Бесплатный фрагмент - Constructor of Worlds

CONSTRUCTOR OF WORLDS

PROLOGUE

...Neither a city, nor a state, nor a planet, nor a star, nor a star system, and not even a galaxy! I have created a galaxy cluster! A huge part of the entire cosmos! No living being has ever made such a large-scale breakthrough that I have made! And you have no idea how real it is…

Mr. Abdullah

September 2009.

Mr. Alexander Vasilyevich Belov was standing on the deck of his ship «Octopus». His gaze was directed towards the vast expanses of the Indian Ocean. Belov himself was a wealthy man and already at the age of 37 was able to earn a fortune. He was of medium height, with black hair and a small beard. His eyes reflected all his thirst for power, although he treated his employees well, of whom he had quite a few, but he really liked to feel like a ruler.

From a young age, Alexander Vasilyevich was looking for methods to implement his plans and he managed to open several of his oil plants. Although he was not known, but he was not a small-scale supplier. But now he was interested in something more. He wanted to create his own spaceport and draw almost inexhaustible resources directly from the cosmic expanses!

It was already evening, a great time for observations, and Alexander Vasilyevich was peering into the sky. He was holding a glass of port wine in his hands, leaning on the railing of the veranda of the captain’s bridge. Suddenly his phone rang, it was his scientific adviser, a young researcher Leonid Rodionovich Gasparov.

— I’m listening to you.

— Hello Alexander Vasilyevich, this is Leonid Gasparov. I wanted to inform you that the preparation of the second block of the observatory is almost ready.

— Fine, one more step on the way to my goal…

— You mean our goal?

— Exactly, because your project of the newest cosmodrome with these things of yours gave me such grandiose opportunities.

— But this is being done for the purpose of exploring outer space and expanding the capabilities of all mankind, because this is the goal we indicated in the documents, if you remember.

— You’re a fool, Leonid! — being intoxicated, the tycoon shouted. — I needed this to take over this world! Space is a gold mine, and I will become the only billionaire on a cosmic scale! And even now, knowing my real purpose, you won’t be able to do anything, because the island is guarded by my people. I didn’t need anything more than blueprints.

— It can’t be! You deceived me!

— Of course! You don’t have long to live! Ha-ha-ha! The billionaire laughed menacingly.

Just as he was about to call the guards, the «Octopus» shuddered, as if pierced by an electric current. Its entire surface trembled, as the human body trembles under the action of an electric discharge. The waves raged and lightning bolts struck the ship terrifyingly.

Only now did this man realize what he was worth. But as if this was not enough, something huge appeared from under the waves, and it began to rise. With fear in his eyes, unable to run, Alexander Vasilyevich stood still, on both sides he was engulfed by flames that had already made their way into the captain’s cabin. A huge monster rose up in front of him right from the depths of the ocean! It was a giant dragon with 5 heads, he spread his giant wings from behind, and tons of water descended over his body like jets. Glowing red eyes stared menacingly in the direction of the ship. When the monster rose to the level of its chest, it was at least 300 meters high!

With his huge paw, he swung at the ship and in an instant tore the Octopus apart, the owner of the ship flew out from such a blow and scrambled trying to stay afloat! A huge mass was drowning in the ocean, creating a whirlpool, and the monster watched this picture without losing a single moment of this agony. The fire had already been extinguished. Very close by was a torn-up stern, where water was pouring in with a roar, then guns and safety bulkheads; crowds of black ghosts were rushing around parts of the upper deck. The unfortunate ones were climbing the shrouds, clinging to the masts, floundering in the water.

It was a human anthill suddenly flooded with water! The unfortunate ship began to sink rapidly. Here the marts appeared, plastered with victims, yards bent by bulking people, and, finally, the top of the main mast. The dark mass was covered under the water with all its crew of the dead, overwhelmed by a terrible whirlpool. And the monster, this terrible judge who caused a thunderstorm, a real archangel of revenge, did not take his eyes off the sinking ship…

At that moment, a giant huge bird appeared in the sky, there was a feeling that this bird was in the sky itself, it occupied a quarter of the entire sky. Gasparov, who was standing on the upper veranda, froze in place from what he saw. Belov, who was thrown away from the whirlpool, also saw this. But before he could say a word, a bright bird burst into flames, and such a bright flash blinded the greedy billionaire.

Gasparov was abruptly thrown by the wind from such a flash, inside the observatory, and he saw with his own eyes how the metal floor where the light hit just melted! When Gasparov got up, large clouds of smoke were visible in the distance, the last thing left of the «Octopus». And the huge bird mysteriously disappeared, just as the monster disappeared.

Chapter one. Beginning

I don’t think that the same excitement can pass through the human heart that an inventor feels when watching how successfully the creation of the brain works.

Nikola Tesla

It was 1965. Twenty years have passed since the Great Patriotic War, and the consequences still remain in the hearts of good people.

The village family just had their first son. He was healthy and very noisy, crying all the time, and his skin was pink like a pig. The mother doted on the child and not an hour passed that she did not take him in her arms and did not rock him. My father just smiled at his wife’s energy and the fire in her eyes.

His father, Alexander Fedorovich, worked as a local policeman, after the war he immediately moved here to the Tver region in order to forget the native places where his dead brothers and mother lived. Mother, Elena Nikolaevna, was born and raised here. She received a secondary education and started working in a local grocery store.

Their house was neither old nor new. A firm man’s hand repaired a leaky roof, dug a vegetable garden and painted a fence with whitewash. An elegant female hand cleaned, cooked, took care of plants in the garden and chickens in the chicken coop.

Their house was a small hut. It was brick, and the roof was wooden, and sometimes rotted. The yard was large and was always being prepared for a vegetable garden, it was surrounded by a wooden fence. There was also an old bathhouse, completely blackened from the inside, and the ceiling is so low that if you climb on the canopy, you need to bend in the back and neck. There were two sheds in front of the bathhouse, chickens lived in one, and Alexander Fedorovich kept tools in the second, so there was a workbench nearby. The stump in the middle of it all stood out even more vividly, firewood was always neatly stacked next to it and sometimes a chicken was slaughtered.

Years passed, their boy grew up. Called Vadim. The boy is already eight years old, and looks like an adult with serious eyes. Alexander Fedorovich always saw in his son an excellent employee and brought him up accordingly. Elena Nikolaevna spoiled the boy and allowed him to do almost anything. Parents quarreled on this topic more than once, but they quickly ended, because the parents loved each other madly, and the hostess of the house was pregnant again.

Vadim wanted a brother to play with and fight with the neighborhood boys. Elena Nikolaevna wanted a daughter, and Alexander Fedorovich also wanted a son.

Vadim liked to play with the boys on the street and always came late and with bruises. Sometimes I went fishing with them or with my father. The boy was strong in health and body and already helped around the house. He carried barrels of water home, dug in the garden and climbed on the roof to fix a leaky roof.

«That’s not how you hold an axe,» my father once said when they were chopping wood together in the yard of the house.

— And how? Vadim asked, looking at the axe.

Alexander Fedorovich wiggled his mustache and roughly turned the axe point down.

— That’s it, — the father replied with a sneer, «chop it up.

Vadim started chopping firewood. At first, it was difficult for the boy to do this. Iron got stuck in the wood, and splinters flew in spite of the face and eyes. Alexander Fedorovich took out another axe and began chopping wood together with his son. An adult man did it much better and faster. After a few minutes, Alexander Fedorovich’s pile of firewood became larger than Vadim’s.

«Remember, son,» he said later at home over a plate of borscht, his black moustache stained with red broth. — the axe should be held firmly, and the blows should be smooth and strong so that the wood gives in better.

My father was often not at home, and my mother stayed late for a part-time job in a store, then it was tight with money. Alexander Fedorovich reproached his wife for this, because she is in a position, and to work harder than he himself at work. Elena Nikolaevna was a fragile woman, but strong in spirit, and also too stubborn to put her own good in priority.

«Remember, son,» he said later at home over a plate of borscht, his black moustache stained with red broth. — the axe should be held firmly, and the blows should be smooth and strong so that the wood gives in better.

My father was often not at home, and my mother stayed late for a part-time job in a store, then it was tight with money. Alexander Fedorovich reproached his wife for this, because she is in a position, and to work harder than he himself at work. Elena Nikolaevna was a fragile woman, but strong in spirit, and also too stubborn to put her own good in priority.

After that, Alexander Fedorovich showed Vadim how to slaughter chickens. To do this, he took out an axe and sharpened it properly. The boy by this time was incomprehensibly holding a chicken in his hands.

— Are we going to chop wood? — he asked then.

— No, something else,» he shook his head and took the bird by the neck.

The chicken let out a hoarse sigh and tried to escape by flapping its wings.

— I’m holding a chicken, and you hit her in the neck with the sharp part of an axe. — said Alexander Fedorovich, opening a view of the chicken’s thin neck.

«She’s going to die,» Vadim said in surprise, clutching a heavy axe to his chest.

— Yes, but it will serve us well, think about it this way, — the father raised his eyebrows, shrugging his shoulders. — Well!

Vadim hesitantly raised the axe and hit the chicken in the neck. Her blood immediately flowed down the stump, but the bird itself had not died yet, but was making death cries.

— Well, who cuts like that! — the man roared and the boy shuddered from this cry and hit much harder.

The chicken died, and its head lay apart from the body and vomited blood.

Then it was a cold autumn day, and Elena Nikolaevna sent her son to the first grade to study. Vadim didn’t like this business, but he received only good grades in Russian. His father flogged him for bad ones, and his mother tried to somehow mitigate the punishment.

Months passed, and Elena Nikolaevna’s stomach swelled even more. She was already sitting only at home, and Alexander Fedorovich worked for two. One day, coming home, he gave Vadim a red, good ball. The boy immediately went to play with friends near the house. Then a dacha of some rich man was being built nearby and trucks very often drove along the roads of the village. They raised whole clouds of smoke that smelled terrible, and their engine roared very loudly in the street.

Vadim was playing with friends right by the road, on a patch of land. There was no grass growing there, only bare earth was here. The boys thought it was a great place to play and started kicking the ball very far away. Alexander Fedorovich then sat on a bench near the house to watch his son from afar, he rejoiced at his victories and was sad from failures. And so the red ball rolled out onto the road, Vadim ran after him, and a truck with bricks was passing on this road. The father immediately exploded from the spot.

— Vadim! Vadim, my mother! My father was shouting, he was angry and panicked. As a man at war, he gathered himself and ran to his child, who did not hear his screams and hoped that he would have time to take the ball from the ground.

The driver clearly did not see where he was going and did not pay attention to the people who were crawling like bugs under his wheels. Alexander Fedorovich pushed Vadim hard in the chest, and the frightened boy looked at his father, who was angry. The car hit him, running over a massive wheel. Blood and open fractures were visible. Vadim’s friends fell silent, and someone even screamed and cried.

