The Magellanic Cloud
First edition
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| Author | Stanisław Lem |
|---|---|
| Original title | Obłok Magellana |
| Cover artist | Jan Młodożeniec |
| Country | Poland |
| Language | Polish |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Iskry |
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Publication date
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1955 |
| Pages | 422 |
| LC Class | PG7158.L399 O2 |
| Preceded by | The Astronauts |
| Followed by | Sezam |
The Magellanic Cloud (Polish title: Obłok Magellana) is a 1955 science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. The novel was the basis for the Czech film Ikarie XB-1.
Major literary tropes include interstellar travel, "first contact", with a good deal of psychological fiction, and most of all, Communist utopia complete with the criticism of the capitalist militarism, which Lem himself characterized as an "extract of the times of Socialist realism".
Fragments of the novel were published earlier, in 1953-1954, in the magazine Przekrój.
The novel is set in the 32nd century, in a communistic Utopian future. Humanity has colonized all of the Solar System, and is now making its first attempt at interstellar travel.
Aboard a vessel called , 227 men and women leave the Earth for the Alpha Centauri system.
After almost eight years of travel, they find signs of organic life on a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, possibly originating on another planet within the Centauri system.
One of the planets orbiting Alpha Centauri turns out to be inhabited by an advanced civilization.
The expedition meets a lifeless human ship of "Atlants", which turns out to be an old artificial war satellite of the United States and its NATO allies, carrying still active biological weapons and nuclear warheads, which had accidentally left Earth orbit and got lost in space during the Cold War era.
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Wikipedia