Ruthra was about to ask where, to whom, and why, when he realized that something was wrong. The policeman had been very friendly to him, and it seemed that the place where he was to go was not a hostile place.
Soon he saw the mark of a removed sign on one of the doors. He knocked. The owner of the office himself opened the door. In the spacious room at the entrance stood a tall, blue-eyed, blond-haired, statuesque man.
– Hey, buddy. Enough lying around in sanatoriums, it's time to get down to business," he began.
Ruthra tried to contact Irene silently. She wasn't answering. He needed information. He didn't understand what was going on or how to behave, much less what to answer.
– It's time. What's the plan?
– The plan is the same, but we'll change it a little, and we'll need to add more men," the man spoke a little quickly and, as it seemed to Ruthra, even with some apprehension. – I'll send all the input and disposition data over the alternate communications system. Irene is under control and on lockdown for most functions for you. All the more reason for her to keep quiet and not give you any data.
– Can artificial intelligence be persuaded?
– Rutra, are you brain-dead from the daily marathon to the TV tower?
– Uh… I don't think so. Must have been a heavy sleeper.
Ruthra was about to ask what the TV tower was, but stopped just in time.
– You did it yourself, and they realized it. Although you and Irene are on very good terms, she'll tell you in confidence.
– Got it.
– Be careful with Yat-san. She's undecided about her role, she's always under the influence. She's also very peculiar and can change her mind at any time. And she has a problem that she thinks about more than the case. Jules has a problem. She plays three sides. And she's willing to play the fourth.
– Oh, shit. Who's that?
– The first party is you. You have a theme with her. The second story is between you and YatSan, she's doing diplomacy. And is constantly in touch and conspiring with Petty: periodically we record a deeply encrypted communication with Andrian.
– With Andrian?
– Why is that particularly surprising to you?
Ruthra needed to show awareness and keep the conversation going, even though he didn't know any Andrian or any of the people in question. For some reason, he felt this was the right thing to do. Perhaps it was a subconscious memory of the person whose body his consciousness had entered in this world.
– Andrian is not inclined to conspire.
– She must have asked for it very much. Maybe it's for your own good. At least that's how she presented it to him.
– How?
– I don't have time to analyze it. There's nothing special there. There are topics related to YatSan. Your personal and work relationships are a bit tangled.
– The program requires complete trust, and there is no way to do it without personal sympathy.
– Your sympathies have crossed some lines.
Ruthra thought, "What's the deepest thing he knows about… And what in the world could I possibly have done?"
– What about Catherine?
– Catherine is calm, stable. She doesn't mind having an affair. Quite the risk-taker at heart. Loves to get her adrenaline pumping. Hang gliding, skydiving. You wouldn't know it from her passion.
– She's in a secret relationship with who?
– You should know that yourself and report to me. We are preparing you there, after all," the admiral said the last in a whisper and pointed his finger upward. – She's in touch with everyone, but I can't call them secret. She's sort of facilitating their plans.
– So what are their plans?
– It's likely that Andrian will tell you everything at some stage. And Irene… and probably something in Catherine's secret. Iulia and Shallow are dangerous. You can expect anything from them. Most of all, Eulalia. She uses everyone.
– I wonder how.
– She's got a gut feeling, or there's something we don't know. Maybe there's a leak. It sounds to me like you're being friendly and overly trusting. A woman is still a woman. A fish seeks the deepest, a woman seeks the best.
– I obviously missed something.
– She knows… and most likely from you, even if in passing… indirectly you mentioned it.
– About our program?
– Yeah. About what we're cooking. About what we are preparing you there, – he said again in a whisper and pointed his finger upwards. – The people are ready, the Kantemirov division, by the way, too.
– I tried to keep that little guy away from me.
– But you first let Iulia get close to you, and then you let YatSan get even closer. They were all in doubt then, but now that the prospect is looming, they have become more active and are ready to make any kind of conspiracy.
– How does this threaten the program?
– Have you been drinking too much? I don't think you've been drinking. I don't need you to explain what power is. Especially power in Russia. We don't know who they're connected to or who's behind them. We've got our eye on Chalky. He's very dangerous. Sit down, why are you standing up like a soldier? Let's have a drink to celebrate the victory. Although we don't celebrate in advance… Then let's start.