Vadim did not cry or scream, he was in shock. The driver of the car got out and cursed loudly, Elena Nikolaevna ran out of the house.

— Sasha! Sasha! — she kept saying, throwing herself under the wheels of the truck. She grabbed the driver by the breasts and started screaming and fell from powerlessness.

She became ill and went into labor. The driver swore again and ran to the doctor immediately. Vadim was still in the same shock, he dropped the ball and fell to his knees next to his mother. She kept repeating her husband’s name as if she had a fever.

Vadim did not remember this day very well, everything was like in a fog. The fate of the driver did not bother him, just like the birth of his sister. He remembers his father’s funeral very well. A wooden coffin, a priest, a cold father’s body and a pale face. Elena Nikolaevna sobbed loudly and buried her nose in her mother’s shoulder. Tears were also streaming down her wrinkled cheeks. Many friends of Alexander Fedorovich came to this funeral, as if the weather was also mourning Vadim’s father, sending heavy raindrops and cold wind on people’s heads. Then they said goodbye to his corpse and sent him on his way. Buried, left lush bouquets and left a cross.

The wake began. The closest people of the deceased gathered for lunch to Elena Nikolaevna, who rushed around the house and managed to set the table for the guests and calm her daughter. On the table with a white tablecloth were pancakes, rice with raisins, porridge and borscht, a plate of bread and tea…

After all this, the mother could not see her son next to her. She blamed him for all her sorrows, even her grandmother could not bring her to reason and soon died of the flu herself. Elena Nikolaevna could no longer feed her children alone on the salary of a saleswoman. There was not enough time for the garden, nor for the children, nor for myself. Vadim and his sister Anya did not go hungry, but their food on the table became noticeably poorer in its variety.

Reluctantly, Elena Nikolaevna gave Vadim to an orphanage. The boy didn’t cry. He was young, but he knew exactly what was going on. He understood that he was seeing his mother and sister for the last time and said goodbye properly, without yawning and shouts of indignation. Vadim understood that without him, Anya would be able to get enough food and warmth from her mother, but he would somehow cope on his own.

It was raining fine that day, and Elena Nikolaevna had no face. She gives her blood, her son to an unfamiliar place. Then orphanages were poorly funded, and it was great luck to live under a good roof and eat soup with bread and meat.

A year passed, and Vadim got used to his situation. He did not stop thinking about his family and often poured those unshed tears into his pillow, he was madly homesick for his father. The orphanage was not poor and not rich, often the boys were driven to work in the fields or to repair holes in the fence and roof. So they gained experience in construction and not only.

The building was brick with an iron roof, these plates were rusty and some had holes. The walls were covered with charcoal, there were not only inscriptions, but also children’s drawings that no one erased. The perimeter was surrounded by a fence, which was painted once a year. There was a garden where children could play and eat the fruits of apple trees.

The situation inside was quite good. Because of the l-shaped shape of the building, a lot of children who lost their parents could be placed there. There was a kitchen, a common dining room, common rooms for sleeping, and the playground was on the street, as our reader remembers. The teachers had their own room, there was a samovar and an old radio.

Vadim continued to go to school, but to another one. The boy dreamed of becoming a fisherman and catching the best fish and selling it. He talked about this to his friends in the common room, and they talked for a long time about which fish is more expensive. The teachers only quietly laughed at him, because now you can’t get normal money in this profession. Sometimes they spoke directly to Vadim, saying that he would be an excellent teacher of the Russian language, because he had good grades in this subject. The boy then did not really understand the difference in professions, despite the mature outlook on life.

Vadim was respected in their orphanage, there were many children who asked him for help with Russian. Of course, he helped them just like that, because he appreciated their friendship, and he didn’t know how to take something in return yet.

In his spare time, Vadim did various things like climbing trees and helping the cook in the kitchen. The cook was an extremely pleasant person to communicate with. He was bearded and spoke with a funny accent, only then the boy at an already mature age will understand that he was talking to a Kazakh man. His name was Davlet, and he was a former cook and sailed in very distant lands. A cook is a position on a ship, this man cooked food for the whole crew, but when necessary, he fought on cables, boarded ships and received his share in robberies on various merchant ships. It seems that such people were called pirates and it was safe to say that Davlet looked like him.

He was scarred and healthy, but gray-haired and smelled of alcohol all the time. He talked a lot about his adventures and instilled in the boy a passion for reading adventure books, headed by a story about sailors, pirates and treasures.

Vadim changed his mind about the profession and decided that he would become a sailor and sail, blown by a cold breeze and feel a salty taste on his lips all the time.

At school, he had problems with the exact sciences, such as mathematics and drawing. With the rest, he more or less coped. And it just so happened that he got into a class where there were children with their parents, and Vadim became a frequent object of ridicule and bullying. The boy was calm and quiet during his school years, but could have rebuffed even three bullies in the classroom. He just didn’t want to have problems with the director, with their parents, and to be ambushed after school by grown-up guys who decided to avenge younger friends or brothers. Therefore, he came with bruises, but with a smile on his face, because the day was still interesting.

Vadim was also good at telling stories when he and his friends went to the forest to burn sticks and fry sausages, which they hid in the pockets of shorts or pants to carry past adults. The boy told stories about pirates and their adventures.

In the summer, when the forest bloomed with its greenery, when the river finally froze and the ice melted, the boys went fishing and swimming. The stream there was not so strong and there were a lot of fish, Vadim caught them more than once with his bare hands or accidentally stepped on the fry while he was getting out of the water.

The boy didn’t need anything and he grew up like an ordinary child, but some emptiness and resentment towards his mother still remained. Vadim did not try to find her or escape from the orphanage, no one adopted him. He saw his future without his mother and sister, but he still loved and missed them, they sometimes dream of him in a dream, in them he imagines a house, father, mother and sister with smiles from ear to ear, and a vegetable garden and fragrant trees with grass and flowers bloom around.

The orphanage was also surrounded by greenery, but not as lush as at home, it was sparse and yellowish, and the trees grew far away in the forest a kilometer away. Firs, oaks, and birches grew there. The boys made swords out of their sticks and played knights or pirates.

Such was Vadim’s childhood and youth. But soon his life will change unexpectedly and irrevocably…

Chapter two. Teacher

At the age of twenty-two, Vadim was well built and had some popularity. But nevertheless, he did not allow himself to look at anyone. It was like a mantra that he repeated every time. And it wasn’t that he didn’t like the girls, on the contrary, he noticed their beauty and strength, but he was afraid of something more and didn’t really like children.

It is a strange irony that he eventually joined the Russian language teacher after graduation. Vadim had a rented house and moved to Tver, where he taught his subject. The apartment was small and rather dusty. The air here was musty, so as soon as Vadim arrived here, he opened the windows on the balcony. No one lived in this apartment and therefore the man was left to himself and only. He came here with a heavy, black briefcase, which he still had since his studies. In this briefcase he kept a mug, a brush, toothpaste, a diary, a pen and clothes.

Life played a cruel joke with the young teacher, already at twenty-eight, when Vadim had experience in teaching and settled in the city, he was diagnosed with a hereditary disease, because of which his vision was lost faster. Therefore, he wore glasses and began to look older, and when he began to grow a beard, he looked like a forty-year-old.

At school, he showed good abilities in communicating with children, he taught in high school, and students always thanked him for his patience and calm character. In the circle of teachers, he was remembered as a gloomy and thoughtful man who, when he was on duty in the corridor of the school, wrote something in his diary.

The school itself was old, built since the war. Its walls were with peeling wallpaper, but gradually they were replaced with newer ones. The ceiling was crumbling, but this was also fixed. The floor was stone, the doors were wooden. The school was not very big, but it could accommodate more than three hundred children, which is the limit for this school personally.

Vadim gradually settled into a new place, as already mentioned, old things began to appear in his musty apartment. There wasn’t much that could be bought for a teacher’s salary, but over time Vadim learned to be content with little. He had a small kitchen combined with a dining room, there was a samovar on the table. Vadim was sleeping on the sofa, which he bought at a discount, because the spring in it was broken. What the man was proud of was an old radio, it was covered with duct tape and peeling paint, but for him this purchase was very successful.

He did not go outside, just looked through the balcony at how children were playing on the playground or how people were coming from work. Cars were passing by, they were making loud noises with their motors under the windows of houses. Vadim had no friends among his neighbors, they came to him only on business, buy potatoes or borrow honey and sugar. The neighbors were good, although some were often noisy. Then, slowly, televisions appeared in every family, but the man did not have the money to buy it, because when he bought a couple of books on sale, he again became infected with the idea of swimming.

He won’t be able to be a sailor or a pirate anymore, but he still wants to feel this breeze and salt on his lips. The Volga River was just passing through the city. And it’s not so difficult to buy a ticket for a liner, it’s left to save exactly a thousand rubles and you can go on the road.

Despite such successes in life, but there were also hardships. The death of his father never left Vadim’s soul. The father, like a ghost, came after his son and haunts him in dreams. In nightmares, he sees his mother and sister, he woke up in a cold sweat on his couch in the middle of the night. Then he started smoking. He read that it helps to relieve stress, but the effect was small, the maximum removed the tremor of the hands during work.

I had to forget about the idea with the liner. Vadim could not live with this mental pain. The ghosts of his father, mother and sister, whom he barely remembers, followed him everywhere, it seemed to him that they were whispering in his ear in a particularly strong current of wind, in every rustle of leaves and the creak of snow under his shoe. Vadim became withdrawn at this point in his life, dressed even warmer, because during work he shuddered in chills. From such stress, he seemed to have aged another ten days, but he was well immune. His brown eyes had darkened and seemed just black.

As a result, when he was sitting on the couch, hunched over and thinking about a jar of change and banknotes that were on the table next to a smoking cigarette butt, Vadim decided to spend the accumulated money on a psychologist to whom he could tell about his problem. Personally, the man assumed that he was developing schizophrenia and so far he did not know how to get rid of it. He noticed the cigarette butt and angrily threw it out the window. Then I took a whole pack out of my coat and threw it in the same place so that he definitely couldn’t smoke again.

After that, he went to a psychologist and made an appointment on Friday evening, when Vadim would return after work. Of course, he will come with a loaded briefcase, but the documents and notebooks of the children will wait until night.

The psychologist had a spacious office, his own chair, coffee table and sofa. On the nightstand there was a phone and an aquarium in which a fish was splashing, there was food in an orange package next to it. The walls were covered with gray wallpaper.

The psychologist was extremely flexible in communicating with Vadim. The man was lying on the sofa, having previously taken off his shoes. The psychologist, Nikolai Mikhailovich, listened attentively to his client. Vadim spoke in a crumpled and torn manner and sometimes got up from his seat or took a sitting position, before grabbing his hair and as if tearing it out. Nevertheless, Nikolai Mikhailovich showed full tolerance for Vadim and at the end of the session expressed all his suspicions, which he sorted out by points while writing in a notebook.

