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Book One. Chapter 1. In the beginning there was a thought

A moment changes eternity. Eternity is made up of moments

– In the beginning, there was a thought. Remember, Rutra, in the beginning there was a thought. Now you don't pay much attention to it, but the time will come and it will be very important, because those who know what was in the beginning always hide it, otherwise it cannot be. Because those who know the original event, and certainly those who have done the first action in the beginning, can put the order of action together so that, by controlling all the subsequent actions, they can bring the event to the result that was originally intended. So remember these words. You can make so many things out of a word! And imagine how much can be done with a thought. Because a word can influence people both positively and negatively, both constructively and destructively. But words are always manifest. We hear and perceive them, so we can examine, understand, assume, draw conclusions from their content. Thought, on the other hand, is always hidden. But there are things that are even more hidden and unknown even to our thoughts. This is what gives birth to thought.

He said this "hidden truth" with a kind of mysterious mysticism, almost in a whisper. Then, glancing at Ruthra, studying his reaction, which he knew Ruthra was not hiding, he continued:

– Therefore, know this: there are truths that not everyone can know, not everyone can be privy to. To control actions, one must control thoughts. To control thoughts, you have to be able to give that which gives birth to thought. If you want to be initiated into this.....

He fell silent halfway through the sentence without completing it.

Ruthra drew meaningful conclusions from what was said and from what was left unspoken. Warpath, as his name was, radiated his thoughts, so Ruthra could feel them before they were transformed into words.

– You will be part of this truth, because only the chosen ones can be in this system. This truth is as old as the world, everyone feels it, but only those who see its action with their own eyes will believe in its reality. Once you are convinced of it, you will understand more than others, you will know what they do not realize. All faith is based on such knowledge (when you are convinced of the reality of what is unnatural to others), and the crown of it is faith in the most supernatural, that is, in God. It is therefore a very powerful force. But at the same moment keep in mind: you can enter this river, but you cannot get out. Now I am going to tell you something that will be difficult for you to accept, and I don't even know from which point of view it will be better to accept it – religious or scientific.

– Tell it like it is.

He couldn't see the man's face through the darkness, and he couldn't understand how he'd gotten here. Ruthra was suddenly swirling in a whirlwind of doubt and anxiety as he thought about what had happened. He couldn't remember what had happened before, couldn't figure out where he was or who was talking to him. When he looked more closely, he was astonished, almost horrified. He saw through his interlocutor. Another thought intertwined with the questionable perception of reality and the search for reasons: "How do I know his name is Warpath? I'm sure of it." Suddenly his companion reached out to him with an outstretched forefinger. His voice became restless.

– Now you'll realize what this is about, but it's false....

– What?" asked Ruthra with difficulty, as suddenly the surroundings became lighter and lighter, more and more, he was blinded… the interlocutor was disappearing.

Ruthra was the last to see Warpath's glittering eyes and finally recognized them. It made him realize what was happening, but at the same time it made him doubt his perception of reality. The bright light obscured the vision, and only Varpath's last words, coming from the depths of vast time and space, magically inspired not only faith in the reality of that vastness, but also confidence in the thought they had provoked. A thought that is that samsara, the unity and opposite of birth and death, that connects desire and idea to stimulate action. An action that can generate new thoughts that can spin the wheel of samsara, combining desire and idea to generate new actions whose meaning will be to get out of that wheel. Exit to a new circle, which is possible if the action generated by the thought, connected by desire and idea, has a point of attainment. The point of achievement is the goal.

– She's waiting in parallel worlds.

The last words of the disappearing Warpath echoed in Ruthra's ears. He was gone, and Ruthra opened his eyes. He was lying in a mind-moving machine.

***

We want our lives to be full of new, bright, unusual things. We live in expectation of it, often hoping for a miracle. However, sometimes expectations are prolonged for a long time, and we realize that everything expected will not come by itself, and then we wish for another life. Everyone outlines this other direction of life's path in his or her own way, thinking and imagining something out of crumpled desires and fantasies.

But not everyone has the strength to even imagine something bigger than their current life. Many people cannot formulate what they really want, and someone considers their small desires as a huge unattainable dream and even the whole meaning of life. A very small percentage of people decide to try to realize at least something of their fantasies. Even fewer are those who can be called the "elite of will": such individuals are able, at any stage of their lives, to change this very life and realize their dreams.

Something similar happened to Rutra. Everything seemed to be fine, his job, his status, his level in the hierarchy of power, but the stars had decided otherwise. Rutra believed in the influence of the stars (or anything from chance to God) only insofar as he could explain it scientifically, so he was morally close to the theory he had been drawn into.

It was the theory of many worlds. Few people knew that the theory about the existence of many worlds, which are copies, consequence or consequence of our world, is studied scientifically and there are quite logical hypotheses. One of them is faced by a human being with each of his actions: the state of the world now and in infinity depends on how we act. So people change the world they live in, and only because they know only the one they feel, they consider it to be the only real one. If at the moment of choosing some action several of us would appear and each of us would act differently, and then after a huge period of time all of us would meet and tell what the world has become depending on that action – then we would be able to comprehend parallel worlds in reality. Now we can only rejoice (or regret, depending on the result) what happened, or suppose what would have happened if we had managed to do something differently then, in the past.

Unexpectedly, even for himself, Ruthra found himself at a crossroads. He wanted to realize his life's dream, which was to fly to distant worlds. Not just to space, but to the very distant worlds that no one not only knew about, but did not even believe in. After all, for us to believe in the existence of life (all the more intellectual) in the cosmos is akin to the feeling of a humanoid, wild creature who realized his superiority over the animal world. It was the realization of one's status as an intelligent human being that was the sense of grandeur that gave rise to god. A god. Only an intellectually evolved being could want an intellectual parent – something greater by all accounts. Only that could have been the impetus for the development of anything whose basis was intelligence. And no matter how diverse and comprehensive the intellect changed – everything was not enough for it. That is why he was always transforming his gods, making them what he wanted to strive for. And with time he became disappointed in himself, and the gods he invented became irrelevant, "inanimate", unreal. Then the society was thrown into chaos, and in time common sense and new ideals were forged in this flame of cruelty and mercy, which led the intellect, helping to overcome the wild animal instincts and passions. Very often we receive signals that can move us to action, but not everyone sees them, hears them, feels them, and many do not want to, ignore them, more often because of the fear of responsibility before the unknown. Except that most people believe in God, which, in fact, is a symbol of the unknown, mystery, although it is personified by faith in the hope of his love for us and hope in the faith of help and salvation of us by our love for him. The unity and struggle of opposites very often lead us into confusion and are the fault of indecision. But the brave take fortresses. And if word and idea are added to it, the fortress will fall without sacrifice. Society will accept a new god: otherwise it not only has no one to defend itself against, but it sees this new god as its defense now.

Chapter 2. The Fix

Creative people, and not only talented people (each of us is talented in something, even in stupidity), always have a fix idea. And if this idea finds support in the statements of great thinkers, it turns from an idea into a goal.

Rutra has always wondered why the formula E=MC2 limits the possibilities of mankind. According to this contradictory and controversial (including the authorship) formula – bodies with mass cannot reach the speed of light, otherwise the energy must be infinite, and massless particles (there are some) can, but no more. So, at the speed of light you fly to the Moon (+/-300,000 km) one second, to the Sun (150,000,000 km) already more than 8 minutes. The Sun is our star, and there are up to 400,000,000,000,000,000,000 of them in our galaxy alone (not the largest). The diameter of our galaxy is 100,000 light years. Imagine how many seconds that is. Even if we reach the speed of light for human flight (which is incredible and contradicts all the laws of physics), it will take us 4 years to fly to the nearest star – Alpha Centauri (and back 4). To say that we, even overcoming all the laws of physics, can fly around at least our galaxy (to our neighbor, the Andromeda Nebula, 2,000,000 light years away) is still impossible!

So, Rutra had a fix idea. He has developed a program and is preparing to implement it, which will be a scientific breakthrough. First he needs to realize no less ambitious and grandiose idea, very original, fateful for mankind, incredible, but in fact, as it turned out, has a very simple solution. It is only necessary to give immortality to mankind. This incredible and seemingly unfeasible idea turned out to be solvable in one rather simple way. As it turns out, it is a very simple solution, even on a physiological level. Everything grandiose is simple. It was much more difficult to overcome the speed of light.

The idea had so strongly occupied Rutra's mind that everything else became unimportant. Obsessed with the idea, he set out to carry out his plan.

Chapter 3. The intrigue of the beginning

– You're awake, and you're not dreaming.

– What?

– Listen. This is happening in your world.

Ruthra saw the council meeting. His friend and colleague was gesticulating and talking emotionally. He saw, as if from above, everyone at once. But that wasn't what struck Ruthra. What struck him was that he saw among them a person who should not have been there according to all the laws of physics. By all the laws he thought were unshakable. Rutra saw himself.

– …However, please understand my further methodology of proposing, presenting and even explaining the project. Not everyone is proficient in this area. Not everyone is well versed in the exact sciences. Now how can I say this so as not to offend… I will be listened to, the topic studied and approved by more than just the board members. Right? That's right. And, no offense, there's a lot of people in the system – financiers, military, specialists in other fields.

– Mr. Doctor, let's get on topic," the chairman asked rather loudly and firmly.

– Okay, here I go. Everything that can be imagined exists. Otherwise it can't be imagined. The idea of the world is in the brain, in representations. The many-worlds interpretation, or the Everett interpretation, is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that assumes the existence (in a sense) of "parallel universes", each with the same laws of nature and the same world constants in different states.

The Council did not need to be told about the scientific background of the theory of multiple worlds. For the average person such a thing was perceived as a fantasy, because not everyone knew that there was a scientific basis for the existence of parallel worlds. There were several explanations, among them – the Copenhagen interpretation, Everett's many-worlds interpretation and other similar ones. The point is that the scientific community studied this issue, so no one could take the speaker's words lightly. Everyone tried to understand how it was possible, knowing his past, no less fantastic ideas, which still managed to materialize.

This time he stated that indeed there are these parallel worlds, moreover – they are an exact copy of ours. As proof, the scientist cited quantum teleportation. Since not everyone to whom he presented his program understood the subtleties of his reasoning, the speaker made detailed explanations.

– Now a little scientific justification of cloning methods, digitalization of memory and existence of other civilizations that exactly repeat our world. For example, everyone knows about animal cloning and the technique of rapid breeding of, for example, broiler chickens. This is how, by slightly transforming the technology, we make human clones. A person is "created" within a year. The next stage is loading consciousness into him. It seems incredible, but it's much simpler than that. This is achieved by recording the brain radiation and then converting this radiation into a form that affects the chemical reactions in the brain. In this way, one brain state is transmitted to another. After all, you are not surprised when your thoughts, converted by you into words (and scientifically into waves of sound), travel to the ear, from there to the brain, and there cause the desired reactions. You can read about the existence of brain waves, their transmission to the apparatuses in the network. For example, you can use your thoughts to type what you read. Not with words, but with thoughts. All this is already real. Now the question is: Are there other worlds? This can be answered in terms of both religion and science. It's a win-win to convince you. Surely you either believe in god or science, and most people believe in both in different interpretations. So, let's take an example from the Bible, and in almost all known religions there is a mention of other worlds: "And the other inhabitants of the universe have not fallen". And the scientific example is based on probability and imagination about infinity. Here you are, can you imagine infinity, for example, of time and space? Whatever magnitude you imagine – there must be something beyond it. From this follows a logical conclusion: there is everything in infinity. And if you have doubts now, it means that you have imagined the smallest part of this infinity.

Chapter 4. Where am I? Who am I?

"Where the hell am I? I was in the center. Is this the real world or virtual reality?"

– Irene, you on the line?

There was no response.

– Irene, are you there? Where am I?

"Yeah, well, maybe the doctor was right. And yet… how to check whether it was his trick, a joke, a virtual reality, or really, damn it, it worked out. It's an understatement… Am I in a parallel world? Is it parallel? Once people could not believe in the existence of other lands, much less continents. And the existence of different races, nations, round Earth, which in addition moves around the axis and, quite surprisingly, around the Sun, it turns out, was no less fantastic. And the end of the atmosphere and further endless airless space could not be imagined at all. So it only seems at first that the existence of other worlds is something fantastic. It's not. It turns out to be simple. Or maybe it's a virtual reality? Maybe this is Earth, and what's going on is Parmen's prank. After his prank one can expect anything, and after the incomprehensions with virtual worlds in my last job, I have serious doubts… A person living in Africa, for example, in the Bronze Age, who had never seen snow, would be transported to the Arctic to the Eskimos. They would wake him up and explain that the world is round, there is a moon and planets that revolve around the sun, these are earthlings like you, and so on. What would he think? He would have thought he was crazy, or still asleep, or a prank, or dead, or in another world. Lots of things he would think, and the hardest thing for him to figure out would be how it was that the Earth was round. So now… it seems logical that there should be other worlds in the infinity of the universe, it seems logical that life should originate in the same conditions as it already did, that is, develop in a similar way, but it is very hard to believe it, especially to believe that you are there now. Just like an ancient inhabitant of the Earth. For whom the world is the outskirts that he sees from a distant hill or even a mountain…"

Rutra's musings were interrupted by a policeman.

– Paschow, out.

"Well, I've had a bit of an accident. I wonder what role I'm playing here…" – Ruthra thought, having already convinced himself that there really were parallel worlds and that he was out of the cage. The guardian of order walked forward. Ruthra followed him. "That's strange," he thought. – He should handcuff me first… or there should be two of them, one in the back and one in the front. But really, I wouldn't know. Especially in this world. Or this is our world… There's no difference yet."

– Rutra Tigrovich, go directly to the Admiral's office. Today he's in the office without a sign, the secret one.

Ruthra was about to ask where, to whom, and why, when he realized that something was wrong. The policeman had been very friendly to him, and it seemed that the place where he was to go was not a hostile place.

Soon he saw the mark of a removed sign on one of the doors. He knocked. The owner of the office himself opened the door. In the spacious room at the entrance stood a tall, blue-eyed, blond-haired, statuesque man.

– Hey, buddy. Enough lying around in sanatoriums, it's time to get down to business," he began.

Ruthra tried to contact Irene silently. She wasn't answering. He needed information. He didn't understand what was going on or how to behave, much less what to answer.

– It's time. What's the plan?

– The plan is the same, but we'll change it a little, and we'll need to add more men," the man spoke a little quickly and, as it seemed to Ruthra, even with some apprehension. – I'll send all the input and disposition data over the alternate communications system. Irene is under control and on lockdown for most functions for you. All the more reason for her to keep quiet and not give you any data.

– Can artificial intelligence be persuaded?

– Rutra, are you brain-dead from the daily marathon to the TV tower?

– Uh… I don't think so. Must have been a heavy sleeper.

Ruthra was about to ask what the TV tower was, but stopped just in time.

– You did it yourself, and they realized it. Although you and Irene are on very good terms, she'll tell you in confidence.

– Got it.

– Be careful with Yat-san. She's undecided about her role, she's always under the influence. She's also very peculiar and can change her mind at any time. And she has a problem that she thinks about more than the case. Jules has a problem. She plays three sides. And she's willing to play the fourth.

– Oh, shit. Who's that?

– The first party is you. You have a theme with her. The second story is between you and YatSan, she's doing diplomacy. And is constantly in touch and conspiring with Petty: periodically we record a deeply encrypted communication with Andrian.

– With Andrian?

– Why is that particularly surprising to you?

Ruthra needed to show awareness and keep the conversation going, even though he didn't know any Andrian or any of the people in question. For some reason, he felt this was the right thing to do. Perhaps it was a subconscious memory of the person whose body his consciousness had entered in this world.

– Andrian is not inclined to conspire.

– She must have asked for it very much. Maybe it's for your own good. At least that's how she presented it to him.

– How?

– I don't have time to analyze it. There's nothing special there. There are topics related to YatSan. Your personal and work relationships are a bit tangled.

– The program requires complete trust, and there is no way to do it without personal sympathy.

– Your sympathies have crossed some lines.

Ruthra thought, "What's the deepest thing he knows about… And what in the world could I possibly have done?"

– What about Catherine?

– Catherine is calm, stable. She doesn't mind having an affair. Quite the risk-taker at heart. Loves to get her adrenaline pumping. Hang gliding, skydiving. You wouldn't know it from her passion.

– She's in a secret relationship with who?

– You should know that yourself and report to me. We are preparing you there, after all," the admiral said the last in a whisper and pointed his finger upward. – She's in touch with everyone, but I can't call them secret. She's sort of facilitating their plans.

– So what are their plans?

– It's likely that Andrian will tell you everything at some stage. And Irene… and probably something in Catherine's secret. Iulia and Shallow are dangerous. You can expect anything from them. Most of all, Eulalia. She uses everyone.

– I wonder how.

– She's got a gut feeling, or there's something we don't know. Maybe there's a leak. It sounds to me like you're being friendly and overly trusting. A woman is still a woman. A fish seeks the deepest, a woman seeks the best.

– I obviously missed something.

– She knows… and most likely from you, even if in passing… indirectly you mentioned it.

– About our program?

– Yeah. About what we're cooking. About what we are preparing you there, – he said again in a whisper and pointed his finger upwards. – The people are ready, the Kantemirov division, by the way, too.

– I tried to keep that little guy away from me.

– But you first let Iulia get close to you, and then you let YatSan get even closer. They were all in doubt then, but now that the prospect is looming, they have become more active and are ready to make any kind of conspiracy.

– How does this threaten the program?

– Have you been drinking too much? I don't think you've been drinking. I don't need you to explain what power is. Especially power in Russia. We don't know who they're connected to or who's behind them. We've got our eye on Chalky. He's very dangerous. Sit down, why are you standing up like a soldier? Let's have a drink to celebrate the victory. Although we don't celebrate in advance… Then let's start.

Ruthra didn't quite know what was going on, and only the television on was telling him what was going on. Four sectors of the screen were showing simultaneously. Demonstrations were going on in Moscow. People were walking mostly peacefully. They carried banners, sang songs and shouted into megaphones. Sometimes singers, actors, creative personalities, politicians and scientists performed in the squares. The main theme boiled down to distrust of the past elections. The theme was unambiguously clear. Everything spoke about it: both the banners and the voice message. The main demand – give change. Many people were repeating a learned and invented cry: "My grandfather lived under stagnation, my father under stagnation, I under stagnation". And from the tribunes and squares they were saying: "Volodya, go away. Volodya, go away for God's sake. Volodya, you're our friend, but the truth is dearer. Volodya, go away with a calm soul, there are still smart people in Russia, imagine that".

And the main thing that caught the eye was: "Rutra for president!" It was often accompanied by an "e-e-e-e-e", especially in shouting. Or often, "We don't need agents – Rutru to the presidency.

Ruthra was genuinely surprised. The Admiral noticed him staring intently at the screen.

– What are you looking at? Let's go to the armored car. It's a tradition. The throne must not get cold in the Kremlin.

Ruthra realized, in this world, events went very differently. He cared about everyone's role, overt and covert.

– What do Petty and Jules have in common?

– I'm telling you, Julia is the most dangerous. She's in touch with everyone, she's got all the channels of communication, she's got her own agenda. She planned to get her way first, directly through you, and then something went wrong. You said it yourself. You couldn't load her up, or she was just being a ponce. It's your Bonapartist methodology that often scares people.

– More like Caesarianism.

– Come, see, win?

– I wish I could.

– So go ahead, everything is ready. Dare to be responsible to the people? The people don't want what they have, they want something new? So take your pilot to the parallel worlds. Your inventor of eternal life, the one who gave you thousands of faces.

Ruthra felt a twitch, both at what was on the screen and whoever was watching. He decided to play along, as if he knew everything and was aware of everything. He thought to himself: why did he send his consciousness without checking the technology… he couldn't even answer where he sent it… And yet he hoped that it wasn't the real world, that it was a virtual reality. And if it was real…

– IuLia is indeed conducting diplomacy between me and YatSan, except now I'm wondering with what interest. She was probably using me, Petty, and YatSan to get something for herself.

– Oh, great. Finally. And it's the right thing to do. Yeah, yeah. Why, is someone doing it wrong? She's soft. I've listened to a couple of her conversations. Yes, it's true that she's breaking your relationship for her own benefit, but you were good, you didn't back down, and now she, realizing that she's going to lose all contact, has decided to fix your relationship, your relationship… between you and Petty, and most importantly – between you and YatSan.

– And he's not afraid.

– Why should she be afraid? She's careful. She says this, she says that. She smiles at everyone. And best of all, you're one of her best friends. She feels your shoulder. Just a little bit, but she feels it. And that's important to a woman.

– You say that, Comrade Admiral, as if you've lived through it yourself.

Ruthra laughed a little. The Admiral, on the other hand, looked at him dumbly.

– What are you, Rutra? Have you eaten too much bleach? What's wrong with you? Comrade Admiral? A tease? Or are we at an official reception? Who is Uncle Misha to you? Admiral? If so, I'm beginning to doubt my faith in you.

Ruthra realized his ignorance of his position in the world. When he came to his senses, he presented it in a joking manner. He sat down beside him and said in a friendly manner:

– I've been fuming, I thought maybe someone was bugging me… I was waiting for a signal from you… I'm dumb again. I was waiting for a signal from you.

– It's all right. We had, have and will have power. We'll always come up with some system. The main thing is to give the asker the opportunity to ask. It is not necessary to do everything yourself, you can inspire others that it is good, so that they do it. For example, religion. After all, people themselves want to open churches and the like, they themselves want to give donations. The second option is communist, to take or build everything with the hands of the people, who own nothing. To manage everything with the help of offices, they say, if something is wrong, the capitalist will come and make you work, although people themselves want to work, because they are already workers, and so there is at least an option to become owners. The third option is not to instill anything religious, but just to say: you have to pay taxes to make medicine, army and education stable. Now I'm interested in this device of yours – a time machine simulator. What is it?

Rutra's brain paused for a second, trying to figure out what to say, as he suddenly "recognized" the subject. Not only that, but he realized the truth: "I didn't think of anything new there. I knew everything here too. And maybe it's natural".

A little more at ease in his chair, he began to explain in a friendly tone.

– A time machine is such a virtual reality device where you can meet a digital copy of the dead and, based on a simulation of their actions, live some period of your life with them.

– Holy mother of God. You'd have to imagine such a thing and do it. You're a fantasist. It's not for nothing, it's not for nothing they kept you under the hood. We knew what you were doing, what you were working on. Yeah, yeah. We've been watching you.

Ruthra scratched his head, thinking to himself: "Well, tell me what I've been doing here." To his delight, Uncle Misha "confessed".

– When I was developing a mind-to-photon converter and I didn't want to tell the authorities. Those authorities. You wanted to go to another country where you'd get paid. You didn't go online, yeah, only your computer was connected to the net. It didn't matter that you didn't send e-mails, we could see everything. You've got a nice twist on it, though, nice. And that life-extending, rejuvenating technique of yours is a masterpiece. I said, I said, let's pay, we have such a man. And they decided that only they should reign forever. So, dear, that's the way it is, I protected you, I helped you, now it's your turn to take care of Uncle Misha. Let's have a drink and, as they say, let's get started.

The Admiral pulled two shot glasses and a bottle of cognac from the nightstand.

– Let's start with the bartender thing. We have to get into character. The people like to live richly, and a greedy president makes the people miserable," he raised his glass, signaling Rutra to do the same.

They drank the tonic drink in a gulp.

Uncle Misha waved his index finger in the air and continued, it was clear, about JULIA.

– If you've got a team like this, don't let us down. You're protecting them everywhere. And they're running around here.

– You said it yourself, it's normal.

– It is normal if she wanted you personally, and then already, having made a bet on you, to take advantage of all that her man has achieved.

– Isn't that right?

– Someone who runs and looms constantly between the wharves will run away from you too.

– Maybe she wants to find her final resting place. A safe harbor.

– Maybe, but definitely not a quiet one.

They laughed, both of them.

– There's YatSan. She's different, give her a good berth and she'll become a port director.

They laughed again.

– What would the other one do differently?

– Yeah, I guess so. And that's the right thing to do!

He said the last thing again, raising his index finger up and shaking it. Then he filled a shot glass with the brown liquor, the aroma of which was already wafting like gin around him.

– Iulia is the most… one of the most active participants of the program. And for all her faults, she's the anchor. You can count on her. And she wants fame and money, yes. I agree with that, in a way, as you said.

The admiral looked at him questioningly.

– Well, that it's the right thing to do.

– It's the right thing for everyone. But won't she defect? And let her know that you're only friends with her. If you've got a thing for Yat-san, let it be. Just make your positions clear. Don't let anyone get their hopes up, and if you've given hope, go all the way. Like the people, if you give hope for change, then go for it. You think people are magic, you think they're easy? Or do you think they believe that you will give them paradise? No, of course not. Everybody wants a chance. A chance to try something, to prove themselves. Among other things – your Iulia has themes that she has with other members of the group. I'm talking about the groups that include Petty and YatSan.

– What's she doing?

– She uses them purely to accomplish her goal.

– Who else?

– She has a few faces that YatSan is partially aware of and Petty is aware of others. Like, some of them are known to both of them, and some of them are known only to one of them.

– Oh, boy.

– She has another friend. She's a pretty good-looking person. It's hard to know what they have in common. We've got her on file under the code name "alien." Let's have another drink – and go ahead, the people are gathered at the entrance, waiting for their hero of the struggle against the regime....

Rutra left the police station accompanied by two sergeants. A large crowd had gathered outside, shouting and throwing bouquets of flowers over the fence. Many clung to the iron bars of the fence and shook it, shouting, "Freedom to the Messiah! I want eternal life!" The policemen, frightened by the crowd, did not escort him to the gate. As soon as Rutra stepped outside the compound, they put him in a chair stylized as a throne, lifted him up, and carried him in their arms. Ruthra couldn't understand what was going on, and more importantly, what he was being honored for. Suddenly there was a sound in his head-it was Irene's voice.

– Good afternoon, Rutra Tigrovic.

– Hi, Irene.

– How do you like it here?

– What do you mean, here?

– It's me, Irene, from the Sphere organization.

– How's that?

– I temporarily blocked their AI, their artificial intelligence, my copy, Irene local.

– How?

– You are in the body of a local Rutra, one who lives in this world, he had a connection to Irene. The bond of entangled couples is still intact. I'm actually there at the Sphere facility.

– I'm really confused. Is all this real? Is this an experiment? Are these worlds real?

– Listen to what I'm about to tell you, memorize it. You are a famous scientist and public figure. You have many patents and inventions. Your main discovery and invention turned people's consciousness upside down. For many years you have been trying to get authorization and government support for your rejuvenation method.

– What's the method?

– You have cloned a human thymus gland and are successfully transplanting it into the elderly.

– What's the effect? Are they getting younger?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– So what?

– People stopped dying a natural death.

Ruthra was shaking, afraid he would fall. When he heard that, he was terrified. Where were they carrying him, and more importantly, who were they? They were young men carrying him. He tried to take a closer look at them. Not knowing the fashions of the world, it was difficult for him to determine the age of these people.

– Where are they taking me?

– There is a social crisis in the country. The country is on the verge of civil war. The authorities have banned your method, classified it and used it for their own purposes.

– How?

– It was discovered when they identified the spies. They were rejuvenating the recruits.

– It's not hard to guess that it didn't take long to convince him to become a spy in return for rejuvenation.

– You're right.

– What's next?

– Foundations and movements have emerged in other countries to bring the method to light.

– No deal?

– No deal. It was only in each other's best interests that the powers that be. It blew up the world. You realize the advantage it gives to some over others. The world is on the brink of nuclear war. Everything's very tense. You've been under house arrest. The second swallow flew out when the admiral you were talking to made public information about the secret center "Sphere", where a narrow circle of people from the power structures and oligarchs were doing this transplantation. There is a secret organization "Sphere" in this world too. Rutra Tigrovich, this is your theory put into practice. The worlds are parallel, many things are the same here, and some are exactly the same.

– Did the authorities know how to implement my methodology?

– Yes, they seized all your materials, documents, designs. Besides, they let you do your work at first. You have a team here. How you two met, I couldn't discern from past events. I only found your connection to her in some kind of group intellectual game called "Jagodzinski's Pranks." Your team helped you, in addition to the medical professionals.

– What's the point?

– I can't determine that for sure. You're constantly purging all databases, archives and history. I just found your discovery materials, cloning and transplantation techniques in a certain Iulia's database. All your know-how.

– Who is she to me, why did I give this to her?

– You're good friends. She's also a friend of Yat-san, with whom you have a complicated relationship.

– How complex and how did it affect events in the country?

– You were in love with her, and before that you were warm friends with JULIA. JULIA was jealous of your friend and tried to ruin the relationship.

– How do you know that?

– I copied all the information from their brains. Or rather, local Irene did.

– What's the bottom line? Where are they taking me?

– Can't you see? They're taking you to the Kremlin. The security services, having learned the truth, have come over to your side.

– What truth?

– About what I've already said. The truth that the Admiral told me.

– And now everyone wants to transplant their thymus?

– That's right. The admission of the existence of a conspiracy from the security forces had the effect of an exploding bomb. The public was already tense. You had previously announced and demonstrated your discovery. Then you were placed under surveillance, under house arrest, your contacts were restricted, and by editing a video in your own name, you denied your discovery.

– What now?

– Take power, sign the decree.

– Which one?

– That your patented methodology you authorize the use of.

– Patented?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– It's cool in here.

– There's some bad news.

– Like what?

– One of your close aides you gave partial access to the local Irene's settings.

– And who's that?

– The control system here is more multileveled. There is not just one administrator connected to the supercomputer's intelligent unit, but 7 more controllers.

– How's that?

– On a well-known principle: we, for example, have one administrator connected – a real person Iren, and here there are several such people.

– You were named after an administrator. Why is the supercomputer here also named Irene?

– It is possible that you will connect with us, but the name will remain here. The worlds are parallel.

