Defunct. Epic battle of neuralink

Reconstruction of the Shelber castle, 8008 BC

Gloomy, golden columns, like the hall itself, are shrouded in shadows. And only small yellow stripes fall to the floor from long, narrow windows, with thick, dull glass. The sun’s rays illuminate the flying fine dust and barely noticeable details of the interior of the throne room of the observation tower. This tower protrudes from a huge beige building of a mesmerizing gray castle. A beautiful carpet with embroidered engraving is spread along the entire hall. There is a majestic armchair, the back of which is shrouded in blue flame, like a waterfall flowing upwards, merging with darkness. It quickly distorts and changes shape. With a piercing, eerie creak, opposite the magic throne, the gate to the balcony swung open. A man in extraordinary wavy armor, on which various solid formations flowed in waves. Like a kaleidoscope, they created wonderful symmetrical shapes. Sharpening crystals near the shoulders, convex squares on the lower back, gradually transforming into polygons, then into stars, into petals and strange polyhedra. Standing with his back to the hall, he slowly let go of the stone handles in the form of flying kites. He also slowly approached the white, thick railing, arcing around the stone floor, decorated with mosaics of square slabs of various sizes. The heels on his rigid, similarly wavy, fluid shoes glittered gold. They were hollow, of thin walls, decorated with patterns of various curling stripes. With his left hand, he grabbed the edge of the curb. His pale, thin fingers are wearing large, beautiful rings. Bending over the abyss, he looked down. With his right hand, he took a prismatic device, similar to binoculars, hanging around his neck, and brought it close to his eyes.

There, from below, work was in full swing. To the beat of drums and the sounds of trumpeters, a huge army of slaves twisted and twisted various, incomprehensible mechanisms. These are huge steel gears that raise a whole range of different elevators to different heights for each tower. Suddenly, there was a deafening grinding sound. On the rails, spiraling up around one of the buildings, a miraculous mechanism is rolling, reminiscent of a carriage with two hydraulic units, at the ends of which giant saw blades are fixed, which cut something right into the wall of the building. Sparks flew tens of meters away. This mobile sawmill was operated by some mutant sitting inside a carriage. This is one of the civil engineers. In silver, stylish armor, dressed like a knight of the Middle Ages, his equally shiny head was wrapped in foil. His face is completely covered with dents and irregularities, bumps and microcracks, and his cheekbones, brow ridges and chin protruded unnaturally strongly. Blue lips and bloodshot eyes twitched constantly. He firmly held on to the control levers with both hands, using the power steering, turning the three-meter discs in the desired direction. But dozens of other people below were responsible for lifting this car up. With the help of physical strength, they twisted a strange coil, with a long shaft standing across it, like a carousel. This shaft grabbed a whole chain of gears, which eventually caught the wheels of the rolling stock. Huge platforms moved between buildings. The stone blocks, the size of a two-story house, were pulled by giant, furry mammoth-like animals. Tightened ropes, over the top of one of the towers, stretched into the hands of the harnessed people. They, like mammoths, are wearing fetters that line them up in an even formation of three columns. Pulling the cables as they count, they flatten the heavily tilted tower, around which are built wooden bridges and many gear mechanisms. They were shouting into the loudspeaker up there. It was they who gave the bill to the pulling people from below. And, at the moment of the jerk, when the tower rises slightly, the people at the top sharply insert the levers into an incomprehensible device, such as a jack, fixed between the gears. This was done so that the structure would not fall back to its side. Although, if you look closely, this tower is not broken. It was originally built with the existing curvature, in combination with other skyscrapers, twisting at different angles. These bold design and architecture decisions are not realistic. They defy the laws of physics, and this excites the imagination. Then why do you need to make any changes, fix something? Perhaps the builders want to bring this style to perfection or, to present it in a slightly different way, more to their liking.

People’s feet slide over the smooth concrete that has been laid throughout the surrounding area. They fall to their knees, trying to catch their breath and catch their breath, as a hellish blow from a fiery whip immediately flies in the back. A frightening tall creature that closely monitors the work. They are called caretakers or overseers. Monsters, devoid of even human form. In black robes and glossy red steel vests, ribbed tails protruded from the back like lizards. The heads are terribly deformed. The top of the skull is extended forward, and the round jaw merges with the neck. Their mouths are tightly sewn up with thick threads, and holes are ripped open in their throats, into which are inserted jaw-holders with teeth curved downward like claws. Bald, gray heads and completely black, slightly sunken, as if filled with ink eyes. And the long legs are tightly bound with iron on all sides.