— You are troubled by nightmares, you are seeing relatives, and you also have a tremor, — Nikolai Mikhailovich began. — You do have symptoms of schizophrenia, but you should not worry, only to improve your condition you need to be in public and on the street more often. You also have depression from a mental trauma, you have lost your father, nightmares are caused because of it and, perhaps, you feel guilty about what happened, try to get a pet or friends to somehow forget yourself, but I will prescribe antidepressants if folk methods do not help. — all this time, Vadim listened to the speech of the psychologist, he felt the emptiness of this conversation, as if he had expressed everything that had boiled over, but he still did not tell something in more detail.

— Thank you, Doctor, — Vadim thanked hoarsely, he managed to raise his tone while he was talking.

He got up and took a torn piece of paper from the psychologist’s notebook. Vadim said thank you again and left.

To be honest, Vadim really followed the instructions of a psychologist, as he listened to his father as a child. He didn’t get a pet, but he started going out more often and talking to people. For the sake of interest, he even went to a local bar, but apart from a black eye and a spoiled mood, he got nothing.

To some extent, Vadim began to like living like this, the tremor passed, but the nightmares still did not go away, but the man swallowed like food for lunch or dinner, they were a tasteless mass that he hid somewhere inside and it seemed that they festered and turned black. Vadim again returned to the diary, which he abandoned when he had been working at school for three years.

He took the diary outside and, sitting on a bench, wrote down thoughts, fauna around. That’s when he started writing short stories. And to be honest, I smiled at this case. He took the work for granted, did it right and did not show his anxiety, but Vadim was already used to it while he worked for six years in these walls. People here began to merge with the walls, the same white and faded. Every day he met gray and gloomy. He did not shave his beard at all, it reached the end of his neck and already fell a little on his chest.

Vadim took care of her, tied her with a blue silk ribbon, combed her with a wooden comb that he carried in his jacket pocket. The first wrinkles and barely noticeable gray hair appeared on the face. At home he continued to read, but the lines of the books turned into ordinary black, ink spots, without meaning, color and taste. Vadim could imagine anything with the help of lines from the book, the great battle, the azure and transparent seas of the Caribbean islands that are inhabited by pirates with and without honor, but gradually he could only see clumps of blots in his head.

He was saving up for a dream, gradually moving towards the goal, but without that enthusiasm in his youth. He is already thirty-four, the USSR has collapsed and a new era has begun in the Russian state, but Vadim continued to live in the past. He remembered his family, but these ghosts stopped hurting him, rather because of them he lost the meaning of his existence. He had no friends, had no family of his own, and hoped with all his heart that the descendants of his dear sister Anya were already walking on this sinful earth. He did not cry when he said goodbye to his mother and sister, it seemed that all the tears had been dried for a long time in that pillow with a blue pillowcase, in that bed of the orphanage where little Vadim slept and quietly choked with tears, but at the age of thirty-four, when he thought that nothing could surprise or impress him except for the ships on the water, as he abruptly began to cry.

It happened unexpectedly at another dry lunch, dry, because Vadim did not feel the taste of food, or rather did not revel in it as before, and now tears flowed from his cheeks. The food immediately acquired a taste, a salty taste, like the sea on which pirate ships rafted in search of merchants who had whole pockets with doubloons. He rejoiced and wept, laughed with his mouth full and wiped his tears with a handkerchief made of a cotton rag sewn with a linen piece of shirt.

It wasn’t very cultured for him, he didn’t act according to manners, but there was nothing holding him back anymore, or he rotted inside, like any other person. Only here he did not vomit clean rust or rotten giblets, no, he just kept everything, as if his stomach was burning from heartburn, perhaps it bubbled inside him like lava, because he began to add different spices to food more often, because there was no taste on his tongue.

Nevertheless, despite such mental problems, he was able to escape from this barbed wire, from which he cut and scratched harder, not without scars, of course, but alive and much stronger.

Vadim Alexandrovich worked hard every day and continued his service as a teacher, and it was already 1999. The school year will end soon, and very soon this amazing XX century. On one of these days, Vadim Alexandrovich was heading to school. Today he has 5 lessons in the morning and 6 more lessons in the afternoon and only one «window», as the teacher’s free time was called. Monday was a pretty busy day for the teacher.

After spending the first three lessons, Vadim Alexandrovich sighed, as the big break began and the children ran to the lower floor at full speed. And Vadim Alexandrovich himself was now sitting on the third floor in the 37th office. He needs to prepare for the next topic. The next class is 10 «B» and the topic is «Paronyms». Suddenly, the door opened and a middle-aged man entered the office before the bell rang. He was obviously older than Vadim, he had a bald spot on his head, and he was a little chubby. He was wearing a uniform and looked like a university teacher.

Vadim Alexandrovich sat up and decided to greet the guest by extending his hand to him. In response, the stranger also greeted and sat down next to the teacher’s desk. Vadim also sat down.

— I am Vasily Nikolaevich Ulyanov, Doctor of Philology and Professor at Tver State University.

— Vadim Alexandrovich Vavilov, teacher of Russian language and literature. Glad to meet you — they shook hands, then the professor continued:

— I know you, Vadim Alexandrovich, my grandson is studying here at your school in the 5th grade, but I’m not on this issue. The fact is that it is necessary to tell the students of your school who will be entering this year about our university, and I would like to stop at the Faculty of Philology. And don’t worry, I’ve already talked to the director and the deputy director. They advised me to contact you, and it’s worth saying that your fame as an excellent teacher of the Russian language goes far beyond this school, and I involuntarily heard about you a couple of times, so I was pleased with such a recommendation from the administration.

— I am very flattered, and thank you, Professor, but what kind of help is there on my part?

— I propose to arrange a scientific meeting for students, at which some of them, as well as teachers, could make full-fledged scientific reports. So we could demonstrate the very feeling that a scientist feels when he defends his idea. I could invite my colleagues to do this, besides, I am the head of the department myself, so I think it will not be so difficult for me to do this. But for success, I need you to organize the rest of the details of the event and it is desirable that you also prepare your own scientific report, in which I believe you will not have any special difficulties.

— Thank you, Professor, I will be very glad of such an honor. And I would like to give you my own opinion and some comments about this event. The fact is that I think it will be a little difficult for students to make scientific reports themselves, for this reason it would not be bad to organize a small circle before the date of the event itself, at which you, together with me, of course, conducted some lessons at which we could explain to children and help them prepare their scientific works. And do not forget about such an important aspect as a supervisor. In the case of students, it may be teachers, but in the case of the teachers themselves?

— In the case of the teachers themselves, a scientific supervisor is not required, or I can personally be a scientific supervisor.

— In that case, on what day do you plan to hold this event?

— If today is Thursday, then on Tuesday I think it would be best, since I have already informed the director, and after talking with you at the meeting I will inform my colleagues.

— But don’t you think it’s too fast?

— Dear Vadim Alexandrovich, I hope it won’t be difficult for you and don’t forget about the fact that studies end in May and exams begin.

«You’re right. In that case, I will be expecting you this afternoon, as we need to conduct the first lesson today.

— In that case, I will try to drive up after one couple and a meeting — the professor solemnly finished — And thank you again.

— Thank you for that — the teacher got up and saw the professor off, at that moment the bell rang and you could hear the noise of students on the stairs…

These six days flew by unnoticed, even on Sunday they diligently continued to prepare for this event. Finally, Tuesday came. Vadim Alexandrovich did not sleep all night and printed out all the reports and slides. Vasily Nikolaevich also did not sleep. The next morning, when everyone was already at school, Professor Vasily Nikolaevich and his comrades were supposed to arrive in time. Anatoly Valentinovich, the director of the school, who was the tallest person in their school, was also at this event and supervised many preparations, as members from the department of city and even regional public education were invited.

After the opening ceremony, speakers came out, among them were teachers of Russian language and literature, English teachers, and German teachers from other schools. But it was especially nice to see the students in this role. Vadim Alexandrovich stood together with Vasily Nikolaevich and watched as Vadim’s student Nikita Naumov reads his report on the role of using homonymic phrases in works and their influence on a person.

«You have prepared them well,» the professor remarked.

— Thank you Professor, but your lessons helped a lot.

— My lessons were not something special, but you have become a full-fledged supervisor and a colleague can be proud of yourself. And excuse me, but when is your report?

— Right after Nikita, I put my report last.

— Quite noble of you, — said the Doctor of Sciences.

When Vadim Alexandrovich’s turn finally came, the announcer in the role of Elina Komarova, a student of Vadim Alexandrovich, who told about lexicology, loudly announced:

— And now ladies and gentlemen, our dear teacher Vadim Alexandrovich Vavilov will make his report!

The audience enthusiastically met the teacher, everyone knew this person, though self-contained, but loving his work. The teacher enthusiastically began his report:

— Ladies and gentlemen! Dear Scientific Commission, dear guests, colleagues and our dear participants! Let me bring to your attention my report on the role of science fiction literature in the popularization and development of our society as the most reading in the world. My research is based on…

The teacher talked about various aspects and roles of popular science storytelling, how it develops thinking, what are the statistics of this genre, all the data on the effect on the human body. And although he often used various terms, even students who might not have been familiar with these terms listened attentively to their teacher. Many of them have decided which university they will go to, and many of them have decided right now to become like their favorite teacher — teachers, those who will love their vocation with all their heart.

— ...Thus, in conclusion, we can say that the development of science fiction literature precisely in the above direction, and adoption as a strategy, will help in the development not only of literature itself, but also of our dear youth and the education in them of the great future of our state and all mankind!

The hall burst into applause, loud applause could be heard everywhere. Vasily Nikolaevich, who was sitting in the center, got up first, followed by all the others and continued to applaud Vadim Alexandrovich standing up. Members of the regional and city departments of public education warmly thanked Anatoly Valentinovich, who enthusiastically applauded the teacher, whom he always considered a friend and comrade.

After this story, Vasily Nikolaevich and Vadim Alexandrovich became strong comrades. They often met and discussed new problems of modern philology, came up with new concepts and even planned to publish a book…

Chapter three. Professor Vavilov

June 1999.

Vadim Alexandrovich was interested in literature and the Russian language from a very young age, and now that he was a teacher, he decided to give himself up to science. Of course, the work of a teacher is fascinating, but when you have to explain topics every day, if you really love science, there is an involuntary desire to create and learn amazing bins of science, whatever it may be.

The teacher himself was interested in the subject of science fiction, and lexicography in this area. The fact is that when creating fantastic works, authors usually use both scientific terminology and colloquial speech, in a sense popularizing the development of technology. But at the same time, the way the characters address each other plays a big role. When speaking, it is possible to use an official style, or a simple one, and their mixture creates a certain psychological discomfort. Vadim Vavilov decided to investigate this lexicology and wrote a master’s thesis for a master’s degree.

