Space Mowgli

Plot summary

The novel describes the 'Ark Project' of the year 2160 and the first (and last) contact with the Ark megaforms. The story begins as the members of ER-2 go on a routine exploration mission while Popov is left behind to oversee construction of a permanent base. Suddenly, construction robots malfunction and leave the site; within a few hours, Popov locates them and fixes them. Popov then hears a human baby crying, but it stops suddenly; since infants are not allowed to leave Earth, he assumes he hallucinated.

He later hears a female voice pleading for help from somebody named Shura, but again cannot locate the source. Meanwhile, the exploration party discovers the wreckage of an Earth spaceship and the remains of its two pilots. That night, the ER-2 members begin exhibiting symptoms of psychosis; Popov is the most heavily affected but does not tell the others, fearing recall to Earth. At breakfast the following morning, a figure of a 13-year-old human boy appears on the base.

Popov ignores it, assuming another hallucination, but the others see the boy too; they try to follow him but he quickly leaves. The team sends a report to the orbital base and receives a reply from Leonid Gorbovsky, changing their mission to establish contact with a possible alien race. Another message identifies the wreckage as the spaceship Pilgrim, with pilots Alexander (which may be shortened to Shura in Russian) Semyonov and his wife Maria-Luisa Semyonova; their then newborn child Piere Semyonov was also on board 13 years ago.

The ER-2 members assume the boy is Piere Semyonov. Komov leaves to scout, but Piere soon comes to the base himself, trying to communicate but not being understood. The Kid (the official nickname for Piere) behaves unconventionally, leading the humans to assume he was raised by the local alien race. Giant, segmented, insect-like antennae rise over a distant mountain range; the creatures are called Ark megaforms.

The megaforms use The Kid as their negotiator, wanting the humans to leave. The Kid visits several times, allowing study in exchange for promising to leave, but communication is difficult due to his mix of human and alien psychology. The humans give The Kid a portable video transmitter without telling him its function, hoping to track him. Via the transmitter, they see him walk to the Pilgrim wreckage, levitate to a distant canyon, and proceed into the planet's interior.

Maya Glumova turns on an emergency flashlight built into the transmitter, and the transmission stops; it is disputed if she did it on purpose, but Komov takes full responsibility. Gorbovsky tells Komov that humans will likely be unable to contact the Ark megaforms because they are a closed civilization. Gorbovsky informs Komov that an ancient satellite was discovered orbiting Ark, built by the wanderers and programmed to destroy approaching spaceships; it apparently shot down the Pilgrim 13 years ago.

In the epilogue, Popov talks to The Kid over the video transmitter. The humans decide to evacuate Ark, so the only remaining contact is through The Kid. Komov, some teammates, and Piere's grandfather are allowed to talk to him, on condition they avoid themes related to the Ark megaforms. The novel does not mention whether the 'Ark Project' was ever concluded.

Publication history

The brothers Strugatsky conceived the idea for the novel in 1970. The working book title was 'Operation MOWGLI', though it was eventually published under the title Kid. Boris Strugatsky admitted that the brothers did not like the title, which was chosen by the publisher's wishes. The novel was written in the same year and is one of a series of books set in the Noon Universe.

The novel was published the year after in the journal Aurora. The English translation was included in a single volume entitled Escape Attempt with the other Noon universe stories Escape Attempt and The Kid from Hell. In the process of creating a 12 volume collection of the works by the brothers (via Publisher Stalker, in the year 2000), Boris Strugatsky gave legal permission for the dates to be changed in the novel. As such, the dates 20th, 231st, 233rd and 234th years became 34th, 144th, 147th, 148th years.