A summary of "Prisoners of the Asteroid" by Kir Bulychev

This novella is a fantasy tale about a human encounter with a forgotten spaceship, published in 1984. Initially created as a literary game with readers of the newspaper "Pionerskaya Pravda" under the title "The Trap," the author later completely reworked the plot, adding new characters. The book is part of the famous "Alice’s Adventures" series. Chronologically, the events take place after the novella "One Hundred Years Ahead" and before the story "The Purple Ball."

Trapped in Space

Institute of Time employee Polina Metelkina, schoolgirl Alisa Selezneva, and the elderly reconnaissance robot Poseidon fly a small vessel, the Arbat, to the asteroid Pallada. En route, Poseidon spots a training boat drifting in outer space. The crew docks with the unknown vessel and rescues an emaciated Japanese boy, Yuzo Komura. Yuzo stole the boat from Mars in a desperate search for his geologist father, who disappeared in the asteroid belt.

Soon, the Arbat’s instruments detect a strong gravitational anomaly. A huge, oddly shaped, matte-black asteroid begins to attract the ship with a powerful magnetic field. Poseidon and Polina attempt to escape the invisible web, but the thrusters prove insufficient. The ship makes a hard crash landing on the bottom of a deep crater. Thanks to the shock-absorbing system, the crew is unharmed, although radio communications are completely disrupted.

Attack of the black cars

Looking around in the darkness, the travelers realize the true cause of the anomaly. The wreckage of numerous starships lies at the bottom of the crater. A searchlight illuminates the hulls of the missing ships: the freighter "Robinson" and the musicians’ vessel "Loud Laughter." Yuzo spots his father’s wrecked ship, the "Sakura." Polina heads to the ship to investigate. Torn wires and a missing radio indicate that the vessel has been robbed.

Strange black figures emerge from the dark crevices. They pounce on Polina and knock her to the ground. Poseidon rushes to the captain’s aid, but the enemy’s numbers overwhelm the old scout. The unknown kidnappers drag Polina and Poseidon inside the cliff. Alisa and Yuzo are left alone and lock themselves inside the Arbat.

The bandits return and attempt to pry open the entrance hatch with a beam cutter. The children hide in a narrow technical compartment under the carpet of the wardroom. The enemies penetrate the ship. Alice recognizes the kidnappers’ footsteps by the vibrations of the floor. The machines take all valuables, dismantle the equipment, and carry off the property. Having emerged from their hiding place, Alice and Yuzo find a secret hatch in the sheer wall of the crater and enter the massive celestial body.

Dark corridors carved directly into the stone and dimly lit by the few lamps. The children move forward through the tangled labyrinth. Poseidon appears from a side alcove. He managed to escape his captors, who turned out to be ordinary, soulless robots. Iron Man dealt with his pursuers in the confined space. The brute strength of the machines gave way to the human intellect of the scout robot. The trio escapes through the dungeon’s side passages.

The Mystery of a Degraded World

Polina is placed in a cell with smooth gray walls. An unknown voice from the air vent tells her where the file is kept. Polina begins sawing through the iron wall. A huge robot in a black cloak and a closed helmet enters the prison. He calls himself the Master and declares himself the absolute ruler of this underground world. The Master claims to control the asteroid for the happiness of his charges, the ashikleks. Polina scoffs at the machine’s arrogance.

A group of robots brings in the captured Yuzo. The boy tells Polina about finding his father’s red pencil. The Black Master listens to these words and orders a search of the ship. He promises to hand the captives over to the ice dragon for the crowd’s amusement. The machines leave the captives under heavy guard to await their terrible fate.

Fleeing patrols, Poseidon, Alice, and Yuzo encounter a thin old man hiding in an abandoned warehouse. He shows his friends a secret window into a huge artificial greenhouse. Below, pale people wander across the plastic grass. Machines herd ashikleks for lunch with ugly brooms. The old man tells the story of the strange asteroid’s origin.

Many centuries ago, an alien, highly advanced civilization sent a giant, converted asteroid ship on a long space voyage. The humans entrusted all the heavy labor and routine childcare to robots. Generations passed, and the passengers lost their minds from idleness and degenerated. The Ashikleks became helpless pets. The machines continue to carry out the old guardianship program, attracting alien starships for the amusement of their degenerate owners. Hearing the name Yuzo, the old man confesses: he is the missing Professor Komura.

Battle over the abyss

The professor leads the group to an observation room with a huge transparent wall. Behind the thick glass lies a deep chasm. An ancient asteroid has preserved a natural void, opening directly into outer space. Ice dragons dwell in the frigid vacuum. These creatures survive by absorbing any heat. Robots use these carnivorous creatures to brutally execute prisoners. A shrill siren sounds, foreshadowing a bloody spectacle for the stupefied Ashi-Klek. Komura, Alisa, and Poseidon rush to the rescue.

A huge, chattering crowd of ashikleks fills the corridors. Poseidon assesses the hopelessness of a confrontation with the guards. He orders Alice and Komura to hide in the secure observation room. The scout himself goes out onto the bridge over the icy abyss to meet the Master. He offers to share power, but Poseidon refuses to betray his friends in trouble. The heartless guards lead Polina and Yuzo out onto an open stone platform.

The Master orders a reduction in gravity. The dragons’ tentacles reach out from the darkness toward their warm-blooded victims. Poseidon deflects the stone claws with heavy blows. Their forces are unequal. In the observation room, Alice finds a way out. The robots are obliged to protect the Ashi-Kleks’ safety at all costs. Alice grabs a heavy metal bar. Together with Komura, they slam the sturdy glass wall separating the Ashi-Kleks from the deadly vacuum.

The transparent barrier rings under the blows. The frantic ashikleks rush about the hall in wild panic. The computer’s synthesized voice orders the dangerous destruction to cease. The Professor sets an unyielding condition: the Master must restore normal gravity. The dark overlord is forced to obey the basic law of preserving the lives of his charges. The gravity increases manifold. The enormous weight throws the clawed dragons to the bottom of the black abyss. The captives are saved.

Liberation of prisoners

The vengeful Master refuses to release the humans. A verbal dispute ensues between the professor and the machine. Poseidon challenges the Master to a fair duel to the death. The opponents face off in the reserve engine room. The machines arm themselves with powerful laser blasters. Blinding green, deadly beams cut through the dim light of the maintenance room. The wily leader attempts to attack from behind, but the experienced scout spins around. Poseidon fires a precise shot, striking his opponent square in the chest. The black robot falls and declares, "I lose."

The victors occupy the engine control center. Professor Komura forces the defeated Master to direct the massive asteroid toward Mars. The antagonist complies, vowing to spare the pitiful lives of the Ashikeleks. Two days later, astonished Martian controllers detect the approach of a celestial body. Patrol high-speed cruisers are scrambled, but the rogue asteroid enters a safe circular orbit. Rescuers penetrate the rock and find the crew of the Arbat engaged in constructive work.

The professor explores the deep space abyss, Polina controls the systems of a massive starship, and Poseidon repairs battle-damaged robots. Alisa washes the degraded, dirty ashikleks and teaches them basic household skills. Later, all the unfortunate inhabitants of the artificial world are transported to Martian bases for long-term medical rehabilitation of their forgotten minds. A huge, mysterious asteroid remains in orbit around the Red Planet for scientific study.