Tarot and Medici Solitaire. Stalking Self-Study Guide

Do it no worse than the author of the book—that illiterate scribbler who fancies himself the Guru of Stalking!

Revise the chapter entitled 'Summary of Chapter 3.' Record it in the journal, along with your chosen epigraphs.

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3. Identify the KEY—namely, the main distinctive features of the Stalker's development at each stage. Create a diagram of their evolution.

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4. The author of the book, it seems, has treacherously withheld the secret Knowledge from the people and neglected to write about the three most essential stages of the Stalker's development. Undoubtedly, he did this to secretly stifle the ignorant masses from behind the Veil.

Restore to the people—in your own person, that is, to yourself—what has been lost! Become the Chosen One, and in a state of channeling, inscribe the three forgotten points!

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5. Seek out the secret manual online: 'How to Govern the World Without Drawing the Orderlies' Attention.'

Download it, print it, purchase it, or write it yourself; bind it as a thick ancient tome with a lock, and hang it on a chain above your bed. Within, under lock and key, place the three secret aspects of the Stalker’s development that you have discovered in Channeling mode, on your own.

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6. If your acquaintances ask about the book above your bed, deflect with humor, steer the conversation elsewhere, or answer with lines from James Bond or other literary or cinematic figures.

Your task is, under no circumstances and to no one, ever to reveal or explain what lies within this book.

Now you are the Keeper of Secret Knowledge, on probation. By the way, the Keepers' probation period is limited only by their 'missteps.' In other words, as long as you don't make missteps or divulge Stalker military secrets, it lasts until you grow weary of it.

For instance, Eternity.

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7. Find a film character you would like to emulate and record a collection of their signature phrases in your journal. Learn these expressions and the manner in which they are spoken.

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Attention!

Do not forget to remain within the bounds of the Criminal Code.

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Choose your mask wisely!

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Fig. Mask to mask. People to people. As you don the mask, so shall it be!

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Chapter 4 Pont, simply Pont.

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Fig. A light glimmers at the end of the tunnel. We draw ever closer to our goal.

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So, what truly is a stalker, when viewed up close?

Well then, let us take, for example, a necromancer. There, all is clear—he is surrounded by the dead he has summoned from their graves, who howl fiercely, jealously guarding their master from any who venture too near, and will tear apart anyone lacking a CASCO policy.[26][27]

Or, for instance, vampires. With them, all is apparent—vampires cannot be mistaken for any other. At least, before Death.

The hallmark of the Bogatyr, let us say, is heroic strength. Of the mage, the gift of magic. Witches—witchcraft. The Sorcerer—sorcery.

But what, then, is a stalker, and how, in every dimension, do the kind, responsive, and charming partake of him?

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Fig. Loved or tormented, they have all arrived here, nonetheless.

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If one has read the previous chapters with care, it is possible they may have noticed, perchance by accident, that any scenario holds a multitude of possible developments. And, strangely enough, every scenario possesses both endings graced with happiness and endings in the most final sense. And if you gather a handful of scenarios and blend them gently together, it becomes clear there are countless combinations—yet they all share a single, distinguishing trait: the overall probability of a happy ending, for some reason, steadily diminishes to nothing. The further we proceed, as the saying goes, the more fearsome it becomes.

Yet the probability of descending three meters into the depths inevitably approaches 100% with time, in any scenario. And should these scenarios arise not from childish comics but from the austere truth of life, then the vanishing of the happy ending accelerates to rival the hush with which one utters the word 'perdition.'

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Fig. Why do we stand? For whom do we wait? The Motherland gazes upon you with hope, my son! And so what if you have just rescued someone? The huts—they burn and burn…

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At this point, any mathematician with a modicum of skill might recall the most extreme and perilous cases—professions as fraught and unhealthy as that of Agent 007 or, say, Indiana Jones.

All crave him, all seek him, and the desires they bear toward the scapegoat—pardon, the hero, indeed the Hero—are clearly at odds with health and restful sleep for the one so pursued.

