Rough Draft
Encyclopedia
Written in 2005, Moscow
, Rough Draft by Sergey Lukyanenko
is a fantasy novel of the "parallel world
" genre, the first of a duology.
The sequel of this novel is Final Draft
.
, one day discovers that he has the ability to go to other worlds parallel
to our Earth
.
, Kirill, being "erased" from daily life in present-day Moscow
. Everybody forgets him (even his parents and dog), another person lives in his apartment, all IDs and files in all offices disappear. After a while he is phoned and invited to an old water tower — but inside is his future home and working place. There it is revealed to him that he is able to open doors, leading to other worlds — although at first all but one are locked. Once opened each door becomes rigidly connected to some world, but which one can't be predicted. All of the worlds have mostly similar environments and seem to be on the planet Earth but the societies and people are different.
After a while Kirill meets a special group of functionals, so called because they gained supernatural abilities making them excellent in some profession. They serve other people, but mostly other functionals. They say Kirill has become one of them — a customs officer. He benefits from taxes paid by people who pass through his tower. Also he has superhuman
strength and is almost immortal, but only within 10 km of his tower.
Kirill enjoys these new worlds, people and abilities. A politician Dima meets him and asks to find a national idea for Russia. He informs Kirill about the world number One, which nobody can access and which seems to be exactly our world living 30 years later. Critical information from this world may enhance the prestige of the country.
Kirill also encounters an underground
, that is, a few people fighting against the 'corporate laws' of functionals and their working for themselves or the elites of other worlds. But he remains untouched by the rhetoric of the underground, justifying most of this. Ideas of armed opposition are alien if not to say ridiculous for him. But a younger 20-aged girl who Kirril falls in love with is a genuine underground activist...
The last door opened leads to the world number One: A lovely Moscow filled with smiling people: there were no Second World War and no horrors of revolution, as this world lags for 30 years and the rulers of it carefully study the mistakes of other worlds. It's just what Dima proposed to Kirill, but applied in reverse.
Upon rather bloody returning to our world, Kirill faces troubles with his girl. Hating the system of functionals, she manifests disobedience. But their laws don't forgive this, and the functional Natalie murders her, Kirril being unable to resurrect her...
In Kirill's fighting Natalie, his tower becomes devastated, thus he ceases being a functional and is restored to his former life. The ending of this story we will learn from the second book of the future duology.
. The precise number of them is unknown, with the later parts of the book suggesting that there may be many more universes then most Functionals are aware of. The only way to travel between these universes is through watchtowers, which exist in several universes at once (though the way they appear differs with each respective universe). The functionals refer to the universes by official numerical designations and more colloquial nicknames. Those nicknames are not always consistent - for example, functions and their allies tend to refer to Earth 3 by the name of a city-state
that's closest to the watchtower
they use to get there.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Rough Draft by Sergey Lukyanenko
Sergey Lukyanenko
Sergei Vasilievich Lukyanenko is a science fiction and fantasy author, writing in Russian, and is arguably the most popular contemporary Russian sci-fi writer...
is a fantasy novel of the "parallel world
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
" genre, the first of a duology.
The sequel of this novel is Final Draft
Final Draft (novel)
Final Draft is the second novel of the popular Russian writer Sergey Lukyanenko's science fiction duology and is the sequel to Rough Draft.- Plot summary :...
.
Plot introduction
Kirill, a Russian living in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, one day discovers that he has the ability to go to other worlds parallel
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
to our Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.
Plot summary
The story starts with the heroHero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
, Kirill, being "erased" from daily life in present-day Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Everybody forgets him (even his parents and dog), another person lives in his apartment, all IDs and files in all offices disappear. After a while he is phoned and invited to an old water tower — but inside is his future home and working place. There it is revealed to him that he is able to open doors, leading to other worlds — although at first all but one are locked. Once opened each door becomes rigidly connected to some world, but which one can't be predicted. All of the worlds have mostly similar environments and seem to be on the planet Earth but the societies and people are different.
After a while Kirill meets a special group of functionals, so called because they gained supernatural abilities making them excellent in some profession. They serve other people, but mostly other functionals. They say Kirill has become one of them — a customs officer. He benefits from taxes paid by people who pass through his tower. Also he has superhuman
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
strength and is almost immortal, but only within 10 km of his tower.
Kirill enjoys these new worlds, people and abilities. A politician Dima meets him and asks to find a national idea for Russia. He informs Kirill about the world number One, which nobody can access and which seems to be exactly our world living 30 years later. Critical information from this world may enhance the prestige of the country.
