Roadside Picnic

In the field of First Contact novels we are used to either all out villains trying to take over the earth(War of the Worlds, Puppet Masters) or occasionally being quite benign( Contact)and even helpful (Uplift sponsoring etc), but there is another possibility....

In Roadside Picnic we find Earth has been visited by aliens, though we never see them or know what they are like. All we see are six "Zones" where they landed for a matter of days and left unseen, leaving behind weird technology, most of which is unfathomable to earth 's scientists, strange gravity anomalies, deadly substances, genetic mutation of those who enter the Zones, and causing "zombies" which resemble their original humans but have little brain function.

Though blocked off , the Zones become magnets for Stalkers, young men who seriously risk their lives by entering the Zones and stealing the strange tech to sell to scientists and collectors, risking mutilation, mutation and death in the Zones, imprisonment by the government if caught.

We follow the life of one such Stalker', Red Schuhart, and gradually learn more about the situation. But halfway through the book a character speculates about the aliens as neither benefactors or destroyers. He describes a peaceful woodland scene, the insects and small animals busily going about their business. But then there is an intrusion -

" A picnic. Picture a forest, a country road, a meadow. Cars drive off the country road into the meadow, a group of young people get out carrying bottles, baskets of food, transistor radios, and cameras. They light fires, pitch tents, turn on the music. In the morning they leave. The animals, birds, and insects that watched in horror through the long night creep out from their hiding places. And what do they see? Old spark plugs and old filters strewn around... Rags, burnt-out bulbs, and a monkey wrench left behind... And of course, the usual mess—apple cores, candy wrappers, charred remains of the campfire, cans, bottles, somebody's handkerchief, somebody's penknife, torn newspapers, coins, faded flowers picked in another meadow."

So, it may be that Earth is just irrelevant to the universe, just a passing through point where rubbish is left behind, but the original inhabitants will never feel safe again, which may be more disturbing than harboring the fear of an alien return to conquer. In the book the general public have ostensibly ignored the whole situation, getting on with life, though of course accepting the benefits of the small bits of tech that have been understood. Scientists are ostensibly fascinated by the huge strides they are making, whilst secretly terrified at just how far behind the aliens we are. And the Stalkers? There is a rumour that in the Zone there is a machine that grants the desires of the heart. It is the Holy Grail for these young men, including Red. No-one is unaffected by fear or anxiety under the surface.

I was riveted by this very short book of less than 150 pages. The ending is inevitably tragic, and enigmatic, but I think Red Schuhart and the Zone will stay in my mind for a long time. A classic.