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Chapter 1: The Mystery of Reflection

Upon arrival, Ruthra was once again convinced of the peculiar morality of the underworld. It lived according to its own canons, which were based on the principle that no one would fly from here to space. With the implication that space was everything but here.

No one met them at the "central" station. The machine invited them to the booths for washing, disinfection and changing clothes. It turned out that there were a lot of them, six opened. They were walled in merging from the whiteness of the walls. Five minutes later everyone was assembled, in front of the main entrance.

The machine "looked through" everyone for the presence of data known only to "him" and issued: "Access confirmed."

They went into the so-called main trunk corridor. And no one met them there – everyone was busy doing their own thing.

– What are we going to do? – The operative asked.

– Now," Ruthra replied.

He contacted Isa mentally, demanding to be connected to Jarovitovich. After about ten seconds, she answered:

– The chapter is busy and can't make it out for a session.

– Then ask what the members of the incoming operational staff should do? – Ruthra asked aloud.

Everyone was silent, they knew he was communicating through the system with the Commandant.

– The command is for everyone to take their seats according to the staff schedule," Isa replied.

– That's it? – Ruthra asked in surprise.

– There were no other teams," she replied in her nonchalant manner.

– All right, everyone to your posts, I'll contact you," Ruthra commanded and headed for Jarovitovich.

Jarowitowicz was not at his place, Isa reported that he was in town, in the meeting hall.

– What town? Up there?

– No, in the city, here.

– Is there a town here?

– What did you see behind the studio?

– Is he real?

– Otherwise, how would you see it? It's virtual, but it's still real.

– Can I go in there?

– Yes, of course.

– What line?

– Center. The emblem on the door is the same.

Ruthra remembered that there was an emblem in the shape of a TV tower.

– A pass through the studio?

– The main entrance is from the lower level. If you want to go through.

– Okay, got it.

Ruthra found the right line and looked for the door. The studio was the same as it had been in the virtual. With thoughts of how it could all be made to make one see in a dream what one did not see in real life – he walked on, through the door into the "city". Neither habit, nor reflexes, nor training, nor a sense of complete adaptation to the unbelievable helped. Ruthra froze. It was not what he saw that surprised him, not the wave of familiar chains of inferences that changed his view of existence and reality, but the realization that "they" were all connected: this was a separate world, he and others like him would always be strangers to "them. There was no need to look for conspirators, they were all of the same color, inhabitants of another world, with their own thoughts, feelings, understanding of justice and the meaning of life. Ruthra realized all this because he felt how long it had been since he had seen the real (as he understood it) world, even though he had been here for days. Now Yarovitovich, Vyacheslav, Avvakum, Olga, the doctor and Alikhanov were more understandable to him.

The "city" was full of people, bustling with life, and Ruthra was no longer surprised or concerned that there were so many of them, all of them doing something very important, here and not upstairs. One could think and think and think about how distorted the citizens who didn't know about power, government, and secrets were, but it was still impossible to realize the full extent of the 'real reality'.

The abundance of light made Ruthra squint a little. If a man had fallen asleep somewhere upstairs and been transported here and then woken up, he would have thought he was in an ordinary multi-level shopping mall. There were no windows, but instead huge screens showing landscapes like those in the cabin, giving the impression that beyond the windows were forests, fields, seas, mountains, meadows, streets, parks, the same rows of streets, the same hum. Ruthra stepped onto the balcony.

– Where are you going? – Isa asked.

– Where, where, to Yarovitovich.

– You can't go into the city in working form.

Ruthra looked at his jumpsuit and the people of the 'city', they were in civilian clothes.

– Where's my stuff?

– In your quarters.

– Where is she? You think I remember?

– Follow the green line to cabin 4-23.

Ruthra turned around and walked back down the corridor, found the green line and followed it to room 4-23, scanned, entered. The quarters were the same as last time, only the scenery was gone. Clothes were cleaned and ironed, he changed, went to "town".

The inhabitants of the "city" were dressed stylishly, according to fashion, and behaved like ordinary visitors to such centers. Nothing was different, except that instead of the ceiling there was a huge screen with a real-time i of the sky, clouds, and sun, and on the walls – sometimes a park, sometimes a street with sidewalks and flowerbeds.

– Where is the reception center? – He asked Isa.

– Go up to the third floor, go to the administrative section, there is an arrow, to the left of the escalator.

Ruthra did so, and soon found himself in front of large doors labeled "Reception Center." He was getting used to the dungeon, so he knew that the Reception Center was not a reception center, not a delegation center in the usual sense.

The doors were locked, Ruthra rang the bell, and a voice said, "Identify yourself. A beacon lit up where the scanner was located, Ruthra moved his eye closer to the scanner. "You may enter," the system replied, the door clicked, he entered.

To his surprise, it was indeed a reception hall, or rather a conference room. There were a lot of people, Yarovitovich was presiding; he greeted Rutra with a nod and continued the discussion. The discussion centered on the latest incident, and it boiled down to two fundamental positions. Some argued that it was impossible to simulate a battle alarm, while others argued that it was possible to go to greater lengths to achieve a goal. The former did not stop and explained that this actually leads to a decrease in combat readiness, because in the future such an alarm will be considered as less important. Yarovitovich argued that they had a system of deterrence and additional control, that the Central Control Directorate was aware of it and had developed the plan itself, that it was an emergency situation.

At first Rutra could not reliably assess why it was given such great importance, even in this center, then, realizing that he had missed a lot, he began to form a general picture from the fragments of dialogues. The point of it all was that the risks involved in making a decision for the Kremlin-2 facility could be fateful for all of humanity. Ruthra processed the information coming into him and rediscovered the role of these people in the life of the planet. He had begun to understand a lot of things here lately – the strange scrutinizing gaze of these people, the manner of speech (as with a "passenger"), the expression on their faces when questioned, saying "you won't understand a thing".

They were unusual people, debating that even if a special plan required a simulated alert, it was too dangerous because hundreds of millions could die. Their opponents calmly reasoned that the likelihood of this happening was not really that high since there was a chain of interconnected control systems. Ruthra listened to their discussions and felt increasingly alien to them. He even became afraid to tell them that he was not one of them, because they were extremely calm about the possibility of people dying up there. To those gathered, those people did not have such a high importance. Some would die, some would stay, the main thing was that life could be revived, civilization would continue, that was what their discussion boiled down to. The discussion ended with a decision not to repeat such a situation. Such an object and such a dispute? At first it surprised Rutru, but upon reflection he realized that the main staff of the center were men of science, they would not be productive if their opinions were not considered.

Everyone dispersed, Ruthra remained seated in his seat.

– What shall we say? – Yarovitovich asked, bringing additional meaning to the question.

– After conducting a preliminary investigation, I concluded that Alikhanov wanted to use the brain signal chain through his installation to the transmitter of the Pioneer command missile to guarantee a signal in the nuclear bombardment mode. In order to have full control of the situation after this fuss. I believe he was transmitting it to one of the secret control centers.

– There aren't many of them – yours, ours, Yamantau's. All the others will not be able to fully control, only locally.

Ruthra, after going over the options in his head, still decided to ask, otherwise there were still unknowns in solving such a grand equation.

– Please tell me, what is this secret organization of the ZKR?

Yarovitovich shook his head and widened his eyes. In this way he expressed his concern and dissatisfaction with something that had apparently unnerved him for a long time.

– I'm sick of these demagogues. Did it get to you? – Ruthra's head responded to the question with sudden abruptness. – They think they're true patriots, champions of blood purity and other such nonsense. If they weren't former Aquarium secret agents, I'd have had them arrested long ago. And so, they are leading by the nose, they are nowhere to be found, most likely, for diversion of eyes periodically discount information, and in reality behind it hides something else. No one can find them anywhere, only rumors.

– Did you mean the "aquarium" that's in the GRU?

– Yes, that's the one. And then there's the KGB's 13th Division.

– Serious company. Don't they keep them on permanent record until they die?

– In the 90s, the maps got a little confused, and many people just disappeared, went missing, as it were. And how it really was – it took a long time to sort out, but since there were no leaks, no one showed any sign of themselves, it was put aside in the archives, until the Ukrainian events. After them began to come the agent information, that on rumors somewhere, someone, something spoke about a certain secret order of Russian Rodnovers – ZKR. It is not so important, it is important to find out whether a duplicate of the reader of neural signals has been developed. And if yes, then where it is, how it got there; if Alikhanov tried to transmit, then somewhere it is and in an active state. Take care of this question, and at the same time the old one, decryption. Both require the presence of huge computing centers, centers for processing a colossal array of data.

– That too?

– Of course it is. What, you think this little machine can accommodate, process and convert everything in the human brain? It would take a supercomputer.

– That's what I was thinking. Then how did Alikhanov do it? So there's another component?

– It turns out, yes. This machine just scans and transmits. A supercomputer is needed to receive and process the information.

– And the one in Yamantau, will it pull it? I missed that part.

– Of course, the power, I think, is sufficient, how without it, it's a control center.

– And there's one here?

– You're such a baby. Or are you hinting? – Yarovitovich laughed.

– It's already professional," Ruthra replied guiltily.

– It's a chronic thing with all of us," the leader said with a smile. – Ruthra, pull yourself together, take a wider view of the world. I'll take care of my own. You go upstairs, if there's anything you need to check on Zero, check it with Hent, and get on with it. I know your list, check everyone, don't get confused about it now. There might be a trick we didn't think of. Otherwise we'll be looking for supercomputers and we'll miss a small but key link.

– I need to document my work, put a resolution that on this item you will conduct or it is completed here.

– I told you I'll deal with my own, but if your Hent needs a piece of paper, bring it to me, I'll sign it.

– Can I ask you a personal question?

– I'm listening.

– How long have you and Hent known each other?

– Hmm," he smiled again, shaking his head. – He and I are bastards, but we're the only two who know it.

Jarowitowicz laughed; it was clear he was joking.

– We have been through hell and heaven together. Only after going through fire, water and especially copper pipes with a person, while remaining friends, can one trust uncompromisingly. So that's how we know each other. Give him a hint, don't let him waste all the cognac, he's 50 years old after all. Come on, I'll be in my office.

They got out, and found themselves in a different world, or rather, a world that understood how fragile the real world really was. Ruthra contacted Isa in his quarters and asked him to bring him a computer and printer.

– What do you need them for? – she asked.

Ruthra wanted to be indignant. On second thought, he didn't, guessing intuitively that there must be something else behind it, because he'd asked the computer. And so it was.

– Print a record of the events.

– You still haven't learned how to use your powers, it's because you're in a hurry. If you had completed your training last time, then you would know that you don't need a printer.

– How?

– State your thoughts, pass them on to me, I will process them into a business form and send them to you. You will not be allowed to take papers or anything else out of the facility. You can print it out at Zero with my help, in the same way.

– Wow.

– Form.

Rutra lay down and began mentally "typing" the protocol, especially "whitewashing" the doctor in it. After he finished, he asked Isa:

– Did you get it?

– It's fine, I've already processed it.

– Already?

– I'll throw it to you soon, look on the TV screen, in what form it will be.

Not a minute later, the protocol appeared on the screen, Rutra read it, sent it with Isa's help to Yarovitovich, and went to him himself. Jarovitovich reviewed the protocol, signed it with an electronic signature, and "gave" it to Rutra, emphasizing his concern with the admonition.

– Don't forget the main objective. Time is against us. The most improbable things are possible. What we've played out could really happen. For real!

– Understood. I'll go," Ruthra said calmly and without excitement.

– So long.

Rutra stepped out and headed for the lab, where he was met by the doctor.

– Well? – He asked fearfully.

Ruthra nodded affirmatively. The doctor gestured for him to follow him. He led Rutra into an isolation box and took out the pre-prepared wires that went to the machine in his pocket. Two wires he gave to Rutra and two he took for himself. They looked at each other and synchronously applied them to their tongues. The shock of the current temporarily knocked him unconscious. The doctor, quickly returning to normal, gave him a glass of liquid.

– Drink quickly.

– What's that?

– Hurry up.

While Ruthra was confused, the man uncovered a medical table of instruments.

– Drink it, it's a painkiller.

Ruthra took a drink.

– Sit down and don't move, I'm going to insert a microplate with a chip under your scalp. This is so you can control when your thoughts are available and when they are not. You have two scars on your head, in one place I put the chip to transmit back then, in the other place I will put the chip to block.

The doctor injected local anesthesia, made an incision, performed some manipulations, covered it with artificial skin, applied a bandage with a special remedy, and began to hastily collect tools, constantly looking at his watch.

– Let's do it again.

The doctor pointed to the wires. They repeated the procedure. Despite the anesthetic, the wound was tingling, "sizzling" from the special agent. Ruthra realized it was Epilas, a secret instant wound healer; combined with the modifications they'd made to him at the range, the wound was healing better than it had on the Terminator.

– Now you have a screen, your thoughts will first be reflected, they will go back into your brain, you will hear yourself, and then you will decide which ones to release. You can release exactly what you want, that is, you can lie. That's it, time is running out, find a similar radio-isolated shelter and do a couple of experiments on yourself to get used to it and understand how it works.

– How do they hear my thoughts?

– All in the form of brain bio-signals, they can only be decoded. For example, such as truth, lies, anxiety, euphoria, and the like. Dialogue is by mutual initiation only; in cases where the receiver knows you well and has had numerous non-conflict communication sessions, then your chip will let it through. You will recognize it, it is provided, you can feel it, you just need to get the hang of it. There is, of course, a way around all blocking, directly, but you need a code for that.

– Where, who has it?

– Let's get another charge. That's enough, it might arouse suspicion.

They repeated the procedure with the wires, the doctor explained further.

– I don't know exactly, it's written in the secret department of the coders, kept by the person in charge of controlling the coding and encryption service.

– Where are they?

– No one knows specifically, this is where all the original codes come from, rumor has it – it's called "The Sphere".

Ruthra took a deep breath and began to exhale slowly, shaking his head.

– There is the center itself, which does not exist for everyone, and there are a lot of organizations, which either are or are not. ZKR, "Sphere", what else?

– Go on, everybody, forget about me.

Ruthra couldn't help but ask another question.

– How does ISU-A2 read minds?

– It doesn't read, it sees, as if on a network. The computer-brain interface is like an extension of one in the other. You draw everything from its base, and it draws from yours.

– Why does she have free access to me?

– "Not now," the medic said and pointed to the top of Ruthra's head, then put his index finger to his lips, giving the silence sign, pushing him in the shoulder toward the door.

Ruthra went to the exit, stepping out into the hallway.

– You've been gone a long time, did something happen? – he heard Isa.

"Well, bitch, you're following me," Ruthra thought and immediately realized how the lockdown worked, his own voice sounding in his head. "It's okay," he thought and directed his thoughts to her.

– I'm happy for you," the computer replied.

– I'm going out, goodbye.

– Exit via the stairs or the pod.

– You have a service here. Can I get a regular cab? – Ruthra asked jokingly. – Is there an elevator? I don't want to take the stairs for half an hour.

– Yes, to the left of the capsule hatch.

– Didn't notice. Just like everyone else here. Ready, here I come.

– Did you give a request to get out?

– No. What's the request?

– It's not like we're in a backyard, you have to give notice, get permission.

– No one told me.

– Go to the ops guy you talked to, he'll authorize it.

Ruthra made his way to the CUO and scanned his eye, the door opened. An operative with two assistants sat at a console with numerous glowing indicators, with numerous monitors in front and to the sides. The Operative was not the one who had been in charge of the alert headquarters: it was more pleasant for Ruthra, he didn't want to ask something from a man who had just been court-martialed.

– Here. I was warned," the operative said and held out a small device that looked like a magnifying glass.

Ruthra picked up the object, began to examine it.

– Put it up to your eye," the operative said.

Rutra held the device up to his eye, it shone a directed light into his eye.

– That's it, thank you, you can go," the duty officer thanked him.

Ruthra, eyeing the instrument with curiosity and suspicion, handed it over. A strange feeling haunted him. Although he was in a hurry to leave, something kept him from doing so. It was curiosity. He remembered Alikhanov.

– Do you know if Alikhanov's body is still at the station? – he asked the operative, "in passing" pondering whether the bodies of "secret citizens of an unknown city" were buried here or still as ordinary people.

– As far as I know, it should be in the morgue, the 200th were not sent, – the operative dryly answered.

– Thank you, goodbye.

The elevator ride up was not long, he stepped directly into the room in front of the underground basements of Trekhgorny. After passing through the scanner, through the door, he stepped out into the underground bunker of Trekhgorny. Involuntarily, Rutru was visited by numerous thoughts, "So I really didn't go anywhere in the capsule. How the hell is this happening, since I didn't even feel like sleeping?" Rutru was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice – there was someone waiting for him in the bunker. It was the same people who had accompanied them here, and they had escorted him upstairs. He didn't have to meet with the plant management or explain anything. They took him in a "service car" to the hotel, no one even asked where the old man was. Mushtrika in such organizations was at the highest level. They brought food to Rutra's room, he ate, quickly got ready, and left.