His work described the analysis that he had done on the science fiction works «The Mysterious Island», «The Air Seller», «The Lord of the World», «I am a Robot» and many others, thanks to which he managed to compile some systematics to determine the type of work. It was something like a system of tables that allowed you to determine the type of work. As it seemed to the teacher then, his work promised to be quite large-scale and was quite enough for him to write a PhD and even doctoral dissertations on this topic.

Just his recent acquaintance with the Doctor of Philology, Professor Ulyanov Vasily Nikolaevich, which took place last week, was very useful. And so, when he completed his first master’s thesis, he decided to talk to the professor and ask to be his supervisor.

Vasily Nikolaevich was preparing for the upcoming lecture. The door of the auditorium opened and Vadim Alexandrovich entered.

— Vadim Alexandrovich! — the professor was happy to meet you.

— Hello, Vasily Nikolaevich.

Both colleagues greeted each other joyfully, and then Vasily Nikolaevich led the teacher to the table and joyfully began the conversation:

— How glad I am that you came. I really didn’t expect it — the professor was smiling, he managed to grow a beard in a month, it wasn’t as big as Vadim’s, but you could tell that it suits him.

— I didn’t want to bother you too much.

— What is the concern, my dear friend? You can’t bother me in any way, but as I see, have you brought something for me?

— You guessed right, Professor. I decided to defend my scientific work. This is my master’s thesis and I would like you to become my supervisor — Vadim Alexandrovich handed over the work a little timidly.

— I am very glad, Vadim Alexandrovich, you should have done this much earlier, because your talent should definitely find its place, and it is definitely above the level of a secondary education teacher. And of course I agree to become a scientific supervisor — the professor accepts the job smiling.

— Thank you, Professor.

— But that’s not all. It’s almost lunchtime, so I’ll be at lunch after this lecture, and then I’ll get to your work, I’ll just have time. Kindly come to my office closer to two o’clock.

— Of course, I will come — at that time the bell rang, symbolizing the beginning of the couple, so Vadim Alexandrovich without stopping said goodbye to the professor and left to return at the specified time.

When Vadim Alexandrovich arrived at the specified time, Vasily Nikolaevich had already read the work. They talked for a long time and corrected inaccuracies, sometimes adding new research. And for more confirmation, the professor provided opportunities for conducting his own sociological experiment, which Vadim Alexandrovich was able to conduct next week. While the work on the work continued, Vadim Alexandrovich was already able to enter the master’s program. So about two years have passed. And at the end of the master’s degree, Vadim Alexandrovich had to present a ready-made master’s thesis.

Vasily Nikolaevich also prepared a review, and they also managed to get a positive review from Academician of the Academy of Sciences Gavriil Artemovich Venyaminov. After such a joyful review from the professor, Vadim applied with great joy. And all this happened at the Tomsk State University, which was established back in 1870.

And finally, that very solemn day came. On that day, a scientific commission gathered in a spacious hall, on that day with Vadim Alexandrovich, his comrade and colleague Gleb Valentinovich had to defend him. Both undergraduates were sitting in the corridor and preparing for their hour. They were waiting for their turn, one lady came in front of them, who also defended her work, but both undergraduates did not have the honor to talk to this person. Their supervisors were already in the hall, as were the employees of this department, so they were completely alone in the corridor. Both were solemnly dressed, and in their hands they held a stack of papers, these were copies of their dissertations, the necessary diagrams, pointers and plans.

— What did you say about your work, Vadim Alexandrovich? — to calm down, Gleb Valentinovich decided to start a conversation.

— Have you really forgotten the title that you read a minute ago? — the teacher was surprised and again looking at the cover of his work quoted — «The role of the official narrative style, as well as the characteristic parameters of determining the type of work, when creating literary works of the science fiction genre.»

One could not be surprised at such a long title of scientific papers, here almost everyone had them not small. Someone wrote their meaning there and sincerely worked, and someone just defended himself with such terminology, trying to seem better.

— Excuse my forgetfulness, colleague, — Gleb Valentinovich apologized.

When about two hours of long waiting had passed, the lady with a joyful look fluttered out of the hall. And finally the moment came when Vadim Alexandrovich was supposed to speak. The secretary of the Scientific Council read out his data and the documents presented. Vasily Nikolaevich was already sitting in the ranks of those present, among them one could see the same Gabriel Artemovich, who decided to watch the performance of the young man.

— Hello ladies and gentlemen! Initially, let me thank you all for your time. I would like to present to your attention my scientific work «The role of the official narrative style, as well as the characteristic parameters of determining the type of work, when creating literary works of the science fiction genre.» My work is based on the theory that the verbal relationship in the official style in the works increases the likelihood of their success among the public. The relevance of this work is visible on the face, and it is also worth saying that I managed to conduct several experiments on this topic, for which I bring special thanks to Mr. Vasily Nikolaevich Ulyanov and for scientific advice to Gavriil Artemovich Veniaminov. The subject of my scientific work is…

The performance of the young man lasted about three hours. Vadim actively talked about new research, cited numerous facts, confirmed his scientific conclusions not only with sociological parameters, but, strange as it may sound, with medical data that he conducted to analyze the effect of the official narrative style on the human body and additionally cited a number of mathematical formulas by introducing the entire system into a full-fledged framework. So, based only on the style of the narrative, Vadim Alexandrovich managed to create a whole system of classification of works and their effects.

— So, gentlemen, we can create the most necessary classification system, using which our authors can create the best works without any mistakes. It is worth saying that more experienced authors subconsciously know such a system, but for the younger generation, as well as for the experienced creators themselves, this systematics is necessary. It is by this method that it will be possible to develop the literary field of research and the creations of our vast Homeland. And in conclusion, I would like to say that my research is actively continuing and it is still necessary to go much deeper into this and other issues of literary criticism, and to learn the latest secrets. And I can say with great joy — «To be a scientist is proud of the Lord!»

That’s how grandiosely I was able to finish my speech, which was very highly appreciated, even by Gavriil Artemovich’s colleagues. So Vadim Alexandrovich finally received the well-deserved title of master. Now he worked at the university and taught philology. But Vadim’s words about new research were not long in coming. And two months later, he applied for a PhD thesis. How lucky Vadim Alexandrovich was, because during those two years in the magistracy he managed to prepare both a candidate’s dissertation for the scientific title of Doctor of Philosophy in philological sciences and a doctoral dissertation for the scientific title of Doctor of Philology.

Vadim Alexandrovich presented his PhD thesis two months later, with an appendix of about 30 scientific articles that he managed to publish in a variety of scientific journals. Vasily Nikolaevich actively helped in this, not only as a scientific supervisor, but also helped financially, even considering that Vadim Alexandrovich spent almost all of his salary for these months on publishing and preparing scientific papers. At the same time, he prepared one monograph and two textbooks. Vadim Alexandrovich was able to complete his first textbook after a meeting with Vasily Nikolaevich, but they decided to wait for the right time for publication.

Soon Vadim Alexandrovich was standing in that hall again, but he was already presenting his documents for the degree of Candidate of Philological Sciences. And although a lot of time passed after submitting the documents, they answered Vadim Alexandrovich quite quickly. It is not necessary to say that everything was too easy, there were not small difficulties and if there were fewer discussions during the defense of the master’s thesis, then there were difficulties during scientific discussions during the defense of the candidate’s thesis, in addition to the difficulties that Vadim overcame only by preparing this work.

— …I decided to present to your attention my scientific dissertation «The impact on the psychological perception of literary work when using scientific and technical reliability and mathematical proof in the creation of fantastic works and constructions» for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Philological sciences. In this work of mine, I wanted to show the problem of the lack of scientific reliability in many fantastic works of our time and how this affects the perception of such works … — when the speech was completed, the questions were much stronger than last time.

— Mr. Vavilov, do you really think that it has the role of using science as such? Were you not familiar with such concepts as philosophy, which should prevail in such a work? — one of the listeners asked.

— I’m sorry, but I think it’s worth considering the philosophy of scientific development, which is very important especially for fantastic works.

— In that case, what are the goals of creating textbooks? Science should be located only for popularization and no more. And even then it should not be increased unnecessarily. And you propose to increase the volume — another listener was already asking, but it was clear from the intonation that everyone perfectly understood the idea of Vadim Alexandrovich, but they asked questions specifically to refute the idea at all costs for the young researcher.

— Gentlemen, to protect the work, I can bring to your attention a more detailed presentation of the work «Philosophy of Science in Works», which has been published and has detailed instructions and answers to your questions.

— We have read your work, Vadim Alexandrovich. We didn’t find any special evidence of your rightness there…

This dispute lasted for quite a long time, so the candidate’s work cost Vadim Alexandrovich much more than the master’s work. But this did not frighten him, because he planned to present his biggest work in his doctoral dissertation. After receiving the post of Candidate of Sciences, Vadim began to receive much more and already seemed to have enough for a comfortable life, but he could not get down to it in any way. Therefore, he decided first to take up the post of doctor of sciences, and then to take care of his apartment, his house, which still remained the same as it was.

The work on the doctoral dissertation was going well and Vadim Alexandrovich repeatedly rewrote the work that he had conceived back in his master’s degree. Together with Vasily Nikolaevich, who was always there, they were able to publish a monograph and a textbook, as well as about 50 scientific articles for this year. Protection was coming soon. Vasily Nikolaevich never showed even the slightest distrust of his colleague, on the contrary, he supported him. But a lot changed in the summer of 2002.

Vadim Alexandrovich and Vasily Nikolaevich continued their work at the professor’s house, who never invited his colleague. The door opened and the grandson of the Doctor of Sciences entered. The scientists did not get distracted and did not pay attention, and noticed the boy only when he approached the dense. Then they decided to take a break and go out for tea. Then the boy asked:

— Vadim Alexandrovich, and what is your most important work based on, as grandpa says? — in the eyes of the boy there was a sincere desire for knowledge and curiosity, which did not give rest for a moment, Vadim had to explain in the simplest possible language, without a term, and then he said:

— I’ll explain it to you like this. Imagine you’re reading an interesting book, and you really like it. It’s about spaceships, about adventures…

— And about pirates, rescuers? the boy added.

— And about pirates, and about rescuers. And now imagine a writer who came up with a story, but does not know how to write for a boy like you, so that it would be very interesting. Here I will come to help him.

— How is that?

— It’s very simple. If he has an idea, then he can look at my table and understand what his idea looks like, because there are many of them, and their types too. Having learned the type, he can also, through my table, looking at the features of his story, which I have listed here, understand how to write so that all such boys and girls like his book, and so that it is popular.

— Is it possible?

— Of course, it’s possible.