Ruthra didn't quite know what was going on, and only the television on was telling him what was going on. Four sectors of the screen were showing simultaneously. Demonstrations were going on in Moscow. People were walking mostly peacefully. They carried banners, sang songs and shouted into megaphones. Sometimes singers, actors, creative personalities, politicians and scientists performed in the squares. The main theme boiled down to distrust of the past elections. The theme was unambiguously clear. Everything spoke about it: both the banners and the voice message. The main demand – give change. Many people were repeating a learned and invented cry: "My grandfather lived under stagnation, my father under stagnation, I under stagnation". And from the tribunes and squares they were saying: "Volodya, go away. Volodya, go away for God's sake. Volodya, you're our friend, but the truth is dearer. Volodya, go away with a calm soul, there are still smart people in Russia, imagine that".
And the main thing that caught the eye was: "Rutra for president!" It was often accompanied by an "e-e-e-e-e", especially in shouting. Or often, "We don't need agents – Rutru to the presidency.
Ruthra was genuinely surprised. The Admiral noticed him staring intently at the screen.
– What are you looking at? Let's go to the armored car. It's a tradition. The throne must not get cold in the Kremlin.
Ruthra realized, in this world, events went very differently. He cared about everyone's role, overt and covert.
– What do Petty and Jules have in common?
– I'm telling you, Julia is the most dangerous. She's in touch with everyone, she's got all the channels of communication, she's got her own agenda. She planned to get her way first, directly through you, and then something went wrong. You said it yourself. You couldn't load her up, or she was just being a ponce. It's your Bonapartist methodology that often scares people.
– More like Caesarianism.
– Come, see, win?
– I wish I could.
– So go ahead, everything is ready. Dare to be responsible to the people? The people don't want what they have, they want something new? So take your pilot to the parallel worlds. Your inventor of eternal life, the one who gave you thousands of faces.
Ruthra felt a twitch, both at what was on the screen and whoever was watching. He decided to play along, as if he knew everything and was aware of everything. He thought to himself: why did he send his consciousness without checking the technology… he couldn't even answer where he sent it… And yet he hoped that it wasn't the real world, that it was a virtual reality. And if it was real…
– IuLia is indeed conducting diplomacy between me and YatSan, except now I'm wondering with what interest. She was probably using me, Petty, and YatSan to get something for herself.
– Oh, great. Finally. And it's the right thing to do. Yeah, yeah. Why, is someone doing it wrong? She's soft. I've listened to a couple of her conversations. Yes, it's true that she's breaking your relationship for her own benefit, but you were good, you didn't back down, and now she, realizing that she's going to lose all contact, has decided to fix your relationship, your relationship… between you and Petty, and most importantly – between you and YatSan.
– And he's not afraid.
– Why should she be afraid? She's careful. She says this, she says that. She smiles at everyone. And best of all, you're one of her best friends. She feels your shoulder. Just a little bit, but she feels it. And that's important to a woman.
– You say that, Comrade Admiral, as if you've lived through it yourself.
Ruthra laughed a little. The Admiral, on the other hand, looked at him dumbly.
– What are you, Rutra? Have you eaten too much bleach? What's wrong with you? Comrade Admiral? A tease? Or are we at an official reception? Who is Uncle Misha to you? Admiral? If so, I'm beginning to doubt my faith in you.
Ruthra realized his ignorance of his position in the world. When he came to his senses, he presented it in a joking manner. He sat down beside him and said in a friendly manner:
– I've been fuming, I thought maybe someone was bugging me… I was waiting for a signal from you… I'm dumb again. I was waiting for a signal from you.
– It's all right. We had, have and will have power. We'll always come up with some system. The main thing is to give the asker the opportunity to ask. It is not necessary to do everything yourself, you can inspire others that it is good, so that they do it. For example, religion. After all, people themselves want to open churches and the like, they themselves want to give donations. The second option is communist, to take or build everything with the hands of the people, who own nothing. To manage everything with the help of offices, they say, if something is wrong, the capitalist will come and make you work, although people themselves want to work, because they are already workers, and so there is at least an option to become owners. The third option is not to instill anything religious, but just to say: you have to pay taxes to make medicine, army and education stable. Now I'm interested in this device of yours – a time machine simulator. What is it?