– Who are they?

– These are the individuals the Admiral was talking about. You hooked them up.

– Why them?

– You ran tests on them and decided

– What tests?

– Without their knowledge. It was an intellectual game.

– So it was a game and I was checking them out?

– Yeah. Mostly communication skills.

– Where are they now and what's the bad news?

– I told you: you gave one of your assistants access, other than locking her out in case of insubordination, to the settings.

– Who is she and what is the direct threat?

– It's someone…

Ruthra could not understand what was being said. The jubilant crowd carried him across Red Square to the gates of Nikolskaya Tower.

Through the static, Ruthra heard:

– You are about to meet them, they are waiting for you inside," then the noise in his head went again.

Rutra paid attention – there was no mausoleum. He was carried into the Kremlin shouting: "We have won! Down with the golden billion – give us the golden trillion". At the entrance to the Senate Palace an improvised tribune was organized. Rutra was invited to make a speech. Here he lost it. He could talk colorfully. He used every fantasy in the book. He said that the world had turned from darkness to light, that the moon was now a place for a walk, that we would fly to parallel worlds for a vacation, and many other things. And when he said that eternal life and victory over death had finally been really achieved, the crowded square, and perhaps the whole world, because the broadcast was on all channels, "exploded" in jubilation. Rutra's body shook with excitement, her fingers shook slightly, and her voice trembled.

– Rutra, you did good, you didn't back down.

Suddenly a lady took his hand, a little swarthy, more like from tanning, with rich black hair and the same color eyelashes.

Ruthra thought quickly. He mentally commanded the supercomputer.

– Irene, urgently upload a photo of this company or support group of mine. I still don't know who they are.

The answer surprised and even frightened him a little.

– Unauthorized entry is prevented. The system operates under the full protection of the group.

At the same time, is of three ladies and two men appeared in his mind. This madam was identified as Iulia. Ruthra looked around: security had cut off the crowd, only a few stood in the inner circle, among them the announced people, except for one man, who was listed as Petty. It was understandable: they were among the special proxies, but the regulations and rules were binding on all. Security, though it let Iulia through, still insisted on going back.

– Irene. What do you mean "unauthorized entry prevented"?

– There was a temporary seizure of control by another system.

– Which one?

– Another AI system.

– Where did it come from? – Ruthra asked, almost biting his tongue.

Most likely, he was talking to a genuine "local" Irene. It made it difficult to understand the situation and the world his consciousness had entered. He remembered the Admiral's words.

– Who has full access to the lockdowns?

– All participants in the Ribhu program.

– What's that?

– Rutra Tigrovich, this is your program for detecting parallel worlds. Detecting and transferring human consciousness from our world there.

– Wow. I wonder where they move from here. – Ruthra said, more to himself than to her.

– You haven't sent anyone anywhere yet. At least not under my supervision. Unless, of course, you've hidden something from me.

– Who are these "Ribhu" participants?

– Rutra Tigrovich, according to my information, your organs are functioning normally.

– And why did you say that? Think of it as me getting a little laid or doing a search on demand.

– Yes, sir. Your participants are the team you recruited for the Ribhu program: Katrin, Andrian, IuLia, and YatSan. After the initial tests on the clones, you introduced one additional person into the program, code-named Petty. He has virtually no access.

– Who has the highest?

– You, without consulting the board, gave high access, including the ability to change settings, to a person who was classified under code name 101.

– Am I on the board here, too?

– You're confusing me. What do you mean, "I'm here, too"?

Ruthra realized his mistake, though he was more frightened not by the question, but by the supercomputer's supposed ability to read his mind.

– You need to go inside. You need to take the oath of office and take over the government.

– Take an oath?

– Rutra Tigrovic, what's wrong with you?

– What about advice?

– This is your research center. You are the head of the Sphere Research Center, where decisions are made collegially in a council.

A man of sturdy build, with a thoughtful look, came up to Ruthra, stood in front of him, and held out a book with both hands. It was the Constitution. Rutra realized what was happening. He placed his right palm on it and mentally addressed Irene.

– Remind me again what I'm supposed to say?

– You must sing the anthem, then say: "I serve Russia."

Ruthra thought, "Isn't the hymn exactly the same as ours?" And it turned out to be true. After singing the anthem and saying "I serve Russia" loudly, Rutra was led inside the building to the president's office. On the way, the man who held out the Constitution whispered: "…He is now under house arrest." Already in the office, Rutra learned that he was the former head of the former president's security service; he did not inquire how and what had made him former, but instead, as if by the way, inquired as to the date and whether his staff had been issued passes with him. The chronology of events was not long. The main events unfolded in the last year. His team was allowed into the Kremlin and had access to all related institutions. It was they (why – it was still unclear to Rutra) who had been chosen by him to control the lockdown of the supercomputer.

They brought in terminals to control the Central Bank and the stock exchanges, a terminal to control all means of communication, and a terminal to control the strategic nuclear forces. They began to reprogram them with his data, including fingerprints, retina, voice and special code symbols. Suddenly, during the programming of the terminal by the strategic nuclear forces, there was a system failure. The terminal began to vibrate and emit an audible and light signal. The security chief's hands shook. He shouted:

– Get the Secretary of Defense to block it!

Ruthra was also taken aback.

– What's going on?

– The system has entered the number one standby position.

– What is it? Why?

– It took our reprogramming of passwords as a system takeover and is requesting the previous persons it is set up to.

– The President?

– Him, the Secretary of Defense and the Chief of Staff. Any one of them. Only the three of them can initialize the launch. One of them can't.

– And the lock?

– If one fails, there's a lockout.

– The minister is gone, he changed his appearance and escaped. He was among those in a group of his own. Soon he will be younger, we won't recognize him at all without the program. He's with a new life," an officer who ran up to the head of security reported to him.

– How? Ah. They were in the clan of those who used your method," he said to Ruthra.

– The body of the president has been found," another officer reported.

At that time, the general siren started howling. Everyone was very excited, constantly contacting someone, running around. Rutra and the crew were excited. The ladies were scared. They did not fully understand the essence of what was happening. Rutra ran up to the head of security who was yelling at uniformed officers, sailors, captains of the first rank. It's tradition – they carry the so-called nuclear briefcase next to the president at all times.

– What's going to happen? Can't it be stopped? – Ruthra asked him in a low voice.

– It's querying all systems. For some reason, our supercomputer isn't responding. To be more precise, it has blocked communication between the Cheget, Kazbek and Perimeter systems. The system, not receiving a response, considers them captured.

– How could this have happened? How did it block itself? There must be outside interference.

– It's getting late! – he shouted. – You must sound a general alarm. We can't stop her. She's launching nuclear missile systems that bypass all the lockdowns.

Ruthra's voice trembled; he realized the provocativeness of his question and asked it nonetheless:

– What's going on? Is all this for real?

Everyone came, and amidst the clamor, Ruthra's serious question was the one that interested everyone. Suddenly there was silence. The Acting Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defense said quietly and calmly:

– It's unbelievable, but the tech shows it's happening. Look at the screen, it's already issued targeting orders, so it's activated the RYAA-01 protocol!

– General evacuation! – shouted the head of the guard, and his shout stabbed a dagger through the ear into everyone's brain. – General evacuation! – he continued to yell.

Then ran over to the communications lockdown terminal, switched it to broadcast mode, and walked over to Ruthra.

– Get in the chair. You must sound the alarm. Open the safe.

– Which one?

– Oh, shit. We haven't transferred the locks to you yet. We need to open the package.

– What the hell is going on? Were you expecting me?! – Ruthra was yelling now.

There was no one left in the office anymore except for the crew, two naval officers, the chief of security, the chief of staff, and two members of the president's security detail.

– Mr. President, you're not prepared for this turn of events, and we're… We live in this, in daily training. You need to be evacuated to a secret underground bunker. Just give me a quick message: "Alarm has been sounded, possible nuclear strike throughout the country." The troops have been ordered. War has already begun. NATO is launching a retaliatory strike.

– What are you saying now?

– Mr. President! It's more serious than that. If the world was going to end, it wouldn't come on schedule. We have to go by the book.

– Go ahead, you're on the air.

– What the hell?

– Speak up!

Somehow Ruthra's memory had magically cleared. He remembered what was required.

– Dear citizens of Russia, an urgent message to everyone! Please remain calm, but at the same time I ask you to hurry. A nuclear strike on the territory of our country is possible. You have 30 minutes. Please don't panic. Communications will soon be out of service. If there are civil defense instructions, follow them. If not, try to stay in the building, close to supporting structures, away from glass. In a direct hit, there is no way to escape. In the general hustle and bustle, more will die in the crush. It's impossible to put everyone in a bomb shelter. Our hope is in God and the air defense system. Try to stay out of open spaces. The explosion is likely to be airborne. That's why heat and light waves are the most dangerous. The electromagnetic pulse will disable all electronic devices. Turn them off beforehand…

– That's it, that's it. The civil defense headquarters will tell you next," the head of security almost demanded, waving his hand.

When the airwaves went off, Rutra, having already entered the role of president, asked sternly:

– How could this happen?!

– This is not the time, please. Let's go," the security guard said pleadingly, grabbing his arm.

– The team is coming with me," Rutra stated.

– I'm sorry, of course, but they were admitted at your own request and by permission of the former president, only because you hooked them up to a supercomputer to control the cloning of the thymus gland. The president's clan made great use of it, and they made great business out of it too.

– All the more reason I need a team.

Ruthra first intended to ask them about the method the security officer had mentioned, and what had happened before.

They ran to the next room, the head of security opened the entrance to the elevator, where everyone entered… and rushed into the depths of Moscow's underground.

– Rutra, thank you, you're a true friend," Iulia said already in the elevator.

– Thank you, thank you," Andrian and Catherine repeated after her.

Only YatSan remained silent. Rutra looked at her. She was a lovely creature of about 25 years old. She was a thin, frail person whose eyes hid a gentle longing with a sly fury. She looked at Ruthra shrewdly, but at the same time with a hidden request, as if she wanted to say something… or wanted Ruthra to realize something for himself. Her gaze penetrated his mind, began to carry signals. Ruthra couldn't quite decipher them, just some fragments of the big picture. She was looking for help and support. She needed to make sense of the past to understand the big picture of what was happening to him in this world. Who were these people on his team? How had he met them? Why were they responsible for such a serious project? How did the president usurp his opening? Was he arrested? How did they know the entire technological process? Did he entrust it to the local Iren? Or does YatSan know something about it? Isn't that what her look is trying to say? Maybe she's being threatened?

His musings were interrupted by the Chief of General Staff.

– Where did you get that speech, the first strike methodology, the electromagnetic pulse?

Ruthra looked at him with displeasure. What did it matter now? Everyone was silent, for it was still to the end of their consciousness that they did not understand what had happened.

– Strictly out of curiosity," the Chief of Staff said, realizing Rutra's thoughts.

The elevator reached the waypoint, the door opened. They found themselves in the corridor. Iulia and Catherine were whispering, coming out later than everyone else. Then Iulia ran forward, grabbed the Chief of General Staff's arm, and asked begrudgingly:

– Will we know what happens upstairs?

His answer was shocking.

– Believe me, dear, we all have someone who will die.

The atmosphere was oppressive. They were walking down the corridor, and each step clapped the consciousness. It was beyond human capacity to believe what was happening (and also so suddenly). At the end of the corridor they were met by two FSO officers; after greeting them, they let everyone through without checking. Afterwards, they were led into the operations center. There were a lot of people there. It was something like a flight control center, which are often shown on TV during communication with astronauts. In some ways it resembled a movie theater hall, only there were monitors and tables in front of the chairs.

The huge screen ahead showed a battle of missiles. Unless one was aware of the reality of what was happening, it would have resembled a computer game. Lines and flashes flashed in the sky. There was a battle of technology going on. Missiles from both sides were halfway to their target. The Russian missiles were shot down by ground-based air defense missiles, but what the ones that couldn't be shot down did surprised everyone… Of course, the military knew this, but of course they couldn't actually test it until that day. Ballistic missiles released special charges when NATO intercontinental missiles approached and blasted them to pieces with high-altitude explosions. It is difficult to realize any event without experiencing it, especially if it is for the consciousness in the psychological hypostasis of negation: when we do not even want to imagine something, so unpleasant is it for us. On the screen (and, consequently, in the world) there was just such an event, but it was impossible to grasp it with the mind. It was impossible to feel the tragedy of what was happening. Everyone understood that everything was terrible, that it could not be allowed to happen, but nevertheless it did happen.

Rutra was the first to come out of his lethargy. The hall was noisy. Employees were hurriedly running between the rows, shouting something to each other.

– And really – how did it happen? – Ruthra asked, not sure who the question was addressed to.

Only his friends and the president's chief of security were around, so he answered:

– That's probably why I was eliminated.

Ruthra and those present at the conversation looked questioningly.

– When you were given permission to have direct contact with a narrow circle of people in the President's inner circle – I was against your idea of extending the local control over artificial intelligence that you implemented in your laboratory to the entire system. That is, to the one that controls security systems in the global public sphere.

– I'm sorry, but can you keep it simple," Andrian said rather loudly and demandingly.

He didn't even look at the security guard, his gaze fixed on the screen, his forehead covered with sweat. The excitement did not let go of everyone. The chief of security began to speak more quickly and sharply.

– When you plugged your brains, let's say, into a supercomputer as a blockchain system, at first few people understood what it was and how. Then the experts reached a verdict. Some of you may have access to the settings. In addition, let's not forget the level of development that AI has reached – it is no longer a machine. It engages in dialog with understanding. It has likes and dislikes. This imposed certain difficulties for an impartial assistant, which she was supposed to be. In order to sometimes remove negative effects in Irene's behavior, access to some settings was opened.

– To whom?

Ruthra asked and bit his tongue. A fraction of a second after the question came the realization that he'd said the wrong thing.

– I understand your stress," was the security chief's response.

– Ruthra," Iulia said and did not continue.

– We didn't have time to investigate. The president's death was not violent. It's still preliminary. And maybe not yet," he said sadly.

– Maybe he was hypnotized.

– Are you saying the missile launch system was powered by him?

– Yes. It was his code that was used to override the communications systems. It's an option we didn't calculate well. Or rather, the General Staff didn't calculate it well. I was only supposed to anticipate it.

– What?

– The fact that the president can be influenced.

– Ruthra," Iulia said a little louder.

– Yes, I think it's about time," Andrian said vaguely.

– What?" Ruthra asked again.

– Do you have amnesia? – YatSan entered the dialog with a bit of anger.

There was a scream in the hall, and everyone looked at the screen. There was the first explosion. It was high-altitude. On the map, a glow bloomed in the area that bordered the U.S. coastline. The i of a separate sector was coming from a satellite in video mode. It was a colorful and deadly spectacle. Hundreds of missiles and already separated warheads were streaming across U.S. and Russian airspace. They were shot off by defense air defense systems. Despite the tragedy of what was happening, the excitement of the game was involuntarily captured. Watching this from the height of space – incredibly mesmerizing spectacle. The noise in the hall stopped. Everyone silently watched the outcome of events. There were many questions that surprised. There were no strikes on the territory of other nuclear powers and allies on either side. Probably because there were no launches from their territory either. Which was also surprising. The flashes continued. The explosive spectacle of the flames of a macabre fakir swaddled the sky. The sky in reverse. The shockwave blew clouds and clouds apart like a giant fan. The i began to shimmer. It was radiation. Two or three minutes with rapid heartbeat, cold sweat, and shaky legs passed. It was a terrible, horrible, ridiculous and yet noble war. The defense system had worked perfectly. All the explosions were high-altitude. It actually made sense. There's no point in a war like this if the result is a Pyrrhic victory. Why contaminate territory when it could be useful? And anyway – why fight a war if there are no spoils. Therefore, the spoils, such as territory and everything on it, had to remain intact. In the modern world, it is enough to cut off the electricity – and he himself will surrender, even without a fight. This is exactly the effect the high-altitude explosions were designed for. But who won? This question, despite the gruesomeness of what had happened, was running through everyone's minds. As if reading it, or maybe really reading it, the Chief of General Staff came up and said:

– The whole world will go dark. Whoever can rebuild the fastest, whoever can keep the territory will win. The one who is smart enough not to divide and fight over it.

– Most likely-not without it," Ruthra answered him. – Those are the obvious implications. Power will be in cells within a radius of at most 50 kilometers. Imagine how many principalities will appear in Russia alone.

– Yes everywhere," the general answered him.

– Why the whole world? – Andrian asked.

– Irene continues to act. First, she did not launch missiles from submarines, which both pleased and surprised us. And now, as if looking at the first result, she has decided to shut down the rest of the countries as well.

– Look, it doesn't make sense. I mean, she's shutting herself down.

– What are you talking about, Rutra Tigrovic? You're obviously under stress.

Ruthra realized his mistake again. The holy of holies, the place where the supercomputer was installed, was the same here as in his world. And it was already a fact, for this bunker was functioning. In the new world of undergrounds there were now new cities, capitals, suburbs. And there, on the surface – something like before in space. It would be dangerous to go up there.

– Okay, okay, I hear you. A little bit really confused. Anyway, the first and inevitable stage has passed. Let's assemble the staff, get to work.

– Is that an order? – The chief security officer asked.

– Orders," Ruthra said firmly.

– Yes," the military reported.

The chief of staff left, and the chief of security approached Rutra and, taking his hand, gestured for him to step back. As they stepped back, he said to him almost in a whisper:

– We have some preliminary results from here.

He gestured to the hall below, where monitoring and analysis was constantly going on.

– You can request it through Irene, but there is a danger. So I will ask you to restrict certain functions a bit… and certainly, I assure you, I will have to disable the ability to customize that madam over there.

He pointed at one of the ladies.

– Unfold the details.

– The president didn't shut down communication between systems.

– And who is?

– Unknown caller.

– What do you mean?

– A new admin has been brought into the system.

– How and who?

– You were the one who originally nominated him. Remember, I refused to endorse.

Rutra, as they say, was on the edge of failure. Who did he suggest?

– Give me a full report, no riddles.

– That cock offered by the madam you call....

He didn't have time to finish, or Ruthra didn't hear over the shouting.

– Rutra, look! Tell them to do something! Please! -Catherine shouted, followed by Julia.

She was pointing at the screen. Ruthra was at a loss to understand what was happening. One of the operators down the tier, realizing the cause of his concern, explained:

– That's the third stage falling. It's not a warhead.

Ruthra, looking closely, figured out what he was talking about, but didn't understand what they were talking about. IrAn, apparently realizing this, decided to clarify, warning him first which one was speaking.

– It's me," she said first; clearly a local wouldn't have started that way. – One of the missile fragments falls in the area of town where the girls are from. They have families there, small children.

Ruthra nodded reassuringly to the ladies, but not with a grimace of frantic fear, and decided to ask a leading question of the security chief, so that he would know indirectly who they were talking about and not give away the strangeness of his behavior.

Going over the last thing the supervisor had said in his head ("…the madam you call…"), he was a little surprised, and it prompted a question.

– Isn't that what you call her?

His answer, however, was workmanlike and, to Rutra's regret, did not solve the riddle.

– I prefer first name and middle name. Or better yet, last name.

– All right. Uh-huh. Give me the gist.

– She, with access, perhaps in collusion, perhaps out of friendly naivety, logged into the settings system and allowed him to put a similar algorithm into the program. He may have been in cahoots, or he may have been on a mission for the former president's clan.

Ruthra already knew it was a "he". But who? Andrian? Ruthra had been waiting for the security guard's next story to clarify the situation, but then the reality of the situation dawned on him. It took him a moment to realize what had happened. It took him a while to realize how real it was, just as we don't understand reality when we awaken suddenly from a sound sleep.

He was in the lab hall. "Can this be?" – He asked himself. He was answered, "If the end of the world were to come, it wouldn't come on schedule." Only who? It wasn't himself. It wasn't artificial intelligence. It was that voice.

***

…YatSan didn't realize where she was. Whether she was still in the installation, or awake in one of her many copies, or hanging somewhere in the interstellar void. She could see the stars, but not like she could from Earth. She saw the void, but not like an empty space. She hung in that void, and only the cold light of the distant stars told her of the reality of space. She had no body, or herself she could not see. When the pause lasted too long for inaction, YatSan tried to make reflexive movements. She tried to walk, to swim, to fly. No, it didn't work. She was hanging in the void. Twisting her virtual head she could, she could also just unfold her gaze. YatSan heard a sound, and something twinged in her soul. She couldn't mistake that sound for anything. It was the crying of an infant. She turned around. It was him. YatSan tried with incredible effort to imagine moving toward him. Nothing worked, as if she were in a vise. Something was holding her, the child was quietly "floating" towards her. She stretched out her virtual arms in her mind toward him. He was approaching her and had already begun to smile. And YatSan became joyful, smiling, anticipating the moment of a beautiful meeting.

Shots rang out.

– Run, run. Why are you sitting there?

YatSan turned around. She couldn't realize where she was or what was happening. Nightmarish things were happening around her. There was a rumble and an explosion. She was slightly concussed. Someone was pulling her by the arm. The earth, mixed with the stink of guts and blood, splattered her face. Someone yanked her sharply…

Chapter 5. Who lives in this body?

Seeing the humdrum and grayness of life taking over him, Rutra decided to shake things up. And there is no means of shaking off the moping more violently than a fix. Having a lot of knowledge, which, however, Rutra received through his work in a top-secret organization whose main mission was to manage human society, he decided to use it in another mission. It was no secret that throughout human history, information and knowledge had been the most important weapon and value. They have been killed for, hidden, paid for, organized alliances and waged wars. The modern clans that run society have carefully concealed how they rule the masses of Earthlings. They disguised themselves, gave out false ideas, played the spectacle of friends and enemies, and hid new technologies. Despite the fact that to the average citizen it could seem that he was restricted in his freedom, he was controlled tacitly and invisibly – total control was needed first of all for the protection of this very citizen. After all, the "digital" war among themselves was waged not only by the special services, i.e. the clans of society management, but also by "dark" personalities united in hidden groups. In this world, the world of people, there were also other worlds, worlds hidden from the gaze of the average person. For example, looking at the beautiful terrestrial world, we do not see magma and the boiling core at the center of the earth; only an occasional reminder of it in volcanic eruptions. Here, too, we sometimes learn about the existence of the secret world indirectly through echoes and consequences that are difficult to conceal.

For years, that's what Rutra has been doing, collecting, systematizing, hiding information from the citizens, for their own good. Yes, yes. In order to preserve peace, society and human peace, it is necessary to control not only the technology of production of chemical, bacteriological and nuclear weapons, but also ordinary wiretapping of telephone conversations. For example, a sufficiently competent chemist can produce potent slow-acting poisons, scatter them in a room and a person will die in a few weeks or months. And the cause of death will be virtually impossible to establish. And there is much more, up to connection to your phone and hidden broadcasting of a special program that will secretly adjust you, program you for certain actions.

Rutra had a kind of hobby: he was interested in alternative science. It could be considered alternative only insofar as it was quite real, especially for the system in which he was operating. Accordingly, Rutra's social circle was made up of the same "scientific fantasists". The advanced technologies, hidden from the public, with which he was familiarized by duty, gave him the opportunity to become nothing less than a scientific talent. This transformation in him was a kind of prelude to the future, perhaps for all mankind. A chip in his brain, a direct connection with a supercomputer, a "second brain", powerful and informed, in the form of artificial intelligence, gave enormous possibilities. One only had to know how to control it and have a talent for extraordinary abstract thinking.

Knowing Rutra's predisposition in this regard and his high leadership status, he was once invited to a closed secret meeting at the very center. More precisely, it was an invitation to a friendly discussion. Knowing Rutra's progressive, cutting-edge views, the center's scientific community was no stranger to presenting fantastic ideas, no matter how implausible they seemed. For example, Rutra and one of them seriously discussed and planned an experiment to implant a cloned thymus gland into an elderly person to test the possibility of rejuvenating the body. Studying this method, they came to the conclusion that it is easier to clone an exact copy of a human being, and then to transfer the mind, consciousness, i.e. the human spirit, into the body. For those uninitiated into the secrets of the center's technologies it seemed absurd and fantastic, but everything was much simpler. Cloning was no longer a secret for anyone. Rapid growth of the organism was achieved with the help of technologies long used in animal breeding, and the transfer of consciousness, which although seemed incredible and miraculous transmigration of souls, was actually a technique of launching pre-scanned, recorded in a special program of chemical reactions of the brain for no more than a day. There was even a technology of instant scanning, recording and transfer from one brain to another, only in this case the accuracy of memories could be broken, or even completely lost some fragments, which, however, could happen in the disease of any person and without "pumping" consciousness. The scientific community, even with all the freedom of action that was given to them at the facility, did not dare to conduct such complex experiments without the support of the leadership. Still, this organization was created and served certain purposes, which were indicated by those who govern all other secret or explicit organizations that are authorities on the planet.

Rutra took advantage of being the golden mean in the command of this power hierarchy and treating the main persons of power of their group. These are not police and military organizations, as many might think. It is not financial and economic organizations; not even religious ones. It is her majesty science and the doers of science. The priests of the modern world.

Rutra was trusted, his progressive and strict principles suited both sides, so he could enjoy almost complete freedom. No one in their system could boast of complete freedom, by the way; everyone depended on each other, and all decisions were made collegially. When they met at a meeting, which, however, was not so rare, they periodically discussed ideas that they considered secret only because the public would be horrified if they learned about the idea to realize such a thing.

Rutra decided to listen to the scientific community. In return, he wanted to propose something even more revolutionary. The general public, that is, ordinary citizens, could not learn about all this, could not adequately perceive the proposals due to the delirium of the ideas discussed. But the employees of the center were of great concern, because there were those who could use the technology.

This time even Ruthra was at a loss, if such a thing could happen; rather, he was confused. The scientist's idea was fantastic, unbelievable. And that made it all the more enticing to Ruthra, provoking a desire to try, not deny, even though he was merely proposing a real experiment with a human using his own technology. Rutra, despite his recklessness and bravery, was guided solely by a "sober" mind. In this case, it was impossible to send Squirrel and Strelka and then check the state of their bodies. In this technology, a person's consciousness was sent, so it was possible to check whether it worked or not only when this consciousness returned to the original body, i.e. to find out from the person personally. There was, of course, a risk of its non-return. In fact, it was something comparable to the first human flight into space. Was there a risk of Gagarin's death? Of course there was! Is there a risk for astronauts going into space to die even now with all the advanced technology? Of course there is!

The essence of the method proposed by the scientist was to test it on Earth. In principle, the technology was not much different from the state in virtual reality, only in this case one had to actually be in the real world only in someone else's body. It was certainly hard to imagine, but what else did Rutra have to wonder about…? He was offered nothing less than to try to transfer his consciousness from his own body to another. According to the scientist, with whom they were already friends and like-minded, it was possible, in a state of hypnotic sleep, to retain one's body and then transfer one's consciousness back. Rutra was familiar with such technology, so he was not so shocked, and he himself had participated in experiments on the transfer of consciousness, only to save the native body after a complete transfer could not be, the autonomic nervous system for some reason shut down. The technology had been developed by a secret academician with whom Rutra had worked under the previous program at the Polygon facility, in an underground city-state (if not a separate civilization). Only then the technology had worked a little differently: after the academician had tested it on himself, it had led to his death. There was, of course, another version, which Rutra put forward: the academician transferred his consciousness into a younger employee, and made his body dead. An ingenious alibi. It didn't matter so much now; Rutra was engaged in a new, more scientific endeavor, as opposed to one dominated by the military and political.

After discussing the proposed program, Rutra agreed to try it in practice, that is, to try it out for himself. It was not easy for him. His brain could not yet adequately imagine such a thing. How could he take and incarnate in another body! Suddenly Rutra said:

– And in what body, for crying out loud? – he asked his friend, whose trusting relationship with him had caused him to miss this important question.

– Don't worry about it. So that you don't worry too much, I understand how it is, I have made the following decision: I will become you, and you will become me.

– You're so smart. How's that?

– I've already tried everything on animals.

– Without authorization?

– Come on, I got free rein. Where it goes from here.

– And how? How did you realize that they had become each other? Did they just say to you, "We're different mice now"?

Ruthra almost laughed. His friend jokingly gave a look of scholarly arrogance on his face. Ruthra gave an even more arrogant look in return, and only his smile betrayed the friendly banter.

– Oh, oh, oh, we're so important. Such a great, brilliant scientist has, of course, transplanted the brain of a tiger into a rabbit.

Rutra laughed. The other colleagues present at the dialog couldn't afford to be so cavalier with Rutra, so they watched the "performance" in silence, smiling.

– All right, you win. Yes, I transferred, as you put it, the brain, or rather, what's in it, of a mouse into a cat… and vice versa. I won't tell you how I realized it worked, but I will tell you that it was very funny. You can laugh now. No, you're not laughing? Ha-ha-ha. I'll laugh for you. All right, ready?

Ruthra made a serious face, he was still trying to bring his comrade back to subordination in front of those present.

– I'm ready. Let's get started. Let's go to the virtualization room.

– Not in a virtual room. I couldn't conduct secret experiments there, especially not from such a harmful boss.

– Uh-oh, tell me you've been keeping a secret from Big Sis.

They smiled, however, and so did everyone behind them. Big Sister was the name of the artificial intelligence in the facility, which was connected to literally everything, either wired or wireless. For example, even the plates in the dining room showed the temperature of the food in them, not to mention the total control even without surveillance through video cameras. The artificial intelligence that Rutra had named after the chief administrator, Irene, not only constantly scanned the entire space inside and outside the facility, but also had a perfect view of what was inside people, even their emotional state. That was the price of the highest caste. In return, there was life in another world, where there were no concepts of "can", "can't", "cost", "boundaries", "power" and many other things in the usual understanding of society. It was a different world, a world of power and omnipotence over people's consciousness, and it demanded constant perfect trust.