— Then I will definitely read your work when you are done! — the boy spoke with delight. — And then I will write the best book that has not been read yet!

— Go play — said the professor, then turned to a colleague — Are you sure that we will succeed?

— Of course, Vasily Nikolaevich, because we have been working for a whole year.

— Maybe it will work out, but I’m not sure what they will miss there. You have not forgotten the dispute after the defense of the candidate.

— Of course I haven’t forgotten, but what prevents me from breaking through a second time?

— Hmm… I made an appointment with Gabriel Artemovich about our meeting with him. He asked you to be there too. Therefore, if you don’t mind, let’s go to him, and we will continue the work after arrival — the professor tried to persuade.

— If it’s urgent…

Very soon they were already in place and were sitting with their old friend, Academician Gavriil Artemovich.

— Vasily Nikolaevich told about your work — the academician himself was of advanced age, so he spoke slowly. — And you know, Vadim Alexandrovich, now I don’t know you enough, and you know me. I have often supported you, but this time, we need to face the truth. This is too large-scale work.

— Gavriil Artemovich, you can not doubt me.

— Vadim Alexandrovich — this was said by Gavriila Artemovich’s comrade Academician Viktor Romanovich, who was sitting with them — if you want to hear my advice, as an academician and colleague of Gavriila Artemovich, then for so many years I have never heard that there was such a miraculous table in literature, even if the best psychologist in the world takes up the case. Believe me, I don’t see much prospect. Yes, it was a good job. Yes, they agreed with you when you were a teacher, when you were a master, even when you were a candidate, but to have a doctor already… I’m sorry, but I think you should do more mundane things.

— But…

— Viktor Romanovich is absolutely right, — Gavriil Artemovich added, — I will also advise you to leave this job of yours and take up a simpler type. For example, leave at least that table to determine the type of narration and based on this, in addition, you have enough for this.

— But Professor, so much work…

— I think Viktor Romanovich and Gavriil Artemovich are right, Vadim. I also agree with them, I just couldn’t tell you that. This is pure utopia, Vadim Alexandrovich, and there is no point in continuing our work. It is better to take one detail and develop it a little, as far as possible. In my opinion, this is the only move.

— Also, do not forget about your health, because if you work too much on such a big job, you may face insanity — said Viktor Romanovich.

— Viktor Romanovich, how can this threaten me when I love my job…

— Which has no future of its own — added Gavriil Artemovich.

— Maybe, maybe your idea is somehow realized in 5 years, maybe in 10, or maybe in 100 years at all? — Vasily Nikolaevich tried to speak mildly, but now we have no chance. The best thing that can happen is that your speech will not be approved as valid, and we will return. And at worst, you will be offered to perform only next year!

— I understand you, gentlemen — only Vadim Alexandrovich replied dryly.

Then Vasily Nikolaevich looked at his watch and said:

— Excuse me, I think it’s time for us, we still need to prepare the work — I offered Vadim Alexandrovich to go.

They were returning to Vasily Nikolaevich’s house, but then suddenly the professor told the driver to turn off. When they turned around, they arrived in the forest…

Chapter four. Journey

It is not known where they were going and what the professor was up to, but when they turned, they were already passing through some forest that Vadim Alexandrovich had not been familiar with before. Suddenly the driver lost control and the car fell to the side of the road. To the horror of the scientists, the driver died on the spot, and they themselves were slightly injured. When they came out, the candidate of Sciences asked the professor:

— Professor, where were we going?

— We were going to the same university, I wanted to show you an old friend of mine, but apparently fate threw us not far. This is the same forest where my colleague died in an accident — said Vasily Nikolaevich holding on to a colleague. It was already evening and it was dark, they needed to get back into the city somehow.

— Vasily Nikolaevich, but how will we get home?

— There are no cars passing through here, because a longer, but safer way was built, I wanted to shorten it. Therefore, the only option is for us to walk, I think there should be an exit not far away, because we have not driven so deep.

— What about our phones?

— We won’t be able to give any signal, our phones won’t work.

After this brief dialogue, they continued their journey on foot. On the way Vadim Alexandrovich asked:

— And who was your colleague and why did you want to show me his place of work?

— I wanted to show you his work. He was a physicist and worked tirelessly. He was a candidate of sciences and worked on chemical compounds or, more precisely, on their atomic structures. He worked so hard and was able to reveal completely new data. Then the security services became interested in him, he began to appear less in public, and I had little opportunity to communicate with him after that. And then, I was able to meet him for the last time. And then, it became clear about his death. Surprisingly, at his request, his corpse is still here. I think we’ve come,» the professor whispered.

The professor’s phone had a built-in flashlight, and he didn’t turn it on to save the charge, which was almost gone, but now he couldn’t help but show it. He turned it on and directed it up. A body appeared before the eyes of Vadim Alexandrovich, this man was hanged on a tree branch. Frozen bottomless eyes exuded incomprehensible emotions. He was a middle-aged man, slightly younger than the professor. He was wearing a white lab coat and gloves. And a crazy smile froze on his face for ever…

Vadim Alexandrovich froze in place, and Vasily Nikolaevich spoke:

— That’s what excessive striving leads to! Do you think science will reciprocate your efforts? — no! They will suck all your blood and make you rot hanging on the gallows made by your hands! Yes, we are scientists, but we must also beware of this force. When we go too deep and learn, we become stronger, but our enthusiasm causes fear — they are afraid of us. They were afraid of him! He became so strong that people simply did not catch up to him and that’s what it led to! Therefore — he quickly looked at Vadim — stop Vadim Alexandrovich and stop your work! And start a simple job, otherwise the same fate awaits you!

The candidate of Sciences froze in place and simply could not move, could not say a word, he was torn apart from the inside, he was shod with fear, fear, where did his scientific courage go? Where had his fearlessness gone? Now they were gone and Vadim Alexandrovich realized how far he had come… Suddenly they heard the howl of a wolf and rushed forward, trying to escape as quickly as possible, but Vadim Alexandrovich fell and lost consciousness…

When the scientist woke up, he was already at Vasily Nikolaevich’s house. They were rescued by a forester who lived nearby and helped them get out. Now in Vadim’s eyes that fervor did not burn, that enthusiasm did not burn, and no, he did not lose interest — he was scared, he abandoned and buried his idea in a grave that is deeper than any hole on Earth, he buried it in his soul as far as possible so that he would never remember it again.

Finally, a solemn day has come, which Vadim used to think would be one of the happiest in his life. Before the speech, he met his friend Gleb Valentinovich, the one with whom they were waiting in line to defend their master’s thesis.

— Vadim Alexandrovich! How glad I am to meet you again! Are you trying to be a doctor?

— You guessed right, Gleb Valentinovich, but we haven’t seen you since the magistracy.

— Exactly. After all, I worked for a long time after that. Right now, only on the candidate.

— Are you worried?

— Why should I worry when everything is paid.

— I’m sorry, what do you mean?

— I will definitely be a candidate, even if I don’t say anything. I paid them to take me in. I trust you even with my innermost secrets, because we have not worked side by side for two years in vain, right?

— I’m sorry, but I’m a little surprised by your act.

«You don’t look it.» Excuse me, but why are you so sad, dear friend? Something happened? If you’re worried, it won’t be difficult for me…

— No, you don’t need to. And I’m sad because I buried my most grandiose idea.

— Well, this is also not a problem, you just need to pay and they will accept any of your whims, Vadim Alexandrovich. At least announce the number «pi» again!

— Thank you, but I’d rather kill myself along with my idea than act so meanly with my honor! And now, allow me to leave.

— Whatever you say, Mr. Honesty! Gleb grinned.

Vadim felt an unprecedented disgust for this man, after what he heard. Finally, he waited for his entrance and solemnly began his speech, which this time was by the very appearance of Vadim Alexandrovich much sadder than all the previous ones:

— Ladies and gentlemen… Today, I will present to your attention the work «Table of the narrative system», it is devoted to the definition of the style of narration. It is very simple and consists in… — he spoke his report without interest.

When the performance was over, few people asked questions. This topic was already trodden and was an easy way to pass, which really annoyed Vadim, who was a real scientist in his heart. So he received his degree and was proudly called Doctor of Philology, Professor of Tomsk State University Vadim Alexandrovich Vavilov.

So ten whole years have passed, Vadim has just turned forty-four years old, and the ticket for the liner has even risen in price, but at the same time he began to receive much more salary as a professor. Over time, he forgot about his pain and happily continued his work in his new position, giving lectures and sometimes conducting research. There was an era of cable television, DVD players, discs and cassettes were sold in stores, new stores were built or opened for them. Vadim himself already had his own TV, it was colored and showed old channels.

He looked at life as a trinket, a native of the pure Soviet principles of work and get, he tried to instill it in the yard boys who behaved like bandits in the area. Of course, he was bypassed, some laughed.

Vadim Alexandrovich continued to teach students, and sometimes children, and released more than a dozen from the walls of the university. It has been transformed with the age of new technologies. Now these computers and an electronic database have appeared, Vadim has been learning for a long time from their new young candidate of information sciences how to understand these computers and the Internet. Anatoly Romanovich seemed to be a ray at that time, only twenty-four years old, and he knows so much about computers, and explains it well, although Vadim turned out to be a bad student and in general it was difficult for him to do this.

He took antidepressants once, when it was already impossible to see nightmares in front of his eyes anymore, and now this jar still lies in a larger plastic box that contained everything necessary for first aid, for the cure of diseases. With Vadim’s immunity, some kind of flu or runny nose were not so terrible. And Vadim Alexandrovich did not put the apartment in order, but left everything as it is, even though the salary was already quite sufficient.

A month later, in June, when Vadim did not need to appear at the university and all these exams were passed, the man bought a ticket for a liner that would sail across the Atlantic Ocean to Florida and back with a plane flight through Europe. Of course, it was a very expensive journey, but most of the time Vadim will finally sail on a ship, and even if not as it was in his dreams, but this thrill, this thought, like a corpse, will come to life again, at the sight of the black depths of the ocean. At the same time, now he could quite afford to realize his dream.

The flight to Lisbon in Portugal will be here in one week. The professor was given a corresponding brochure with a guide to Florida, in which they will be at most two days and back to the pier, to the ship. He could already feel the sound of the surf, this wind with drops of sea water and the song of seagulls that fly near the land of islands and continents.

The man often imagined this moment, in colors, probably, this is the only image that he remembered so fondly. He took his time-worn briefcase, which would serve his master to death, and packed into it the most necessary things for the trip. A toothbrush, toothpaste, some ready-made food, clothes and money, a couple of tens of thousands of rubles. Oh, this is the time before you go on trips, to distant wonderful lands, to people who speak a different language and whom you fiercely despised during the Cold War.