– Push! Push! – the monster growls choking. Another caretaker tapped him on the shoulder, pointing up. Throwing its head against the main tower of the tallest building, the creature whined even louder. – Selim is out!! He’s looking at us!! Work lazy, until I fry you. «He began to beat all the servants in order with his long fiery whip».

– I see him for the first time in two years, – his colleague looks up with admiration.

«And I only saw him once,» he answered, interrupting from the beatings. – Five years ago, in the village of Doeh.

– What is he doing? – the second warden interrupted him.

Lowering his lens device, leaving it hanging around his neck, attached to a leather belt, continuing to stand on the balcony in the same place, this guy slowly removed what looked like a crown from his head. His face did not appear from under the crown. On his head is wearing a frightening, stone mask, with twisted large, same stone eyes, or rather one right eye, the incision of which goes somewhere at forty-five degrees. This facial asymmetry was a little creepy, but not scary. Revealingly raising above the head this wonderful, in-depth, frame, like a helmet covering the entire head, made of tubules bent by petals connected to each other. The bottom is gold, and the top is silver, with large gems sharpened upward, green rubies in the center, and red diamonds on the sides. Carefully leaning the crown to his chest, without thinking twice, he silently threw it down. Thus, publicly renounced power in the Shelber Valley. Since that day, no one has seen Selim Svurt again.

THE LEGEND of KING AND SORCERER

Archaeological finds make up only a small part of what lies beneath the soil. Most of the artifacts from the distant past remain undiscovered. Some of them have already disappeared without a trace. Researchers from different countries, for several centuries, have been trying to unravel the cryptograms of the first civilizations. Modern historians cannot go back in time and write down real facts without distortion. Indeed, as practice shows, several thousand years ago, when the first human communities were born, there were no professional journalists, historians and philosophers. The manuscripts of those times did not carry reliable information on the existing way of life and the development of people. What is the point of believing the cuneiforms of ancient tribes, when they contradict themselves in many texts. It is easy to be misled when great figures are called gods and all scientific achievements are called magic gifts. Religious temples are named after strong tribes, and fertile lands were considered the tricks of lazy hunters who fertilized the ground with the remains of their prey around their homes.

Tigris River, May 23

The night was bright today. Under the light of the moon, the hunters carefully peered into the depths of the forest. Complete silence. Only from time to time were the sounds of crickets, the howling of wolves and the rumbling of owls. This place is full of animals. The Shelber Valley is the most fertile land in Mesopotamia, and in the whole world. (Shelber in Nahman means rich.) Moreover, it is forbidden to hunt in this place. This territory is an inviolable reserve. Only elders and governors can move freely here. Five young, handsome, very similar to each other, dark-skinned men stood in a small, oblong, trench-like depression. They were groomed like modern people. Smoothly trimmed black stubble, and some have beards. Stylish hairstyles, with hair slicked to the side, and neatly cut along the contour. They are members of the Nahmau royal families. Once again, they secretly escaped from the castle to take a break from the hustle and bustle of their entourage. A light breeze in pairs makes tall grass rustle. It smells very fresh and pleasant here. It is now harvest season. The fields are full of blooming vegetation. Naturally, where there is a lot of food, there is also a lot of game. Seth and Hora from Rohvem came to visit their brothers. They were considered the most talented people of the «upper kingdom». Young, hot and ambitious people have a lot to talk about. Boast of the harvest, architecture, weapons and clothing, as well as make many large transactions for the sale of pharmaceuticals, Sumerian and Sabarian cities, for the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Tigris River, succinctly inscribing the structure into the interior of the fortress walls of the ancient castle of Shelber. When the kings cannot agree, their children take over. Clean heads not clogged with politics know how to compromise.

Prince Selim’s eyes shine like lights in the dark. Frozen in place, he looks with a smile at the border of the forest, as if at this second, a herd of wild boars will run out of there. In fact, he didn’t even think about hunting. His spear lay near the tree, the crossbow was tightly pulled behind his back in a leather case, and he left the dagger near the fire, a kilometer away, on the very bank of the river. All his thoughts were about how to properly dig water channels in this place, for the quick transportation of iron ore and oil products to his city. Hora’s older brother distracted him from his thoughts.

