Summary of “Alice’s Birthday” by Bulychev
Chapter 1-4
Dad’s girlfriend Alisa, professor-cosmobiologist Seleznev, pondered what to give his daughter on his birthday. At that time, there was a videophone call-it was Gromozeka, a cosmic archaeologist of enormous growth with ten tentacles, eight eyes, a shell on his chest and three good hearts. He flew to Earth and asked to visit Seleznev.
Gromozeka explored the planet Coleida. Once upon a time people lived on the planet, but now there were not even germs. The archaeologist flew to the ground to get a time machine, to transport it to Kolide, to get into the past and solve the riddle of the planet. Gromozeka himself believed that the life on the planet was destroyed by the cosmic plague.
This terrible disease was borne by space viruses. Once in a living organism, the viruses formed an incredibly evil mind, destroying whole star systems. People have long since found a cure for the cosmic plague, but the inhabitants of the Colida did not have time to do this.
Gromozeka
Four days later, the starships, laden with parts of the time machine, headed for the Coleyed. About what happened on the planet, Seleznev learned only two weeks later, when Alisa returned home.
Chapter 5-11
On Coleid, Alice was met by 35 archaeologists, among whom there was not a single person. The youngest archaeologist, named Rrrr, who looked like a light-green one-eyed kitten, Alisa pulled out of the crowd, where he was nearly crushed, and made friends with him.
During the absence of Gromozek, archaeologists managed to restore a small town. It turned out that the inhabitants of the planet were not very tall, about Alice. The epidemic of the cosmic plague occurred on the Coleid 101 years ago. Plague viruses
The time scientists collected a time machine and began to argue who would fly into the past. Alice also wanted to fly, but the timekeepers did not even listen to her. Gromozeka whispered to the girl that he had not just invited her here – he had prepared for Alice “the most difficult work.” The archaeologist asked the girl to “go through a hypnotic course of teaching the local language” and get vaccinated against all known diseases.
Alice was present at the first time travel and even studied the arrangement of the temporary camera. Mikhail Petrov flew to the past and got hold of local newspapers and some coins. It turned out that the plague on Coleid was brought “by the first spacecraft launched from the planet.”
Then Gromozeka opened Alice’s plan: he wanted to save the civilization of the Coleida from the cosmic plague. To do this, it was necessary to go to the past, get close to the hatch of the spacecraft and spray a balloon with the vaccine from the plague. Compared with koleidtsami people seemed to be giants, but Alice was with them of one height, so Gromozeka decided to entrust her with this important mission.
However, the temporary workers flatly refused to send Alice to the past. They did not want to risk the safety of the girl and felt that they had no right to change the story, but could only watch.
Gromozeka was upset, but Alice was not used to giving up her plans. She decided to go to the past on her own. Late at night she left the tent where she lived with Gromozeka, seizing a canister with a vaccine. The archaeologist slept so tightly that he talked in his sleep and even advised Alice to dress warmly. With her on the journey, the girl was captured by Rrrr, who sewed his tail to go for a local kitten.
Chapter 12-17
Alice and Rppr were transferred 101 years into the past and found themselves in the middle of a green meadow. They had to get to the railway station, from where trains run to the capital. It was not easy. First, the dogs drove after Pprr and tore off his tail. The shepherd, the owner of the dogs, was very surprised that the kitten with its tail torn off does not bleed.
He did not believe Alice, who said that she had come to this town on an excursion. The shepherd was alerted by the girl’s accent and her strange clothes. Alice had to change the legend and impersonate a foreigner, and Rrrr put in a bag. The archaeologist began to rock, and his mood immediately deteriorated.
Upon reaching the station, Alisa bought a newspaper and a train ticket. After two stations the neighbors on the coupe descended, and the girl let out of the bag Rppr, so that he sewed his tail and read the newspaper. It turned out that they arrived at the right moment of the past and have time to meet the spacecraft.
Suddenly an old lady came into the compartment and was very frightened to see a kitten with one eye sewing its tail. Rppr immediately ducked into the bag, and Alice managed to convince the old woman that she all seemed to be. The old woman was the mother of one of the astronauts. Alice liked her, and she took the girl directly to the landing site.
The cosmodrome was cordoned off by the police, but the old woman, along with Alisa, which she gave away for her daughter, was always missed. Alice managed to get close to the space ship, however, the bag with Rppr had to be left with one of the policemen.
As soon as the first cosmonaut appeared in the open hatch, the girl ran up the ladder and sprayed the bottle with the vaccine right in his face. The police decided that Alisa was going to poison the entire crew, grabbed her and locked her in one of the depots of the cosmodrome.
Alice was frightened that she would never return home, because the time machine is configured for one person. If someone else goes to the past, the girl will remain forever in this time. But then Alice thought: if necessary, Gromozeka will bring another time machine to Kolyeyda, but she will not leave it in trouble.
A little calming down, Alice dozed off. Woke her Rrrr, who ran away from the policeman and made his way to the warehouse through the sewer. Alice hardly opened the sewer grate and slipped out of her prison at the last minute – for the girl already someone was walking down the corridor.
Walking away from the chase, the exhausted Alice and Rrrr reached the clearing, to which the time machine had transferred them. Alice took the archaeologist in her arms and stood at the same place, the car identified her and carried her home.
Chapter 18-19
Alis was already waiting for Gromozek and the temporary workers. As soon as the girl appeared in the cockpit, the spacecraft on which she found herself started. Gromozeka told the girl that she had succeeded, that’s why their expedition leaves Kolyid.
Gromozeka knew that Alice would try to escape to the past. That night he did not sleep. Making sure that the time machine worked, Gromozek woke up the camp. Archaeologists learned about the incident and quickly began to fold, because if Alisa succeeds, a populated city will appear on this place. Rppr also got caught up with Alice not by chance – Gromozeka asked him to go along with the girl and help her in this dangerous matter.
Alice looked out of the porthole and was happy to see the lights of the city far below. Soon the rescued Koidians came in contact with the ship of archaeologists. Alice was very interested in whether there was a monument on her planet and Rrrr.
Gromozeka and Alisa went to the on-duty satellite of the Coleida and found out: the inhabitants of the planet did not even suspect that someone had saved them. In the textbook of history, which issued to the travelers dispatcher, there was a description of the arrival of the first spacecraft. There was mentioned only an unknown girl who “first ran up to the ship and sprinkled the cosmonauts with perfume.”
Gromozek officially asked for permission to land their starship on the planet. He decided to tell the Coleyd government the whole truth. Alice did not upset the lack of a monument, because the main thing is that all the inhabitants of the planet remained alive. “Only a shame that in history it is written that I poured them with perfume” – she complained to Gromozeke.
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