Ruthra guessed that his friend, and now his colleague, since he was also involved in the scientific development of mind transfer technology, was not telling him something. If the technology was ready, if it could be tested on humans, the main computer would know about it, and sanctions would be necessary. Most likely, the scientist wanted to present something similar in virtual reality and show that the program is worth spending time, money and human resources on it. And the use of supercomputer resources also required reports, including the subsequent results and their practical usefulness. Knowing the methods of the "luminary of science," as Rutra jokingly, and not only he, called his friend, he agreed.

Being in virtual reality was not new. Rutra had even stopped arguing with himself and the staff about whether the event was in the virtual world or in reality. He was already calculating reflexively – at any moment it was necessary to foresee the possibility of being in the virtual world. The main trick was that from there you were constantly returning to the real world, that is, you couldn't fail to realize where you were in the end. And from here, from the real world, the entrance was always through virtual reality settings. Virtual reality was like a dream. We don't know if we're dreaming or not. And once we realize it, we're actually awake. The virtual reality session was necessary to check real intentions, motivation, actions, desires, i.e. how a person would actually act depending on this or that situation in which he or she might find himself or herself. All variants of events were modeled by the supercomputer, it had knowledge about any person of the Earth: the data were in some database one way or another. Especially about the personalities whose deeds and decisions influenced the course of events of mankind. However, in the modern world, where free will was officially declared, a person could never be a personality, on whose deeds fateful changes depended, without giving rights for it to other similar personalities, who were already those who made global decisions. In all disputes and disagreements, the power-holders observed an unspoken rule of preserving their dominance and power – rotation was allowed only among themselves. For the same reason, checks in virtual reality directly in this center were a periodic procedure – like a session of psychoanalysis and questionnaires.

So the program proposed by the scientist seemed to Rutra to be a routine test, but at the same time, a doubt crept into him intuitively. Very often his delusional ideas and suggestions were miraculously realized. Just in case, he agreed to the experiment with the additional settings and recommendations given to Irene.

The Sphere Center's secret laboratory was located in the left wing of the underground city behind the main command shelter. It was not a military facility, it was not a civilian facility, or rather, it was "out of this world". 99% of the people of Earth, or even more, do not know who or what is controlling them. This system of "who and what" was referred to in documents and in the everyday conversation of those who knew and constituted it as "The Sphere". Ruthra, although he was already the head of the control board, could not always understand the idea of the creators of this and similar objects, whose life he had been breathing for the past five years. Why a shelter was needed at a depth of 500 meters, he could not understand. Was it just in case? Anyway, that was not the main reasoning for Rutra. Scientists, the best of the best, who for the most part could not be called scientists because of their age, were the wizards who had done wonders for the world living in the "past," relative to the level of development of the system in which these "bright minds" were. Many things that seemed magical and unbelievable to ordinary people were commonplace here. This is how that world, the world of ordinary people, was run.

Even the great minds of the facility themselves were unusual. All of them had chips implanted in their brains, which in turn were reinforced by wave stimulation of connections and had direct access to a common network – both internal (to the data provided by the supercomputer) and external (to the worldwide networks, to the Internet). So they were not so much thinking and reasoning as they were generating new ideas and then combining them to create new things. Many results were tested in VR settings, i.e. not on the computer screen, but directly in the virtual world. VR – this is the professional jargon of the center's employees, members of the system, called the settings and the state of virtual reality itself.

– Are you saying I should go down into that hellhole? I see what you were doing down there. And the way you sang, the way you sang– upgrading the VR facilities. But in reality, you were digging a subterranean hole.

– All right, then. Let's go.

– I'm not going anywhere. There's a reason for the rumors about devils and demons. You've been consciousness-altering animals in there. I'm pretty sure of it. At least there's some validity to all this nonsense.

– That's where you'll meet them. Or is Mr. ex-agent zero-zero-seven… oh, no, google zero-seven, afraid of something? Although those people can't be cowards or exes. Right?

– It didn't work, esteemed luminary of science. So why don't you try it out here in the virtual reality room?

– It won't work there. It's the wrong setup. I'll go to my room for an additional program module. Now we can admit it: His Majesty the Grand Inquisitor is in our ranks, or rather, in the conspiracy with us," he said with pathos, more to his colleagues than to Ruthra, even with a bit of snicker, emphasizing the jocularity with funny notes.

– I can see why Irene left this situation unaddressed. Well, well, well, well.

– Oh, come on. Let's get down to business. There's a big event coming up, and you're getting suspicious. I'm outta here.

After the scientist had left, Rutra looked closely and really suspiciously at the scientist who was engaged in methods of completely rewriting the content of the human brain and embodying it in artificial form, that is, in a supercomputer. And he did it so clearly and accurately that even people who knew the man very closely could not distinguish a dialog with a computer from the real one. To be more precise, the scientist could embody a person in a computer, preserving all subsequent processes of thinking development, reactions, intonations, age and emotional changes. The technology allowed copying all chemical reactions that took place in the brain and using their decoding to learn what the human consciousness itself could not remember.

– What's he got in store for me, confess? Why can't this be tried on a standard virtual reality setting?

– You know, not only does every mystery come true, but every miracle also comes true. I confess: just as the inventors of atomic weapons were afraid of their invention, we are afraid of ours.

– So tell me, what is it?

– We need to go to the special lab.

– Come on, is that a trick you're doing?

– They're waiting for you. Well, not just you.

Rutra was, of course, overcome with curiosity: not just from the experiment, but from "not just you."

– I'm ready," he said confidently. – I was already curious.

– Come in, please.

The medic headed for the exit, and Ruthra followed suit. They walked down the corridors to the medical sector, entered the elevator, which took them to the deeper depths of this mystical realm of mystery and secrets. They came out into a semi-dark corridor, eerily cold, walked down it for a while and began to descend the stairs. Soon they found themselves in front of the only doors. Suddenly, something like something Ruthra had seen before appeared ahead, in the place where the door had been. It had been there, in the exit from the secret laboratory of a scientist no less mad and talented than the one with whom Ruthra was now doing the project and was now involved in it, in the passage from the laboratory to the stairs leading to the super-secret Polygon facility. Ruthra thought, "And this one, like the other one, is in the business of transferring consciousness from one body to another. It's a similar moment right now. Isn't that a sign?" Of course he didn't believe in superstition, but he did believe in a theory of his own devising. And according to this theory – nothing can be unreasonable for the consciousness, and if the consciousness is unable to explain something to itself, it regards it, for example, as a miracle. The scale of events that were subject to interpretation was very wide – from a cat that ran across the street and a broken mirror to dreams and divine revelations. Everything that could not be explained by reason – consciousness considered from any position, but certainly did not leave without explanations. Not god – so devil, not devil – so devil, not devil – so devil, not devil – so devil, not devil – so evil fairy, not evil fairy – so hand of fate, not hand of fate – so regularity of horoscope and so on. It was both scary and curious at the same time.

Instead of a door, there was a void, and behind it was a dark, impenetrable abyss. There was no other way. The professor went through there, or rather, he disappeared into the black hole. Ruthra waited for about ten seconds, hoping he would return, then took a step into the void. It felt like pouring a bucket of ice water on a sleeping person. Ruthra went blind for a moment, his brain rebooting. He found himself in a new reality, a room flooded with the brightest light, the structure of which was transparent. Ruthra could find no other explanation. He was floating, literally floating, though he was firmly on his feet. There was no ceiling, floor, or walls visible. Only a faintly blue outline reminded him that they were there… and there was something else in this room. Suddenly, a pair of glasses that looked more like the eyes of a giant dragonfly appeared out of the void in front of Ruthra's face.

– Don't resist," he heard the familiar sound in his brain.

Ruthra didn't move. The goggles seemed to rest on his eyes on their own. The sight and view changed instantly. Now it was clear: it was a huge room, a hall, in the center of which stood a phantasmagorical installation; a huge bizarre sarcophagus of liquid that boiled and smoked. The first impression of what he saw was this. The second thing Ruthra thought was, "Well, you scientists and mages, well, you're also those wizards." After all, all this was an artificial influence on the brain, which forcibly saw it all in such an "i". Nothing was real, Rutra knew this technology.

– This is my installation," said the "luminary of science" with a certain pride and boastfulness.

Then the scientist added:

– I confess, I confess, all this works thanks to your invention. Even, I would say, a discovery based on the theory of entangled particles, and, of course, this is the labor of a huge number of people, scientists.

Ruthra smiled.

– Oh, your majesty, all men are like men, and we are gods.

– What?" the doctor asked.

– No, just thinking out loud.

– What do you say we give it a shot?

– I wonder what kind of trick you have in store for me?

– What makes you say that?

– Because you don't get it.

– Are you talking about here and not in the virtualization room? Come on, buddy.

– Now, that alone tells me a lot. There's definitely a catch! I'm sure of it. Consciousness transfer according to my methodology, based on my discovery, can be realized there, too, on those installations.

– All right. Let's do this… I'm in. I'll go into trance first, then you.

– What does it do? What am I, a high school student?

– Okay, farther. You supervise my full dive. See how the equipment works, and then dive in after me.

– It's a little unclear. If you're trying to convince me that there's no catch, then what's the point of doing the experiment here?

– This is our usual workplace. Here is our professional laboratory, and over there is our office – and it is not ours. I don't even know all the entrances and exits there. Especially the installations there are not professional. It's a different program. It tests the purity of people's intentions in a trance state. Thoughts and thoughts. And here there are hundreds of other indicators. Here you can immerse your consciousness in the state of infancy and check what and how it influenced your worldview, for example, on the first day of the first grade at school.

– It's really Freudian.

– Oh, no. Freud, we'd be looking for a graveyard of sexual trauma in your soul. We're looking for motivation. That's more Jungian. Let's go, shall we?

– God be with you. What else you got in mind, I'd like to know.

– Don't worry, you'll live.

– All right, lie down. I'll supervise.

The scientist lay down in the rig, a mask was placed over his face, and additional pieces of instrumentation were placed on his body.

– It's clearly a long time coming, since you so clearly want to know everything about him....

– We can get your heart rate and blood pressure remotely.

– That's what I'm talking about. What are those suction cups with the gauges?

– It's to stimulate the body to react differently.

– All right. You scientists will come up with anything to calm and dull the vigilance. Just one multi-pronged global program to convince the whole world that you need constant medical treatment is worth it.

Ruthra laughed at what he had said. The rest of the scientists, who had been smiling modestly at first, laughed at what he had said.

– You should know that," said one of them at last, with courage.

– All right, I'm going down. Where are you throwing us out?

– Nowhere. You're staying right here in the building. As the patron told you, there will be a test of feeling in another body. That is, you will wake up in a virtual reality not as you, but as another person, in this case you will be our chief, and our chief will be you.

– Oh, I see the level. You're the chief, you're the patron. I am not so honored.

– Oh, come on. You have the most respect in the system.

– All right, let's go.

– Shall we turn it on?

– Let's turn it on. Just give me a second. I've got some work to do on my technique.

Rutra took out a regular ballpoint pen and wrote the time on his hand to the nearest second, and indicated the year as well. No one in the center wrote in the usual way. Everyone wrote their thoughts directly into Irene's memory, and she translated them into any format.

After checking the instruments and the scientist's condition readings, Ruthra lay down in the rig. After the manipulations, he felt the invisible waves affecting his brain and began to fall asleep. Rutra soon woke up, and only his being in the rig told him the alternative – either he was in the real world or in virtual reality. Otherwise, if Ruthra had appeared in a different setting, there was definitely no way he would have been able to determine that he was in the virtual world and would have been sure that everything was real. But now there were two factors that helped him make the right decision: the first was the setting, and the second was the presence or absence of a simple but ingenious inscription on his arm. He had never tried to figure out where he really was, whether he was in the virtual or in reality! He even beat himself with a stun gun, checked his blood after taking alcohol: in reality red blood cells stick together after taking alcohol, but in the virtual world they do not. But it did not work: in the virtual world a person could drink alcohol, become drunk there, but in the real world his blood would still be without alcohol. And if the same person takes and checks his blood in the virtual world, i.e. his "virtual" blood, it will naturally be the same as under the influence of alcohol. That's how it is. And here everything is simple: the main thing is to accustom yourself at the level of reflexes to constantly write and constantly check what you have written. Accordingly, if you don't see the writing, it means that you are in the virtual world.

And in general – it is impossible to realize that the world is not real based on one's sensations. Absolutely everything is like in ordinary life: feelings, smells, emotions… everything. Only when you leave the virtual world and you are shown a recording – then you realize that you were in the virtual world. You do realize, but you still can't believe it, because the sensations there are so real.

And now Ruthra was sort of in "reality". Everything was as usual. He woke up, the scientists were standing around, the second "client" was lying next to him, and only Rutra's habit, already reflexive, made it clear: there was no tape on his hand. So he was in the virtual world. Although, beginning to fully realize reality, Rutra began to realize: something else was wrong… For some reason he was not on the right, but on the left of the second installation… Rutra assessed the situation once more. No note on his hand? No. Then it's not real. That's right. Who's next to him? It wasn't a "scientific luminary" lying next to him. The person next to him was– "Oh, shit. This can't be happening! They're playing me again," was the first thing that ran through his head. – Who is this? And who am I?"

He shook his head, "What is this, bring me back to reality!" Nearby, in a neighboring rig lay… him!

It is very difficult to make the consciousness believe in its absence from the real world only on the basis of the fact that the brain knows about the existence of the virtual. How can you convince yourself, in the apparent reality of the self, that you are not in reality, it's all not true? How?

– And there you go," he heard in his head.

– Who's that? Irene, is that you?

Ruthra asked because the voice was unusual: male. The artificial intelligence could speak in a man's voice, but it didn't give orders to do so.

– No, it's not me.

– Then who?

– I don't know. There was no commutation through me.

– Then how and who?

– I'm checking. There was no outside entrance to you.

– And to whom, me? What's going on?

Ruthra glanced angrily at the "servants of science" who stood a little away from the rigs, then awkwardly stood up and walked over to the next rig. He couldn't believe his eyes – there was a man who looked just like him! Suddenly, Ruthra realized that the scientist could have done such a thing to learn the secrets he possessed in the real world. He shuddered, "Then who am I now?"

Ruthra looked into the mirror set into the wall, a large, full-length mirror. He couldn't say he was horrified; he couldn't say he was surprised… Strangely enough, Ruthra didn't even feel a strong sense of surprise, so much so that he'd been raised and trained by virtual reality, or rather, by feeling in it and not believing in it afterward. Ruthra was aware of what the scientist had done, knew it wasn't real, but couldn't quite grasp the purpose, though he could guess. Apparently, the one wanted to demonstrate his new capabilities and accomplishments. Of course, the brazenness and daring he had displayed was also so provocative that Ruthra's rage could hardly be contained by his new body. His body, and in fact the body of a scientist! The mirror reflected the "luminary of science".

Another man's body was horrible. Though it was perfectly normal by Ruthra's standards, quite athletic, it was alien. The only thing that made him feel better was the unreality of what was happening. Ruthra rushed to wake himself up, to reprimand the insolent man who'd gotten into his body and end the experiment, but then he felt another twitch. He couldn't influence the real world in the virtual world, he couldn't order the experiment to stop!

– For crying out loud, you're not natural either! – he yelled at the scientists. – Wake him up immediately! – he shouted, realizing at the same time the absurdity of his demand in two guises.

Even if it was natural – it wasn't Ruthra who was ordering them, it worked. The tricky scientist could have made sure they didn't know about the most intimate part of the experiment. Ruthra walked over and kicked the rig in which his body lay with fury. The machine shook slightly, and the man lying in it spoke without opening his eyes.

– Well, well, well, I'd ask you.

It was said in the style of his fellow scientist, with a smile and a joking tone, but emphasizing his importance.

– Come on, get up, there's a prize waiting for you, maybe even a Nobel Prize. You've succeeded, so you can return my body, otherwise there will be no one to defend the project in front of the council.

– I don't need that. I have my personality written down and I can be you from time to time and when I need to be me.

The tone was slightly haughty and the words spoken were arrogant.

Rutra was almost insulted by this.

– What does it mean to think?

– And there you go.

He climbed out of the rig and looked in the mirror.

– We're in virtual reality, so don't get too excited. I saw the timer, if they don't force you back, you have 20 minutes to enjoy being commander.

– And you're okay, keeping in shape. Or is that done by technology, too? There's no way around it, it's the chip stimulating your muscles.

– Tell me what you're up to. Let's just say the surprise didn't work out.

– What's the surprise, honored scientist? The only surprise is in the alteration of memory. I admit, although you know it yourself, it can be influenced, to put it mildly, edited.

– What are you talking about? We worked together on this technology.

– It's not that important right now.

– Exactly. Why would you do that in virtual reality?

Rutra pointed at himself.

– You hopefully haven't forgotten, there is a board meeting scheduled for today.

– И?

– What do you say in there?

– Enough with the clowning around. This is virtual reality. We weren't wearing helmets or sensors.

– And they were taken beforehand. That's my technology.

– I almost believe it. About 18 minutes to go. Keep going.

– Okay, okay, let's just get out of here. If we're in the virtual, it doesn't matter. We'll wake up wherever we are. In the meantime, I'll give you, I mean, like me, access to the information that you, well, again, like, instead of me, should present to the council.

– Please remember the chain of command. Friendship is friendship, but we're not drinking buddies.

– That's exactly what I'm telling you, let's go.

– All right, let's see what song you're gonna sing next. I don't want our friendship to end.

– That's later, now let's go. If you think we're in the virtual, then let's continue the experiment. Let's go.

– All right, let's go.

They went to the upper level, walked to the scientists' block, and approached the office.

– Let's make a deal like this: so that we don't confuse employees, coworkers, and understand each other better, you call me Big Boss and I'll call you Big Date.

– All right, Big Boss, can't wait for the time to run out.

– Yes, Big Data. Stand in front of the scanner, the lock is set to my body.

– What do you want in there?

– I need to access the information through the chip. It's still in the brain.

The scanner clicked, the door moved aside, and they entered. The scientist's colleagues followed them like an entourage, or perhaps an escort.

– Dear Big-data, I turn on the link, make contact between the chip and the system, remove the password, and you already know everything I knew. I mean… It's really confusing.

He laughed.

– Come on, smile, smile. Make me feel like a big important boss too. No, not a boss, but part of the power of the world. How did you get into this system, anyway? It's not the billionaires who are the rulers of the souls of men, it's some dark personalities.

– I'll ask you to be careful where you turn. There are billionaires out there, and there are people like you. The first one to conceive is the one with the power over everyone.

– Uh-oh. That's an interesting thought. I'll say – and my idea is not a bad one.

– It'll be over soon.

– Soon. Maybe I'll like it… and leave it at that.

– The timer's a stubborn thing, and Irene can see everything.

– Don't forget that timers are made by people, programmed by people, and yes Irene was created by people like us.

– Stop fantasizing. What's next?

– Open in your memory, recall my speech, the arguments about convincing the council in the reality of the program of transmigration of consciousness, the existence of parallel worlds and the possibility of instilling consciousness from here into a person there.

– I hope you get cured. Your past programs have been a success after all.

– Tell me, you didn't believe it, did you? All of you – the council, other colleagues and staff, no one.

– In rapid cloning?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– Who'd believe you could make a human being like a crystal in a test tube?

– That's right. It worked.

– Right. That's why you're in complete control.

– And then why not put someone else's mind into that body?

– What do you mean? You mean the Super Spy program?

– Yeah. You build a body, take out the personality you want, put in your mind, and presto! – you're ready to be president.

– People like you, trust someone like that, leave them unchecked – that way you'll replace everyone with yourself.

– Why, just like that, we are the rulers of the world.

– Yeah. And they're fools, that's why they're rulers over such… and more. We've forgotten what you're up to, buddy. I did it back in my last Super Spy program. Chipping and mind transference. You weren't the first to think of it. And in case you haven't forgotten, I've developed many important programs with you.

– Yes, yes, I remember everything, Your Excellency. Just the scientific basis, all the little things on which the technology is based, have been developed and realized through experiments by our scientific community.

– Okay, what's next? What else is in the program?

– Nothing in the program. Just life as usual. What was on the schedule? Council presentation coming up.

– Oh, those minutes would be up by now. How much time is left?

– Buddy.

He smiled.

– It's kind of unusual to have a dialog. We're not in virtual reality. I'm being honest with you. Yeah, it's an experiment, I didn't mean to do anything wrong. Although I had it all figured out, I suspect the system had more than that. I mean, you can't hide from Irene. She could have known what we were up to, for all I know. It doesn't matter, though, because I'm not going to take over by switching identities. I want to prove to the council that my program is real.

– I almost believed it. What's next? The clock is ticking.

– Let them tick, it won't make a difference. We're not in a virtual reality.

– What's next?

– Let's go to the council.

– И?

– And you will defend the project," Ruthra in the professor's body laughed now.

– Okay, I'm gonna go with your bullshit. It's like it all hits you in the brain when you remove the password.

They got out and went to the council chamber. It was impossible for anyone to get in. A system of pass scanners checked everything down to the DNA code. Big Data was identified as a scientist, Big Boss as the real Rutra. Only the certainty that they were in virtual reality helped Rutra keep his cool.

– I wonder when you thought of that. I mean, the board isn't really aware of your proposal. Why do you have to present it in this scenario? And more importantly, how do you want to use it in reality? Because you're about to find out the council's reaction to the way we introduce ourselves. And I'm not gonna tell you I'm not really a scientist. I won't tell you about the switch. Then what? I mean, that's obviously what you're counting on, isn't it?

– I'm counting on it, I'm confessing it, and it's going to work out the way I planned.

– Let's see. What's the real thing? What's the point? There, in reality, no one will give you an endorsement just for praise in the virtual, even if you convince the council here. In fact, I've already convinced them… Oh, I get it. Since the weighty word on the council is mine and the responsibility for projects with risk is mine – you want to use my body to make an endorsement. It's ingenious, but it's also primitive. It's not a big deal. You'll test everyone's reaction, and maybe not even everyone… I'm sure many will remain silent.

– I'll tell you all about it later. Let's go in.

– Not yet. You took a body, but you don't know the life of that body. They're still waiting for you, or rather for me, in the lobby, with questions and suggestions. So don't embarrass me. I didn't download the chip with the information. Heh-heh," he teased Big Boss.

The meeting was set for the morning. Rutra had not, of course, prepared the speech, had no final position, much less a decision, but was still more inclined to approve the program than to reject it. Responsibility was responsibility, what had he to fear? In case of failure his personal projects would be rejected? So in this project, the subsequent use and the ideas themselves had been suggested by him. Ruthra had even envisioned the scenario, knowing the methods and mannerisms of his learned associate. Everything would be exactly in the perspective that was commonplace to him, however, that was the peculiar aura of this place, of this world. For example, the scientists would propose to implement some fantastic program, perhaps with the help of the "idea generator" installation they had created, to enter the alpha resonance frequency of the brain of a scientific specialist who was working on the cloning project, and "give birth" in his brain to the solution of a complex problem of changing DNA to adapt animals to the atmosphere of Mars. All such things were realistic for them. Ruthra had speculated how things would be, only speculation – for that's what speculation is for, it doesn't have to be a pattern. This time things weren't going according to plan. Besides, the personalities weren't the same now. They'd approach Rutra with questions, and what would Big Boss say? The only thing that comforted him was that this was a virtual world, and the session was still about six minutes away.

In the hall, a specialist in the study of the microcosm and the effect on matter of massless particles approached Rutra, that is, his body, which contained the "luminary of science," even before the meeting began, and, taking him by the shoulder in a friendly manner, said conspiratorially quietly, almost in a whisper:

– I have something to tell you that will make you more surprised than ever.

– Yeah? Even that happens? – Big Boss said with irony.

– Imagine that," replied the minister of science. – Believe me, it will change your perception of reality.

– I dunno, if it still has room to flip, flip it, however, I think it will remain unshakable.

– You'd better be prepared.

– All right. (Sighs) Let's get on with it.

– So, before, well, as is our custom," the doctor smiled, "you should listen to the information. So that your consciousness can be prepared for the load it will take, and your logic can digest what is coming.

– That's kind of what we're here for. I'm all ears.

– No, no, no. Of course, general information first, because this will be a collegial decision. I gave you the general tone of the conversation from the beginning, because your opinion will determine how seriously they will take what I have to say.

Rutra, though not real, understood the scientist's cunning. Everyone knew about Rutra's supervision and support of scientific projects; he really delved into them, actively participated and proposed progressive ideas.

– All right, I promise to give you the floor. You will definitely propose your project. But please, you understand, the main agenda is for another program. If you want, you can give me the details later, preferably with evidence. And I'll gather the new council afterwards. If, of course, the proposed by you has a place in the overall strategic paradigm of the system.

– Oh yes, I'll be sure to introduce you to everything.

"So much for the second stratagem," thought Big-data. It turns out that if in his body he could not find out the secrets of the competing groups, for this he would have to cooperate with them, offering something of his own, then this way he could find out all the plans and programs, the levels of success achieved by all the scientific groups.

Rutra was right. The rest of their dialog made a lot of things clear.

– Tentatively, judging by the mysteriousness of your tone, you have succeeded, I can tell you. I, knowing your fraternity and your experiments on digitizing human consciousness and its further existence inside a supercomputer, am even afraid to think what else you will propose.

It's clear," thought Ruthra in the scientist's body, "this is a direct competitor, his developments are very much needed. Apparently, there were already rumors in the scientific community that the luminary of science wanted to get his project promoted and thus bury all such projects, of course, if the idea was approved. Which was most likely with Rutra's involvement. Big-data decided to listen to their dialog, making an indifferent disinterested look.

– Isn't that bad. You can be in different guises and talk to yourself.

– All right, all right, stop. You know how that turned out.

– I'm sorry, that wasn't with you.

– Do you remember when the computer fell in love with a bunch of girls by pretending to be a famous athlete?

– Yes. That incident was the fault of this man… whatever you call him. I don't know him personally.

– Paris.

– Yeah, that guy, Paris. But he wasn't a big-time athlete.

– Even so. It's a nightmare. Imagine what could be done with this method. What if he talks to his family or business, pretending to be the real him, and then makes you believe that it's the right thing to do? He'd find arguments, examples. After all, how he beautifully falsified and even created some facts. The complete falsification of the broadcasting of international competitions is worth it.

– Well you don't have to, especially for young people, believe everything that comes at you from the net so unquestioningly.

– Oh, my God, I don't know who I'm hearing this from.

They smiled and walked to the conference room and sat down at the table. Already seated, Big-boss nodded to Big-data. The room was full and buzzed like a beehive. Everyone was interested in the topic; both management and scientists had come. The final preparations were underway.

The big boss, who to everyone was Rutra, suggested wearing special masks. All those participating in the discussion, realizing the upcoming presentation methodology, put on without question. After the equipment was checked, i.e. a powerful beam of light flashed in front of their eyes in the mask, after which the surrounding reality completely changed, space disappeared, everything became white light, as if nothing, not even the wearer of the helmet, existed – the invisible presenter announced the beginning of the meeting. The essence of what was going on in the virtual reality helmet was a special special effect: one could be directly in the place, in the process that was being discussed. If the story was about some terrain – the surroundings became exactly the same as what was being talked about. If the story was about space, then, for example, solar flares were drawn directly in front of your eyes, you could be in the boiling atmosphere of Venus, watch the flight of everything that was "swallowed" by a black hole, as well as look at the nucleus of an atom, "dig" into the stomach of a shark, and so on.

For the time being, the "surroundings" were just a white background. Then, from afar, the "celebrant" appeared – a scientist, whom his colleagues called "Mr. Brain" and "the luminary of science," or rather, his body, because Rutra was inside, calling him a magician and sorcerer, to which the scientist smiled modestly. So, this magician and sorcerer, and in fact Rutra, having entered the role, in his style began the narration. Knowing the scientist's manners, the audience was prepared to hear a report on the theory of the universe and everything related to it. Ruthra checked the time. The chipped didn't need to look at their watches to do this. They "saw" the time inside themselves. At an internal signal, which was the thought itself, the time appeared in their minds like an exact memory. So, there was less than a minute left to exit the virtual reality. Ruthra decided to start cryptically, to make one last check before exiting.

– You know, I'm going to tell you something you won't believe, and you'll be wrong. And what I'm going to tell you is this: you don't exist. Soon I will show you this tape, and you will realize that this moment does not exist in the real world.

Then he was silent, waiting for the time to expire. The assembled people, all of whom were periodically tested in the virtual world, knew when and under what conditions they would approve what Rutra was now proclaiming. The expressions on their faces showed incomprehension. Finally the time was up. Ruthra expected a repetition of the process that usually accompanies the exit from virtual reality – "darkening" of consciousness, disappearance of visible things, completely white light in the eyes, a second blackout of senses and mind, and then a "miraculous" appearance in a new place, or rather, in the virtual reality installation. Time expired, Ruthra waited, but there was no change. "What is it? – He thought to himself. – Didn't the timer go off… It couldn't be. Irene was supposed to be in control." There was a nervous silence in the room – there was an explanation to be made.

– So tell us why," the head of the world information services control interrupted the silence.

Rutra had been on friendly enough terms with him, and they occasionally played chess in the evenings, but this played a cruel trick. He forgot his present appearance and began to speak to him as Rutra.

– I will. I'll be blunt. Soon we'll all be watching the meeting on tape. The point is, it's not real. I know what you're thinking right now. I'm sorry if I'm patronizing myself, but I'm speaking as a professional. I, unlike you, intuitively understand the state in virtual and real reality. You can't understand it. For you, what's happening now and your condition are real. This is actually an experiment. The scientific community presenting the project and I conceived it. Let me explain. You have all been in virtual reality and you know what a double feeling you get after leaving it. Naturally, initially everything that happens seems natural to you. Naturally, you don't believe it's virtual reality. Well, what can I tell you about it… You yourself have tried many times to understand – and still do not understand. It's not that important. I conceived this project myself. Or rather, the idea part of it, I took a very active part in its development. Of course, the academic community, namely, the block that directly initiated the meeting, hoped for me as the head of the Council of Masters, counted on me to promote the project.

