History Literature / TalesOfPirxThePilot

* FlyCrazy: ''The Test''.

* MurderousMalfunctioningMachine: The robot in ''The Hunt'' seems to run on this - it was a mining robot before it went nuts.

* CrushKillDestroy: The robot in ''The Hunt'' seems to run on this - it was a mining robot before it went nuts.

* TheAlcoholic: The radio operator in ''Pirx's Tale''. He's a FunctionalAddict, more or less, but incredibly passive-agressive (he knocks on the table in Morse to insult his collegueas at dinner) and invariably becoming a miserable drunk towards the evening.

* FateWorseThanDeath: The crew of the ''Blue Star''/''Coriolanus'' in ''Terminus''. [[spoiler: The ship collides with meteorites and gets partially destroyed. Yet some of the crew manage to survive, trapped and separated from each other on different decks. They are still able to communicate with Morse code using the pipes, if only to tell each other they were slowly running out of air...]]

The main focus of the books is, unsurprisingly, on space travel and how mankind uses and is changed by it. Another main theme is how robots and computers act and evolve, with a healthy, realistic dose of WhatMeasureIsANonHuman
The future itself is described in rather [[UsedFuture gritty tones]] and quite [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness hard SF]] ([[Creator/StanislawLem The author]] was known for being HardOnSoftScience).

* TwoDSpace: Averted. The protagonist navigates above the ecliptic in "Pirx's Tale".
* AbsentAliens: Played straight, [[spoiler: and subverted (maybe?) in "Pirx's Tale"]]

* AndIMustScream: A version appears in "The Conditional Reflex": students of the Institute must pass a test where they have to endure sensory deprivation for as long as possible. After several hours, this becomes... troubling.
* AsteroidThicket: Averted. In "Pirx's Tale" the spaceship Pirx is on was maneuvering in an asteroid cloud for several hours without even seeing one asteroid, although people not in the business tend to [[RealityIsUnrealistic expect it]] like it's in the movies.
* ContinuityNod: In "The Inquest" Pirx discovers a fly on his ship and mentions that he hates them. This is a nod to the very first story, where flies were responsible for some tomfoolery [[spoiler: like almost ''crashing'' into the freaking moon.]]

* FateWorseThanDeath: The crew of the ''Blue Star''/''Coriolanus'' in "Terminus". [[spoiler: The ship collides with meteorites and gets partially destroyed. Yet some of the crew manage to survive, trapped and separated from each other on different decks. They are still able to communicate with Morse code using the pipes, if only to tell each other they were slowly running out of air...]]

* FirstPersonSmartass: In "Pirx's Tale" Pirx himself is narrating, and shows off his snarky character.
* FlyCrazy: "The Test".
* GenreShift: "The Conditional Reflex" is like a mystery story [[InSpace ON THE MOON!]].

* ImprovisedMicrogravityManeuvering: The radio operator from "Pirx's Tale" has a habit of just tossing whatever junk he happens to have in his pockets, without regard for other crewmembers' safety. That's one of his ''less'' annoying traits.

* ThePlan: In "The Inquest", bordering on a GambitPileup and TakeAThirdOption. It's kind of hard to explain.

* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: [[spoiler: "The Inquest" has some of them among the ship's crew. It's a test of their spaceman capability.]]

* SceneryGorn: In "Ananke", [[spoiler: the crash site of the ''Ariel''.]]

** In "Pirx's Tale" the narrator mentions reading [[RayGunGothic early science-fiction books]] and thinking they are absolutely [[SoBadItsGood ridiculous]] and unrealistic with their [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe female alien spies]], [[AIIsACrapshoot rebelling computers]] and [[TheEmpire evil alien empires]]. Could also count as a TakeThat to other Sci-Fi writers -- the book in question sounds suspiciously like [[Creator/IsaacAsimov Asimov's]] ''Stars, Like Dust''.
** In "The Hunt" Pirx has to hunt a robot in a labyrinth, and the robot [[spoiler: turns out to be more human than thought]]. It is pretty obvious though, as the robot is named "Setaurus".

* SpaceMadness / SanitySlippage: In "The Patrol" Pirx goes through one of those. [[spoiler: He gets better, though.]]
* StarshipLuxurious: The ''Titan'' in "Albatross".

* VirtualTrainingSimulation: [[spoiler: In "The Test". Pirx doesn't know about it, which is the point of the test (they're testing new pilots coping skills in an actual crisis situation).]]
* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler: "Albatross". Two fully staffed starships are lost in an nuclear accident, and all the protagonist can do is watch.]]

* FateWorseThanDeath: The crew of the ''Blue Star''/''Coriolanus'' in "Terminus". [[spoiler: The ship is hit by a meteor shower, destroying parts of it. Yet some of the crew manage to survive, trapped and separated from each other on different decks. They were still able to communicate with Morse code using the pipes, if only to tell each other they were slowly running out of air...]]

* FateWorseThanDeath: The crew of the ''Blue Star''/''Korolian'' in "Terminus". [[spoiler: The ship is hit by a meteor shower, destroying parts of it. Yet some of the crew manage to survive, trapped and separated from each other on different decks. They were still able to communicate with Morse code using the pipes, if only to tell each other they were slowly running out of air...]]

