Contract (russian: Контракт) is a 1985

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

animation based on the short science fiction story ''Company Store'' (1958) by

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Gr ...

and directed by

Vladimir Tarasov Vladimir Ilich Tarasov (russian: Владимир Ильич Тарасов; born 7 February 1939 in Moscow) is a Russian animator and animation director. He is best known for his Soviet-era science fiction short films, such as ''The Pass, Cont ...

. The song

I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" is an American popular song and jazz standard by Jimmy McHugh (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics). The song was introduced by Adelaide Hall at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New York in January 1928 in Lew L ...

is used in the animation.

Plot

A colonist arrives on a deserted planet and is immediately attacked by various monsters. Moments before the colonist meets his death, a protective field is activated by the trading robot QBF-41. It turns out that the monsters are merely a ploy used by the robot. Using the ''mass transmitter'' (a device that creates "everything necessary for life" for free), the colonist orders shaving razors which arrives at a huge shipping cost. It turns out that ''luxuries'' do not fall under the umbrella of the necessities of life. However QBF-41 offers a sample tube of shaving cream free of charge. The colonist asks to pay for it and it turns out he has no right to use the services of a competing firm. The robot also receives a similar warning and is deactivated. The colonist is then deprived from food and the mass transmitter. The colonist uses batteries from his life supplies to reactivate the robot, and together they are left alone on the surface of a lifeless planet.

Bibliography

External links

* *
The text of the short story
at the Moshkov library * * * Films by Vladimir Tarasov Russian and Soviet animated science fiction films 1985 films Films based on short fiction Soyuzmultfilm Russian animated short films {{1980s-USSR-film-stub