Science Fiction
Fantasy
Adventures
Children's
Family
Underworld
Tests
Fantasy
Adventures
Children's
Family
Underworld
Tests
CHARACTERS
Andrey T. is a fourteen-year-old Moscow schoolboy who fell ill with follicular tonsillitis on New Year's Eve.
Genka-Apricot is Andrey's best friend. A boy who got into trouble in the "underworld".
Spiha (Spiridon / Spidlec) is an old second-class radio receiver of the "Spidola" brand, which stood on a stool next to Andrei's bed. It becomes his faithful companion, advisor, source of courage and bravery, broadcasting the right melodies and supporting the hero along the way.
Fantastic inhabitants of the underworld are various allegorical creatures and forces personifying cowardice, doubt and "hostility" with which Andrei has to fight on the way to saving a friend.
Andrey T. is a fourteen-year-old Moscow schoolboy who fell ill with follicular tonsillitis on New Year's Eve.
Genka-Apricot is Andrey's best friend. A boy who got into trouble in the "underworld".
Spiha (Spiridon / Spidlec) is an old second-class radio receiver of the "Spidola" brand, which stood on a stool next to Andrei's bed. It becomes his faithful companion, advisor, source of courage and bravery, broadcasting the right melodies and supporting the hero along the way.
Fantastic inhabitants of the underworld are various allegorical creatures and forces personifying cowardice, doubt and "hostility" with which Andrei has to fight on the way to saving a friend.
PLOT
Fourteen-year-old Andrei T. falls ill with a sore throat a few days before the New Year and on the eve of the holiday is forced to spend time observing "bed rest" and following prescribed medical procedures. The family planned to celebrate the holiday outside the city, at a certain Gribanovskaya guardhouse. So, mom, dad, and older brother go there, leaving Andrei T. with his grandfather. Trying to figure out how to celebrate the approaching holiday in the most pleasant way, Andrei calls his friend Genka, nicknamed Apricot, and he offers to come visit at 9:00 PM.
Around nine, Andrei hears Genka's call for help on the radio. Andrei must enter the manhole in his own kitchen and manage to save his friend before midnight.
He prepares to leave, putting on warm clothes and grabbing a tripod, when he suddenly notices that the tripod and radio have appeared in his hands without his knowledge.
Andrei sets off on his journey, taking with him the aforementioned Spidola radio receiver as a companion. During the adventure, the receiver helps the hero make decisions by transmitting melodies appropriate to the moment.
In the kitchen, he discovers a rectangular, unpleasant-looking hatch, evoking thoughts of rusty hooks, rats, and slimy steps. Andrey goes through the hatch.
He is disappointed that there are no dangers in the hallway, but there are strange signs.
Walking down the long hallway, the boy sees two doors with signs reading "for the brave" and "not so brave." He opens the second door.
Behind the door was his apartment. A familiar grandfather was snoring in a familiar armchair, a familiar cat was squinting on a familiar TV, and a familiar blanket was hanging from a familiar bed. Andrey T. decisively closed the door. Modesty is modesty, of course, but not at such a price!
Behind the "for the brave" door begins a tunnel leading to a dry swimming pool. It's impossible to go around the pool; you have to walk along its bottom. Andrei T. descends, and halfway down, he's knocked down by streams of water, forcing him to fight for his life and avoid drowning. Finally emerging at the other end, the boy finds a kindly man helping him dry his clothes and offering him hot tea and a kalach.
This man, wearing overalls with straps over his bare, tanned body, was of considerable height and in some ways strongly resembled his neighbor on the landing, nicknamed Kon Kobylych. His voice was low and pleasant, and he looked at Andrei T. with affectionate and welcoming eyes.
Andrei T. silently calls the stranger — Kon Kobylych.
Over tea, Kon Kobylych dissuades the boy from continuing on his way, convincing him that there will be many dangers ahead in which he can be seriously injured, and reminding him of his worried parents. Andrei nevertheless goes on and finds himself in a hall, visibility in which is greatly impaired by an incomprehensible haze. The only landmark is a black path on the floor, which at a certain point forks and leads again to the signs "for the smart" and "not so smart". Behind the first door is a road ending in a door, behind which is the same room with his grandfather. The boy chooses the second.
