by Alex Sapegin
“You speak very well, sir. You’ve got it all figured out, but will what you say actually happen?”
“Yes, and I’m not the only one who’s convinced of it. Our system analysts are, too. Of course, everything that I told you is just an outline of the predicted events. It’s impossible to take all the underwater stones, reefs, and human stupidity into account. Let me tell you something you’re not supposed to know about. Our opponents believe with every fiber of their beings that we’ll do everything in our power to hide information on passageways to parallel worlds, and we’ve tried hard to convince them of that.”
“And in fact?”
“In fact, tomorrow there’ll be a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries, and if the doors are closed, our ‘guarantor’ will get the news to the right countries. Prime Minister of India’s going to be there, which adds piquancy to the situation. The president of Japan is on the list of invited guests. One problem—they ‘forgot’ about the Americans. In military tactics, this is called a proactive strike. Now the program of the visit and bilateral meetings is being rewritten anew. The new race is starting at the highest level.”
“Major General, how exactly do you plan on keeping the secret of subspace traveling and the work on that? I have an efficient suggestion for you.”
“Interesting. Let’s hear it.”
“Set up a research center in some empty world where time flows faster than it does here. If you do that, we can make full use of the head start and hide the secret laboratories from prying eyes. We can send a string of cars, for example, to Minute—that’s what we called one very beautiful planet or world. We’re not sure about how to classify them yet. Anyway, it won’t be difficult.”
“Mr. Kerimov, don’t rush, I’m not going to argue with you. It’s a very useful suggestion, but let’s not forget about the microbiological factor. In many worlds, there is no intelligent life, which is a definite plus, but robots and automatic devices must be the first to step into strange worlds. We can’t even begin to discuss excursions until we’ve conducted the necessary set of analyses and developed immunomodulating vaccines.”
“Alright, just an idea. You’re in charge.”
“Mr. Kerimov, let’s not twist the facts.”
“Alright, I won’t. Let’s go back to the beginning of the conversation. What are your conditions?” Kerimov copied the general’s body language. He put his elbows on his knees, folded his hands, set his chin on them, and looked straight at his guest. The general stopped in the middle of the room, said nothing for ten seconds, as if collecting his thoughts, and when the scientist’s patience came to an end, said:
“The institute is changing bases. The current conditions do not meet the safety and security requirements. We’ll have to divide your collective into three groups, which will occupy various positions and pursue different directions. You personally will take up the role of lead coordinator. You’ll head the first group directly and will act on behalf of Russian Research on all levels. The second group will work on subspace portals; the third will work on the inhabitants of the other worlds. Think long and hard who you want heading the other groups. Please also give me a detailed list of missing equipment, and I’ll hurry to assure you: seven months ago, we placed orders for the manufacture of the main components of the apparatus. Two weeks ago, containers with a triple set of equipment crossed the Russian border. You really must forgive us for taking advantage of the, ahem, stolen specifications.” The general spread his hands guiltily. “In a separate list, please indicate all the scientists you would like to see in your institute. The corresponding work will be carried out for all candidates. Sorry, but you and your employees are now restricted from crossing the border. From now on, going abroad will be only with state permission for all those involved. Disclosure of information, ahem, as you understand, will lead to sad consequences. You and your people will have to give an incredible amount of signatures, written pledges of allegiance and confidentiality. I hope you realize that goes without saying. The wages of the employees will not be affected at all; on the contrary, the command decided to increase the level of material compensation. Since you are all becoming bearers of state secrets, you’ll be provided with round-the-clock outdoor surveillance; your documentation and letters will be opened and read; sorry, it’s a must. I repeat, the groups leading the developments that are not related to the official part will be relocated to a specially protected scientific center, communications with them are carried out through the latest satellites of the Ministry of Defense and can not be intercepted by a probable adversary. As for you personally, Mr. Kerimov, I can’t say that I am extremely uncomfortable with you, but this is one of the unpleasant aspects of the profession. I ask you to pay attention to your eldest daughter and have a conversation with her. Hmm, I wouldn’t want anyone to use her as leverage against you. Irina’s inability to choose friends could cost us dearly. Understand, if you do not solve this issue within the family, then it…, um, I hope that Irina will not cause trouble. That’s all from me for now. Questions?”
