Parallel worlds – one. Fire and flame

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

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

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

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

– What do Petty and Jules have in common?

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

– More like Caesarianism.

– Come, see, win?

– I wish I could.

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

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

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

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

– And he's not afraid.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They drank the tonic drink in a gulp.

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

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

– You said it yourself, it's normal.

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

– Isn't that right?

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

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

– Maybe, but definitely not a quiet one.

They laughed, both of them.

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

They laughed again.

– What would the other one do differently?

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

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

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

The admiral looked at him questioningly.

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

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

– What's she doing?

– She uses them purely to accomplish her goal.

– Who else?

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

– Oh, boy.

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

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

– Good afternoon, Rutra Tigrovic.

– Hi, Irene.

– How do you like it here?

– What do you mean, here?

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

– How's that?

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

– How?

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

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

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

– What's the method?

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

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

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– So what?

– People stopped dying a natural death.

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

– Where are they taking me?

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

– How?

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

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

– You're right.

– What's next?

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

– No deal?

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

– Did the authorities know how to implement my methodology?

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

– What's the point?

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

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

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

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

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

– How do you know that?

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

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

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

– What truth?

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

– And now everyone wants to transplant their thymus?

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

– What now?

– Take power, sign the decree.

– Which one?

– That your patented methodology you authorize the use of.

– Patented?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– It's cool in here.

– There's some bad news.

– Like what?

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

– And who's that?

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

– How's that?

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

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

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

– Who are they?

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

– Why them?

– You ran tests on them and decided

– What tests?

– Without their knowledge. It was an intellectual game.

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

– Yeah. Mostly communication skills.

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

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

– Who is she and what is the direct threat?

– It's someone…

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

Through the static, Ruthra heard:

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

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

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

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

Ruthra thought quickly. He mentally commanded the supercomputer.

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

The answer surprised and even frightened him a little.

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

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

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

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

– Which one?

– Another AI system.

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

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

– Who has full access to the lockdowns?

– All participants in the Ribhu program.

– What's that?

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

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

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

– Who are these "Ribhu" participants?

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

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

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

– Who has the highest?

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

– Am I on the board here, too?

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

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

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

– Take an oath?

– Rutra Tigrovic, what's wrong with you?

– What about advice?

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

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

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

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

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

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

– Get the Secretary of Defense to block it!

Ruthra was also taken aback.

– What's going on?

– The system has entered the number one standby position.

– What is it? Why?

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

– The President?

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

– And the lock?

– If one fails, there's a lockout.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

– Which one?

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