– There, something is moving, – he pointed to the left side of the line of the forest. – Something big. Now let’s watch a little, and come closer, – he said almost in a whisper.

«The beast is too far away, and it looks like it’s not alone, you don’t want to miss them,» Seth said in an undertone. «You’re not a hunter. We must get closer, the main thing is not to scare away. You, stay here, – waving his hand to the men to his left, he silently jumped out of the pit. – Come with me, Svurt. – Shaking his head, burning with excitement, Seth called him. – Let’s see if we can do something.

Without thinking twice, in anticipation, Selim crawled out after him.

«Damn it,» he froze for a moment. – I forgot my spear. – He, in response, silently shook his head.

– Get your crossbow. Suddenly it is a predator. I can’t do it alone.

«Okay, okay…» Taking out the gun case from behind, the young man bulged into the sky. – Two moons? How is this possible?

– What? – Wrinkling his face in displeasure, Seth looked up. – Where did you see the second one? – sighing, he expects a catch from a friend.

– She disappeared. I swear, for a moment, there were two balls in the sky. It didn’t seem to me. It was only a couple of seconds, but I clearly saw this moon, and next to it, a little to the right, the same yellow, the same size.

– Aren’t you drunk, my brother, – Seth grinned and, squinting, directed his gaze into the darkness of the forest.

Suddenly, the trees crackled straight ahead. Three other comrades also noticed this and immediately jumped out of the pit. The distant cries of the lambs rang out. Wolves ran out of the forest. Tails between their legs, they whined softly, and scattered in different directions. Panthers run out after them. Just as frightened, their ears flattened, they seem not to notice the people standing in front of them.

– And who are they so scared of? – Svurt muttered to himself under his breath, and aimed his crossbow in front of him. Together with his friends, he slowly crept up to the forest. Approaching the first trees, the guys carefully peered into the darkness. The unintelligible details of the bushes seemed like living things. Suddenly, a flock of birds flies out from above, making Horus flinch.

– This is a cursed forest! – his nerves could not stand it. – Let’s go back to the city, that’s enough adventure for me.

«Don’t you dare curse my forest,» Selim replied indignantly. – I am the owner of these lands. I have lived here for a very long time, and I know that it is safe here. – He entered the thicket and lit some kind of pipe, from below on a crossbow. With a dim, white light, she illuminated just a couple of meters in front of him. Well, at least something. Suddenly there was another loud crunch from the side. Turning sharply, Svurt took aim in the direction of the sounds. Then he quickly pulled his free hand on his wide honeycomb bracelet and it stretched out in segments to the very shoulder. Then, thrusting his hand under his shirt, he scratched in the chest area and armor enveloped his entire body under his clothes. A mechanical, folding suit turned him into a flamboyant warrior. Holding his breath, Selim moved forward. My heart began to beat quickly in my chest. Finally, an image of two people appeared in his eyes.

«Stop,» said an unknown voice. A strange man in a long robe and draped hood, he himself went to meet the prince. «Please don’t kill us,» a male voice continues with an unfamiliar accent.

– Come on out of here quickly. So I can see you! – raising his hands, palms forward, the stranger went out to his comrades. – You too! – he waved the crossbow, taking aim at the second, in the same robe, a man. – You are lucky that you nahmau, – stopping behind them, Svurt lowered his weapon. «Otherwise, I would immediately kill you like wild animals. And so, you will live to see tomorrow. Tomorrow you will be sentenced to death for crossing the forbidden territory of Shelber.

– But, we did not know that these territories are closed. There are no markings or fences here.

– Don’t be smart! – Dolmi, Selim’s cousin, approached him point-blank. On him, a similar miracle of armor was already deployed, with strongly protruding shoulders and covering completely the body and even part of the head. – Everyone in the district knows where you can walk and where you can’t meddle! Even if you are foreigners, this does not absolve you of responsibility. And take off your hood when I’m talking to you! Before you there are five heirs of two kingdoms, spoiled!

«I beg your pardon if I seemed rude,» the stranger removed his cape from his head. The second, behind him, also showed a face. It was a woman, young or not, in the dark it is not clear. It can only be seen that she is thin. The man is noticeably mature, also thin, but rather tall, strong and wiry. Can easily be dangerous. «I was looking for my sister,» the stranger began to make excuses. «We are heading from Eridu to Jericha with an educational mission. Also, we need the seed of a healthy man to fertilize my sister. Her years are passing, and we need a continuation of the family.