“I don’t have any questions, but I have two conditions.”
“Go ahead. I can guess what they are.”
Kerimov cocked his head to the left and looked questioningly at the general.
“Doubtless, you’ll get a chance to search for your son. I want to say that this point will be one of the priorities for the third group.”
“What arguments are you basing that on?” The chair squeaked plaintively. Iliya stood up from behind the table. Three steps forward, and he was standing across from the general. The two men stared at one another. They were so alike and so different. Both were used to giving commands and not backing down when fate threw challenges at them. Both had enormous responsibilities resting on their shoulders, and if one of them was prepared to place his country, himself, and hundreds of lives on the altar, the other was not prepared to sacrifice himself. He had hard work ahead of him and gaining his son to look forward to, whom he’d already lost twice. His deceased hope came to life again. The staring contest didn’t go on for long. Kerimov was the first to take his gaze to the side. It was hard to look into the eyes of a person who had taken the responsibility for people’s lives upon himself, and was aware of this responsibility. In that moment the scientist believed the secret service leader’s words—the Major General wasn’t lying. He believed in that what he was saying was true. Iliya could sense a strong iron rod in the general’s character. With a will like that, you could move mountains. Apparently, that’s why they hired him. He obviously laid the cards on the table, and that was hardest of all.
“Magic, Mr. Kerimov, MAGIC! It’s possible. It might be that in the unknown worlds, it will be possible there too, and maybe even in ours, who knows? Command has no prejudice against this possibility, and we need to know what to expect. Extrasensory perception and shamans—it’s not nonsense. It’s proven and documented. You’ve probably read various articles in the tabloids, hm, they’re actually right about a lot of things. We didn’t find Atlantis, but we made enough progress. Magic. What can it give us? And what can it give the masses? Someone from our world could learn it, that’s for sure. No one doubts that. The world your son disappeared to will be studied very carefully. We’ve hired linguists, academics, historians, specialists in middle-ages weaponry and fencing. We’re preparing those who will make the first contact. From what we’ve gathered, we know that that world is fairly harsh; the battle in the streets you witness spelled that out for you very clearly. If I were in your shoes, I would be jumping for joy that Andy was able to assimilate himself into the local society and that he is able to defend himself. To hold back a crowd like that… and what quick reaction time he had… Our fencing expert watched the whole thing with her mouth wide open. I’m sorry, but I don’t understand your reaction to seeing your son kill people.”
“You couldn’t understand!”
“Stop it, I do understand!” The general stepped
closer to the scientist. His eyes flashed with anger. “My children serve, both of them! They’ve both come under gunfire, so I know very well what it’s like—losing a little bit of your soul every day. Be happy, Iliya, that Andy’s alive. He really showed what he could do, and what he can do is amazing. We will use that ace. We just have to get him back to Earth.”
“What do you need him for?”
“Do you want me to list everything? Okay, here we go. Your son somehow managed to meld into the society of that planet.” The general held up his thumb to count “one” the way Russians do. “The picture you saw of the battle shows that he is fighting on the side of some group, which means that he can render invaluable help in assessing local realities and the political situation.” His pointer finger joined his thumb: “Two.” “The fight you witnessed showed very clearly that things with our ‘neighbors’ are not so simple, and apart from swords and bows, we may be facing things that go well beyond the bounds of ordinary perception. What follows from this? The result is that the role of Andy, who is a magician, increases many times. Or maybe we shouldn’t go into that world at all? In addition, it would be foolish not to use a person who knows the language.” He held up his middle finger: “Three.” “Is that enough for you?”
“He’s just a boy!”
“Really? Tell me, how does time pass in that world?” Kerimov didn’t answer. “As far as I know, over two years have gone by there, and Andy is now almost nineteen. He’s perfectly capable of killing in cold blood. I don’t think it’s accurate to call that warrior a boy. What was your other condition?”
Kerimov, after being rebuffed like that, looked like a dog that’s been kicked. But the fire of tenacity in his eyes had not gone out, but burned even stronger. The scientist reminded of the same opinion on most things. He understood in his head that his son was already not the boy he had been eight months ago, and that the general was right about a lot of things. But… in his heart, Iliya Evgenevich could not accept the idea that his son had grown up.
