A summary of "Earthling" by Roman Zlotnikov Automatic translate

The work was created in 2012. The novel describes the rigid hierarchical structure of society in an alien star system, where an individual’s social status is strictly determined by the level of the cybernetic neural network. The author shifts the focus from large-scale star wars to the methodical, mathematically calculated survival of an ordinary guy forced to earn his living at the very bottom of the social ladder.

The book opens the author’s eponymous series. The first novel is followed by sequels: "Step to the Stars," "In the Service of the Great House," and "The Russians Never Surrender!" This text is the first book in the series.

Survival at the bottom of a gravity well

A young student, Nikolai, relaxes with a computer game, drinks beer, and goes to bed. In the morning, he rushes to an exam, slips on an icy street, and suddenly wakes up in a massive garbage dump. He’s stripped of his clothes and remembers nothing of the moment he was transported. The world around him turns out to be the planet Cigar. The local population huddles in the Slums, located between the upper residential levels and the underground factories. The inhabitants survive by recycling garbage and hunting agile giant mutant rats.

For the first few weeks, Nikolai suffers from severe hunger. The surrounding slum dwellers constantly beat him, taking away the scraps and rags they find. Soon, he stumbles upon a sullen old man named Lacuna. The old man is grilling meat and unexpectedly offers to help the young man. Lacuna takes Nikolai as an apprentice and subjects him to grueling physical training. The mentor beats the young man with a length of hose for the slightest mistake, testing his reflexes. Lacuna explains to the boy the rules of local life. Civilized people have nano-networks. Nikolai, however, has the status of an unregistered "clean body," stolen from Earth for illegal medical purposes.

Old Lacuna dies during a routine hunt. A mutated rat rips open his stomach. Nikolai, who has adopted the short name Nick, is left alone. He sets himself an ambitious goal: to accumulate capital, install an expensive engineering nanonetwork, and break into space to search for Earth.

The road to the top

Nick receives a free, low-level neural implant. The free network brands him as a marginalized individual. The young man hunts for food and crafts souvenirs from rat skin. He later finds his way to the upper levels of the city, traveling along the waste chute ramps. He finds a job as a dishwasher at a port eatery owned by Gra Sholtiss. There, he cooks and sells marinated rat kebabs to customers, passing them off as rare meat. Nick earns additional income by appearing in crude underground porn videos for Gra Agucho. His co-star violently resists and scratches Nick’s face. The fights make the videos incredibly popular.

Regular passages through the garbage chute’s disinfection chamber cause severe cyclonephlevine poisoning in the Earthling. The toxins accumulate in the body, threatening rapid death. Expensive restorative therapy is beyond Nick’s means. Medical technician Sleya helps the Earthling utilize the remaining resources in the hospital’s medical capsules for a modest fee. A mutually beneficial relationship with Sleya allows Nick to rent an apartment and obtain a job as a mechanic at the Tazhik energy company.

In his new place, Nick befriends Kres, the methodologist. Kres controls the old training medical capsules. The Earthling downloads obsolete technical databases from the local information dump. Using Kres’s equipment allows him to download knowledge while sleeping. Nick’s free nanonet is extremely slow. The Earthling methodically masters the information and finds a software solution to increase the speed of the free implant.

Blood and Stakes

Realizing the acute shortage of funds for a good neural network, Nick begins competing at the "Priletelo" fight club. The fights are unlimited. The Earthling deliberately loses ten fights in a row. Nick’s rating drops to rock bottom. The company’s senior technician grants him a large loan. The Earthling purchases an elite hand-to-hand combat base. In his next fight, he faces the local champion, Mad. Nick secretly bets his entire savings on his victory. The odds are enormous. In a brutal battle, the Earthling tears out Mad’s Adam’s apple and takes home a huge payday.

While out for a night walk, Nick rescues the aristocrat Ossetta Emintogray. Three military augments attack the girl. Nick kills the criminals, sustaining fatal wounds: broken ribs and punctured lungs. The girl takes him to a secret medical bay. Ossetta’s family wants to avoid a scandal. Gra’s confidant, Kirei, demands that Nick cease contact with the aristocrat. The Earthman bargains with the head of the Nri clan, Emintogray. He provokes the rich man’s pride by comparing him to a small merchant and demands a personal nanonet of the highest rank. The powerful Nri agrees to pay for the procedure.

Space and garbage collectors

Professor Nashel integrates Nick with an advanced personal network. At the same time, the Earthling agrees to test experimental implants. Nick’s brain receives a colossal boost, and his tissues undergo powerful regeneration. He easily masters the most complex piloting procedures. Osetta tries to lure Nick into an empty social life. The Earthling deliberately compromises himself in front of Gram Kirei, after which the girl’s family expels him.

Nick gets a job as a mechanic for Master Ux at Kokotka Station. There, he meets a female pilot nicknamed Scarecrow Tris. Tris hides her face under terrible burns, refusing to have her appearance restored in memory of her deceased lover, Clay. She owns an old rescue boat, the Spider. Nick buys out a share of the ship and pays for major repairs.

The companions make a foray into the sixth Junk Field. The area is guarded by active Lusitanian and Sarvonian military systems. Tris masterfully navigates the vessel through plasma turret fire, using compressed nitrogen tanks for stealthy maneuvering. Nick uses the program databases to trick the central artificial intelligence of the dead Sarvonian cruiser. The scavengers deploy the cruiser’s repair droids and carefully dismantle valuable equipment.

Triumph and recognition

Upon his return, Nick sells his loot through broker Treboli. The Earthman and Tris earn millions in loot. This unprecedented success enrages the crime bosses of the local scavengers’ union. Cook Fist and mercenary Saedor Click form a squadron to eliminate independent scavengers. Nick anticipates an ambush. He orders Ux to extensively redesign the Spider. The scavenger bot is transformed into a heavily armed missile platform, festooned with dozens of launchers.

During his next raid, Nick hacks a surviving Sarvonian battleship. The companions tow the massive ship to the station. At the edge of the field, they are ambushed by Saedor Klik. A space battle ensues. Nick synchronizes the launch of hundreds of medium-range missiles and expertly manipulates the defensive shields. The enemy squadron is unable to withstand the intense missile fire and is blown to pieces. The Spider suffers multiple penetrations. The bot’s systems are completely destroyed. The companions survive thanks to the dampening effect of the empty launch containers, which absorbed the bulk of the explosions. Deprived of engines, they drift for three days in spacesuits soaked in fetid waste, and then move into the surviving sealed compartments of the Sarvonian battleship.

Towing a warship to Kokotka Station provokes the arrival of a naval fleet. Security forces detain the heroes. Nick broadcasts footage of the attack to independent journalists in advance. The scavengers become national heroes, and the corrupt bosses are brought down. In the finale, Scarecrow Tris acknowledges the Earthman’s leadership. She hands over the captaincy to him and agrees to undergo facial reconstruction surgery. The team prepares for new star expeditions.