"The Coming Race" is a science-fiction novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, published anonymously in 1871. The author created a subterranean world occupied by advanced beings using the mysterious 'Vril' as an energy source. The narrator finds himself stranded deep inside the Earth. He is rescued by the human-like Vril-ya, an advanced race who have evolved underground. They fly with artificial wings, are served by automata and have developed formidable weapons. Women are the superior sex.