Solaris

171 Pages·2016·0.79 MB·English

by  Stanislaw Lem

B S L
OOKS BY TANISLAW EM
Solaris
The Invincible
Memoirs Found in a Bathtub The Cyberiad: Fables for the Cybernetic Age The
Futurological Congress The Investigation The Star Diaries Mortal Engines
The Chain of Chance A Perfect Vacuum Tales of Pirx the Pilot Return from the
Stars The Cosmic Carnival of Stanislaw Lem More Tales of Pirx the Pilot
Memoirs of a Space Traveler:
Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy His Master's Voice Microworlds: Writings
on Science Fiction and Fantasy Imaginary Magnitude One Human Minute
Fiasco
Hospital of the Transfiguration Eden
Peace on Earth
SOLARIS
Stanislaw Lem
translated from the French by
Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox
A HARVEST BOOK
HARCOURT BRACE & COMPANY
San Diego New York London
Copyright © 1961 by Stanislaw Lem

Translation copyright © 1970 by Faber and Faber Ltd. and Walker and Company AIl rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to: Permissions Department, Harcourt Brace & Company, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887·6777.
Library of Congress Cataloging·in-Publication Data
Lem, Stanislaw
Solaris.
Reprint. Originally published: New York: Walker, 1970.
"A Harvest book."
I. TItle
PG7158.L39.S613 1987 891.8'537 86-31938
ISBN 0-15-683750-1
Printed in the United States of America
First Harvest edition 1987
V U T S R Q P O N M
Contents
The Arrival
The Solarists
The Visitors
Sartorius
Rheya
"The Little Apocrypha"
The Conference
The Monsters
The Liquid Oxygen
Conversation
The Thinkers
The Dreams
Victory
The Old Mimoid
The Arrival
At 19.00 hours, ship's time, I made my way to the launching bay. The men
around the shaft stood aside to let me pass, and I climbed down into the capsule.
Inside the narrow cockpit, there was scarcely room to move. I attached the
hose to the valve on my space suit and it inflated rapidly. From then on, I was
incapable of making the smallest movement. There I stood, or rather hung
suspended, enveloped in my pneumatic suit and yoke to the metal hull.
I looked up; through the transparent canopy I could see a smooth, polished
wall and, far above, Moddard's head leaning over the top of the shaft. He
vanished, and suddenly I was plunged in darkness: the heavy protective cone had
been lowered into place. Eight times I heard the hum of the electric motors
which turned the screws, followed by the hiss of the shock-absorbers. As my
eyes grew accustomed to the dark, I could see the luminous circle of the solitary
dial.
A voice echoed in my headphones:
"Ready Kelvin?"
"Ready, Moddard," I answered.
"Don't worry about a thing. The Station will pick you up in flight. Have a
good trip!"
There was a grinding noise and the capsule swayed. My muscles tensed in
spite of myself, but there was no further noise or movement.
"When is lift-off?" As I asked, I noticed a rustling outside, like a shower of
fine sand.
"You're on your way, Kelvin. Good luck!" Moddard's voice sounded as
close as before.
A wide slit opened at eye-level, and I could see the stars. The Prometheus
was orbiting in the region of Alpha in Aquarius and I tried in vain to orient
myself; a glittering dust filled my porthole. I could not recognize a single
constellation; in this region of the galaxy the sky was unfamiliar to me. I waited
for the moment when I would pass near the first distinct star, but I was unable to
isolate any one of them. Their brightness was fading; they receded, merging into