Fiction is a convenient way to present a version when there is not enough evidence for it. Therefore, the action of the novel of the Strugatsky brothers "Inhabited Island" takes place in the distant future on the planet Saraksh, the inhabitants of which earthlings are trying to help move along the path of progress. Meanwhile, already now the combination of ancient legends and traditions with the analysis of ancient artifacts and modern scientific achievements makes it possible to collect enough evidence that already from ancient times humanity is not at all a leading, but a driven participant in the process of interaction of civilizations of different levels of development. The "inhabited island" is not at all a foreign and distant planet of the future, but our Earth. And this book is no longer a fantastic novel, but only an analysis of real facts and testimonies of witnesses.