– Screwed up?! You bastard," she shrieked and threw herself on the chair, covered her face with her palms and began to sob.
– What's going on? – Ruthra asked loudly. – What's going on, Catherine? – He asked, noticing the look in her eyes.
She was silent.
– Will someone explain it to me? – Ruthra now looked at Andrian.
He stood up, took Rutra under his elbow, took him aside, and showed him the video. It was the scene of him and Yiulia viewing the visions of YatSan's consciousness. Indeed, it was very "intimate" to the outside observer. And why it was so – history is also silent.
Ruthra was almost furious, turned around, looked fiercely at Iulia… and then softened. She was looking at him, beaming a magical smile, and, like a skillful actress who can play the lead in both Gone with the Wind and Deep Throat, she made an innocent face, licking her lower lip with her tongue.
– But how? I don't understand," Ruthra said calmly. – Are you having an argument? Did you have an agreement beforehand? How did you know what was going on there? And how could you know what was happening afterward before you watched it?
– How clever you are, and they played you in no time at all," YatSan whispered, still in tears.
– You put on a play without knowing the consequences? I mean, you didn't know exactly how it was going to go down. You assumed.
– And it's done! – she cried out.
– So this is your idea, that everything is not as you dream? – He turned to Iulia, restraining himself.
She was silent for a few seconds, then looking at YatSan, she said:
– He's gonna kick us out.
– So be it.
There was real resentment and anger in YatSan. Rutra decided to resort to his favorite trick. Sowing doubt about reality. What is reality? If we doubted whether the Earth was round or flat, whether there was a god or not, whether we were descended from monkeys or aliens, whether we were two times two, whether we lived in reality or in a virtual matrix, then what could we talk about?
– First of all, none of this is true. It's as staged as what you've experienced.
YatSan looked at him with the expression of a hurt child. Exactly, offended by the failure to fulfill a promise.
– I'm sorry, but it's true.
– That's enough. You're already lying.
– No, honey," he walked over to her, trying to hug her.
She took his hand away.
– We're in a little bit of a wrong relationship. It's still a business project, it's better this way. Come with me, I'll try to explain. Everyone will confirm. No offense, but everything we say is true.
YatSan was still staring at him angrily. Ruthra tried to take her under his elbow and lead her, but she pulled back and snapped at him, but she followed him. The group walked in silence down the corridor, and only occasional jokes from the luminary of science lightened the dull atmosphere. When they entered the laboratory, Ruthra led YatSan to the machine where her real body lay. While she was looking at herself – Rutra turned around and wagged his finger at IuLia as if to warn and scold her. She smiled slyly as usual.
– Look, it's hard for you to believe, because the very mechanism of transmigration is based on this, everything has to be realistic. But this is your real body. You feel a little different now.
– A little yes," she said quietly.
She wanted to know if the recent events between Rutra and her friend were a lie. Rutra, on the other hand, realized the significance of exclusivity for her. It was much more serious for her than it was for him. That is the nature of the sexes. We often live in fantasies, even in reality; the less we do trial and error, the more fantasies we have. Chastity and the knowledge of god, the knowledge of god and the eternal flight of scientific thought. And yet only practice yields the fruits necessary in reality for us as living substances, otherwise how, even if according to Descartes, we, being a thought without a body, knowing what we are, not feeling pleasure, and therefore not feeling emotion, would still not give birth to thought. Because according to philosophy, including that of the above-mentioned respected thinker, we are our self, even if we do not have a body, but we have the ability to think. And Rutra's conclusions concerned the fact that without a body, without its sensations, we will not give birth to thought, because behind representation and imagination there must be a support of practice in the form of those very feelings of pleasure and emotion. Of course, also pain, including spiritual pain, gave us a hurricane of inferences. And here this effect worked because it was desired: the effect by us of an imagined reality. Every woman wants to be deceived. She believes the worst, but hopes for the best. Knowing this, Ruthra wanted to whisper in YatSan's ear, "It's all lies," but changed his mind:
– Look, it's taping right now. You've already made friends with Irene as a girl. So, lie down in the rig, we'll transfer your consciousness back into the body you're looking for, then you'll wake up and watch the video.
Having said that, still whispered in her ear about what he really wished for.
– I enjoyed watching the story in the pool and really wouldn't mind doing it again, and everyone before and after too.
She, looking at Rutra with eyes still red from tears, finally said:
– If you lie to me, my revenge will be severe.
– Lying about wanting to do it again? You'd have to be crazy to lie about something like that," Ruthra said with his trademark smile.
– I'm not kidding, I'm gonna kill you. I'll kill you both.
– What are you talking about? Didn't you ask your friend to act out a scene like this? I thought it might happen.