– Show your little sister closer, – the bearded man grinned, – maybe I can render her such a service.

– We’ll see. She is very tired now. During the last rest, she went to pick mushrooms and lost her way. I was looking for her all day and we, just recently, met here.

«Sounds believable,» the bearded man sniffed.

– Did you walk the mushroom trails? – Svurt looks from under his brows, frowning. – There are no edible mushrooms here. There is only death. Alluring and frightening.

– That’s it. What kind of mission do you have, «Seth asks without much curiosity. – Judging by this, there is nothing to teach us, since you went west to the Jews. The path is not close, of course, and how much do they pay you?

– We don’t need a fee. It’s free. This is charity.

– No, well, have you heard this beggar? Hora laughed. – Look at yourself. Well, what an idiot you have to be to walk barefoot half the world and not ask for a penny.

«Take them to the horses,» Selim said calmly to Set. – Now we will take them to the castle, and tomorrow morning, I will personally talk to them. If they don’t lie, I will let them go. If they lied, then I will publicly feed them to my beloved lions. And I will go while I check if they have awakened the evil sleeping with eternal sleep in the forest of the dead, a couple of kilometers north of this thicket. Don’t wait for me.

– What are you talking about? Hora approached him in bewilderment. «Recently, you said not to call your forest damned, but now you declare that evil lurks there.

– Keep it simple, buddy. I just went to shit.

Laughing at their friend, the men moved towards the river, taking with them two strangers. There, their horses and tent were standing by the fire. The princes treated the prisoners not like criminals, but with respect and understanding. This was affected by their good upbringing. Early in the morning, when the first rays of the sun had not yet passed through the walls of the majestic castle. The son of King Shadakh – young Selim, temporarily replacing his father, the ruler of Shelber, while he went on a campaign, with his retinue turned into narrow streets between giant towers. People who got in his way fell to their knees, or simply covered their faces with their hands, not believing their eyes. One of his stern, elegant appearance discouraged those around him. As if from the future, its protective frame shone in different colors. Stopping at a long stone wall, he exponentially clenched his fist, raised hand, signaling his bodyguards – the invulnerable guards Shadakh, to stop. Approaching the thick bars of the iron grating, he raised one eyebrow in bewilderment and grinned.

– Who put you here? – he asks two strangers in torn dresses, sleeping on top of each other in an embrace.

– My lord, – came from behind a pleasant, clear intonation of one of the guards, in fantastically beautiful, silver-blue armor made of incomprehensible material. – Maybe you need the ones in the next cell? He asked in a quiet, ringing voice. Slowly, approaching the next cage, Svurt froze in bewilderment:

«No, they weren’t dressed like that,» he said.

– But, over the past day, only two street cameras were occupied. Those brought by your brothers were seated here.

«Yes, yes, my lord. He speaks correctly. – A man of about fifty came up to the fence. He is wearing expensive clothes. A blue checkered caftan, like a short cloak, with a slit in the back, yellow patterns and stripes on the chest. Shiny, jeweled shoes with elongated, pointed toes. A woman in a white short dress with an unbuttoned collar came up with him. She was not just thin, as it seemed yesterday, but very slim and curvy. On her feet are very strange white shoes made of solid fabric. They were high-soled sneakers with red laces. – Your hotel is so-so, – the stranger smiled. – But, I’ve been to places and worse. «Only now, by his voice, did Selim recognize him as yesterday’s wanderer. Once again, carefully examining the prisoners from head to toe, he turned in displeasure to his guard:

– Who changed them? And for what?

– They will not give you an answer to this question, my young boy, – the wanderer took hold of the bars with both hands. – How much time is left before the verdict? He stroked his short gray hair with his right hand.

– I don’t know. Maybe… you won’t have a verdict.

– This castle, – the wanderer with admiration examines the blurry buildings seen in the distance, fused with each other. – It was not built by you.

«How do you know,» Svurt came close to him.

– Oh, I know everything. This castle was not built by people. He raised his head contentedly. – Yesterday you were so excited when I said that we were picking mushrooms. And when everyone was gone, you went to check if we had picked at least one fungus. I know why entry into that forest is prohibited. It’s not all right there and you know it. You have too many secrets, and if ordinary nahmau find out about them, Shelber’s power will fall.