Vadim literally trembled and beat a fraction every day, an hour turned into years. The man literally had nothing to do, he lived without communication, because even though he worked with Vasily Nikolaevich and others, he did not communicate with them heart to heart and for almost twenty-odd years he forgot what it was like to talk to people longer and reveal his soul to them. Vadim talked to the boys in the yard, but it was just a couple of sentences that practically did not change from year to year.

He couldn’t wait to diversify his life somehow, and he often asked himself what would happen next, for example, in another ten years, or would he already go crazy by this moment and die without waiting for a ray of light in the wilderness in which he has been living for a long time. He often returned to the events of the past, it was an integral part of him, from which he had no right to refuse because of resentment against his mother, who still glowed in his chest, he nurtured and cherished this beast, or what does hatred for a person turn into? The professor felt that it was not a beast and not emptiness, but pure hatred, like burning lava and like acid that eats everything, and it smells no better than rotten food.

July 2009.

A week passed and Vadim Alexandrovich, despite the old bones and back pain, was ready to jump on the walls with happiness. He instantly dressed in his old coat, which went out of fashion back in the seventies, shoes and a hat to cover his graying hair from the raging winds. Taking the briefcase, the keys to the house, Vadim looked around his poor home. It has not changed in any way in all twenty-two years of living, only the TV appeared, and the radio broke down and that’s all. All the same old walls, dusty bookshelves, kitchen, sofa with a broken spring. He sighed and left his abode, quickly descending the concrete stairs.

The soles of his shoes rattled, and the things in the briefcase, which were already sloppily folded so that the briefcase seemed bigger and bloated, were even more mixed up inside. There were inscriptions and various drawings on the entrance wall, Vadim Alexandrovich once caught such a person, but did not teach him a lesson, it was all the same what this young man was doing, the main thing was not with a knife in his hand.

I got to the airport by bus, which were delivered at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Convenient transport, but crowded and not very pleasant smelling, well, just like an ordinary train then. I found the right flight and got on the plane for the first time. The professor did not get out anywhere, except on the street to work or to the store, he did not see the country, as well as foreigners, only if Negroes were students or the same tourists. At that moment, the man felt joy and a surge of energy, he was excited, like a child after chocolate, from just the thought of the sea and the ship!

Sitting in his seat on the plane, he felt a little dizzy with admiration. The smell of the plane was sterile and quite unusual. A flight attendant walked through the rows and checked the tickets or whether someone was sitting correctly. The plane was still standing for a long time before departure. Few came yet, but soon the entire economy class was packed with different families and people. Then a voice sounded on the microphone, which drowned out the general hum and urged to buckle up immediately.

The plane went on the track, this moment was very exciting, it seemed to the doctor of sciences that the tremor had returned, and it was only the plane that vibrated easily from the work of the engines on the wings. Then he began to accelerate harder until he completely lifted off the ground and removed the chassis. Vadim was looking out the window with his eyes all this time, his heart was captured by the whole landscape and the moment. For a long time, the man believed that he would never go to sea, swim on a ship, and now he is flying all the way by plane to Lisbon, then across the Atlantic Ocean by ship to Florida, from there also back.

He was ready to jump out of the window from this overabundance of emotions, but in fact he looked calm, not a muscle twitched from overflowing delight. Cities, forests, rivers, lakes, seas and all that are located under it. There were no people in sight, but they were swarming under this plane. The sound from the engines was very loud and even sound insulation with the help of portholes was not omnipotent. Soon the plane rose much higher than the clouds, and it was already difficult to see the ground under the clouds and pale white clouds.

Vadim Alexandrovich was looking out the window all this time and reading a magazine along with a brochure, in addition, he had an interesting book in his briefcase, but unfortunately, he was taken and put in the luggage compartment of the plane. An equally old man, already completely gray-haired and with a prosthetic tooth, was snoring under his ear. Vadi ambiguously adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose and also decided to sleep at least a little, he wouldn’t miss anything.

Sleeping on an airplane was somewhat different from sleeping on a train, if on the train you were lulled by the transport itself knocking on the rails, then the plane flew smoothly, only trembling a little, as if the plane also had goosebumps from delight. But Vadim was an ordinary person and even standing up could fall asleep like a horse in a herd, so it was not difficult to fall asleep here under the snoring of a neighbor, even somehow much easier.

And so Vadim got to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, as far as he knew…

We boarded at the airport without interference. Walking down the ramp, Vadim felt the rays of the sun glide over his pale skin. He could feel the wind blowing through his body, through the jacket he wore at school. Some kind of traveler mania has awakened in the man’s mind. He saw so many people in one place, heard so many words, the meaning of which he did not understand. Vadim took his briefcase, completely stuffed with things in his hand, and walked with a very confident and straight gait in the general pile of chattering people. Camera lenses sparkled, many taxi drivers stood near the airport, they approached and offered their services.

The guide met a bunch of tourists just at the exit and led them to the bus. The transport shone from its cleanliness and all the smoke went up through the pipe immediately into the air. The bus itself was dark and stuffy, and a lot of people who were talking among themselves went inside. Vadim sat down with a thin man who took a paper bag on his lap. He looked unhealthy, and when the bus started moving under the voice of the guide, who was talking about local places, Vadim realized what was the matter. This man began to feel sick and he threw out all the contents of his stomach into a bag. Vadim had to look at it, and when his eyes failed him, he continued to listen to the muffled moans of his neighbor.

Vadim did not listen to the guide’s chatter, but simply watched the cars that passed next to the bus or paid attention to houses with interesting architecture. Soon they arrived at the ferry. A pleasant wind blew in my face, bringing with it the smell of water, wet stones and, it seems, boiled corn. A ship was slowly rocking at the dock. It was a large-sized liner with a deckhouse at the very top, it was built recently and although it has already managed to make several voyages, this route was built specifically for this newest liner and now it will set off for the first time on a new course.

The liner itself matched its proud name, which was emblazoned on it — «Columbia». Its engine was hidden by the hull of the ship, but the propellers were visible from the outside and even the black water did not hide them. The captain and a sailor were standing at the gangplank, the captain was smoking a pipe and wiggling his mustache when he checked the passengers’ tickets. His tokens glowed in the sun. The sailor was standing next to him, his hands folded behind his back and his youthful chest puffed out. He looked to be twenty-two, and the stubble was already visible on his face. Vadim looked at him with invisible envy, because he could also be an ordinary sailor and surf the seas and oceans like pirates from books.

The ladder creaked under Vadim’s feet, and his eyes looked into the foaming abyss. Moss and algae grew on the stones of the pier. The ship was rocking on the waves, and Vadim almost fell, leaning on the railing. Lifebuoys hung on the walls of the ship, the clear glass of the portholes sparkled. All the doors were open, but thick and heavy. Ropes rested on the floor, and an anchor lay hidden from all eyes overboard. There was a swimming pool on the ship, and there were sun loungers nearby. The sailors walked around the deck and washed the floor, or went about their other business. On the ground floor there was a technical compartment under the floor, already higher on the second floor there were cabins and rooms for entertaining people, for example, a private mini-bar. When the captain checked all the tickets, he walked slowly to the control room, accompanied by that young man. There were a lot of people on board, the wheels of their suitcases beat a drum on the deck, speech flowed in a stream from human lips.

Chapter five. The crash

Vadim felt strange when he heard the words of strangers, he sometimes caught short glances at himself. Gulls screamed nearby and small fish splashed. A sheaf of smoke and a loud sound erupted from a large pipe, which deafened Vadim’s sensitive ears. The ship began to shake a little and slowly sway from the waves. Under the propeller, the water foamed and bubbled, leaving a barely visible trace, which immediately disappeared under the strong current of the sea.

Vadim wandered around the ship a little with an important look. He looked into the rooms and immediately jumped out as if scalded, because it was not that room. Soon his legs began to ache, and he was found by a young man whom he met at the pier.

— Hello, can I help you? — he asked, he had a dark, tanned face.

— Yes, I can’t find my cabin, — said Vadim, shaking someone else’s hand.

He gave his ticket to the young man, and he just whistled. Soon he took Vadim almost all over the ship and still brought him to the right place. Vadim cursed the huge ships with its slippery floors, in which you can almost see your reflection. The young man turned out to be pleasant in communication, he is twenty-two, a native of Russia and his name is Rodion. Rodion was young, but he thought sensibly, the main thing was to find time to read this or that book during such voyages. Vadim told him that he also dreamed of becoming a sailor, also to surf the seas, oceans, but eventually became an ordinary teacher, of an average rate.

«Here’s your cabin,» Rodion smiled.

— Thank you, can we talk again sometime? Vadim asked, putting his briefcase on the bed.

«I’ll be right there when I’m free, sir,» the young man said and left.

Vadim has never spent time as pleasantly as he does now. It seemed that with this man he could talk for a long time about geography and the sea. Rodion loved water, loved its charms, but not like Vadim, he did not burn with it so that the water evaporated in his stomach, but addressed «You», albeit with a warm feeling. Vadim could feel it and understand, he is such a person.

His cabin was small, with its own toilet and bathroom. There was a small TV, a bed, neatly made, a table, a chair, a refrigerator and a bedside table. His cabin opened directly onto the deck, where water splashed and people walked. A small window looked out into the ocean. Vadim could only dream of such a thing. Despite the good audibility of what is happening around, but Vadim peacefully fell asleep under this noise, he was rocked by the waves themselves and the sounds of splashing water, the motor, which was supposed to be hiding under the skin somewhere nearby.

Vadim would never have thought that he would leave his room so often. Usually, he hid in his dusty apartment, but now he generally forgot that he had a cabin, he lived on deck. I was sitting on the floor, sunbathing next to the pool and looking far beyond the railing of the ship, where the ocean depths hid fish and their predators.

Rodion sometimes came to talk to him, even though Vadim was almost his father, they behaved like brothers or friends. Vadim had nothing to tell from his life, even if the life of a street kid was very eventful, but Rodion was only amused by such closeness of a friend and always told a story from life himself. It seemed to Vadim that he had begun to live again, all his life since the age of nine he had existed as if in prostration, in another world, and when he found himself on this ship, began to breathe this sea air and hear the sound of the surf, then he came to life, as if he had been awakened from a very deep sleep. For this he was grateful to Rodion, and when they sailed for the third day in the Atlantic Sea, he told a little about himself. Previously, the young man knew a small part of Vadim’s personality, this young man did not know more than the stomach of a man who was always looking into the ocean with childish, wet eyes.

— I liked to climb the neighbor’s apple trees and eat them, although my father flogged me, but the apples were worth my sacrifice, — he jokingly told. — And how was your childhood Rodion Mikhailovich?

— My father was not so cruel, I was punished once for painting the walls with paints, — Rodion thought a little, as if he was taking this memory out of a drawer.

— I lived in the Tver region, we somehow coped with our needs, — the smile disappeared from Vadim’s lips. — my father was always angry because of this, he almost drooled when he passionately covered Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other countries with obscenities.