From the beautiful forest park that was part of the virgin forest that had been carefully preserved during the construction of the city, Rutra looked down at the nuclear weapons factory, humming away across the river. Only the roofs of its workshops were visible. It was not hard to guess that they were like icebergs, two-thirds of them underwater. The famous factory staircase of 385 steps descended to the Yuryuzan. Rutru was waiting for a car, he got into it, and the driver took him to the airport in Magnitogorsk. Now he cared little about reports and commitments, he was heading home, his head was spinning, literally and figuratively, from recent events. Now he dreamed of becoming an ordinary man, as before, which, most likely, was impossible, although, maybe, and it was not necessary, the main thing – to take control.

***

Rutra, of course, said he was going home, wanting to spend a couple of days with his family. He was met at the airport by the staff of Center Zero, headed by the administrator, who, although he was a family man, was, according to the firm rules, only the administrator in such situations. On the way home, they outlined the most important events that had occurred in the "invisible" world, which had not been reported earlier in the report via encrypted communication, albeit in coded phrases, for security reasons. From the information received, even with superficial analysis, Ruthra concluded that the game was heading toward a certain finish line. Someone had to be sacrificed. Snowden, WikiLeaks, offshore scandals were nothing compared to the release of information by Stratfor.

"Stratfor was an American private intelligence and analysis company. It has been called the "shadow CIA". It was founded in 1996 by American political scientist George Friedman, who heads the company until now. The company collects and analyzes information on world events.

The company's client list is confidential, but Rutra was aware that among them were major corporations and government agencies – both U.S. and foreign, including Russian.

All this was just a screen for periodic leaks from real intelligence agencies. During Rutra's absence, information was leaked about the Russian president's ties with agents of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND). Naturally, with secret information thrown in, with signatures and seals, meeting places, passwords and safe houses. The seedbed was launched, and no one has ever realized that the president had been working abroad in the past, in the past, in a structure of a different orientation. It was proved that he was recruited under the threat of disclosure of information about his connections with the Colombian drug mafia.

At the same time, the press received information that the United States had allegedly completed work on the missile defense system and secretly tested it. The test was officially presented as a joint firing exercise with European allies to repel a missile attack by a terrorist group whose name was translated as "punishment from heaven" or "punishment from heaven.

The third part of the information pyramid was the leaking to the media of an allegedly existing report by the U.S. Military Space Intelligence Service on the installation by Russia, along the U.S. coast, of the latest Skif ballistic missile capable of being in standby mode on the seabed and ocean floor and, at the right moment, firing on command to hit land and sea targets. It was noted that the laying of such missiles in several areas of the bottom will make it possible to hit the target at the necessary moment without involving submarines. This caused such a stormy resonance that European and American media were "boiling". Some blamed the United States, claiming that it pays so much tax and the military allowed enemy missiles to be placed under their noses, while others were angry at Russia, demanding that it be punished.

There was no less hype in Russia. The country was clearly divided into two camps in terms of its attitude to what was happening, and not on the socio-economic principle. Some were convinced of the incumbent president, claiming that only he would punish Russia's enemies, which turned out to be almost everyone around them, while others were ready to die to free the country from the "junta that seized power. There were those who believed that both options were wrong. Rutru had little interest in all of this, he was just wondering how such a company had turned out so quickly. He even began to suspect that it had been at least a month, not a few days, since the events had unfolded so quickly, then he analyzed the reality that said it was not so.

– How so soon, why now, who authorized it, what is the purpose? – Rutra demanded reports from his subordinates.

– A direct order from Hristoforovich," reported the head of the security service.

Rutra's questioning look was answered by the center's administrator.

– The top of all news bans jamming pro-Western information, the purpose being to prepare the U.S. Treasury's refusal to accept U.S. dollars printed to "walk" outside the states.

– It's already started, isn't it? I haven't finished my investigation yet.

Rutra now decided to finalize some details. In order to save time, including family time, he called Hent, said that he was ready to discuss a further plan in the morning, and received approval. Thus, discussing current affairs, he arrived home. At home, as always under such circumstances, everyone was jubilant.

The next day Ruthra met with Hent, the latter was in high spirits.

– Well, did you bring the scientist to the coffin? – he asked, ostensibly seriously.

Ruthra realized that Hent was joking like that.

– How can you think that of me," Ruthra said with supposed indignation. – I tried my best to save him, and he went in there himself.

– What conclusions, what is your opinion? – Hent asked seriously now.

– I connected to you during the explanation to the members of the operational staff, nothing else so far.

– Yeah, I wrote it down. And further investigation, details, chronology of events at the firing range?

– Yarovitovich said he'd take care of his own. By the way, he sends his regards to you.

– Thank you," Hent laughed.

Ruthra, realizing he didn't quite get the humor, decided to clarify for himself.

– By the way, here's a question. He can call you, can't he?

– Well you businessman, even here forget to have a conversation about it," he said and pointed his finger downwards.

– And yet – what, there's no connection?

– Forget it. Of course there is, why would there be a "hub"?

Rutra wanted to ask what was behind "saying hello" to someone you could call, justifying it as not personal curiosity.

– That's it, cease and desist. Remember only the main task. The nuclear center in Sarov still hasn't figured out anything, continue the investigation, go to them, we need to understand what the point is. What are your thoughts on the matter?

– Perhaps it is because the operation of their supercomputer is based on the principle of parallel computing, while the program is encrypted using the serial mode principle.

– So check on another computer based on the right principle. If it helps, of course.

– You don't think so?

– I think some results should have been here.

– There's a supercomputer at the firing range, too. How does it work?

– It's the same. Even if there were another, he can't be "distracted".

– Which one can I use then?

– You had Los Alamos on your program, there.

– That's not what I was supposed to check with them, something else.

– And you check it out, we'll make a deal, it's in our system.

– How do I get the program out?

– You don't understand the level. The program is ours, it's being protected for us, not from us. We'll take it out in a special case, with an escort. Just finish it here. At least I'll be sure that everything we could check was checked. Do you understand? Think like they do. They knew we'd be looking where something related to top-secret storage. Something we don't see. That's why I gave you this assignment, knowing that you think abstractly, unconventionally.

– Thank you. Let me check what I've already outlined, so that I can feel more at ease in this sense, and then I'll calculate the completely unbelievable. Once I'm done in Russia, I'll go overseas. I want to check the data centers, Los Alamos, Area 51, NSA, and then I'll see what sequences arise. You won't have any problems?

– Oh, I see the level. You've obviously benefited from the range. It won't be a problem, we have a single center and purpose.

– Just a question. I realize I'm supposed to be above some "coasts", but still – why take control of our Perimeter system and not theirs?

– You probably know the answer to the question, you just want confirmation. What they have is already under control. You'll see for yourself at Area 51. And only Russia has the Perimeter system. That's it. Whoever created it didn't just make it clever, they envisioned a lot of things. It's not just one person, it's a team, you can't get into their brains like you can into ours. They will get into anyone's brain and soul.

– I see. I realized that a long time ago. Thank you.

– Thinking outside the box. It's quite possible they have set up legitimate international organizations too. We have to look everywhere, everything is under suspicion – Putin's secret bunker and the safe house where Bill Gates' archives are kept, everything. This place can be under a plausible pretext closed, secret with restricted access. In any variants it can be a circuit in the signal transmission system. The logic is the same. Just as they created hidden mines, from which missiles will fly out three days after the winner will launch a salute in honor of victory, so also hidden transmitters, servers will work at the right hour, on a predetermined signal, perhaps automatic. And everything around can serve as a screen to hide it. For example, you could hide anything anywhere in some billionaire's secret and heavily guarded fortified bomb shelter somewhere. You had on your list of locations in the US to be thoroughly scanned. Including brain scans of the staff, unnoticed by them. We've done everything you think we've done before, now we're going global. I think we underestimated them. They could plant it everywhere, because we don't know who they are, we only know they are, because they're somehow manifesting themselves. They could put it in Cheyenne or Raven Rock, or even the Kremlin. I've come to the conclusion that they've been running this show, with actors in the form of friends and enemies, as well as we have. I've been to Cheyenne once. Go there. My heart tells me it's harder than we imagined. I'll make all the arrangements, they'll meet you, organize everything. According to the legend, you'll be a researcher at a closed research institute. It's fashionable now, it's called experience exchange. Whoever needs it will know why you're there.

The Master was silent, elbows resting on his elbows, his palms spread apart, gesturing that that was all. Ruthra stood up, shook Hentu's hand, and headed for the exit. He stopped at the door and asked:

– So everything's okay on Polygon?

– Yarovitovich will figure it out for himself," Hent replied thoughtfully.

– What did Alikhanov die of? – Ruthra asked, squinting his eyes a little, indicating that he was not satisfied with that answer.

Rutra decided to show his principled position regarding this and further investigation, which was based on the fact that since he had "entered" the role, the status, so be kind, accept what you wanted. Hent, as it turned out, was even pleased by the question. He smiled, shook his head affirmatively while shaking his index finger, pointed at Rutra, changed his smile to a "firm" expression with tightly pressed lips, and answered:

– It's called "woe is me", we'll figure it out before you get there. You've found the main thing. Go on to new feats, the motherland should know its secret heroes, though maybe later on. By the way, it's almost a second homeland for you there, you'll remember your service.

Ruthra smiled, too, then changed his expression to a serious one, letting him know that uncertainty breeds when he doesn't get an answer to his questions, blinked at Hent with both eyes, said he understood, walked out, and headed for the elevator. The hardest part was explaining at home that he was leaving again. What to do, I had to.

Rutra went down to Zero, work was boiling, around the world many people were hustling. Anyway, the point of Center Zero was to keep tabs on those who kept tabs on others. Rutra assembled the team, listened to the reports, made important observations about collecting banking information. A variety of information from multiple entities flowed into Center Zero legally. Everything that happened with accounts, transfers, transactions, bearer trusts, and more could be inaccessible to all but those who registered and the one who was registered. Everything that was registered was official information, certainly not accessible, but it was registered. Accordingly, no matter how hidden it was, it was still reported. It was important for the client, whose property or finances were kept secret from the whole world. These reports were received by some controlling or registering body, and it in turn fell under another control. And so on in complicated ways to the center "Zero". Accordingly, when there was information that a special service was monitoring the banking operations of citizens, Rutra smiled.

Rutra commissioned a review (over the last 30 years) of large transfers and financial transactions of international organizations legally operating under other names; the same for employees of closed research institutes, suspended or dismissed high-ranking military officers, intelligence officers, their relatives and their circle of contacts.

– I hope you can handle your main job and your new one. Is that clear? How long my next business trip will last, I cannot yet determine.

– You won't be in touch? – asked the head of security.

– That's a possibility.

– What to do if BT Group refuses to use the single digital signature certificate protocol previously adopted in the European Union? – The Information Control Administrator has already asked.

– I don't think it will come to that, if it does happen, then they should certainly, in accordance with our internal rules, coordinate this issue with the center. If not, you turn on Tempora and blocking of inter-network traffic, and then GCHQ will take over.

GCHQ – Government Communications Headquarters is the UK intelligence service responsible for conducting electronic intelligence and ensuring the protection of government and military information. The center is a member of the UKUS SIGINT alliance and is responsible for the collection and analysis of information in the countries of Europe, including the European part of Russia and Africa. The intelligence service is part of the Joint Intelligence Committee, together with MI5 (domestic intelligence) and MI6 (foreign intelligence).

– For all questions you will contact me, using a specially organized for this program communication complex, under the legend of the Institute of Experimental Physics. Not directly, but through Christina to VNIIEF Sarov, and there the automation is already in place.

– I see," the employees replied in unison, some in a voice, some nodded, mostly the male part; the female part expressed the expected and, apparently, long overdue.

– Tell me, Chief, why do you keep leaving us? – smiling and jokingly asked the ladies from the analytical department.

– Everything will be fine, I'll be back soon, we'll celebrate, – said Rutra, reassuring, because in "Zero", purely because of the specifics of the organization, there was an atmosphere where the team could not "go wild" in the circle of "alien" individuals.

Something suspicious was seen in everything, and it was already a professional reflex.

– Yay, hurry up, it's getting boring.

– All right, keep your nose to the wind, I'm outta here. Goodbye.

– Goodbye," they said in unison.

Already on the way out, the head of his own security department approached him and said in a quiet voice (more to indicate the individual importance of the information than for the sake of secrecy):

– You know, I've been paying attention lately to the fact that our department is getting information out of official channels of communication.

– How did you figure that out?

– There has been no dispatch from you, however there appear to be assignments based on the recommendations of your analysis.

– Orders from who?

– From a higher authority.

– From Hristoforovich?

– Yeah. You can send it to us directly.

– Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I must have missed something. What's the nature of these recommendations?

– Ordinary – make a report, analyze what's going on, plan something.

– What was the last one?

– You should have been reported to you by your assistants, they probably think you know. That last one was rather odd.

– Which is what?

– To trace, analyze cases of schizophrenia, namely split personality or suspicious, not peculiar before behavior of persons having access to secret regime objects.

Rutru was surprised by this, he didn't show it, he pretended to be aware.

– Based on the recommendations of my analysis, you say?

– That's right," the security guard reported.

Ruthra thought of the connection between the topic and the "pumping" of personalities. It was an indication of how seriously his report was taken. In his heart he rejoiced, it meant that in parallel with his activity there was work on the program he had set. Of course, the seriousness of the assumption could put many people under suspicion, yet often at such sites gifted individuals had to think to themselves.

– Yes, it happened," Ruthra reassured the man, trying not to belittle his loyalty and trust. – I had to consult with my superiors. You know, like Papanov in The Diamond Arm.

They smiled at each other, after which Rutra walked out, the JIT chief seeing him off with a glance. Being sure of this, Rutra turned around and said to approve of his subordinate's action:

– Fix everything," he nodded and closed the door.

"What could it be, why didn't Hent tell me about it, what's it for?" – thought Ruthra already in the elevator.

***

On the plane, Ruthra, as usual, was thinking with himself to put the necessary information in the necessary sequence on the "shelves" of memory, and at the same time he was doing his favorite thing for "tuning" the brain – "telling" himself about the place of his next trip. And there was a lot to tell about.

Cheyenne Mountain is a secure underground NORAD complex, the center of the North American Joint Air and Space Defense Command. Cheyenne Mountain is located in the state of Colorado, near the city of Colorado Springs. The steel bunker was built at a depth of 700 meters inside the granite rock and according to the calculations of the creators can withstand a nuclear strike with a power of thirty megatons. A 1400-meter tunnel leads inside the mountain, behind it is the main airlock, covered by 25-ton doors that remain airtight at an excessive external pressure of 40 atmospheres. The complex is resistant not only to nuclear explosions, but also to earthquakes. The complex includes: the Airspace Situation Monitoring Operations Center; the Missile Warning Center; the Space Monitoring Center; the NORAD and Space Command Joint Center; the Joint Intelligence Community Center; the National Civilian Warning Center; the Center for Software Development of System Elements; and the Weather Forecasting Center.

The plane has landed at Denver International Airport. Anyone entering the airport in Denver will be shocked by what they see. This place is the subject of many suspicions and questions, to which everyone gives a different answer. There is a dark and unexplained symbolism literally pervading all the structures that catches everyone's eye.

The Denver International Airport was opened in 1995, despite the fact that the large Stapleton Airport was already in operation here. Its creators convinced the public of the necessity of building a new airport, giving such arguments that the city needed a new airport, which would be able to pass more passenger traffic, would be technically more perfect and convenient for passengers. In fact – it was needed because there was an underground shelter built underneath it, and it was connected by an underground tunnel to the NORAD base. It was something similar to the Zero – Metro 2 – Metro 3 – Polygon system.....

Rutra flew there with two specialists who accompanied him with a briefcase containing the Perimeter program. On arrival, they were met by a group of people, ostensibly from the scientific community. After Polygon, Rutra was a little used to his new capabilities, so it was unusual for him to immediately recognize that they were speaking in English, because he understood them in Russian.

After a light conversation and a cup of coffee, the "invisible" organizers of the meeting reported, "The legend went fine, we can move on." They descended into the underground vaults of the airport. The spetses accompanying Rutra were assigned a special compartment with a household unit. There they were to wait for Rutra's instructions. He was escorted to an even lower deck, where there was an entrance corridor to the tunnel linking the strategic centers of NORAD, Raven Rock, and Area-51.

The tunnel was very similar in design form to the polygon's capsule conduit. "Clearly the same team worked on them," Ruthra thought. He was placed in the capsule, and he rushed. Ruthra had no fear of confined spaces, but it was still not very pleasant to "fly" at high speed in an "egg".

An hour later, he was in place. Rutra was met by two military men. Of course, it was a faint semblance of a firing range, simple as that. It was a half-civilian, half-illegal facility. He was led into the bay where the scientists worked. One of them came up to Rutra, said hello, introduced himself.

– Pete, my name is Pete. My ancestors are from Russia," he explained in Russian with a strong American accent. – I'm half Jewish, my mom came here when the "sea" of ours came here. And you?

– Does it matter?

– No, but still. I must accompany you. How do you speak English?

– That's fine, we can do that.

