Mikhail Bulgakov’s "Fatal Eggs," a summary Automatic translate

The story, written in 1924, is a poignant social science fiction novel that describes the consequences of administrative interference in the laws of nature. A fantastic discovery capable of accelerating biological processes collides with the ignorance of the state apparatus. A scientist’s unique invention falls into the hands of an amateur, triggering a massive tragedy.

Opening within the walls of the institute

The events unfold in the spring of 1928. Vladimir Ipatyevich Persikov, a professor of zoology at the Fourth State University, is staying late in his office on Herzen Street. The 58-year-old scientist is known for his immense erudition and short temper. While observing common amoebas through a microscope, the zoologist shifts the lens. At that moment, his assistant, Pyotr Stepanovich Ivanov, calls him away.

Returning to the device, Persikov notices a strange red beam. This colored beam of light emerges from the swirl, resembling the tip of a needle. The amoebas caught in the illuminated zone change. The organisms begin to reproduce rapidly. They become large and aggressive. New generations appear in seconds. The strongest specimens tear apart and devour their weaker relatives right before the stunned zoologist’s eyes. The amoebas’ pseudopods extend, working like the tentacles of an octopus.

Persikov locks himself in his office, forgetting about sleep and food. For several days, he studies the nature of the mysterious phenomenon. Later, Ivanov helps build special cameras. A system of optical lenses allows this beam to be magnified outside of a microscope. The scientists irradiate tree frog eggs. After two days, thousands of tadpoles hatch from the eggs. They quickly grow into adult amphibians. The frogs are known for their voracious appetite. The office fills with the howling choruses of the amphibians. Assistant Ivanov delightedly declares that Persikov has discovered the ray of life.

Newspaper hype and chicken death

Rumors leak beyond the laboratory. Reporter Alfred Bronsky infiltrates the institute. The journalist peppers Persikov with questions about chicken diseases. Bronsky distorts the zoologist’s answers, publishing a sensational report about the discovery of the century. Wild rumors begin to swirl throughout the capital. A suspicious, monocled foreigner approaches Persikov. He offers 5,000 rubles in cash for the blueprints of an experimental chamber. The enraged scientist shamefully throws the visitor out, demanding he throw out his forgotten galoshes. Soon, agents of the political administration arrive at the zoologist’s home and place the institute under 24-hour guard.

Meanwhile, an unprecedented disease breaks out in the republic. The outbreak begins in the small town of Steklovsk. A beloved chicken in the poultry yard of the widow Drozdova falls ill. The bird vomits blood, falls on its back, and dies. The infection spreads rapidly, decimating poultry throughout the region. The epidemic reaches Moscow.

The government takes emergency measures. A commission is created to combat the bird disease. The sale of eggs and chicken meat is banned on the streets. Restaurants remove omelets from their menus. Chickens are dying out completely across the country. Persikov is called into committee meetings, taking time away from his camera experiments.

The intervention of Alexander Rocca

In July, the chicken plague ends. Persikov returns to work. He plans large-scale experiments with reptile eggs and orders shipments of snakes, crocodiles, and ostriches from abroad. He waits for the shipment for several months, languishing with impatience.

A strange man in an old-fashioned leather jacket shows up at the institute. It’s Alexander Semenovich Rokk, a former flutist. He now manages the Krasny Luch demonstration farm in the Smolensk province. Rokk presents an official document from the Kremlin. The document orders the seizure of Persikov’s devices for the urgent restoration of poultry farming. Rokk is confident he can hatch millions of chickens from imported eggs using irradiation.

The professor protests. He shouts furiously, warning about the unpredictability of the experiments. Persikov declares that the beam is completely unstudied. The scientist is forced to obey the high order. Rocca’s men take three large chambers to the former Sheremetev estate, leaving the zoologist with only a small apparatus.

Tragedy in Smolensk province

Wooden crates of eggs are delivered to the state farm. Their surfaces are covered in strange patterns and dirt. Rokk unpacks the cargo in a spacious former greenhouse. The farm manager loads the eggs into the chambers and turns on the red light.

Frightening events begin to occur in the area. At dawn, sparrows and birds fly away from the grove without a trace. During the day, the frogs in the pond fall completely silent. At night, the village dogs howl mournfully. A loud thud is heard from the eggs, the shells crack, but the hatched creatures mysteriously disappear from the greenhouse. The guard swears he was awake, but he saw no one.