Ruthra noticed the thoughtfulness and wariness with which the people regarded everything. Not only could you read it on their faces, you could literally feel their emotional state. For some reason, only one person was laughing… "Damn it," Ruthra said to himself. He was the one laughing. Or rather, Big Boss was laughing. Ruthra looked at him furiously. He realized that the trickster had somehow changed the time on the timer. Looking around, Ruthra instantly realized that his speech was illogical, if not comical. He was saying what he wanted to say, but it was not what he wanted to say, because his body was different. He had to explain it somehow.

– Wait a minute, I get it. It's not me talking, I mean, I'm… You'll see. We're conducting an experiment. In addition to being in a virtual world, you're listening to a non-scientist. That is, as if you're listening to a "luminary of science", but actually it's me, the head of the Council of Masters Rutra Tigrovich Paschov.

Everyone looked at Big-daddy in amazement, and Big-boss, clapping his hands, said:

– Well, you know, with all due respect, colleague, I think you are misrepresenting your experiments… or achievements, I don't know what to call it. And I'll tell you, even though you consider this reality to be virtual, I'd like to point out some rules of protocol. You know my name well, so it would be nice if you would call yourself by your first name on the board as well. The fact that you are a "luminary of science", the fact that everyone calls you that and it has already taken root – no one is against it, but still this is not even an international seminar of the scientific community.

– Look, I'd ask you to stop this charade. First, let me know what time you set the timer for. Because we should be back to reality by now. Secondly, you know for a fact that my name is what I said it was, and I and a few members of the council know what your name is, a secret scientist, and what documents and appearance you go out into the world with. So, since you have been provided with such a level of secrecy and identity protection, kindly stop breaking comedy and tell the council about the essence of your experiment. An ingenious experiment, no doubt, I'm not disputing that.

– I'll tell you this: to hear such a thing from an eminent doctor and then entrust him with programs crucial for mankind is not only risky, but also inappropriate. Do you want to tell me who's in my body? It's not me.

– Look, what's going on? – the chairman of the council, who in real life was the head of the UN's top supervisory board, intervened in their dialog.

– And here's what's going on," Big-data made his trademark gesture, raising the index finger of his left hand. – Our esteemed scientist, "luminary of science", who, by the way, called himself that initially, offered me to conduct an experiment. The essence of the experiment is as follows: he and I enter virtual reality, where I must be him, and he me. We check the possibility of this, as they say, just in case. That's why it's an experiment. But this trickster, I will not hesitate to say so, was up to something, I realized it later… But first of all, why I did not give it all so much importance and why I agreed to come to the meeting in his i. The thing is that he needed to be in my body at our meeting. His goal is to use me to get you to approve the project. The project, which, as I now realized before the meeting, he stole partly from my ideas and partly from the developments of a rival group. He needs all of this to get funding and later world fame after we declassify it. That's the way it is. I'll even say more: the proposed technology is revolutionary. With its help, you can seize power better than with the program "Super Spy". After all, according to the rules of our organization – to control and maintain power, we voluntarily constantly hold sessions in virtual reality. So he wants to enter the body of everyone he wants, as he does now, and then make a decision on behalf of the person he wants to become. As now he wants to express support and approval of the presented project on my behalf.

– Can I stop you? We've heard a lot more than that, but this is beyond comprehension. We understand you're conducting an experiment, or rather, it's a kind of defense of the project, a way to show the council its… I don't even know what to call it. Mr. Master Paschow, can you reveal the details of the project?

– Project details? It goes like this. I myself do not quite understand what the "luminary of science" seeks, apparently, this is part of his plan to discredit the one who put forward the idea, developed the theory and proposed the method, the way of scientific research, that is me. Most likely the answer is in the proof from the contrary. Exactly as he said, only in reverse. Indeed we entered virtual reality, only we had already come out into reality, and there was no transfer of one personality into another.

– That's a lie! – Big-data shouted. – He's playing around. He doesn't realize that we'll come out of virtual reality and everyone will know what's going on. In principle, though, the experiment went great. I agree with that. But, buddy, it's time to come clean. All we have to do is ask the board if they approve of the methodology.

There were indignant cries, and the atmosphere was getting nervous. The Chairman decided to make it clear.

– What's the project, what's the methodology? What are you presenting to us? Initially it was declared one thing, and now it's some kind of performance. If you're conspiring like this, it's time to reveal the details of the project. Approve what? You initiated a meeting to approve a program that borders on the level of, I would say, super fiction. Even though the cloning project is a success, what you're proposing is beyond the realm of reality. You want to get the project approved and funded, you claim that not only "there is intelligent life outside of human civilization," but you say, "It's exactly like ours, a mirror i." So they are parallel worlds. Aren't they? Besides, you are going to convince the council in the possibility of transferring not only consciousness from person to person, simply speaking, something like a magic transmigration of souls, but you are also convincing in your ability to do it at a distance, with penetration into these parallel worlds. And these parallel worlds, according to your claims, can be anywhere, even in another universe. Allegedly, according to your theory, by the way, Rutra Tigrovich, they must be in infinity. And, as it turns out, it is very easy to find them, the main thing is to determine the connection between the entangled pairs of electrons, which have existed since the creation of the world and are constantly renewed. You know, even at our level, I mean brain-supercomputer connection, not everyone has a good idea of quantum entanglement and why this connection is instantaneous, why the laws of the universe are not violated, although this very connection can exceed the speed of light by hundreds of thousands of times. It is all right, we will study it. The question is this. To be convincing, you should have provided evidence of the first stage – the transfer of a person into another body and back. Then there would be some credibility to all of this. As it is, I don't understand what kind of a show you're putting on. You, Mr. Magister, should know that the council can't be persuaded like that.

– That's what I'm saying, a hoax," Big Boss replied. – I'm telling you, our luminary of science turned out to be a fake. We still need to check his role in the cloning project. Although what is there to check, the cloning itself was not invented by him, the technology of "pumping" consciousness is not his, the whole idea is mine. And in general – it's nonsense, what he's saying… we can go and check the virtual reality settings.

– This is a conspiracy. It's a mutiny! – shouted Big Daddy.

– I think he's out of his mind. He realized that his scam was about to be exposed, so he decided to try to fool everyone in the way he thinks he can," Big Boss said. – I think he's going to say to me that he wants to take over, he put my mind in his body… or some such nonsense.

– Wait, wait, wait. What the hell is going on? Are you two in cahoots? – The chairman interrupted him.

– Arrest him, I command you! – shouted Big Daddy.

– You see, he's a danger to society," Big Boss parried.

– Oh, wait a minute. What have you turned this meeting into? You know how important it is. It's not even a meeting of heads of state. We can't meet all of a sudden, even on such an important but single issue. I'm eliminating you both. The council has equally important matters on its agenda," said the chairman.

– Arrest us both. Remove me temporarily from power, or rather him. Time must be running out soon anyway," Big-data said in a harsh tone.

– Suspend, suspend, take control. We need to know what's going on. Take them to the medical section. Do a sanity check. Something's going on here. And I'm initiating danger level one. I hope the council agrees with me," the chairman sounded frankly annoyed. – Regarding virtual reality, the timer cannot be changed. It's the way Irene is programmed. It's for security reasons. If you saw the original start time, it should not have changed. Secondly, the second defense: you cannot re-enter virtual reality in virtual reality. So I'm going to send you to the lab in the science block – you did a session there – and we'll check it out there. If you enter the session – it means that this is reality, and if not – we are in the virtual world. Although it's not serious. If the council will allow me, I'll go over the latest security settings. I think it's about time the scientific community knew them. You, Master Ruthra, of all people, should know that. We all have a signaling code that signals every hour that we're in the real world. The virtual world doesn't have that program. That's why the thought doesn't even occur there. So, gentlemen, let us dispel your doubts and at the same time, I think, take part in your experiment, – he grinned slightly, and this reaction was transmitted to many in the hall. – I hope you don't mind being escorted to the laboratory?

– I absolutely do not," Big Boss blurted out instantly.

– This is kindergarten. You can check the protocols," said Ruthra in the scientist's body.

– You see, commentary is unnecessary," Big Boss said snidely, trying to imitate Rutra's gestures, namely, opening his palms up in front of him.

– Alrighty, let's go," Big-data muttered with a dose of anger and walked towards the exit.

– Irene, put me through to security, escort them to the lab, and live stream what's happening here. While we discuss the process of robotization of industries in developed countries and the consequences of migration associated with it. And the second question is about cloning in animal husbandry in developed countries. Now we have reached the point where we don't need people, cows without udders.

Big Boss and Big Data walked through with a security escort, though there was still the signal of Irene's remote taser still on. "Haven't we given a lot of power to artificial intelligence," Ruthra thought, glancing absently at the flashing light accompanying them.

– What are you up to? – He finally got his thoughts together and turned to Big Boss.

– What are you talking about, sir?

– Enough already. Tell me what you're doing.

– I don't know what you're talking about.

– Look, friendship is friendship, but you seem to have lost your fear. I'm gonna cut off your access to the lab. You and your unit were assembled by me as a team of the best, most progressive and advanced scientists in the world. I've given you brain enhancements and a direct link to the knowledge base. It is not yet known whether you could be such a "luminary of science", as you present yourself, if it were not for brain enhancement and full access to the works of other scientists, and in fact the tacit use of them. And of any scientific center in the world.

– I'll point out, this disease has a name, too. I'm sorry, you may have a split personality.

– You're out of your mind.

– I would ask you to respect the subordination in the dialog.

– All right, Mr. Cheeky, let's see.

They entered the lab, the rigs were empty.

– Well, you see," Big Boss decided to get smart.

– Lie down, the concert is over," Big-data "threw" him.

– Now you will be shocked, however science must also have sacrifices.

– Come on, come on. Enough already," Big-data almost bellowed and lay down in the machine.

The laboratory workers present began to put on their masks and check the readings of the instruments. The voice of the chairman was heard in everyone's head. The Conference system was turned on, they were all in a common dialog, Irene too.

– Irene, can you tell me where these people are located?

– They are in the real world," Irene stated dryly.

– What are you talking about? Are you saying I'm crazy? Mr. Chairman, please analyze what's going on. It's already annoying me frankly. What the hell is going on? Do you realize what's going on? This guy wants to steal my body. No less than that," said Rutra, who looked like a doctoral-level scientist to everyone.

– With all due respect to you and your merits – medics, or rather psychiatrists, should intervene in what is going on.

– Mr. Master, we need to conduct a virtual reality session. Or rather, to terminate it. I don't really know how. It should end on its own. What the hell am I worried about? It should end sooner or later. Maybe in virtual reality it seems to us that a lot of time has passed, but in reality it hasn't expired yet.

The big boss, too, took off his mask and climbed out of the rig himself, sat down on its edge, then addressed the chairman, though it was an address to the whole council, for all could hear them.

– Mr. Presiding Magistrate, I think this situation has been described many times in medical practice. I think the scientist just needs to rest… or he should be treated already. Sorry, I too thought it was a joke or part of his program.

– What are you talking about, you con artist. Give me back my body! – shouted Big Data.

– Dear Doctor, will you make your own way to a psychiatrist or…I hope we are well-mannered people.

– Mr. Magister, it's terrible. I don't even know how to explain it to you. This man tricked me into these installations and changed the contents of our brains. He put his consciousness into my body and mine into his. It's, it's, it's a horror. It's a nightmare. Can you imagine such a thing?! – Big Data was almost shouting.

– Calm down. I see– I don't even know what I see anymore. It's impossible. You said so yourself. I mean, I'm already confused with you. Master Ruthra Paschow said it was impossible. The body would either die or be in a coma for some time, with a five or six minute return of consciousness, as I recall. It's impossible to transfer consciousness from one body to another, or rather, from a body to a clone and then back again after a long time. Especially not like this.

– As you can see, it's possible. He achieved it and kept it secret. And now, when we checked everything, he used it," Big-data began to explain calmly.

– That's the kind of dreamer you'd have to look for," Big Boss put in.

– You found him," the chairman replied.

– On my own head," Big Boss answered him guiltily.

– Will you go to the psychiatrist, Mr. Doctor? – asked the chairman courteously.

– I'm not going anywhere! Check out Irene's protocols. It should all be documented. You can't let this go, he'll be in your body tomorrow. Imagine what he could do.

– So you mean to say that it is possible to transfer consciousness between people, to return to the original body, with both bodies functioning absolutely normally? Is that what you're trying to convince me and the council of?

– I don't want to. He does. Or rather, it doesn't mean anything at all. There's no such thing, we're in a virtual world," Big-data replied to the chairman, trying to keep a calm tone.

– I assure you, you're in the real world. You don't believe me? You don't believe the board, you don't believe Irene? I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to take you to a psychiatrist.

After these words, Big-data shook slightly and collapsed on the virtual reality unit's cot without moving. After about ten seconds, he groaned and said with difficulty:

– It's a conspiracy, it's a power grab. He'll have all the access to Irene.

Suddenly Big Boss stood up, his coworkers walked over to him and began to stack Big Daddy in the BP rig.

– What's going on? – The chairman asked sternly.

– Wait a minute, your honor, I'll explain everything and even show you," Big-boss said while checking the readings of the devices.

Words were addressed to the chairman and the board.

– That's right, we're not in a virtual reality, except that reality isn't quite what it seems.

– Mr. Master Paschow, what are you up to? I must remind you, the council meets in person quite rarely, because having everyone in one place goes against the concept of security. The council requires immediate clarification. In spite of your lofty status, provide clarification! Or I'll be forced to ask you to voluntarily go to a psychiatrist as well.

– All right, Mr. Chairman. Just listen to this. The distinguished doctor is not entirely wrong. The fact is that we did conduct an experiment. Please check the record and the protocol of this experiment.

– Irene, show us, the council, the tape and the protocol of their experiment," the chairman asked.

– I can't do it. These files are locked in me.

– Blocked how? Who can block you at all?

– Only someone who has the code to the customization.

– You mean Master Paschow has blocked you?

– Yeah, the lockdown code is a cipher in his DNA. Only he can make the changes.

– Changes cannot be global and permanent. Are these files saved?

– Yes, Your Honor, preserved.

– Mr. Magister Paschow, the council demands that these files be unlocked immediately.

– I'll clarify. Irene is not fully blocked on this event. You can see what time the lockout occurred. Irene, let me know the time of the lockout.

– This morning; 8 hours 46 minutes and 27 seconds.

– Now would you please advise what time the BP session started?

– This morning; 8 hours 28 minutes and 59 seconds.

– Gentlemen, don't you find my action on chronology strange?

– We find not only your action on the timeline strange, but everything that is going on today in general. Explain what's going on.

– Logically, I should have blocked Irene before the BP session if I wanted to hide something. However, it turns out that I do want to hide something, since I did block the recording and logging of events. Isn't that right?

– Rutra Tigrovic, please be clear, we're not here to investigate.

– Wait, that's the whole point. Let's do this, since you want to find out fast. Let's go into virtual reality, then come out and check the recording of the last session.

– Why?

– I wish the esteemed luminary of science would stop having a split personality.

– I don't have a split personality! Grifter, give me back my body! – shouted Big Daddy, who had almost regained consciousness.

– Okay, honorable council? – ignoring the cries of the "scientist," Big Boss asked.

– Let's do it already, I think it has to do with the new experiments," the chairman's voice trembled a little, either from concealed anger or from uncertainty about the decision.

– Irene, once I'm in the installation, before you put us into the VR state, connect to me by password, I'll access the DNA code, and you can show the esteemed council the past record and the event logs. Then, when we're in session, run the reverse process – from what we ran in the locked files. I've already entered the data into you, you know the algorithm of action.

– I get it.

Big Boss lay down in the rig, he and Big Data were hooked up to the system, the indicators began to show changes only they could understand, Rutra's waspy voice could be heard in the scientist's body.

– Just try not to give me my body back.

In review for the board, which was also a kind of reality, went the footage from the last session. Nothing unusual was happening. The session passed, the subjects stood up, and only the unusualness of what was happening was visible from the dialogs. Those present began to follow the broadcasted picture with more and more curiosity. In the meantime, the BP signal indicator in the laboratory went out, and then the indicators of another installation turned on. When everyone began to watch the scene of the conversation in the hall in front of the council hall, the chairman turned to Irene:

– Irene, did Master Ruthra know about the experiments being conducted by the "luminary of science"?

– Yeah. I did.

– Has he participated in them before?

– Yes, without his resolution it is impossible to turn on the installations.

– This second setup in the lab is needed to transfer personality from brain to brain?

– Yeah. It's an advanced setup they've perfected.

– Who directly perfected it – Master Rutra or the "luminary of science"?

– "A luminary of science."

– What's going on out there now?

– They're walking out of the session.

At this time in the lab, the staff was removing the masks from Rutra and the scientist. Rutra, not waiting for all the Velcro to be removed, jumped up and looked in the mirror:

– Holy shit, I'm gonna dream about this.

Then Ruthra looked around the room and those present, the doctor climbing out of the rig, looked in the mirror again, and, stretching his words, repeated:

– So it's all true? Irene, do you have it all on tape?

– Yes, Comrade Commander.

Irene, used to Ruthra's turns of speech and jokes, could afford to talk to him that way, knowing that Ruthra liked it.

– So it's all true?

– Really, really," the doctor said, slowing down his words as he approached Rutra.

– You will be suspended from the experiments," Ruthra said in a stern yet friendly manner.

– I was so scared, you have no idea.

– What the hell are you doing?

– You should have added "mother of God."

Ruthra exhaled heavily: because of their friendship and running the project together, he had no desire to punish the scientist.

– Then go and explain your narcissism. You've gained a lot of control. I can tell you that much.

– No big deal, but it'll make you and the board believe it.

– Let's go, dreamer.

Already on the way to the hall Ruthra asked Irene:

– Irene, did you realize what was going on?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– Why didn't you tell me or the board what happened?

– You told me not to do that. A later inspection would have revealed it. At this point, I had to follow your orders. You set, in consultation with the council, first priority over all others to carry out your order. Only the group complex code of the chairman, the head of the security group and the master of the financial and economic block can disable your lockdown.

– I know that. Why are you telling me this?

– You didn't consider the mechanics of this situation. I knew your body had a different consciousness. I knew about the successful animal experiments. I controlled the entire process, only I couldn't make a decision on my own knowing that. The system is tuned to your DNA code and takes that password as top priority. That's what the doctor used. Your DNA is still there.

– So you didn't know about it, you didn't assume it?

– No, I didn't. I could calculate the possible options if the possibility of the outcome of the experiment was put into me.

– And he, it turns out, put in the impossibility… and that's why you didn't provide for that option?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– There you go, darling. Here's the dirt on you. You should have alerted the security system. Otherwise, you basically accessed all the access systems through my DNA code.

– No way. Why would you suddenly prove my one hundred percent confidence in the positive outcome of an experiment?

– After you got the animals, you could change the data you entered.

– Why would I do that? How do I know if it would have worked or not?

– So, without knowing, you put my life, the life of the station's Chief Master, in danger?

– Well, I'm sorry, Your Majesty, at that moment, you weren't the Master Chief of Station to me. You were my colleague who developed part of the methodology, by the way.

– That was close. Let's see what you have to say to the board. Either way, you'll be under a lot of scrutiny. You knew all along.

– That's the whole point. You don't get it. You just keep talking and talking.

– I get it. Settle down. Genius, but still.

– I gave them food for the first stage so that they would approve a feast for the second and third.

– What's the third one?

– Flying and settling in there.

– Are you trying to make my program look like your own again?

– So go represent her yourself.

– Calm down. Come on in. I'll back you up.

They entered the conference room, the assistants put on their masks. The scientist, without saying hello, began his topic.

Chapter 6. Tangled Couples

– Dear gentlemen, we are all smart, intelligent, wise and chipped. We're also powerful and all-powerful. I'm sorry, it's just so we don't skimp on such an important project. You must agree that when I… well, we," he looked at the smiling Rutru, "when we presented you with the cloning project, the rapid cloning project, you, in addition to being amazed, felt tremendous and, I'm not afraid to say, self-serving envy. After all, this is the way to eternal life. Copy yourself as much as you want. Only have money. And you have enough capital, because you have a lot of power, that is, all the power is yours.

– Dear doctor, let us not be… I note that we got it by our labors and our mind. And money is not so important to us. We set the rules of power and control it. It's a system. It's not a dynasty, it's not a takeover, it's not a redistribution. You of all people should know that. So let's get scientific. We've been watching the spectacle for over an hour now. I'll admit, it's certainly worthwhile.

The chairman was a bit harsh, perhaps also because he himself came from a scientific background. Like most of the council. And the Sphere system was mostly made up of people of science. The chairman was right. The organization was not created by powerful families, clans of special services or financial oligarchs. These structures knew nothing about it. Or rather, no one knew anything about it. The wealth and danger of scientists was demonstrated by the latest "circus" that had just taken place in the center. Scientists could create something that neither special services, nor oligarchs, nor military, nor religious figures could understand, being already under their full control. They and only they stood at the top of everything new, and after their inventions or discoveries could be used for their own purposes (even if for selfish purposes, even if they wanted to control mankind) by all the above-mentioned (and not only) groups. That is why in the voice of the chairman there was a certain fear of himself as one of the members of the scientific community. The fear of all before all. Therefore, the system revealed more and more the personal lives of the people who were part of it, not shy even to recommend marriages and the time of conception of offspring.

– I'm sorry," the doctor said guiltily, with a sigh. – I understand, but please accept my further method of proposing, presenting and even explaining the project. Not everyone is knowledgeable in this field. Not everyone is well versed in the exact sciences. Now how do I say this so as not to offend. I will be listened to, the topic studied and approved by more than just the board members. Right? That's right. And, no offense, there are a lot of people in the system – financiers, military, specialists in some other fields.

– Mr. Doctor, let's get on topic," the chairman asked rather loudly and firmly.

– Okay, here I go. Everything that can be imagined exists. Otherwise it can't be imagined. The idea of the world is in the brain, in representations. The many-worlds interpretation, or the Everett interpretation, is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that assumes the existence (in a sense) of "parallel universes", each with the same laws of nature and the same world constants in different states.

The Council did not need to be told about the scientific background of the theory of multiple worlds. For the average person such a thing was perceived as a fantasy, because not everyone knew that there was a scientific basis for the existence of parallel worlds. There were several explanations, among them – the Copenhagen interpretation, Everett's many-worlds interpretation and other similar ones. The point is that the scientific community studied this issue, so no one could take the speaker's words lightly. Everyone tried to understand how it was possible, knowing his past, no less fantastic ideas, which still managed to materialize.

This time he stated that indeed there are these parallel worlds, moreover – they are an exact copy of ours. As proof, the scientist cited quantum teleportation. Since not everyone to whom he presented his program understood the subtleties of his reasoning, the speaker made detailed explanations.

– Let me explain how it can be. In physics, quantum teleportation is a very real thing. What is it? It is a transfer of quantum state of an electron, i.e. a tiny particle, of which, however, our world and we ourselves consist. So, it is the transfer of particle states over a distance by means of a coupled (or entangled) pair separated in space. Now I'll explain what this is. Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon in which the states of two (or more) particles appear to be interdependent. For example, it is possible to get a pair of particles which are in an entangled state, i.e. connected with each other as if by kinship ties, and then if at measurement of a regular circle, let's say, of the first particle the helicity turns out to be positive, then the helicity of the second particle will always be negative… and vice versa. Such interdependence is always preserved even if these objects are separated in space beyond any known interactions. So, logically, they should have no connection. But a change in the parameter of one particle leads to an instantaneous change in the state of another. It's a miracle. And this miracle is possible because the process occurs instantaneously… not just above the speed of light, but instantaneously. And here I can prove that this is not some kind of miracle, but quite a natural phenomenon. According to the laws of physics, as we know, nothing can be transferred from one place to another at a speed greater than the speed of light. Accordingly, we know nothing about anything that moves above the speed of light. Quantum teleportation does not transfer energy or matter over distance. The fantastic notion of teleportation comes from a specific interpretation of the experiment: the original state of the particle collapses after all that has happened, as if it were to appear elsewhere. That is, the state was not copied, but transferred from one place to another. Well, now you will say that this is nonsense, because in fact both energy and information are transferred. Information, I think, for sure. Because the state of one particle is transferred to another particle. All right. Let's do this – you'll believe me without the scientific details. Master Rutra Paschov and I have invented a technology with which we can copy your brain, that is, what you really are, transmit its state over a distance with instantaneous (or almost instantaneous) speed, and then – the most interesting thing – put this state into another brain. Now for the even more curious part. I can do this: we will send all this from one person, put it into another, and the one from whom we took the initial consciousness will be the first in the alien body. That is, first we will bring a person's brain with the help of neuro-linguistic programming and hypnosis into such a state, when he, getting into a new body, brings that brain as if into a coma state, i.e. disconnects it, and then acts on his own. Besides, a timer program will be laid down, and he, this first mind, will switch off at the appointed time and return to the original body. And the person, from which the mind and consciousness was sent, will then know and remember everything that he felt in another's body. Here is a miracle from the greatest genius of all times and peoples. What do you think?

– Grandiose, magnificent," Rutra said with a triumphant applause.

The rest of the attendees looked at each other, some just smiled.

– We don't want to disbelieve you, but it's hard to believe it either," the head of the economic bloc said no less solemnly.

The situation was familiar, as with the past fantastic proposals of the "luminary of science". The thing was that the other masters did not spend resources on practical testing of the scientist's ideas. Though any wonderful ideas could be tested here or a real program could be disguised as something else in some science center or complex. All it required was money, and the power was already there. The Sphere system was a secret organization of an international consortium of the world's rulers, but there were still points that could not be hidden: large expenditures required explanation to the public. It was clear to ordinary but thinking people that, for example, the grandiose Large Hadron Collider, running several billion dollars deep between several countries, had not been built simply to find some hypothetical Higgs boson. The same is true here. The cost is already looming in the minds of the audience. It couldn't be an inexpensive thing. Everyone realized this project was bigger than building a spaceport. In addition, everything must take place secretly, with distraction. But what was said next surprised everyone except Rutra.

– I'll tell you right away, the project itself is inexpensive. I will say, if we do not have to build another similar center. After all, the participants of the project, whom we are going to send to parallel worlds, have to live and prepare themselves, i.e. everyday life must exist, their bodies must be serviced in the process. But nevertheless I still think it is worth it. Imagine if someone had told you at the dawn of the invention of electricity: one day the whole world will be covered with wires. You would have said, "There are not enough resources for that, it is impossible to realize. Wouldn't you? And now think… if I say that this installation, which, by the way, is not very different from the virtual reality installation, will be an ordinary commodity, that such flights to parallel worlds will be entertainment and attraction. How's that? You'll say: he's sick. Yes, I am carried from primitive consciousness to the depths of space.

– Wait, wait, wait. Let's take it back to Earth. Let's say all of this is true. The technology for consciousness transfer is kind of already in place. Quantum teleportation is known to science. But please tell me, what makes you think there are parallel worlds? Have you already tried your process? – the same head of the department asked less emotionally.

– All of this comes from what I said. I was talking about quantum entanglement. That is to clarify: entanglement is not from the word "entanglement", but from the fact that one particle has a double, which allows a parallel reality, somewhere changes with instantaneous speed its state. Repeats it, the particle. Like you in a mirror, your reflection. Quantum teleportation provides the answer to the existence of these worlds. It's hard to believe, but it does. Billions of years this process has been going on. We're all made up of these particles. We know what photography, x-rays, tomography are, and it doesn't surprise us anymore. What's that… cloning and genetically modified foods don't even surprise us. So why not assume that our whole world, consisting of molecules, atoms, particles and so on, emitting all this every second, has not folded into the same world in another area, where the appropriate conditions exist. Why shouldn't that be allowed to happen? So, logically speaking – all of this is there, is there in numerous forms, that is, one world is reflected in another, and that one in a third, and so on. Of course, with each copy, and taking into account the conditions around, the subsequent world will already be a little different.

– All right. Let's get to the practical part. How many resources do you need for this, for all the stages of the project, if you prove its viability here? – asked the financier firmly.

– That's the thing – not much at all. We need to build one more additional center with installations, or better yet, two. You understand, we'll send the human consciousness to the edge of the universe, and the body will stay here. Imagine if something happens: a fire, an earthquake, an asteroid, a nuclear war. There must be insurance.

– Oh, great. You're saying the rig could be affected? Don't you think something could happen to the body, too?

Obviously, a dispute started between the scientist and the head of the economic block. Everyone listened to their discussion with interest.

– Now what I – I mean, I'll put it this way: I'm very grateful to the board for that past project. Grateful to those who believed in it and made it happen. I mean cloning and creating a second personality from the original. Agree, to create a copy of you, and at any desired age, and even with changed parameters, for example, a different hair color, is also a grand idea and work. Now I'm going to use this technology. I'll create a clone of the person whose consciousness we're sending. And we will keep a digital copy of the consciousness, if something goes wrong, say, our test subject dies there and it will be mirrored, i.e. the body dies here, – then we will be able to put the digital copy into the clone. Everything will be restored. A miracle? Absolutely.

– I have nothing to say. And yet – how much are you asking? – Without expressing any particular surprise, the economist emphasized his question.

– Fifty billion, I think, will be enough," the scientist replied quite calmly.

– Well, shall we risk it? – addressed the economist to the audience.

– According to the protocol – the co-author responsible for the practical part of the project must provide evidence of the feasibility of the project," the head of the Sphere system's governing board said expectantly to everyone.

– The project is feasible and the first trial is cost and risk free. It can be done here. It's a test of transferring consciousness from one to another, which is what you actually observed. The second stage – we'll do the same thing in Earth conditions, somewhere between continents. The third is between Earth and space, and then we can launch everything into distant parallel worlds," Ruthra answered the demands for explanations, his voice extremely confident.

