The insidious converter. A fantastic story of our days

The unexpected quest

Two minutes later the bell sounded again. Somebody was showing his of a well aware detective. insistence

Michael restrained. The bell resumed nervous barking. After that from behind the door was sounded with someone’s voice: Mr. Obrezov, please, open the door, I all the same have already seen you inside walking around the room». «

«Wow!», surprised Obrezov having done no even tiny act.

«Open!», the low and a little dense voice was sounding hypnotically, «I’m able to come in without anyone’s help but, you understand, the rule of good manners doesn’t allow».

After a little pause the weid man reported more animatedly: «By the way, your mother-in-law is now quite far from here. Nothing prevents you to sip just from the bottle and get high. Drink, Michael Ignat’s, out of terror and doubt and then let me come in. I hope you realize a usual mortal is not able to see you through even two doors».

Latest argument worked. Having open the bottle right in the restroom Obrezov sipped for courage, specially coughed up a few times, and stepped hard into the hallway.

Having open the door of the apartment he saw some banal unknown man in a crumbled raincoat and an old-fashioned hat. What interesting there was, that man had a face like of rather famous actor Basov and in his hands in front of himself he held some box of food processor size.

The man just strangely like using attached lips smiled, and resolutely moved into the room pushing Obrezov with that banal box.

Half a minute later unknown guest put that thing on the table in the drawing-room and just staying in his hat started dropping on Obrezov’s brain.

«At first, mister Obrezov, let me demonstrate you all the opportunities of our converter», began he in quite strict tone like being in lecture.

The timbre of his voice and the manner of speaking really reminded actor Basov’s voice, too, and that fact made Obrezov hesitated. He only frowned and sceptically asked: «What? What have you said? Con…?»

«The converter», repeated the man drily, and raised from the table a lying there list of paper. «Let me ask you what thing you would like to get right at once and likely from nothing. Of course, the thing can be very tiny because the mass of this paper is too little. You better to want something of little weight, for example a morsel of cloth. Do you have any piece of cloth? It’s without difference, it’s suitable anything».

Obrezov had to strain his brain to realize what was happening around him and what the foreign wanted to get from him. Automatically he sipped from his bottle of wine again and having got some calmness asked about a piece of sugar. The guest agreed: «Please, bring sugar here. Or cloth. Or anything else. I don’t have so much time», said he impatiently having stretched his hand toward Obrezov.

His peremptory tone and resemblance of his favorite actor nearly against Obrezov’s will pushed out him to the kitchen. When he had stretched his palm with the tiny piece of sugar on to the strange, the man approvingly nodded. Having made over the combine some gestures he installed the piece of sugar into the little hole that had been open suddenly on front side of the apparatus.

Two seconds later it had become possible to see some a little light point flashing on the case and after that the piece of sugar fell out on the table. The strange installed a list of paper into some slot on another side of the case and after about half a minute from the hole appeared a very tiny piece of lump sugar. It was just an exact copy of the piece brought by Obrezov but its size was noticeably less.

«What is a trick?», asked Obrezov with pompous look. «Is it a sugar mashine?»

«Likely I’ve said it’s a convertor. No tricks. This device has realized the analysis of the sugar piece and then got the same from the paper. That’s all in this trick and no more», drily explained the guest. «Would you like to get just another piece of sugar? Or, perhaps, anything else? Then bring the sample. And actively, please, actively! It’s time, understand?

Being like in fog Obrezov went to the kitchen again, and about a minute later he put on the table in front of the strange a piece of moldy cheese, a long loaf of white bread, an open pack of butter, and the pair of eggs. Then after three seconds of thinking he set next to the magical device the started bottle of tangle-legs.

«Good! It’s a really other matter», the copy of actor Basov joyfully rubbed his hands. «And now pull, please, here all the junk. All that you would like to get rid of. Even the content of your garbage can. And more vividly! Why do you do so slowly?!» the person even shouted to the master of the flat.

