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''Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale'' a.k.a. ''Andromeda Nebula'' ((ロシア語:Туманность Андромеды), ''Tumannost' Andromedy'') is a science fiction novel by the Russian writer and paleontologist Ivan Efremov,〔Sergey Klimanov's Home Page. (Ivan Yefremov's Works ) Revised 2004-08-10. Accessed 2006-09-08.〕 written and published in 1957. The novel was made into a film in 1967, ''The Andromeda Nebula''. == Plot summary == The book portrays Efremov's conception of a classic communist utopia set in the distant future. Throughout the novel, the author's attention is focused on the social and cultural aspects of the society, and the struggle to conquer vast cosmic distances. There are several principal heroes, including a starship captain, two scientists, a historian, and an archeologist. Though the world shown in the novel is intended as ideal, there's an attempt to show a conflict and its resolution with a voluntary self-punishment of a scientist whose reckless experiment caused damage. There's also a fair amount of action in the episodes where the crew of a starship fight alien predators. In the novel, several civilizations across our galaxy, including Earth, are united in the ''Great Circle'', whose members exchange and relay scientific and cultural information. Notably, faster-than-light travel or communication does not exist in the time portrayed in the book, and one of the minor plot lines examines a failed attempt to overcome this limitation. The radio transmissions around the Great Circle are pictured as requiring a tremendous amount of energy, and are thus infrequent. One of the main plot lines follows the crew of the space-craft ''Tantra'' led by Captain Erg Noor, dispatched to investigate the sudden radio silence of one of the nearby Great Circle planets. The crew travels to the planet, and discovers that most life on it has been destroyed by unsafe experimentation with radioactivity. On their return journey, the ''Tantra'' is scheduled to meet a carrier spacecraft to refuel, but the second ship does not make the rendezvous. The crew attempts the return voyage with a bare minimum of fuel, but is trapped by the gravitational field of an "iron star" (some form of compact star in modern terms). The crew lands on one of its planets, where they discover the wreck of a previous expedition, as well as a mysterious alien spacecraft. After fighting off the native life-form, the crew retrieve the remaining fuel supplies from the wreck and succeed in returning to earth. The second major plot line follows Darr Veter, the director of the global space agency as he makes way for a successor and then attempt to find a new job for himself. When his successor voluntarily steps down as punishment for a daring experiment that goes wrong, Veter returns to the position. The book closes with the launch of a new expedition, once again led by Noor, to a pair of new planets that offer the possibility of human colonisation. It is a bittersweet ending, as the cosmonauts themselves will not live long enough to return. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Andromeda (novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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