In this future, [[CasualInterplanetaryTravel travel withing the Solar System]] is an everyday thing, and mankind has begun to colonize it. Most stories are thus set either in space or on the moon, as "Luna" represents one of the most important bases of humanity. Later on in the book, Mars is also being colonized, and there are fleet bases in the constellation of Aquarius, implying that mankind is able to travel at least as far as 11 light years.

* ScalingTheSummit: Pirx's hobby. In one of the stories, he climbs a mountain in search for a robot which, as Pirx notes, didn't have to climb to fulfill its task - but the summit ''[[RidiculouslyHumanRobots was there]]''.

* ShoutOut: In "Pirx's Tale" the narrator mentions reading [[RayGunGothic early science-fiction books]] and thinking they are absolutely [[SoBadItsGood ridiculous]] and unrealistic with their [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe female alien spies]], [[AIIsACrapshoot rebelling computers]] and [[TheEmpire evil alien empires]]. Could also count as a TakeThat to other Sci-Fi writers - the book in question sounds suspiciously like [[IsaacAsimov Asimov's]] ''Stars, like dust''.
** Also, in "The Hunt" Pirx has to hunt a robot in a labyrinth, and the robot [[spoiler: turns out to be more human than thought]]. It is pretty obvious though, as the robot is named "Setaurus".

!!Provides examples of:

* {{Two-DSpace}}: Averted. The protagonist navigates above the ecliptic in "Pirx's Tale".

* UsedFuture: So used there are shady South-American companies cashing in on the human garbage orbiting Mercury.

* AsteroidThicket: Averted. In "Pirx's Tale" the spaceship Pirx is on was maneuvering in an asteroid cloud for several hours without actually seeing one asteroid.

* ShoutOut: In "Pirx's Tale" the narrator mentions reading [[RayGunGothic early science-fiction books]] and thinking they are absolutely ridiculous and unrealistic with their [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe female alien spies]], [[AIIsACrapshoot rebelling computers]] and [[TheEmpire evil alien empires]]. Could also count as a TakeThat to other Sci-Fi writers - the book in question sounds suspiciously like [[IsaacAsimov Asimov's]] ''Stars, like dust''.

* {{Zeerust}}: The bigger computers still run on punchhole cards, and satellites communicate with Morse code.

The main focus of the books is, unsurprisingly, on space travel and how mankind uses and is changed by it. Another main theme is how robots and computers act and evolve, with a healthy, realistic dose of WhatMeasureIsNonHuman.

* AbsentAliens: Played straight, [[spoiler: subverted (maybe?) in "Pirx's Tale"]]

* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: In ''The Test'', even though it's more of a simulation.]]
* AndIMustScream: A temporal version appears in "The Conditional Reflex": students of the Institute must pass a test where they have to endure sensory deprivation for as long as possible. After several hours, this becomes... troubling.

* ContinuityNod: In "The Inquest" Pirx discovers a fly on his ship and mentions that he hates them. This is a nod to the very first story, where flies were responsible for some tomfoolery [[spoiler: like almost crashing into the freaking moon.]]
* CrushKillDestroy: The robot in ''The Hunt'' seems to run on this - it was a mining robot before it broke down.

* InstantAIJustAddWater: Subverted, as the computers and robots usually show just one trait of human intellect at a time.

** Robots ''behaving'' surprisingly human is a central motif to at least two of the stories.

* SceneryGorn: In "Ananke", [[spoiler: the crashsite of the ''Ariel''.]]

* UniversalUniverseTime: It's inverted, as every planet, moon and spaceship has its own time, often leading to extreme jetlags for the ships' crews.

''Tales of Pirx the Pilot'' is a collection of short stories by Creator/StanislawLem, first published in 1968 in Poland, and was translated to English in 2 parts (''Tales of Pirx the Pilot'' & ''More Tales of Pirx the Pilot'').

In this future, interplanetary spacetravel is already normal, and mankind has begun to colonize the solar system. The bulk of the stories are thus set either in solar space or on the moon, as "Luna" represents one of the most important bases of humanity. Later on in the book, Mars is also being colonized, and there are fleet bases in the constellation of Aquarius, implying that mankind is able to travel at least as far as 11 light years.

The main focus of the books is, unsurprisingly, on space travel and how mankind uses and is changed by it. Also, another main theme is how robots and computers act and evolve to help humanity with its travels between the planets.
The future itself is described in rather [[UsedFuture gritty tones]], and tries its best to be realistic with the usage of science, which pushes it to the "Hard" side of the MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness.

* ShoutOut: In "Pirx's Tale" the narrator mentions reading [[RayGunGothic early science-fiction books]] and thinking they are absolutely ridiculous and unrealistic with their [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe female alien spies]], [[AIIsACrapshoot rebelling computers]] and [[TheEmpire evil alien empires]]. Could also count as a TakeThat to other Sci-Fi writers - the book in question sounds suspiciously like [[IsaakAsimov Asimov's]] ''Stars, like dust''.

