"Something about Light Bulbs and Trees" by Vladimir Torin, summary

This atmospheric novella was written in 2023. It transports the reader to the snowy streets of the gloomy steampunk city of Gaben on New Year’s Eve, where, amid the general holiday bustle, the story unfolds of two poor people who decide, despite all the hardships, to throw themselves a real holiday. The text is distinguished by its abundance of bizarre mechanisms and unusual characters, creating a striking contrast between the cold, mechanical environment and the warmth of the protagonists.

This book is part of the author’s "…from Gaben" series (also known as "Mysterious Stories from Gaben"), being the eighth in the series. This series also includes such works as "And the Light Goes Out," "My Post-Imago," "How to Become a Villain in Gaben," and other stories that reveal the secrets of this dark metropolis.

The Failures of a Gear Seller

A thin man named Arthur Clockwork, wearing a shabby top hat and a frock coat that’s too small for him, unsuccessfully offers passersby cogwheels from his suitcase. The action takes place on the streets of Gaben’s Carpetbagger District. An ill wind gnaws at Mr. Clockwork’s ankles. The pre-New Year bustle rages around: townspeople carry shopping bags, Christmas trees, and gifts. No one wants to buy the cogwheels. The merchant is regularly refused, and one mute gentleman even hits him with a cane.

Arthur’s run of bad luck began that night. While working in Mr. Borich’s self-igniting lamp shop, he attempted to secretly assemble a device using an old blueprint found in a junkyard. The device was called the "Z. Electricity Lantern." Arthur screwed in the glass bulb he’d obtained with great difficulty, flicked the lever, and the workbench lit up with a bright yellow light. At that moment, the shop foreman, Mr. Shobbly, appeared behind him. He accused Arthur of using the technology of the villainous Closer. Electricity was considered forbidden in Gaben. The bulb was mercilessly trampled, the blueprint torn to shreds. After his shift, Miss Hrymm handed Arthur a shop ticket with a dismissal stamp at the payroll window. His dream of saving up for a pneumatic capsule for the mail-order gear trade was dashed.

The troubles continued during the day. A stray dog bit a vendor’s shoes. Competitors from the Iron Market beat him up. A quirky woman in a red cape chased Arthur away after he helped fix her strange mechanism for free. A desperate Mr. Clockwork peers into someone else’s window and sees a cozy room, a decorated Christmas tree, and a happy family. Suddenly, melancholy gives way to determination. The vendor resolves to organize a celebration for himself at any cost. He sketches what he saw on a scrap of paper and hurries away.

Searching for a Christmas tree and decorations

On Cherry Street, Arthur meets his friend, the red-haired, down-on-his-luck pickpocket Bickney, dressed in a green coat without buttons. Bickney attempts to rob a gentleman but drops his red glove. Constable Mr. Goon is about to arrest the thief. Arthur intervenes. Bickney explains that the glove was intended for the freezing Gaptooth Billy, a teenage shoeshine boy. The constable lets the pickpocket go and later gives Billy his own uniform gloves.

Arthur shares his plan with his friend. Bickney is skeptical, convinced that the poor have no right to joy. The pickpocket is haunted by memories of his late grandmother, whose passing has also dampened his holiday spirit. Mr. Clockwork convinces him that they can create the celebration themselves. The friends split up: Arthur goes to get the Christmas tree, and Bickney must get the toys.

In the Square of Fouls, Mr. Clockwork finds Mr. McPhee, a merchant selling pine trees. Arthur has no money. He offers a trade: all his gears for a beautiful fir tree. Mr. McPhee, whose cousin needs parts to repair his automatons, takes the suitcase. In exchange, the merchant hands a dumbfounded Arthur a crooked fir tree about a foot tall. Mr. Clockwork obediently leaves with the tiny tree.

On his way home, Arthur stops to pull a pine needle out of his shoe. A thief on a unicycle passes by and steals even this pathetic bush. Mr. Clockwork is left standing in the snow, treeless and gearless.

