Saraksh

Saraksh is a fictional planet described in Prisoners of Power ("Обитаемый остров") by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. This planet is a part of the so-called Noon Universe and presents a world that survived an atomic war. As a result, the surface of the planet is mostly covered with debris and junk. This is a great problem for the survivors since many of the old war machines still endanger those living in the regions. For example, in one episode of "Prisoners of Power" the main character's aircraft gets shot down by an old air defense system.

Saraksh is notable for its monstrous refraction in the atmosphere. From the surface it looks like the horizon is above the observer which makes the inhabitants of the planet think that they actually live inside a hollow cave in an endless piece of rock rather than on a round planet floating in space. The phenomenon of night and day change is explained by periodic changes in the clouds gathered in the middle of the "cave". In ancient times, there was a school of scientists who did not believe this theory. Their beliefs found little support within the normal populace, though they did inspire a curse word "Massaraksh" (literally: "the world inside-out"). In modern era, their theories gained new prominence when they were used to help to plot long-range ballistic missiles.

The planet is inhabited primarily by a humanoid race that is virtually identical (both genetically and physiologically) to humans from Earth. The only difference mentioned in "Inhabited Island" is the local population's sensitivity to so called "white" and "black" radiation which Earth humans do not experience.

There are four countries mentioned in the book:

The last two countries on the list were once provinces of a great empire that collapsed during the atomic war and divided into three parts, the biggest one of which is ruled by the Fathers. A number of countries were completely wiped off the face of the planet, leaving the so-called Great Southern Desert in their wake. There were indications that some of the survivors of the war managed to create a nation deep within the desert, but, because the region was very radioactive, this has not been confirmed. There were also persistent rumors that some coastal nations managed to survive the war essentially intact. It is also mentioned that somewhere deep in the mountains there is a folk of "highlanders", people more similar to humans from Earth, but this rumor is never confirmed.

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