A summary of "The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin" by Alexei Tolstoy Automatic translate

This book is a science fiction novel by Alexei Tolstoy, written in 1926–1927 and expanded by the author in 1937. The plot revolves around the construction of a device that emits a destructive heat beam. The author describes in detail the technical aspects of concentrating light beams, anticipating the physical principles of laser operation. The text is richly interspersed with elements of political detective fiction, adventure fiction, and social dystopia.

The work was adapted for Soviet cinema twice. Director Alexander Ginzburg released a full-length film in 1965. A four-part television series, "The Collapse of Engineer Garin," directed by Leonid Kvinikhidze, was released in 1973.

Murder on Krestovsky Island

In the spring, in Paris, the American monopolist Rolling received an urgent encrypted message from Leningrad. His paid agents, the gangster Semenov and Stas Tyklinsky, reported the successful assassination of Russian physicist Pyotr Garin. The scientist had designed a device of unprecedented combat power, and Rolling wanted to acquire its secret. Zoya Monroz, the billionaire’s mistress and a former ballerina, fueled the magnate’s interest in this invention.

In Leningrad, criminal investigation inspector Vasily Shelga examines a crime scene at an abandoned dacha. A man’s body is tied tightly to an iron bed, his body bearing signs of brutal torture. Searching the basement, the detective discovers a chemical laboratory. It contains steel plates burned through with precise holes, as well as strange pressed pyramids. Shelga lights one of them on fire, and it burns with a blinding flame. The detective realizes the bandits’ grave mistake: the real Garin is alive, only his double has been killed.

Soon, Shelga notices a living replica of the murdered man at the post office. The engineer sends a telegram to France, identifying himself as Pyankov-Pitkevich. Tyklinsky suddenly appears and flees in terror upon encountering the reanimated victim. Garin engages in a subtle intellectual game with Shelga, refuses police protection, and secretly leaves Leningrad. He successfully smuggles the blueprints and a working model of the hyperboloid abroad.

Clash in Paris

A fugitive physicist reaches France and finds an old friend, Victor Lenoir. A chemist, Lenoir undertakes to synthesize thermite fuel pyramids for a generator. Garin convinces his companion to disguise himself and become his new double, further confusing his pursuers.

Meanwhile, Zoya Monrose begins to act independently. She hires professional assassin Gaston, nicknamed Duckbill. That night, Zoya infiltrates a cheap hotel on the Rue des Gobelins. She sees Lenoir shot dead on the floor. Suddenly, the real Garin appears in the doorway. He calmly deploys a portable hyperboloid. The heat ray slices through the door, instantly incinerating Gaston and the thugs who arrived with him. Zoya switches sides with the daring physicist.

Kamchatka expedition and ambush

A homeless boy named Ivan Gusev appears at the Leningrad Rowing Club. The boy has made a terrific journey from the Far East. Shelga examines the boy’s back and discovers a message encrypted in indelible pencil. The text was written by geologist Nikolai Mantsev. This man has lived in Kamchatka for many years, drilling deep into the crust on Garin’s orders. Mantsev confirms a long-standing hypothesis about the existence of the Olivine Belt — a deep layer of molten heavy metals. It conceals boundless quantities of gold and the superheavy radioactive element "M."

Having obtained such vital data, Shelga flies to Paris. He hopes to intercept the plans and return the device to the USSR. That night, in the Fontainebleau forest, he is ambushed by Rolling and is shot four times. The billionaire attempts to kill Garin and Zoya, but fails miserably. The engineer uses a ray gun, takes the tycoon hostage, and forces him to finance his projects. The criminals take the wounded Shelga with them. Garin offers the Soviet inspector an alliance, but he declines.

Destruction of competitors

Rolling launches a massive stock market attack against German chemical companies. Meanwhile, Garin secretly installs a hyperboloid on an ancient tower in the Rhine Valley, opposite the Aniline Company’s factories. Soviet scientist Khlynov and German scientist Wolf unravel the perpetrators’ plan. They attempt to warn the public of the threat, but the authorities ignore the warning.

At night, the generator begins its destructive work. A blinding beam of light cuts through factory chimneys, giant storage tanks, and raw material warehouses. A chain reaction of powerful explosions begins. Factories are razed to the ground, and a nearby town is in flames. Thousands of workers burn alive. German industry collapses. Competitors’ stocks plummet to zero, and Rolling becomes the absolute ruler of global chemistry. Billions of dollars settle in the syndicate’s accounts.

