Over and above everything else, however — the mind — bending ideation, the unexpected narrative turns, the wide spectrum of characterization, the humor, the suspense — shines the author's love for and faith in the species. As he says through his protagonist, he talks not about man, but about people. And at the end, the very last words of the novel bespeak this faith and this optimism.
There's no point in looking at those last words now, by the way. They will carry no freight until you put it there by reading the novel.
— THEODORE STURGEON
Los Angeles.
PART ONE
FOOTSTEPS FROM BEHIND
Chapter 1
“When checking the wiring, disconnect power".
A poster on industrial safety
The brief short circuit in the line that fed the New Systems Laboratory occurred at three A.M. The circuit breaker at the substation of the Dneprovsk Institute of Systemology did what all automatic safety devices do in these cases: it disconnected the line from the transformer, lit up a blinking red light on the board in the office, and turned on the alarm.
Zhora Prakhov, the electrician on duty, turned off the alarm signal immediately so as not to be distracted from his study of The Beginning Motorcyclist (Zhora was about to take the driver's test) and he glanced at the blinking light with hostility and expectancy. Usually localized short circuits in the lab were taken care of at the site.
Realizing after an hour that there was no getting around it, the electrician shut his book, picked up his instrument case and his gloves, set the pointer on the door at “New Syst.