Most intriguing of all: even if, in the finest tradition of Indian cinema, you fire one hundred and fifty rounds from a six-shot revolver, for reasons unknown, they still manage to shoot! And, as a rule—always in bursts! And still they run, these rascals, rushing in from every direction. As if, for heaven’s sake, it’s a clearance sale.

In such moments, vampires find true grace—draining a couple of villains in some shadowed corner, gathering a few hells, and then soaring further on the wings of night. But what is a simple Pont to do in such a situation?[28]

Curiously, these questions trouble him very little. With hardly a tremor of anxiety, he passes from story to story—alive, healthy, and ruddy-cheeked. Perhaps, only somewhat roughened by yet another predatory seductress. How does he manage it? Why is he all in chocolate and all that Halle Berry business? And here, you see, the sandwich always falls butter-side down?!

Cinema, you might say? But after all, someone wins the national lottery! …Or becomes president… And someone – hard to imagine! – becomes the president’s wife!!!

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Fig. A squirrel endlessly spins another squirrel in the wheel—round and round. It’s always like that, everywhere. People spin the eternal puzzle.

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And if you watch Pont’s actions closely in the film, you’ll notice one distinctive detail – that rascal is always on time, everywhere!!!

Not a moment too soon, nor a moment too late… only as the guard turned away for a fleeting instant, lost in contemplation of life's meaning… and in that very heartbeat, Pont emerged, indelible and inescapable! Seizing upon the guard's transitory reverie, sparing his munitions for the other 149 keepers of the Object – with a single stroke of charisma, he unsettles his wits, and thus the soul is borne away to pa… ah, no, indeed – to hell, of course, that is, indeed, to ааааааааааddd.

For but a few brief minutes, the gentle lady was overtaken by a spell of feminine weakness.

And there is Pont, you see, appearing at once! Ready as if he had known, that rascal, primed for his purpose…

That is ever his way: give the slightest slack, and Pont has taken it all. What was once another’s now is Pont’s!

Even an old woman falters at times; so how can villains find no rest, not a moment’s respite from their wickedness throughout the day? Thus does Pont seize these pauses most shamelessly, then meets your gaze with a brazen face and boldly proclaims, 'Pont, simply Pont.'

What a charming scoundrel, is he not?

Yet the most intriguing part is this: he wields his 'one-in-a-million' chance with the steady certainty of a Swiss chronometer, unfailingly gliding from episode to episode, deftly weaving between bursts of gunfire and slipping amid graceful legs in those rare moments when they are relaxed and unguarded.

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Fig. The manual is simple: take hold—move your hands. If only a little strength remained for the journey of personal growth.

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And here’s another fairly well-known new film—'Next', with Nicolas Cage.

In it, Kolya could literally see the future, three minutes ahead. Yet that was enough to duck his head in time, and to lift it at just the right moment. He darted between bursts of automatic fire just as deftly as the dashing Pont.

When I first saw it, I thought—Pont must have had plastic surgery again.

Their moves are almost identical: no gunfire at all, you aren’t even issued a pistol, just like in the construction battalion, yet the enemies fall left and right and stack themselves in neat rows. All strictly according to GOST![29]

Thus it unfolds, quite logically, that since Kolya does not brandish a pistol in 'The Prophet,' and Pont too seldom resorts to gunfire, their true weapon must be this: the gift of arriving in the right place at the right moment, and, of course, the art of flashing a photogenic, bulletproof, white-toothed smile in the face of whistling bullets…

Perhaps it dazzles them—there is no other way to explain why the bullets always pass them by…

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Fig. As one poet once declared: 'All is trifling, save for time itself!'

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And if we are to speak in strictly scientific terms for the especially meticulous, the following definition may be offered:

A high probability of achieving success, even in situations where survival is almost impossible, is afforded to these individuals by an innate or acquired ability for absolutely synchronous interaction with aggressively disposed subjects. It is this capacity that enables them to realize their desires and possibilities in the most optimal way.