On a hot day, Rokk goes swimming in a pond. He takes his flute with him and begins to play a waltz. His wife, Manya, follows him. In a thicket of giant burdocks, they encounter a terrifying monster. The enormous head of a gigantic snake rises above the greenery. The reptile is up to 10.5 meters long. The snake pounces on Manya. The monster coils around her, breaks her bones, and swallows her alive before her husband’s eyes. Rokk turns gray from the horror he has endured and takes off running.

In the morning, political directorate agents Shchukin and Polaitis arrive at Dugino station. Armed with an electric revolver and a machine gun, the agents ride to the state farm on a motorcycle. In the greenhouse, they find hordes of enormous snakes, crocodiles, and a giant bird. The agents attempt to shoot back, retreating toward the exit. Greenish flashes from the revolver snatch olive-scaly bodies from the darkness. A huge crocodile bites off Polaitis’s leg and breaks his arm. An anaconda leaps out of the window, entwining Shchukin and crushing him.

The reptiles’ attack on the capital

A terrible truth is revealed in Moscow. A monstrous bureaucratic mix-up at customs occurred. A shipment of chicken eggs was mistakenly sent to Professor Persikov’s institute. The zoologist’s order went to the Krasny Luch state farm. Giant tropical reptiles and ostriches hatched from the irradiated eggs. They began to reproduce, laying thousands of eggs in the damp forests and ravines of Smolensk.

Swarms of thousands of these reptiles are moving inexorably toward Moscow. They are sweeping away villages, devouring livestock and people. The Red Army is concentrating all its forces to defend the capital. Airplanes are spraying the Mozhaisk forests with poison gas. Artillery is shelling egg clutches square after square. A cavalry division is engaging in a bloody battle with ostriches, cutting down the enormous birds with sabers. The military is suffering colossal losses. Gas attacks are unable to stem the onslaught of the monsters advancing on the capital.

Panic erupts in Moscow. The city is placed under martial law. A complete evacuation is planned if the monsters breach the 213-kilometer zone. Millions of people are trying to flee the capital. Crowds storm train stations. People throw their belongings and crush each other in lines. Armored chemical defense vehicles carrying tanks of toxic substances race through the night streets. Locomotives howl incessantly, and the sky is streaked with the white cones of spotlights. Rumors spread that Professor Persikov deliberately unleashed the monsters.

The death of an institute and a scientist

On an August night, crazed people carrying torches and sticks storm the zoological institute on Herzen Street. Security guard Pankrat attempts to hold back the crowd. He is beaten and trampled to death in the lobby. A soldier with a revolver attempts to hold back the attackers but retreats under the pressure of the enraged crowd.

Professor Persikov makes no attempt to hide. He comes out to meet the rioters in a white coat. The scientist spreads his arms, blocking the laboratory doors. He tries to appeal to reason, shouting at the people: "This is sheer madness… you are complete wild animals." A short, bow-legged man emerges from the crowd. He deals Persikov a fatal blow to the head with a heavy stick. The scientist falls, whispering Pankrat’s name.

People kill the innocent housekeeper, Marya Stepanovna. They destroy the last experimental chamber, smash mirrors, trample frogs, and break unique microscopes. Soon, the crowd sets the building on fire. The two-story institute is ablaze, and fire trucks futilely spray streams of water at the windows.

Saving the capital from the bastards

On the night of August 19th – 20th, an unprecedented climatic phenomenon occurs. A sudden, severe frost hits, with temperatures plummeting to -18 degrees Celsius. The cold persists for two days straight. Heat-loving tropical reptiles cannot withstand such a temperature drop. Vile swarms of crocodiles, snakes, and ostriches perish from the cold on the outskirts of Moscow. Embryos in scattered eggs also freeze to death. The terrible disaster recedes of its own accord.

Vast areas are littered with rotting carcasses. Long-term illnesses begin. Army sapper units clear the land with kerosene and fire, burning the remains of the monsters. By the spring of 1929, the cleanup is complete.

Moscow returns to its usual bustling life. A new zoological palace is erected on the site of the burned-down building. It is headed by Privatdozent Ivanov. The secret of the red beam is lost forever. Ivanov repeatedly attempts to recreate the very same system of lenses and mirrors, but to no avail. The secret of accelerating biological life vanished into oblivion along with its creator. No one ever saw either the mysterious beam or the brilliant zoologist again.