Binary code Mystery number two

Part Four: Binary Code-4. Invisible power

In this part of the story the main character will have to solve another complex mystery – who is who and who is nobody, as well as what force influences their decision-making, and through them – on all of humanity. You, dear reader, are waiting for you: secret closed clubs, secret societies, super-modern laboratories, flight on a top-secret airplane, capture of a nuclear submarine, brainstorming and god's algorithm.

Nothing builds faith in a man like knowing his thoughts!

Chapter 1: The Mystery of Reflection

Upon arrival, Ruthra was once again convinced of the peculiar morality of the underworld. It lived according to its own canons, which were based on the principle that no one would fly from here to space. With the implication that space was everything but here.

No one met them at the "central" station. The machine invited them to the booths for washing, disinfection and changing clothes. It turned out that there were a lot of them, six opened. They were walled in merging from the whiteness of the walls. Five minutes later everyone was assembled, in front of the main entrance.

The machine "looked through" everyone for the presence of data known only to "him" and issued: "Access confirmed."

They went into the so-called main trunk corridor. And no one met them there – everyone was busy doing their own thing.

– What are we going to do? – The operative asked.

– Now," Ruthra replied.

He contacted Isa mentally, demanding to be connected to Jarovitovich. After about ten seconds, she answered:

– The chapter is busy and can't make it out for a session.

– Then ask what the members of the incoming operational staff should do? – Ruthra asked aloud.

Everyone was silent, they knew he was communicating through the system with the Commandant.

– The command is for everyone to take their seats according to the staff schedule," Isa replied.

– That's it? – Ruthra asked in surprise.

– There were no other teams," she replied in her nonchalant manner.

– All right, everyone to your posts, I'll contact you," Ruthra commanded and headed for Jarovitovich.

Jarowitowicz was not at his place, Isa reported that he was in town, in the meeting hall.

– What town? Up there?

– No, in the city, here.

– Is there a town here?

– What did you see behind the studio?

– Is he real?

– Otherwise, how would you see it? It's virtual, but it's still real.

– Can I go in there?

– Yes, of course.

– What line?

– Center. The emblem on the door is the same.

Ruthra remembered that there was an emblem in the shape of a TV tower.

– A pass through the studio?

– The main entrance is from the lower level. If you want to go through.

– Okay, got it.

Ruthra found the right line and looked for the door. The studio was the same as it had been in the virtual. With thoughts of how it could all be made to make one see in a dream what one did not see in real life – he walked on, through the door into the "city". Neither habit, nor reflexes, nor training, nor a sense of complete adaptation to the unbelievable helped. Ruthra froze. It was not what he saw that surprised him, not the wave of familiar chains of inferences that changed his view of existence and reality, but the realization that "they" were all connected: this was a separate world, he and others like him would always be strangers to "them. There was no need to look for conspirators, they were all of the same color, inhabitants of another world, with their own thoughts, feelings, understanding of justice and the meaning of life. Ruthra realized all this because he felt how long it had been since he had seen the real (as he understood it) world, even though he had been here for days. Now Yarovitovich, Vyacheslav, Avvakum, Olga, the doctor and Alikhanov were more understandable to him.

The "city" was full of people, bustling with life, and Ruthra was no longer surprised or concerned that there were so many of them, all of them doing something very important, here and not upstairs. One could think and think and think about how distorted the citizens who didn't know about power, government, and secrets were, but it was still impossible to realize the full extent of the 'real reality'.

The abundance of light made Ruthra squint a little. If a man had fallen asleep somewhere upstairs and been transported here and then woken up, he would have thought he was in an ordinary multi-level shopping mall. There were no windows, but instead huge screens showing landscapes like those in the cabin, giving the impression that beyond the windows were forests, fields, seas, mountains, meadows, streets, parks, the same rows of streets, the same hum. Ruthra stepped onto the balcony.

– Where are you going? – Isa asked.

