A Kont-eset: Fantasztikus regény a XXI. századból

In the opulent lounge of Budapest’s National Casino a trio of eccentric aristocrats gathers for a “szkupstina,” swapping outlandish anecdotes and lofty schemes between puffs of questionable tobacco. The conversation drifts from a pompous scientist’s claims of royal strolls with the English queen to a baron’s half‑crazed formula for world peace, while a famed hunter boasts of tiger and boar trophies. Their peculiar banter is suddenly shattered by a dramatic burst of the ballroom doors and the entrance of a towering stranger in a truncated tailcoat, his gleaming eyes and flamboyant moustache marking him as both out of place and unmistakably menacing.

The intrusion throws the assembled nobles into a bewildered silence, each suspecting a bomb or anarchist motive, yet the newcomer merely watches the pendulum swing, his calm curiosity unsettling the room. As tension mounts, the tiger‑hunter Kanut steps forward, confronting the enigmatic figure with a mix of bravado and bewilderment, sparking a bizarre exchange about hats, identity, and the nature of sanity. The scene sets the stage for a wildly inventive tale that blends historical decadence with surreal humor, inviting listeners into a world where high society and the absurd collide.