— Yes, I remember, my father was born in 1951, during the Soviet era, so to speak, and always told me that in fact the Russian people lived in poverty while our government tore their hair for foreign countries so that they could live well, but it wasn’t enough for them.

Vadim and Rodion talked about it with annoyance and sadness in their eyes, even though Rodion did not have time to catch those times normally, but he spoke about them with childish love. And in the evening of that day, Vadim Alexandrovich and Rodion Mikhailovich decided to take a picture for memory. Surprisingly, even though many years have passed and what the heroes have not experienced, it turned out that this photo still remains.

For three days, Vadim tanned a little in the sun while swimming in the pool. The people on the ship were pleasant and not conflicted, but there was little to talk about with them. Another veteran sailed with them, who left the cabin in the evening and gathered a crowd of children in front of him, telling the times of the war. He spoke of her with fear and trepidation, not triumphant and great, but like an animal caught in a trap. Nevertheless, he also told funny stories while he and his battery were sitting in the trenches or somewhere in the woods, when it was allowed to rest after all the horrors.

— Once we got a mine in the toilet, and how it will explode! The old man’s eyes filled with mischief and laughter. — We spent several hours to clean everything up.

The children liked it, and Vadim also listened to the old man’s stories out of the corner of his ear.

How sad it is that now everything is being turned over, such a nuisance!

The food on the ship was delicious, even though they were trying to cut rations in order to make it to Florida to replenish their provisions. The cries of seagulls could be heard slowly.

— «Remember where the seagulls are, there is dry land,» Vadim recalled his father’s words when they went fishing.

— These are the islands of Puerto Rico, Mr. Vavilov — Rodion pointed with his finger.

On this day, the ocean was not calm. The waves raged and flooded the deck with their spray. The sky was gray and completely overcast, lightning flashed somewhere there, it was attracted to the water and struck a couple of times next to the ship. The sailors were shouting and mopping up all the excess water. People in this weather did not leave their cabins, preferring to sit out and play cards. Vadim was wetting his coat on the deck, at that moment he was standing on the bow of the ship and watching the weather in amazement. He would have sketched it, but he couldn’t. Heavy rain poured down, and the ship was shaking in different directions, it seemed that it was about to break apart, bouncing on the waves.

The captain was making a last effort to level the ship and keep it afloat. His hands were shaking, and sweat stood out on his forehead, he sometimes shouted at the sailors that they were spreading panic.

Rodion was working with a mop and occasionally glanced at Vadim, whose eyes reflected lightning that sparkled brightly in the sky. The clouds were heaving in the sky, they devoured each other, but this did not make them smaller. The heart stopped almost every participant of this journey, but if Vadim’s heart beat often from admiration and awe, then others from fear. Rodion was not a coward, but such weather even made him worry.

— Vadim Alexandrovich, maybe you should go to the cabin, otherwise the weather will completely deteriorate! — he tried to shout over the raging wind, holding his cap.

— Much worse! I’d rather stay here! Thanks! The man shouted back at him, looking down under the ship.

The water was black, empty, even the fish hid under rocks and algae. The ship was shaking very much, the deck chairs on the ship flew over the railing, bending them a little. In the mini-bar, all the bottles fell out of the cabinet, and their contents poured out in a puddle of strange something from the room. The lights on the ship were blinking and it seemed like they were about to burst or burn out. The engine was foaming water, but it was slowly starting to stall.

The captain became hard to see, because of the rain, the glass began to blur the view greatly. The wipers did not help well, and the captain began to swear and himself succumbed a little to the general panic of the sailors. Despite the fear, they continued to work, went down, checked the engine, engines, ran through the corridors and checked people, but no one had put the plugs back properly yet, and eventually the electricity was gone. The screams of frightened people were heard, a kind of death song was formed, which included the noise of wind, rain and crazy splashes of sea waters. The sailors immediately went down to fix it, because some of the devices of the ship itself worked with electricity and only.

Soon rocks appeared next to the land. A couple of times the ship rammed the shoal with its nose, so everything went upside down, Rodion fell and almost rolled overboard, fortunately Vadim helped him. He gripped his comrade’s arm tightly and pulled him back onto the deck, but the adventure did not end there.

The ship kissed the ground again, only this time it barely touched it, as the captain began to align the ship blindly, guided by the cries of his friend the sailor. He stood on the bridge and shouted the direction into the wheelhouse, like a helmsman, and the captain guided them until the wipers started working again. All hands were already numb, and the tongue was bitten to the point of bleeding, the captain groaned, but fulfilled his mission.

Vadim also fell after Rodion, the ship turned to the right, and the man rolled in that direction, hitting the tables nailed to the floor. Vadim passed out when he met the back of his head on the leg of the table, the pain was sharp, and then it gave off a wave all over his body until his eyes went dark. The man raced straight to death, his unconscious body slid limply into the depths of the sea and even the railing will not be able to save him from a sad fate. Rodion took a lifebuoy and ran towards Vadim, raindrops blurred his eyes or it was the tears of the young man himself that hindered him, but he slipped on the deck again and abruptly hit his chin on the floor, bit his tongue so much that it bled. The clothes were all wet and wet and stuck unpleasantly to the body. His hands were torn in blood and stung wounds from every contact with water.

Vadim’s back hit the railing painfully, and the light metal bent under his weight. The man caught his coat on the hull of the ship, but the fabric did not hold the weight and the piece of clothing remained hanging. So Vadim fell into the water, it was bubbling and foaming, and the black abyss had already hidden a good part of his body.

— Vadim Alexandrovich! Rodion shouted, he hung on the railing, but when his friend disappeared under the water, his heart stopped for a moment.

Rodion closed his eyes, he panicked for one second, but immediately pulled himself together and jumped after him. He was holding on to a lifeline, which stood out very vividly against the general greyness of the day. No one saw them overboard, everyone was busy with other things, and the ship slowly but began to sail away from the two men. Rodion was able to pull Vadim by the hand at the last moment, he was unconscious.

— Wait! Rodion shouted, rowing with his hands, he threw Vadim into a circle and sailed after the ship, pushing the cargo ahead. — Wait!

The strength began to leave the young man, the scream became quieter, and the jerks became slower and slower. The wave covered them with their heads, and Vadim fell into the water again. Rodion slowly disappeared under the water, he could not see because of the salt water, and the air in his lungs slowly began to come out. It’s a strange feeling from immersion in water. The liquid envelops the body, is felt by all parts of the body and is so pleasant at the fingertips. Something touched Rodion’s leg, it was hard and sharp, because the young man scratched his calf. It glowed with a bright blue glow, and the water with algae reflected from the unusual surface. Rodion did not see, because he ran out of air, and he began to twitch convulsively, but Vadim slowly disappeared part by part in this strange object, he absorbed it silently, only the water wilderness was in his ears. Rodion made a last effort and dived after Vadim, because he had nothing to lose. He felt his way down the pole on which the object was held and touched the surface, she sucked him not sharply, but gently and smoothly. Rodion dived upside down and disappeared, just like Vadim, a trickle of blood was flowing from his nose.

***

Vadim woke up from a severe pain in his back. He jerked violently from fear, because he was in an unknown place, it was blurred. Vadim abruptly assumed a sitting position, and his whole body responded with terrible pain, and sea water poured out of his mouth. When he regurgitated a whole puddle of water, Vadim decided to examine the place in more detail.

It was a huge forest, very bright and lush. There were thousands of different trees and shrubs growing around, so it was impossible to determine the type of forest. Being in a sitting position, he raised his gaze towards the sky and squinted from the bright light of the Sun, but there was a giant arch in front of him. This arch resembled the entrance to the eastern buildings and this gigantic structure covered almost half of the view. On the right side there were about two or three large and more than ten smaller rectangular buildings, it seems there were also huge entrances in front of them. There was also the top of a couple of towers, it seems European style. When Vadim lowered his gaze, the surrounding forest and trees seemed to have no end, and only this huge structure was visible. Under it was an ordinary earth with emerald grass. Berries were growing on the bushes, and small animals were sitting on the branches of the trees. Vadim perfectly remembered Rodion, who was nearby.

— Perhaps we got to Australia or a part of Africa, where it’s always summer, but I never remember such a large structure in these latitudes — Vadim hoarsely squeezed out, his throat still hurt after the sea water.

Looking around once more, Vadim made an attempt to get up from his seat, he succeeded, but he had to lean on a tree that was nearby. The man’s back still hurt, and he is alone here, remembers only thunderstorms, the ship and Rodion, and then everything is in a fog. He touched his back with his hand and hissed painfully, there was clearly a bruise or a broken rib. The man cast a sad glance at his coat, which was wet and torn on the back, there were a couple of buttons missing, and the diary in the pocket along with the wallet were damaged by water. Vadim took hold of his head, all his things were on the ship, and there were no means of communication around!

It was not clear how he ended up inside the forest and why there was no shore anywhere near where he could have been thrown. And anyway, how did he just stay alive? He examined everything once again and tried to walk, despite the fact that he was bent over and walking slowly, he thought it was much better than just lying on the ground and waiting for the predator to come.

At this time, Rodion was making his way through the bushes with blackberries, the young man barely moved his legs, blood was flowing from his right calf. He blinked and hissed in pain, but bravely endured. His clothes were all wet. Suddenly, he saw Vadim nearby.

— I found you! — he exclaimed in a tired and quiet voice, he almost collapsed from impotence, but a strong hand grabbed his elbow.

«I’m glad you’re alive,» Vadim said, smiling sadly. — But I’m not glad that you got into the same story with me. Do you remember what happened to us?

— Every moment! You passed out, after which we fell into the ocean, then drowned…» he blurted out. — That’s what I thought.

Together they looked around the space again in a new way. Only this forest stretched around and the chirping of birds could be heard. Streams flowed nearby and therefore a faint sound of water could be heard.

— We need to go ahead, there is some kind of construction, maybe they will help us, — said Vadim.

They took each other’s shoulders and headed towards the structure, and then they noticed that quite far away, above the tops of the trees, the top of a certain «green wall» could be seen, which also stretched from east to west, like the structure, the tops of which, as the comrades thought, were hidden behind clouds.

Chapter six. A strange place

Vadim and Rodion continued their journey in the thickets of this magnificent forest. Vadim was able to bandage Rodion’s wound by tearing part of the hem of his coat, anyway it is no longer suitable. Rodion examined the back of his comrade, there was also a decent wound. But after a while they began to get used to this pain, because hunger was already drowning it out. To distract himself a little, Vadim spoke:

— Rodion Mikhailovich, this forest is quite strange. There are different kinds of trees and shrubs here — the teacher spoke as cheerfully as possible.

— You are right, Vadim Alexandrovich, but is it possible for us to eat any of these berries? We won’t be able to reach the fruit if there are fruit trees here.