– Where, where, to Yarovitovich.

– You can't go into the city in working form.

Ruthra looked at his jumpsuit and the people of the 'city', they were in civilian clothes.

– Where's my stuff?

– In your quarters.

– Where is she? You think I remember?

– Follow the green line to cabin 4-23.

Ruthra turned around and walked back down the corridor, found the green line and followed it to room 4-23, scanned, entered. The quarters were the same as last time, only the scenery was gone. Clothes were cleaned and ironed, he changed, went to "town".

The inhabitants of the "city" were dressed stylishly, according to fashion, and behaved like ordinary visitors to such centers. Nothing was different, except that instead of the ceiling there was a huge screen with a real-time image of the sky, clouds, and sun, and on the walls – sometimes a park, sometimes a street with sidewalks and flowerbeds.

– Where is the reception center? – He asked Isa.

– Go up to the third floor, go to the administrative section, there is an arrow, to the left of the escalator.

Ruthra did so, and soon found himself in front of large doors labeled "Reception Center." He was getting used to the dungeon, so he knew that the Reception Center was not a reception center, not a delegation center in the usual sense.

The doors were locked, Ruthra rang the bell, and a voice said, "Identify yourself. A beacon lit up where the scanner was located, Ruthra moved his eye closer to the scanner. "You may enter," the system replied, the door clicked, he entered.

To his surprise, it was indeed a reception hall, or rather a conference room. There were a lot of people, Yarovitovich was presiding; he greeted Rutra with a nod and continued the discussion. The discussion centered on the latest incident, and it boiled down to two fundamental positions. Some argued that it was impossible to simulate a battle alarm, while others argued that it was possible to go to greater lengths to achieve a goal. The former did not stop and explained that this actually leads to a decrease in combat readiness, because in the future such an alarm will be considered as less important. Yarovitovich argued that they had a system of deterrence and additional control, that the Central Control Directorate was aware of it and had developed the plan itself, that it was an emergency situation.

At first Rutra could not reliably assess why it was given such great importance, even in this center, then, realizing that he had missed a lot, he began to form a general picture from the fragments of dialogues. The point of it all was that the risks involved in making a decision for the Kremlin-2 facility could be fateful for all of humanity. Ruthra processed the information coming into him and rediscovered the role of these people in the life of the planet. He had begun to understand a lot of things here lately – the strange scrutinizing gaze of these people, the manner of speech (as with a "passenger"), the expression on their faces when questioned, saying "you won't understand a thing".

They were unusual people, debating that even if a special plan required a simulated alert, it was too dangerous because hundreds of millions could die. Their opponents calmly reasoned that the likelihood of this happening was not really that high since there was a chain of interconnected control systems. Ruthra listened to their discussions and felt increasingly alien to them. He even became afraid to tell them that he was not one of them, because they were extremely calm about the possibility of people dying up there. To those gathered, those people did not have such a high importance. Some would die, some would stay, the main thing was that life could be revived, civilization would continue, that was what their discussion boiled down to. The discussion ended with a decision not to repeat such a situation. Such an object and such a dispute? At first it surprised Rutru, but upon reflection he realized that the main staff of the center were men of science, they would not be productive if their opinions were not considered.

Everyone dispersed, Ruthra remained seated in his seat.

– What shall we say? – Yarovitovich asked, bringing additional meaning to the question.

– After conducting a preliminary investigation, I concluded that Alikhanov wanted to use the brain signal chain through his installation to the transmitter of the Pioneer command missile to guarantee a signal in the nuclear bombardment mode. In order to have full control of the situation after this fuss. I believe he was transmitting it to one of the secret control centers.

– There aren't many of them – yours, ours, Yamantau's. All the others will not be able to fully control, only locally.

Ruthra, after going over the options in his head, still decided to ask, otherwise there were still unknowns in solving such a grand equation.

– Please tell me, what is this secret organization of the ZKR?

