This novel is about time. About the era. About people. In fact, like most of the Strugatskys’ works, this novel is a search for the destiny not of a hero, and not of “a person in general,” but of very specific people. “The Search for Destiny” is, firstly, an anti-Soviet work, starting with the fact that one of the central characters is a dissident, and the entire novel is imbued with the corresponding pathos. The people surrounding Stas Krasnogorov bear very, very little resemblance to the heroes of Monday. But much more than the latter, they resemble real people. Yes, Zheka Malakhov or Viscount are from the same environment as the heroes of “Monday”; they are scientists, and they work with passion and creativity. We learn about Zhek, for example, only that he is a snob and a bore, that he has a beautiful wife. The Viscount indulges in graphomania, stubbornly keeps silent about his work in the “box,” and in the end turns out to be a rather vile person. Even Krasnogorov’s legendary boss, the apparently brilliant scientist Ezhevatov, does not in any way resemble the heroes of “Monday”...