Kir Bulychev’s "Pass," a summary Automatic translate

This 1980 science fiction novella tells the story of the survival of Earth colonists on a wild, hostile planet after the crash of the research spacecraft "Polus." The most important detail of this text is its profound socio-philosophical subtext: the author explores the inevitable cultural regression of a human community in complete isolation from civilization. The novella was successfully adapted into a cult animated film of the same name in 1988, directed by Vladimir Tarasov. This work opens the well-known science fiction trilogy or cycle about the village, which also includes the novellas "Beyond the Hut" and "The Village" (of which "The Pass" became the first part).

Life in isolation

A bleak atmosphere pervades a small human settlement lost in an alien forest. Sixteen years ago, a ship crashed here, and the thirty-six surviving adults founded a settlement, trying to cling to the brink of destruction. Now, just over twenty remain, along with the children born here. The local environment is extremely dangerous: predatory vines, aggressive jackals, poisonous mold, and treacherous tumbleweeds that leave wounds on faces. Young Oleg prepares for a arduous trek across a mountain pass to the abandoned ship. At night, he guarded the barns from predators, and in the morning, his mother, Irina, begins to cry over old Earth photographs, refusing to let her son go to certain death.

Meanwhile, Oleg’s peer, Maryana, goes to the gorge to pick mushrooms with Dick, a strong, confident young man who has grown up to be a natural hunter. In the forest, Maryana attempts to pick an unusual purple flower but is attacked by tumbleweeds. Dick saves her by shielding her with his body, but Maryana’s face is cut with thin needles. Returning home, the young couple are pursued by a pack of jackals.

A fight in a forest clearing

In the village, the bald and ailing Thomas, who is on guard duty at the fence, notices unusual daytime activity among the predators. A human scream is heard from the forest. Thomas sounds the alarm, blowing a deafening whistle that can be heard throughout the village. The village men, armed with crossbows and bows, rush to help. They are joined by the colorful Aunt Louise, armed with a cleaver and a burning brand. She strikes terror even into the local flora.

In a forest clearing, the rescuers encounter a dramatic scene: Maryana pressed against the trunk of a pulsating pine tree, and Dick desperately fending off a huge gray-haired jackal with a knife. The remaining predators sit in a circle, awaiting their turn. Thomas kills the leader with a precise shot, and Sergeyev and Aunt Louise put the rest of the pack to flight. Dick, wounded, is sent to the house of Egle, the wife of the ailing Vaitkus. There, the wounded man is given healing poultices, and Maryana is consoled with sweet jelly made from marsh sedge. The older generation begins their usual argument about the fate of the colony. Thomas insists that the expedition is necessary right now, as an unusually warm summer has arrived, and the children have grown resilient. Vaitkus, from his bunk, sadly remarks that without an injection of earthly knowledge, the people will completely go wild.

Disputes about the future

Oleg visits Kristina and her gravely ill adopted daughter, Liz, in the penultimate hut. Kristina, once a prominent terrestrial astronomer, has been blinded by tumbleweed sap and constantly grumbles in the darkness about the lack of oil for her lamp. Liz, who has feelings for Oleg, begs him to stay, declaring a terrible premonition, but the young man is adamant.

Then Oleg visits the Old Man, Boris, a one-armed teacher who lost his limb on his first expedition to the pass. The Old Man carefully keeps an old microscope, missing its main lens, on a shelf, protecting it from the attacks of Sergeyev, who dreamed of turning the tube into knives. Boris develops a theory of social regression for Oleg. He cites the historical example of Greenland, where a Viking colony, having lost contact with their homeland, gradually degenerated and disappeared. The Old Man admits that he fears a future where Dick the Hunter, who only knows how to immerse himself in nature and has forgotten his ABCs, will rule. Oleg’s mother values a piece of bread over pineapples, but Boris is certain that to survive at the cost of losing knowledge is to surrender.

