The experiment (Strugazki)

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The experiment (OT: Russian обреченный Град , transcribed degree obretschennij ) is a science fiction - novel by Strugatsky Brothers . It was written between 1969 and 1975, but could not be published until 1989.

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Plot and style

The novel is about the inhabitants of a city that is the setting of a strange experiment of an unknown kind. Andrej Voronin, a voluntary participant, lives there and seeks to spread his ideologically imposed categories of thought - the examination of which is ultimately abstracted to the question of the meaning of life. But that is difficult in this place, because “the experiment is the experiment” and is the reason for many obscure occurrences. So the city is overrun by baboons for no apparent reason ; the sun (or what serves as the sun) is switched off in the evening and switched on again in the morning to create an artificial day / night cycle - but it can also happen that the sun remains switched off for 14 days; the red building appears out of nowhere every evening and disappears again early in the morning - once after a virtual game of chess . A seemingly endlessly high and therefore insurmountable yellow wall and the like stretches across the country .

However, the origin of the volunteer participants in the experiment is even more mysterious. These come not only from different countries, but also from different time periods. Nevertheless, normal verbal communication is possible: apparently everyone speaks the other's native language. The main character Andrej Voronin, for example, is a Russian stellar astronomer from the 1950s, while his friend Fritz Geiger is a German Wehrmacht sergeant who joined the experiment shortly after the Second World War . Other people come from the 60s and 70s. One of the rules of the experiment is the permanent, random professional rotation of all citizens, across social classes, from plumbers to the highest positions of power. A personal "mentor" (similar to the character "Kamillo" in " The distant rainbow " by A. and B. Strugazki) with a peculiar way of speaking and manners surprises Andrej at turning points in the story, but usually only causes further confusion.

At the beginning of the novel, the main character Andrej is still a simple garbage collector, but afterwards he first becomes a detective and later the editor-in-chief of a newspaper. After a putsch by Fritz Geiger and his supporters, which deposed the mayor and the old hierarchy and became president, Andrej also rose further in the social hierarchy and became one of the advisors to President Geiger (quasi research minister). Finally, a dangerous scientific expedition to the unknown north begins, which he leads as leader. Only he and a close friend remain and torment their way through infinite deserts, and the reader is faced with an analysis of the universe , of creation or of civilization ; A symbol for this is an architecturally variable, never finished tower or temple, analogous to the great changes in culture and the far-reaching individual contribution of a person. The people present themselves as architects or workers, priests or pilgrims . Although there are regrets, this construction turns out to be indestructible. After a short stay in an oasis , or even the Garden of Eden - which is only mentioned in retrospect, almost hallucinatory - the hikers move on voluntarily. On the last pages, possibly in the afterlife or a death fantasy, the mentor has the last word, and Andrej has described the first ontological circle ...

"The Experiment" is an intellectual book that deals almost exclusively with political, ideological or historical-philosophical reflections of Andrej. Nevertheless, the plot moves forward, and idyllic moments develop. As you read it, it quickly becomes clear that these are just hypothetical questions, ideas or images that cannot be decided.

See also

Others

  • ISBN 3-453-21529-X
  • The book was also sold under the title City of the Damned , while a literal translation of the original title would be something like The Damned City .
  • A text version, which was supplemented by Erik Simon after the uncensored and uncensored original version, appeared in the six-volume work edition in 2010: Arkadi and Boris Strugatzki, work edition. Volume 2 , ISBN 978-3-453-52631-0 , pp. 391-857.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Afterword by Boris Strugatzki in the German edition of Das Experiment . ISBN 3-453-21529-X
  2. ↑ Cf. Arkadi and Boris Strugatzki, work edition. Volume 2 , ISBN 978-3-453-52631-0 , p. 873