– A curse was sent to our castle. Every year, it collapses on its own. And every year we restore it. Over and over again, my grandfather and my father have lived here their whole lives. They could not understand this pattern. Towers bend and change their shape. We consider this to be the curse of the Osiris from North Africa and Jericha (a city in Israel on the site of the future Jericho). My grandfather and father slaughtered these peoples with particular fury. Like the barbarians, they went on military campaigns and conquered distant lands for the purpose of profit. My grandfather did not return from one of these trips to the east. He died about sixteen years ago. My father should have returned from the west a month ago, but there is no news of him. The innocent Sumerian peoples whom they made to suffer by enslaving them. The rebellious Sabarian peoples, which almost completely died out due to the cruelty and oppression of the Nahmaut kings. We call them monkeys, savages. But, they are not as stupid as they seem. They have bewitched us and the Rohvem Valley. I have no idea how to remove this corruption, but I will do everything to atone for the guilt of the nahmau before other peoples.

«I don’t need your revelations, kid,» the stranger shook his head, narrowing his eyes slyly. – Nobody sent damage to you. This is self-hypnosis. This castle is not broken, it is simply not completed. Its construction should be completed by those who started. Do they just want it? The anomaly will not stop here, it will increase every day. I see that you are an immaculate soul. I am ready to help you.

«I didn’t ask for your help, old man. – Svurt drew attention to the woman, carefully examining her gold ring. – Did she swallow her tongue?

– She’s wild. Crazy. Doesn’t know the Nahmau language. I took it away from a bear on the river bank as a baby.

– Too sexy for a savage. How old is she? She is well-groomed like from a wealthy family, don’t powder my head.

«Okay, just kidding, this is my cousin,» he glanced at her with his eyes. The woman was distracted and looked at her fellow tribesman, then at Selim. Proudly lifting her head, coquettishly approaching the grate, she slowly licked a thick iron bar along the way. Then, she approached Svurt as close as possible, pressing her whole body against the pipes:

– WOF WOF!! She growled unexpectedly loudly. Frightened, the young man jumped back, reflexively, placing his hand on the hilt of his dagger. The woman laughed. «He seems to like me,» she said to her brother.

– What are you doing? – the wanderer pushed her back slightly. – In fact, she has an injury. Seventeen years ago, she was brutally raped by barbarians from the west. She was no longer a virgin, but one of the best girls of the tribe, it was hard not to notice her. Burning our village to the ground, the soldiers fished it out, tore up her clothes, and began to mock her. Then their commander came and dispersed them. Delighted, she thanked him. But, in vain. He took her to the house and raped her too. However, it’s good that our man was there, hiding behind the wall. With a stab in the back, he stabbed the leader of these bastards. As it turned out later, he was a major military leader. After his death, the invading army turned back, and since then did not set foot on our lands for a long time.

– This, of course, is very interesting, but let him first let us out, then continue to tell your stories, – the girl interrupted him with a serious look, apparently not wanting him to talk about her.

«Seventeen years ago, was she no longer a virgin? So how old are you now? – in bewilderment, Selim approached again. «She looks twenty years old.

«She is eleven years older than me. I’m twenty-three, she’s thirty-four. Our tribe is very small. Just a few families. Due to constant incest, hormonal failure occurred in our family. For the third generation, we suffer from Progeria. But Carney’s disease somehow worked in the opposite direction. Now she is the oldest representative of our people. On average, we live twenty-five to twenty-seven years. If we’re lucky, we’ll live to be thirty. It looks like it will be about ninety years old. But I no longer worry about death. I managed to recover. And, I won’t grow old anymore. The mutation of genes affected not only in the negative direction. It also influenced intelligence, the way of thinking. During my not very long life, I have created a great many useful things to which you have to go for thousands of years. But, the main thing is not even that. I am standing now, communicating with you through this cage, but I can easily get out of here. And, with a snap of your finger, destroy this whole castle. As he speaks, Karnay grabbed the smooth iron pipe of the grating with one hand and began to rub it with quick movements. With her other hand, she slowly lifted her dress from the side of her hip. Her slender legs made the prince pay attention to them. Above the knees, she is wearing black ribbons embroidered with patterns, like stockings, tight-fitting legs. She fiddled with her eyebrows and pulled her lips slightly, making them plump. Her face is smooth, natural. No makeup and wavy hair styled at the back secured with a white comb.