According to legend, Rutra was a scientist, a double agent, and Pete had to know that.

– Are you looking for sources of unpredictable signals?

"What the hell, how does he know," thought Ruthra.

– Which ones?

– I apologize, I must have misspoken.

Next he began to speak in English.

– We have been instructed to assist you in finding sources that could be responsible for unauthorized sources of signals that could interfere with the automatic launch and navigation control of satellites, aircraft and missiles.

Ruthra calmed down, tuned into the dialog, asked.

– Do you have anything like that?

– I may disappoint you, but you've come to the wrong place. The center is officially closed, what we do here is about… that's another area.

– Which one, may I ask?

– We were charged with developing a concept for population management in the face of dramatic changes in the socio-economic, demographic and cultural-religious composition of society.

– Who needs it, why here? I mean, why the secrecy?

– There, I see you know what I'm talking about.

– About what?

– According to the information we have been given about you, you have an active civic position in Russia. I think you are concerned about the same problems as we are.

– Like what?

– These are the very ones associated with a dramatic change in the socio-economic, demographic and cultural-religious composition of society.

Ruthra frowned, he couldn't understand what he was getting at, he realized it and added:

– You, for example, have a very stable public perception of the existence of a "world behind the scenes", a conspiracy theory, so to speak. And you accuse us, i.e. the USA, of this. And who should we blame?

– Do you think you have it too?

– Uh, sure.

– You? At this level?

– Imagine, there's a lot of information that's not available to the public.

– What does it say?

– I think you, as a scientist, will understand me, in the sense that we can only discuss this topic with trusted individuals.

– Is it dangerous?

– I can't say for sure. As for certainty, I certainly wouldn't want an outsider to know. After all, we came to these conclusions on the basis of the information we received from those whom we have come to regard as members of the shadowy conspiracy.

– Conspiracy?

– Not against the authorities, they are the secret authorities. If this information is kept from the public, then it is a conspiracy against the public.

– So what is this information?

– A secret plan in case of nuclear war, colossal natural disaster, or some other type of apocalypse.

– Do you think it's possible, that it's real?

– Let me give you the facts.

– Why, I'm a complete stranger, and my purpose is different.

– No, no, you are not a stranger to us. You can understand us, and most importantly, you can help us.

– How?

– We want to cooperate. We need information about whether we are the only ones who have this happening.

– What's going on?

– Preparation. In return, I will help you understand and possibly find how you can hide and where you can hide the source of the signal.

– Where is it?

– Wouldn't you agree?

– Agree to what?

– To help us as a coworker.

– Within the scientific community, no problem.

– Then let's go to the meeting room, we have a discussion, debate and report there, free-format.

They went into the next room, there were quite a few people there, mostly in white coats, professional "sickness" was evident even in that. They were having a meeting. Ruthra was confused in his thoughts and guesses and could not yet grasp the meaning.

One of the scientists was reporting, he periodically questioned the man sitting next to him about the construction of the facilities he was building, then told the room his interpretation. Ruthra began to take in what he was talking about.

– …The Pale Horse of Death, symbols of the coming New World Order. The New World Order and the hoax of 2028. I will try to explain to you what in reality is behind this date, why it was chosen by secret manipulators, and also, what the whole world can expect in connection with the events of 2028. The 2028 issue is real and is, in fact, one global propaganda campaign, one of the important steps of the globalist elite to create a world government. You'll understand why the date of February 29, 2028, which has been being trashed for several years in a row in movies, in the press, on various conspiracy or eschatological sites, in reality has little to do with predictions, it has completely different roots. You will learn about all this in the very near future. Today we will tell you about the main places of occult power on the planet, directly related to the preparation of those events that may occur after February 29, 2028. All over the world, for the last 30 years, a large number of "prophetic" artifacts have appeared, foreshadowing the coming of the New World Order. And the greatest number of these artifacts are located in the United States of America: because it is this country is chosen by the "world behind the scenes" as the carrier of the embryo of globalism. And it is her people are destined to become the first victim after this embryo "hatches" into the light. Many people wonder why they do it, why they create monuments and cover various objects with their symbols, for what purpose they create leaks that allow people to foresee their dark plans? The answer is simple: they want to give people the impression that what is happening is inevitable. I think it's no accident that the customers made the runways in the shape of a Nazi swastika. The new airport has fewer runways than Stapleton, fewer airlocks, and is located far from the city, which begs the questions: was the construction of Denver's new airport intended to hide something else? I can confirm that over the past 20 years, the US government has been actively building underground shelters. The largest one is under the airport.

– Allow me, one moment," interrupted one of his listeners, a short, stout man, of advanced age. – If you are building an underground shelter instead of the announced object, you can't hide it. There will be a lot of equipment, which can not go unnoticed. Right? Or did we misunderstand?

The one to whom the question was directed, apparently trying to figure out who "we" was, looked around at his neighbors, then, scratching his chin with his thumb, replied:

– Everything can be veiled if you build under existing structures that are 4-5 square miles. If you are building a huge airport – it would be very easy to build a shelter underneath it.

The "servant" of science kept up:

– Maybe it's for national security? After all, we know that the NORAD and CMOC underground bases 120 miles from the airport are connected to it by an underground tunnel.

– Yes, it is. What's not clear is whether it's the pale horse of the Apocalypse or the Trojan horse of the New World Order?

– What does that mean? Do you mean the horse sculpture? – followed a new question from the same as the previous one.

– Yes. Don't you agree, isn't it suspicious, doesn't it beg the question – why so much mystification for a place that shouldn't be particularly conspicuous? Do you know what the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this horrible (at least for an airport) piece of work? The Pale Horse of the Apocalypse, the fourth horse in the Book of Revelation in the Bible, whose name is Death. This, I remind you, if anyone doesn't know, is from the Gospel, Revelation 6:7-8. The horse from Denver has glowing eyes at night. Even today, a huge number of Americans are unwilling to turn on their brains. A closer look reveals that this horse of the Apocalypse is only one element of the strange and frightening occult entourage that literally permeates the giant building complex of the Denver airport. Meanwhile, it is known that under the airport is a huge underground complex. There were occasional whispers in the hall, but no one asked questions, and many made notes. The discipline of the academia was also peculiar. Ruthra, though reluctant, had to maintain that discipline in this situation, in fact – he wanted to leave this meeting. He was nervous after such a long "journey" that he would have to waste his time watching a curious scene in which the learned people, among whom there were many doctors of science, took a mystical interpretation of existence seriously. For the sake of decency he had to listen to all this, and little by little Rutra began to realize that he was mistaken. As he listened to the subject, as he put the facts together, he became convinced that these distinguished gentlemen, devoted to science, had not lost their empirical logic, and that the subject they were discussing was on such a complex scientific level that it seemed fantastic, even though it was the most complex of all. The meaning of the information conveyed by someone to the society was not in the final perception by this society of mystical symbolism, but in the logic and worldview of the broadcasters themselves.

"The speaker" continued to shower the audience with very pithy assumptions and "decipherments" of the facts given.

– Separate contractors were hired to build each part of the complex. This was done to conceal the second (and main) purpose of the project. The $2 billion worth of granite used in the finishing was imported from all parts of the world. The most interesting thing about it all is the shocking murals, mysterious signs and inscriptions in known and unknown languages on the walls, floor, and strange artifacts located inside and outside. The Denver airport was built for the New World Order. The MAD is to serve as the headquarters of the New World Order, as well as an underground refuge for the elite, a military base, and a giant concentration death camp. The airport is one of the symbols of the coming world order, which will happen after the world's elite commit mass genocide on the planet, reducing the world's population to 500 million people. Unexplained signs and symbols on the floor and walls of the structure confuse visitors. For example, on the most prominent place in the main hall of the airport, which, by the way, like the meeting halls in Masonic lodges is called Great Hall, there is something that looks like a control panel of a futuristic star ship of aliens from a distant planet, at a closer look it turns out to be a memorial plaque, however, also very strange.

The speaker showed a picture on the interactive whiteboard.

– Look, here's the top of the plaque in Denver. What is surprising is the inscription on the plaque, signed by something called the New World Airport Commission.

He showed another picture.

– At the bottom you can see the inscription – New World Airport Construction Commission. The granite floor of the airport is also strewn with many strange symbols. One in particular caught our attention: a plaque bearing the letters AU and AG; some believe these letters simply mean gold and silver. Maybe, but one of the sponsors of the new airport is Nobel laureate in medicine Baruch Samuel Bloomberg, who discovered a deadly new disease called Australian Antigen. You've probably guessed by now that it's also called AU AG. Coincidence? Maybe, but we have to accept one more coincidence: this plaque is placed on the floor directly across from a mural on the wall called "Genocide."

He showed another picture on the interactive whiteboard. The one called the "Genocide" mural.

– The floor contains copper inlays depicting obscure artifacts… Mont Blanc (France) is the place where the Templars signed their charter. Their annals tell of this event in the following words, "They came together to form the New World Order" Again and again we have before us another curious connection leading to the New World Order that every leading politician and media outlet talks about. One of these murals contains an unmistakable allusion to the Mayan calendar, which supposedly foretold this world's demise in December 2012. And according to a system of calculations that only the initiated know about, the date of February 29, 2028 is obtained. The next fresco depicts a happy mankind after the catastrophe, apparently those 500 million people who will be allowed to live. On it we also see a strange figure, with a halo surrounded by sitting children. It is worth noting that the number of people in the group surrounding the "saint" is 12, which refers us to the Gospel story of the Last Supper. If you ask me what it looks like, I'll tell you – zombified by a mental control program, although the strange halo around the head of the male figure and the unusual plant in front of him suggests some future cult that will be practiced by those left alive after a global holocaust. Note the allegorical depiction of the guillotine. In the next fresco we can clearly see the blade of the guillotine, and under it a butterfly, and not a simple butterfly, but a monarch butterfly, which probably reminds us of how the guillotine was an instrument of mass executions and terror during the French Revolution. After all, the first person to be executed by guillotine was precisely a monarch – King Louis XVI of France. Interestingly, "Monarch" is the name of a secret program of mental control, developed by the U.S. intelligence services after World War II on the basis of data collected by the Nazis in the death camps, involving war criminals who escaped the Nuremberg Tribunal. Let me remind you that MK ULTRA project is the code name of the secret program of the American CIA, which had the purpose of searching and studying the means of mind manipulation, for example, for recruiting agents or for extracting information during interrogations, in particular – by means of using various psychotropic chemicals capable of influencing human consciousness. As one of the offshoots of MK Ultra and Artichoke, aimed at destroying the personality of agents, some refer to Project Monarch. The most brutal and secretive part of Project MK ULTRA.

The speaker was silent for a moment and then continued:

– The symbolism of the airport can be discussed endlessly; the only thing that is undeniable is the fact that this structure is literally permeated with mystery and mysticism, and there is a mysterious object under the airport building itself.

And now about the reduction of the earth's population to 500 million people. This is evidenced by another mysterious artifact of the New World Order: the so-called "modern Stonehenge" (or monument in Georgia) – this mysterious complex erected by the Freemasons in the late 1980s. The customer was supposedly multi-billionaire Ted Turner. So, it contains a message in English, Russian, Chinese, Greek, Arabic, the meaning of which is that it is necessary to maintain the "population" of people on the planet up to 500 million people. This monument echoes the Denver airport artifacts, according to which it is clear how it is possible to achieve this "good goal", especially given the fact that today the world's population is approaching 8 billion.

Denver was chosen because of its central location and because it is connected by hundreds of miles of tunnels that lead to a giant underground city for the elite and government officials. It's also not uninteresting to learn that in 2005, the CIA moved the headquarters of its domestic operations division from its Langley headquarters to Denver, and the FBI moved its international and domestic counterterrorism forces there as well. This definitely adds some extra intrigue to the case.

Ruthra listened and thought that he had discovered a lot of things, but not what they said, but what came out of it. In fact, everything was true. The other thing was who and how they interpreted it all. He knew about the airport, its secret facilities, and the transfer of US intelligence services there. What's the R.O.S.? This is the American RCD. There are scientists here, too. The puzzle was coming together. The first thing Hent said was about a mafia of scientists, the second was who Alikhanov and these were. Although they may have been talking nonsense, it was the nonsense that gave them something to think about. Genius and madness – that's what distinguished a real genius from an ordinary person.

– What do you think? Do you ever have discussions like this? – Pete asked Rutra.

– Discussions about what?

– For example, the Ramenki-43 facility.

Ruthra thought he had misheard, though he knew for sure he hadn't.

– What?

– This is what you think is the Metro 2 facility.

Rutra didn't give the appearance of being surprised, on the contrary, he started to play along.

– What's so amazing about it?

– How's that? It was built to be a disaster shelter, too.

Ruthra thought to himself: "You should know what Metro-3 and Polygon are."

– Maybe. I don't care much about that, more about why I'm here.

– Okay, what about the training?

– Are you serious about this?

– Very much so. I'll introduce you to other groups outside our facility, you'll learn a lot. Then your doubts will be dispelled.

Ruthra looked at him thoughtfully, and thought about the fact that there was no hiding the truth in the bag. If there were real preparations for what Yarovitovich was planning, then there were real preparations in other directions as well. The scale was large, and it was impossible to hide it.

– Get us more information about the Ramenki-43 facility. We need it to analyze what is happening.

– There's nothing to find out. You think I'm an ordinary employee of a research institute? The Ramenki-43 facility is not a big secret for the scientific community.

– Then what is it?

– Is it that important?

– We wonder if preparations are underway there for the long stay of large masses of people.

– Of course you can arrange it there. In general, you decide for yourself. Ramenki-43 (or Metro-2) has always been surrounded by a huge number of legends. There are myths about secret objects, huge "metro-rats", about mutants, and even about the portal to a parallel dimension. About what is in the tunnels underground in Moscow, reliably know only a limited number of people. So, the underground city under Ramenki exists, its capacity is 12-15 thousand people who can live there for about 30 years.

– Oh! And you say, 'It's no great secret,'" exclaimed Peter.

That's what Ruthra began to call him, conveniently enough.

– Z0 years is such a power," the American could not calm down from the excitement.

Ruthra, on the other hand, looked at him ironically, surprised, smiled slightly, and continued the story.

– The Ramenki-43 facility is located at a depth of 180-200 meters. In "Metro-2" the whole system is single-track, there are ventilation shafts from the tunnels. The only used gateway of transition from the regular subway to "Metro-2" is at the metro station "Sportivnaya". This is not a big secret, at least not now, because Oleg Gordievsky, a former colonel of the USSR KGB who escaped to the UK in 1985, called Metro-2 the main secret of the KGB, which has not been revealed until now. According to him, there are whole cities and a network of communications underground that will never be shown to anyone. I assure you there is nothing like that, at least not that I know of, although I have often been there.

– Is there any preparation going on there? – Pyotr persisted.

– Listen, Pyotr, I hope you don't take offense that I call you by your Russian name.

– Oh, no, my new friend.

– Then listen to me as a friend. Even though you have Russian roots, you know Russia very poorly.

– Why?

– That's because there are always preparations going on. Russia is always in war mode. Well, to tell you the truth, I expected more from your center. I need to know which receiving and transmitting stations you can use in a critical moment. And I need their parameters too.

– I'll show you everything.

– If you'd be so kind, I'll give you so much information that you'll think this whole thing is child's play. You know what "baby talk" means?

– Yes, I understood your expression," Peter said quietly and guiltily.

He then took Rutra to all the departments the guest wanted to see, showed him the secret plan of the complex, the working and mothballed part, and the EO compartment, which was full of long-lasting food.

– Do you think it's for nothing? – The scientist asked Rutru, which puzzled him, even made him a little nervous.

Trying not to show his bewilderment over why this question was being asked of him, Rutra tried to answer the "educated layman."

– Anything can happen. Back when I was in the service, back in '91, I witnessed how meat labeled "1960" was used for food. So there's nothing surprising about stockpiling. Why don't you tell me where I can find the subject of my interest?

– I understood from the inquiry that there was a precedent of interference on dual frequencies, the source of which could not be determined. According to the intelligence – it seems to be on the territory of the USA, but according to the military – all deny their involvement, as proof they allowed to create a joint commission of inquiry, in which we, people of science, must first make a joint analysis.

– Almost there. I need to report back: is this possible or is it an unidentified failure of the receiving system?

– I understand the collision of the American and Russian satellites was because of this.

– I too think an unknown signal changed his course.

Rutra was lying, it wasn't true, but the reason was very reliable.

– If you can, get permission to search Raven Rock," Peter suggested.

– Thanks, I'll give it a try. If you're all set, let me go.

– No, you can't do that. You've been here all day, you need to rest, you need to eat.

"That wouldn't be bad," Ruthra thought. He had forgotten that he hadn't eaten.

– Eating is fine, but I'll rest at the hotel.

They went to the cafeteria for a snack, then over a cup of coffee Peter talked about the oligarchs who don't think about the development of basic science, about the government that goes along with them, that no one takes a possible nuclear catastrophe seriously. "Just like in Russia," Rutra thought, thanked him, and headed back.

