"Ariel" by Alexander Belyaev, summary Automatic translate

The novel, written in 1941, tells the story of a young man who, as a result of a physics experiment, gains the gift of levitation — the ability to fly without the aid of machinery. This newfound gift turns the hero into a target for selfish schemes, forcing him to seek freedom far from European civilization.

Life in a Madras school

The novel begins in India. A young man named Ariel lives at the Dandarat School in Madras. The school’s directors, Englishmen Pierce and Brownlow, operate the institution in strict secrecy. They employ brutal educational methods, mass hypnosis, and psychological pressure. The students are trained to obey without question. The children are trained to become false clairvoyants, magicians, and religious prophets.

Ariel’s real name is Aurelius Galton. He comes from a wealthy English aristocratic family. Aurelius’s guardians, London lawyers Boden and Heslon, illegally sent the boy to India. Their motives are purely selfish. They want to drive the heir to a vast fortune to the point of complete insanity so they can easily seize his fortune.

Ariel secretly maintains his sanity. He helps his younger friend, a little boy named Sharad, survive. Together, they endure harsh punishments from the guards. Soon, Pierce forces Ariel to participate in a new ambitious project. English biologist Charles Hyde, working in Dandarat, conducts a complex scientific experiment on the young man.

A scientist injects Ariel with special radioactive substances. The young man gains the unique ability to control the Brownian motion of his body’s molecules. Ariel begins to fly, freely defying gravity. Pierce plans to exploit Ariel’s levitation for political purposes, strengthening the influence of the colonial authorities. The director threatens the young man with a painful death for any attempt to escape.

Escape and new friends

Ariel refuses to obey Pierce. On a dark, stormy night, the young man takes Sharad with him and flies out the roof hatch. They fly through a heavy rain and find refuge in an Indian village. An old pariah farmer, Nizmat, and his granddaughter, Lolita, mistake the flying man for the ancient deity Vishnu.

Ariel develops a genuine affinity for these kind and simple people. He helps the peasants, bringing them fresh fruit from the jungle. Lolita falls in love with Ariel. But an accident disrupts the fugitives’ peaceful life: Ariel saves a three-year-old child from drowning in a deep well.

The rescued boy turns out to be the son of Mohita, the chief adviser to the Indian ruler, Raja Rajkumar. This bold act attracts the ruler’s attention. The Rajah’s servants throw ropes around the boy and take him captive. In the Rajah’s palace, Ariel becomes a living toy. The Rajah holds him fast with a strong gold chain.

Prisoner of Raja Rajkumar

The ruler forces the young man to perform various aerial stunts in front of distinguished guests. Ariel flies beneath the vaults of richly decorated halls and soars to the tops of the palace domes. The rajah’s wife, the kind Shyama, shows genuine sympathy for the captive. The court intriguer Mohita becomes intensely jealous of the raja’s new favorite.

Mohita hatches devious plans. He vilely slanders Ariel and Shyama. Blinded by jealousy, the ruler orders the youth’s immediate execution. Servants sew Ariel into a worn-out sack, tie him to heavy stones, and throw him into a deep well. The flying man miraculously frees himself from the ropes.

Ariel escapes the trap through an old underground ventilation shaft. Exhausted, Ariel collapses on a country road. Meanwhile, Ariel’s London guardians and his sister, Jane Galton, arrive in India. They are searching for the runaway heir. Lawyer Dothaller convinces Jane to take control of the estate.

Meeting with my sister and wanderings

The English drive along the road and find Ariel unconscious. Lolita watches from a distance as the strangers take the young man away. Ariel regains consciousness in a hotel room and notices Pierce and his relatives. Jane is deeply disgusted by her brother’s unusual gift. She demands that Ariel hide his ability from society forever.

Ariel refuses to return to captivity. He flies out an open window and quickly escapes his pursuers, disappearing into the blue sky. After a brutal mid-air battle with a huge eagle and escaping a powerful tropical cyclone, Ariel settles in a ruined forest temple.

He lives alone among wild monkeys and parrots. Soon, loneliness forces him to return to humanity. He ends up in the home of an English missionary, Pastor Kingsley. The pastor decides to pass off Ariel’s abilities as a genuine Christian miracle. The young man is given the fictitious name Binoy.

He demonstrates levitation in front of parishioners at a local church. Crowds of fanatical people flock to the temple. Kingsley fabricates reports of successful missionary work and prepares for an imminent departure for England. Soon, the directors of the American circus trust, Chatfield and Grigg, arrive in the Indian city.

Miracle worker and circus performer

The Americans offer Ariel a lucrative contract. The young man agrees to leave for the United States to finally escape Pierce’s persecution. Before leaving, Ariel stages a false ascension to heaven. Rising above the crowd of believers, he loudly advertises an American circus show. Pastor Kingsley suffers a humiliating defeat.

Ariel then finds Pierce in the courtyard of Dandarat. The young man forcibly lifts Pierce into the air and forces him to reveal the secret of his origins in the presence of Grigg. Ariel learns the true identities of his family. He visits Lolita and the ailing Nizmat. Ariel leaves money for his poor friends, bids a warm farewell to Sharad, and promises to return.

In America, Ariel performs under the circus name Bina. Circus directors strictly conceal Ariel’s ability to levitate. The young man easily defeats world champions in running and high jumping. He secretly uses levitation, astonishing spectators with his unprecedented athletic records.

The circus operators are reaping enormous profits. Ariel becomes a worldwide celebrity. He generously sends money to Lolita, Charade, and the poor circus workers. Jane recognizes her brother and finds him in America. She categorically demands that the circus performances cease immediately. Jane considers Ariel’s behavior an indelible disgrace to the ancient aristocratic Galton family.

Ariel refuses to break the contract he signed. Soon, a young American woman, Mrs. Warrender, tearfully begs Ariel to save her kidnapped son, Sam. The young man flies to the designated window on the ninety-third floor of a New York skyscraper. In the apartment, he discovers the child’s real parents.

Ariel realizes that the gangsters have cunningly tricked him into attempting to kidnap the boy. The gangsters planned to make the flying man an accomplice to a serious crime, thereby completely subordinating him to their criminal will. Ariel deduces the plan in time and safely escapes the dangerous trap. Tired of the intrigues of American society, he agrees to leave for London with his sister.

Disappointment in London

English high society brings Ariel only bitterness and deep disappointment. He witnesses with his own eyes the falsehood and hypocrisy of the titled aristocrats. The young man visits the Galton brickyards and observes the appalling poverty of the hired workers. On the day of his coming of age, Ariel comes into open conflict with Jane’s arrogant guests.

He angrily defends the human dignity of ordinary workers. His sister is indescribably furious. She threatens to commit her brother to a closed correctional facility and leave him destitute. The young man calmly listens to his sister, gathers his bare necessities, and leaves the luxurious mansion forever.

At night, in the thick London fog, he reaches the seaport. Ariel buys a third-class ticket to Madras. The ocean liner slowly pulls away from the pier. The ship carries Ariel forever to the shores of distant India, to meet long-awaited freedom and his most loyal friends.