* FateWorseThanDeath: The crew of the ''Blue Star''/''Korolian'' in "Terminus". [[spoiler: The ship is hit by a meteor shower, destroying parts of it. Yet some of the crew manage to survive, trapped and seperated from each other on different decks. They were still able to communicate with Morse code using the pipes, if only to tell each other they were slowly running out of air...]]
** And then [[FromBadToWorse it gets worse]]. [[spoiler: The ship's robot somehow "catches on" the personalities of the dying crew and keeps them in his electronic brain. When Pirx, on the different ship he captains, encounters this robot, already a rusting heap of junk, it repairs pipes, beating out the Morse code as used by the said crew. And when Pirx tries to communicate with them ''[[AndIMustScream they reply]]''. He then [[MercyKill orders the destruction of the robot]] due to the "total decay of brain function".]]

* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: [[spoiler: "The Inquest" has a ship's crew with some of them with them.]]

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Despite the used future setting, the stories have a rather optimistic tone of mankind somehow getting on.

* AbsentAliens: Played straight, [[spoiler: subverted in "Pirx's Tale"]]

* CrushKillDestroy: The robot in ''The Hunt'' seems to run on this.

** And then [[FromBadToWorse it gets worse]]. [[spoiler:A ship's robot somehow "catches on" the personalities of the dying crew and keeps them in his electronic brain. When Pirx, on the different ship he captains, encounters this robot, already a rusting heap of junk, he does some repairs still in the rhythm of the Morse code used by the said crew. And when Pirx tries to communicate with them ''[[AndIMustScream they reply]]''. He then [[MercyKill orders the destruction of the robot]] due to the "total decay of brain function".]]

* ShoutOut: In "Pirx's Tale" the narrator mentions reading [[RayGunGothic early science-fiction books]] and thinking they are absolutely ridiculous and unrealistic with their [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe female alien spies]], [[AIIsACrapshoot rebelling computers]] and [[TheEmpire evil alien empires]]. Could also count as a TakeThat to other Sci-Fi writers.

* SpaceMadness / SanitySlippage: In "The Patrol" Pirx goes through one of those. [[spoiler:He gets better, though.]]

* UniversalUniverseTime: It's inverted, as every planet, moon and spaceship has its own time often leading to extreme jetlags for the ships' crews.
* UsedFuture: So much there are shady South-American companies cashing in on the human garbage orbiting Mercury.
* VirtualTrainingSimulation: [[spoiler: In "The Test". Pirx doesn't know about it, though.]]
* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler: "Albatross". Two fully staffed starships are lost in an nuclear accident, and the protagonist can only watch.]]

** And then [[ItGotWorse it gets worse]]. [[spoiler:A ship's robot somehow "catches on" the personalities of the dying crew and keeps them in his electronic brain. When Pirx, on the different ship he captains, encounters this robot, already a rusting heap of junk, he does some repairs still in the rhythm of the Morse code used by the said crew. And when Pirx tries to communicate with them ''[[AndIMustScream they reply]]''. He then [[MercyKill orders the destruction of the robot]] due to the "total decay of brain function".]]

In this future, interplanetary spacetravel is already normal, and mankind has begun to colonize the solar system. The bulk of the stories are thus set either in solar space or on the moon, as "Luna" represents one of the most important bases of humanity. Later on in the book, Mars is also being colonized, and there are fleet bases in the constellation of Aquarius, implying that mankind is able to travel at least as far as 11 lightyears.

The main focus of the books is, unsurprisingly, on space travel and how mankind uses and is changed by it. Also, another main theme is how robots and computers act and evolve to help humanity with it's travels between the planets.
The future itself is described in rather [[UsedFuture gritty tones]], and tries it's best to be realistic with the usage of science, which pushes it to the "Hard" side of the MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness.

* XanatosGambit: In "The Inquest", bordering on a GambitPileup and TakeAThirdOption. It's kind of hard to explain.

The stories follow Pirx, a cadet at the "Institute", an academy for astronauts in the [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture near future]], as he makes his way through the ranks of student, patrol pilot, and finally [[WeWillUseWikiWordsInTheFuture astrogator (read: captain of a spaceship)]].

''Tales of Pirx the Pilot'' is a collection of short stories by StanislawLem, first published in 1968 in Poland, and was translated to English in 2 parts (''Tales of Pirx the Pilot'' & ''More Tales of Pirx the Pilot'').

* CrushKillDestroy: The robot in ''The Hunt'' seems to run on this.

* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: [[spoiler: "The Inquest" has a ship's crew with some of them with them.]]

* ShoutOut: In "Pirx's Tale" the narrator mentions reading [[RayGunGothic early science-fiction books]] and thinking they are absolutely ridiculous and unrealistic with their [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe female alien spies]], [[AIIsACrapshoot rebelling computers]] and [[TheEmpire evil alien empires]]. Could also count as a {{TakeThat}} to other Sci-Fi writers.

* {{Two-DSpace}}: Averted. The protagonist navigates above the ecliptic in "Pirx's Tale".

* SpaceMadness / SanitySlippage: In "The Patrol" Pirx goes through one of those. [[spoiler: [[IGotBetter He gets better]], though.]]