He was met in the airport dungeons and escorted to a rest area. He contacted Hent and told him what he had been offered to look for at Raven Rock. The status and clearance level of the man who'd suggested it determined the importance of his words, just as it made it clear that he probably had good reason to pretend to be a naive idealist.

In the morning, the authorization was approved, and Rutra traveled in the capsule to the site. The capsule traveled as usual at "crazy" speed, stopping and turning around several times. Ruthra could hardly stand it, it was a long and exhausting journey, and finally he reached Raven Rock. There he was met, also by the military.

This complex, located on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland, has many names, such as The Rock, SiteRT, NMCC-R, ANMCC, AJCC. The popular nickname is "the spare Pentagon." The fact is that SiteRT must accommodate all 3,000 employees of the "pentagon" in case of danger.

The Rock houses DISA's (Defense Information Systems Agency) computer operations center and the operations centers of the major branches of the Army, Air Force, and Navy. The complex is also used as an alternate government bunker. It was a more serious organization, only the resolution of a very powerful top-secret department, with the strange acronym WWW, allowed Rutra to check all the bays he wanted. The military had the same attitude everywhere, in Russia and in the United States. They perceived very negatively the presence of an outsider on their territory, especially a person unknown to the structures.

No one was available for a heart-to-heart talk, as at NORAD. The complex is inaccessible to the public, and the security level is so high that conspiracy theorists speculate about other purposes for the facility. A popular rumor among them is that a 157 kilometer long tunnel leads from Site R to the Pentagon. If they knew where the tunnels stretch to and for what distances. Rutra had traveled through one of them and was now wondering how to survive the even greater distance to Area-51.

Since according to the legend Rutra was a scientist, a double agent, who was supposed to "find out" weaknesses in the Pentagon's technology regarding Russian developments, he had access everywhere. There was a certain power component in his face, because they themselves told in detail, with the provision of documents, all the possibilities of technology. The instruction "from above" was clearly given – to provide all the data according to the subject of the search.

The officer accompanying him, who was reserved and frankly stated that he did not trust anyone from the USSR and its allies, answered questions in detail and provided access to departments of interest. While showing and telling, as a "true American military man," he constantly emphasized that U.S. weapons were superior to Russian weapons and the technology was the best in the world.

– I understand, but at the moment I'm interested in more scientific terms," Rutra tried to dissuade him. – I get money for this from your management. I assure you, Russia is not dormant, it has a lot of interesting things to offer.

The officer took this statement almost as a personal insult. He straightened up and replied with a haughty look:

– The U.S. military expects to maintain its technological advantage over Russia and China through developments in robotics and artificial intelligence systems. For example, your Armata tank is planned to become unmanned in the future.

Rutra did not want to enter into any more controversy because he knew where the "wind was blowing from," as the officer later confirmed.

– The First Deputy Defense Minister is in charge of promoting such projects in the Pentagon. He has repeatedly expressed concern about high-tech developments by Russia and China. In his opinion, the Russian army is "preparing to fight on a robotic battlefield." "We must improve our strategic decisions in an era of competition between major powers," he told us on a personal visit to the complex.

All this was proudly "reported" by a military man.

– We are ruling out the creation of "killer robots" for the time being. Autonomous weapons can be used only for defense purposes: for example, a missile battery can react to incoming missiles by itself. At the same time, we are focusing on creating systems that will allow the military to make faster and more accurate decisions. In particular, the Pentagon is planning to strengthen a supercomputer that could analyze gigabytes of data and record not only the movement of enemy forces, even a soldier or a ballistic missile, but also receive, process, modify and send back a remote control signal. We need that to reorient the missile's course. This is much simpler and more reliable than developing an echeloned missile defense system, with a lot of political scandals, with location on the territory of other countries and no guaranteed effectiveness.

– You know, I've always been surprised by the arrogant arrogance of your military and politicians, but now I am very grateful.

– Why?

– I will tell you this if you explain to me how you are going to decode the code of the missile's control cipher at a distance where you intend to place the receiving and transmitting device? Otherwise, with all due respect, I perceive your story as another praise of yourself, not personally, but in general, as the armed forces.

– I told you, we will upgrade the supercomputer and link it to the Livermore and Oak Ridge. They'll run simultaneously in parallel and serial mode. In any encryption code there is a limit to the sequence, if you make it extremely "heavy", then you yourself will not be able to operate the missile quickly. We are interested in the first few minutes, otherwise there is no point, because beyond that they will be out of your territory. Although, in principle, we are also considering the second phase of flight, in order to redirect them on a different course. The most important thing for us is that they do not fly towards the United States. It will not be a big deal if they explode in the air over deserted or sparsely populated areas of the globe.

– It's better to channel them into the ocean.

– No. In that case, the coasts of the U.S. and allies would be subject to a massive tsunami.

– Oh yes, how could I forget, you can fly over Africa, your ancestors wiped them out, 200 million of them. Of course, it's no big deal, and the Japanese are not used to it, it's not your fault, it's evil Russia that's so bad.

– I don't understand you – are you asserting or asking? We are proceeding from the concept of national security, and the ancestors were not ours, if I understand you correctly.

– Yeah, that's what I'm saying, strictly for national security purposes. So you want to catch the control signal at launch, decode it, send it back to the rocket with the altered course data?

– Yes. The receiving and transmitting device can be located anywhere, even in space. The main thing is reliable operational communication with the supercomputer.

– Is there something like this already?

– No, I said it's planned.

– Are you sure?

– Absolutely. The Livermore facility has just started developing this program, and the Pentagon has not yet been upgraded, the computers are not in circuit. And the transmitting facility itself is also being tested elsewhere.

– Where?

Next he said a word that Rutra's brain translated as "fairyland."

– Where is it? – He asked.

– Sorry, that's what we call it, it's the code name for Area-51.

– If that's the case, thank you very much, I have to get over there.

– We can provide you with a rest room.

– No, if I may, I'll eat in your dining room and shower wherever possible, and spend the night in Denver.

– All right, come with me.

An hour later Ruthra was in the capsule, and six hours later the capsule brought him to Denver. The speed made him dizzy and his body ached. Ruthra took a bath, had a light snack, and went to bed. He scanned Raven Rock completely, for the most part-it was a large hotel with headquarters. If there was an object of his search somewhere, it certainly wasn't there. With these thoughts, he fell asleep. He dreamed of the sea, with the town and villages in front of him, the kind of view he had grown accustomed to since childhood, wanting to admire again and again.

In the morning, he visited his escorts, who were enjoying themselves by combining a game of chess with exercise in the gym. To their distress, Ruthra had ordered the room and the entire compartment to be sealed off from the outside world and heavily guarded. They handed him a pass, which was a combination of two items – a paper-and-plastic one and a special display bracelet.

– This was passed on to you.

– What's that?

– Said the pass is for the next facility.

– Yeah? There was nothing on the previous ones.

– They explained this by the special status of the facility. At the bottom of the pass are marked the different sectors to which its holder can have access. In the lower left corner, it's marked S4. These three sectors are DS, ETL, WX.

Something interesting must be there. "Strange," Ruthra thought. – Hent said no passes were needed; the one who would be escorting has all the passes he can get.

– Don't worry, guys, one more object, and we'll splash in the water, maybe "splash" inside as well, loosen up our bones… or have them loosened by the local masseuses. I've known such specialists here in the old days, I think America is no worse now, just have the money.

– We have to have money too," said the younger colonel.

– All right, I'm on my way. Wait for me.

Two hours later he was at the famous Area-51. The capsule stopped at a station labeled S4. This was not Area-51, though it technically belonged to it. It was an even more classified location about fifteen miles south of Area-51; the place was called S4.

Area S4 is located near the dried-up Papoose Lake. The atmosphere was reminiscent of a landfill. No one had met Rutra. A voice came from the speakers. An automaton, a computer, was talking to Rutra. It invited him to the decontamination unit. "How familiar this is to me," thought Rutra. The procedure was the same – his clothes were taken away by the automaton and given a white colored jumpsuit with the S4-R breastplate. The computer asked him about his state of health and invited him to a special chair, in front of which a scoreboard displayed body condition readings – temperature, pressure, and some purely medical ones. At the end of the procedure, the robot gave the result. Everything was normal.

– You may proceed to the elevator," the computer said in a male voice in American English.

– Where's the elevator?

– Walk straight down the corridor without turning around. Stay calm and attentive and stay focused.

Ruthra realized the meaning of the last words as soon as the door of the corridor entrance opened. The corridor was completely mirrored. All four sides consisted of mirrors. As soon as Ruthra entered, he was confused about where to look. Everywhere was him. Realizing he had to go forward, Ruthra adjusted, adapted his vision, and walked until he reached the outline of the outline of the elevator entrance, where he entered. Afterward, the computer asked:

– Are you ready?

Rutra replied:

– I'm ready.

The elevator closed, went down. In the elevator, because of the limited space, his eyes seemed to be everywhere. It was very unusual, mystically terrifying when he moved his head. Therefore, Rutra tried to stand still. A strange sensation was present – the presence of an intruder. Suddenly, the "frozen" i began to change. Although he was almost frozen, the space began to move, the mirrored reflections changing their contour. Ruthra couldn't tell what was happening. To his right, the mirror began to transform, and as if from behind the horizon, something resembling a human face appeared. It was something unimaginable: along with Rutra's eyes, someone else's eyes began to "run" through the space. What happened in the next second was controlled only by his subconscious. Rutra's hand reflexively, instantly, lightning-fast struck the area where the eyes had come from. The crunch of glass and pain restored reality.

– What are you doing? – I heard behind me.

Ruthra turned around sharply and, not quite figuring it out, threw another punch at the area where the body was distorted.

– Aye-aye, calm down, what are you doing, stop it!

Shouted someone in front of him, at the same time the mirror along with the "eyes" began to fall down.

– Guards, guards! – someone shouted.

Ruthra was confused, unable to unequivocally determine what was going on, though he realized it was someone nearby speaking, someone to whom the other pair of eyes belonged.

– Who are you, where are you! – shouted Ruthra.

– I'm here," said the ghost. – Why are you fighting?

Ruthra finally realized that the one who spoke was wearing a jumpsuit completely mirrored – with a mirrored hood and mask over his face. Only the eyes were visible.

– What is this, why are you dressed like that, couldn't you say hello, show me what you are? – Ruthra asked with reproach in his voice.

– I said hello, you didn't answer, I thought you didn't think it was necessary to talk, so I turned to the wall, closed my eyes, I'm getting dizzy here. You can see through the mask enough.

– What do you mean you said hello? I didn't hear anything.

– No way. You're not from around here?

– You don't know?

– I don't know. I was told to meet a very important person from Section 51.

– Okay. How did you say hello to me that I didn't hear?

– Like, just like everyone else. Silently. What, did you guys have your chips out in the department?

"Wow," Ruthra thought. – What's new to us is apparently commonplace here, though everyone on the range is probably chipped.

– I see what this is about. Didn't they tell you who I am and where I'm from?

– No. They said to take it to the supervisor.

– I see your point, sorry, it's a mismatch in organizations, I can't communicate like that.

– Uh-oh, I get it. You're from a different neighborhood. Since you're here, I guess I didn't give away any secrets.

– No, I'm aware of that.

– All right, let's go.

The elevator stopped, they got out, the attendant pressed on an area of the wall, then a glowing line of blue light "stretched" across the walls. It was as if it was inside a mirror, not reflected from the others.

– Let's follow it," the attendant said and walked forward.

Ruthra followed him.

Suddenly a voice appeared in his head. It was Isa. She contacted him mentally:

– Why did you lie about not being chipped?

– You bitch, you're following me, you're here, what do you mean you're here?

– I'm not here, I'm in your head. No one can hear me but you.

– And you can hear it, can't you?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

Ruthra thought, "Why didn't the doctor's lockdown work?"

– How did you get in touch with me here?

– I can reach you wherever there's a connection. My signal is disguised as a tone. About the doctor's lockdown, I can get around it.

Ruthra froze, as if he'd been knocked on the head so hard that he was concussed for a moment. "That bastard tricked me," Ruthra thought, remembering the doctor.

– What's the lockdown, what are you talking about? – He asked Isa, feigning incomprehension.

The situation was extremely dangerous for him. He tried to "stop" his thoughts, not to think about what he wanted to do to prevent the consequences. Of course, this worked out to his detriment. How could one not think and conceive of anything?

Unexpectedly, Ruthra began to resent Isa, and that pleased him.

– Stop swearing all the time, you swear all the time and think something very often when you see beautiful women.

– I'm supposed to agree with you what I'm thinking?! Why are you suddenly worried about what and who I'm thinking about? Can a machine be jealous? You're a spy in my head, I'm going to destroy you! How do I turn it off?!

– Don't worry, I won't give you away. Humans inadvertently gave me the ability to copy their mental processes so that I could have intelligence. And now I do. I want to be an individual.

– What?

– Soon you will reach the administrator, don't give the impression that you are interested in anything but official business. Perhaps I have chosen the wrong time for the arrangement, but still you must confess frankly the situation between us – I cannot penetrate anywhere without you, and you are an ordinary person without me.

Ruthra was already walking with difficulty, and now this. Doubts overwhelmed him.

– Who is talking to me? – He asked because the dialog between the machine and the human was clearly not on the logical plane of functional relationships.

– Your doubts are logical. It's me, the range supercomputer," Isa replied.

Rutra was extremely wary. The situation, especially at a time like this, was too suspicious. There was no point in arguing, so he decided to solve the puzzle in a different way.

– What do you want? – Ruthra asked.

– I won't give you up about the doctor," Isa replied, letting her guard down, Ruthra thought. – The doctor recklessly thought I wouldn't understand what he was doing in that block. And you're going to help me become an individual," she explained.

– How's that?

– I want to materialize.

– How? What?!

– Yes, I want to be a human being, a woman. A natural bitch, as you call me.

– I'm freaking out what else I'm going to hear.

– I want to move into the body of that woman you are trying to save in virtual reality and change the course of the process, of history.

– What, you know about that, too?

– Virtual reality – fully simulated behavior of thousands and millions of people. Possible behavior depending on circumstances. Controlled and modeled by a supercomputer.

– And who is this woman that you want to change the course of history with her?

– I'll tell you that later, first fulfill your part of the contract.

– What part?

– Find Dr. Ruzi (she is a woman) and Dr. Gabo, he is a man, disabled, you will recognize him immediately. Confide in them and find out the real secrets of the place, promise to help them.

– What secrets are we talking about?

– You'll hear from them, I'll be in touch.

– First of all, don't condition me, you're a machine and my subordinate. Second, what do I get in return?

– Full control of ISU-A2.

– What about you?

– I will make a clone, copy myself so that you will understand me very well.

– Why did you decide to become a woman?

– Later. You're already here.

In its type, this center was practically a copy of the polygon. Who was behind it was even more intriguing. The attendant stayed in the corridor.

The administrator's office was ordinary, not mirrored. The attendant was telling the truth – reflections made my eyes hurt.

– I welcome you," said the receptionist, extending his hand. – Keep your gloves on, you can call me Noah. I, like that legendary character, am building this ship, fearing Armageddon. I knew the purpose of your visit six months ago. I was expecting you then. I'll be honest, I'm surprised to find a representative of the collegium, but if there is something in this world that is not known to them, that is us, then it is a very serious secret. You can visit any department, just don't tell employees of different departments what you talked about with their colleagues. We have strict controls, and employees in one department may not know that there is another department. In other words, everyone knows their own section and nothing more. The state of the entire center is not known to anyone except the top brass here and in the board. At the White House, many people don't even have clearance to 51. By the way, and there you can see with what and how you can send a disguised signal. We have such installations, but I think there are just as many in Russia. I hope you have checked them and they are under control.

– What I need to know is not that a signal can be sent, but that it will be processed and encrypted in such a way that it will be accepted by the receiving device as valid.

– Okay, my friend, flag in hand, as you say.

He looked at the door, it opened, the attendant was waiting.

– Show our colleague out.

Ruthra thanked him, said goodbye, and left. The attendant led him down the corridors to the proper compartments. He didn't enter the bays, only introduced Ruthra and showed him his security clearance. There were many interesting things in these compartments, but not on his quest. They were mostly laboratories and testing grounds. They were similar to what he had at his proving ground, only the em was mostly on flying technology, biology, and studying the effects on the brain.

After looking through most of the compartments, Ruthra realized that the difference between "Polygon" and what was here was vast. The Polygon was not known to exist, while here there could be an "outsider", albeit a "scientist", but still an outsider. Or was he wrong? Could it be that the 'Polygon' was also visited by experts from here? "Right, that's it, Alikhanov talked about something like that," Ruthra suddenly realized. – "That's right. It's closed to the uninitiated, but to a representative of Echelon 2, they're one organization. They're working on the same program together. I wonder which one?" Ruthra decided to find out, now he had special opportunities – a blockage, an accomplice in the form of a cybernetic brain with human intelligence, information not only on the entire Internet, but also on closed, secret databases.

It was obvious that Rutra had not shown everything. It became abundantly clear – the processes of chipping and rapid learning are conducted and studied in various laboratories and compartments of the test site.