Yarovitovich shook his head and widened his eyes. In this way he expressed his concern and dissatisfaction with something that had apparently unnerved him for a long time.

– I'm sick of these demagogues. Did it get to you? – Ruthra's head responded to the question with sudden abruptness. – They think they're true patriots, champions of blood purity and other such nonsense. If they weren't former Aquarium secret agents, I'd have had them arrested long ago. And so, they are leading by the nose, they are nowhere to be found, most likely, for diversion of eyes periodically discount information, and in reality behind it hides something else. No one can find them anywhere, only rumors.

– Did you mean the "aquarium" that's in the GRU?

– Yes, that's the one. And then there's the KGB's 13th Division.

– Serious company. Don't they keep them on permanent record until they die?

– In the 90s, the maps got a little confused, and many people just disappeared, went missing, as it were. And how it really was – it took a long time to sort out, but since there were no leaks, no one showed any sign of themselves, it was put aside in the archives, until the Ukrainian events. After them began to come the agent information, that on rumors somewhere, someone, something spoke about a certain secret order of Russian Rodnovers – ZKR. It is not so important, it is important to find out whether a duplicate of the reader of neural signals has been developed. And if yes, then where it is, how it got there; if Alikhanov tried to transmit, then somewhere it is and in an active state. Take care of this question, and at the same time the old one, decryption. Both require the presence of huge computing centers, centers for processing a colossal array of data.

– That too?

– Of course it is. What, you think this little machine can accommodate, process and convert everything in the human brain? It would take a supercomputer.

– That's what I was thinking. Then how did Alikhanov do it? So there's another component?

– It turns out, yes. This machine just scans and transmits. A supercomputer is needed to receive and process the information.

– And the one in Yamantau, will it pull it? I missed that part.

– Of course, the power, I think, is sufficient, how without it, it's a control center.

– And there's one here?

– You're such a baby. Or are you hinting? – Yarovitovich laughed.

– It's already professional," Ruthra replied guiltily.

– It's a chronic thing with all of us," the leader said with a smile. – Ruthra, pull yourself together, take a wider view of the world. I'll take care of my own. You go upstairs, if there's anything you need to check on Zero, check it with Hent, and get on with it. I know your list, check everyone, don't get confused about it now. There might be a trick we didn't think of. Otherwise we'll be looking for supercomputers and we'll miss a small but key link.

– I need to document my work, put a resolution that on this item you will conduct or it is completed here.

– I told you I'll deal with my own, but if your Hent needs a piece of paper, bring it to me, I'll sign it.

– Can I ask you a personal question?

– I'm listening.

– How long have you and Hent known each other?

– Hmm," he smiled again, shaking his head. – He and I are bastards, but we're the only two who know it.

Jarowitowicz laughed; it was clear he was joking.

– We have been through hell and heaven together. Only after going through fire, water and especially copper pipes with a person, while remaining friends, can one trust uncompromisingly. So that's how we know each other. Give him a hint, don't let him waste all the cognac, he's 50 years old after all. Come on, I'll be in my office.

They got out, and found themselves in a different world, or rather, a world that understood how fragile the real world really was. Ruthra contacted Isa in his quarters and asked him to bring him a computer and printer.

– What do you need them for? – she asked.

Ruthra wanted to be indignant. On second thought, he didn't, guessing intuitively that there must be something else behind it, because he'd asked the computer. And so it was.

– Print a record of the events.

– You still haven't learned how to use your powers, it's because you're in a hurry. If you had completed your training last time, then you would know that you don't need a printer.

– How?

– State your thoughts, pass them on to me, I will process them into a business form and send them to you. You will not be allowed to take papers or anything else out of the facility. You can print it out at Zero with my help, in the same way.

– Wow.

– Form.

Rutra lay down and began mentally "typing" the protocol, especially "whitewashing" the doctor in it. After he finished, he asked Isa:

– Did you get it?

