The Last American: A Fragment from The Journal of Khan-li, Prince of Dimph-Yoo-Chur and Admiral in the Persian Navy

In Short

This work of speculative fiction imagines a future where the United States has vanished, leaving behind only overgrown ruins and mysterious artifacts. A Persian expedition arrives to explore the desolate continent, attempting to piece together the history of the "Mehrikans" through their crumbling infrastructure and strange, preserved relics. The narrative serves as a cautionary meditation on the transience of empires, contrasting the pride of a once-mighty nation with its inevitable, silent decay. It remains a poignant, early example of post-apocalyptic literature, marked by its atmospheric descriptions of a reclaimed, empty world.

The Story

The narrative begins when an expedition from Persia, led by Prince Khan-li and accompanied by the scholar Nōfūhl, arrives on the coast of what was once America. They find a landscape dominated by silence and the skeletal remains of a massive, unnamed city, later identified as the legendary "Nhū-Yok." The travelers are struck by the strange, enduring nature of the ruins, where iron structures stand like monuments to a lost age. As they explore, they encounter the remnants of a vanished society: massive, empty skyscrapers, abandoned homes filled with rotting finery, and the preserved, mummified bodies of those who perished during the nation’s final days.

Nōfūhl, the expedition's intellectual anchor, provides historical context, labeling the former inhabitants as a greedy, nervous people who were obsessed with material gain, rapid technological advancement, and superficial imitation of foreign customs. Despite the Persians' disdain for the Mehrikans' perceived lack of culture, they are undeniably fascinated by the sheer scale of the city and the ingenuity of its long-lost machines. The voyage continues as the crew moves inland, fueled by Nōfūhl’s obsession with discovering the capital, "Washington."

Upon reaching the capital, the explorers find a grand, domed temple where they encounter the very last survivors of the American race: a man, his wife, and an elder. These survivors live in primitive squalor amidst the fading grandeur of their ancestors’ architecture. The meeting, which begins with a tense, guarded hospitality, quickly spirals into disaster. When one of the Persian crew attempts to touch the young woman, her husband reacts with superhuman fury. A brutal skirmish ensues, and the American defender kills several of the Persians before he is himself struck down.

In the aftermath, the prince and his remaining crew are left to grapple with the horror of the encounter. As the last of the Americans falls, a statue of the nation’s founder, George-wash-yn-tun, seemingly bows its head in acknowledgment of the final fight. The expedition, shaken and diminished, abandons the ruins, carrying their dead and wounded back to the ships. They depart from the continent, leaving behind only the ashes of a once-great civilization and the haunting realization that no empire is immune to the passage of time.

How It Unfolds

The arrival at the coast The Persian crew spots a massive statue guarding a harbor and realizes they have discovered a forgotten, nameless land. They step into a city of weeds and crumbling stone, where nature has begun to reclaim the streets of a massive, deserted metropolis.

The reconstruction of history Nōfūhl deciphers advertisements and shop signs, identifying the location as "Nhū-Yok" and explaining that the people who built it were a noisy, restless race obsessed with speed and wealth. He scoffs at their lack of artistic depth, noting that they were purely imitative and ultimately weak.

The discovery of the past The team enters a wealthy dwelling and finds a perfectly preserved woman on her bed, offering a glimpse into the mundane, domestic tragedy of the collapse. They find coins bearing the face of a final dictator, confirming the total extinction of the race by the year 1990.

The journey to the capital Driven by historical curiosity, the expedition sails further inland to locate the seat of government, "Washington." They find a city of grand monuments and massive, white-columned temples that have withstood the rot of time.

The final confrontation The travelers discover the final American man and his wife, leading to a violent struggle that ends in the death of the survivors. The expedition leaves the continent in a somber, reflective mood, shaken by the tragic end of a once-proud race.

The People

Khan-li is the Prince of Dimph-Yoo-Chur and the narrator. He represents the voice of the observer—curious, occasionally arrogant, yet deeply affected by the melancholy beauty of the ruined world. He values his dignity and the lives of his crew, yet finds himself forced into a deadly conflict that he regrets.

Nōfūhl acts as the "Axis of Wisdom," the scholar who provides the historical perspective on the Mehrikans. He is critical and detached, viewing the Americans with a mixture of academic interest and historical disdain. His desire to collect artifacts drives the narrative forward, though his theories about the Americans' character often show his own cultural biases.

Lev-el-Hedyd is a brave and somewhat reckless officer who has a strange, supernatural encounter during the voyage. He is the first to sense the ghostliness of the city and later plays a pivotal role in the final, tragic battle.

The Last American is a nameless, bony, and sorrowful man who lives in the temple with his wife. He is a tragic figure, possessing an internal dignity that the Persians struggle to understand. He fights with raw, primal ferocity to protect his own, acting as the final, silent witness to the greatness and the ultimate collapse of his entire culture.

In Its Own Voice

"Right ahead, in the middle of the bay, towered a gigantic statue, many times higher than the masts of our ship."

The narrator describes his first glimpse of the harbor, where the ruins of the past stand in the morning sun.

"There were silver coins of different sizes and two small pieces of copper; the latest date is 1957, a little less than a thousand years ago."

Nōfūhl examines physical evidence found in a house, helping the crew calculate the timeline of the nation's final collapse.

"In front of the great steps and facing this doorway is a large sitting image of George-wash-yn-tun; as the Mehrikan staggered out upon the porch, his hands outstretched before him and with Death at his heart, this statue slowly bowed its head as if in recognition of a gallant fight."

The narrator records the final, haunting moment of the encounter, where history itself seems to acknowledge the end of the American line.

What It's Really About

The central theme is the inevitability of historical decline. The book questions what remains of a society once its citizens, its industry, and its memories have been erased. By framing the Americans as a "mongrel race" of "elastic honor" obsessed with money, the author uses a satirical lens to examine the perceived flaws of a young nation. The story asks whether material wealth and mechanical ingenuity are enough to sustain a civilization, or if they are merely temporary distractions from the inevitable entropy of time. Ultimately, it is a meditation on the silence that follows great noise, suggesting that even the loudest, most ambitious empires eventually pass into the stillness of history.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy the melancholic, atmospheric tone of post-apocalyptic fiction will find much to admire in this short, haunting volume. It reads like a dream of the future seen through a nineteenth-century lens, offering a strange, distorted mirror of American life. The prose is warm and descriptive, grounding the reader in the eerie, silent streets of the ruined city.

However, modern readers should be prepared for the period-specific attitudes of the author, who presents his Persian characters with a sense of cultural superiority that can feel jarring. The "dialect" used for the names of the cities and people—such as "Nhū-Yok"—can be a bit of a hurdle, as can the sometimes stiff, Victorian-era dialogue. Despite these quirks, the book’s brevity makes it an excellent choice for a single sitting, and the final scene—the bowing of a statue as the last of a nation falls—is a striking image that lingers long after the book is closed. It serves as a gentle but firm reminder of the fragility of modern life, captured in a voice that feels both very old and strangely, hauntingly relevant.