Obrezov got an exciting moment. Less than in  minutes next to the table there was grown quite a big his mother-in-law’s heap of rags that long ago was desired to be burned. two

In Obrezov’s head appeared a thought about the happiness of getting rid of all that garbage. Obrezov’s eyes became blinking.

Michael with great pleasure was watching how the swelled nearly into two sizes device was digesting the junk and spitting out on the table the exact copies of the provision brought by Obrezov from the fridge a few minutes before. And what main was, wished tangle-legs had stood up in front of his view as a couple of open and started bottles. Even a little dust on the glass up of the original bottle was copied, too. And no rags guarded so seriously by the mother-in-law!

«I see you are likely surprised very much, aren’t you?», seriously asked the foreign. «And that’s just understandable. I would be surprised, too. But the converter has yet showed you only a very tiny part of its opportunities. Ensure you, its potential is incredibly great! Of course, in the frames of acceptable mass. And those not very significant limits installed in its program.

«What does it mean? I’m talking about acceptable mass…”, automatically asked Obrezov licking over his dry lips.

«You see», the guest began solving aloud, «everything is subordinated to the laws of physics. That’s a favorite expression of your scientists. Getting something from nothing, indeed, is not possible. Finally even most advanced beings in the Universe aren’t able to replace the Creator. And getting anything through the converter demands giving it some equivalent mass that can be calculated with some certain formula. You don’t have a reason to know this one. However if you do agree to accept some responsibility on yourself and take this case as a gift so you need to mean that mass of the garbage turning into any useful thing must be for about fifteen percent bigger than the mass of the expected product. And, of course, the opportunities of the very apparatus to widen itself aren’t endless.

I mean it’s possible to copy, for example, a TV-set, but impossible for a car. But if we see that our converter really makes all the earthlings happy so we’ll send the case of significantly more size and opportunities».

All the foreigner’s words after «TV-set» Obrezov missed through his ears. He long ago had lost any calm living in the flat nearby even two women but without second TV-set. Mother-in-law and wife, as you see…

A few minutes later a great heap of different rags and the old books grew next to the converter. And because of ending any real garbage Obrezov brought from the mother-in-law’s room quite a lot of that madam’s magazines. All they were issued, only God knew, how many years ago. Alas, having eaten all this rubbish the converter gave out the TV-set of two times less in the size than a real «Rubin» was.

«It’s impossible really to make an exact copy of this TV-set from even any book», busily explained the alien. «But it’ll definitely be in size of a lump sugar piece. And, of course, it will be working».

«Who needs such a TV-set for midgets!», with irritation in voice exclaimed Obrezov. And suddenly a very light thought visited to him. «Listen to me! What’s about water? I mean banal water from a tap. Is it possible to get something hard from simple water?»

«Certainly possible», the tone of the wizard’s voice hadn’t even been changed. «It’s only needed to regulate it a little. This regulation, I think, takes no more than twenty minutes. I mean I have enough time. But it’s needed to turn about twenty kilograms unstable form of raw».

Obrezov reminded he hadn’t still had any video-recorder or a player and therefor in the flat there wasn’t any original thing of such a kind to copy. Having come to calm in his head he returned to the topic of that magic case’s pedigree.

«Yes», agreed the alien, «it’s time to disclose the cards. A fortiori it’s already finishing. Well, I see you’ve already guessed that this apparatus is made on other planet. And I’m an emissary of that planet. One minute! No fainting! Nothing especial is happening. Simply the choice has fallen on you and the cause of it is just very subjective. I have no permission to tell about. And only one thing you can do personally is that you get a choice – to take this case to use (that’s, of course, without any terms and payment) or to refuse taking this gift. If you choose the first variant the converter stays at Earth forever and can’t be returned to its masters at all, in any circumstances. In the second variant it won’t be proposed to anybody and I’ll send it there where I have got. Is it clear to you? Then take, please, in attention that destroying this converter is not possible for all the forces of your civilization – in any circumstances, too. However having desire you’re able to copy with its aid as many the same cases as you’ll need. Have I expressed clearly?