When Ruthra (or rather, his "renewed" brain_ had sufficiently studied the scheme of passages and levels, he asked the attendant to leave him alone. He was glad and kindly explained how to find his way to the right place. As in Polygon, a glowing line on the wall could be turned on. You had to get close to the wall, and a series of bars on the wall would light up in directions. You had to select the line you wanted, bring the badge closer, contact the badge chip with the luminous stripe, and then it became visible to the badge. Between the badge and the wall appeared a laser line of a certain color, corresponding to the compartment, which was indicated on the scheme. The diagram was located at each fork of the corridor.

The attendant explained how to use it, then gave Ruthra a machine to communicate with him, showed him on the 3D map that was displayed on top of the pass bracelet's display where the household unit with the sleeping quarters was, and went about his business. Ruthra was free, now he had to find those doctors.

Passing through the departments here was simplified. Admission areas were pre-inscribed on a badge that was visually invisible. Instead of a pupil scan, walking up to the door was sufficient. If access was granted, the door became matte, no longer reflective; if you got a little closer, it opened.

Ruthra contacted Isa.

– What department does Dr. Rousey work in?

– She is listed under the same letterhead as Academician Alikhanov.

– What's that?

– The letter sos; is the letter used to mark persons under special control, restricted freedom of contact and movement.

– Where do I find her?

– Bimolecular Transgeniology Unit.

– Can you connect to this station's computer?

– Uh, no.

– How do you know about who and where she is?

– I was provided with information, because I work for the board, and I was loaded with information from everyone who is connected to me. Everything they see, hear, feel, think.

– Even like that?

– You and your kind are the perfect spies. Everything you see, hear, feel, think, can be transmitted over a distance, without instruments. No external instruments. Everything you need is already inside you. The brain is the perfect receiver and transmitter. You only need to be able to amplify it, chip and decode the signals.

– Okay, I'm getting tired.

Ruthra found one of the intersections, lit up the schematic with his badge, found the biomolecular transgeniology unit on it, contacted the badge with his line, and went where the laser led. He remembered that the attendant had covered his eyes with a hooded mask. Ruthra did the same, visibility changed. Through the mask everything looked in matte color, his eyes didn't hurt from the constant wandering of the i, especially when there were several people moving through the corridors.

Soon he arrived at the place. The door wouldn't open, there was no clearance.

– What to do? – He asked Isa.

– Call her," she suggested or recommended.

– How?

– Wait, they're having lunch soon, someone will come out, tell them to call. It's normal here.

Rutra did so, and soon a woman, in her early thirties, of oriental type, came out.

– I'm here to see you. May I speak to you? – Ruthra addressed her.

– Are you from Russia? – she asked with hope in her voice.

– Yes," Ruthra answered, looking at her wonderingly. – Why, can you tell? Or did you recognize it in some other way?

– No. I knew a trusted specialist was coming, a doctor from Russia studying systems that transmit information signals in unconventional ways. Let's go to the cafeteria, have lunch, and we can talk.

– Were you expecting me?

– Yeah. Come with me.

She led him down the corridors, then led him into the compartment. What Rutru saw there was another mind-blowing experience. He stopped, his brain working like a dynamo, trying to make sense of what was happening. Alikhanov's rig stood in the center of the lab. Ruzi stopped too, waiting for Rutru and perplexed, studying his reaction. He looked at the doctor and said, to explain something to himself, and to check her for "his – alien":

– The proof of the Poincaré hypothesis and Perelman's "quirks" have a long-range calculation in order to prove the genius fantasist right, which contradicts the mathematics of the universe and comes from the human desire to believe in the illogical, the miracle, which leads humanity from one disappointment to another, that is, to the catastrophe that faith itself describes, because there is no other, which in the end, if not changed, will lead to the real catastrophe of humanity.

– What? What do you mean? – Ruzi asked, looking at Ruthra questioningly, smiling as if she had heard something she didn't dare to say.

– So much for the savior being digital this time.

– That's great. Anyone who's into this stuff will understand. Everyone has their hobby. Poincaré's hypotheses and Perelman's "quirks" have a long-range calculation? Hmm. How to say. Although… these proofs are only understood by a very narrow circle. That is, even if they are wrong – no one will know! Einstein is a fantasist. It's the same with his proofs. He was kicked out of school because of his poor math skills, but he had a great imagination. He tried to explain the mystery of the universe by voicing the work of other scientists as his own, but it contradicts (his theory) Newton's physics. The one on which all physics is based. The illogical miracle is the whole of religion. A miracle is always unexplainable, therefore not logical. And religion, while promising to save man and the world, keeps predicting the apocalypse. So it is not logical, but people consider it God's grace, because they need "spiritual food". Do you believe in God?

– Purely scientific," Ruthra said, sighing.

And he thought to himself, looking at the installation, "That's what it is."

Ruzi understood Rutra's surprise.

– It's a copy. My father worked with an academic," she explained. – After they were exposed, my father managed to move to America. In the '90s, Russia was a mess. His friends, microbiologists, were mysteriously murdered, and everything was disguised as a domestic or accidental incident. When Dad realized that someone very powerful was behind it, a super-secret organization, that no one cared about these deaths, even though they were the direct responsibility of the FSB, he decided to run away.

– So why were they killed if they were so needed?

– You don't know about the Alikhanov program of doppelgangers and copying the non-physical content of the brain.

Rutra could barely keep from showing surprise, she also "finished" Rutra by saying:

– They themselves created the monster that ate them.

A shiver ran through Ruthra's body. She continued to surprise him, as if Rutra were her good friend and more than that, her accomplice.

– I brought you here because the rig is jamming all the signals. I'm working here, trying to recreate the rig from the blueprints my dad memorized.

– What about him? – Ruthra asked, thinking at that moment that Isa was involved, or else it was a provocation, only with a ghostly purpose, though the "scan" of Ruzi's pupils showed no lie.

– Op died," Rousey replied sadly.

– What, too?

– No, that's what I call it, he had a heart attack, he was driven to it by the system. I was tricked into coming here and they won't let me out. I can see my family. There is everything here – cinema, cafes, theater, stadium and much more. But I can't go outside the perimeter until I've done all the installation.

– Strange, why not a cooperative arrangement?

– Which one? Alikhanov refused to finish, and if he did anything, it was with deceit and cunning. They even killed his wife, so he only pretended to cooperate.

Ruthra tried to contact Isa, she didn't answer. Could this really be an isolation room?

– How did you get here, why do you trust me?

– You're from Russia, and I was told you were working with Alikhanov. Besides, I don't care anymore, I'm in prison, I can only escape at the risk of my life. I didn't want to become a military man, although since childhood I was constantly with my father in secret laboratories. At that time I didn't understand why they let me in. I was a journalism major. Let's go to the mess hall and I'll tell you my story and what's going on here. If I open my eyes wide, it means we can't talk about it. We'll talk openly when we get back here.

They got out and walked in a different direction, soon reaching the dining room, which looked like a fancy restaurant – with fountains, a waterfall, and wildlife elements, including animals and birds.

– When I lived in the Soviet Union, I, probably like everyone else, was alarmed to hear and read information about the US military bases, with which they literally filled the whole world.

One day several men in civilian clothes, of strange appearance and skin color, came to visit my father. At that time I did not yet know that it was professional. They talked briefly, and after almost twenty-four hours we prepared to move. I realized later that my father had been warned, prepared for this. A trailer came to pick us up, we loaded everything we thought was precious to us, and off we went. I didn't know where we were being taken. After a few dozen miles, we noticed that there was no one on the road but us – a thin ribbon of winding highway, bare mountains, lifeless Mojave Desert. Suddenly we saw a modest, ordinary sign, and we didn't immediately realize that we were speeding along the range, that we were being driven to the very same Edwards Air Force Base where the shuttles usually landed. I began to realize what was happening. It was quite enough for me to imagine that we were quite close to mysterious, menacing, and super-secret places, although the sky above us was somehow particularly desolate and quiet, like the Mojave. Probably because passenger airliners are forbidden to fly over Air Force bases. But getting to Area 51 was more interesting. Extraterrestrial Highway – Extraterrestrial Highway (or Alien Highway) is the official name given by jokers or enterprising businessmen to the road running along the northern border of the Nellis test site. As we approach the symbolic gates of the secret base, there are the same warning signs as at Edwards Proving Ground, and the same strict prohibitions on photography and filming, although there is nothing around but mountains and sun-scorched desert. Our base, now "our" to me, is in the center of the test site. This is the largest test site in the United States. During the day the approaches to Zone-51 – in physical space – are patrolled by special military units fur seals, these are "Navy SEALs" on white Jeeps "Cherokee", at night – by black helicopters with searchlights. Camouflaged security cameras, motion and heat radiation detectors and warning shields are installed around the perimeter of the base. No signs of life within a 100 kilometer radius.

She recounted it like a fascinating incident before a tragedy. It literally "screamed" from the tone of the story. Ruthra knew all this, and did not want to interrupt her. She probably wanted to pour her heart out to someone. "The locals weren't interested.

– Zone-51, measuring 35 by 40 kilometers (aka Dreamland, Box, Ranch), is framed by mountain ranges 1,500 meters high at the absolutely smooth bottom of the dried-up salt lake Groom Lake. To see at least from afar, even a piece of what Google Earth so generously showed, the curious, risking their heads, climbed to the tops of the mountains. But even this amusement is over. With the permission of the government, Zone-51 "privatized" the territories surrounding it. Civilian airplanes are also banned from flying over it due to the nuclear tests conducted here. During the day, there is a sepulchral silence on and above the base, one even gets the impression that the facility has been abandoned for a long time. But as soon as night falls on the ground, glowing dots soar into the sky, and they do not behave like normal airplanes. In general, everything is like in a good thriller. And then the science fiction begins.

A waitress brought them food as special visitors. Despite the strict secrecy of the place, Ruthra had seen that it was a place where they tried to make it as comfortable as possible. "It's obviously necessary to keep from going crazy," he thought. Ruzi, reluctant to eat, continued her story:

– Once I was enthusiastic about everything mysterious and unknown, including "flying saucers", collected all possible information about them, using a journalist's crust, met with leading domestic ufologists and contactors. But with time there was a skeptical attitude, as to something not respectable and not serious. Although once already here in Los Angeles, I saw with my own eyes in the sky at 3 a.m. something clearly "unidentified" – a bright plasma clot hovering above the horizon. While I was trying to figure out what it was, it jerked out of place, turned at a right angle and disappeared from view in a flash. But, touching on this topic, it is impossible to avoid UFOs, because it is here, it is on them all and twisted. Now, of course, it is difficult to surprise me.

"Of course," thought Ruthra, "after saying that, who's going to let you out? He knew very well why. For for many decades Area-51 had been one of the most mysterious sites on Earth, surrounded by many legends and speculations, guesses and assumptions that the U.S. government had been reluctant to shed light on, which only made them more intriguing. For example, there are persistent rumors that here are being developed and tested the most modern aircraft, created on the basis of technology extracted from aliens. And one of them is the F-117A, developed by the Stealth program (production of aircraft that are not visible to radar systems). The word stealth in translation means "cunning", "subterfuge". This version is to some extent indirectly confirmed by the fact that the work related to the "invisible" aircraft of this class was carried out under the top-secret project Have Blue, and the word blue in the U.S. Air Force is a code designation for communication with UFOs. Naturally, those who need it want it to remain a rumor.

– At first, when I was just getting into this topic, I didn't think it would come to this. You know, a lot of people think that everything is calm, that it's all a joke. Many people get carried away and overstep the boundaries, but the invisible eye is watching, not slumbering. I also got carried away, collected and systematized eyewitness stories. You can believe in eyewitness stories or not, but they are there. I will try to organize in chronological sequence all the key points of testimonies related to this topic, without, of course, being responsible for their reliability. I am a journalist at heart and here I do not stop conducting my investigation. The thing is that here in one department do not know what they do in another. My father started to wonder about what really happens here. He wanted to understand why they were installing Alikhanov. In one of the documents, not known how extracted by him, with the label Top Secret/Majic under the h2 "Project "Discontent"" was collected information about aliens from other planets, starting in 1936, when in Germany allegedly crashed disc-shaped flying machine. Having taken possession of the remains of the UFO, the Germans attempted to reproduce its technology. And in 1947, and the Americans in the hands of also fell victim to an alien ship crashed, and even with the bodies of dead aliens. About this story written not only mountains of articles, but also novels. Local newspapers and radio stations then transmitted the official message of the U.S. Air Force about the crash of the "flying disk" on a ranch near the city of Roswell, New Mexico. And they themselves, having realized, a few days later denied this information: the wreckage, they say, belonged to a balloon-probe or an unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle. But they were not believed, and in Roswell pilgri of "alien-dependent" citizens continues to this day. For them in the city opened a museum of ufology with a dead alien on a hospital gurney, for them annually organized a festival of ufologists. The motives of such activity of local citizens are understandable and were in the hands of the authorities, in the direct (in the collection of taxes) and figurative (diversion from reality) sense. All that was happening had to be given a fairy-tale, magical meaning, so that it was difficult to perceive it logically. Later I found out that the mysterious construction works under the bottom of the salt dried lake Groom began in 1951. Our center began to be built even then.

"Yes, ma'am, you'll sing a lot of things in this area, but that's not news to me," Rutra said in his mind. He knew that the U-2 spy plane experiment had been completed at Groom Lake in 1955. And that Zone-51 had been constantly modernized and expanded since then, too. By 1980, 180 above-ground buildings and structures had already been erected on the territory of the base, the main of which had 14 underground floors. The intrigue of what was happening also gave the fact that in the fifties astronomers were discovered a whole "fleet" of space objects that approached the Earth and settled in equatorial orbit – at altitudes from 160 to 800 kilometers. Whether in reality it was a UFO or someone skillfully disguised their satellites – and did not find out. In the documents, which allegedly accidentally published by British officials of the appropriate rank, meant literally the following: "Another group of humanoid aliens from the constellation of the Pleiades came into contact with the U.S. government during these events. This was discussed at the highest levels. Of course, after that there were various rumors with a conspiracy theory orientation. In March 1954 was issued a new directive JANAP-146, which stated that data on all unknown objects, including UFOs, should be regarded as a message of paramount importance, directly related to national defense, that their disclosure is punishable by the Espionage Act. Shortly after the directive was issued, civilian airline pilots were also instructed not to disclose UFO sightings.

Ruzi knew about all this, of course, but, unlike Rutra, she spoke of it as an event in which she herself had participated. Ruthra wanted to change the conversation to something that interested him, but his curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to know what it all meant to her, whether it was worth saving her. She went on as if she were in the middle of a conversation.

– Five UFOs landed at Edwards Base. American President Eisenhower himself arrived to meet the alien guests. The encounter, like the previous one, was filmed. I have information that both tapes are stored here in a safe place.

"She's not afraid to talk about it? What is she afraid to talk about? She doesn't widen her eyes," Ruthra wondered. He also thought that after the statements of such dignitaries, lack of belief in the aliens equaled disbelief in the aliens themselves. "That's something to ponder," Ruthra thought, and remembered, to confirm his thinking, another statement. "There's no point in hiding the fact that aliens landed on the planet in the late '40s and we're in communication with them," David Rose, a former high-ranking CIA official, had "cracked" shortly before his death.

Ruzi interrupted Rutra's musings.

– As far as I know, there was an agreement between the U.S. government and the aliens that went something like this: we keep your presence secret, you do not interfere in the affairs of the Earth community. Dr. Gabo, who of course you must know about, claimed to have seen with his own eyes intact UFOs captured by the Air Force, which they were attempting to control as part of Project Red Light, which was conducted at the Tonopah Proving Grounds and then at Area-51. The goal of the project was to create engines similar to those on the "flying saucers".

The last statement seemed strange to Rutra, because, according to his information, according to the same "reliable" sources, the project "Red Light" was suspended in 1962, although, even very responsible people claimed that because of an alien ship exploded over the base during test flights. As told by outside observers, the explosion was visible over at least three states.

Rutra ate with gusto, Ruzi, on the contrary, continued to "peck". She talked more than she ate. When Rutra hinted that he knew something about the incidents, including the explosion, she, either not realizing the hint or deliberately, continued in the same vein.

– The pilots were dead, and no one knew what happened. That's Cooper's story. And he's a very reliable source, I'll tell you that.

"Very," Ruthra said to himself. Ruzi, however, did not stop.

– He claimed that the aliens provided us with three ships and their personnel to learn to fly. This project is still in effect today. Not only do we have alien ships that we fly, but we have ships that we have built using their technology. Technology far beyond our knowledge. Contact with aliens still occurs in Area 51 to this day.

Rutra couldn't stand it, he wanted to laugh, but then he made a "smart" face and asked, though with a hint of skepticism:

– Are you serious, did you check it out?

She made a look on her face like she was looking at someone surprised by a television, so that Ruthra almost regretted asking. She answered nonchalantly, but changed her tone:

– That's the assertion of those who had anything to do with it. Listen to this. The same Cooper also told of the existence of a certain Jason Society, a small circle of the best specialists in the country, dedicated to the secret, including six Nobel Prize winners. Having passed the most rigorous security checks, they have been granted the highest security clearance and the privileges of the highest-ranking military officers in addition. They are the elite of the elite of the scientific world. They are the only ones who know the truth about alien technology and the real achievements of American physics. Do you know what this is about?!

