Editing War with the Newts (section)

===Book Three – War with the Newts===
The final section reverts to the same form as the first section, but with a darker tone. It relates a series of skirmishes between Newts and humans, eventually resulting in the outbreak of war when the Newts declare their need to destroy portions of the world's continents in order to create new coastlines and so expand their [[Lebensraum|living space]]. Čapek's satirical targets here are mainly [[nationalism]] (the [[British people|British]], [[French people|French]] and [[Germans]] are all portrayed as irredeemably stubborn and nationalistic), [[Scientific racism|German racial theories]] (see below), and the perceived inefficacy of [[international diplomacy]]. In the penultimate chapter, the tone becomes [[didactic]]: "We are all responsible for it", declares Čapek's mouthpiece, Mr. Povondra's adult son.

The last chapter, entitled "The Author Talks to Himself", takes a [[metafiction]]al turn. With Earth's landmass one-fifth destroyed and humanity offering little resistance, the chapter cuts away from the action to a conversation between two personas of the author, called the Author and the Writer. Between them they map out the long-term history of the Newts: the Newts will all but destroy the Earth's landmass, leaving only a tiny clump of humanity to work for them in their factories. Eventually they will form separate countries and destroy themselves by committing the same follies as humanity; humans will then inherit what remains of the earth; new continents will arise, and "America" will be dimly remembered as an [[Atlantis]]-like mythical land.