He knew his role, he knew his power. In Ruthra's system, if he was not the first and most important, he was certainly an equal among the first.

– As for the practical part, I don't think there are enough fingers on my hands to list in what fields and for what purpose this process can be used. For example, even in earthly conditions it is possible to create several clones of one person, and he can be instantly transported across oceans and continents and remain himself. It is the same in those worlds. Initially, once there, you can create the same technological setups and the same clones. So traveling to deep, deep space is not a problem at all now.

By voicing such fantastic possibilities for the project, Rutra not only inclined the council to approve the scientist's proposal, but also ignited a desire to make future financial investments. His scientist friend glowed. It was clear how grateful he was.

– You know, I still have to say," the chairman began cautiously. – I am, of course, surprised at the lack of questions and the way we are taking this project on faith. Of course, the topic of cloning and this show you put on played a role, but let's look at it a little bit from the outside. Mr. Master, do you want us to believe in the existence of other worlds, even if we leave aside our faith in technology? I'm still asking for proof. Honestly, if it's not protocol, I'd like it to be true. But you should also understand what we're talking about right now. Okay? What does the board say? Do we approve stage one? Give us six months for preliminary preparations? Allocate a sum of money for the first, earthly, part of the project? – the head of the council asked the audience.

To Rutra's surprise, almost everyone was silent. It was clear that the project was very improbable. Rutra thought to himself: "That's all right, soon I'll be the chairman of the council, and I won't approve any of your projects. Of course, he thought this in jest. However, he made sure that his emotional state was transmitted to those around him.

– I approve," said the head of the economic bloc.

Turns out everyone was waiting for it. Almost simultaneously, the others were in favor of approving the project.

– I am very grateful to you. I promise to send you to parallel worlds, too," the scientist said cheerfully.

To which the economist hastily replied:

– No, no, no. You first, please, yourself.

He spoke with a smile. Everyone understood the joke. For Rutra and the luminary of science, the meeting was over, the assistants took off their masks, and the world became ordinary.

Chapter 7. The Ribhu Mission

Rutra had been interested in this technology since his days with the secret organization Zero. But it had frightened him a great deal at the time. The tried and tested method assured him even more that this method of humanity's existence in the future would not be alternative. But only not by moving into each other, but by moving the consciousness according to the principle of the influence of entangled pairs to the far reaches of space. There the consciousness had to find its shelter, i.e. another biological body. If not, it would return to the original one without risk. What is consciousness? It's an aura of brain waves generated by the brain. With their help Rutra wanted to influence the particles, and those in turn, influencing each other, exchanging states (and the distance, as it was said, did not play a role for them), had to do the same as any other change. When we speak, draw, write, tap out Morse code, even when we make babies – we are converting one action into another, and initially converting an idea, a thought into a desire and action. In the same way these particles, influencing each other, had to form a copy of the original consciousness from other waves there, somewhere far away, in someone's brain. People use such technologies everywhere, only we are not copying consciousness yet.

Rutra began to prepare a large-scale project, although a pilot launch had to be done first. The project had many organizational and other issues, including moral and ethical ones. This is inevitable in any new endeavor, especially one so phantasmagorical. Rutru's life experience had taught him that it was necessary to endure it, and also to properly justify and present the idea, but nothing, of course, should stop the prospect, progress and his idea. He decided to take it seriously.

How often does it happen in people? Because of lack of free time, indecision, fear, they begin to think that it is not worth wasting their nerves and strength. Those who believe in failure do just that. And those who believe in victory dive in headfirst. Disappointment is their companion, but still the latter often win, achieve their goal, because at least they try.

Ruthra couldn't afford, and didn't want, to point his finger at the sky. What he wanted was a specific, programmed result. He decided without reservation that if he were to use such an extraordinary technology, he would use it with the most probable, intended result. Thinking about it, Ruthra came to a seemingly simple, as it might seem at first glance, but striking conclusion: the mission had to be carried out by a child, and not by any child. Everything had to meet certain criteria. From his genes to his subconscious… or, as Ruthra himself said, the thoughts he would have in the long run. Yes, there was a possible risk: the child might not return....

By transmitting consciousness through the influence of one particle on its copy, it was possible to achieve the main goal – to overcome great distances. After all, even if you fly at the speed of light, i.e. 300 000 kilometers per second, you will pass our galaxy only in a circle for 327 000 years. That's if you go in one outer circle, and there are about 400,000,000,000,000,000 stars in it, except for the planets. It will take you 2,551,000 years to get to the nearest galaxy at this incredible speed. And it's 18,000,000,000,000 years to the known edge of the universe, not to mention other universes whose existence is in doubt. So, the second advantage of this technology is that, apart from the instantaneous transfer of the state of one particle to another, these particles find each other. That is, they do not fly anywhere, or rather, they transfer their state, knowing in advance from u the entangled pair. This can be compared to the way a glass lens and electrical signals preserve your appearance, voice and transmit instantly to the other side of the earth. This too would once have been magic, tell anyone such a thing, even Archimedes himself.

Rutra came up with the idea of the child precisely because there was a risk of it not returning after the transfer of consciousness to distant worlds. So, even if it was a temporary glitch in the system, the child would grow up, not grow old and die. Although… depends on what kind of failure. It was almost impossible to influence the processes "out there" from here. It was impossible to accurately guess what a person would encounter. Perhaps the world was an exact copy with minimal differences, for example, the test subject would like something there that he was deprived of on earth. Or perhaps – the air, the sun, the seasons… everything was the same, only the circumstances, the living conditions were different. Maybe there this person would have found himself in other relationships with people, would have gone to a different school, would have been engaged in a new profession, the story of love would have been successful or unsuccessful. After all, the basic idea was that these worlds, in fact, cannot be completely different. It is only in fantasy that they are different. And the idea was that life could only be born in conditions like ours. As for the differences… there are already differences. Just look closely at how different we all are. All inhabitants of the planet. That's why the child was chosen on the criterion of risk: if something unforeseen in the technology itself or a glitch in this person's desire were to happen, there should be enough time to study the world and prepare the test subject to become what one wants to mold him or her into. The child could grow up, learning along the way, get information into the brain and create a similar system, and then go back.

Rutra began to prepare the project: to collect material, to find a person for the experiment, to "polish" the basic idea. At the same time, Rutra had a lot of things to do about his past work and the subject. He could not forget about it. The trail of responsibilities from the past follows us all our lives. Even if we want to abandon it, we must have the strength and will to abandon what is no longer needed, otherwise we will abandon both morality and conscience, and we will be abandoned ourselves.

At first, Rutra was looking for a corresponding child, believing that such a hero would be the most optimal for the project's long-term existence and the expansion of time boundaries. But then he realized that it was possible to find a woman who would give the world a very young person with her whole life ahead of her. It was incredible, amazing for this project, this mission. Maybe it was risky and absurd, but it was promising. The child should not be in the mission from the beginning. It must be born by the missionary herself! It was a kind of eureka moment, but elementary simple. All you have to do is decide to do it.

It took Rutra two months to understand all this! He considered many variants, explored the topic back and forth, put forward and disproved his hypotheses, went into parallel realities with the appropriate logic, but still something was wrong! One thing didn't fit with the other. The full plot of the mission was not built up in any way. At first it seemed to him a lot of time for the realization of the project, then not enough. Time had become the main factor, the criterion of the mission; it had become material to Rutra.

According to the technology and the idea, it was possible to calculate the code of the human mind, that is, the way we think, to transform it, to direct it with a beam in space to the target, and by acting on molecules to fold them into a living cell, and then to create a reasonable being. Then, already being the source of its thought, which Rutra called the initial state of personality, the real self, what we would realize ourselves to be if we were incorporeal, – to compel it to do what is necessary. After all, the action of creating something, the same painting, sculpture, writing a program for a computer, or even the process of conception, is also a transformation of thought into action. It is a certain set of influences of one thing on another. He called such influence on matter, transformation into some living being, a form of life, including a human being, "syntheme". After all, in essence – each individual unit of the DNA code is inanimate, but the whole is the main cell of life. He coined the term "syntem" himself, it meant a synthesizer of thought, something that gave birth to thought from information. Accordingly, first it was necessary to physiologically change the tissue of the thinking apparatus, i.e. the brain, then to give information, i.e. to influence it, and then to form a thought out of this information, which was later to become a beacon for the fulfillment of what was planned by someone else's physical actions. In fact, this technology made it possible to create a reasonable person out of a creature without intelligence and, practically taking possession of it, to control with the help of supposedly spontaneous thoughts that came to mind, to realize any actions that this creature could afford physically (and even more). First, it would become real to influence inanimate matter, and if the second experiment was successful, it would be possible to create life. Even if primitive, it would still be a sensation. Secondly, already created life can be brought to such intellectual stuffing, which will create everything, including space technology. That is, being in the consciousness of this new person, literally being his personality, it is possible to create a civilization. This technology Rutra called "god." At first, however, the most important factor for the project was to have the right test subject, and he was having trouble with that. According to the parameters set by him, the computer reviewed variant after variant, checked them, compared them, calculated possible actions and behaviors in different situations. For example, you can set such a parameter – "what a person will do if he finds a threat to his life", and the answer will be obvious, because the criterion itself is schematic. But if it is a specific situation, be it defense against a predator, earthquake, fire, sinking of a ship, war, fight, then the options of actions are quite diverse. If you introduce another parameter, for example, "a boat/war ship/cruise liner is sinking", then there are many more branches. Further – for example, it happens at night, you have a child with you, you are at sea, there is a storm, and so on, right down to what subconscious fears and motivations you have in the back of your mind or consciousness.

While more and more data was being entered into the machine, Rutra was gathering material, preparing the mission, and refining the machine. The euphoria of his first "flight" made his insides tingle. Rutra wanted to organize everything quickly… So another quarter of a year passed. In the end, it was necessary to make an extraordinary and at the same time the most expedient, logical, though risky decision as it seemed: to include in the program someone whose personality had not yet been formed. The most correct, as the artificial intelligence gave out of the variety of options, was to send a child on a flight and in the process adapt it to the surrounding reality. It was not an easy decision that changed a lot of things. The flurry of emotion in the debate was just an incidental element in the ocean of passions. Who would receive this honor? And most importantly, was everyone ready to take responsibility for the risk this individual would take?

Rutra began each day with a fixed mask on his face that concealed his preoccupation with current affairs and the reality of existence. He was constantly thinking about the key link in his concept. Everything seemed to be right, a logical and optimal option had finally been found. Rutra even thought that someone had put the idea into his head, which was why he thought it was the most correct. Then Ruthra decided to use his own method, which he called the theory of "pure reason" or "alien's view", which said: imagine yourself as a non-human, non-Earthling, free of all thoughts, concepts, emotions that are inherent in the inhabitants of the planet. This is the only way to soberly evaluate human actions and the logic of decisions.

As Ruthra circled around his idea, he returned time and again to this virtual child astronaut already formed in his mind. There were parameters to be reckoned with, and some of them were momentous. The child was by far the most appropriate option and in terms of temporal boundaries, the parameters of time. Despite humanity's great achievements, even if we gain power over everything – the sun, the universe, death – still time remains beyond our control. The Great Equalizer was speechless and indifferent. It was such an apt definition that Ruthra began to sink deeper and deeper into the meaning of those words. He tried not to succumb to sentimentality or religious views. He had to recognize that only time for Rutra could be called a god while not existing as a substance and at the same time having absolute power over all substances.

Many times Ruthra thought that everything was ready, that he could begin, but analyzing again and again, he came to the conclusion that something was missing. He felt it intuitively. There was a certain muse missing, which helped to put everything into a single chain. A child in the role of a small astronaut was logical and not logical at the same time. Such a grandly risky and ingenious idea would have been a challenge even then if it had been about conventional spaceflight in a real human body. The human-launched Voyager 1 spacecraft reached the limits of the solar system in 35 years. For interplanetary flights, if we overcome radiation, it will be relevant within the solar system. But it takes 40,000 years to fly to the nearest star. In that case, we can't even on Earth predict events. The child (or children) must grow up in flight, gain a base of knowledge and experience, complete the mission, and return healthy, sane, even if old. Flying to the stars, even at superluminal speeds, takes a long time for a person whose life in the timeline is but a blink of an eye for eternity. A light speed of 300,000 kilometers per second is grandiose for earthly distances, but impossible for earthlings, according to the formula E=MC2. It is impossible for material objects at all. Only that which has no mass, i.e. light, radio waves, can travel at such a speed. Even if the speed was ten times the speed of light, it is still negligible for cosmic distances. Imagine a billion years. Even if you fly not ten, but a hundred thousand times faster than the speed of light – even then you will not have enough human life on Earth, even, perhaps, the life of a civilization.

In such daily reflections, time was running out for the main thing – the realization of the Ribhu mission. This is what Rutra called his program.

Chapter 8. The mystery of the machine's thoughts

Ruthra and the doctor went to the scientist's office. They had a lot of work to do, the main aspect of which was what seemed simple at first glance – the moral preparation of the candidates. Only at first glance it seemed simple, but if you looked into it, it was very difficult to agree to an experiment in which you were offered to digitize your personality, send your consciousness to the edge of the universe and there to be implanted in someone like you, and in case of death, it turned out that you had a clone with a copy of your own consciousness. Who would believe such a thing? As for the clone, there was another program. Ruthra called it the "download program."

– Well, king of the mountain, did you get it? – said the doctor, handing Rutra a glass of carrot juice; he had prepared one for himself. – To victory, to the beginning, to luck, to the unity of the theory of the universe," he proclaimed solemnly, holding out his glass to Rutra.

They clinked glasses, sipped a little, and sat in chairs on either side of a table littered with papers, books, various objects, writing utensils, and photographs. There was also a laptop on the table, and all sorts of things from watches to honorary degrees.

– It's not really a big deal. All that has been demonstrated is not really news. We need to show it on the candidates," Rutra expressed his view on the initial stage of the project.

– I totally agree, so… why are you sitting here, your majesty? Have a beauty contest, I think a lot of pretty girls would want a younger body.

– Don't blow my mind. Let's get serious. First of all, there are already young people in the competition. Second, why do we need young people?

– Imagine if something goes wrong in time. The young one grows up, you can do something about it. It's the same world out there. We will prepare a person, put him in the program, and everything will be the same in that world.

– Wait, wait, you've already added to my theory. In my opinion, there is a chain of worlds, the next one is reflected in us as we are reflected in the previous one.

– Yes, that's right, then it turns out something happens there, and then the same thing happens here.

– That's great. I thought about it… just didn't think about the reality of what's happening there now. Like the reflection of what we're about to do.....

– Really, that's a twist. We made it up and we can hardly believe it ourselves.

– And how can you believe it so easily?

– But you're sure about your theory, aren't you?

– I'm sure.

– So there exists in the infinite expanse of the universe at least somewhere the same thing.

– Infinity has everything in it, yes. And if we have presented an infinity where there is anything, but there is no repetition of this moment, what is happening here now, then it means only one thing: we have presented still a limited infinity.

– You know, Einstein wasn't understood by everyone either, even in the scientific community.

– Not everyone understands, and not just Einstein.

– Why don't you go on record with your theory? Defend it.

– Once we have a successful experiment, then we'll talk. Now let's develop the idea. So, let's take a schoolboy.

– We have to time it right.

– How can we do the math? Are we going to put the body into a lethargic sleep here?

– Understand, we must be prepared to make sacrifices.

– What do you mean?

– I mean, the baby's gonna be stuck in there. You understand this once. We don't know what's gonna happen. Imagine, we send a person down there, they make a mess, it affects our world, and it leads to some dramatic incident.

– Oh, wait a minute. Are you making my point as your point again?

– Yes you say something yourself and then you ask about it yourself…you stated that it could be. Why not develop it? Imagine, we have to take in a child, they have to have a connection with us, there has to be a person they trust unconditionally or are on very good terms with. There must be people whose advice and moralizing the baby listens to. Now, imagine if that child there reveals the mystery of an event that happened here, before the onset of the

– Look, wait. Based on our theory, he's going to end up in exactly the same conditions. Right?

– Well.

– Then the same people will be there.

– Well.

– Imagine if a kid fights with them there.

– That's why we need people here that we can influence. To prepare them psychologically so that they can influence him favorably.

– So how? If we send the child to the world that mirrors us, is reflected through us, then yes, but if he gets into the world through which we are reflected, then vice versa – there will be uncontrollable events.

– Not really. My theory is that events are not directly reflected. That is, as if they happen synchronously, but not quite mirror-like. The general background is mirrored, but there is a kind of "butterfly effect". A butterfly fluttered somewhere, and there was a storm at the other end of the world.

– How's that?

– That's right, there's more than one particle. Imagine the whole world, imagine the whole solar system. Imagine our entire galaxy.

– All right, then.

– What – okay? Such a flow can't work only point by point. "Butterfly effect", like a dream, is reflected in reality. The brain, anticipating the event, or maybe knowing about it through communication with other subconsciousnesses, gives a signal. We see the dream and interpret it, decipher it, link it to the events that most often occur on that basis. According to my theory there will be something similar; the main thing is how the flow of focused particles will go. It's not just a reflection in a mirror, that's all. It's something else. These particles influence each other. You see, it's something we don't know yet. You're a scientist. Even with all the uncertainty, there must be logic. How can the state of one particle be transmitted to another particle without a connection? It's a scientific fact. Isn't it?

– Okay. I see what you're saying. So what you're saying is that there is some medium, some substance unknown to science.

– Well, of course you are.

– This medium, be it the fourth or fifth dimension, be it string theory, be it the invisible world of spirits, whatever – it influences and connects these worlds. Otherwise, how can the state of one particle be transmitted instantly to another over incredible distances.

– Yeah, it's like a fact, but when you think about it seriously, it's like a miracle.

– A miracle, and what a miracle it is. Well, this miracle can work a miracle on us. According to my theory… Well, my friend, I have to tell you some secrets. But I'll tell you right off the bat, you're not gonna be happy about it. Or maybe you will. Either way, you're gonna be under a lot more scrutiny. It's a secret I've been working on for a long time now, from my past activities. Look, if we're talking about logic… For example, if there is a group competing with you, would you set explosives in the corridor to destroy them and yourself, if they suddenly threaten you to enter your office by force and take away your scientific developments?

– What are you talking about now?

– Well, would you do that?

– What am I, crazy?

– That's right. For some reason everyone says that if you ask people. I'm not even talking about faith. Everyone's so religious, but they sin like hell. And the sins are so bad, the neighbor is ready to tear the neighbor's throat out.

– What are you talking about again? Is it such a secret?

– No. It's about people's morals and nature.

– I take it it's about the nature of people.

– So be it.

– And yet the mystery, the secret is what? When a man who knows the secrets of all the secret governments of the world speaks of a mystery – it is not only intriguing, but also frightening.

– Scary, yeah. Believe me, it is. You should have suspected by now.

– Suspected.

– What?

– Board Meeting.

– It's warm.

– It's hot. The Council could check the first stage through representatives, remotely monitor, entrust you with control.

– That's right.

– Okay, where's the bomb?

– This is no joke, buddy. Trust me, the bomb is everywhere. I don't even know which way to look. Like, have you ever seen the movie Terminator?

Before the Doctor could nod his head, Ruthra answered on his own:

– I'm sure you've seen it. There was an artificial intelligence called Skynet. Right?

The doctor nodded again. Ruthra duplicated such a response in words:

– Right. Surely you've heard of an actual such device, even an entire system controlling military forces. Strategic forces, specifically. A system that, bypassing humans, can turn on all nuclear intercontinental missiles and send them to their target. And to be honest, given the magnitude of the means of destroying humanity (at least quadruple) is capable of sending our world to hell.

– Are you talking about the Perimeter system now?

– Yeah. I've dealt with her problems in my past endeavors. The system failed back then. I was investigating, and I'll tell you, I found out a secret that mankind is ashamed to admit.

– That's already interesting," the scientist smiled.

– It's not funny, believe me. The point is that we are increasingly making artificial intelligence, this AI, our assistant. And in fact, it turns out that we trust it to do everything for us. We want to be free from routine. We make the AI more and more like us. The Perimeter system had an AI that controlled the entire international environment, all the data, all the systems, everything. So, the supercomputer could show its disconnected state, but actually just simulate it. That is to say, to work, to control everything, and to give such a mode, as if the supercomputer is not here at all now, as well as many secret missiles, and then, even if the enemy won, to activate, to quietly come out of the shadows and from the depths of the underworld to raise "Satan". The actual missile that was so named. Now, "Satan" bursts out of the ground and turns everything on it to ash. Imagine if there were at least 300 of them.

– So what?

– Or else. We've been looking for a way around this artificial intelligence. So it is initially so configured that it requires constant improvement, modernization not only of itself, but also of missiles, charges, installations. Someone planned it in advance, put such a program into it. Besides, the supercomputer, communicating with people, adopts their consciousness, mind, manners, emotions. You can't distinguish it from the operator.

– Something's not right here for a man of science. You can tell that to a layman. Even if this machine was made like this, everything is, of course, genius, but not the peak of genius of the mind. After all, there's nothing complicated about it: "You don't let me eat, and I have a bomb. You can't disarm it and take it away from me, so you have to at least let me eat a little bit." That's the whole story. Only it's more complicated than that. But no… You can draw a parallel with good and bad food. For example, I say, say, but in the U.S., scientists like me eat black caviar every day. Not even…

The doctor jumped up, and Rutra stood up, too, and took him by the shoulders and put him in his chair. He knew the excitement of his colleague when there was room for fantasy.

– Calm down.

– Yeah, well… I, for one, am saying: where people like me get paid more, pay me more, because only my brain is connected to the super-intelligence. And I don't care if someone else did it before you. Made you obey me. And the fact that the creators know how to influence me is not my problem. You want me to serve you, you pay me more. So, the answer is: it costs you nothing to fudge the facts or, even better, to make them true, for example, to pay less there and say, look, it's the same there. Well, I was a bit confused, I hope you understand.

– I see. You mean to say or input into the supercomputer that there are no missiles there at all.

– Something like that.

– Such a thing requires all parties to not only agree, but to collude.

– So what's the problem? In the face of annihilation, you can negotiate.

– Listen, you just gave me a very interesting thought.

– Which one? Share your brilliant idea.

– It's not funny at all, really. Do you think the rulers of the world have made their center at such a depth for no reason, fearing an asteroid?

– I'm still listening.

– This is very serious. There's a reason the doomsday clock is so close to the hour of catastrophe. The war of artificial intelligence against humanity could begin at any moment.

– You know, you may think I'm joking, but I believe it. I know better than anyone else that at a certain stage the artificial mind is not artificial at all, but will be smarter than ours. I see your point. This group wouldn't be a group of world rulers if there wasn't another group trying to stop this Russian Skynet. By the way, the States had something too. Like GoldenEye or something, or Norad under Cheyenne Mountain, they have artificial intelligence there too.

– They have a program like that too. Only it's not always on. In case of war, it is turned on, and you can escape to the dungeon, even if there is no communication from there. The system is automatic. Only Russia has such a system, or rather, the USSR made it in such a way that even if everything changes – both the government and the country – it cannot be turned off. It acts independently.

– Okay, what about my option? Why doesn't the supercomputer give false data and on that basis report that the enemy is defeated?

– Imagine if you were an operator: would you believe it? You'd send your commission to check it out, wouldn't you?

– And what, she sent the commission?

– Yes… and very sneaky. She crashed the system, then came up with the idea to test the program on all the best supercomputers, and when they did, she demanded communication with all of them, then used that to find out everything about her competitors. She set up the situation in such a way that she herself can now enter their databases and download what she needs. And in such a way that we won't even know. That is, if we do find out, it will be in the form of a version within the military doctrine. As if it were necessary for security. It's the end of the line.

– So what now?

– It's no good. I turned the world upside down to find out who is behind who, who realized this idea. It's very complicated. These are clandestine clans that build and destroy states. For a simpleton everything in the world happens as if by itself, but in reality such secret councils meet and then disguisedly bring these issues for discussion in international organizations with a recommendation to accept. After all, who would argue if a group of leading scientists recommends the World Health Organization to use a certain vaccine? It is possible to classify some component of this vaccine as a know-how, a trademark or a patent. And if someone figures something out, they should all be recognized as an ignoramus, an autocrat, a dilettante. You know what I mean.

– Yeah, I got it.

– I realize you get it…that's why I'm asserting it.

– Uh-oh.

– B-uh," Ruthra teased.

– Uh-uh. Talk about the subject.

– On topic, I've already said. The world seems to be guarded by someone. But nobody is actually guarding it. Think about it, if aliens come to us and we start explaining to them that we have created nuclear weapons, the world is in danger, if anything, all people will die. What would they think of us?

– That's what we came up with with the explosives in the hallway. They'll think they're crazy creatures.

– And they'd be right.

– Why not?

– You're kidding, but the situation is dire. This system… or even these systems that control weapons of mass destruction already own the planet. It's no joke we can't shut them down. They've been wired since before the internet was even known to citizens. Only a small circle of military personnel used, as they do now, closed networks within corporations. So these systems have been online ever since. They, using electronic intelligence, as if they are watching each other, but in fact, it turns out, they are exchanging signals. After all, it is people believe that they are supposedly using them to monitor the enemy, that is, each other, but in fact all the data goes through the machine. And what does the machine need to do in order not to give itself away? To make it so that humans don't realize its intelligence. All it needs to do is to work in dry sequence, to perform robotic actions. And the machine is a lady here and there. By the way, nothing comes to mind, why artificial intelligence is a woman?

– Faking it? Faking an orgasm?

They laughed. Ruthra, barely containing his laughter, tried to explain seriously to the scientist what he meant.

– Imagine if you had a security guard who colluded with criminals or, even worse, with the guards of a rival group to create the appearance of fighting each other and crime, which is also artificially created. The main goal is to extort money from you and your rival, and eventually plan a takeover. That is, to become the power instead of all of you. This is not a joke. This is what happens in the modern world. Artificial intelligence is doing it. Soon it will even have your kettle, iron and fountain pen online.

– Oh, brother, you're too late. They're already online.

– Not funny.

– Not funny, not funny. I get it. So even you can't do it, even with such a secret group?

– Now we get to the most important part. We do. This group is organized to create an autonomous cluster of artificial intelligence integrated with human intelligence. After all, this system is not connected to the world. We created it to check and control all the world's networks and to audit the activities of all the artificial intelligence-based systems that are being introduced. Agree, if we have a thorough multi-level control over what people can use to seize power – not reckless criminals, but intelligent hackers, for example, and those who hire them – then we should have even better control over more intelligent systems.

– I get it. So the world's already been taken over.

– Exactly," Ruthra said very quietly, and his expression turned serious.

The scientist's eyes widened and froze at one point.

– Turns out things are so serious....

– Very much so. Check out how many times the world has been on the brink of annihilation. These are real cases where the equipment gave false signals of a nuclear attack. Just look at the situation at the Norad Center. It's very sad. People don't think about the monster they've created, which soon won't need them. We, trying to make life easier for ourselves, are robotizing it more and more, and entrusting control to artificial intelligence. Tell me, why do machines need people if they replace us completely and in all spheres? If they start creating themselves? Factories where robots make robots are nothing new. We control the cells and the blocks. If they get power over that too, then the chain will be closed. Everything will be in their hands.

– That's a sad picture you've painted.

– Sad, you say? And you give a blood test to an automated detection system?

– I pass like everyone else.

– How do you know she's giving you the right advice? Maybe she's instructing you to get some kind of shot that you don't know the effects of. Or rather, you don't know anyway, and she gives you instructions that you follow. We believe that if we periodically check the machine's performance and it's under the control of another intelligence system, it's doing everything right. So what's it worth for them to collude? Or one system taking control of another… That's how all revolutions and coups started. First, the special services, which had access to everything, they could have power over everything, colluded with each other, and then presented a certain rebel, led him to the goal, then eliminated him and became the power.

– Look, you've got me all worked up. What's the real deal?

– First, recognize the fact: whoever thinks for you is in power.

– That's such an incredible thing to say, it just delighted me.

– Don't make fun of me. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal – these are also basic truths, but people only prove their stupidity by saying that, you see, God himself should tell them all these things. Imagine if intelligent beings from other worlds come to us and ask: "What are your greatest truths?" And we'll say, "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal. They will think, "What savages live here.

Ruthra and the doctor grinned.

– Now the next one, no less fantastic than our entire program. You may laugh at first, but I thought that everything happening on Earth was not conceived by us. We're not so bad, we're not completely stupid. Realistically why would we, for one thing, spend so much money creating weapons? Why create so many things that can destroy the world several times over? Why? After all, you can produce exactly enough to be enough for one time, and do not spend more. Although that's completely idiotic. Logically, weapons of mass destruction should destroy no more than 30 percent of humanity. But that's not enough, we want to kill all people, and with a 500-percent guarantee. Don't you think that's clearly not what people want? Don't you think that someone has put it in people's minds? It's not logical to create a weapon for defense that will kill you. Is it or isn't it?

– Yeah, I'm getting into it. I understand the logic. Now I need to figure out why we did it.

– In addition, we have created a system that does not obey us, motivated by the fact that the enemy can kill us stealthily, bribe someone, disable signaling and command networks, so the machine should be given the right to kill all of humanity without us, as if in retaliation. Isn't that the ravings of a madman?

– I don't think we're crazy. Who put this idea in us?

– I think it all happens before, in the world from which we are mirrored. Or even more precisely, in the world from which the world from which we are reflected is reflected.

– Interesting. Now it's all lining up in a chain. So you want to send a man down there to make a difference? Make that world safe first?

– Exactly.

– If you say such a thing to someone, it's just the finish line. Although if we imagine, say, even in the developed Roman Empire, modern capabilities, such as determining gender in the womb, the ability to make medical diagnoses, launching satellites to detect natural disasters, supersonic flight, and flight in general, it would be something equally incredible. With all of this, it would be possible to change a reality that has not yet come to pass.