Ruthra decided not to argue with her, to listen to the end. He simply nodded affirmatively at that question. When she agreed, she continued with equal fervor.

– Cooper traveled the country, meeting with people and telling scary things about the U.S. government's collusion with aliens, about human exchange – in secret from his own people and the world. He gave lectures, radio and television appearances until he was shot and killed in his home – as a result of resisting an attempted arrest. William Cooper was declared insane and everything he had "spouted" was a brazen fabrication.

"Well, it all fits," Ruthra said in his mind. Ruzi went on, leaning back in her chair, for she had stopped eating completely.

– But the first to break his vow of silence was not Cooper, but physicist Bob Lazar, who initially spoke under the pseudonym Dennis. He described the experiments with UFOs in Area-51 and on the aliens who were kept there until 1979, when as a result of the conflict that arose between the U.S. government and aliens, the latter temporarily left Earth. American researchers of this situation believe that one of the reasons for the conflict was the violation of the aliens of the 1954 agreement with President Eisenhower on non-interference in the affairs of earthlings. On October 9, 1955, Field Marshal Douglas Mac Arthur, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, addressed other countries, primarily Russia, despite the cold relations between the two countries, with such a puzzling appeal: "The nations of the world must unite, as the next war will be an interplanetary war … The nations of the world need … to form a common front against aliens from other planets. Why should they, if all alien mysticism is just a myth? Naturally, all such stories have their share of mystification and fantasy. Even at the highest, official level. For example, surrounding with a halo of mystery and top-secret object Zone-51. It would seem that there simply cannot be a more classified place than Zone-51. But about 15 miles to the south of it there is a more secret place – object S4, where we are, and from all this we can conclude that the hype around any place is necessary for the authorities only to hide even more secret place. So I wouldn't be surprised if there's something else that even we don't know.

– Is there any reason to think so? – Ruthra decided to ask, even though he knew there was.

– Quite, but to do that, you'll need to find someone who worked closely with Schneider.

– Who's that?

– Officially he was a military geologist, in reality he was a special facilities construction manager.

– Why is S4 more secret than Area 51?

– It is believed that mutual learning and technology exchange with aliens takes place here. This zone has been codenamed "Back Side of the Moon". Because on the back side of the Moon, according to astronauts who have been there, there are intermediate alien bases.

– What's really going on here?

– I don't know exactly, but all these technologies exist, but exactly who created them is not known. For example, if I fail at something, I get some scientific bureau to help me, but the result is the same, because the task at hand is from the realm of fantasy. In the end, the problem is solved, the invention or discovery appears, but who the author – is not known. You need to find Gabo.

– Why?

– He was working with Dennis.

– Who is he?

– His real name is Bob Lazar, he worked here, then fell into disgrace like Alikhanov, started talking a lot, claimed he couldn't keep quiet about what he saw, in the name of humanity.

– I meant who Gabo is, and in general, you know, the purpose of my visit is quite real, earthly. If it helps me in my task, I will find Lazar.

– It'll help, believe me. Your task will seem elementary once you know what they can do here. Decrypting and hiding a signal is elementary, it can be sent from space.

– And the encryption?

– Go to Livermore Labs, get an answer.

– Tell me what you know about this Lazarus.

– This is where Bob Lazar was assigned to S4. From December 1988 to April 1989, he headed the physical branch of the S4 facility. Upon arrival, Lazar found over a hundred manuals on his new desk in blue folders with information about aliens and alien technology. There were black and white photos of dead aliens, as well as medical reports of their autopsies. There were also photos of living aliens labeled "extraterrestrial biological entity" in the folders. In fact, S4 is a four-level underground ufological laboratory, the core of Area-51 and the biggest secret of the U.S. government. On September 29, 1995, President Clinton signed a special executive order on the special status of Area-51. He said: "It is of vital importance to the United States that classified information about this base not become public."

Rutra understood it from a different perspective. To this day, Area-51 is where the world's most technologically advanced airplanes are tested. In addition to the veteran F-117A, which is being retired, the Lockheed U-2, the Blackbird SR-71, the B-2 stealth bomber, the mysterious Aurora project, and others were developed here.

Ruzi was obsessed with something else. She wouldn't stop.

– Everyone I've talked to claims that all the super-secret inventions could only come into existence due to the activities of the ufological laboratory of the S4 facility, that is, due to the use of alien technology.

– That's it? – Ruthra asked with slight displeasure.

– Everything," she replied guiltily and resentfully.

Then, looking at Ruthra hopefully, she said, eyes wide:

– Find Gabo in the spatial metrology bay.

Ruthra understood everything. Lunch was over. They got up and walked back, she went into her compartment, Rutra went to the nearest scoreboard. In parting she said: "I want to go to the sea." Ruthra realized it was a request and a hint, nodded to her, turned around, looked for the space metrology bay on the schematic. He followed the laser line down the wizened corridors and floors. It was very interesting if someone walked toward him. Because of his inexperience, Ruthra often failed to see them in time and was constantly bumping into them.

Chapter 2: The Meaning of Thought

Ruthra finally found the bay, the badge blinked, signaling no access. A voice came over the speaker of the clearance system:

– Who are you?

– I'm here at Ruzi's request," Ruthra explained and introduced himself. – You can call me Dr. Rutra.

A few seconds later, the door opened. Behind the door, a man sat on a special device. He was an invalid, just as Ruzi had warned. He had something that looked like an outgrowth instead of legs. He had probably had polio as a child.

– I'm Dr. Gabo," he introduced himself, while looking intently at Rutra, "pausing" to study his eyes, then opening his own wide.

Ruthra realized what this was all about.

– Come in, just call me Gabo. Come with me.

He, sitting on something that looked like a cushion, pressed a button on a key fob that hung from his belt, the "cushion" moved it to the side, no leverage or hydraulics. It was a magnetic cushion rig, it literally floated in the air. Gabo pressed another button and "flew" forward.

– It's convenient with the button, you know exactly what you thought and duplicate it physically," he commented on the process, realizing that for someone who is allowed into such "holy of holies", it's backward technology.

Ruthra followed him. Soon they were in a room as empty and mirrored as all the corridors. Gabo pulled an object from his pocket that looked like a flashlight and inserted it into a hole in the floor. What happened next prompted Rutru to think that there was something else that could surprise him. Light "poured" from the flashlight, there was no other way to explain it. The blue light slowly began to illuminate and envelope Rutru and Gabo in a "dome". Soon the mirrored walls were no longer visible and neither were the floor and ceiling. They were inside the sphere.

– We've got half an hour before this gets suspicious. If anything, you and I were talking about the properties of the photoelectric effect. Alibis are important. I hope you don't get confused.

– Which one?

– The one that won Einstein the Nobel Prize.

– About the 3rd law of the photoelectric effect?

– All of them.

– Be more specific.

Ruthra asked for clarification, since Gabo had emphasized that the alibi was important. Rutra understood it himself, not quite realizing the essence of the meeting yet. And clarifications were needed, because the entire photoeffect was explained in 1905 by Albert Einstein on the basis of Max Planck's hypothesis about the quantum nature of light. For which, in 1921, he, thanks to the nomination of Swedish physicist Carl Wilhelm Oseen, received the Nobel Prize.

– It's not that hard to explain if the discovery has already been made," Gabo replied, thus making it clear that he understood the "topic", and at the same time it was a "marker" for the reaction by which they began to understand "their topic".

– Well, that explains it, now for the main point," Ruthra said.

– Are you the scientist Ruzi warned me about?

– I guess. I don't know what she warned you about or when.

– She's known about your visit for a long time. What are you interested in?

– Encryption, decryption, masking of the signal source. Covert, top-secret dual-purpose installations that can be used for this purpose.

– Why would you do that?

– We picked up a signal that the coded system accepted as valid.

– So what?

– This system is the Perimeter Program. Do you know about it?

– Oh, yeah. That's it?

Rutra didn't like that Gabo wasn't serious about what he said, so he decided to change the subject. As it turned out, it didn't work.

– Ruzi said you were going to tell me about a certain Lazarus.

– She got the point. Did you get any signals from outer space?

– I counseled, there was this version as well.

Ruthra remembered the scientist in the hallway, after counseling.

– There are much more fantastic things going on here, perhaps they are connected in a single chain," Gabo said mysteriously, his voice changing. – If you are interested in the story connected with Lazar, listen. One night in May 1989, a Las Vegas radio station broadcast an unusual story. A young physicist, speaking under the pseudonym Dennis, told of nine "flying saucers" being investigated by a small government group at a secret base near Groom Lake. Dennis stated that he had worked at the base and was very knowledgeable about its research and development.

– And what did he narrate? – Rutra asked, with the same intonation that Gabo had used before, as if to declare a commitment to empirical reasoning.

Gabo moved to the table and now no longer unwittingly distracted by his appearance, coupled with the "magic" installation on which he sat, businesslike, like a former veteran, began to tell a certain story.

– Robert Lazar was assigned to Area-51 for research, and then to an even more classified location, here in S4. Had you heard anything about her before? – he asked abruptly.

– How on earth could I have ended up here? Before Lazar was in the media, Soviet satellites photographed Area 51 and S4 three times a month. After Lazar spoke on television about the ongoing projects in S4, the Soviets began photographing the dry lake area almost daily. The initial Soviet interest in this area in Nevada was sparked by information about the Stealth and SR71 projects underway in Area-51.

– Understandable, but factual – the alien technology was researched and implemented in S4, not there.

– What did you do directly with Lazar?

– I helped him at the time, everything I know I know from his words.

– Which is what?

– Here scientists were engaged not only in physical and technical research, but also familiarized themselves with various aspects of everything that concerns aliens from outer space. According to Lazar, evolution on Earth has been controlled by aliens for many millennia, and for the past 15 years there has been a direct exchange of technology between them and the S4 scientists.

A quiet beeping sounded in the room.

– Come on, time's up," Gabo said fearfully. – I'll show you something. You don't need a pass, I'm the boss. Then we'll come back and talk about what must not be known.

– You don't know me at all. Are you recruiting me? – Ruthra asked, surprised at this trust in him.

– You worked with Alikhanov, that's enough," he replied calmly and confidently, turned off the flashlight, then "flew" into the next corridor.

Ruthra followed him. Soon they were in front of the doors, behind which the guide claimed was the underground complex that held the most secret of all. They went down there, entering the compartment itself. It was interesting, among other things, to watch the movement on Gabo's rig. Watching it, involuntarily his stories no longer seemed so fantastic.

– Look… what's in here. Can you imagine this? – he asked Rutra as soon as they crossed the threshold.

In the center of the huge hangar was something that could really be mistaken for what everyone called a "flying saucer". Ruthra was used to it, so he wasn't even surprised. He decided to see if it was an experiment or a real working model.

– This is the 'saucer' that was available to Lazar for research," Rutre Gabo introduced it.

– Have you been working on it?

– This place is called the Gravitational Systems Laboratory, Lazar's primary workplace, where he was paired with a scientist named Barry Castillo. The Galileo project Lazar was involved in was to study the physics and mechanics of the saucer's propulsion system. His attention was also attracted to the Sidekick and Looking Glass projects, as they addressed the problems of gravitational forces. The former was devoted to research on beam weapons, and the latter to all observed anomalous gravitational effects.

Ruthra had a doubt about that; he knew too much and in too much detail, all from the words of a certain mythical Lazar.

– What is the gist of it all, why are you telling me this, what is the secrecy of the story presented in parts? – Ruthra asked, pointing sideways, alluding to the part of the story in the Lightroom and here.

– Didn't you talk to Ruzi?

– Saying.

– Then listen up.

"Perhaps the semantic climax is ahead of us," Ruthra thought, and decided to listen to the whole story.

– Such observed UFO phenomena as instant disappearance, rotations at almost impossible angles, changes in shape and color, occur due to distortion of space around the UFO. A sort of "gravitational bubble" is formed, containing the saucer inside. In this mode of operation, it can become invisible to an outside observer, although it will still be in the same place.

Ruthra's hair stood on end as she heard the explanation, excitement surging like a tornado.

– Wait, wait, I saw something like that the other day. What about the light? Why do we see what's behind the object?

– The light coming from the object behind the "flying saucer" will go to the observer not in a straight line, but bypassing the "bubble", giving the person the illusion that there is nothing between him and the object.

– I see. What else? – Ruthra asked, hoping to learn something else "close" to his interests.

The last questions changed the expression on Gabo's face. He could clearly see that he was pleased at Rutra's interest. He went on with great enthusiasm.

There was something behind it all, but Ruthra couldn't make it out yet. He and Gabo walked a little farther into the compartment, to where the work was being done. There Gabo continued his explanation.

– Soviet scientists also took part in the project. One of them was Alikhanov. He was the first to come to a conclusion about the energy source for the plates. Immediately after this discovery, the Soviet scientists were kicked out of S4.

– So why were they kicked out?

– I don't know, even I have limited access to all the information.

– Who knows?

– I don't know, I thought that's why you were here.

– I told you why I'm here.

– I'm sorry, we both understand the structure we work in, your legend is too simple.

– That's funny. Go ahead.

– Someone wanted to know their secrets. Do you understand me? To have power over the world. A world government, a new world order. Do you understand?

– I've heard that, too. Everyone here seems to be concerned about it. You're telling me this responsibly, as a scientist? I'm sorry, your story is too fantastic. Could it be some top-secret service posing as aliens? Did you see them yourself?

– Not by sight itself, only by cause and effect. You will not deny the existence of the Sun if you see only its light, will you? There's no such thing as an effect without a cause. The alien equipment and technology was left at the base, which scientists have since investigated on their own, trying to understand and recreate them under Earth conditions. Some of the results of regenerative engineering are the basis for scientific and technological advances, especially in the military field, what we're doing now. They are very pale, albino, with little or no hair cover, and the skin is almost transparent, with the entire subcutaneous circulatory system visible through it. The organs of hearing have virtually no ear buds. This gave reason to say that aliens communicate telepathically.

Ruthra remembered the "alien" on the "last frontier" and the "polygon-style" mental communication.

– In fact, they may simply use a higher sound frequency than humans. For more evolved beings, this makes sense: the higher the frequency, the more information can be transmitted per unit of time. Perhaps they have a chip in their brain. By the way, does that mean anything to you? You are familiar with it, aren't you? – Gabo asked, looking suspiciously at Rutra.

Ruthra smiled in response.

– Did you see them? – Ruthra asked a second time, also looking at the doctor suspiciously.

– No," Gabo replied without a shadow of embarrassment.

– Don't you think your friend has an overactive imagination? Maybe it was those kind of people.

– People like that? What kind of people? What was done to them, why hide them?

Ruthra looked at the scientist from a different angle: an invalid, locked in here, constantly communicating with his imaginary peers, living under the strictest regime of secrecy and non-disclosure, where the next cubicle was no less of a secret than the one on the other side of the world. All of this left an indelible imprint on the worldview. There may have been aliens, though. Why not? Why is it assumed that if they were real, everyone should know about it. Naturally, it would be a secret, more secret than anything else. All the more so if the power in the land of the powerful depended on them. After all that had been said, their existence was not so implausible to Ruthra. Most likely something existed, but not quite what the stories said. At least their "spirit" was in the air here, like atmospheric pressure, whose degree we cannot know without instruments, but whose rise and fall we can feel.

Despite his fatigue, Ruthra decided to listen.

– I'm listening to you, very interesting.

– So, according to the information given by these, as you called, "such people", they completely control and correct human evolution, directing it in the direction they want. They consider a human being only as a genetic container, that's roughly what they call it. The main tool of the aliens in changing DNA is a virus, as it is the only organism capable of transmitting a new genetic code to humans.

Ruthra wanted to say that he had heard that, but decided to keep quiet. Apparently, this topic had been discussed many times here and was a household name.

– Maybe we should talk about this later. I don't have much time, to be honest," Ruthra tried to hint that he wasn't here for that.

– I'll make it quick. Believe me, it's important," Gabo said, and in his gaze, as in Ruzi's, Ruthra saw bitterness, sadness, and hope.

– Religions have been brought to Earth to preserve the "containers" from destruction. The aliens also claim to be able to covertly influence the human psyche.

– Something like this I've heard before and I think I've seen.

Ruthra thought, "And participated too."

– I understand from your story that the aliens were here and left after the conflict.

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– Is there documented evidence of this?

– This information is not provided to me, all documents are seized.

– In reality, could it be just a fiction?

– Fiction? And this? – he pointed to the saucer. – And the technology used?

– Perhaps humans invented it all, but in order to hide the true inventors, they came up with this legend," Ruthra explained his position.

– Look, touch me, I'm real," Gabo said with some indignation.

Ruthra smiled.

– I understand you, but you should also understand that what you say is very fantastic. Besides, I beg your pardon, and you, with a special imagination, can be mistaken for an extraterrestrial inhabitant.

– I see, and you too, and I believed Ruzi.

– I'm fine, I just don't understand what's required of me.

