The Noon Universe (Russian term: "Мир Полудня" or "Мир Полдня" – "World of Noon"; also known as the “Wanderers’ Universe”) is a fictional future setting for a number of hard science fiction novels written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. The universe is named after Noon: 22nd Century, chronologically the first novel from the series and referring to humanity reaching its noon in the 22nd century. According to Arkady Strugatsky, the brothers at first did not make a conscious effort to create a fictional universe. Rather, they reused characters and settings from prior works whenever they found it convenient. It was only later that they began drawing on common themes and plot threads from various novels to create newer works.
Description The victory of communism and the advance of technological progress on the Earth of the Noon Universe has resulted in an overabundance of resources and eliminated the need for most types of manual labor. Mankind is capable of near-instantaneous interstellar travel. Earth's social organization is presumably communist and can be described as a highly technologically advanced anarchistic meritocracy. There is no state structure, no institutionalized coercion, no police etc., yet the society's functioning is safeguarded by raising everyone as responsible individuals, with the guidance of a set of High Councils accepted by everyone in each particular field of activity. The main governing body is the World Council, which is composed of the brightest scientists, historians, doctors and teachers. Local matters are handled by the regional versions of the council. Planetary councils are present on each Earth colony (such as in Rainbow) as well, but "colony" in this context refers to a planet that was not home to any sentient life before the arrival of Terran settlers. In the Noon Universe, Earth has never attempted to seize permanent control over any other civilization. There is the COMCON (COMmission for CONtacts) in charge of contacts with aliens and the secret service COMCON-2 for clandestine operations.
Sentient races The universe is populated by a number of sentient races. Some of them are humanoid, and others are so alien that humanity did not realise for decades that they were sentient. Several sentient races maintain diplomatic relations with Earth's society. Many planets in the Noon Universe are inhabited by races identical to humans in all but minor genetic differences. It has been speculated that they were humans who wound up on other worlds by the manipulations of the Wanderers (as Beetle in the Anthill shows, that is hardly unprecedented). The Wanderers are the most mysterious race in the Noon Universe. Technologically advanced and highly secretive, the Wanderers are suspected of manipulating sentient beings throughout Noon Universe for their own purposes. While those purposes remain unclear, it is hinted that they try to "progress" various sentient beings, including the human race. The following sentient species are depicted: Ark Megaforms (негуманоиды Ковчега), Garrotian Snails (слизни Гарроты), Golovans (Голованы, sentient dogs), Humans, Ludens (людены, who are superhumans), Leoniders (леонидяне) Tagorians (тагоряне) Wanderers (Странники, a superrace). Other possibly-sentient species that are mentioned in the books are septoids (see Noon: 22nd Century) whose sentience is not really confirmed, semi-sentient prehistoric molluscs katapumoridako (see The Time Wanderers) and the unidentified sentient creature killed by Pol Gnedykh in the Kroox solar system (Noon: 22nd Century).
Progressors
One of the controversial occupations in the Noon Universe is that of the progressors, agents embedded in less-advanced humanoid civilizations in order to accelerate their development or to resolve their problems. Progressors' methods range from rescuing local scientists and artists to overthrowing local governments. Konstantin Šindelář, the Czech translator of the Strugatsky brothers' works (among others) and the biographer of the Strugatsky brothers Ant Skalandis consider the phenomenon of "progressorship" to be one of the major concepts introduced into the social science fiction by Strugatskis. Progressorship is a considerable element in the novels Beetle in the Anthill in which the term was first introduced and The Waves Extinguish the Wind, but literary critics agree that the idea, although unnamed, may be found in the 1962 novel Escape Attempt and that a number of subsequent novels, notably Hard to Be a God, deal with progressorship. COMCON-2 suspected that the Wanderers act as progressors with respect to the Earth and try to counteract them; this is discussed, e.g., in The Waves Extinguish the Wind.
Works These works by the Strugatsky brothers are set in the Noon Universe (listed chronologically):
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