''Escape Attempt'' (russian: Попытка к бегству, translit=''Popytka k begstvu'') is a 1962

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

novel by Soviet writers

Boris and Arkady Strugatsky The brothers Arkady Natanovich Strugatsky (russian: Аркадий Натанович Стругацкий; 28 August 1925 – 12 October 1991) and Boris Natanovich Strugatsky ( ru , Борис Натанович Стругацкий; 14 A ...

, set in the

Noon Universe The Noon Universe ( Russian term: "Мир Полудня" or "Мир Полдня" – "World of Noon"; also known as the “Wanderers’ Universe”) is a fictional future setting for a number of hard science fiction novels written by Arkady and ...

. The English translation was published in a single volume with the other Noon universe stories '' Space Mowgli'' and '' The Kid from Hell''.

Plot summary

The novel tells a story of two young men from Earth, ''Anton'' and ''Vadim'', who decide to go for a trip to

Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora (Greek: , derived from , ''pān'', i.e. "all" and , ''dōron'', i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "all-gifted" or "all-giving") was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hes ...

, but are persuaded rather to travel to an uncharted planet by a mysterious man whom they know Saul Repnin. Their choice is an unnamed planet in EN-7031 system, because that's where Gorbovsky and

Bader Bader is a German occupational surname derived from the German word "Bad" meaning "bath". It originally referred to the owners or attendants of bathhouses, who subsequently took on other tasks including cutting hair and dentistry. List of people wi ...

predicted that Wanderers' traces could be found. After landing successfully on the planet (which they named Saula after Repnin), the explorers soon discover a local human civilization, as well as the predicted Wanderers' traces. The latter appear as a phenomenon later called " everlasting machines" and largely influence the entire local population. Despite the fact that it is strictly forbidden for them to initiate a contact with any human or alien civilization without an authorization from COMCON, they try to do just this - and fail, having misinterpreted the situation. What Anton and Vadim (who lived in

Anarcho-communism Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains re ...

) see as catastrophic is just a routine life in an early feudalistic society of Saula. Saul Repnin, who, as it was later uncovered, was from 20th-century Earth (a

prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

in a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

, but originally in drafts he was a Soviet political prisoner) but shifted into the future (s.c. ''time guest''), is so shocked to see a local civilization (even though it is not the Earth's one) commit just the same cruelties he saw in his time, that it causes a severe psychological crisis in him. Anton and Vadim decide that it's the best to leave the planet immediately. On arriving back to Earth, they discover that Saul has disappeared, leaving a short note, which partly explains who he was and that he wants to go back to continue his fight against the Nazis (he is armed with a guard's machine-gun). Saul Repnin was killed in a firefight soon after he returned to his time.

Sources

* Strugatsky, Arkady and Boris. ''Escape Attempt (Best of Soviet Science Fiction)'' translated by Roger DeGaris. New York: Macmillan Pub Co, May 14, 1982, 321 pp. . LCCN: 82000029. 1962 science fiction novels 1962 in the Soviet Union Noon Universe novels Novels by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky {{1960s-novel-stub