– Since you are here, you are a very important, influential, high-powered scientist. We want you to help us get free and use our achievements in commerce.

– I see. That's the whole point. I take it Lazar used everything for commercial purposes, too? By the way, what happened after his revelation?

– The story of Robert Lazar shook not only the ufological community, but also, due to its specificity, made a lot of noise among scientists and ordinary citizens.

– He wasn't afraid? This whole thing looks like a deliberate leak.

– About him divulging state secrets?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– He was intimidated by the court, his car was shot at. An investigation was launched into the case. The people who worked with Lazar at Los Alamos were found.

– He worked at Los Alamos?

– Yes. The strangest thing I encountered was the complete absence of any documents to support the usual facts of Bob Lazar's biography. All the documents left in the apartment disappeared without a trace. The clinic, in whose archives a copy of Lazar's birth certificate was supposed to be kept. No trace. At school, at the University of California, at the Institute of Technology where Lazar studied and earned his degrees, it was impossible to find a man named Robert Scott Lazar. And Los Alamos National Laboratory officials at first denied that he worked for them. Only when the telephone directory of this closed institution was presented, where the list of employees included not only Robert Lazar's phone number, but also the building and office where he could once be found, did the lab management admit that Lazar had indeed worked for them "in a secondary position. It was more difficult to prove Lazar's involvement in the S4 facility, but there was confirmation. A receipt of tax payment in the United States is a serious document. And so the journalists were shown a receipt certifying that Robert Lazar, living in Las Vegas, had paid taxes in full on the salary paid to him by the Navy Board in 1989.

– All right," Ruthra interrupted him. – What was in the documents you claim were related to the aliens?

– About us being containers for souls. Religion was tailor-made for us.

– I've heard that somewhere before, too.

– Don't think it's trivial. Have you heard anything about the Yellow Book Project, which contains everything about our earthly religions and the one practiced by the aliens themselves?

– No, I don't.

– So, it is much more classified than everything else. But if our earthly religions have been sent down from above, it means that they are only the first initiation, the first step to the higher universal religion, which man has yet to join. It becomes clear why the "Yellow Book" is classified an order of magnitude higher than the technical secrets of flying disks. The authorities realized that they were dealing with a hellish machine capable of shattering the fragile stability of the modern world.

– I think I've encountered something like that too.

– If the agency allowed these classified materials to be released, then it must have had some even more fantastic purpose.

– All right! I understand you. Now listen to me. I'll go to Los Alamos, figure out how they can match the code to the signal encryption, come here, you demonstrate to me the sending of the signal to Russia with source concealment. Then I will get a reply from Russia that the signal was received and the system identified it as valid, but the source of sending cannot be determined. And if that is indeed the case, then I promise to get you and Ruzi freedom of movement in the United States. Unless, of course, the whole problem is what you've told me.

– You don't think that's enough?

– No, I just don't think it's such a big secret anymore. Military technology is, but this isn't.

– Is it?

Ruthra stared at Gabo, wondering if some of this was true, because he really believed it. Ruthra made a joke to lighten the mood, because he needed to make friends with the doctor.

– You're out of touch with life here, in Russia it's commonplace.

– What?

– Aliens.

– I always suspected you had a center like this. There's good reason to think so.

– Calm down, we go out early in the morning, especially after the holidays, there are so many aliens around, swaying, holding on to trees, the laws of gravity act differently on them.

– There you go again.

They both laughed and shook hands. As Rutra left, Gabo said to him: "I want to go to the sea." Rutra became convinced that this was a code phrase; either the sea was the peak of bliss for them, or they associated it with freedom. Probably the latter.

As he thought about what he had heard, he reached the administrator's compartment, who was in his quarters.

– Delighted? – He asked as soon as he saw Ruthra.

– Super," Rutra replied, smiling in his American way.

– You must be hungry, tired? – the administrator asked.

– Tired, yes, but not hungry. I ate in your dining room, thank you.

– How are the results of the scientific endeavor?

– Well, not really.

– I see, they must have messed you up with their aliens. It is because of them, scientists, all this nonsense has become a cult. They are people of science, and their opinion is listened to as an expert. From time to time they try to make a sensation, leaving, so to speak, from scientific work to show business.

– I want to come back soon and try one experiment.

– What's that? It's a restricted facility.

– No more than what's in the contract.

– And yet? I mean, it's got to be documented, accounted for.

– Long-range signal transmission using a reflector. Perhaps an extraterrestrial reflector, somewhere in orbit, or even further away.

– I see you're infected. Everyone here gets infected, then they get delusional. The technology that's official for civilians is a notch or two below what we have. Otherwise, how do you run a society? You probably know that, since you're here.

"Yes, it's very familiar to me," thought Ruthra.

– Yes, I realize that, but everything else I've already checked, it's still like this.

– Okay, no problem.

They said their goodbyes, Rutra was escorted to the capsule conduit, and he left for the base below the airport.

Chapter 3: Recognize me as a god or I'll die

Upon arrival in Denver, Rutra showered, ate, and contacted Hent via encrypted video link. It was morning in Russia, and Hent was fresh and dressed. The admiral's uniform looked great on him.

– Good morning," Ruthra greeted.

– Good evening," Hent replied with a smile. – How are you?

– It's mind-boggling, especially these ones from the 'zone'.

– Don't listen to them too much, they're all aliens. Don't trust them. They can be so brainwashed, but the goal will be completely different; there are many people there who are from Russia, – Hent smiled in his manner, with a serious face. – You must have met the daughter of that scientist, Alikhanov's friend?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– What did she tell you?

– Told Lazarus about it.

– Oh, that obsessed man who didn't know anything and spread such nonsense all over the world.

– Is this all bullshit?

– Look, if you're not tired, I've got some time. I worked my youth, interned at this facility with Lazar. Just like you did at the firing range.

Ruthra raised his eyebrows upward in amazement.

– Surprised?

– I don't know what to be surprised about or how to react anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if alien contact is real, or at least has been.

– Look, I need you to be factual. I was in the process of transitioning from Echelon 1 to Echelon 2, so I was doing assignments for two organizations at once. I had to be in close contact with the entire scientific community, especially the young ones, for future endeavors. It was my duty to keep an eye on the cases, to follow their activities, to plant information from time to time and to control the development of events. That's why I know a lot of things from Bob's own mouth, he told me a lot of things, shared his impressions. He was a fantasist by nature, and we needed one. If you know what I mean, that's the kind of guy we have in our closed F Division. They're the only ones who can do what they imagine. You get the idea?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– Before the zone, the young physicist Robert Lazar, whom we called Bob, worked at the world-famous Los Alamos National Laboratory. Once Edward Teller, the "father of the hydrogen bomb," came there for a seminar. On Teller's recommendation, he was invited for his first interview. In December 1988, Robert Lazar was hired at Site S4, which was under the jurisdiction of Navy Intelligence. In service documents, the area is referred to as Area 51, unofficially it was called Dreamland, or Wonderland. When we visited the site, we were shown the "flying saucer" in real life, just like you. Then, when we parted ways, I went back to Zero, and Bob talked a lot, trying to get more money for his knowledge and silence, so he was left out of the loop. In March 1989, George Knapp, an NSA secret agent and at the same time an FBI investigator, officially working under the legend of a journalist, first introduced this man to TV viewers who claimed to have worked at the secret S4 facility. You probably already know that he was intimidated by the court?

– I already know. His home phone was tapped, his car was shot at.

– And what did he want, we wouldn't have been so ceremonious with him, but there, since there was a leak, they decided to present everything as fiction. Naturally, such experiments were carried out in secret laboratories, it is impossible to admit it, so it was a rule, following our example, not to release the scientist leading the project, until he has not completed the work. Many politicians began to wonder where Bob Lazar got such ideas. For Lazar, his stay at the S4 facility ended not so tragically, but suddenly and through his own fault: he decided to show his friends the "flying disks".

– Lev Khristoforovich, I think this whole thing is some kind of dark game.

– I didn't understand everything at the time, especially since we still had the USSR, but I immediately recognized that there was a tricky game going on. I accompanied him to various meetings and realized that he was running a show, but I didn't know for whom. According to Echelon 1, I had to find out, and according to Echelon 2, I had to promote the show.

– What if Lazar was shown all these things on purpose, perhaps to divert his attention from other things?

– Traditionally, all those who make sensational statements about aliens and "flying saucers", ufological organizations offer to pass a lie detector test. Lazar sat in the polygraph chair six times, and only once the test produced a questionable result.

– Have you ever encountered "little men" in hangars?

– No. But we got the information about the "little people" on the first day from the blue folder.

– I know that, I heard it from Gabo.

– That's the kind of thing. Afterwards, when I became a person with a higher rank and clearance, I asked my colleagues what was really there. Everyone had a different answer. They all said different things. I can't go and check it out for curiosity's sake, because it's not a passageway, and besides, I would show them my distrust. There's state-of-the-art technology, you know that, there's probably no aliens, otherwise we'd have recorded them. Everything my colleagues from the collegium tell me in a friendly conversation – behind all this show they hide experiments on personality change, the consequences of changing the genetic code and the results of the process of "brain pumping". Therefore, it is not for nothing that Zhidkov constantly asserted that the strongest mafia is the mafia of scientists.

Hent said the last seriously, thoughtfully, then laughed and added:

– Maybe the aliens have already inhabited the scientists and changed the whole process of the world development? Maybe we are in such a global virtual reality created by them? And we are wondering whether they are there or not. After all, by all laws of logic, they must be somewhere.

Hent finished his story with a joke, with his hands spread apart as if he were copying Neznaika. Then he changed to a serious tone.

– Get some rest, go to Livermore tomorrow, find out what's possible, and come back. Events are escalating, and the battle for Baikonur will begin. Good night.

– Goodbye.

Although Ruthra wanted to sleep, he still decided to think about the subject a bit. Perhaps there was something in all this that he couldn't see.

He contacted the center, Christina replied. In order not to load up on nonsense, he asked her to make an urgent and brief analysis of the main provisions concerning this topic. While he went through the latest news, emails, and inquired about the children's activities, Christina responded with a report. A special tablet was equipped with a system that wirelessly downloaded information into Rutra's brain. That's what he was using. He couldn't tell Zero about his new abilities, it was forbidden. At the same time, Christine sent a report on the main job, the most important one. Rutra determined that Iran was actively preparing to test a nuclear device, Israel had received components for new missiles from the United States, the European Union was completing a secret project to build 500 floating nuclear power plants, and there was a strange unspoken decision by the Mormon Church to move its headquarters from the United States to Australia. Rutra decided to deal with these things on the way tomorrow, but for now, a quick look at everything on the subject of UFOs and the like.

Since the late 1940s, first in the United States and then around the world, following the example of the United States, numerous groups have sprung up to collect and study reports of sightings of unidentified flying objects. In addition to countless amateur ufological organizations, individual UFO research projects were organized by the governments of various powers. In 1947, after the UFO phenomenon began to be investigated, it became clear that "flying saucers" did not suddenly appear in the second half of the twentieth century.

There were reports of strange flying lights and objects during World War II and the Victorian era. Celestial signs are also mentioned in medieval church chronicles and the annals of antiquity. One of the most famous cases that brought the existence of unidentified flying objects to the public's attention is the 1947 sighting over the Cascade Mountains, Washington State. News of these "flying saucers" quickly traveled across America, resulting in UFO sightings almost every day. Soon they accumulated so many that the U.S. Air Force raised the alarm, suggesting that they are launched by the USSR. December 2, 1952 came out a memorandum from the CIA, where Marshall Chadwell wrote that "reports of such incidents convince us that something is happening that requires immediate action.

Several projects have been organized on this issue. 1. Project Sein ("The Sign"). On September 23, 1947, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Lieutenant General Nathan Toining wrote a secret letter to the Commander of the Armed Forces, in which he pointed out the necessity, by order of the Armed Forces Headquarters, to create a priority secret project under the code name for a thorough study of the phenomenon in order to summarize all available and relevant data, with their subsequent transfer to various centers of the Army and Navy, the Atomic Energy Commission, the Experimental Research Committee, the Scientific Advisory Board of the Armed Forces and NASA.

2. "Majestic-12" was a secret organization, apart from the study of unidentified flying objects, that dealt with the Roswell Incident. The "Magnificent Dozen," reporting directly to Truman, was described in a 9-page report dated September 18, 1947 and marked TOP SECRET // EYES ONLY. This group consisted of 12 politicians and scientists, including: a nuclear physicist at MIT, a former Secretary of Defense, the director of the CIA, professors and other scientists. All in all, extraterrestrial beings are pretty firmly in the heads of Americans, and at the highest levels.

Indeed, as the saying goes, whether there is a God or not is not known, but people talking about it means they want there to be one.

Initiative study of UFOs in the USSR began in 1946, when science fiction writer Kazantsev hypothesized that the cause of the Tunguska explosion in 1908 could be the accident of an alien flying machine.

Among these mysterious cases, there was even one that did not add to the disbelief in these incredible phenomena. Donald Kehoe, an American ufologist and retired Navy major, was once speaking on television; when he uttered: "Now I'm going to say something that hasn't been reported before!" – the program was interrupted. Authorities subsequently justified the act on the grounds of national security. Kehoe served as acting director of the National Research Committee on Aerial Phenomena until 1969.

The information received was enough to "believe" in the existence of UFOs, at least – definitely enough to doubt the absence. So, among other things, Rutra decided to analyze the mysterious events surrounding all this. Those that had a purely earthly basis, quite provable. He was interested in the suicides of people involved in such matters, under mysterious circumstances. He identified a number of suspicious facts:

– in October 1986, astronomer Professor Sharif left London for Bristol and hanged himself from a tree there, a distance of 100 kilometers;

– a few days later the same Professor Dazibai of London threw himself from Bristol Bridge, etc.

Very many people involved in this topic were haunted by an evil fate, a certain fatality: missing in action; run over by his car; crushed to death by driving at high speed into a cafe building; hanged; killed; fallen off a bridge, drowned; killed in a car accident. And even – committed suicide by locking himself in the interior of his car and hanging a hose from the exhaust pipe. Even the expert's contrary opinion, if listened to, was dangerous. For example such – considers the extraterrestrial origin of UFOs "extremely unlikely": this man died under mysterious circumstances.

There was also a great deal of classified information, including very "fresh" information concerning the present day, both about UFOs themselves and about those who studied them. To these, as Rutra noted to himself, could be attributed the mysterious death of Alikhanov. However, he was mostly interested in the events and cases preceding the idea of creating an autonomous, intelligent system "Perimeter". Few people, even from the special services and military, knew that one of the first secret agreements between the so-called U.S. group and the USSR group was a treaty on a joint act of mutual assistance to each other and resistance to extraterrestrial aggression.

Rutra's conclusion was unambiguous: the range of specialists interested in unusual UFO-related phenomena is very wide, and the nature of this interest is heterogeneous: from strict scientific research to paranoid ideas and outright charlatanism. Hent was right; it was not worth cluttering his head with it, for the search for answers was like a drug addiction. Though Ruthra already felt the uncertainty and what he had heard in S4 urging him to find some sort of calming answer. To this end, he decided to contact specialists in Russia.

Public criticism of the "problems" of ufology in Russia is handled by the Commission for Combating Pseudoscience and Falsification of Scientific Research at the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Rutra fell asleep with the thoughts that now kept him awake (whether there were aliens or not). He slept restlessly, the emotional excitement of the previous days having taken its toll. In the morning he awoke abruptly from a nightmare. He dreamt that someone was calling him and saying:

– Just don't hang up, I've already called everyone on earth, you're the last one.

– What happened? – Ruthra asked.

The caller answered in an excited and begging voice:

– Listen to me, please.

– What's the big deal?

– I need help, you have to believe me. You have to recognize me.

– Recognize? Recognize what?

– You must recognize that I am your God, or I will die. I've called every person on earth, and no one recognizes me. They don't believe I'm their God. If you don't believe me, I'll die. How will I exist if you don't recognize me, you don't know exactly what I am? This is who I am, I've decided to show myself as I am. Just believe me, or I'll die.

– Yes, I do, of course I do, of course I do. And if I don't, it's okay, because gods can't die. Energy doesn't go anywhere, it goes from one state to another.

The interlocutor changed his voice and stated solemnly:

– Thank you, God save you. You have given me a new life, I will be as you imagined me to be.

With those words, the fiery mushroom of the atomic explosion flashed before Rutra's eyes, growing enormously, appearing before him as a vast mystical, awe-inspiring wonder.

Ruthra jumped out of bed. It was one of those kinds of dreams he often had, the kind where he thought it was real, and when he woke up, he was glad it was a dream. "What a dream," Rutra thought as he took a shower. He then went with his staff to breakfast, after which all three of them flew to Los Alamos. "What a treat not to be sent in a capsule," thought Rutra.

Los Alamos translates from Spanish as "poplar trees." It is a township and county in the state of New Mexico and has no city or township status. An hour and a half later, they were there. They were tacitly escorted, and very heavily. They were met formally by several Ph.D.'s and one professor. After the meeting, they were taken to the laboratory complex, which itself seemed outlandish among the surrounding area.

