Noon: 22nd Century

Noon: 22nd Century (Russian: "Полдень, XXII век") is the first novel in and the namer of the Noon Universe created by the Strugatsky Brothers. Introduced a number of characters that would reappear in many later novels (though rarely all in the same time). By far the most idealistic novel in the series. Note that the title is a play on the novel Daybreak: 2250 A.D. (1954) by Andre Norton, an After the End story.

The format is best described as a collection of short stories, set in various locales on the utopian Earth in the early 22nd century and featuring several recurring characters. There is no overarching plot per se. This allowed the authors to add additional chapters in later editions. The original 1961 edition included ten stories. The 1962 edition included sixteen stories. The 1967 edition included twenty stories. No stories were added following this point.


 * Badass Pacifist: Leonid Gorbovsky. In-universe he is sort of Memetic Badass Pacifist.
 * Catch Phrase: Gorbovsky's "May I lie down?" (he spends most of his time on spaceships, so he cherishes every opportunity to rest a little) suffered from In-Universe Memetic Mutation so much, Komov sarcastically suggests it be listed as the first question to ask at any First Contact that Gorbovsky conducts.
 * Cool Starship: Gorbovsky's Tariel.
 * Crystal Spires and Togas: Well, kinda. The setting was to the Soviet readers the shiny clean utopia that Crystal Spires and Togas represent to the Westerners.
 * Desperately Looking for a Purpose In Life: Pol Gnedykh in Langour of the Spirit.
 * Everything's Squishier with Cephalopods: This trope seems to be the main reason why the marauding sperm whale was replaced with the giant squid in the second edition of the novel.
 * Fish Out of Temporal Water: Taimyr crew.
 * Perfect Pacifist People
 * Rousseau Was Right