The road behind the second door leads to a staircase consisting of brackets walled into the wall. The first six brackets are visible, the rest are hidden in the fog. Andrey climbs the brackets for a long time, his legs shaking from fatigue, his palms skinned, and finally finds himself in a room.
There is a powerful computer there, introducing itself as the "omnipotent electronic thinker, solver, and guesser, abbreviated as VEDRO." To exit, Andrey T. must answer three questions from VEDRO, and then ask his own questions, one of which the computer must not find an answer to. The same Kon Kobylych, but somewhat withered and reduced in size, serves VEDRO and guards the exit.
The first question: a snail on a pole - Andrey answers correctly. The second question: Pechorin's name. Andrey points out an error in the wording, and the question is cancelled. The third question: the operating principle of engineer Garin's hyperboloid. Andrey answers in detail and correctly.
Andrey tries to ask a question that VEDRO cannot answer. The boy remembers that omnipotence must have an exception. He asks: can VEDRO come up with a question it can't answer itself? VEDRO begins to struggle with the logical contradiction in the question. VEDRO's system fails, and the gates open. Having defeated VEDRO, Andrei T. finds himself in a sunlit square. He sees numerous pavilions with signs reading "philumenicists," "philocartists," "numismatists," "bonists," and other names for communities of people united by a common interest, including alcoholics and drug addicts. Hoping to receive help and advice in "his" pavilion, the boy enters the "philatelists" pavilion, entering a world of albums and album books. Looking through the albums, the boy loses track of time, and an invisible assistant keeps placing new albums under his feet. When Andrei T. comes to his senses, he again finds Kobylych the Horse, who offers him a rare "Pink Guiana" stamp as a gift. But then the radio plays the song "The Drummer," and Andrei realizes that the stamps are just pieces of colored paper. Kobylych the Horse shoots the radio with a laser pistol, burning a huge hole. Andrei continues walking. Along the way, he sees many doors. Peeking behind the door marked "the easiest exit," Andrei again sees the room with the grandfather and the cat.
His friend is finally found, and Andrei T. finds him surrounded by terrifying, grotesque figures (the Amazing Man, the Two-Humped Old Woman, the Very First Pancake, the Variety Hack, the Jawed Slob, the Unfinished Fascist, the Red-Eyed Youth, and others), waiting until midnight to pounce on Genka. Finding a sword under his feet, the hero engages in battle with all these dark characters.
Andrei wakes up, it's just after 10 a.m. Genka-Apricot arrives, making excuses, giving long-winded and incoherent explanations. Andrei T. gives him all his stamps, and the radio plays the song "Drummer," showing "a terrible through-and-through wound, a round hole with melted edges," which appeared after his last encounter with Kon Kobylych, when the latter fired a blaster at him.
Fourteen-year-old Andrei T. falls ill with a sore throat a few days before the New Year and on the eve of the holiday is forced to spend time observing "bed rest" and following prescribed medical procedures. The family planned to celebrate the holiday outside the city, at a certain Gribanovskaya guardhouse. So, mom, dad, and older brother go there, leaving Andrei T. with his grandfather. Trying to figure out how to celebrate the approaching holiday in the most pleasant way, Andrei calls his friend Genka, nicknamed Apricot, and he offers to come visit at 9:00 PM.
Around nine, Andrei hears Genka's call for help on the radio. Andrei must enter the manhole in his own kitchen and manage to save his friend before midnight.
He prepares to leave, putting on warm clothes and grabbing a tripod, when he suddenly notices that the tripod and radio have appeared in his hands without his knowledge.
Andrei sets off on his journey, taking with him the aforementioned Spidola radio receiver as a companion. During the adventure, the receiver helps the hero make decisions by transmitting melodies appropriate to the moment.
In the kitchen, he discovers a rectangular, unpleasant-looking hatch, evoking thoughts of rusty hooks, rats, and slimy steps. Andrey goes through the hatch.
He is disappointed that there are no dangers in the hallway, but there are strange signs.
Walking down the long hallway, the boy sees two doors with signs reading "for the brave" and "not so brave." He opens the second door.