Did anyone understand any of that?

This is one of the hallmarks of Stalking—absolute synchrony with the world and the utmost economy of force, aggression, and weaponry.

At such times, I recall some verses, perhaps by Guberman:

My comrade once fed lice with his own flesh,

And trembling, re-fashioned rags anew,

And stitched the very image of the Cosmos,

And strolled with God…

…without a blade.

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Section Homework № 4.

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Fig. – Give me a fulcrum, and I shall turn the world! – This fulcrum lies not outside, but within you, my friend! – What nonsense! No way! Come on—ууууууу![30]

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1. Search online and watch the film 'Next', released in 2007, starring Nicolas Cage.[31]

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2. What enabled Cris Johnson to perform his feats?

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3. What capabilities does this grant him (C.J.) that set him apart from ordinary people? Compose a list of such abilities. And what might these abilities offer their possessor? Provide at least five points.

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4. What drawbacks do Cris's abilities have?

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5. Compare the behavior patterns of Cris Johnson in the film 'Next' and James Bond in the Bond series (consider at least two or three films with the same actor, for example, Daniel Craig).

Prepare a list (or table) of similarities and differences, describing their characteristic traits and the consequences that arise from these differences. Strive to substantiate your conclusions. Include references supporting your conclusions, noting the relevant series and the episode timing.

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6. If such a person does not wish to reveal their gift of foresight, is it still possible to discern these abilities in them? If so, how? Compile a list of specialties and professions in which abilities of foresight might enable one to achieve success within society.

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7. Find information online about the prototype of James Bond. What is he like?

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8. Find information online about the prototype or counterpart of Chris Johnson. What is he like?

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9. Could modern power structures and special services be interested in employees like Chris Johnson?

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10. Search online and compile a list of countries and TV channels broadcasting a show similar to 'Battle of the Psychics.' Pay attention to the years the show originated. Take note of the expenses involved in producing the show and its profitability. What is the purpose of these shows?

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11. Watch a few episodes of the series 'Mentalist' (2008—2015) starring Simon Baker, for example, from the first season. Pay attention to the length of the series, its budget, and the adaptations in Ukraine.[32]

Study the history of the series and its prototype.

What is the English translation of the words 'сталкер' and 'сталкинг'?

Who were Chikatilo, Red John, Red Dragon (watch again), and other such maniacs?[33][34]

If there is a Shadow, what is its counterbalance?

Which order carries the unofficial name 'Dogs of the Lord'?

Would counterintelligence ever publicize itself and its activities?

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12. In what other guises or formats could the 'Battle of the Psychics' competition be held to identify those with psychic abilities?

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13. If one were to compare Chris Johnson and James Bond, Patrick Jane and Hannibal Lecter, which of them is closer to the Stalker?

What is the defining trait of self-centered professional athletes?

What is the defining trait of most serial killers and maniacs?

What does it mean to 'styag,' 'styazhat,' or to 'receive the Holy Spirit'?

So, who is a Stalker?

What are the 'trophies' for a Stalker learning from this self-tutorial?

Substantiate your opinion in writing, point by point, and provide evidence where possible.

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14. In the film, is Chris Johnson a puppet or a conductor?

Substantiate your opinion in writing, point by point, and provide evidence where possible.

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15. Watch the film 'Say Leo' (2008).

Look for Chris Johnson there.

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16. Recall and make a list of films in which, even if only briefly, the main or supporting characters possess the gift of foresight.

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17. Bonus.

Watch the series 'Vampires of the Middle Belt.'[35]

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Fig. If I knew the right cards, I'd live in Sochi! Some do know, but choose not to! (For the record, he lives far better than he would in Sochi.)

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Chapter 5 A cat ran by, waving its tail…

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Fig. 'I know that I know nothing' (a distorted and incomplete saying commonly attributed to Socrates).

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What, then, does it mean to be in the right place at the right time?