Ocean Piracy and the Golden Island

Zoya Monrose, under the name Madame Lamolle, becomes captain of the ocean-going yacht "Arizona." Naval officer Jansen is hopelessly in love with the vessel’s new owner. The ship is armed with two hyperboloids and flies a pirate flag. The pirates rob passenger liners. Garin spends the millions he steals on purchasing equipment and hiring workers and engineers.

Adventurers occupy a tiny island in the South Pacific. Within months, the rocky landmass is transformed beyond recognition. Transports bring in hired labor, equipment, and materials. Steel fortifications, power plants, and a massive palace of glass and red marble are erected. The island is divided into isolated sectors with barbed wire. Workers begin drilling a gigantic shaft to the Olivine Belt.

Meanwhile, Garin transfers a secret expedition to Kamchatka. Mercenaries discover Mantsev’s camp and spirit the geologist away on an airship. Ivan Gusev manages to hide the metal box containing the geological calculations and secretly boards the airship. Abandoned, Mantsev dies after falling from the aluminum ladder of the airship as it takes off. The child is brought to Shelga on the island.

Battle with the squadron

The descent into the underground depths is extremely slow. The shaft walls must be continuously frozen with liquid air. Workers suffer severe burns from the hot gases. Shelga secretly creates a revolutionary committee and prepares an armed uprising of the proletariat.

The US government dispatches the Pacific Squadron to destroy the pirate base. Aircraft drop bombs to no avail. Warships open fire with heavy guns. Garin personally takes his place at the control panel of the main hyperboloid. The heat beam easily cuts through the steel armor of the dreadnoughts. The fire reaches the powder magazines. The American ships go down, crews and all. The engineer celebrates his triumph.

Mine drills uncover the Olivine Belt. A fountain of liquid gushes from the depths under enormous pressure. Engineer Schaefer determines that the precious metal is mixed with mercury. Garin organizes evaporation and casting of standard five-kilogram ingots. A flotilla of cargo steamships delivers tons of gold to San Francisco.

Gold Panic

Garin organizes a dumping trade in gold bullion. The retail price drops to two and a half dollars per kilogram. The global financial system is collapsing at the seams. Leading stock exchanges close, manufacturing plants are shut down, and mass unrest erupts. Bankers panic and beg for mercy.

The US Senate is forced to capitulate to the engineer. Garin is officially offered dictatorial powers. He arrives in Washington surrounded by royal splendor. American monopolists want to use his authority to suppress revolutionary unrest. Garin himself plans to reduce the planet’s population, leaving only a docile service staff and a patrician elite.

Meanwhile, a workers’ revolt breaks out on Golden Island. Shelga’s fighting squads seize the palace and arsenals. The enamored Jansen dies from a stray bullet while protecting Zoya. Madame Lamolle breaks into the Arizona and takes the ship away from shore. Ivan Gusev performs a heroic act: he destroys a large hyperboloid, burning up in the thermal rays of the installation.

Frustration

The uprising instantly spreads to the American continent. Enraged crowds storm government buildings. In Washington, revolutionaries capture the dictator’s double. The real Garin escapes on a light, high-speed airship across the ocean.

The fugitive ruler finds the Arizona in the vast waters. The vessel sets course back to the rebellious island. The engineer hopes to brutally suppress the rebellion with the help of the surviving small emitters.

Suddenly, the horizon darkens. The ocean is covered with leaden clouds. An unprecedented typhoon erupts. The yacht finds itself in the very eye of the hurricane. Giant waves wash away masts, pipes, and superstructure from the deck. Saltwater floods the engine room. The ocean turns the ship into wreckage, washing the remains onto the shore of an unnamed coral atoll.

Two survivors regain consciousness under the scorching sun. The former dictator catches shrimp by hand in a freshwater lagoon and sleeps on the sand, his face covered by a tattered jacket. The former ruler of the Golden Island subsists on raw oysters. For days on end, she sits in the shade of palm fronds, silently leafing through a scrapbook that somehow managed to survive. Its pages contain plans for her beautiful, but never built, marble palaces.