Behind the door was his apartment. A familiar grandfather was snoring in a familiar armchair, a familiar cat was squinting on a familiar TV, and a familiar blanket was hanging from a familiar bed. Andrey T. decisively closed the door. Modesty is modesty, of course, but not at such a price!
Behind the "for the brave" door begins a tunnel leading to a dry swimming pool. It's impossible to go around the pool; you have to walk along its bottom. Andrei T. descends, and halfway down, he's knocked down by streams of water, forcing him to fight for his life and avoid drowning. Finally emerging at the other end, the boy finds a kindly man helping him dry his clothes and offering him hot tea and a kalach.
This man, wearing overalls with straps over his bare, tanned body, was of considerable height and in some ways strongly resembled his neighbor on the landing, nicknamed Kon Kobylych. His voice was low and pleasant, and he looked at Andrei T. with affectionate and welcoming eyes.
Andrei T. silently calls the stranger — Kon Kobylych.
Over tea, Kon Kobylych dissuades the boy from continuing on his way, convincing him that there will be many dangers ahead in which he can be seriously injured, and reminding him of his worried parents. Andrei nevertheless goes on and finds himself in a hall, visibility in which is greatly impaired by an incomprehensible haze. The only landmark is a black path on the floor, which at a certain point forks and leads again to the signs "for the smart" and "not so smart". Behind the first door is a road ending in a door, behind which is the same room with his grandfather. The boy chooses the second.
The road behind the second door leads to a staircase consisting of brackets walled into the wall. The first six brackets are visible, the rest are hidden in the fog. Andrey climbs the brackets for a long time, his legs shaking from fatigue, his palms skinned, and finally finds himself in a room.
There is a powerful computer there, introducing itself as the "omnipotent electronic thinker, solver, and guesser, abbreviated as VEDRO." To exit, Andrey T. must answer three questions from VEDRO, and then ask his own questions, one of which the computer must not find an answer to. The same Kon Kobylych, but somewhat withered and reduced in size, serves VEDRO and guards the exit.
The first question: a snail on a pole - Andrey answers correctly. The second question: Pechorin's name. Andrey points out an error in the wording, and the question is cancelled. The third question: the operating principle of engineer Garin's hyperboloid. Andrey answers in detail and correctly.
Andrey tries to ask a question that VEDRO cannot answer. The boy remembers that omnipotence must have an exception. He asks: can VEDRO come up with a question it can't answer itself? VEDRO begins to struggle with the logical contradiction in the question. VEDRO's system fails, and the gates open. Having defeated VEDRO, Andrei T. finds himself in a sunlit square. He sees numerous pavilions with signs reading "philumenicists," "philocartists," "numismatists," "bonists," and other names for communities of people united by a common interest, including alcoholics and drug addicts. Hoping to receive help and advice in "his" pavilion, the boy enters the "philatelists" pavilion, entering a world of albums and album books. Looking through the albums, the boy loses track of time, and an invisible assistant keeps placing new albums under his feet. When Andrei T. comes to his senses, he again finds Kobylych the Horse, who offers him a rare "Pink Guiana" stamp as a gift. But then the radio plays the song "The Drummer," and Andrei realizes that the stamps are just pieces of colored paper. Kobylych the Horse shoots the radio with a laser pistol, burning a huge hole. Andrei continues walking. Along the way, he sees many doors. Peeking behind the door marked "the easiest exit," Andrei again sees the room with the grandfather and the cat.
His friend is finally found, and Andrei T. finds him surrounded by terrifying, grotesque figures (the Amazing Man, the Two-Humped Old Woman, the Very First Pancake, the Variety Hack, the Jawed Slob, the Unfinished Fascist, the Red-Eyed Youth, and others), waiting until midnight to pounce on Genka. Finding a sword under his feet, the hero engages in battle with all these dark characters.
Andrei wakes up, it's just after 10 a.m. Genka-Apricot arrives, making excuses, giving long-winded and incoherent explanations. Andrei T. gives him all his stamps, and the radio plays the song "Drummer," showing "a terrible through-and-through wound, a round hole with melted edges," which appeared after his last encounter with Kon Kobylych, when the latter fired a blaster at him.