– It's fine, I've already processed it.

– Already?

– I'll throw it to you soon, look on the TV screen, in what form it will be.

Not a minute later, the protocol appeared on the screen, Rutra read it, sent it with Isa's help to Yarovitovich, and went to him himself. Jarovitovich reviewed the protocol, signed it with an electronic signature, and "gave" it to Rutra, emphasizing his concern with the admonition.

– Don't forget the main objective. Time is against us. The most improbable things are possible. What we've played out could really happen. For real!

– Understood. I'll go," Ruthra said calmly and without excitement.

– So long.

Rutra stepped out and headed for the lab, where he was met by the doctor.

– Well? – He asked fearfully.

Ruthra nodded affirmatively. The doctor gestured for him to follow him. He led Rutra into an isolation box and took out the pre-prepared wires that went to the machine in his pocket. Two wires he gave to Rutra and two he took for himself. They looked at each other and synchronously applied them to their tongues. The shock of the current temporarily knocked him unconscious. The doctor, quickly returning to normal, gave him a glass of liquid.

– Drink quickly.

– What's that?

– Hurry up.

While Ruthra was confused, the man uncovered a medical table of instruments.

– Drink it, it's a painkiller.

Ruthra took a drink.

– Sit down and don't move, I'm going to insert a microplate with a chip under your scalp. This is so you can control when your thoughts are available and when they are not. You have two scars on your head, in one place I put the chip to transmit back then, in the other place I will put the chip to block.

The doctor injected local anesthesia, made an incision, performed some manipulations, covered it with artificial skin, applied a bandage with a special remedy, and began to hastily collect tools, constantly looking at his watch.

– Let's do it again.

The doctor pointed to the wires. They repeated the procedure. Despite the anesthetic, the wound was tingling, "sizzling" from the special agent. Ruthra realized it was Epilas, a secret instant wound healer; combined with the modifications they'd made to him at the range, the wound was healing better than it had on the Terminator.

– Now you have a screen, your thoughts will first be reflected, they will go back into your brain, you will hear yourself, and then you will decide which ones to release. You can release exactly what you want, that is, you can lie. That's it, time is running out, find a similar radio-isolated shelter and do a couple of experiments on yourself to get used to it and understand how it works.

– How do they hear my thoughts?

– All in the form of brain bio-signals, they can only be decoded. For example, such as truth, lies, anxiety, euphoria, and the like. Dialogue is by mutual initiation only; in cases where the receiver knows you well and has had numerous non-conflict communication sessions, then your chip will let it through. You will recognize it, it is provided, you can feel it, you just need to get the hang of it. There is, of course, a way around all blocking, directly, but you need a code for that.

– Where, who has it?

– Let's get another charge. That's enough, it might arouse suspicion.

They repeated the procedure with the wires, the doctor explained further.

– I don't know exactly, it's written in the secret department of the coders, kept by the person in charge of controlling the coding and encryption service.

– Where are they?

– No one knows specifically, this is where all the original codes come from, rumor has it – it's called "The Sphere".

Ruthra took a deep breath and began to exhale slowly, shaking his head.

– There is the center itself, which does not exist for everyone, and there are a lot of organizations, which either are or are not. ZKR, "Sphere", what else?

– Go on, everybody, forget about me.

Ruthra couldn't help but ask another question.

– How does ISU-A2 read minds?

– It doesn't read, it sees, as if on a network. The computer-brain interface is like an extension of one in the other. You draw everything from its base, and it draws from yours.

– Why does she have free access to me?

– "Not now," the medic said and pointed to the top of Ruthra's head, then put his index finger to his lips, giving the silence sign, pushing him in the shoulder toward the door.

Ruthra went to the exit, stepping out into the hallway.

– You've been gone a long time, did something happen? – he heard Isa.

"Well, bitch, you're following me," Ruthra thought and immediately realized how the lockdown worked, his own voice sounding in his head. "It's okay," he thought and directed his thoughts to her.