The Night Wanderings of Pickpocket Bickney

Bickney goes to Mrs. Frunkel’s shop. The evil owner immediately chases him away, amidst the laughter of the crowd. The pickpocket decides to steal some ready-made toys. He enters through a window into the stranger’s apartment. A little girl is sleeping in the room. Bickney begins removing ornaments from the Christmas tree. Suddenly, he is visited by ghosts of the past — he sees himself as a child, when his parents confessed that thieves had stolen all the presents. Realizing the pain he will cause the child, the pickpocket hangs the glass balls back up and leaves empty-handed.

On the street, Bickney encounters Cleft-Tooth Billy, warming himself by a park fence. The thief treats the boy to a cookie. A little later, he sees the eccentric Mr. Morby in a nightcap. The old man is unsuccessfully trying to catch a catfish in a manhole. Soon, Bickney witnesses a gang attacking Deaf Madeline. He drives them off and helps the deranged woman collect the scattered coins. A desperate Arthur had previously left these coins for Madeline, accidentally dropping a fragment of a light bulb design. Bickney picks up the piece of paper. The image of a glass bulb gives him a brilliant idea.

Bickney runs to Elms Park, where the old electric lights are. A thief climbs a pole to unscrew the only remaining bulb. The hot glass burns his fingers. Bickney unscrews the bulb through his scarf, but suddenly hears a woman’s screams. Abandoning his plan, he rushes to the stranger’s aid. In the scuffle, he gets a black eye, but saves the woman and learns where he can legally obtain glass bulbs.

Metal Bush and Sewer Deal

A desperate Arthur wanders through his native neighborhood, Strange Windows. His foot gets tangled in a rusty wire. The coil of metal reminds him of a fir tree branch. A merchant collects scrap metal from a junkyard: springs, spokes from broken umbrellas, and wheels. In his tiny closet, he obsessively constructs a metal tree, hoisting an anemometer onto its top.

Meanwhile, Bickney finds the merchant Mr. Bulb at the end of Candle Row. Borich’s workers have smashed all of Bulb’s light bulbs and trapped him in a pipe. A pickpocket rescues the merchant. It turns out that new bulbs can be traded to the Mole Man for worms. Bickney remembers Mr. Morby. They ask the old man for a jar of bait and descend deep into the dungeons of Gaben. Near the steam pipes, Mr. Bulb summons a huge creature covered in gray fur — Mr. Zubb. The Mole Man eats the worm, takes the box, and leaves behind a crate of brand-new light bulbs.

The real miracle of Gaben

Bickney runs to Arthur with a whole armful of light bulbs. The pickpocket is amazed by the metal tree on wheels. The friends have no string to hang the decorations. Mr. Clockwork gets spools of copper wire, tools, and a hand-crank generator from the shed. The inventor wraps the iron tree with wire, solders the contacts, and connects all the bulbs into a single circuit.

The friends drink a thimbleful of Lemony, Lemone, and Lemons syrup to celebrate. It’s twenty-four minutes until midnight. The friends realize that sitting in the closet is wrong. They roll the glowing contraption outside.

Constable Goon is freezing in the pitch-black darkness of Cherry Street. Suddenly, a whole procession approaches his police post. Arthur is dragging a Christmas tree behind him. Alongside him are Bickney with fried rat carcasses, Mr. Morby with a plate of baked catfish, Tobbs the janitor with a radio, Cleft-Fanged Billy, and Deaf Madeline with her cello tuba. The group stokes the constable’s stove with coal.

A festive speech plays on the radio. As the chimes ring, Arthur gives the signal, and Bickney pulls the switch. The metal tree illuminates the street with an incredibly bright light. Everyone gathered rejoices sincerely at the miracle. None of them notices a steam sleigh descend from the sky, and the Man in Red approaches the happy group with a huge sack of gifts. The holiday is coming for those who created it with their own hands.