“The Heart of the Serpent” (“Cor Serpentis” ) is a science fiction novel by Ivan Antonovich Efremov , written in 1958 . In the story, the author extensively describes the possibility of the existence of a planetary biosphere and highly organized intelligent life - human-like creatures - with biochemistry based on hydrogen fluoride .
| Snake Heart | |
|---|---|
 1967 edition | |
| Genre | story |
| Author | Ivan Antonovich Efremov |
| Original language | Russian |
| Date of writing | 1958 |
| Date of first publication | 1959 |
| Publishing house | true |
| Previous | |
| Following | |
In accordance with the internal chronology of the future, in the works of I. A. Efremov, the novel is a link between the novels “ Andromeda Nebula ” and “ Bull Hour ” [1] .
The work is distinguished by a pronounced humanistic orientation and faith in the historical triumph of science and communism [1] .
Content
Story
Far future. The crew of the Tellurium spaceship from planet Earth travels through space using zero-space , encounters an alien ship in the area of the Star of the Serpent star (arnuk Unuk al Hai, Lat Cor Serpentis), next to the epsilon of the Serpent . “Aliens” are very similar to earthly people, but, unfortunately, they do not breathe oxygen to the usual earthlings, but fluoride . Thus, direct contact between two civilizations is dangerous both for their organisms and for materials. Both crews, full of goodwill, exchange information and knowledge through a transparent screen. Then the “ pale bronze people of the Earth and the gray-skinned people of the fluorine planet ” say goodbye, and each spaceship continues its route.
Characters
- Mut Ang - the commander of the spacecraft "Tellur"
- Tay Heron - Assistant Commander and Chief Astrophysicist
- Kari Ram - electronic mechanic and astronavigator
- Afra Devi - biologist
- Mystery Dan - Chemist
- Light Sim - Doctor
- Yas Tin - pulsation device engineer
Editions
The story was first published in 1959, in the journal “ Youth ” (No. 1) and, in parallel, in the collection of the Soviet non- profit organization “The Road to 100 Parsecs ”. Subsequently, it was repeatedly reprinted, included in copyright collections and anthologies. It has been translated into English, French, German, Bulgarian.
See also
- First contact (fiction)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Soviet science fiction of 1967 . Heart of the Snake (I. Efremov, collection) (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment May 29, 2012. Archived on September 3, 2016.
Links
- Heart of the Snake on the site " Fantasy Laboratory "