A summary of "The Interns" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

The science fiction novella "Trainees" was written by Soviet writers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky in 1961. This book is the final installment in the authors’ early cycle about space exploration, summing up the romantic era of solar system exploration and highlighting the problems of human moral development. The novella is part of the "Pre-Midday Cycle" (also known as the Captain Bykov and Ivan Zhilin cycle), which introduces the study of the social structure of the Noon World. It ranks fourth in this series, following "The Land of Crimson Clouds," "The Road to Amalthea," and the collection "Six Matches," continuing the stories of Alexei Bykov, Vladimir Yurkovsky, Grigory Dauge, and Ivan Zhilin.

Prologue and the search for a passing flight

The action begins on Earth. Fifty-two-year-old cosmonaut veteran Grigory Dauge bids farewell to his friends — photon spacecraft captain Alexei Petrovich Bykov and scientist Vladimir Sergeyevich Yurkovsky — as they depart on another inspection mission. Due to four radiation exposures and his failing health, Dauge is permanently decommissioned. Bykov’s son, Grisha, watches the farewell.

At the airport terminal, Dauge meets his ex-wife, Maria Sergeyevna, Yurkovsky’s sister. They engage in a conversation about the meaning of work and the bourgeois tendency to suppress reason for the sake of momentary pleasure. Maria admits she fears for her brother when he leaves for a flight without Bykov.

At the Mirza-Charle International Launch Site, eighteen-year-old vacuum welder Yuri Borodin is searching for a way to reach Saturn’s moon Rhea. Yuri has fallen behind a group of volunteer construction workers due to his mother’s sudden appendicitis. At the port warehouses, the young man displays his professional meticulousness, rejecting a cylinder with a broken valve.

At the local café, "Old Mickey Mouse," Borodin meets Ivan Zhilin, the Takhmasib’s flight engineer. Zhilin engages in an ideological debate with the arrogant bartender, Joyce, about the purpose of man and the futility of accumulating wealth. Upon learning of Yura’s plight, Zhilin directs him to the hotel to see Bykov and Yurkovsky.

In room 306, Bykov checks the young man’s documents. After hearing his honest story about his ailing mother and his burning desire to work, the captain, contrary to formal regulations, enlists Yura as a trainee on special flight 17.

Mars Expedition and the Secrets of the Old Base

The photon spacecraft Tahmasib sets course for Mars. In the Martian system of Tepl Syrty, scientists are plagued by attacks from predatory "flying leeches," which have begun attacking humans during daylight hours for the first time. The astronomers’ observation platform is damaged by a shot fired by Volodya Penkov while attempting to fend off the creature’s attack.

Base Director Alexander Filippovich Lyamin calls a meeting. Deputy Construction Director Gaidadymov and Workshop Manager Puchko object to the raid, fearing disruption to the regeneration plant and equipment failure. Senior Areologist Livanov proposes a plan to encircle the leeches in the area of the Old Base (Height 211).

While surveying the ruins, pathfinder Felix Rybkin and astronomer Natasha make a discovery. They find a rare plant, the cracks beneath which are 80 years old. This proves that the ruins were not built by humans 15 years ago, but by an unknown, non-human intelligence.

Yurkovsky, who arrived, halts scientific work at the base, mobilizing scientists to build a regeneration plant. During a large-scale raid using tanks, sirens, and grenade launchers, 16 leeches are killed. Yurkovsky and Rybkin descend into an underground cavern beneath the ruins, where they discover an ancient aqueduct with oval pipes.

Research on Eunomia and conflicts on Bamberg

On board the Takhmasib, Yura is training in metal theory. During a training alert, the trainee strictly follows instructions: he blocks the entrance to the vacuum compartment and refuses to let Zhilin through without Captain Bykov’s personal order, earning praise from the crew.

The ship makes a stop at the Eunomia physics station. In cramped conditions, 27 physicists, led by scientist Kostya, study gravity. During their latest experiment, they convert an asteroid into radiation and prove that gravitational waves travel faster than light. At the station, Yurkovsky shares food with the scientists and suffers another bout of liver disease.

The Tahmasib then heads to the Bamberg asteroid, where the private company Space Pearl Limited mines "space pearls." Bamberg is a place of harsh morals: Manager Richardson forces workers to work 14-hour days and encourages bootleg distilleries and gangsterism. MUKS Commissioner Bela Barabash is driven to a nervous breakdown. Engineer Samuel Livington proves to Barabash the resilience of the bourgeoisie in a game of chess.

Yurkovsky, Zhilin, and Barabash enter Richardson’s office. The inspector delivers an ultimatum, dismisses the manager, and announces to the workers: for violating labor laws, the mines will be liquidated, and Bamberg will be reduced to dust. The workers are given a choice: transfer to government construction sites or be left with nothing.

Events on Dione and the tragedy in Saturn’s Ring

In a conversation with Zhilin, Yura discusses types of people, and Zhilin tells him a story about a “giant fluctuation” – a person around whom incredible deviations from the laws of probability occurred.

At the observatory on Saturn’s moon Dione, the crew discovers a decline in morale. Director Vladislav Shershen is misappropriating the scientific achievements of his subordinates and sowing discord with the help of the informer Kravets. Astronomers Averin, Svirsky, Bazanov, and Zina Shatrova have severed ties of friendship.

Yura stands up for Zina, gets into a fight with Svirsky, and forces the employees to speak frankly. Having uncovered the true nature of the intrigue, Yurkovsky dismisses Shershn and Kravets from their positions.

To be sent to his duty station at Koltso-2, Yura is transferred to a food tanker belonging to the Swiss captain, Korff. Meanwhile, Yurkovsky persuades Bykov to allow him to fly in a single-person spacesuit with navigator Mikhail Antonovich Krutikov to observe the Ring of Saturn.

As he approaches the Ring’s plane, Yurkovsky notices a group of five identical white rocks among the asteroids, along with a silvery, spider-like structure between them. Obsessed with proving the Ring’s artificial origin, Yurkovsky disconnects the radio and convinces Krutikov to descend into the dangerous zone of dust and rubble.

The spaceship becomes stuck among asteroid debris. Bykov, Zhilin, Korf, and Yura rush to the rescue in a tanker. However, Yurkovsky and Krutikov perish under another rockfall. Bykov mourns the loss of his friends, and Yura realizes that human life is more valuable than any scientific discovery.

Epilogue and Ivan Zhilin’s Choice

The ship returns to Earth. At the snowy airfield, Bykov and Zhilin are met by an aging Grigory Dauge with a modest bouquet of wilted forget-me-nots. He informs them that Bykov has been called to lead a new long-distance expedition to Transpluto.

Looking at his aging loved ones and remembering his fallen comrades, Ivan Zhilin decides to end his service as a flight engineer. He realizes that man’s most important work is on Earth — educating young people and teaching them how to be truly happy.