Since it was written in 1971, well before the Chernobyl disaster, it&#x27;s not surprising that the Strugatsky brothers&#x27; <i>Roadside Picnic</i> doesn&#x27;t appear in the article. The book&#x27;s theme and narrative are so redolent of Chernobyl, however - telling about perilous journeys into the Zone, an area infested with inexplicable, often invisible, and frequently deadly remnants of some alien Visitation - that the comparison is almost irresistible. Some of the caretakers of Chernobyl call themselves &quot;Stalkers&quot;[1] after the book&#x27;s name for those venturing into the Zone (and also the name of Tarkovsky&#x27;s film adapting the novel) for example.<p>With this in mind, if you&#x27;ve read <i>Roadside Picnic</i> it&#x27;s hard not to see a reference to it in the article&#x27;s closing words:<p><i>For 30 years, authors have heaved their imaginations into the Zone, trying to crack the riddle of the sarcophagus—how to make sense of Chernobyl? Their imperfect answers keep the question alive.</i><p>1: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Stalker_%281979_film%29" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Stalker_%281979_film%29</a>