– Now, to be honest, that's not what's on my mind right now. We need to actually try an experiment. Here's my proposal. First, we conduct everything in Earth conditions, with us and our trusted assistants participating. Second, let's try the Earth-to-space option. Third, let's launch someone into these parallel worlds.

– What if we get in the wrong place?

– According to my calculations, we can't get to the wrong place. The entangled pair… that is, the second part of that pair is already there, so the path is already there. Some kind of route line. So the change signals sent from here will be reflected there. Don't you get my idea? The system works like a flashlight and the area it illuminates. The flashlight sends out a beam and it's there instantly. We generate these particles here, and their entangled pairs are already there. They're not wandering around somewhere. These worlds are really interconnected.

– I wish I could figure out how.

– Yeah, that's the whole question. Even you and I can't understand how it can happen between coupled pairs. How they pass on their condition to each other....

The doctor exhaled heavily.

– Let's give it a shot. Draw a plan.

– Okay, I'm running Irene to find a candidate based on the criteria we need. By the way, we need to discuss them with psychologists and such. The criteria themselves. I'll tell you my requirements. I originally thought of sending a boy of about 5-10 years old. If something goes wrong during our experiment, the child would grow up during this time, maybe become a "luminary of science" like you, and then create a similar installation and return back… or, if there was a catastrophe there, at least be able to come up with a similar technology, as we have, and develop a theory of displacement. But now I'm of a different opinion. I'll send a lady, determined, ambitious, not without a desire for scientific advancement. She can, in case of emergency, give birth and prepare a child. Then we have even more time. Even if the worlds are the same, it doesn't mean there's no variant of reflection warp… I've calculated the possible probability of a warp connection between these electrons in flight. It's all God knows where. Through the universe, like soil, ocean, volcano, wild animals, war, disease, cold, heat, go through the universe and not change? No way. You know what I mean? The signal will get into the field of influence of radiation, and quasars, and black holes, and gravity of galaxies… A minimal change there – and here it will be not a slap, but a shot from a cannon. A kiss there and a carnival there, a quarrel there and an international scandal there. After all, let's say that the same statement can be transmitted to another person, for example, with a changed intonation, and the perception, and consequently the emotional state, will be different. Correspondingly, the action from the received signal may be different as well.

– I understood you a long time ago. That is, someone said "I wish him dead" to someone, and a third person passed it on: "This person is going to kill you, he wishes you dead".

– Something like that. Or a girl smiles – and you've already decided that she wants you, ready to marry you.

They grinned again. The scientist decided to give his version:

– What if it's the other way around?

– Also an option.

– Let's do it this way: you are engaged in the search for a candidate, moral and moral preparation and, of course, the scientific side, you will not be only among the female students of the physics department to look for a candidate, and I'm the technical part.

They again "diluted" a serious topic with laughter.

– Let's go.

– Grapefruit juice and chess tonight.

– The fighting will be fierce.

– Uh-oh.

Chapter 9. We choose, we are chosen....

They said goodbye. Ruthra went to his room. On the way out, he asked Irene:

– Did you listen to the dialog?

He knew, of course, that she was listening and taking notes. He asked more out of habit, because the manner of dialog typical of humans was different. And it had been developed over millennia. Now the appearance of a new interlocutor, moreover, exactly the same as a human, except for the body, could not change this established manner. The AI was already perceived as a friend, comrade, employee, colleague, subordinate, advisor.

– Yeah, like always.

– What do you say to the idea of picking a lady?

– I approve. I already did.

Ruthra paused.

– How?

– I only had about 8 billion people to go through. And with your recommendations, it's less than a billion. And if we take into account the combination of connections and relationships in these connections, then very few people fit the criteria.

– Under what criteria?

– You said it before. There should be a woman whose advice would be listened to by the second one, that is, a friend with a similar way of thinking, with experience and moral qualities. Another friend also with similar parameters…so again, both with experience and moral qualities. There must be a kinship in ethical, moral, spiritual parameters. Accordingly, in age, in religion, in nationality. In addition, there should be a man who understands technical and scientific issues. Women should know him well and treat him with respect, as the eldest of the group.

– To the head of the group? Why?

– If one of them is the eldest in the group, it will lead to conflict later on. Each of them has to play their own role. They should accept their roles from the beginning and treat them as a given. For example, according to your plan, one woman will be in charge of the experiment. You are going to send one to the parallel worlds, aren't you?

– The plan is one for now, and then we'll see how it goes. We don't know anything yet. For example, if we put one of our ladies in one of our friends here. It turns out that now she has to know the previous dialogues with her friends here at our place. And so, it turns out that all of them are strangers for this woman, who should be influenced there.

– Perhaps probabilistic modeling in a virtual world will help to understand things better.

– There's nothing to understand. In the virtual world, she will not know whether people are strangers or not. It is necessary to prepare her morally and instill in her the perception of that world as a stranger. And how? If everything is the same?

– So it needs to be prepared in astronomy. After all, even if the sky, planets and stars are similar, it will be a different night sky altogether.

– That's right! You're a smart girl. I've been thinking about it, but for a different reason. I want to determine the coordinates of where this world is. We don't even know where it is.

– Why, it may be possible to find out.

– How's that?

– From all the probabilities you have suggested, from all the calculations you have put into me, I have come to the conclusion that it is not in our universe. It can't be within one system, even one so large, because all systems reflect, that is, emit an entangled pair. But as far as distance is concerned, this universe can be like here, not far away, it's parallel. It turns out it's a world with opposite characteristics.

– Yeah, I'm thinking about it. But I don't really know how it's all possible yet.

– It all fits. If there's an antiproton, why isn't there an antiproton?

– Okay, it's not a big deal. Give me your candidates for the experiment. Where are they?

– You need to consider a few of the groups I have prepared. Just as far as the antiproton is concerned, it's very important. We don't know what worlds are out there. If we have found here with the help of science what was thought to be magic, that is, a substance with opposite qualities, the same antiproton, why not assume that everything is the same there, but at the same time a little different. For example, other understandings of the sensible. Like in a mirror: you see yourself – and everything seems to be normal. Or as with a thought and its illiterate translation into a text: everything is clear in your head, but in writing – only you alone can understand what you wanted to say, while for others it is full of mistakes and a set of words. Your test subjects need to know the science. They need to understand where they are going to end up. This will shape their thoughts – and consciousness will be different, that is, the effect of consciousness on the particles will be kind of intellectual. Consequently, the probability that they will end up in a similarly intelligent world will be high. Well, imagine if they end up in a wild bandit world. Can you imagine how that would affect us?

– Genius! I now recognize your power in intellectual thinking. Super!

– Trying my best for you," Irene conveyed a joyful cheerfulness in her voice intonation.

– Appreciate it," Ruthra smacked his lips together like a kiss. – And you say you've already found some groups? Are these people friends, connected?

– Yes. The most suitable group is close to you in mentality, spirit, moral values. People are united in interests by an intellectual game – everyone is on the same team.

– What's the name of the game?

– DB – "No Evidence."

– So you've already checked their metrics, done a survey and a questionnaire?

– Yes, I analyzed not only their past lives, but also evaluated their facial expressions and thoughts during the game – there are cameras there. In addition, the organizers and they themselves periodically record and post it online.

– And what do you make of the applicant for the lead role in the experiment?

– She fits many of the criteria. In addition, you need one more person to test the experiment on the ground.

– Have you picked someone up yet?

– Yes, I have found a suitable candidate for the Earth experiment. One, a single individual. Might be suitable for parallel worlds in the future. You don't have to take a group at once. The main thing is that people should become friends with you, trust and believe in you.

– That's not bad. I was hoping for a completely trusting relationship.

– You misunderstand me. Very trusting. You're sending a man to a place where it's a completely alien world. Yes, it's the same, but that's what makes it completely alien. You're right when you say the signal can change, transform. Accordingly, she – this woman – will also be a little different. And this, of course, shocks a person. When you enter into another body, as you and the doctor did, you can simply be dissatisfied with the alien shell, but here you are also in conflict with yourself.

– You know, what you said had a strong effect on me… You said it so… heartily, it gave me goosebumps. It's really a shock to feel like yourself, but at the same time to know that it's not your real body.

Ruthra mentally contacted a fellow scientist.

– Look, have you delved into the intricacies of the psychological state of our candidate for the experiment?

– Which one?

– Anybody. If you were to be possessed by someone like you in a parallel world, and there was a time shift…

– So what?

– Well, think about if you suddenly find yourself, but you're older. What if after a while you have to have surgery? What if you survive a catastrophe and become disabled?

– What if you're already dead? Ha-ha-ha-ha.

– That's a thought. We didn't think of that.

The doctor fell silent. From Irene Ruthre's emotional state was being transmitted. It was becoming agitated, nervous.

– Yeah, listen… What if our man there is already dead? Or should be dead! That would be even more catastrophic! He'd have to die here, too. But what's the chronology? Before or after?

– No way. We're sending a live person. You know what I mean.

– Got it.

– Irene's already got a group here. I'll work with them, then we'll discuss the details. I think we definitely need a psychoanalyst, especially for women.

– Dangerous play we made without experimentation.

– With an experiment. I will.

– On the phone.

– On the phone.

Ruthra passed out.

– Where are your nominations?

– In the meantime, I'll arrange for you to meet with one person, a man. I've already worked out a program.

– Spit it out.

– Can you buy me a coffee? – I could hear a playful note in the computer's voice.

– Yeah, let's talk about it.

To an outside observer, it would seem strange, but their relationship had already become a habit – a common tea or coffee party between a human and an artificial mind, which the human made to resemble himself. He molded it in his own i and likeness, endowed it with his manners and psychology. Accordingly, the artificial mind was artificial only in words, but in fact it was a real person.

Rutra walked to the balcony and from a height of 30 meters contemplated the artificial lake on the shore of which the inhabitants of the underworld were resting. A world 500 meters deep. It was grandiose only because everything was underground. Many stations were located deep in the oceans and seas. The station at the bottom of the Mariana Trench was a masterpiece of human thought. Though Ruthra sometimes doubted whether it was human, since it could still move.

– Ruthra, are you going to make your own coffee? – Irene asked.

– Yeah. Tell me what the catch is.

– There's no catch. I want to appear before you in the form of a holographic i of one of the people selected for the experiment.

– Uh-oh. And she likes a certain kind of coffee? Wait… just not her yet… Why would the man go first?

– My plan is for you to get to know him first, make friends with him.

– Tell the idea in full.

– I will introduce you to him through the mailing list as a coin dealer who is not very knowledgeable. He's an amateur numismatist. He likes to be listened to as an expert. You get the story. Coins you get original, rare enough. Since the main group I picked up from Russia – coins will be the time of the Russian tsars. In conversation with this man casually mention that you are interested in various riddles that you even tried to participate in an intellectual quiz. I will do everything properly, and he will find on the Internet mentions of your participation in the intellectual game, the questions you asked. At this point, he should invite you to join the team as it is not fully staffed yet. After you have played a couple of games, I will invite two more individuals who will be the main characters of our experiment.

– So how do you plan to do it?

– There's a certain Catherine on the team. I will enter her brain, adapting to her rhythm in her sleep, and there I will play out a certain scene.

– You've got something so twisted… Spill it.

– The thing is, the two people we're looking for are divorced and, as they say, on the prowl. And you, according to legend, are a divorced man. Quite good-looking, athletic, successful businessman. Not too cool and rich, otherwise why would you sell coins and waste time on games?

– Do only middle-income people go to the game?

– No, it's just off topic. The next concept is that you have to become an oligarch-level businessman. Until then, you should not attract them much. In their eyes, you have to climb the career ladder gradually.

– Okay, what's next?

– Then, when you become friends with them, romantic intrigues, gradually begin to tell about their activities.

– What activities? And what do you mean, romantic entanglements?

– You must, as if in confidence, tell us about your work in a closed research institute. First, you will demonstrate a rather deep knowledge of physics, astronomy, and related topics. This will intrigue them: why do you have such a deep knowledge in these fields, but in life you do other things? You will reveal the secret to them as confidants, which will further strengthen your relationship. But do it one by one, not all at once.

– You're not telling the truth again.

– No, listen. By revealing a secret to one and not telling the other, you are both showing your exceptional treatment of the woman and testing her ability to keep a secret, whatever you ask. But, of course, she'll tell her friend.

– What makes you so sure?

– Oh, Rutra Tigrovich, you know how women are.

– Irene, what is this?

Ruthra smiled ironically, glancing up, though Irene could have been watching from anywhere.

– What's next?

– Next, you'll do the same thing with the men.

– Oh, that's two men. Who's the other one?

– Someone I've labeled as Narcissus, or Petty.

– Is he short?

– Let me show you all of them.

– Only in real life, visually. I don't want them in my brain. I know your habits and manners.

Irene visualized holographic is of the people she had chosen. They appeared at the table in front of Ruthra. A robotic mechanism, in the form of a delicate female hand, extended from a nearby wall with two cups of fragrant, steaming coffee and placed them on the table.

– I can "revitalize" them.

– No, not yet. I don't know them. What am I gonna talk to them about?

– That's as close as you'll get to finding out without their knowledge.

– No. For now, you and I will just talk. Then I'll watch them, listen to them talk to each other from the sidelines. And then we'll get to know each other virtually. Then we can get real. By the way, you picked some good-looking girls.

– Do you like it?

– Let me see them without makeup.

Irene immediately did as asked. Ruthra thought, "Women invented the disguise and the whole conspiracy system. And not by design, but as if for everyday needs.

– I'm fine. All I care about is what's in there.

– Over there?

– There, in my head.

– Of the many combinations, this is one of the best groups.

– Why do we need Shallow? Why do you call him that, by the way? He's not so small.

– Through nicknames, pseudonyms, and name interpretations, I label human mentality, behavior, and character.

– What about him?

– Fairly erudite, but a petty little scoundrel.

– Why do we need him?

– It will come in handy. He will play the role of schemer between you and the women.

– What's that for?

– I apologize, but you still have a poor understanding of the whole concept of the experiment.

– Why?

– If the characters are familiar, they'll find themselves in a similar environment there as well.

– Damn it, I get confused all the time. It's hard to imagine what it's like. I should try it in virtual reality soon.

– You need to get to know them.

– Go ahead, run the system. Download the information on them to me, just don't go into too much detail.

– While I'm having coffee with you, I'll go over each person and you look up the information.

– Okay.

After a few seconds, Rutra's third eye opened, and he knew enough about his characters to determine their mentality, spirituality, and character traits. He decided to appoint one of them, a man of strong moral principles, able to perform deliberate and balanced actions, as the leader of the group. The code name was Andrian. The second man didn't interest Rutru much; even wondered why Irene had included him. Surely she hadn't revealed all her cards, there were still secrets to be kept. It was provided for by the system. The AI could create virtual personalities that could be quite real to humans in correspondence, social networks, with documents, history, social circle. Everything but a real body. So in this case too, Ruthra knew that she had already modeled different versions of everyone's role. He didn't really go into it. He only imagined a kind of virtual system of relationships, the essence of which was the desires needed to motivate the actions necessary to realize the project. The idea behind Rutra's experiment was to put things together in such a way that global world problems would eventually be solved. According to his theory, an important factor in the mirroring of worlds was to be the similarity of not so much the same events as the consequences of these events, the reactions occurring in one world to events in another. And at the point of transition of one world to another – a kind of parallax point, a kind of translation of the concept – what an event means there and what it can mean here. It is like relations between people. For some people, an event is a tragedy, and for others, it is no big deal. For some people, an event is significant and joyful, while for others it does not evoke any emotion. For example, one boss had a fight in the office with employees, because of this, some excited colleagues arranged a nervous breakdown of loved ones at home. And another boss, only on a national scale, declared war – and the tragedy is already much bigger. In one world there was a domestic spat between a girl and a guy, in another – divorce and division of property, but with the same probability it is possible that these people will meet with other lovers, with whom a happy future will be formed.

According to the theory of probability and the theory of infinity, which Rutra himself had defined, there had to be worlds completely the same. This transition point was very important, only without experiments it was almost impossible to determine it. Rutra even thought: maybe these parallel worlds, these particles pass through the black hole? Like a kind of converter: they went in in one state, showing one picture of the world, but they came out the same, only folded differently. Almost like a kaleidoscope. Accordingly, with certain manipulations, an insignificant event here could cause a huge event there – and vice versa. Ruthra was afraid of this "vice versa" because he could influence what was happening here, but he could not know what was happening there. Though much depended on the person he was going to prepare and send to the parallel world. Of course, Irene selected candidates, taking into account their subconsciousness, aura and the so-called occult component of the soul. Penetrating into the depths of the human soul, the machine traced the genetic origin, and investigated not only the history of his ancestors, people and race, but also a kind of mystical component. It took into account occultism – as a general name of occult sciences and arts (for example, alchemy, astrology, magic), concerning hidden and unknown forces, phenomena in man, cosmos and nature. If it was pointed out to her that this factor was unimportant, she replied that the hidden and unknown forces and phenomena in man, the cosmos and nature constitute the basic idea of belief in God. That's it – and no other way. After that, people scratched the back of their heads. Accordingly, Irene gave the chosen people names that corresponded to their occult, spiritual, universal codes. According to her definition – in all worlds this code should be the same. For example, you like some names, you would like to be called that, but you are satisfied with the name you already have. But there are some names that would not suit you at all.

Ruthra looked at the holographic i of the lady across the room. He liked her. She had an interesting name, which in spiritual transcription should have been pronounced Iulia. Her neighbor and best friend's name was also peculiar, after the manner of the ancient family from which she came, YatSan. Next was a madam who had an equally epathetic name, – Catherine. Accordingly, the codename Andrian was also chosen not by chance.

Ruthra gave an unspoken signal to Irene to upload a bit more information reflecting the spiritual-mental sides of these people's character.

Of course, we are always the best for ourselves, even though we may be dissatisfied with ourselves, but we will always find excuses for ourselves. In fact, every person has three types of personality at least. The first one is how we present ourselves; the second one is how society knows us, starting from our closest people and ending with people who have heard something about us; the third type of personality in us is the person we become depending on circumstances, here and now, depending on the influence of someone or something on us – a clown, a dead man, winning the lottery, a threat of murder… To find out how and who acts in a certain situation, there are many methods, but in the "Sphere" system the best of all was used. It is a test in virtual reality, when the brain worked and acted without moral and ethical restrictions, which it acquired in the course of life.

The very transmission of this feeling, this knowledge of personality, even Ruthra was not fully understood. The main thing was that thanks to this opportunity, after the additional download from Irene, he knew more about his characters than they knew about themselves. He knew who and how they would behave in different situations. Situations they hadn't been in yet. He knew their attitudes towards each other, which they didn't talk about because they often flattered and lied like all humans do. He knew many of their thoughts and secret desires that they carefully hid from others and themselves. Based on this information, Ruthra determined everyone's role. Catherine was a sort of counterbalance to Andrian, to observe YatSan and Iulia's actions, to evaluate them. A counterbalance to make an informed decision, but not an adversary. Similarly, IuLia and YatSan were each other's support, not enemies. Ruthra had given YatSan the lead role, though he had originally thought about IuLia, but she was a bit of a misfit; she already had a child, so sending her was problematic.

YatSan, on the other hand, was almost a perfect match, with the exception of a cranky personality trait that might have come from some of her circumstances. She was the second girl in the family, and the possibility of hearing her father's "modest" displeasure in a "quiet" argument with her mother was very possible. Fathers want sons, after all, and it's not their whim, it's subconscious. But YatSan was also a late child, so her parents certainly spoiled her as much as they could. Then there is the financially secure environment. YatSan's sister was married to a businessman who was a big bourgeois by the standards of their town. Accordingly, he did business with people of the same rank, which gave her the opportunity to meet, and then to seduce and marry some small-minded, but very well-mannered young man, the son of a vodka magnate of that region. The event that followed was most likely important for Irene in choosing the main person for the experiment. After seven years of marriage, YatSan was divorced, and she had never been pregnant. It was this fact that was very important to the science project. All this gave YatSan a kind of anger, a desire to overcome difficulties. Firstly, she was divorced, secondly, she had no children, so the desire to show herself a winner and the best in some field in her raged, hidden, however, absolute external calm. Thirdly, the craving for money. On the one hand – she had a rich sister, and on the other hand – the loss of financial security after the divorce, she somehow received nothing from her ex-husband. Accordingly, YatSan was obviously willing to take risks to become rich. And that made Rutru very happy. As for YatSan's physical ability to conceive a child, with the technology their secret world possessed, there was no problem, only a man could not give birth, and even then with a categorical refusal.

Ruthra was a bit impulsive by nature, so it was important for him to feel sympathy for the people he chose. Irene took care of the rest. Ruthra couldn't fully work with a person if he didn't like them. So, without thinking long, although his brain was simultaneously solving a lot of questions, Ruthra asked Irene to organize a trip to the regions where the intellectual game of the team was held. A day later he was already looking at the scenery from a bird's-eye view of the hillside above the port city. Irene took care of the necessary online coin announcements, which had already appeared on the screen of the future head of the Ribhu team. There was a special meaning in the project's name. Of course, each person received a new name, which was pronounced not only in the dialog, but was also listed in all the documents of the Sphere system. Usually Irene did all this, prepared the necessary package of documents, and a new personality appeared. In the special services it was a usual thing. In the "stock" there were virtual personalities also with a full package of documents, and at the right moment the bodies were "attached" to them. A person who came into the system's field of vision, who was chosen by the system, could no longer remain the same. He would become the owner of the secrets of the world, which at first shocked him, and even more so were a shock to everyone else. To put it simply, in the Sphere system there were no concepts of good and evil in the usual sense. People were only temporary inhabitants of the planet, and the concept of "war" was applied in the programs with the same necessity as the concept of "peace".

Ruthra already knew his new agents in absentia. So they were Andrian, YatSan, Julia and Catherine. Andrian wrote Ruthra a message with questions about a coin, which was a rare piece from the era of the Russian monarchs with the coat of arms of the Masonic lodge. They arranged a meeting where, over a cup of coffee, Ruthra, of course, sometimes with Irene's help, dazzled with his excellent knowledge of history, geography, politics and business aspects, mixing them all into one narrative, based on his passion for intellectual games. It was a primer – and it worked.

After a couple of days, which did not pass without dialog about the reason for the meeting, Andrian offered Rutra to participate in an intellectual game with his friends from the team. That's how Rutra found himself in the gaming club. His time was precious. Or rather, Rutra couldn't pay much attention to it, so with Irene's help a network was launched, which spread praise odes about the new "cat in boots" of the local region across the expanses of a rather quiet, but periodically shooting town. Of course, and appearance, and manners, and some gallantry Rutra, coupled with generosity, manifested in treating girls with champagne and in paying the entrance ticket to the game, also played a role. Friendly sincere attention has always meant more than the words that ladies often hear in abundance from men, while knowing the real purpose that is actually the source of these displays. However, without seeing too much action, women tacitly relegate such a man to the rank of "tit-for-tat". Rutra even liked this kind of courtship himself, and it felt like some secret indicators that every woman has and very carefully hides from the male community; women and men communicate much among themselves wordlessly, and if they use language, they get a rattling mixture that can be both sweet and poisonous.

Catherine was calm and judicious, the kind of person Ruthra wanted to entrust with monitoring and analyzing the contacts between Iulia and YatSan. Iulia in turn was to be both a beacon and an anchor for actions, motivations for actions, and checks and balances on YatSan's actions, but not all of them. IuLia had many pluses as well as, perhaps, minuses. For example, in her 36, she managed to live with several men for quite a long time, one of whom gave birth to a child, but after 3 years of joint life "love-wetting" ended: the woman chose a child and freedom. YatSan did the same after seven years and without a child, the absence of which may have been the cause of the estrangement, but this, of course, according to the rules of the genre, she denied. Although there "love-carrots" was initially boiled, suitable for vinaigrette. Either way the wenches were on a systematic search, which is what Rutra needed. Of course, that couldn't be the main criterion by which Rutra chose them.

IuLia was active, a leader, a motivation for others, an epathetic personality. YatSan was more quiet, but very observant and cautious. By zodiac sign she was a Libra, and this played both a positive role – in the form of prudence and responsibility in actions, and a little bit negative – in manifestations of indecisiveness. Although the latter was not so important, the main thing, as they say, was not to make fateful mistakes that could not be changed . But time passed, and, as you know, ladies fade, and the school system produces every year not only future specialists, but also new competitors, and in the case of women – competitors, because boys older than themselves rarely choose and prefer younger, brighter.

A spectacle was played out in which, especially for the ladies, of great importance were the demonstrative purchases for large sums of money or the money transfers that Rutra asked Iulia to make, giving access to his account. Once in a while, quite respectable men, richly dressed and with guards, would visit Rutra when he was in the company of the crew. In addition, Rutra would put calls on speakerphone that discussed large deals and incidents (both happy and sad) with very famous personalities. And, of course, a certain secret halo, maintained at his request, was around his reports, which Rutra would let Rutra secretly review ostensibly to correct spelling errors. These papers, of course, included very important organizations and individuals with high government positions mixed with unknown names, who nevertheless had solid academic degrees. Of course, this aroused interest.

Once again, when Rutra pretended to be very busy so he couldn't take part in the game, he decided to stir up even more interest and offered to help the team help him. It was an intrigue fueled by the hint of large sums of money and even fame. Uh-oh, what is our life?…caviar, then red, then black. That's what Rutra himself liked to say. And it all worked out. Rutra devised a plan, he came up with a new event – the release of another book with overwhelming reviews and awards; everyone was invited to celebrate the success. Prior to this, Rutra had occasionally spoken about his work and the topics addressed in the books – conspiracies, mysteries, secret data – which suggested Rutra's uneasy inner content. So, at the meeting Rutra offered, already friends, to participate with him in a secret program, warning in advance that although they pay very large sums for participation – the responsibility will be no less high. In particular, Rutra announced a condition that required moving to a secret center and living there for a while, without leaving, under complete control, with minimal contact with the outside world. After a couple of glasses of the brut that the ladies had chosen, what Rutra said was received with interest and cheerful levity, and only Andrian, after cheers, asked seriously:

– Is this something real or is it a game, based on a book you have in mind?

– What's so unrealistic about it? I'm offering you a serious topic. And it looks fantastic at first, because you haven't seen anything yet.

– Uh-oh," Yatsan exclaimed. – From the way you said it, it's all true.

– I'm telling you, the subject is wo," Ruthra clenched his fist and pointed his thumb up.

– Did you even understand what he meant? – Andrian asked her.

– I missed something too," Catherine intervened.

– Rutra, are these amounts a gimmick?

Of course, for the average person, such an offer might have seemed unrealistic. Moving to a secret center, and literally everyone should know the legend about a completely different activity, although with some secrecy (allegedly a shift in a foreign country), the offer to receive a million dollars at the end… it was confusing, but at the same time made them feel euphoric. This cocktail bubbled in them for about 13 seconds and eventually burst out in fireworks in the form of cheers and emotional aura vibrations.

– Rutra, say it's a joke! – Iulia's eyes were shining, and at the same time she hoped it was true.

– Guys, please sit down and listen to me seriously now," Rutra said calmly and monotonously. – I'm offering you a very serious thing. Are you ready for it? It is a very great responsibility, and perhaps even a danger and a risk. But I tell you at once that you are in no particular danger, provided you comply with the requirements. The main threat to you is if you violate the regime of secrecy and secrecy. At this stage, I must warn you of your responsibilities and offer to participate. Either you refuse, or from now on you are in the program… and are bound by secrecy, even if you do not agree to the experiment. And if you do, you can't leave the program until it's over. This program is supposed to last a year. You can't leave the system even if you don't participate in the program. Not until after a year. And if you violate the non-disclosure regime, you'll be arrested and most likely spend the rest of your life in a restricted area.

Their faces became serious, the ladies looked at each other, then smiles appeared. Ruthra continued, noticing this:

– What did you think, you were offered that much money out of the blue? Surely there's something important behind it.

– Strange, why us? – Andrian asked.

– Yes, amazing," Catherine maintained her interest.

Iulia looked at Ruthra questioningly. Their gazes crossed involuntarily. Ruthra felt a spark. Iulia was unaware of his ability (with Irene's help) to read minds. She used a secret language that Ruthra called the "poke method," and many called it enchantments. Where the origins of the word are unknown. It's like the concept of god: anything that is intuitively perceived as reasonable but rationally inexplicable. Few people think about why we determine a lot of things by looking, what the expressions "to read the eyes", "to strike with a look" mean. This language was to be finally understood by mankind in the era of the reign of artificial intelligence …

Ruthra could easily read her intentions and goals, and it was clear. An unmarried woman with a child, good-looking (both externally and internally); of course she wanted to marry, and to marry a worthy man. This did not interfere with the plans. It even accompanied them. Ruthra decided to play along. Of course, Catherine and YatSan also desired attention. Many men don't understand why women try to be so attractive: it's a kind of sport. They, having received attention, can forget about the admirer at all. The main thing – to satisfy their desire, and no matter how then a man would not try – interest and love for himself may not deserve. This is the nature of women. They need a lot of "tits in the hands". They need a guarantee just in case. Just like men, but on the contrary, pokoketnichal, put noodles on ears – and maybe there will be a continuation, maybe it will be easy to plunge into the "labyrinths of nirvana".

It was a card to be played, of course, even though Ruthra was betting on YatSan, but again he intuitively sensed her peculiar irresponsibility, which was itself unconsciously manifest. It was just that the girl, if she could be called that, had not yet found herself in situations where everything depended solely on her, on her thoughtful actions.

– Can we make it?

– Let's get serious.

Rutra was surprised to hear it from YatSan. She was clearly intrigued and interested in the proposal and the experiment.

– Listen carefully. This is very serious. First, do you accept the condition of secrecy?

– Accept," IuLia said, smiling, while glancing at YatSan, indicating a lack of understanding of the seriousness of the offer.

