Mindswap. Stories

9 hrs. 38 min.

Language Russian

Author Robert Sheckley

Narrator Kirill Petrov

Description

To see Mars through a Martian’s eyes—what could be more tempting? That’s exactly what the main hero thinks, and he arranges a trip for himself, “swapping” his body with a Martian who turns out to be an adventurer and leaves the hero with absolutely no body…

Contents

01. Service of Liquidation [= Bureau of Removal]
One day a strange visitor comes to Mr. Ferguson and introduces himself as Edmond from the Service of Liquidation. But Ferguson has never heard of such a service and doesn’t even know what it does. Yet everything is very simple: the Service of Liquidation disposes of people. Who, then, is blocking Mr. Ferguson—whom does he need to get rid of? Maybe his wife?..

02. Pilgrimage to Earth
A farmer from a distant planet dreams of love—passionate and romantic, which, in his opinion, is possible only on the old lady Earth. Arriving on Earth, he gets that feeling in the company of “Love, Incorporated,” mutual and therefore even more beautiful. However, the very next day he faces an equally deep disappointment: even love on Earth is just a commodity—though an excellent one.

03. Guardian—The Bird
Self-learning robot birds created to prevent killings of people very quickly start to consider any violence against any living creature—from humans to plants—as murder.

04. Smell of Thought
A small mail ship crashes on an unknown planet. Watching far from unfriendly animals, the pilot suddenly realizes they have no eyes and no ears. It turns out they see and hear telepathically—and they are absolutely not averse to feasting on a thinking object. The pilot needs to hold out only until the rescuers arrive, but how can you make yourself stop thinking?

05. Ritual
One fine day the gods returned. They arrived on a heavenly ship of the gods, and all the villagers—led by the Senior Cantor—came out to meet them.
In honor of their return, the villagers will first perform the Dance of Permission to Land. Then it will be time for the Dance of Confirming the Astrodrome, the Dance of Customs Inspection, the Dance of Unloading, and the Dance of Medical Examination. All these rites will last eight days, and only after that will the gods be given a chance to taste food and drink water.
But no one suspects that the gods need exactly this at the moment…

06. Humankind Minimum
Anton Nastoych doesn’t get lucky from the very beginning. A chain of small and big troubles constantly follows him, making his life unbearable.
And he decides to commit suicide—but at the very last moment he receives a telegram from the Bureau of Interplanetary Travel, which saves him. Now he has a new job—and above all, the meaning of life!

07. Exchange of Minds (novella)
To see Mars through a Martian’s eyes—what could be more tempting? That’s exactly what the main hero thinks, and he arranges a trip for himself, “exchanging” his body with a Martian who turns out to be an adventurer and leaves the hero with no body at all…

08. The Wind Rises
Two observers have been working on a newly discovered planet for eight months. In another four, a ship will come for them, but summer is ending and the season of storms begins. A moderate wind, according to the natives, nearly destroyed the station; there’s only one way to survive the storms—far-off caves.

09. Form [= Expedition from Gloom]
Under the command of the Pida-pilot, a squadron of alien-chameleons from the planet Gloom arrives on Earth to prepare a staging ground for their race’s subsequent invasion of the planet. Strange, but all their previous attempts failed, and the earlier twenty scouting teams disappeared without a trace…

10. A Special Scrutinizer [= Special Order for a Prospector]
Morrison has nothing left to lose. There is no way back. His only goal is to find a rich gold deposit and return home as a wealthy man. But what if your rover breaks down everywhere, all your money is gone, and water is already running out? How do you survive in such inhuman conditions?