«No, my friend, we can’t take any chances. Alas, I don’t recognize any of the berries,» Vadim Alexandrovich answered after looking around.

— In that case, let’s take a break at this tree — the young man pointed out and sat down exhausted on the grass.

Vadim did the same. As they sat, the tension subsided, and they again examined this wonderful forest. The singing of birds was heard, it seems it was the singing of a nightingale, which later replaced the singing of a pigeon. It’s amazing that there are pigeons in these places. The sounds of singing canary, red-breasted, swallows, sparrows replaced each other. This beautiful melody was complemented by the sound of bubbling clear water nearby. The flowers filled with their fragrance, which was complemented by the wonderful smell of foliage and trees. Nature was fragrant.

Suddenly the singing began to subside.

«Did you hear that?» Rodion asked anxiously.

— What exactly?

— Rustle.

— No, I haven’t.

— It feels like someone is watching us.

— It doesn’t seem so to me — Vadim didn’t have time to say, as the sound of breaking branches under someone’s feet was heard — And now it seems … — the man whispered.

The sounds subsided, and not a single bird could be heard. It was hard to tell who was watching them. Perhaps it could be a predator. Therefore, the comrades got up as soon as possible, leaning on a tree and hurried towards the structure.

Rodion was limping badly, and Vadim began to help the young man walk faster. The feeling of being followed grew stronger. It already seemed to them that thousands of eyes were watching them behind every tree. And they are in a completely unfamiliar place, who or what could it be?! Trying to walk faster, they did not notice how they tripped over a tree root and both fell. Rodion lost consciousness, and Vadim tried to get up, but howled in terrible pain. Apparently he broke his leg! The last thing he saw was someone approaching them…

Vadim opened his eyes. He was lying on a spacious soft bed. He was wearing white pajamas, a thin blanket covered his legs, and there were pillows under his head. The bed was very wide and long, which Vadim decently did not get to the end. Above him was the arch of the bed. The man tried to get up and only expected pain, but felt nothing. When he took a sitting position and examined his back with his hand, there was no wound. The leg was also intact.

When he looked around, he saw that he was in a huge room. This room was 20 meters long and about 15 meters wide. There was a table near his bed, there was also a large table, a desk with all the accessories, a secretary with an electric lamp, and a huge chandelier hung from the ceiling. And there were a variety of yellow patterns on the ceiling.

The room was at least 7 meters high. Large cupboards were filled with various things. In some there were books, in some clothes, beautifully folded, which Vadim saw through glass openings with patterns. The man got up and went to the wardrobe, as he assumed, when he approached the sliding doors opened themselves and there he saw a variety of outfits. Strict suit, smart suits, T-shirt outfits, sports attire, festive attire, tailcoat, raincoat and among them was his coat, which does not have the place where it was torn.

The coat was completely intact, like all things. Including the diary and wallet were in perfect condition. On the hanger he saw various types of headgear — caps, hats, hats, whatever your heart desires. Various perfumes, several combs and much more were laid out on the dressing table.

There was a giant carpet on the ground all over the square, on which Vadim walked in very soft white slippers. On the wall he saw a huge plasma TV. The teacher looked around all this and could not understand where he was. What was this wonderful place? To look around, Vadim put on a long white bathrobe, which also hung on a hanger, next to which there were several umbrellas and canes, and at the bottom a whole row of very different shoes. After putting on a bathrobe, Vadim went to one of the snow-white doors, of which there were two in the room. And she also opened herself.

When the teacher came out, he found himself in a huge room. This room was already about 40 meters long and about 30 meters wide, and it was definitely about 10 meters high. Apparently, it was a living room. Almost the entire wall was blocked by a huge closet full of various things. There were windows made of colored glass, behind which you could see various dishes made of crystal, ceramics, porcelain. Nearby there was, as Vadim thought, a book department, since there were various books on all the shelves, although the teacher did not pay much attention to which ones right now. Also here he noticed another TV of rather large size.

And to the right and left of him were chairs. Next was a large and soft white sofa, the same color of the chair. And in the center there was a large table for 12 people. The table was already set, and the dishes were covered with hoods. The serving was simply magnificent, the dishes placed on the table were made of a variety of materials. Among them were silver spoons and forks, crystal glasses, gold plates, and on some dishes, there were a variety of fruits — from ripe peaches, then juicy apples, over which grapes hung, over which transparent droplets flowed. Often on such a crystal vessel there were such precious stones as sapphire, emerald, ruby. And some dishes were completely made of solid stone, for example, smaller plates, as Vadim Alexandrovich suggested, for salads, were completely emerald.

The table itself was made of a single piece of wood, on which a variety of patterns were applied, and a snow-white tablecloth was laid on it, which simply shone in the light from a huge chandelier. But it was strange that there were no windows in the room. The walls themselves were glued or most of all wonderful patterns were created on the walls themselves, among which the doorways stood out vividly. After the sofa, as Vadim Alexandrovich saw, there was a second door, and already near the large closet, which lasted until the very end, there was another door, already two-sided, which apparently led out of this department.

In addition to this furniture, there was a lot more in the room, from an aquarium to a small fountain, which was located further from the large table. The teacher decided to find out where the smaller, one-way door leads to, and before he could approach, it opened by itself. What a joy it was to see Rodion Mikhailovich! The comrades hugged tightly and were glad that they were alive!

— Vadim Alexandrovich, how glad I am to see you! — exclaimed the young man.

— Me too, my dear friend. We stayed alive! And I wonder who is our mysterious savior, from whom, apparently, we were running away violently?

— I can’t say for sure, but it’s interesting that my wound is not in place — only now Vadim Alexandrovich paid attention.

Now the Sailor was no longer limping and he was wearing the same bathrobe as he was. Behind Rodion Mikhailovich, the door was not yet completely closed, so Vadim Alexandrovich was able to look into the room from where his friend came out. The young man noticed the look and turned around and answered, as if to a teacher’s question:

— This, as I think, turned out to be a bedroom — that room turned out to be almost identical to the one in which Vadim was — But there was another door there, but I preferred to leave through this one, which I am only glad about.

— I came out of that room — Vadim Alexandrovich pointed towards his bedroom — And our rooms are identical, there was also a second door in that room. If we looked around, then let’s find out what’s there, and after that, I think it wouldn’t hurt for us to get stronger — looking at the table, the teacher said.

— I agree with you on that. In that case, let’s go to your room.

Together they headed towards Vadim Alexandrovich’s bedroom. Entering a spacious room, they turned left and entered the door and found themselves in a bathroom, although they could not call it an ordinary bathroom. There was a large swimming pool, a shower, several sinks, a spacious toilet. The tile just glistened. And the bathroom was divided into several compartments, for the pool, for the toilet, for the sinks, and in one of the departments there was a smaller pool, on the wall of this room there was a giant glass as high as 7 meters, as well as the height of the entire bathroom. The ceilings were laid out with beautiful mosaics, and the walls were decorated with a variety of patterns in the color of the sea wave with various shades.

Passing through each of the departments, they entered a special department, where they were able to find several baths of various types, from ordinary jacuzzis to hammock baths. The comrades were surprised at the luxury provided by their savior, but apparently the owner was a rather generous person.

Going out again into the living room, Vadim Alexandrovich and Rodion Mikhailovich decided to inspect the second room attached to Rodion Mikhailovich’s room, but it turned out to be the same bathroom as they expected.

— If the mysterious host decided to provide such opportunities, I believe that we need to clean ourselves up, then sit down at the table. What do you think Rodion Mikhailovich? — already in the living room, the teacher asked.

— I agree with you. In that case, let me leave.

— Of course, I will also leave.

The comrades went to the bathrooms, after they managed to put themselves in order, they put on strict suits, although Rodion Mikhailovich preferred a tailcoat, which really suited him, as well as a new hairstyle back. And Vadim Mikhailovich preferred to comb his lush hair to the right side and straighten his beard. Having recovered, the two comrades met with a smile and greeted each other in a new guise.

— I note that Rodion Mikhailovich suits you very well, — the teacher remarked.

— Let me tell you also — the young man replied culturally.

— And now, let’s get down to our meal, it’s not for nothing that this beautiful table was set for us.

When they sat down on chairs with soft special coverings, which were very comfortable, the caps flew off the plates themselves. Under them were dishes of various types and varieties. Among the dishes there were various kinds of soups, cooked just perfectly, and as it seemed to the comrades, even the best chef would have noted this. Appetitively fried meat kebabs, pilaf placed in a certain center on a large plate with boiled eggs, pieces of meat and potatoes lined up on it, appetizing borscht and pies, as elements of Russian cuisine, which was so familiar to the guests, were also present. Among the dishes, one could notice both samsa and urama, as well as beautiful tortillas, which are so popular and are symbols of the East. Surprisingly, there were also dishes from Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian cuisine. The guests did not deny themselves the pleasure of trying out pieces of these delicacies, washing down with various types of drinks, including tea, coffee, juices of various fruits, various types of wines and even champagne. Apparently, the owner decided to give the choice to the guests themselves, who drank tea after the meal, and later tried the juices in wine glasses.

— It is worth assuming that the host is hospitable, along with this, the dishes are cooked perfectly, but still where are we, Mr. Mamiev?

— I don’t know for sure myself, Vadim Alexandrovich, — the sailor replied after taking a sip of juice from a glass, — but I will agree with the fact that the host is hospitable. And I hope we’ll meet someone here, and the owner himself, too.

— I don’t know why, but I don’t think so. Have you ever wondered what nationality this person is? You can’t tell for sure by the dishes, although the interior is European, but there are also elements of oriental decor. And these paintings — Vadim pointed to the paintings that hung behind the sailor — they are also inherent in different cultures. This is, for example, a painting, as far as I know of the times of the Mughals and Tamerlane, and it resembles the works of Leonardo de Vinci, but I do not see Gioconda among them. And this looks like Picasso’s work.

— I think these are not originals — the sailor said turning around — because the real paintings are in museums.

— The fact that the owner could get them and swap them, maybe even those emerald plates with olivier, vinaigrette and assorted that are standing next to you.

— Although, I think you’re right. It’s interesting to know at least what time it is, there are absolutely no watches among such luxury — Mamiev noticed looking around.

— Right, and how long did we sleep in you? Yesterday, when there was a shipwreck, it was evening, and we woke up in the morning in the forest, after we lost consciousness again. After that, how much time has passed?

— That’s a mystery — confirmed the sailor — And as for where we are, I think we are in the building that we saw, it’s obvious.

— You say it so easily. After all, there is not a single such building on Earth, despite how it was built at all? Perhaps it was just a mirage, then it remains unclear where we are.

— Vadim Alexandrovich, I think we just need to look around — with these words, the young man got up and went to the two — way door and tried to open it, but could not — The fact that we are being held in prison can be called a surprise. If we are in that building, it turns out that it is secret, and we got into the secret department.