Rutra's brain paused for a second, trying to figure out what to say, as he suddenly "recognized" the subject. Not only that, but he realized the truth: "I didn't think of anything new there. I knew everything here too. And maybe it's natural".
A little more at ease in his chair, he began to explain in a friendly tone.
– A time machine is such a virtual reality device where you can meet a digital copy of the dead and, based on a simulation of their actions, live some period of your life with them.
– Holy mother of God. You'd have to imagine such a thing and do it. You're a fantasist. It's not for nothing, it's not for nothing they kept you under the hood. We knew what you were doing, what you were working on. Yeah, yeah. We've been watching you.
Ruthra scratched his head, thinking to himself: "Well, tell me what I've been doing here." To his delight, Uncle Misha "confessed".
– When I was developing a mind-to-photon converter and I didn't want to tell the authorities. Those authorities. You wanted to go to another country where you'd get paid. You didn't go online, yeah, only your computer was connected to the net. It didn't matter that you didn't send e-mails, we could see everything. You've got a nice twist on it, though, nice. And that life-extending, rejuvenating technique of yours is a masterpiece. I said, I said, let's pay, we have such a man. And they decided that only they should reign forever. So, dear, that's the way it is, I protected you, I helped you, now it's your turn to take care of Uncle Misha. Let's have a drink and, as they say, let's get started.
The Admiral pulled two shot glasses and a bottle of cognac from the nightstand.
– Let's start with the bartender thing. We have to get into character. The people like to live richly, and a greedy president makes the people miserable," he raised his glass, signaling Rutra to do the same.
They drank the tonic drink in a gulp.
Uncle Misha waved his index finger in the air and continued, it was clear, about JULIA.
– If you've got a team like this, don't let us down. You're protecting them everywhere. And they're running around here.
– You said it yourself, it's normal.
– It is normal if she wanted you personally, and then already, having made a bet on you, to take advantage of all that her man has achieved.
– Isn't that right?
– Someone who runs and looms constantly between the wharves will run away from you too.
– Maybe she wants to find her final resting place. A safe harbor.
– Maybe, but definitely not a quiet one.
They laughed, both of them.
– There's YatSan. She's different, give her a good berth and she'll become a port director.
They laughed again.
– What would the other one do differently?
– Yeah, I guess so. And that's the right thing to do!
He said the last thing again, raising his index finger up and shaking it. Then he filled a shot glass with the brown liquor, the aroma of which was already wafting like gin around him.
– Iulia is the most… one of the most active participants of the program. And for all her faults, she's the anchor. You can count on her. And she wants fame and money, yes. I agree with that, in a way, as you said.
The admiral looked at him questioningly.
– Well, that it's the right thing to do.
– It's the right thing for everyone. But won't she defect? And let her know that you're only friends with her. If you've got a thing for Yat-san, let it be. Just make your positions clear. Don't let anyone get their hopes up, and if you've given hope, go all the way. Like the people, if you give hope for change, then go for it. You think people are magic, you think they're easy? Or do you think they believe that you will give them paradise? No, of course not. Everybody wants a chance. A chance to try something, to prove themselves. Among other things – your Iulia has themes that she has with other members of the group. I'm talking about the groups that include Petty and YatSan.
– What's she doing?
– She uses them purely to accomplish her goal.
– Who else?
– She has a few faces that YatSan is partially aware of and Petty is aware of others. Like, some of them are known to both of them, and some of them are known only to one of them.
– Oh, boy.
– She has another friend. She's a pretty good-looking person. It's hard to know what they have in common. We've got her on file under the code name "alien." Let's have another drink – and go ahead, the people are gathered at the entrance, waiting for their hero of the struggle against the regime....
Rutra left the police station accompanied by two sergeants. A large crowd had gathered outside, shouting and throwing bouquets of flowers over the fence. Many clung to the iron bars of the fence and shook it, shouting, "Freedom to the Messiah! I want eternal life!" The policemen, frightened by the crowd, did not escort him to the gate. As soon as Rutra stepped outside the compound, they put him in a chair stylized as a throne, lifted him up, and carried him in their arms. Ruthra couldn't understand what was going on, and more importantly, what he was being honored for. Suddenly there was a sound in his head-it was Irene's voice.
– Good afternoon, Rutra Tigrovic.
– Hi, Irene.
– How do you like it here?