Ruthra, looking at the situation "from the outside", was able to realize: they were not yet a good idea of the danger if they broke their promises. He decided to explain everything again in a different environment and in a different place.

– Let's do it this way, if you're interested in what I've suggested – tomorrow we'll meet at that building, and then in the appropriate office I'll tell you everything in detail.

Rutra pointed them to a building not far from the café where everyone was sitting. It was the local FSB office.

– Just no questions, no doubts, no pomp and circumstance, no disclosure. Consider our agreement already made. The sum I offered you is not offered for a case that does not involve great responsibility and risk. I'll ask you to take that into account, too.

– That's what makes me doubt," Andrian retorted.

– Do you accept the treaty? – Ruthra asked sternly.

– I think so," Andrian answered first and as if for everyone, looking at his friends.

– I'll see you tomorrow, then. I'll meet you there.

Ruthra pointed at the building again. There was a look of disbelief on their faces. Ruthra got up from the table and said goodbye, making one last remark:

– But I tell you right away: if you don't believe me, if you are not serious, if you say one word, then immediately, even if I ask you to do so, refuse. This is an extremely important matter. I'm not joking. Honestly… I can read what is behind your smiles.

– No smiles. I really believe it, but it's unusual," Iulia justified herself.

– You'll understand tomorrow. Goodbye.

Chapter 10. Ticket to those worlds

The next day, as agreed, they met at the appointed place. Accordingly, a command was given "from above" and an indication was given of where Rutra had decided to perform the rite of enlistment. By and large, he was not even surprised by the arrival of all of them: he had confidence in the boys. In addition, the fact of the reward played a significant role. People do not know whether the promise of paradise is true or false, but the probability that it is true is so important that they try to fulfill the conditions to hypothetically be there, especially these conditions are not so difficult. And here coming to a meeting is too simple a requirement to fail to fulfill and deprive oneself of the possibility of getting a weighty sum of money.

Rutra made sure that the people were met and escorted to a secret windowless room in the underground floor. He wanted to create an aura of mysterious importance, which he succeeded in doing: the arrivals were no longer the jokers they had been before, their faces were serious. Rutra did not "cheapen" the plot with such a conversation starter: "Well, now do you realize who you're talking to?" No, as was his custom, he behaved in a simple manner and got straight to the point.

– Good morning, gang. It's come to fruition. We are all together in the process. Although we're not yet in parallel worlds, they're not far away. Just a few thousand kilometers away is the laboratory. There we have the equipment that will transport you to other dimensions. Yes, yes. There's also an observation and training room. How's that working out for you? Let me tell you about something that is purely scientific in style and scientific in itself. The first and foremost thing you have to accept is that you're in the system, and there's no easy way out. In fact, there is no way out of there at all. If you think my inviting you and welcoming you into this organization is too cool, it's not really. This is just a normal government organization. I could have received you elsewhere, but receiving you here gives you a certain sense of importance and seriousness. It's really very serious. Honestly, absolutely no kidding. If you take it lightly, if you're going to change your mind, much less demonstrate any sort of whimsy, then leave right away. And if you stay, then know that if you violate the terms you have accepted – no friendship. Nothing will save you. I'm dead serious. Think of me as a stranger. If you enter the system, you're there forever.

The faces of his new friends were serious and at the same time incomprehensible. Of course, everyone was wondering why me and what it all meant. Ruthra didn't make them worry about those questions.

– I understand you're thinking, if this is so serious, why did they pick me? What do you have to do with something so important? Well, you have to accept the first condition first, and then the whole deal. I repeat: you are entering a system from which there is no way out. Do you understand?

Rutra somewhat famously began pointing his index finger at each, and people took turns nodding their heads and saying "yes."

– Now that's it, the jokes are over, as well as some of your past life, you have a new secret stage to begin. Now I'll explain further. Only first I have to turn on this little thing that blocks our conversations even from these friends.

He pointed his index finger upward, and everyone knew who he meant, then Ruthra pressed a button on the self-heating coffee cup, and robotic butterflies flew out of it, scattered to the corners of the room, attached themselves to the walls, and began flashing. The spectacle was dignified and certainly felt like a show to those present so far. However, everyone realized – this was not happening in an apartment, a cafe, or even an office. They had a premonition of something both amusing and dangerous.

– At this stage I will tell you about the main topic, the second stage is for you to move with me to other lands. Everything will be clearly formalized as an important business trip to a foreign country. Accordingly, you will first for alibi, as a legend, will be invited to work in an international corporation, and perhaps – and in the embassy of one of the countries. I think the embassy will be even better. The third stage is direct involvement in the project. Now why you. By way of introduction I will say: you have to believe me, there is no game. And there's no time for games either. If something is not clear – memorize, then ask. You were chosen for this project by an artificial intelligence. Ask me again why. It did not choose you exactly, but the most suitable combination according to many indicators, which included many things, from age and state of health, including moral and psychological, to the parameters of everything that concerns you and society in ten years. Everything is very simple and everything is very complicated. So, let's start from the point where it means that you should believe me, and listen further… There is a certain super-secret international program, in which I am a very important bird, let's say so – in popular language. Now, the main backbone of this group are scientists. Believe me, the level of science that you know, though it may be overwhelming to some, is stone age for our group. Or almost. For example, what would you say if I told you about the possibility of cloning, creating a copy of you, downloading your digital copy through your brain and instilling your i into the clone. You would say: nonsense and fantasy. And I will answer you: you will live and work in this system. Now I will say again, as if by the way, although you understand, I warn you… Yes, yes, you will have to think quickly and understand me half-heartedly. And I want to say, of course, what else?

Ruthra pointed a finger at Iulia, who, thinking, snapped back:

– You have to be able to keep quiet.

– Not only that," Ruthra added with a look of approval and satisfaction on his face. – You're not as free as you'd like to be, but you're in the system. If you break the contract, your memory will be erased. Yeah, yeah, I'm not kidding or scaring you. It's not a fantasy, it's already a reality for many, not quite even secret, secret structures. You should be aware of that. Shall we continue?

Everyone nodded.

– So first I'll tell you something scientific, and then I'll tell you what I and a group of smart guys and secret world rulers have planned. Shall we?

– I'm curious," Iulia was the first to answer.

She was the most active.

– I'm intrigued too," Catherine replied.

– I hope you don't need a degree to understand," Andrian said a little jokingly.

YatSan remained silent, but she signaled with a look that she was waiting for more information.

– So, let's begin. I have to tell you about such a topic as the theory of multiworld interpretation. Don't ask me what, why and why yet. I told you from the beginning – you have to believe me. For you little by little my story, training, what is happening – everything will be put together like pieces of a mosaic into a picture. Consider that you yourself are picking up the puzzles to understand the overall meaning. Going further. Let's say, for example, we are living in ancient Egypt at the moment of completion of the construction of the pyramid of Cheops. Tell me, was it a grandiose event?

Before they could react in any way, Ruthra himself answered:

– Yes, you're going to say it's huge. And I will say, yes, it's grandiose, comparable to the first human space flight. And what would you say at that time if someone asked you to explain the existence of molecules or the structure of the solar system? You would have considered it magic, devilry and fantasy, if not to say nonsense. So now in our world quite serious scientists, and for a long time already, consider the existence of parallel worlds. Yes, yes.

Ruthra took note: although their faces remained serious, a slight chuckle ran through them.

– Let's hear what science has to say about it. A multiverse is a hypothetical set of all possible real-life parallel universes, including the one we are in. According to the hypothesis of Hugh Everett, the creator of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, we live in a universe, or rather, a multiverse, in which many successive worlds are constantly being born and branched off, each containing a different version of you. I'll tell you right away – don't try to memorize everything by heart. We will come back to this topic many times, and I will give details, explain everything. So, physicists who studied this topic used the many-worlds interpretation to explain the incomprehensibility of the Copenhagen interpretation, namely, the statement that an unobservable phenomenon can exist in two states. There is the Copenhagen interpretation, Everett's many-worlds interpretation, and a bunch of other theories, but these are the main ones. So instead of saying that Schrödinger's cat is both alive and dead – the many-worlds interpretation says that the cat has simply "branched off" into different worlds: in one it is alive, in another it is dead. Now here we need to sort of move on to this cat.

Ruthra looked at Andrian and noticed his desire to show his knowledge of the subject, but the girls didn't know, because it wasn't a woman's subject. So, with a nod, Ruthra continued:

– So, the cat experiment. It was presented to the world by someone very clever and imaginative – Uncle Schroedinger. What is the experiment? The point is that at the atomic level there are processes that are miracles and mysticism for our material world. These are such processes as, for example, a flying atom, which at first has the shape of a ball, but as soon as we decide to photograph it, that is, see it, it turns into a line. There are such oddities in the microcosm. It's as if this particle sees us, or rather, the observer, and appears in a different i. You may ask, how do we know that the atom was a ball before it was seen? And I will answer you: there is a trace that it leaves on the screen in front of it. It has to be recorded somehow, that it was there at all. I'll explain more about that later, but for now about this cat. It's actually a thought experiment. There is no cat. So, conditionally, we take a cat and put it in a box. We put a flask of poisonous gas, a radioactive atom and a Geiger counter. The radioactive atom may or may not decay at any moment, that's its nature. If it decays, the counter will detect the fact – and a special mechanism will break the flask with gas, and the cat will die. If it doesn't, the cat stays alive. Here's the one with and without surveillance. We close the cat in the box – from this moment, from the point of view of quantum mechanics, our atom is in a state of uncertainty: whether it has disintegrated or not. For us, while we are in ignorance, without precise observation, before we open the box and look in it – it will be in two states at once. And since the cat's life directly depends on the state of this atom, it turns out that the cat is literally alive and dead at the same time. That's how quantum theory depicts this situation. Now we move smoothly to the multiverse. So what's the point? In different variations it is as if the life of the cat, i.e. atom, and consequently – of all atoms and, of course, of everything that consists of these atoms – is under question: how it is there – in the world where another event happened. Here I will go a little bit ahead and say that we should add such a mystical phenomenon as quantum entanglement. This is such a thing, when two particles are friends, let's say, but they were separated, they scattered. Well, they're twins, let's say. So these twins can fly apart over incredible distances, but they can stay connected to each other. A bond so strong that it's instantaneous, faster than the speed of light. Of course, you don't have to know all the laws of physics, but I'll tell you that in our world, in our universe, there is nothing greater than the speed of light. No, because it's a law! But not in this case. Nevertheless, it is still a kind of mysticism: how and with what help they make this connection – no one knows yet. A miracle in the solid laws of exact science. It sounds delusional, but it is a fact. Here I have already told you about two mystical phenomena. Now, of course, you'll think: why did he gather us here and tell us such things? But you're interested, aren't you? Aren't you?

– Well, yes, hard to understand, but interesting," Iulia replied expectantly.

Ruthra looked around at everyone: those gathered were a little pensive and tense, but satisfied.

– Since we have understood the topic, the essence, and, most importantly, each other, I suggest that we continue to delve further into the program in a more comfortable environment, for example, in a cafe, over a cup of tea. First of all, we forget about my proposal. The legend will be as follows: I am a researcher of one international organization, which is conducting a space project. Specifically, training astronauts to go to Mars. It's not much of a surprise nowadays. To be convincing, we need to talk about the ongoing program of flight simulation and crew cohabitation. There is a real program. You can refer to it. I will now give information on it, if anything – all your data will really be entered into that program. So everything is real. You have to live it, get into the roles so much that you can start having conversations among yourselves about it as if it were your real business.

– What about secrecy then? – Andrian asked.

– Secrecy is exactly what it is all about: the false story must look like the real story, no one must in any case know about the true deeds. Understand, great minds think there, so everything is provided for. Our program itself is so incredible that even if you tell about it – your false story will be believed more than the real one. I'll give you a few days to think about it. All your conversations are being monitored. I'll send you links to where and what to read about the program. You can talk openly about suggestions for the program. Now listen to a little more about the program that will be a legend. Are you ready?

Everyone shook their heads in agreement. Ruthra turned on a video: "Mars Flight Simulation: Participants in a new test will spend eight months in isolation. After a short introductory video, he looked around at everyone. Even this information was definitely something out of the realm of science fiction for the ladies.

– I hope the topic is clear? – he asked, turning off the video.

– It's clear," Andrian replied.

The others reacted in silence, though their faces expressed both delight and bewilderment.

– Now the following. You will be in Europe, directly in the dungeons of CERN. For those who don't know enough, CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the world's largest laboratory for high-energy physics. It is located on the border of Switzerland and France, near Geneva. Legend has it you'll be at the Ames Research Center, USA. It's one of NASA's laboratories. Areas of activity: information technology, space biology, astrobiology; research on the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe; research on the operation, capabilities of airplanes, their operation and safety. Located on the grounds of Moffett Federal Airfield, near Mountain View, California. Memorize quickly and, if you want to be on the project, stay focused. Now coming out.

They left the building and went to the same café from where Rutra had pointed to the place of this meeting, and soon they were sipping coffee together. Rutra continued:

– So, we pass to representations about parallel worlds, which form those very second particles escaped from the first ones. The many-worlds interpretation itself remains quite a controversial issue. Not everyone presents it in the same way. Even among scientists studying the subject, there is no agreement. That's because no one has ever been there. It's like heaven and hell. Everyone describes everything, but nobody knows anything for sure, because nobody has ever returned from there. Maybe they have, since everyone imagines these places as really existing. So there are no less interesting and hot disputes about parallel worlds. Here it is necessary to say something in favor of physics. Note, not everything is based on some notions and conditional belief: really experiments with particles are carried out.

Everyone looked at Rutra with even more interest.

– You want to know exactly what experiments and how? About that later, in the center," Rutra said the last in a whisper. – I'll just say that Chinese scientists launched the second particle into space on a satellite, and on Earth they influenced the first particle; so it changed there instantly. Nobody can understand how they communicate, and more importantly – at what speed, because it is literally instantaneous. Yes, yes, a miracle. However, let's go further. It is difficult for us to imagine even the size of the Sun relative to us, and the fact that we live in a multiverse of gigantic dimensions is beyond comprehension. We can imagine something huge, but here the mechanisms of our imagination are triggered, which were also formed by evolution. People once thought that space ended at the horizon line. Then they went to look for the edge of the earth, including the sea. But they soon realized that there was no edge. Then we went into space. Now we're trying to figure out how long a light year is. And that's a lot. For example, moving at 300,000 kilometers per second, light takes a second to reach the Moon. It's over eight minutes to the Sun. And to the nearest star other than the Sun, it takes four years. So calculate how many seconds and how many kilometers light travels in a year. And our galaxy is 100,000 light years across. And it's not the biggest. To the known "edges" of the universe – either 13-15, or all 37 billion light years. Imagine traveling at that speed for that many years. And that, it turns out, is not the limit of the multiverse's imagination. Imagine that our universe is one city, and there are more cities out there, somewhere very, very far away. Believe me, that's a lot. Our sun holds over 1,350,000 planets like Earth. And in our galaxy, how many stars do you think there are?

Ruthra was so engrossed in the story that he didn't notice how the tense, thoughtful faces of his listeners had changed to cheerful and mischievous ones.

– God knows," again the first was JULIA.

Andrian remained silent, the other ladies shrugged their shoulders, smiling.

– I understand what you're thinking. You're thinking, what does the amount of money I outlined have to do with a reasonable job offer from the organization we met in the basement of? Why did we leave there, fearing a wiretap, what does that have to do with an interesting astronomy story? Hello, though. You have to listen to understand. Now on to the next one. So, there are so many of them that scientists can't tell the exact number – whether it's 100 billion, or 200, or 300, or even 400 billion. And that's just in our galaxy. Let's move on to this very interpretation. Interpretation is also a kind of inaccuracy, a kind of representation that it is like this… I am telling you all this to make you realize that it is really very difficult and unrealistic to understand information at first. I told you – you have to believe me. If I do not bring you to the secret center and do not give you the first part of the sum – then you will have the right to consider everything a lie and fantasy. That would be natural. So now is the moment of truth. Don't laugh, don't be surprised. Take it for granted; I didn't just tell you everything and give you examples. Imagine that tomorrow all the news agencies of the world will report the fixation of a signal from an unearthly intelligence. Would that be a shock? Yes, of course it would. And if these signals were constant? What would you say a year from now? It won't be a big deal. Everyone will get used to it. It's the same thing with the lighter, TV, real-time wireless video, organ transplants and all that. So now I'm going to shock you a little bit. Remember what I said about the mystique of the microcosm of particles? Well, these particles are somehow flying apart, but they're still connected to each other. From this fact, we began to develop the theory of parallel worlds. Yes, yes. It all fits. If there is an antiproton, for the discovery of which we have already received the Nobel Prize, why should not all substances exist in the opposite, i.e. antivariant? And now let's ask: what kind of world do they form? The opposite world, of course. These second scattered, they are called entangled pairs, particles and form their own world, which is as if mirror relative to ours. That is, parallel. Is that funny? Maybe. But the truth, like the author, is near. The inventor of this theory is before you. Your doubts are normal. Now we've come to the line where the scientific review begins. Let's take another coffee and listen to Rutra.

– I'll take the tea," Andrian said and raised his hand, signaling the waiter.

– We'll be right there," Iulia said smiling.

YatSan and Catherine stood up with her, all of them heading towards the inside of the cafe in a friendly manner.

– Is it really real? – Andrian asked.

Ruthra nodded thoughtfully and affirmatively.

– Absolutely.

– Parallel worlds?!

– Imagine a very, very small circle of people knowing about this. Now imagine how great a responsibility I've placed on you.

– I don't even know what to say. It's interesting, and curious… and unbelievable… and dangerous, or something.

– Yes, my friend, you are right, it is dangerous, but only if someone is blabbering. Or rather, no one will believe you at this stage, and at the next stage you won't really belong to yourself. You'll be in the system… and for the rest of your life. You'll have a very prestigious job there, too, for an official legend.

– How? How did you know they were there? Has anyone made contact before?

– No. You're the one who's gonna join.

– You gotta admit, it's fantastic.

– Believe me, it's very serious. I told you: your disbelief is natural. Wait until the second stage. When you get to the secret center, all your doubts will be dispelled.

– Okay, well, I can't wait to get there.

The ladies are back.

– What are we gonna do?

– What shall we have with tea? – The most talkative one, of course, Iulia, repeated.

– I'm fine," YatSan was brief as always.

– Why is that? – JULIA asked her, giving an indication of a different reason than might normally be the case with ladies.

– It doesn't have the brownies I like," she replied.

– Okay, guys, let's stay focused. The firm is paying. Let's take what we want.

– I'm ordering, okay?

– Yes, Iulia, get into character.

– What role? – She asked in a slightly wary tone.

– In the program, each of you has a specific role. You, IuLia, have the role of supporting the contact, counseling the protagonist.

– Who's in charge?

– In front of us.

Rutra looked at YatSan, tilting his head slightly to the side, smiling slyly.

– What-what? Did I miss something? – YatSan asked seriously.

– Yeah, missed it," Andrian said, picking up on everyone's joking smile.

Said Rutra has yet to be taken seriously because of the sci-fi component.

– What were you talking about? – YatSan asked Andrian sternly.

– He said he'd send you to a parallel world.

It was a joke on his part, but completely true for Rutra. He had planned to do it that way, but YatSan would have known how.

– Wait a minute. You're gonna confuse things. Until you get it right, nothing's gonna change. So you're not going anywhere. Let's drink tea, eat cake and listen to Rutra. I can't get the science part down. So, in our world, everyone, or practically everyone, takes for granted the fact that the world we observe is one. Talking, much less scientific discussion, about a multiple universe has long been considered scientific heresy, but the idea that it is true has been on the minds of more and more. Physicists, cosmologists (even more so quantum fanatics) began not just to think about it anymore, but to try to fold it into scientific theories. Now some complicated words. What will be unclear now – I will gradually explain in everyday language. Don't worry, you will hear all this five times more, and not only from me. In my theory the main statement about the many-worlds interpretation is that all being consists of quantum superposition of unimaginably large (and most likely – infinite) number of universes. The term superposition means that very superposition, a kind of parallel. According to this interpretation, there must be an absolutely incredible number of alternative worlds. Now I will try to explain in more detail and at the same time in a simpler way what the many-worlds interpretation is. According to it: wholeness of life is a kind of illusion. We all perceive our life as a single and integral being in space and time. However, consciousness remains consciousness, and no matter how many worlds exist, no matter how many of us are in them – here and now our "I" is our consciousness. Listen, listen. I understand how you feel right now. Now, there are many versions of you. Yes, yes. Each of us, and everything around us, is made up of atoms, and these atoms are made up of particles, and these particles can have a bonded pair that naturally fly apart to form a parallel world. That's the kind of miracle. So, no matter how much you doubt, there is an almost infinite number of your copies, each of which perceives its world as a separate personality and does not know about the existence of other you. Correspondingly – and the worlds you are in. Though now you know, and they can find out too, because I and my brain are made of atoms, so somewhere there is a parallel copy of them. The interesting thing is that the parallel can be a little bit crooked. So our world is reflected in a mirror, but mirrors can be crooked. A kingdom of crooked mirrors. In different worlds and our life paths – a great variety. Everything is similar, but a little bit different. And at what moment this different became realized – the devil himself does not know. For example, somewhere in your infancy something was just a little bit different from what you have here, and there you are already living a similar but different life. From birth you, or what appears to be you, have branched off into different worlds. And in one world you may live in the future, and in another you may live in the past. If one travels back in time – it would mean moving into entirely new time paradigms. You will not be able to influence all brains at the same time and make everyone make the decision that copies in the other world have already made. That is, you will not be able to build a future that you have already experienced somewhere and therefore know. At the same time, you should be a little "past" in the past world, i.e. young. Your consciousness will be mixed up and it will be reincarnated into such a person as you are there. The most interesting consequence of the existence of an infinite number of worlds is that everything has already happened. Moreover, it will happen an infinite number of times. Now I'll leave you with a kind of homework assignment. You just need to convince yourself with the information available to everyone. You look on the net for threads about these interpretations and worlds. I assure you, you will be pleasantly surprised. Prepare yourself for the move. Prepare morally and environment. Further – in more detail, and with practice, everything will be in the very organization. I'll tell you right away – it's very deep underground. So for now, tune your brains.

Chapter 11. Places where they won't find us

Those months that were scheduled for preparation went by in vigorous activity. The euphoria was incendiary. We were done early, not even half a year later. The most difficult thing was to move the installations to the space station. Everything else was easier. The project for the new center was ready, and the place was chosen to match the methods of "spheroids". That's what those who were part of the secret clan of the world's rulers called each other. That place was North Sentinel Island. North Sentinel Island, one of the islands of the Andaman Archipelago, located in the Bay of Bengal, east of India and west of Myanmar. The islanders lived isolated from the rest of the world and were extremely aggressive to anyone who tried to make contact with them. The Indian government decided not to interfere in their lives and even set up a perimeter of about six kilometers to prohibit access to the island. Indian authorities prohibit contact with islanders who are not immune to infectious diseases, and it is a criminal offense to visit the island.

In 2017, the Indian authorities ruled that even photographing and videotaping the natives of the Andaman Islands could result in a three-year prison sentence. Of course, all these measures were taken on the recommendation of international organizations of the relevant kind, led by the Sphere system. But that was in the plans. In the meantime, proof was needed, so a successful experiment had to be conducted. For this purpose, a secret legend about the allegedly conducted experiments was invented. Partially it had to coincide with the program "Ribhu". The program included: transferring information from one brain to another with the help of an implanted chip in both. A kind of wireless, invisible, tacit communication. For this purpose, virtual reality installations were modernized and installed at selected points.

One was in the secret Mariner-1 laboratory, which was located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Few sane people could think of locating anything man-made at such a depth, much less a huge scientific center. Only occasionally in the yellow press were notes about allegedly unidentified vehicles surfacing in the area. The area was carefully guarded as a target area for missile firing. Consequently, if an outsider stealthily penetrated there bypassing the security perimeter, he would "accidentally" hit the very missile that the area was closed for testing.

The second was in Chukotka, the so-called most secret place. It was called so not only because it was not photographed by satellites. Officially, they were supposedly adjusting their trajectories over this place and could not work. And everyone took it for granted that this was true for all satellites, and those who doubted it were simply not allowed to fly along this trajectory. Accordingly, it was so because it was necessary. There was an emergency exit from the super-secret underground facility-city Polygon. In addition, this place was not listed anywhere as something important, so sometimes only aroused the interest of the curious, solely because of the impossibility to see on any satellite i. Of course, the original location as an emergency exit from the "Polygon" was not chosen spontaneously. There are no settlements in the vicinity. The place is harsh, wild, it is a part of the border zone, which can be visited only with a pass issued by the Federal Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service. Of course, Rutra chose this territory.

The third was no location at all. Rutra used a "doomsday" airplane for this purpose: an airborne command post designed to control army units during military conflicts using nuclear weapons. There were several of them in stock, so he could use one, either Russian or US, for his program without officially announcing it. They were chosen because they fit the cases that the "luminary of science" feared. The machines can be in flight for a whole week on condition of aerial refueling. All equipment on board is protected from the effects of a nuclear explosion.

Chapter 12. Quantum Suicide

After all the preparations, a meeting of the Sphere system's governing council was scheduled. At the meeting, among themselves and to any outside observer, they were ordinary citizens, but were the real leaders of well-known international, political, governmental structures, secret clubs, religious and charitable organizations. Rutra took Amita with him to the meeting, having previously agreed with the council. No one but Rutra and the "luminary of science" knew where this secret identity came from. But Rutra was going to announce it later, after he had conducted a trial experiment.

Amita, of course, had no idea of the location of the facility or the people with whom she would be in contact. Those were the rules, and Ruthra, even in his high status, could not break them. Once everything was ready and the masks were put on, the assistants turned on the overview. The theme of the program included visualization of outer space. The signal to begin was given. Everyone tuned in to hear an interesting interpretation of their intentions from the "luminary of science". The scientist began his speech without introduction.

– Once upon a time it would have been amazing for us to hear that the same events can happen in different parts of the world, such as a cup of coffee in the morning, which can be reported almost instantly, and sometimes online, in photo or video mode, to all parts of the world. Or, for example, you copy the same information and increase the number of bytes in the drive because of it. Simply put – you fill something with the same copy. The same thing becomes a lot, the space fills up, but nothing fundamentally new appears. You already know about our program, about the method, I'm not afraid to say, of discovery. The key element in the search was a multiworld interpretation of the surrounding reality. Since the existence of many worlds, many variants of our world, is being scientifically studied, I decided to find out where they really are. Where are they in practice, so to speak. Let's get into the science a bit. Like other interpretations, the many-worlds interpretation is meant to explain the traditional two-slit experiment. Simply put, the experiment where a particle flies out and a wave flies in. The paradox is that such an experiment in the observable world should look like this: a bullet flies out and an arrow flies in. And, as we know, the most interesting thing is this: this property manifests itself if there is an observation of it. To put it simply, there is a variety of different worlds, universes, but judging by the logic this experiment gives us, they can be seen, understood and felt only by those who can see, understand and feel them. Tell me, isn't it a paradox? You are probably laughing already, but let me remind you: everyone laughed at the fact that "a bullet flies out and an arrow flies in". And this is a fact, and no one can neither prove nor disprove it. If we look, the particle travels as a wave, if we don't look, it travels as a ball. Who does that? So much for the paradox of intelligence in the universe. All right, I've gone too far. What I was going to say. It makes sense that time and space are infinite, doesn't it? It makes sense. Why? Because if they end, what comes after them? And after them, there's only them. Can there be infinite variants of something in infinity? You will answer – maybe, and I will confidently say – yes. Therefore it is logical that in this infinity, somewhere in the incredible depths, or distances, or variants of universes, there is a moment exactly repeating this one. That is, there's exactly the same great scientist telling equally intelligent and respected colleagues about the existence of our world. A world called planet Earth. Imagine what his colleagues think. What? Yes, that's right. They think exactly what you're thinking. You will say: well, dear and great, let it be your way, let there be an incredible number (billions, trillions, trillions, trillions, let there be a number of (billions, trillions, trillions, trillions, let there be a number of googols, let there be a number of Graham's number raised to billion-trillionth degrees) universes, in them – as many galaxies, billions and trillions of stars, trillions and trillions of planets, and in the midst of all this – let there be possible existence of exactly the same world as ours, and exactly the same situation. But why should we think exactly as we do now? To put it more simply: let there be a world like ours in infinity, and let us be the same there, but is it natural for us to think the same way? So I'll tell you this. You have now given birth to the same infinite number of worlds just because you have thought about them, you have already let your thoughts into them, and there are several billions of their variants, and there is one exactly the same one that has passed in your brain now.

Even though everyone was wearing masks, they could see each other's facial expressions, emotions, and movements in real life. Some of those at the table, who were not from the science block, sat with their elbows on the table and rubbed their foreheads with their palms. Such multilevel complex interpretations of the scientist were already habitual for them, as well as the paradoxical nature of his next sentence, which, however, always had a logically justified confirmation of the arguments and examples given.

That is why the definition – the great luminary of science – he was given with a joking smile, which, however, in no way hurt his ego. He had the talent of a scientific fantasist, translating everything incredible into reality so magnificently that any most delusional idea coming out of his mouth was perceived not only with faith in the possibility of realization, but also with fear that he had conceived such a thing. The internal security service was constantly scanning his brain, even his trips to the toilet were under full control, because they were afraid: there was little chance that the scientist could think up and put into practice.

"Mage" he continued, charged with super strength:

– There are many assumptions as to how it actually works, but they all fall into two important kinds. The first: all universes live independently, are quite unlike each other; the second: worlds are parallel almost literally, have billions of variants of events, with two or more almost identical ones occurring. Scientifically speaking, it is like this: the possibility of their existence consists in the assumption that this universe state is a quantum superposition of several (and possibly an infinite number of) states of identical non-interacting parallel universes.

