– I'm ready," he said confidently. – I was already curious.
– Come in, please.
The medic headed for the exit, and Ruthra followed suit. They walked down the corridors to the medical sector, entered the elevator, which took them to the deeper depths of this mystical realm of mystery and secrets. They came out into a semi-dark corridor, eerily cold, walked down it for a while and began to descend the stairs. Soon they found themselves in front of the only doors. Suddenly, something like something Ruthra had seen before appeared ahead, in the place where the door had been. It had been there, in the exit from the secret laboratory of a scientist no less mad and talented than the one with whom Ruthra was now doing the project and was now involved in it, in the passage from the laboratory to the stairs leading to the super-secret Polygon facility. Ruthra thought, "And this one, like the other one, is in the business of transferring consciousness from one body to another. It's a similar moment right now. Isn't that a sign?" Of course he didn't believe in superstition, but he did believe in a theory of his own devising. And according to this theory – nothing can be unreasonable for the consciousness, and if the consciousness is unable to explain something to itself, it regards it, for example, as a miracle. The scale of events that were subject to interpretation was very wide – from a cat that ran across the street and a broken mirror to dreams and divine revelations. Everything that could not be explained by reason – consciousness considered from any position, but certainly did not leave without explanations. Not god – so devil, not devil – so devil, not devil – so devil, not devil – so devil, not devil – so evil fairy, not evil fairy – so hand of fate, not hand of fate – so regularity of horoscope and so on. It was both scary and curious at the same time.
Instead of a door, there was a void, and behind it was a dark, impenetrable abyss. There was no other way. The professor went through there, or rather, he disappeared into the black hole. Ruthra waited for about ten seconds, hoping he would return, then took a step into the void. It felt like pouring a bucket of ice water on a sleeping person. Ruthra went blind for a moment, his brain rebooting. He found himself in a new reality, a room flooded with the brightest light, the structure of which was transparent. Ruthra could find no other explanation. He was floating, literally floating, though he was firmly on his feet. There was no ceiling, floor, or walls visible. Only a faintly blue outline reminded him that they were there… and there was something else in this room. Suddenly, a pair of glasses that looked more like the eyes of a giant dragonfly appeared out of the void in front of Ruthra's face.
– Don't resist," he heard the familiar sound in his brain.
Ruthra didn't move. The goggles seemed to rest on his eyes on their own. The sight and view changed instantly. Now it was clear: it was a huge room, a hall, in the center of which stood a phantasmagorical installation; a huge bizarre sarcophagus of liquid that boiled and smoked. The first impression of what he saw was this. The second thing Ruthra thought was, "Well, you scientists and mages, well, you're also those wizards." After all, all this was an artificial influence on the brain, which forcibly saw it all in such an "image". Nothing was real, Rutra knew this technology.
– This is my installation," said the "luminary of science" with a certain pride and boastfulness.
Then the scientist added:
– I confess, I confess, all this works thanks to your invention. Even, I would say, a discovery based on the theory of entangled particles, and, of course, this is the labor of a huge number of people, scientists.
Ruthra smiled.
– Oh, your majesty, all men are like men, and we are gods.
– What?" the doctor asked.
– No, just thinking out loud.
– What do you say we give it a shot?
– I wonder what kind of trick you have in store for me?
– What makes you say that?
– Because you don't get it.
– Are you talking about here and not in the virtualization room? Come on, buddy.
– Now, that alone tells me a lot. There's definitely a catch! I'm sure of it. Consciousness transfer according to my methodology, based on my discovery, can be realized there, too, on those installations.
– All right. Let's do this… I'm in. I'll go into trance first, then you.
– What does it do? What am I, a high school student?
– Okay, farther. You supervise my full dive. See how the equipment works, and then dive in after me.
– It's a little unclear. If you're trying to convince me that there's no catch, then what's the point of doing the experiment here?
– This is our usual workplace. Here is our professional laboratory, and over there is our office – and it is not ours. I don't even know all the entrances and exits there. Especially the installations there are not professional. It's a different program. It tests the purity of people's intentions in a trance state. Thoughts and thoughts. And here there are hundreds of other indicators. Here you can immerse your consciousness in the state of infancy and check what and how it influenced your worldview, for example, on the first day of the first grade at school.
– It's really Freudian.
– Oh, no. Freud, we'd be looking for a graveyard of sexual trauma in your soul. We're looking for motivation. That's more Jungian. Let's go, shall we?