The beginning of a dangerous path

After lunch, the four travelers — Thomas, Dick, Oleg, and Maryana — gather at the gate. The entire population comes to see them off. Oleg takes a map drawn on a scrap of priceless paper and a faulty radiation meter. Passing the cemetery, where over sixteen years the number of graves has outnumbered the living, the group ventures deeper into the sticky, treacherous undergrowth.

By dusk, they reach the cliffs. Along the way, the party encounters a strange white spot, which Maryana inadvertently cuts with a knife. The spot turns out to be a gigantic organism that swells and blooms into a huge petaled flower. Thomas calls the creature a fly agaric. The travelers spend the night in a cave, covering the entrance with a curtain of fish skins. A wild, hairy creature with a bony crest nestles near their fire — the local equivalent of the goat Maryana once tried to tame in the village. That night, a strange, pimply pink mass looms near the tent, emitting an acidic odor. Dick, waking, drives the creature away with a precise crossbow shot while Oleg remains stupefied.

Tragedy in the mountains

In the morning, the detachment discovers the valley covered in snow. Dick is displeased with Thomas’s weakness and suggests sending him back, but Oleg defends his leader. Thomas shows Oleg the map, coughing from developing pneumonia. The goat, which Maryana had been feeding dried mushrooms, devours the entire sack containing food supplies and dried meat during the night. Dick becomes enraged, threatening to kill the animal, but Thomas orders them to move on.

In the gorge, the travelers find Vaitkus’s flask containing the remains of cognac and some empty tin cans. Dick takes a large swig of firewater, severely burning his throat. Reaching a snowy plateau, the detachment sets up camp. That night, Oleg is bitten by a snow flea — a tiny insect whose bite causes temporary madness and rage. The young man asks to be tied up with ropes before the poison reaches his brain. Early in the morning, the goat escapes, and Dick, carrying a crossbow, follows its tracks down. Maryana, fearing that the hunter will kill the animal, runs after him, leaving the sick men alone. Bound, Oleg, in a fit of madness, begins to thrash and rolls toward the cliff. The ailing Tomas crawls through the snow, trying to hold on to him, and falls into the gorge. Maryana returns to find Oleg alive, and Tomas dead on the rocks.

The long-awaited "Pole"

Dick returns without the goat, but maintains his composure. He declares that Thomas would have died anyway and suggests turning back. However, Oleg and Maryana take the map, the dead man’s knife, and the device. They stubbornly continue upward. Dick catches up with them and leads the group again. At night, the clouds part, and the young people see a stunning starry sky for the first time.

The next day, having crossed the glacier, the exhausted teenagers reach the pass. A snow-covered basin opens before them, at the center of which lies the enormous disk of the research ship "Pole." Descending, they find an emergency ladder. Oleg uses a knife to open the jammed hatch, sliding it sideways. Inside the ship, the eternal cold reigns, but the corridors are illuminated by an autonomous greenish glow. The teenagers stumble upon warehouses, where they feast on condensed milk and sprats from sealed cans.

Voice of a distant Earth

Oleg sets off to look for his forty-fourth cabin. There he finds a crib with its rattle, his mother’s robe, a copy of Dostoevsky’s "Demons," and his father’s uniform with gold stripes. The young man dons the uniform, which almost fits him. In his father’s desk, he discovers a notebook with blank paper and his greatest treasure — a functioning blaster.

Climbing into the radio compartment, Oleg retrieves the communications manuals. Suddenly, he notices a flickering green light. Turning the handle, the young man hears a quiet automatic signal coming from the grate: "This is Earth speaking… This is Earth speaking…" The radio is not transmitting, but this voice forever connects Oleg to the future. Stepping outside, Oleg uses his blaster to kill a huge, furry white lizard that was trying to tear apart the snowdrift containing the tent where Dick and Maryana were sleeping. Loading the ladder-sled with food, medicine, and equipment, the three triumphant warriors set off on their return journey. In a ravine, they encounter an emaciated goat who has given birth to three fluffy kids. The happy teenagers return to their home village, bringing with them the hope of salvation and the return of human culture.