OVERLAY REPORT

In the 1963 Czechoslovak science fiction masterpiece Ikarie XB 1, the characters undergo a journey that is as much psychological as it is physical. Here is a breakdown of who ends up better and who ends up worse by the film's conclusion. ### Who Ends Up Better **1. Steffi (the pregnant crew member) and her Unborn Child** Steffi begins the film in a state of uncertainty, carrying the first child to be born in deep space. Throughout the voyage, there is a looming question of whether a human can be born and thrive so far from Earth. By the end of the film, as the Ikarie approaches the "White Planet" in the Alpha Centauri system, the birth of her child symbolizes the ultimate success of the mission. The child represents the "New Man"—a human being who belongs to the stars rather than the Earth. They end up "better" because they embody the evolution of the species and the triumph of life over the void. **2. The Crew as a Collective** At the start of the film, the crew is plagued by the mundane stresses of long-term space travel and a sense of isolation. They encounter a 20th-century wreck (the Bernadette) filled with corpses and nuclear weapons, which serves as a grim reminder of humanity's violent past. However, by surviving the "Dark Star" radiation (which causes a terrifying sleeping sickness) and successfully reaching their destination, the crew is vindicated. They witness the lights of a vast, advanced civilization on the White Planet, moving from a state of lonely exploration to one of cosmic communion. **3. Commander Abayev** Abayev starts the film burdened by the immense responsibility of the lives of his crew and the success of the mission. He is forced to make harrowing decisions, particularly during the radiation crisis. By the end, he has successfully navigated his "family" through both physical danger and psychological breakdown. He ends up "better" in the sense that his faith in science, humanity, and the mission is rewarded by the sight of the alien city. --- ### Who Ends Up Worse **4. Michal (the crewman who suffers a breakdown)** Michal is the clearest example of someone who ends up worse. During the period of "Sleeping Sickness" caused by the Dark Star’s radiation, Michal’s mental health completely collapses. He suffers from extreme claustrophobia and paranoia, eventually believing that the ship is a tomb and that they are all dead. He attempts to run through the ship in a frenzy and eventually has to be restrained. While he survives, he is left psychologically shattered, a victim of the "space madness" that the mission feared. He serves as a tragic reminder of the fragile nature of the human psyche when removed from its natural habitat. **5. The "Ancients" (The crew of the 20th-century ship Bernadette)** While they are dead before the film begins, their "status" is a major plot point. The crew of the Ikarie discovers them halfway through the film. These 20th-century humans represent the "worse" version of humanity—those who brought nuclear weapons into space and ended up killing each other in a frantic struggle for oxygen and survival. They end up "worse" in a narrative sense because they are held up as a mirror to the Ikarie crew, representing a dead-end for the species characterized by greed and violence, in contrast to the peaceful, scientific future the Ikarie represents. **6. Anthony (the elderly mathematician)** Anthony spends much of the film struggling with nostalgia and a sense of displacement. He is the link to the "Old Earth," and he finds the rigors of the journey increasingly difficult to bear. While he survives to see the White Planet, he represents the segment of humanity that may be too rooted in the past to fully inhabit the future. Compared to the younger crew and the newborn baby, Anthony is physically and emotionally drained by the end of the voyage.