To phrase it in the rather tedious language of learned mathematicians: it is to possess the correct spatial and temporal coordinates within a given period.

That is, so that F(x, y, z, t) = f(t), where f(t) is that subtle and elusive function which brings about success, recognition, and a sense of deep moral fulfillment.

Did anyone understand anything?

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Fig. To sleep – or not to sleep. Through the dream – to see. If you do not awaken, you cannot unsee.

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To speak more simply, let us take a plain example: a cat runs across the road, amid the cars. Which, by the way, could easily run it over.

Three things have always struck me personally:

1) as a rule, the cat runs without looking around, but instead fixes its gaze upon a single point;

2) If she stops darting across the road and begins to look around, it is precisely then, as a rule, that she gets run over.

3) A simple yet astonishing fact—the place where a cat was just a moment ago, a car passes by, but the cat is already gone!

And here, analogies naturally arise, in the following vein:

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Fig. The clever learn from the successful. The wise learn from the effective.

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1. One who skillfully crosses the road of life gazes at a single point, like a cat—they see only their final goal and trot toward it (for cats seldom gallop).

This very kind of fanaticism is the hallmark of those whom we call the single-minded. They are the ones who attain success, for it is precisely the single-minded who achieve it.

There is a certain secret hidden within this. Truly, this is a property of human consciousness. A person may cast their gaze upon a thousand things, yet SEES only those which they SEEK—and, once found, HOLDS with that very gaze. It seems a thing as simple as an orange; everyone knows this, and yet…

…anyone who has been on a duck hunt and has shot at them knows a curious riddle—the moment when the duck, felled by a shot, drops into the grass. As it falls, the Hunter instinctively traces the duck with his gaze. EVERY Hunter sees where the duck has fallen, and then walks out to seek it in the grass.

But… only the Hunter who, as he approaches the spot where the duck has fallen, NEVER AVERTS his gaze from that place, will find it.

The same Hunters who vaguely remembered where the duck had fallen and went to search for it there, rightly believing that, with three or four kilos of brains, 'surely they could find a scruffy duck in the grass,' reasoned absolutely correctly! Ninety-nine percent of the time, they will never find it there! Yet where could a dead duck in the grass possibly go? Surely it didn’t crawl away to paradise on its own, powered by some zombie drive?

Look into the eyes of any fan, fanatic, careerist, or one enthralled by an idea.

You will behold that same absent gaze seen in a cat. More precisely, a stare fixed upon some goal behind you—visible only to him.

By the way, a true anecdote on that theme:

In the evening, I stepped out onto the balcony for a smoke. Then:

I linger there, smoking. I see—the neighbor’s cat furtively creeping along the cornice, clearly planning to raid a sparrow’s nest.

I lay in wait and cried out: ‘Hey, get out of here! What are you doing here, you rascal?!’

In that very instant, an old woman, plucking seeds from flowers beneath the balcony, dashed away. The young man drinking beer atop the pipe tumbled down and fled.

The girl posting a notice on the doorway vanished at once!

Only the cat continued to prowl—slowly, inexorably…

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Fig. An heirloom Zen Master, unmixed and pure, in full concentration. There is only the goal, and nothing but the goal. And it must be seized and devoured. This is Meaning, Truth, and the Path.[36]

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2. Should a person avert their gaze from the original goal and begin to doubt midway upon their journey, it will scarcely end well for them. Much like a cat, frozen as a car bears down upon it.

And yet, the vast majority of people are forever filled with doubt about everything. ABOUT EVERYTHING… AND EVERYONE… what is the meaning???

There is a fine proverb: A brave man dies but once, while a coward dies a thousand deaths.

Let us now ask the women, who, after all, perform the true natural selection among men – what makes a ‘remarkable’ man? They will offer a thousand answers, yet each will surely mention one essential trait – a CONFIDENT man.