Kirill also encounters an underground
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
, that is, a few people fighting against the 'corporate laws' of functionals and their working for themselves or the elites of other worlds. But he remains untouched by the rhetoric of the underground, justifying most of this. Ideas of armed opposition are alien if not to say ridiculous for him. But a younger 20-aged girl who Kirril falls in love with is a genuine underground activist...
The last door opened leads to the world number One: A lovely Moscow filled with smiling people: there were no Second World War and no horrors of revolution, as this world lags for 30 years and the rulers of it carefully study the mistakes of other worlds. It's just what Dima proposed to Kirill, but applied in reverse.
Upon rather bloody returning to our world, Kirill faces troubles with his girl. Hating the system of functionals, she manifests disobedience. But their laws don't forgive this, and the functional Natalie murders her, Kirril being unable to resurrect her...
- "An extreme foolishness," said I, "All these loud words and beautiful poses... 'they will not pass', 'yet it moves', 'motherland or death', 'am able to die for my beliefs' — all of this becomes nonsense when real death comes... All of this is for kids. And for adults who handle them..."
- Natalie nodded with approval.
- "But yet it moves" said I, "Doesn't it? It moves, and they will not pass, and motherland remains motherland even if death becomes death, and nobody is ready to die, but sometimes it's easier to die than to betray..."
In Kirill's fighting Natalie, his tower becomes devastated, thus he ceases being a functional and is restored to his former life. The ending of this story we will learn from the second book of the future duology.
Universes in Rough Draft
Rough Draft features a number of alternate universesParallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
. The precise number of them is unknown, with the later parts of the book suggesting that there may be many more universes then most Functionals are aware of. The only way to travel between these universes is through watchtowers, which exist in several universes at once (though the way they appear differs with each respective universe). The functionals refer to the universes by official numerical designations and more colloquial nicknames. Those nicknames are not always consistent - for example, functions and their allies tend to refer to Earth 3 by the name of a city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
that's closest to the watchtower
Watchtower
A watchtower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military, and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may...
they use to get there.
- Earth 1 (Arkan) - a universe 35 years "behind" Earth 2. It's a home universe of the functionals.
- Earth 2 (Demos)- Kirill's home universe. It's the most technologically advanced inhabited universe in the "Fan". Named so for its widespread use of democracyDemocracyDemocracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
, which is considered to be an archaic form of government in other worlds. - Earth 3 (Veroz) - a world where the humanity lives in numerous city-states scattered throughout the planet. AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
is an unexplored continent and the sea is filled with creatures that are regarded as legendary elsewhere (such as the KrakenKrakenKraken are legendary sea monsters of giant proportions said to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway and Iceland.In modern German, Krake means octopus but can also refer to the legendary Kraken...
). Oil doesn't exist on Earth 3, so steam is a primary power source among the natives. - Earth 4 (Antik) - a world that, in many respects, evokes a Greco-Roman utopiaUtopiaUtopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
. For example, slaves are allowed to rebel twice a year. If they succeed, they can become free citizens and have their own slaves. - Earth 5 - a world where human beings mate in cycles, coming into heat during the spring. It's more advanced then Earth 3 but less advanced then Earth 2.
- Earth 8 (Tverd) - a world dominated by repressive theocracies. The dominant church practices a "warped, lethargic" version of Christianity. This world is known for comparatively advanced bio-technology and ignorance of electricityElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. - Earth 14 (Janus) - a world with bitterly cold winters and hot summers. Spring is the only season when the weather is anywhere close to tolerable. This version of Earth has no moon and no magnetic field. Although most functionals assume Earth 14 is uninhabited, a functional Kirill encountered in Final Draft insisted that there was some animal and human life that survived by migrating along with the spring weather.
- Earth 16 - a world where Earth changed little over the course of billions of years. It's volcanically active, radioactive, oxygen-poor and generally inhospitable to living organisms, but it is stated in Final Draft that animal-like voices are sometimes heard from there.
- Earth 18 (Preserve)- a world completely devoid of human life. It's a popular resort among the Functionals and their allies.
- Earth 22 (Nirvana) - a universe with no native animal life. The planet's surface is covered with plants that produce a narcotic substance that puts any human being within proximity into a drugged stupor. Functionals use this universe as a political prison for their enemies. The children born in this universe are more resistant to the effects of the plants than their parents, but they aren't completely immune.