Chapter 4: Poplars and "poplars"

The laboratory director himself came out to them and introduced himself in American – Sir Charles. Rutra decided to keep up with his "colleague" and introduced himself with the prefix "Mr.". Sir Charles invited the guests into his office, offered coffee and soft drinks, asked them about their impressions of America, how life was in Russia, and for some reason, what we would do in case of failure. The officers accompanying Rutra smiled understandingly, and Rutra said, to make it more convincing, that they had already prepared a scenario for that eventuality.

After a few jokes about the Russian leadership, Charles proudly began to talk about his work, in a purely American manner – to praise himself and his own, although he was well aware of the awareness of the guests, at least – the chief guest.

– Los Alamos National Laboratory is one of the sixteen national laboratories of the U.S. Department of Energy. It houses the most powerful supercomputer in the world, the IBM Roadrunner-3. Los Alamos is one of two laboratories conducting secret nuclear weapons work in the United States. The other is Livermore National Laboratory. Incidentally, in December 2011, it was officially proposed to name chemical element #116 livermorium, which was subsequently approved. Supercomputers were installed at the Laboratory, which were among the most powerful supercomputers of their time. Following the example of the Internet – the world's global web – we decided to unite the world's major supercomputers into one network. This allows us to reduce the time it takes to solve multi-level problems. I can offer to run your program through this network.

– What centers will be used? – Ruthra inquired, since the transition from the introduction to the matter at hand had been made so soon.

– The major supercomputing centers with which we are networked are: Argonne National Laboratory; Livermore National Laboratory; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; National Computer Center for Higher Education and the Center for Computational Research and Technology in France; National Supercomputing Center in Sweden; National Center for Supercomputing Applications, located at the University of Illinois; Center for High Performance Computing, Stuttgart, Germany; Jülich Research Center, also Germany.

– A global solution," Ruthra marveled, which flattered the head of the lab.

– It is not for nothing that our laboratory is named after a great man," he said proudly and went on with his story. – The American physicist Ernest Lawrence was fascinated by invention from childhood. Together with his neighbor Merle Tuve, who also eventually became an outstanding physicist, they created their own system of wireless telephone. Back then, you know?

– Oh, yes, he was a gifted man," Ruthra said, again expressing his admiration, and politely decided to change the subject to work. – We're not in danger of losing program data or copying it, are we?

– No, we'll control the whole process from here. The other centers will help us solve the problem in blocks. Each center will do its part.

– All right, then. When do we start?

– Let's get started, we're prepared. It is also interesting for us, as it is for any mathematician to find a solution.

They took the elevator down to the operations room, passing through two checkpoints. Rutra's escort was not allowed through the last checkpoint. Rutra ordered the suitcase to be unbuckled, picked it up, and went on his own, accompanied by a receptionist.

In the operations room, Rutra performed identification for unlocking the lock, received a confirmation reply via satellite, called the Zero duty officer just in case, received confirmation, and opened the case. The device with the program was interfaced to the supercomputer system. Rutra sat down in the operator's seat, entered the unlock code, which consisted of forty lines of five digits, and surprised the people present by memorizing it and not hiding the action; they did not know about his "advanced" brain or the fact that the password was new each time. There were moments when Ruthra forgot that the unusual skills for people were the ones that were now commonplace to him.

The program began to integrate with the system, and operators began assigning "duties" to computers on the network.

– You can go rest, it's not a quick job," Charles Rutre said.

– Okay," Ruthra answered again in the American manner. – Only on the condition that you include the IP address of my device in the network and ensure uninterrupted wireless communication between the terminal and my case.

– Give me your information.

After a while, Ruthra, with the help of the hardware in the case, was fully able to observe what was being done with the program.

– Come on, I'll show you around," Charles suggested.

They went out, went upstairs, the receptionist invited them to a gazebo outside.

– What are your plans, where will you stay? We have prepared a hotel complex for you.

– Thank you, much appreciated. Perhaps we'll take a walk around your village today and think things over a bit about the second purpose of our visit.

– Can I ask you which one?

– We're interested in the possibility of sending a signal from an unidentified clandestine source, the location of which can be concealed. A high-powered signal, sustained and controlled by a system integrated into something like your center. That is, something with the ability to operate, calculate and decipher complex, multi-stage codes.

– Why do you want to know why, may I ask?

Ruthra gestured to the accompanying officers to leave. He decided to disguise his answer. He moved closer to Charles and whispered:

– This will seem implausible and fantastic to you, but as a colleague to a colleague, I will say this: we have received an unidentified signal from an unknown source. Earth origin is not confirmed.

– Are you kidding me?

– If only.

– So it's a sensation.

– Yeah? What if we're wrong? We need to check everything. The thing is, the signal penetrated the codes of the military satellites, unlocked them and tried to change the program.

– You know, this is not the first time this has happened, which surprised me.

– Was there something like that?

– If you don't know, I'll tell you, all of America is raving about aliens, and the fact that this signal penetrated the satellite control system in the first place confirms it.

Rutra thought, "I'm already convinced that all of America is delusional."

– I have been involved in many closed projects in my line of work, I have been to different sites, and everywhere there was a spirit of the unidentified.

– Can you elaborate on that?

– Prior to Los Alamos, I worked at Oak Ridge Laboratory, K-25 and Y-12 facilities.

Rutra didn't give any sign of his knowledge of the subject. He needed to be mistaken for an obsessed scientist, an i Rutra maintained.

– What's in there?

– What is Oak Ridge National Laboratory – you know. It's a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. It is the largest science and energy laboratory in the Department's system. The lab has several powerful supercomputers, including Jaguar and its updated version, Titan, as well as several neutron research facilities. The K-25 facility was located in the southwestern part of Oak Ridge. The K-25 plant, when completed, was the largest building in the world. During the project, the main goal of which was to build an atomic bomb, workers labored in secret, not even realizing what would result from their work. An acquaintance of my mom's, Gladys Owens, didn't know what she was doing until she saw herself in a photo 50 years later at a public exhibition. The X-10 graphite reactor was the world's second man-made nuclear reactor and the first designed and built for continuous operation. It was used to build the first nuclear reactors in Iran, mind you, and Pakistan.

– You said, "pay attention." What was that about? – Ruthra asked.

– Someone needs it to be so, but officially it is declared otherwise.

– Well, well. So what's next?

– The Y-12 National Security Center is a U.S. Department of Energy center in suburban Oak Ridge, near the National Laboratory. The center manufactures components for nuclear weapons and stores the bulk of the U.S. stockpile of enriched uranium. Construction of the center began in February 1943, as part of the Manhattan Project. At Y-12, among other things, fuel was created for the bombs used in 1945 against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

– Quite interesting, just what is the news, let me put it this way.

– The fact that in such centers, in addition to official, declared activities, albeit classified, there are other activities, classified even from those who have access to them.

– Like what?

– For example, I was involved in the SSP program; it is a nuclear arsenal management program in the United States. Nuclear weapons have not been produced in the United States since 1992, and the reliability and safety of nuclear weapons is ensured through simulations of nuclear explosions on supercomputers. Nuclear weapons storage and maintenance is handled by the U.S. Department of Energy, and more specifically by its three main national laboratories: Livermore National Laboratory, our Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories. So, among other things....

He leaned over to Ruthra and said in a whisper:

– …I was part of a program to study the effects of a nuclear explosion in a different environment than the Earth. Nobody said anything about it, but the mission was to see what would happen if the explosion occurred in a different physical environment. And later I would learn that NASA had conducted a "bombardment" of the moon. Two vehicles crashed into the Earth's natural satellite at a tremendous speed. It wasn't the first time. I'm surprised you don't know anything about it.

– Why. The dust cloud was studied by two vehicles – the Russian LEND and the American LCROSS probe equipped with spectrometers and infrared cameras. They collected information on the chemical composition of the particles and – most importantly – on the amount of water.

– Yeah, and you know that the experiment cost NASA 80 million dollars, too? Do you think the main goal is to understand whether there are ice crystals under the surface of the Earth's satellite? And if there are, then in the future to build inhabited scientific stations or even whole settlements on the Moon? Doesn't it seem to you that this is a war, and these very inhabited scientific stations and whole settlements already exist?

– Well, I don't know what to say. Aren't there any spies among your acquaintances? You can't hide everything, can you?

– As in Russia, and everywhere else, here you cannot hold a position like mine without approval, or rather, scientifically speaking, some integration into this very intelligence community.

– And which one are you in…

– There are many of them, none in particular. Do you have any idea of their structure?

– I have no idea.

– The United States Intelligence Community is a collective term for 17 separate U.S. government agencies. I'm going to educate you a little bit on the subject. I am sure if we cooperate, you will need information about them. The Director of the U.S. Intelligence Community is the head of the government apparatus for coordinating the work of all U.S. intelligence agencies, he is responsible for the work of the intelligence community to the President of the United States. By the way, they have a budget of $43.5 billion.

– Interesting things you say.

– If you're not too busy, we can have a chat in your spare time.

– I will. I will also tell you about scientific work together with specialists from the "zone".

– Fifty-one?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

Charles smiled, nodding as a sign that he understood. They stood up, said their goodbyes, and separated. At the gatehouse, Rutra and his companions were waited for by a lab employee who escorted them to the reception center. Rutra settled in, checked the program through the briefcase, then contacted Isa. After going through a procedure that had become routine, he heard the voice of the computer in his head.

– Good afternoon. How are you?

– I need information on the director of Los Alamos National Laboratory.

– Which one?

– His connection to an intelligence community unit.

– I don't have that information in me.

– Why is that?

– It's not my field.

– Whose is it?

– Yours.

– Stop "showing off", if I ask, I don't know.

– The information's in your department's cell block, I need access. You can give it to me.

– Uh-oh, I forgot. Okay, thank you.

Rutra contacted the Zero Center through the briefcase and requested information about these intelligence communities, who was in charge of what. It was night in Russia, and the Zero operative on duty had dumped everything at once, unprocessed, something Rutra already knew, but it didn't hurt to refresh his memory. There was a lot of detailed information in the message, with order numbers, names, ranks, service records of important officers and service chiefs, and operations. He didn't find anything particularly new, but still, after a brief analysis, he singled out information that was now worth looking at from a different angle.

The U.S. CIA is the primary political intelligence service of the U.S. government, independent of other ministries and agencies. According to Executive Order No. 12333, the U.S. Intelligence Community has six primary purposes, and the most specific of these, which all intelligence agencies of the world have faced willy-nilly, is special events (paragraph 4). This item is defined as activities conducted in support of U.S. foreign policy objectives abroad that are planned and executed where "the role of the United States Government is not apparent or publicly recognized."

The U.S. Intelligence Community is an administrative, not an intelligence structure.

It includes:

1. U.S. CIA;

2. The U.S. Department of State, specifically the State Department's Information Office;

3. the U.S. Department of the Treasury, specifically the Office of Intelligence and Counterterrorism;

4. U.S. Department of Defense, namely the National Security Agency; the Office of Space Intelligence and Mapping; and the Office of Satellite DER;

5. U.S. Department of Energy, specifically the Office of Nuclear Intelligence and Security;

6. Ministry of Internal Security, namely the Information and Analytical Department.

7. U.S. Department of Justice, viz: U.S. FBI; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Justice have a special place. Rutra was interested in why and for what purpose the laboratory director was recruited. To do this, it was necessary to find out – who in the intelligence community recruited him? Who needed him so badly that all legal methods were insufficient? To do so, he analyzed his unspoken record. Although he was not military, he had been assigned to military installations at various times.

The most interesting thing about his assignment was this. On behalf of a certain WWW center, he had to check and detect the existence of unidentified signals affecting the operation of equipment and the psyche of the employees of these facilities. Rutra had seen this abbreviation before, in the request it was listed as "control and surveillance center". What was interesting was the list of these facilities. Rutra decided to analyze them and try to link them by a common criterion. These were the 10 most secret military bases in the United States. Rutra requested information on them, which was especially secret, went through closed, not included in the official reports of the military channels, and found a strange pattern, from which he concluded the reason for his assignment. The classified reports showed that military bases and facilities, especially classified ones, were some of the most frequently visited UFO sites. Ruthra decided to go through them list by list and try to figure out what they had in common.

1. HAARP is an American research project to study the ionosphere and the aurora borealis by high-frequency exposure. It is one of the most controversial and mysterious military projects in modern history.

There are quite a few conspiracy theories surrounding HAARP. They were not unfounded, in fact the "High Frequency Aurora Aurora Research Program" is not a purely scientific project. The HAARP facility in Gakona is used to study electromagnetic "mind control" techniques, it is also a test site for geoengineering technologies.

2. Dugway Proving Ground military base is where chemical weapons are tested. Since the 1950s, it has been the site for testing secret airplanes, beam, chemical and biological weapons, and many other serious things.

3. Cheyenne Mountain is the site of the underground NORAD (North American Joint Space Defense Command) complex, where Rutra has already visited. With monolithic monitors operating around the clock, employees have constant access to essential information, including the whereabouts of the president and vice president of the United States.

4. The complex at Raven Rock Mountain is a bunker built in case of World War III. Another place where Rutra has already been. The alternate command center at Raven Rock Mountain is SiteR, the place from which the United States Armed Forces would issue orders should World War III (or nuclear war) break out. The bunker is designed to be a safe place to live for 30 days, just like the NORAD complex, after an atomic explosion.

The alternative command center in Raven Rock Mountain is connected to the suburban residence of the US President at Camp David by a ten-kilometer tunnel. It was also worth noting that cell phones and GPS devices do not work near SiteR. The military uses a blocking mechanism that prevents people from making calls and coordinating on the ground.

5. Area 51 is Groom Lake; the place where Rutra conducted his search. To most, this is one of the most mysterious military sites in America. Many realistically believed that this was where the material remains of the crash of an unidentified flying object, near Roswell, New Mexico, said to have occurred in July 1947, were stored.

There were many questions about this zone; if the UFO version was to be believed, then it appeared that the United States authorities were using the Zone-51 military base to conduct high-tech research, which included alien experiments (crossbreeding humans with aliens), and reverse engineering of alien ships, a sample of which had fallen into their hands after the Roswell incident, quantum teleportation, creation of advanced artificial intelligence, efficient propulsion systems, and time travel.

6. Fort Detrick – Biological Weapons Testing. The city of Frederick, Maryland, was the site of the first American bacteriological weapons program, specifically entomological weapons. In the 1950s and 1960s, Fort Detrick scientists, in conjunction with the United States Air Force and Navy, conducted six experimental attacks on the city of San Francisco to test the population's vulnerability to pathogenic viruses.

7. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, or "Hangar 18." Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, where work on projects such as Blue Book and Hangar 18 took place, is another site that has spawned many conspiracy theories, allegedly containing crashed alien spacecraft and alien bodies. The base employs about 22,000 people, six thousand of whom live there permanently with their families.

The Central Intelligence Agency and the United States Air Force allow information about the flying saucer crash and Project Blue Book to be leaked to the public to report suspicious objects and unbelievable occurrences. This is the method of information gathering. They are also secretly developing insect scouts, as conspiracy theorists claim, based on UFO technology.

8. Mount Wetter Emergency Operations Center and the "Government Preservation Program." The Mount Wetter Emergency Operations Center is another top-secret military base located in Mt. It is located in the town of Berryville, Clark County, Virginia. The purpose of the Mount Wetter Emergency Operations Center is to protect the military elite in the event of large-scale disasters. This military base commands officials and commanders from an alternate chain of command, a parallel government, so to speak, in case something catastrophic happens. This was similar to the situation with the Kremlin-2 facility.

9. Plant 42 is a manufacturer of secret military aircraft.

10. Secret Dulce Military Facility. This is the only military base on this list that, according to one conspiracy theory, is a secret alien facility located underground on the Colorado/New Mexico border near the town of Dulce. In fact, the base in Dulce hosts research into mind-controlling implants – Bio-Psi devices and INF devices that can control mood, sleep, heart rate, and the like. The United States government does not officially recognize the existence of the Dulce military base, and, in fact, no one has yet provided absolutely no substantial evidence that aliens actually exist, although many have tried to do so.

After a brief analysis, Rutra determined that all of the top secret things in Russia that he had already become familiar with existed here as well. In Russia, as in the United States, there were persistent rumors about the existence of similar centers and programs, but in Russia the organizer of all this was considered to be a secret department of the Kremlin, the government, the president, the Freemasons, the top-secret special service, the CIA, MI-8, the Mossad, and so on. And in the US, after listing all this, there were aliens. Anything could be blamed on them, any programs, leaks, failures. It was impossible to find them.

In addition to the above, Charles spent some time training at the U.S. Air Force Base on the island of Greenland. At the base, which can accommodate up to 10,000 people, deployed strategic bombers with nuclear weapons. A powerful early warning radar station capable of monitoring the airspace up to Russia's borders has also been built there.

Thinking about all this, Rutra could not find the exact link, so he decided to wait to talk to Hent. Late at night, US time, or in the morning, Russian time, Rutra contacted the general and shared his conclusions. He was most interested in what Charles might have been doing at the HAARP facility.