'Confident' is the antonym of 'doubtful.' In the eyes of women, a man may be anyone—even a criminal, a sadist, a murderer, a scoundrel, a beggar—yet still be alluring to one of them. But… remove a man's confidence, and all is lost—he is unlikely to impress even a single soul. !!!!!!!!

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Fig. To gooooo or not to goиииииии? That is the quesssstion! Is it nobler for machiiiiiines to wait endlesslyyyyyy? Should one yield, remaining a silent stone cast along the roadside of Fate? Or must one offer resistanceееееееее? And slip between the equal embrace of Deeeeaaaathоооооооand sufffffffocccccating? Or kiиииииииll? And eeeeeeeat? Just in caaaaaaaaase? (“Mumbles,” Chic Spear)

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Instinct for choosing worthy mates unerringly whispers to a woman—a man unsure of himself will achieve nothing; he holds no promise.

A typical outsider-hero, found in any bestseller, can serve as an idol only for those who are outsiders themselves. And only within a bestseller—a narcotic for the unsuccessful—can he attain success.

If the plot of the bestseller were otherwise, few would choose to buy it. The successful have no need for it, while outsiders require the hero to be just like themselves if they are to identify with him.

In reality, one who is confident in their own strength repels misfortune, most often by the force of that confidence alone. And, of course, with an unwavering sense of humor and the gift of laughing at oneself.

That is why small children—and professional dog handlers—so often approach even the largest and wildest dogs with perfect calm and stroke their fur. Absolute faith and fearlessness, the true absence of fear, do not provoke a dog to bite a stranger.[37]

‘…And if you possessed faith even as a mustard seed, you could move mountains…’ [38]

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Fig. – ‘Calling MCC, calling MCC, do you read? – MCC, standing by. Over. – Reporting in.’ The second day of the flight has begun. All is proceeding smoothly. All systems are functioning within their standard parameters. Over.

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NдддддддAh—yet here it should be added that faith is not a thought, nor a theory of Kung Fu, but a distinct psychological state—one that is first unlearned by the Stalker.

It is a unique state, a worldview, a real inner disposition—not merely the muttering of, 'I believe, I believe, I believe… yes, I do believe, upon my honor!'

For those versed in extrasensory arts, one can simply point—a sensation, an energy—this is The Twenty-Second Arcana of the Tarot ('The Fool'): a man with a knapsack, his head uplifted, beholding his Path above, in the heavens, not down upon the earth.

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Fig. 22. The Fool Arcana, from the Rider–Waite deck.

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It is this arcana that stands as both the beginning and the end of exploring the Tarot. Little wonder that tarot scholars still dispute whether it is the twenty-second arcana, or the zero.

It is The Fool who embodies Stalking, and, in truth, the learning of all things upon the Land.

And it is precisely the energy of this arcana—and the feeling it imparts—that grants 'faith', the very ability to learn, and all that stems from it. Including that dazzling, bulletproof smile for those who face the flying bullets head-on!

‘Fortune smiles on fools,’ as people say. And indeed—fortune smiles most brightly! And how!!!!!![39]

For those truly drawn to understanding and mastering this energy, The Twenty-Second Arcana may be explored in greater depth.

What, then, is the energy of The Twenty-Second Arcana, and wherein does its essence truly dwell?

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Fig. The mask reveals—who am I, where am I?! What do I suffer. What am I capable of.

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When the pillar of ancient Greek philosophy, the wise and learned Socrates, was asked about his wisdom and called upon to measure it, he replied, in essence, as follows:

“The more I know, the more I realize that I know nothing,” and “I know only that I know nothing, but others are not even aware of this.”[40]

And although it seems here that Socrates spoke of the horizon of Knowledge ever receding, what is important to us is not his main idea, but the psychological Attunement itself.

Consider: a man no longer young, possessing immense knowledge and experience, a universally recognized intellectual, thinker, and authority of his era—in fact, a titan of thought, the father of ancient Greek philosophy—publicly, consciously, and fully admits, in essence, that…

…that he is but a fool?!

…!!!

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