– God be with you. What else you got in mind, I'd like to know.
– Don't worry, you'll live.
– All right, lie down. I'll supervise.
The scientist lay down in the rig, a mask was placed over his face, and additional pieces of instrumentation were placed on his body.
– It's clearly a long time coming, since you so clearly want to know everything about him....
– We can get your heart rate and blood pressure remotely.
– That's what I'm talking about. What are those suction cups with the gauges?
– It's to stimulate the body to react differently.
– All right. You scientists will come up with anything to calm and dull the vigilance. Just one multi-pronged global program to convince the whole world that you need constant medical treatment is worth it.
Ruthra laughed at what he had said. The rest of the scientists, who had been smiling modestly at first, laughed at what he had said.
– You should know that," said one of them at last, with courage.
– All right, I'm going down. Where are you throwing us out?
– Nowhere. You're staying right here in the building. As the patron told you, there will be a test of feeling in another body. That is, you will wake up in a virtual reality not as you, but as another person, in this case you will be our chief, and our chief will be you.
– Oh, I see the level. You're the chief, you're the patron. I am not so honored.
– Oh, come on. You have the most respect in the system.
– All right, let's go.
– Shall we turn it on?
– Let's turn it on. Just give me a second. I've got some work to do on my technique.
Rutra took out a regular ballpoint pen and wrote the time on his hand to the nearest second, and indicated the year as well. No one in the center wrote in the usual way. Everyone wrote their thoughts directly into Irene's memory, and she translated them into any format.
After checking the instruments and the scientist's condition readings, Ruthra lay down in the rig. After the manipulations, he felt the invisible waves affecting his brain and began to fall asleep. Rutra soon woke up, and only his being in the rig told him the alternative – either he was in the real world or in virtual reality. Otherwise, if Ruthra had appeared in a different setting, there was definitely no way he would have been able to determine that he was in the virtual world and would have been sure that everything was real. But now there were two factors that helped him make the right decision: the first was the setting, and the second was the presence or absence of a simple but ingenious inscription on his arm. He had never tried to figure out where he really was, whether he was in the virtual or in reality! He even beat himself with a stun gun, checked his blood after taking alcohol: in reality red blood cells stick together after taking alcohol, but in the virtual world they do not. But it did not work: in the virtual world a person could drink alcohol, become drunk there, but in the real world his blood would still be without alcohol. And if the same person takes and checks his blood in the virtual world, i.e. his "virtual" blood, it will naturally be the same as under the influence of alcohol. That's how it is. And here everything is simple: the main thing is to accustom yourself at the level of reflexes to constantly write and constantly check what you have written. Accordingly, if you don't see the writing, it means that you are in the virtual world.
And in general – it is impossible to realize that the world is not real based on one's sensations. Absolutely everything is like in ordinary life: feelings, smells, emotions… everything. Only when you leave the virtual world and you are shown a recording – then you realize that you were in the virtual world. You do realize, but you still can't believe it, because the sensations there are so real.
And now Ruthra was sort of in "reality". Everything was as usual. He woke up, the scientists were standing around, the second "client" was lying next to him, and only Rutra's habit, already reflexive, made it clear: there was no tape on his hand. So he was in the virtual world. Although, beginning to fully realize reality, Rutra began to realize: something else was wrong… For some reason he was not on the right, but on the left of the second installation… Rutra assessed the situation once more. No note on his hand? No. Then it's not real. That's right. Who's next to him? It wasn't a "scientific luminary" lying next to him. The person next to him was– "Oh, shit. This can't be happening! They're playing me again," was the first thing that ran through his head. – Who is this? And who am I?"
He shook his head, "What is this, bring me back to reality!" Nearby, in a neighboring rig lay… him!
It is very difficult to make the consciousness believe in its absence from the real world only on the basis of the fact that the brain knows about the existence of the virtual. How can you convince yourself, in the apparent reality of the self, that you are not in reality, it's all not true? How?
– And there you go," he heard in his head.
– Who's that? Irene, is that you?
Ruthra asked because the voice was unusual: male. The artificial intelligence could speak in a man's voice, but it didn't give orders to do so.
– No, it's not me.
– Then who?
– I don't know. There was no commutation through me.
– Then how and who?
– I'm checking. There was no outside entrance to you.
– And to whom, me? What's going on?