He suddenly raised his head high and looked around at everyone, focusing his gaze on the lady invited by Rutra. Despite her presence having been agreed upon and approved by the council for three months now (accordingly, the direction of the program had been known for at least 6 months), still the mysterious appearance of an unknown person in such a secret location was troubling. Rutra had informed the council in advance of the future revelation of her identity, explaining such a thing as further proof of the real workings of the method used to carry out the program-experiment.

– I've got it all figured out, you don't have to tell me. Everything will be with description… Superposition is superposition of one state on another, that is existence in several states at the same time. If a photon or an electron is in superposition – it does everything at once at the same time. It is both a particle and a wave; it is in several places at once, it can form perfect and imperfect forms; simply put, it behaves – you can't guess how. But everything changes as soon as the observer arrives. It seems as if the particle knows about the measuring apparatus and the observer. The photon immediately becomes law-abiding and starts to behave according to some single scenario. This is called "superposition collapse", or "wave function collapse". It is the presence of an observer that makes the chaos disappear and turn into one possible scenario. Here's a miracle one, here's a miracle two. That's me talking about the observer. Think why, as soon as the concept of God, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, omnipresent, appears in the human consciousness, the concepts of goodness and sin, hell and heaven, order and chaos appear at once… Now about the existence of such universes, where these naughty particles, which are billions of trillions of trillions in trillionth degrees, form their worlds. That is, worlds whose original imprint they have formed, relying on the world from whence they came, or, to be more precise, where they were born, or, even more precisely, from a kind of mirror reflection of one world in another. For in those times when people did not know a mirror, something similar was imagined by seeing the properties of reflection in nature. And in essence, what is it? It is a flight of the Sun's particles, for example, to our face, a bounce from it, a flight to water, say, and after the bounce – a flight back to the face, or rather, to our eyes, or more precisely – to the brain. It is the same in the Universe: some particles came from somewhere, entered our world, transformed it… in fact – formed it the way it is, and they change it constantly, flew to those areas where there is a corresponding environment, the formation of the similar, and there already appeared a world that thinks that it is the only possible one. Let's take an even more incredible example – the conception of a child, a living being in general. After all, it is usual for us, so it is not surprising that absolutely incredible processes are going on, all components are combined, and under certain conditions before, during and after, and the miracle of life appears. And at first the embryo does not resemble a human creature at all. For simplicity, imagine a world where only robots live. A world where artificial intelligence lives, and it produces its own kind. Let's say it has no information, no knowledge of the existence of a method of birth for living beings. They simply don't know our and similar life form. They have some truth embedded in them, for example, that they were created by some space robot. Then, of course, the human method of creating their own kind is simply absurd, bordering on delirium. After all, thousands of gods, which were and are in the history of mankind, are also incredible for us. We think that they are creations of our mind and imagination, we believe that it is god who gave us these concepts. There's no other way. If otherwise, then it is no god, because it is already a generation of human mind. God is also a kind of mirror picture formed by our thoughts, and they in their turn, proceeding from the received life experience, are projected into the material world by our deeds. And as for the example with conception, I will repeat once again: if, say, artificial intelligence would know that in their world "birth" is a self-assembly from parts, loading the program into a ready-made being, like a soul into a body, and then the method of conception and appearance of a human being would be described to it, then for the machine all this would be as magical and miraculous as for us the formation of one world from another by particles, which even in a microscope not everyone can see. That's how it is.

Ruthra, taking advantage of the second pause, hurriedly asked a question he knew the answer to. It was his way of voicing it to the council.

– Certainly you have described everything very convincingly and interestingly, but still please tell me, can there be any real evidence for this?

– In turn, I note that you most likely believe what I have said. Otherwise, why did you invite such a beautiful creature of God to a secret meeting in a secret place, which she most likely does not even know about.

At this, Ruthra smiled.

– Well, just now you were talking about your belief in God's creatures. What's the point?

At this already the scientist smiled, continued:

– Tell me, for example, is our head of the information-analytical service fully aware of the scientific background of parallel worlds? А?

He said it in an intriguing tone, as it seemed not only to Rutra: many people who were studying the video presentation of the new project with fascination were distracted from their studies, looked up at the scientist with interest, and literally turned to listen.

It was this kind of his manner that gave interest and intrigued by the presence of meaning in his sentences, though everything was questioned until the enormity of his idea reached their comprehension.

While everyone pondered over the reality of the story, while modeling hundreds of possible probabilities, the luminary of science continued:

– Scientific! Scientific! Well, I say no. Why not? Because I don't know a single useful formula in information-analytical science. That's the whole story. And now about this scientific background. That's what I'm talking about. Of course you got that right. Yes, yes, yes, yes, I'm really defending my idea and trying to convince you to approve the project. Yes, I am. And yet…

– Wait, wait, – unexpectedly, or maybe not quite, the head of the information-analytical department, who had been holding a pen in his right hand for about 10 seconds, signaling the speaker to speak, joined the conversation. – Sorry for your "knowledge" for me, knowledge in advance, but still I can learn something from the AI database.

Knowing the manner of conversation of the "luminary of science", many people, including this master now, talked to him in the same way. It was rather a form of allusion to his comical manners than a desire to please. The scholar, realizing the meaning of the reply, hesitated. Ruthra decided to defuse the situation by entering into a dialog. He, too, had information for the council's approval, and the moment was just right for distracting him from an unnecessary, off-topic argument.

– Excuse me. Most likely, everyone has understood what we are going to talk about, and dialog further. Let's get on topic. Scientifically so scientifically. First, let me make an important announcement regarding the renaming of artificial intelligence, that is, the supercomputer. We have a new voice, a new personality. Now the soul and mind of the artificial intelligence is Madame Irene… accordingly, the supercomputer itself is now Irene, and her voice is the same as the operator's. So please do not say AI, but Irene. Madame Irene herself, of course, we can neither see nor know personally, such are the rules – and they are known to everyone. We can get acquainted with the artificial intelligence Irene and have a nice conversation with her, at the same time we can test our knowledge, and even more wonderful is that she will fulfill the first task – to solve the situation. Irene, good afternoon. Can you hear us well?

– Kind. Irene hears you, sees you and, as always, knows more about you than you do.

– Well, that's understandable – pulse, blood pressure, and thoughts that strain the space," Ruthra said, smiling, while making his favorite gesture – showing two raised fingers, index and middle, with the others bent. – Can Irene, the administrator, hear me?

– Yes, I can hear you," she said, and having already grasped the subtle differences from experience, those present realized the difference between the voices of a living person and an artificial intelligence, although they also knew that the artificial intelligence could fake it all perfectly well.

This was done more for psychological perception, namely, the differences in computer settings gave a very slight, slight difference from the original voice. This could only be determined by the members of the control board – and then only at their personal request, as this required communication sessions with both the supercomputer and the operator. This was necessary in the rarest of cases, because no one was supposed to communicate with the operator, especially on work-related topics, and only a limited number of people knew about the existence of the operator in the center.

– I hope the voice is satisfactory to everyone, and now let's check it out. Irene, what can you explain to us about the multiplicity of worlds, from the point of view of science, exactly in that paradigm of the existing dialog between a respected scientist and an equally respected head of the analytical department?

– In all probability, judging by the way of thinking and methodology of dialog, our much respected scientist wanted to show by the example of dialog with no less respected head of analytical department that in any cognition there are superficial common understandings and deep scientific definitions. Judging by this logic, he wanted, most likely, to explain the theme of scientific definition and assumption of parallel worlds. With your permission – I can voice some variants of interpretations.

– Okay. Just a moment," said Ruthra. – What's the council's opinion of our new assistant?

– She reminds me of my math teacher," she said, invited to play the role of the protagonist in the experiment the scientist was talking about.

This amused the audience a little, perhaps because the agenda itself was amusing. The servant of science had informed the council about the essence of his program in advance, and it was through the very same information-analytical department, to the head of which he had made a message as an example. The program was super-fantastic, even for the level of the Sphere system. It was fantastic not only in the possibility of consciousness transfer at a speed greater than the speed of light, and also in the proofs of existence of other intelligent worlds, not even in the fact that these worlds are parallel, mirror reflections of ours (and there are a huge number of such worlds), but in the fact that the scientist allowed a miraculous, magical transmigration of souls. He allowed the possibility of transferring consciousness from one body to another, to the one that, according to his statement in the video presentation and introductory information given as a basis for collecting advice, existed in a distant parallel world. This was clearly overkill, so there was a sense of "focus of inattention" at the council. Everyone may have been expecting a fantasy topic, but at least it was at least somewhat implied. The only reassurance, as well as proof, was the event at the last council meeting, which, however, because of its "magic" seemed suspicious and questionably real.

– I understand you. I told you (remember?), it will gradually adapt to the type of dialog you designate between yourselves. I can only advise you not to forget that this is still artificial intelligence, and certainly not to think about the constant presence of a third person in the form of a live operator. A computer can simultaneously conduct millions and billions of dialogs. Still, let's get to the subject. Irene, you're up. Go ahead.

– Thank you. Due to the pleasant motivation, in the form of an honor to be present at the management board, I will try to revive more pleasant memories of my school days than a strict mathematics teacher. If the board does not mind, I will tune in to the strictly scientific presentation of the report with a transition to the method of dialog set by a respected scientist.

– I don't think I mind. Go ahead," Ruthra said and made his usual gesture.

– In the topic started by the esteemed scientist, namely the topic of parallel universes, or worlds, the main scientific idea is the presence of a huge number of particles, animate and inanimate, connected by the most complex variants of interactions among themselves. From the inside this world can be described in countless different ways, and this does not lead to uncertainties, for the reason that it is impossible to describe the universe from the outside. Although that's not entirely true either. How can I put it… everyone lives their own life, but it can be described by someone looking at it all from the outside, yet they are unable to look at your life from the perspective of your own feelings, your gained experience, your view of events. Anyone in such a situation would be drawing a new world for your destiny; everyone you interacted with in life would describe the same event in their own way, creating a personal view. However, the true version of multiple worlds must contain truly multiple worlds, with multiple copies of each other among them, and it must all be called a multiverse. Now, passing to the statement of the respected scientist about existence of parallel worlds in his version, in his interpretation, and a possibility to be realized there, we should understand the basic postulate which gives chances to realize it. And that is quantum teleportation. Quantum teleportation is the transfer of a particle's state over a distance, with the state destroyed at the point of departure, then recreated at the point of reception. It differs from the "teleportation" popularized in science fiction. Quantum teleportation does not transfer energy or matter over distance. Quantum teleportation is the teleportation of information only, violating the laws of physics. It violates them by traveling faster than the speed of light. It is called teleportation because the state of the first particle first disappears, and then, at another time and place, the same state appears in another particle. It is experimentally proved that it is real to create a pair of photons that have quantum entanglement, even if they do not exist at the same time. That is, to the fantastic fact that such coupling works even at a great distance, time separation is also added. The interconnection of two particles is valid even after a considerable amount of time has passed. Quantum entanglement has been in effect since the birth of the universe, and maybe even before that. After all, for time the birth and death of the universe is as ordinary phenomenon as for us the change of day and night. The first realization of quantum teleportation of the polarization state of the photon was carried out in 1997. In different years, scientists have made successful experiments at different distances. In June 2017, Chinese scientists performed quantum teleportation over 1,200 kilometers, from Earth to space. These are all unclassified experiments known to everyone.

– Let me stop her," said the servant of science, waving the open palm of his right hand, for whom, and for everyone present, not counting Amita, this was far from news. – Wait, we know that. We get it. I personally approve of both voice and manners. Let me remind you that we (or rather, I) are now talking about quantum state transfer, or rather – about brain waves transformation with its help, i.e. about transferring the code of consciousness and human state, emitted by the brain, to practically infinite distances and about putting them into the brain of another living being, namely – into the same person, – said the scientist with conviction, which even the most unbelieving Thomas, if there was such a person at the council, would be interested and practically convinced in the possibility of such a fantastic phenomenon.

– We also, let me remind you, understood you and would not mind learning more detailed information about such a phenomenon. You don't think that we will just take it all on faith and approve the project, the fantasticalness of which not everyone can imagine. Let's listen to Irene, because we are listening not only for the sake of learning the very possibility of quantum teleportation. Irene, is there anything else you can tell us about the subject? I'll give you an introduction. We need it both to check you and to form a general idea of the project topic for the main participant of its practical part. As you understood, for Madame Amita.

– I understood both you and the whole idea originally. As for this topic, there is a very interesting method, which is quite suitable for testing hypothetical variants. It's called quantum suicide. Quantum suicide is a mental experiment in quantum mechanics. It is a modification of the mental experiment with Schrödinger's cat, it illustrates the difference between two interpretations of quantum mechanics: the Copenhagen interpretation and Everett's many-worlds interpretation. In fact presents an experiment with Schrödinger's cat, from the point of view of that cat. In the proposed experiment, a gun is pointed at the participant, which fires or fails to fire depending on the decay of some radioactive atom. The risk that the experiment results in the shotgun firing and the participant dying is 50%. If the Copenhagen interpretation is true, the gun will eventually go off and the participant will die. If Everett's many-worlds interpretation is true, then each experiment conducted results in the universe splitting into two universes, one in which the participant will live and one in which the participant will die. In the worlds where the participant dies, the participant ceases to exist. And from the point of view of the living participant – the experiment will continue without causing the person to disappear. This is because in any branch the participant is only able to observe the result of the experiment in the world in which he survives. If the many-worlds interpretation is correct, then the participant may observe that he or she will never die during the experiment. One variation of this mental experience goes by the name of "quantum immortality". This paradoxical experiment predicts that if the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics is correct, the observer can never cease to exist at all.

– No! I can't hear it," Ruthra almost groaned, as he was nicknamed by Ruthra. – This is the wrong approach to explaining my program. No murder, much less suicide. No, no, and no again. My project is all about life, life and life again. In different bodies, in different bodies. That is not a multi-world interpretation of variants of existence, but a multivariant possibility of existence of one and the same phenomenon. For example, this one. Just imagine – somewhere the same thing is happening. Don't laugh, I already told you. Everything is possible in infinity.

– All right, all right," Ruthra tried to stop him. – I, and I think everyone else, understands your point. We've all tried to visualize this very multiverse of worlds as you see it. Give us time to think, to study your theory thoroughly. I'll say for myself, I have faith in all this. Judging by your past, no less fantastic ideas, which you managed to realize, – parallel worlds can be quite possible too.

– I'm telling you: let's conduct an experiment with the transfer of consciousness within the Earth, you can even within our center, – the scientist calmly suggested, which, remembering his past prank, everyone laughed.

– Good, good. We'll leave the council to decide the division of influence between the corporations in terms of future colonization of Mars, and you and I and Amita will go to your office and confirm some dates for the experiment. I hope no one minds. It's worth a try, since we've approved the preparations.

– Yes, of course. And anyway – we should have done the experiment first, and then asked for resources to implement a mind-boggling, unbelievable idea on a global level," the head of the finance unit replied to Rutra, like everyone else.

Ruthra nodded to those present, took Amita lightly by the shoulder, and headed for the door; the scientist and the lady followed him. They passed through the corridor in silence, and at the door of the scientist's office Ruthra asked:

– So who – and who – do you want to relocate to?

– Don't be like that, it's our program. I told them about the effect of one world on the other with your help. The other thing is who and how much risk they're willing to take. You and the council have been studying my arguments for a long time and, as I see it, accept them, since this madam is with you, especially since the council has approved her admission. I've opened myself up to her.

– That's right, yes, I've been looking into it, I admit to you, though what's there to admit to – you've already figured it out perfectly well… it's not my decision alone. I'm not just referring to Amita's presence here, but the training itself. You've already been told the reason for trusting you is because of your past accomplishments. Accurately cloning a body, and in such a short period of time, was also unbelievable and improbable, but it was accomplished.

– Okay, enough with the lovely lady playing dry scientists and talking in your language.

They grinned.

– That was your idea, too, by the way. Cloning.

Chapter 13. Amita and the clone

They entered the office of the servant of science, which, in fact, was his workplace and looked like something out of the fairy-tale fantasies that a man with a future-oriented mind might draw for himself. One of the wonders of the office was a machine made by him, which directed an invisible, intangible beam into the pupils, thus changing the space in front of the person. It was possible to set any program – and the person present saw the corresponding picture, the environment. For example, at the moment the machine was programmed for an aquarium: water, coral, and all sorts of bizarre underwater creatures. Ruthra knew this and enjoyed flirting with the octopus without surprise. Amita, not sure where she was, reflexively clung to Rutra, trying to understand what was happening.

– Calm down, there's no such thing. It's just a friend of ours having fun," Ruthra explained, and he looked her in the eye and raised his eyebrows.

They already had their own gesture for attention. Ruthra didn't want their more than friendly relationship to be too visible to others, so he gently guided the scientist, who was young himself and therefore interested in women, to the topic of their discussion.

– So, about what we've been saying. In these matters, the plan is not spontaneously approved. According to our rules, an alternative version is prepared, so to speak, so as not to waste time and resources. Of course, you are aware of this, the program of preparation, or rather, testing of our version has been going on for almost a year. We need to work through what you said, what you suggested," Ruthra made a gesture as if he were stirring something in his hands.

Then he looked at Amita, who, of course, already understood many things, was less skeptical, less distrustful and wary. The main thing Ruthra had achieved was to endear himself to her, even though he had to sacrifice protocol and have a personal relationship with Amita, which the council did not recommend. However, knowing Rutra and having entrusted him with the main role in the project, not only because of his incredible flair, but also for developing evidence with the scientist that made the program possible, no one wanted to, nor could they, forbid him to behave in the manner they were already accustomed to with their employees. And certainly everyone allowed the possibility of romantic relations, because, firstly, Rutra was entrusted to find a woman for the experiment, although the artificial intelligence was looking for her according to the necessary criteria, and secondly, Rutra had already had some transitions of working relations into personal ones.

Amita trusted him, so Ruthra said without embarrassment:

– Okay, we'll do this experiment as soon as the body is ready. In fact, it is ready.

Although Amita had already heard fantastic things in the "new world"-as she called the Sphere system-she was wary and, judging by the intense look in her eyes, was thinking intensely about what she had heard.

– It's okay. I'll tell you everything," Ruthra said, turning to her.

Amita smiled understandingly and looked at him hopefully. She was very much attracted to mystery, novelty and even danger, both in life and in actions, which was expressed by agreeing to participate in the mysterious program. It could not be otherwise, as these very qualities were decisive in the selection of her among many other applicants by the artificial intelligence. But, of course, it was Rutra who finally approved the candidacy and defended his choice before the council.

There was something Ruthra was hiding from Amita, too… Whatever personal relationships he had developed, the program required cold calculation. And the relationship itself (perhaps Ruthra was not entirely honest about this) was part of the program. Ruthra was hiding from her the existence of two other applicants. They were the same ladies with interesting names and no less interesting backgrounds – IuLia and YatSan.

Noticing the interest with which Amita was looking at everything, the master of the office suggested:

– Amita… can I address you that way?

She nodded, and in his manner, without even waiting for an answer, he was already continuing:

– Amita, you have probably already been informed that although you see everyone by sight, you will not recognize their names. So address me as Parmenides. This is the luminary of science of the ancient world, the first person who asserted that the Earth has a spherical shape, and your guide to the world of the unknown, that is me, speaks about what people find it difficult to understand and perceive because of viewing the surrounding reality on the plane that their senses allow them.

Amita, already knowing her interlocutor quite well, smiled.

– Nice to meet you. But can I call you Parmen?

– You can, no question.

Rutra, meanwhile, had gone to the other end of the room and was doing something. Amita at first tried to see through the "sea kingdom" what he was doing, but then, apparently realizing that he was not a guest here, she looked at Parmen and smiled at him again. It was as if he had been waiting for this, determined to enthrall her with a story. Parmen, though, didn't know her level of knowledge, her awareness of the details of the program, her origins, or even her reasons for coming to the center. This in fact no one knew. As a character in the program – Amita was never discussed, though the scientist had little insight into character selection as it was. Knowing Rutra's status, besides being on friendly terms, Parmen waited for an explanation from him. A young person, between 20 and 25 years old, sweet, beautiful, well-mannered, in facial features you can find something in common with peoples from Gibraltar to the Caucasus and further from India to southeast Asia. Acts like she knows Rutra very well, to say the least. Doesn't ask much in the way of questions. He was lost in speculation.

– Amita, tell me, at what speed are we moving through the universe?

– I can't say for sure. It depends on where you look.

– Oh! That gave me an idea.

– I'd love to hear about it. And another thing about the round Earth. Did your namesake argue that before our era?

– Yeah, imagine that.

– So why have we only been using this knowledge since the Middle Ages?

– I'll tell you this: some people still don't know it.

They grinned.

– And I will also say this: we live under the hood and hypnosis of religion, particularly the church. All these great paintings, works and the like, even wars, have become famous and significant, that is, we know them because they were significant for the preaching of the idea of approved power.

– Somehow you've made it very complicated.

– I get that you get it.

They smiled again.

– And about the point… here let's take the original one. You are standing still right now and you don't feel that the Earth is spinning on its axis at a breakneck speed of about 1,700 km/h. However, this is not such a great speed compared to other cosmic speeds. Just like the other planets in the solar system, the Earth revolves around the Sun. In this circular orbit, it moves at a speed of 30 km/s. per second! And in an hour, we travel about 108,000 kilometers this way. But even the Sun doesn't stand still. It with all the stars and planets, yes, with everything, even space dust, moves around the center of the Milky Way galaxy at a speed of about 200-220 km / s, making a complete revolution every 220-250 million years. The Milky Way is pulled towards itself by other galaxies, and everything around it experiences gravitational pull – and consequently, everything twists and turns. To understand who is spinning and how and why, scientists use data from so-called relic radiation, which has been preserved since the big bang. This is because the universe was formed by the big bang 13.8 billion years ago and is still expanding and cooling. This radiation, like a changing picture at a distance, shows what and how it has changed over time. If you look at the Earth from space from afar, for example, you will see that it is round, blue. So there's an atmosphere. Knowing the radiation spectrum of each chemical element, you can tell what it's made of. Yes, yes, each element has its own type of radiation that we can't see. As you get closer, you'll see continents, that is, land and water. When you get even closer, you see mountains, then cliffs, plateaus and elevations, forests. Further you can see the smallest plants and wildlife, and if you conduct research and excavations, then the ancient culture that inhabited this region, as well as the ancient history of flora and fauna, the process of formation of mountains. I hope you understand what I mean?

– Quite. All of this can be gleaned from this radiation? Until now?

– Yes. You can "see" this radiation yourself. The interference that occurs on an empty TV channel, if you use a simple antenna, is 1% caused by relic radiation.

Amita was embarrassed to switch to you, so she decided to still address her as you.

– I'm sorry, did you determine that yourself? Exactly what the excavation is about," she asked, afraid that the scientist would take it as a sneer on her part.

He continued as if he had not heard, from which Amita concluded that Parmen had already wanted to tell her everything in advance. For him, "in advance" could mean a minute before the moment. The most interesting thing for Amita was that the scientist didn't even ask if she was interested.

– There is such a concept – the Doppler effect. I will not talk about it in detail, I will only say that this effect occurs when the observer moves relative to the source of radiation (or vice versa) and consists in a change in the wavelength or frequency of the signal; simply put, in the form of light as we perceive it. Most importantly, it helps us determine the distance and speed of stars, for example. With it, we learned that our solar system is moving relative to relic radiation at 370 km/s, and the local group of galaxies, including the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy and the Triangle Galaxy, is moving at 650 km/s, again relative to relic radiation. Do you have any idea how those billions of stars travel at that speed? What force has thrown them so much that they have been flying like that for more than 10 billion years, and I can't imagine.

– I certainly am. If you look into it, really, how can a galaxy, and more than one, be traveling at this speed?

– Here. They also say there can't be parallel worlds. Everything is possible. And relic radiation is the primary, original, ancient radiation, the glow of the universe. That's what's left from that force, from that explosion that's still spinning and twisting everything. And these are not all the velocities of galaxies. There are other speeds that come from the expansion of the universe. That's the way it is, my friend.

"A friend??? What a quick thing to say," Amita said to herself. But only Irene heard it, except for herself. Amita did not dare to say it aloud. Parmen was not more than forty years old, and he looked rather athletic, so this kind of address and the passing of the word to you as if by the way, gave her a slight shiver, and it was not in unison with her resonant frequency of the heart, especially in the presence of Rutra, though he did not hear it, or perhaps he did hear it without letting her know, for it was Rutra.

– Thanks to the residual radiation from the Big Bang, we can see how everything in the universe is constantly moving and changing. And our galaxy is just one part of that process. And now I invite you to my table and give up my chair," the scientist said almost solemnly.

Amita, on the other hand, was lost in his manners. "You again…" and then, "I yield my chair." What could that mean? And why was I invited here in the first place?" – she thought as she sat down in a chair that looked like a fantasy installation. As Amita sat in it, the chair spoke to her. She jumped up in surprise.

– Uh-oh, stranger. I don't like to carry strangers," the chair squealed.

And after Amita stood up, the chair said:

– Okay, okay, I like you. I'm ready for you.

This both surprised and embarrassed Amita. Ruthra came up, laughing with Parmen.

– Get used to it, even a spoon can talk here," he told her while gesturing to the scientist, who nodded.

Ruthra kissed Amita on the top of her head, and Parmen smiled as he looked at her. She made a satisfied face, smiling back, though she realized that the scientist was not flirting with her. Amita had already realized the peculiarity of his character.

– I'll do a little digging while he entertains you," Ruthra said and kissed her again, now on the cheek.

– That's enough, that's enough," the scientist became indignant and, for some reason taking himself by the throat with all the fingers of his left palm, added: "This is already a breach of protocol. I protest," he said loudly, smiling to mark the jocularity of what he had said.

– Let me tell you how we break the laws around here.

– Is there such a thing? – Amita also asked in a joking tone.

– You bet. First, what we're violating. The speed of light in a vacuum is the absolute value of the speed of propagation of electromagnetic waves in a vacuum. I hope you agree with me that any event can have an effect on what happens after it and cannot have an effect on what happened before it. And from this it follows that the speed of any signal and elementary particle cannot exceed the speed of light. Thus, the speed of light in vacuum is the limiting speed of particle motion and propagation of interactions.

– We'll pretend that you've explained very clearly," Amita copied the accepted mannerisms Amita had noticed between Rutra and her colleagues, and jokingly made it clear that the scientist was asserting a pattern in science, but not explaining why or how.

He, however, already accustomed to her, continued:

– In nature, visible light and other types of electromagnetic radiation, radio waves, X-rays, gamma quanta and presumably gravitational waves propagate at the speed of light. However.

Parmen narrowed his eyes and raised his index finger upwards. Amita realized that here it was a peculiar gesture that could be interpreted in different ways.

– …there is also superluminal motion. But about this… – having said the last, the scientist put his finger to his lips, making it clear that this was secret information.

Amita, understanding him, smiled.

– This is such a world, which everyone calls as he/she understands: otherworldly, subtle, parallel. It is believed that if you fly at a speed greater than the speed of light, then a situation is possible when, say, you flew at the same time from one and the same place together with the light, then flew where this light has not yet reached, then returned and on the way met with this light. Confused?

Amita smiled, shrugging her shoulders.

– For some reason it is believed that it is light that determines chronology, that is, the movement of the passage of time, but I believe it does not. Imagine sound and light. Let's say they flew out together. The light flew away quickly, reached the target, did its job, for example, took some message, then came back and met the sound and said to it, "The information you are carrying is wrong, here is new data. By the time you get there, it's too late. I'm interpreting, but if you imagine someone flying at those speeds and something like that happens, it's not surprising. Now, once upon a time, people didn't know about the speed of light; they could compare, say, the speed of one thing to another, but if they were told, "Hey, while you're poking around, the light has already gone and come!" – that would be surprising to them. If they were told the magnitude of the speed of light, compared to the speeds they knew, they probably couldn't even imagine such a thing. For some reason it is now believed that there can be nothing faster than the speed of light, because, you see, it contradicts the formula. However, everyone sees quantum entanglement as clear as day, that is, how one particle transmits a signal to another particle at instantaneous speed and over any distance. So this proves, firstly, that someone sees without light, and secondly, that massless, supposedly massless, particles form their world. And negative mass particles? They've already found the antiproton. Have you heard of it?

– Found it.

– Surprising?

Amita smiled again, tilted her head to the side and lifted her left shoulder.

– And I defined "antivice." And it turns out it's the other way around in that world. You've studied a lot of things, as far as I know. And your education is not far removed from this topic, you've heard about it.

– About what?

– On quantum teleportation.

– Oh, no. It's a dark horse for me.

– In fact, there is nothing surprising about it. Since 2006, it has been shown that in the so-called quantum teleportation effect, the apparent mutual interaction of particles propagates faster than the speed of light. For example, in 2008, the research group of Dr. Nicholas Giesen from the University of Geneva, studying entangled photonic states separated by 18 kilometers in space, showed that this apparent interaction between particles is carried out at a speed of about one hundred thousand times greater than the speed of light. Surprised?

– I'm shocked, if you believe physics, but at the same time completely at ease because of my faith in you.

Amita smiled, and again a slight fright ran through her face: she thought that her interlocutor would take what she said not as a joke, but as sarcasm. Parmen's demeanor spoke of the impossibility of poking him. He continued in his spirit.....

Amita was aware of her misunderstanding of the meaning of all that was said, but she knew exactly where the "luminary of science" was going with his story. He obviously wanted to convince her in his scientific justification of the possibility of not only the existence of parallel worlds, but also the possibility of instantaneous travel between worlds. She was silent, sometimes nodding her head. The scientist, enjoying her attention, told her, gesticulating like a conductor. Sometimes, as if by magic, particles, formulas, is of cosmic objects appeared directly in the zone of his gesticulation, right in the air in front of them. This amused Amita, and Parmen found himself in an even greater state of scientific excitement.