Andromeda Nebula (novel)

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Andromedanebel ( German also The Girl from Space ; Russian Туманность Андромеды , transcribed Tumannost Andromedy ) is a science fiction novel by Ivan Yefremov . After the abridged preprint in the journal Technika-Molodjoshi from 1957, the complete edition appeared in 1958. It is considered one of the most important and (with 20 million copies sold in the Soviet Union alone ) most successful works of the science fiction genre in the Soviet Union.

The novel is the first part of a trilogy. This is thematically continued with the story The Heart of the Snake (deviating name: encounter in space ) and ends with the novel The Hour of the Bull . The short story Five Pictures , which is also set in the context of the novel, is not assigned to the cycle.

action

The novel The Andromeda Nebula takes place in a distant communist future, a time marked by the extraordinary development of science, art and education. Spaceships reach alien solar systems, the earth's surface has been reshaped, new sciences have emerged. In the meantime, contact has also been made with distant worlds with which picture broadcasts are regularly exchanged. These worlds make up the community of the Great Ring . The novel consists of several storylines that show the people of the future in all the diversity of their interests.

Terrestrial space travelers under the command of the astronavigator Erg Noor flew with the spaceship Tantra to an inhabited planet that suddenly fell silent. But this world is dead, only black, poppy-like plants cover the surface. Radioactivity released from unreasonable experiments with nuclear energy has wiped out life on the planet. On the return flight, the terrestrial team has to make an emergency landing on a nameless planet due to a lack of fuel and there discovers a spaceship on Earth that was lost many years ago. In addition, people will find a second spaceship in the shape of a plate that was sent out by an unknown civilization. On the planet they are attacked by mysterious enemies - representatives of an aggressive life form to which the crew of the found spaceship fell victim. With just a little bit of necessity, the space travelers can resist these beings and start to earth with the fuel of the found space ship. But Nisa Krit, a young space traveler, is seriously injured.

Another story takes place on earth. Dar Weter, the previous head of the outstations, suffers from a serious mental illness - indifference to life and work. Unable to live up to his responsibilities, he accepts the invitation of his girlfriend, the historian Weda Kong (Erg Noor's lover), to work on archaeological excavations. The hard physical work frees Dar Weter from his depression , but his growing love for Weda throws him into new conflicts. Looking for a way out of the situation, Dar Weter goes to the Titan mines in South America.

In the meantime, a television broadcast from the Epsilon Tucanae was received over the Great Ring . Deeply impressed by the picture of the beautiful speaker of this star, Mwen Mass, the future head of the earth stations, feels the desire to overcome the abyss of space and time that separates humanity from the spiritual brothers in space. The physicist Ren Boos makes a remarkable discovery. He wants to create an instant connection to distant stars by means of an energy beam. But the detection is dangerous and requires the energy of the entire earth. Due to the high risk, the experiment was refused. Despite the ban, Mwen Mass Ren Boss made the experiment possible. The experiment ends in a catastrophe. Although a connection seems to be successful for a few moments, there is a huge explosion. Ren Boos is badly wounded, the orbital station destroyed, the volunteers taking part in the experiment are killed. Mwen Mass regrets his behavior and voluntarily goes into exile on the island of oblivion - a refuge for those who want to escape society.

Together with her friend, the psychiatrist Ewda Nal, Weda Kong visits her daughter at school and talks about the successes of future education. The Tantra has since returned to Earth. At the meeting of the Council for Astronautics, the actions of Mwen Mass are to be assessed and the results of the space flight presented. After a controversial discussion, the council comes to the following conclusion: Although Mwen Mass has incurred serious guilt, his goal is recognized and he is rehabilitated .

Weda Kong has discovered an underground warehouse with products, machines and technical documentation from earlier (present-day) times. But a locked steel door prevents access to other rooms. When you try to open it, the warehouse partially collapses.

In the meantime Erg Noor is preparing a new space mission, from which he will not return because of the very great distance to the target planet. He says goodbye to Weda Kong forever and starts with the now recovered Nisa Krit. At the same time, the earth receives a new radio broadcast, a message from the Andromeda Nebula: the unknown plate ship most likely came from this galaxy. Those who stayed behind decide together to convey this message to Erg Noor and his companions.

expenditure

  • Ivan Yefremov: The girl from space. Scientific and fantastic novel. Translated by Heinz Lorenz from the abridged preprint from 1957. Verlag Kultur und Progress, Berlin (East) 1958
  • Ivan Yefremov: The girl from space. Scientific and fantastic novel. Translated by Heinz Lorenz and Dieter Pommerenke. Verlag Kultur und Progress, Berlin (East) 1965 (unabridged edition, translated from the complete edition from 1958; published again in 1967 for Buchclub 65 and 1982 by Verlag Volk und Welt)
  • Ivan A. Yefremov: Andromeda Nebula (Tumannost 'Andromedy). Science fiction novel. First unabridged German edition in new translation. Heyne-Verlag 06/19, 1983, ISBN 3-453-30907-3 .
    Note: The information about the imprint is incorrect. This is not the first unabridged German edition (it was published in 1965 by Verlag Kultur und Progress, see previous list entry), but a new translation of the complete edition from 1958 by Annemarie Kienpointner.

filming

The novel was filmed in 1967 in the USSR under the title Andromedanebel ( Tumannost Andromedy ) by Yevgeni Sherstobitov , with Sergei Stolyarov as Dar Veter and Vija Artmane as Veda Kong.