

Musk is definitely having a good day. The richest man on Earth is now being invited to rule on Mars.

A NOVEL WITH A TOUGH FATE

Wernher von Braun, a rocket scientist and simultaneously an SS Sturmbannführer (see Reference), surrendered to the Americans in the spring of 1945 along with his colleagues and blueprints, for which he gained considerable respect. Von Braun gave interviews, contemplated the fate of the world – and wrote books.

In 1949, while tirelessly working for the benefit of the American military at the Army Research Center, von Braun casually wrote a novel titled “The Martian Project” in German. An American officer, Henry White, translated the manuscript into English, and the partners decided it had the potential to become a bestseller. But first, they needed to pass military censorship. After all, both were cleared personnel.

NSDAP member since 1937, former SS Sturmbannführer Wernher von Braun became the director of NASA's Space Flight Center in 1960.

Photo: nasa.gov.

Surprisingly, they navigated censorship quite easily: the agency deemed the book “so fantastical that it definitely contains no secrets.” Although the work is rife with technical details and even blueprints.

But censors are not literary critics. They had a tough time with them. Eighteen publishers rejected the manuscript. It’s hard to say why. Some were surely put off by the author’s identity. Just yesterday, he coldly observed the deaths of Auschwitz prisoners while building the V-2 rockets, and now, look, he turned to writing. Others might have simply found it dull.

A few years later, parts of the work containing blueprints and calculations were printed in West Germany. In the late 1950s, some magazines began publishing the novel chapter by chapter. The complete English translation was only released in 2006. The German original remains in manuscript form.

Thus, “The Martian Project” had a long and arduous journey to reach its readers. Perhaps it’s a good thing it turned out this way.

A BLOODTHIRSTY PROPHECY

Because the plot of the novel sends chills down your spine.

So, the story unfolds in the year 1980. The United States of Earth rules the world, and it’s not hard to understand that this refers to the United States of America, which has subdued everyone. How did they deal with the USSR? In the 1970s, there was a world war with the USSR, Eastern Europe, and China. The West was hanging by a thread, but the wise scientist (none other than von Braun himself) constructs an orbital station named Lunetta; it’s part observatory, part military base.

From Lunetta, atomic bombs are dropped on the USSR, determining the outcome of the war.

After dealing with the despised communists, the wonderful (there’s no doubt about that) people of the future dive into astronomical observations and discover that there is someone on Mars. The most magnificent of people, the president of the United States of Earth, orders a mission to Mars to deal with the barbarians, and thus a team of high-minded cutthroats sets off.

But – they encounter an obstacle. The Martian civilization, ruled by the superhuman Elon, turns out to be older, wiser, and unexpectedly kinder. They live modestly in caves but can destroy Earth with a flick of their fingers. Yet they don’t want to. Realizing that Mars is a tough nut to crack, the Earthlings establish diplomatic relations with Elon, and that’s where the simple narrative ends.

The novel never achieved popularity with the general reader. However, specialists note von Braun’s bold technical foresight and acknowledge that in terms of ship and flight descriptions, the work is perhaps still relevant today. They also write that the novel reflects von Braun’s philosophy, which is hard to dispute.

Although von Braun wavered about whom to surrender to and considered the Soviets on par with the States, in his first American interview, he insisted that he was “putting his knowledge to the service of a nation governed by the Bible” (rather than Marx’s “Capital,” one can assume). Since von Braun was not known for his devoutness during his Nazi period – it’s amusing, to say the least.

Evil Science Fiction

As we can see, there are no prophecies regarding Elon here. Elon doesn’t arrive on Mars with the Earthlings – he’s already there. Musk could just as well be Aelita. This is precisely why Musk was asked: are you an alien? He didn’t dispute it (and who the real Martian is – see, by the way).

Von Braun himself warns in the preface: as clear as it is how to fly, it is equally unclear what we’ll encounter on Mars. Therefore, he wrote that when descending to the surface of Mars, we are descending into the realm of fantasy.

Today we know that there is no highly developed civilization on Mars and possibly no life at all. We have a better understanding of space, and unfortunately: while we can fly there in a rocket, radiation will roast a human on the way and weightlessness will finish them off (in 1949, the concept of cosmic radiation was very superficial).

To our great relief, the blue dream of American hawks during the Cold War to bombard the USSR with nuclear bombs did not come true. In reality, the first orbital station was Soviet. And no bombs were dropped from it.

Elon Musk is very eager to send a human to Mars. And that’s great! However, judging by his earlier interviews, he sees it quite controversially. Millions should fly at once. Most will perish. Colonists will fight for water and air. And here comes Emperor Elon. Probably just in dreams.

Elon Musk dreams of organizing the first human flight to Mars.

Photo: REUTERS.

In reality, there is still no super-heavy rocket suitable for interplanetary flights, its prototype testing has been mediocre, and there’s essentially nothing to fly with.

Overall, it’s a pity that the ideals of Soviet science fiction are now a thing of the past. Dusty trails of distant planets, the courage and kindness of cosmonauts, ethereal bodies of aliens who have already built communism. We think of flights as we did during the great geographical discoveries – about conquering new lands. And we fear being conquered ourselves.

Space has transformed from a romantic, comfortable realm into a den of evil. And the problem lies within us, perhaps. The cosmos itself hasn’t changed.

REFERENCE

Who is Wernher von Braun

From a noble Prussian family, his father was a minister in the Weimar Republic. He performed poorly in school. He became fascinated with the idea of