"Ancient:
Catastrophe" by Sergei Tarmashev, summary Automatic translate

This book is a gritty and realistic story of humanity’s survival after a global nuclear war, published in 2008. It vividly depicts the rapid decline of a powerful civilization due to a lack of energy resources and the difficult struggle for survival in deep underground bunkers. The author describes in detail military tactics, the harsh conditions of a radioactive winter, and the psychology of people on the brink of total annihilation. The text avoids excessive romanticism, emphasizing the pragmatic calculations and tough decisions of commanders.

The novel inaugurates the extensive science fiction series "The Ancient One." The first book was followed by sequels, including "Corporation," "War," and other installments, developing the story of the survival of the remnants of humanity and revealing the protagonist’s ultimate fate. The text gained widespread popularity among fans of military science fiction and launched a vast literary universe. The text has not received any prestigious awards or been adapted into film.

On the brink of death

In the summer of 2111, humanity faces a severe energy crisis. The only remaining source of oil is the deep-water Pacific shelf. The dispute over this field quickly escalates into a global armed conflict between leading powers, including the United States, China, and the Arab Coalition. Meanwhile, Russian billionaire Eduard Shretsky inspects his luxurious underground bunker, "Podzemstroy-2." The shelter is hidden deep within the cliffs of Mount Medvezhya in the vast expanses of Siberia. Shretsky plans to wait out the political storms there. He is accompanied by a small retinue and a capricious young son. The bunker’s security detail is a taciturn former special forces officer nicknamed "The Thirteenth." Shretsky stands out among the other guards with the cold, assessing gaze of a professional fighter.

Strikes from the sky

The conflict on the surface is rapidly spiraling out of control. Countries exchange massive thermonuclear strikes. The bunker’s leaders, including the managing director, the head of the scientific department, and the medical director, violate strict regulations. They open the gates, attempting to rescue their families from the nearby town. Panic ensues. Thirteen takes command of the rescue operation on the surface. He and other security personnel pull terrified people from the rubble of the burning forest. The fugitives manage to take cover behind armored airlocks just seconds before a super-powerful atomic bomb directly hits Mount Medvezhya. The top of the cliff melts, and the bunker is completely cut off from the outside world by a massive layer of radioactive rock.

Establishment of a Corporation

Around 25,000 people are saved inside the shelter. The leadership forms a Corporation to manage the massive number of people and distribute resources. Conventional money is abolished, and a strict system of work quotas and food rations is introduced. Thirteen and the other participants in the rescue operation receive massive doses of radiation after reaching the surface. The medical department, led by a gray-haired professor, fights for their lives. The surviving soldiers are dubbed the Outer Group. They undergo a lengthy recovery in quarantine. Doctors confirm severe genetic damage in these people’s bodies, which standard therapy is unable to address.

Uninvited guests

A few weeks later, seismic sensors detect explosions near the emergency exit. The bunker council sends a small scientific expedition to establish contact with potential rescuers. Upon reaching the surface, the scientists fall prey to radiation-driven soldiers under the command of Missile General Ladeynik. The enemies demand the doors be opened and threaten to detonate a nuclear warhead right in the elevator shaft. Thirteen takes command of the response tactical operation. He and fourteen other Outer Group soldiers emerge onto the contaminated surface in lightweight, insulated suits. The standard heavy armor restricts movement in combat, and every second counts.

Battle in the Radioactive Desert

A bleak nuclear winter reigns overhead, with storms of ash and snow. Thirteen uses cunning and stealth to counter the general’s superior forces. The soldiers silently eliminate patrols, capture an enemy armored personnel carrier, and mine enemy trucks. Ladeynik’s group is ambushed, blinded by explosions, and crushed by fire from a captured machine gun. The outer group rescues the hostages captured by the general and retrieves the nuclear device inside the shelter. Victory comes at a heavy price. The soldiers receive critical doses of hard radiation. Their skeletal bones begin to glow from the radiation. The chief medic places the outer group in deep suspended animation. This allows the destruction of organisms to be frozen until an effective cure is developed.

Seven centuries later

More than seven hundred years pass. The bunker is named Ros and becomes the world’s leading center of medical technology. Only a few shelters remain on the planet, including a Canadian underground greenhouse and the Australian Rhombus, hidden under force domes. The mutated environment has given rise to horrific creatures. The surface is inhabited by carnivorous, acid-secreting flying rays and giant bears with shark-like jaws. The bunker’s inhabitants have long forgotten the Outer Group. The memory of its fighters survives only in the form of children’s tales of Sleeping Heroes, ready to awaken in times of great peril. The shelter is ruled by a conservative Council.

Ambition and Conspiracy

The ambitious official Artorius dreams of unlimited power. Born on the lowest level, the so-called Hive, he rose to the position of Third Assistant Managing Director. Artorius despises the aging Council for its refusal to tighten its monopoly on medicine and its desire to help other shelters. He accidentally discovers information about the Outer Group and hidden nuclear weapons in the databases. The official personally ventures into a deserted dead end of the analytical department. There, he discovers a secret mechanism and unlocks the hidden anabiotic chambers of past warriors.

The Sleeper’s Deception

Artorius brings Thirteen and his men out of deep freeze. He masterfully feigns panic and lies to the awakened soldiers. The official claims the bunker has been overrun by ruthless enemies from Rhombus. He adds that these dictators have banned treatment for the Outer Group and killed the son of one of the soldiers. The stunned soldiers believe this artfully crafted lie. They retrieve their old firearms and swiftly clear out the administrative levels. The soldiers eliminate the guards and shoot the current Board of Directors, sincerely believing them to be cruel occupiers.

Strike on the Rhombus

Having seized power in Rosa, Artorius sends his deceived soldiers on a turbojet to the Australian Rhombus. The leadership of all the surviving shelters is gathering there. The outer group fights its way through local police units and destroys the government in the Senate building. During a fierce firefight, one of the ancient soldiers sacrifices himself and detonates a dirty nuclear bomb. The center of the Rhombus is subjected to monstrous radioactive contamination. Thirteen and the remnants of his squad survive within the stone walls, but are exposed to another dose of radiation.

The perfect trap

Artorius appears before the world as a savior. He claims to have stopped the bloodthirsty mutants from the past and offers the infected Rhombus medical aid. The dictator arrives at the ruined city and takes the exhausted soldiers back to Ros. Thirteen believes the official has kept his word and that they will now be completely cured. Artorius orders the soldiers placed in sealed capsules, supposedly for the final bone marrow engraftment procedure. In reality, he once again plunges the bunker’s saviors into eternal suspended animation, forever ridding himself of any witnesses to his bloody triumph. Having achieved absolute victory, the newly crowned ruler prepares to become the sole ruler of Earth.