Ruthra glanced angrily at the "servants of science" who stood a little away from the rigs, then awkwardly stood up and walked over to the next rig. He couldn't believe his eyes – there was a man who looked just like him! Suddenly, Ruthra realized that the scientist could have done such a thing to learn the secrets he possessed in the real world. He shuddered, "Then who am I now?"
Ruthra looked into the mirror set into the wall, a large, full-length mirror. He couldn't say he was horrified; he couldn't say he was surprised… Strangely enough, Ruthra didn't even feel a strong sense of surprise, so much so that he'd been raised and trained by virtual reality, or rather, by feeling in it and not believing in it afterward. Ruthra was aware of what the scientist had done, knew it wasn't real, but couldn't quite grasp the purpose, though he could guess. Apparently, the one wanted to demonstrate his new capabilities and accomplishments. Of course, the brazenness and daring he had displayed was also so provocative that Ruthra's rage could hardly be contained by his new body. His body, and in fact the body of a scientist! The mirror reflected the "luminary of science".
Another man's body was horrible. Though it was perfectly normal by Ruthra's standards, quite athletic, it was alien. The only thing that made him feel better was the unreality of what was happening. Ruthra rushed to wake himself up, to reprimand the insolent man who'd gotten into his body and end the experiment, but then he felt another twitch. He couldn't influence the real world in the virtual world, he couldn't order the experiment to stop!
– For crying out loud, you're not natural either! – he yelled at the scientists. – Wake him up immediately! – he shouted, realizing at the same time the absurdity of his demand in two guises.
Even if it was natural – it wasn't Ruthra who was ordering them, it worked. The tricky scientist could have made sure they didn't know about the most intimate part of the experiment. Ruthra walked over and kicked the rig in which his body lay with fury. The machine shook slightly, and the man lying in it spoke without opening his eyes.
– Well, well, well, I'd ask you.
It was said in the style of his fellow scientist, with a smile and a joking tone, but emphasizing his importance.
– Come on, get up, there's a prize waiting for you, maybe even a Nobel Prize. You've succeeded, so you can return my body, otherwise there will be no one to defend the project in front of the council.
– I don't need that. I have my personality written down and I can be you from time to time and when I need to be me.
The tone was slightly haughty and the words spoken were arrogant.
Rutra was almost insulted by this.
– What does it mean to think?
– And there you go.
He climbed out of the rig and looked in the mirror.
– We're in virtual reality, so don't get too excited. I saw the timer, if they don't force you back, you have 20 minutes to enjoy being commander.
– And you're okay, keeping in shape. Or is that done by technology, too? There's no way around it, it's the chip stimulating your muscles.
– Tell me what you're up to. Let's just say the surprise didn't work out.
– What's the surprise, honored scientist? The only surprise is in the alteration of memory. I admit, although you know it yourself, it can be influenced, to put it mildly, edited.
– What are you talking about? We worked together on this technology.
– It's not that important right now.
– Exactly. Why would you do that in virtual reality?
Rutra pointed at himself.
– You hopefully haven't forgotten, there is a board meeting scheduled for today.
– И?
– What do you say in there?
– Enough with the clowning around. This is virtual reality. We weren't wearing helmets or sensors.
– And they were taken beforehand. That's my technology.
– I almost believe it. About 18 minutes to go. Keep going.
– Okay, okay, let's just get out of here. If we're in the virtual, it doesn't matter. We'll wake up wherever we are. In the meantime, I'll give you, I mean, like me, access to the information that you, well, again, like, instead of me, should present to the council.
– Please remember the chain of command. Friendship is friendship, but we're not drinking buddies.
– That's exactly what I'm telling you, let's go.
– All right, let's see what song you're gonna sing next. I don't want our friendship to end.
– That's later, now let's go. If you think we're in the virtual, then let's continue the experiment. Let's go.
– All right, let's go.
They went to the upper level, walked to the scientists' block, and approached the office.
– Let's make a deal like this: so that we don't confuse employees, coworkers, and understand each other better, you call me Big Boss and I'll call you Big Date.
– All right, Big Boss, can't wait for the time to run out.
– Yes, Big Data. Stand in front of the scanner, the lock is set to my body.
– What do you want in there?
– I need to access the information through the chip. It's still in the brain.
The scanner clicked, the door moved aside, and they entered. The scientist's colleagues followed them like an entourage, or perhaps an escort.