The general broke the extended silence:
“I do believe that the second condition’s name is Olga?”
“Don’t you dare touch her!” Kerimov’s clenched fists cracked.
“I feel sorry for you, Kerimov. Really, as a fellow human being, very sorry. Tell me, what made you bring your daughter to the institute? Well, why don’t you answer? Tell me this, then. How are you planning on searching for Andy? Unfortunately, we cannot ignore that fact. As our analysts suspect, the changes taking place in Olga are a result of Andy’s influence. The mutual influence between the two worlds has already begun, and your family is the first to experience it. The girl has undergone visible physiological changes that glasses and contact lenses can’t hide. Our specialists have observed your daughter using certain instrumental methods, albeit from a distance. But certain facts tell us that stopping the research would be extremely ill-advised. I’d like you to take a look at a few things for me,” he said, taking a folder from the couch and extracting a few photos and papers from it. “Please.” He put the materials on Kerimov’s desk.
“I don’t understand what these photos are of?”
“I’ll gladly explain.” Major General Leonid Vladimirovich stood up behind the scientist and pointed to the first photo. “The photographs show human auras. The scale is the same on all of them. Don’t look at me like that. I’m not joking or kidding in the least. I’m not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. The first photo shows an ordinary human aura. Images number two and three show the auras of people who have demonstrated extrasensory abilities. This has been proven using the scientific method. The fourth photo shows an indigo aura…,” the general fell silent.
“And the fifth?” Iliya asked, examining the last one. If what the general had said was true, that all the photos were to the same scale, the last aura was about three times bigger than that of the people who had E.S.P. and almost four times bigger than the ordinary person. Kerimov guessed whose aura it was before the general spoke.
“The last aura belongs to Olga. Notice how saturated with color it is, and how thick the external energy envelope is. The sixth photo shows her aura at the beginning of our observation. See how strong the changes are. Maybe you’ll be relieved to know this; maybe it’ll make things harder on you; I don’t know….”
“Just tell me.”
“Our in-house personnel, whose auras you saw on the second and third photos, flatly refused to work with your daughter and didn’t care to explain why.”
“What’s on the paper?”
“It’s the experts’ conclusions on the DNA analysis we did of Andy and Olga. Samples of your son’s tissues we got in the hospital where he was treated after a lightning strike. We also obtained a few hairs from the training suit left by his archery teacher. Similarly with Olga. In December, she caught a cold, and your wife took her to a clinic, a couple of drops of blood from the laboratory’s analysis was enough for us.”
“What do they say?”
“Without a doubt, they’re siblings.”
“Haha.”
“Yes, it’s funny, if you consider the fact that only identical twins yield identical DNA analyses. Don’t look so shocked. Calm down, please. Your children’s DNA is almost as alike as that of identical twins. Isn’t that interesting? Draw your own conclusions.”
“And Irina?”
“With her it’s simpler. The analysis showed that she is their sibling, and that’s all. Nothing out of the ordinary with your eldest daughter. Except, perhaps, being a bit wishy-washy, but I hope you’ll see to that.”
Iliya Kerimov carefully set the photographs on the edge of the desk, walked around it, and sat down heavily in his chair. His head was spinning. The major general had outplayed him on every level. Apparently, the secret service had long since been preparing for this conversation. In order to create the necessary effect, they had complied psychological profiles and calculated every possible reaction. They had the time. The former director got an idea:
“Did you send Bratulev the materials on the work we did back in the late eighties?”
“Why would we just send it? The secret was sold for a nice sum.”
“Understood,” Iliya said tiredly, leaning back in his chair. “I’ll work. You’ve counted on that from the very beginning and weren’t expecting any other answer from me. But don’t go near Olga. If anyone comes near her, I’ll kill him with my own bare hands. Enough long-distance observation.”
“I’m glad we’ve come to an agreement. We can see about this last issue again later on, in a year or two.”
“Don’t count on it.”
Time will tell, the general thought, collecting the photos and the results of the DNA analyses into the folder. He’s a strong man, and he knows how to roll with the punches. We’re in business.