– So it's true?
– Of course not. We played you, too. It's a montage.
– You're lying.
– Uh, no.
– You're lying.
– Come on, lie down. Not everyone can take your fantasies.
– Don't be afraid of your desires, be afraid of mine," she finally said her favorite slogan firmly and confidently.
– You've got someone to scare. Let's go. I'll just get ready for the inspection," Ruthra said, smiling and pulling her against him.
Noticing this, everyone applauded, which cheered up YatSan and she smiled back.
– How long are we going to admire the lovebirds here? – As always jokingly, the scientist reminded about the purpose of coming to the laboratory.
All the fantastic realities of the new world were realized by the group as commonplace, but the relationship between Rutra and YatSan was perceived as very unusual.
YatSan lay down in the rig, and the lab staff began the process. Ruthra sat down with the girls on the far couch; Andrian, seated separately, was already unrolling the "air" chess pieces, and the scientist was working on the monitor. Rutra smiled at Iulia, but crossed his arms and said:
– Game over, girlfriend. Friendship is friendship, but this is serious. I respect you, I like you as a friend and a coworker, but–
– But you've developed feelings," Catherine said modestly.
– Yes, I confess, I'm having feelings.
– We'll check them out," Iulia was in her own style.
– We mean.
– We mean we.
– You think she'd be interested in that?
– Why, did you convince her?
– Loading the memory back up will be without this plot. She won't know anything about it. So, my dear, I hope you don't have to erase your memory too.
They glanced over to Catherine.
– It's dangerous.
– Behave well and this place will be fine. It was a fun game before and everyone had fun, and since it is now – please justify the concept of "friendship". If we're friends, then we're friends. And if it was pretend, then it's strictly a working relationship.
– Friendship," Catherine said.
– Friendship," Iulia said boldly and firmly, but it didn't sound the same coming from Catherine.
Still, she wanted a special role for herself.
Chapter 3: Where do we dream?
Meanwhile, YatSan "woke up."
– What did you dream about? – Ruthra asked, helping her up.
– Oh, my God, is it true?
Ruthra looked at his friend and coworker "witching" behind the equipment.
– What did you tell her? – He asked me bluntly.
– Nothing unreal. She remembers everything," he said with a sly smile.
– Lied down in one setting, got up out of another, argued a bit, and back again. Right, YatSan?
– So close. I was dreaming of another world. Now I realize it was a dream.
– Which one? – Iulia asked with a mixture of hope and fear that wasn't entirely clear, even to Ruthra.
– I dreamt it was like you were the president and I…" she said, looking at Rutra without finishing her speech.
– You what?
– It's like I'm your wife," YatSan finished with a smile, and there was joy in her voice.
– Oh!" he said. – What an honor.
Those present also smiled, laughed, and began clapping their hands, encouraging Rutra.
– Rutrue for president, Rutrue for president.
– Oh, wait a minute. There's a war going on," YatSan said worriedly.
Ruthra glanced over to the scientist.
– It's not me. It's real.
– So it's bad.
– What's bad? – Andrian asked.
Ruthra looked at him and said in a way that made it clear to everyone: this was no joke.
– There is such a version that dreams are reflections of the mirror world. That is, these twin particles affect us in such a way. First on the dream, then we perform an action on the basis of a thought, which may well appear due to brain changes in the dream. So we decipher dreams one way or another. Otherwise they would mean nothing to reality at all. We, on the other hand, after watching cartoons, do not consider them somehow realizable.
– Wait, let me rest. I can't take it anymore.
YatSan walked toward the exit.
– All right, we'll rest for an hour. Tea, coffee and your favorite goodies are on the house.
The hour passed quickly, which meant that time could be different, but it could also be felt differently. Ruthra, the luminary of science, and Andrian were thinking about the dream, how identical it could be in our world, and whether it was real? Or is it all just an assumption on their part? Rutra argued that everything is real, because if you explain to an ignorant person that a mirror can reflect – it would be difficult for him to understand, without seeing the reality of it. And cloned animals and genetically modified products bear the stamp of Satanism. What to speak about cloning a human being and transferring consciousness into him. Any miracle ceases to be a miracle when our brain gets tired of thinking about it.
Ruthra stood up, clapping his hands for attention.
– I may surprise you, but I only want you to be surprised because of the urgency. Or maybe there's no urgency, but how do we know? Let's just say that Yat-San's dream will definitely spur me to speed things up, or rather, experiment. I want to do it tomorrow. Yat-San is ready. I'll tell you, you're a beauty, I'll give you a round of applause.
Everyone clapped.
– I admit, I thought it would be much harder to get through, and in some ways, I was afraid of the disruption and failure. You did a professional job. What do you think about tomorrow?