– I'm happy for you," the computer replied.

– I'm going out, goodbye.

– Exit via the stairs or the pod.

– You have a service here. Can I get a regular cab? – Ruthra asked jokingly. – Is there an elevator? I don't want to take the stairs for half an hour.

– Yes, to the left of the capsule hatch.

– Didn't notice. Just like everyone else here. Ready, here I come.

– Did you give a request to get out?

– No. What's the request?

– It's not like we're in a backyard, you have to give notice, get permission.

– No one told me.

– Go to the ops guy you talked to, he'll authorize it.

Ruthra made his way to the CUO and scanned his eye, the door opened. An operative with two assistants sat at a console with numerous glowing indicators, with numerous monitors in front and to the sides. The Operative was not the one who had been in charge of the alert headquarters: it was more pleasant for Ruthra, he didn't want to ask something from a man who had just been court-martialed.

– Here. I was warned," the operative said and held out a small device that looked like a magnifying glass.

Ruthra picked up the object, began to examine it.

– Put it up to your eye," the operative said.

Rutra held the device up to his eye, it shone a directed light into his eye.

– That's it, thank you, you can go," the duty officer thanked him.

Ruthra, eyeing the instrument with curiosity and suspicion, handed it over. A strange feeling haunted him. Although he was in a hurry to leave, something kept him from doing so. It was curiosity. He remembered Alikhanov.

– Do you know if Alikhanov's body is still at the station? – he asked the operative, "in passing" pondering whether the bodies of "secret citizens of an unknown city" were buried here or still as ordinary people.

– As far as I know, it should be in the morgue, the 200th were not sent, – the operative dryly answered.

– Thank you, goodbye.

The elevator ride up was not long, he stepped directly into the room in front of the underground basements of Trekhgorny. After passing through the scanner, through the door, he stepped out into the underground bunker of Trekhgorny. Involuntarily, Rutru was visited by numerous thoughts, "So I really didn't go anywhere in the capsule. How the hell is this happening, since I didn't even feel like sleeping?" Rutru was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice – there was someone waiting for him in the bunker. It was the same people who had accompanied them here, and they had escorted him upstairs. He didn't have to meet with the plant management or explain anything. They took him in a "service car" to the hotel, no one even asked where the old man was. Mushtrika in such organizations was at the highest level. They brought food to Rutra's room, he ate, quickly got ready, and left.

From the beautiful forest park that was part of the virgin forest that had been carefully preserved during the construction of the city, Rutra looked down at the nuclear weapons factory, humming away across the river. Only the roofs of its workshops were visible. It was not hard to guess that they were like icebergs, two-thirds of them underwater. The famous factory staircase of 385 steps descended to the Yuryuzan. Rutru was waiting for a car, he got into it, and the driver took him to the airport in Magnitogorsk. Now he cared little about reports and commitments, he was heading home, his head was spinning, literally and figuratively, from recent events. Now he dreamed of becoming an ordinary man, as before, which, most likely, was impossible, although, maybe, and it was not necessary, the main thing – to take control.

***

Rutra, of course, said he was going home, wanting to spend a couple of days with his family. He was met at the airport by the staff of Center Zero, headed by the administrator, who, although he was a family man, was, according to the firm rules, only the administrator in such situations. On the way home, they outlined the most important events that had occurred in the "invisible" world, which had not been reported earlier in the report via encrypted communication, albeit in coded phrases, for security reasons. From the information received, even with superficial analysis, Ruthra concluded that the game was heading toward a certain finish line. Someone had to be sacrificed. Snowden, WikiLeaks, offshore scandals were nothing compared to the release of information by Stratfor.

"Stratfor was an American private intelligence and analysis company. It has been called the "shadow CIA". It was founded in 1996 by American political scientist George Friedman, who heads the company until now. The company collects and analyzes information on world events.