Contract () is a 1985

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

animation based on the short science fiction story ''Company Store'' (1958) by

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is a prolific American science fiction author and editor. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo Award, Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a SFWA Grand ...

and directed by

Vladimir Tarasov Vladimir Ilich Tarasov (; born 7 February 1939 in Moscow) is a Russian animator and animation director. He is best known for his Soviet-era science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of specula ...

. The song I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby is used in the animation.

Plot

A colonist arrives on a deserted planet and is immediately attacked by various monsters. Moments before the colonist meets his death, a protective field is activated by the trading robot QBF-41. It turns out that the monsters are merely a ploy used by the robot. Using the ''mass transmitter'' (a device that creates "everything necessary for life" for free), the colonist orders shaving razors which arrives at a huge shipping cost. It turns out that ''luxuries'' do not fall under the umbrella of the necessities of life. However QBF-41 offers a sample tube of shaving cream free of charge. The colonist asks to pay for it and it turns out he has no right to use the services of a competing firm. The robot also receives a similar warning and is deactivated. The colonist is then deprived from food and the mass transmitter. The colonist uses batteries from his life supplies to reactivate the robot, and together they are left alone on the surface of a lifeless planet.

Bibliography

External links

* *
The text of the short story
at the Moshkov library * * * Films directed by Vladimir Tarasov Russian and Soviet animated science fiction films 1985 films 1980s Russian-language films Films based on short fiction Soyuzmultfilm Soviet animated short films 1980s Soviet films 1985 animated short films {{1980s-USSR-film-stub