Parallel Worlds pro et contra

Ruthra gave an unspoken signal to Irene to upload a bit more information reflecting the spiritual-mental sides of these people's character.

Of course, we are always the best for ourselves, even though we may be dissatisfied with ourselves, but we will always find excuses for ourselves. In fact, every person has three types of personality at least. The first one is how we present ourselves; the second one is how society knows us, starting from our closest people and ending with people who have heard something about us; the third type of personality in us is the person we become depending on circumstances, here and now, depending on the influence of someone or something on us – a clown, a dead man, winning the lottery, a threat of murder… To find out how and who acts in a certain situation, there are many methods, but in the "Sphere" system the best of all was used. It is a test in virtual reality, when the brain worked and acted without moral and ethical restrictions, which it acquired in the course of life.

The very transmission of this feeling, this knowledge of personality, even Ruthra was not fully understood. The main thing was that thanks to this opportunity, after the additional download from Irene, he knew more about his characters than they knew about themselves. He knew who and how they would behave in different situations. Situations they hadn't been in yet. He knew their attitudes towards each other, which they didn't talk about because they often flattered and lied like all humans do. He knew many of their thoughts and secret desires that they carefully hid from others and themselves. Based on this information, Ruthra determined everyone's role. Catherine was a sort of counterbalance to Andrian, to observe YatSan and Iulia's actions, to evaluate them. A counterbalance to make an informed decision, but not an adversary. Similarly, IuLia and YatSan were each other's support, not enemies. Ruthra had given YatSan the lead role, though he had originally thought about IuLia, but she was a bit of a misfit; she already had a child, so sending her was problematic.

YatSan, on the other hand, was almost a perfect match, with the exception of a cranky personality trait that might have come from some of her circumstances. She was the second girl in the family, and the possibility of hearing her father's "modest" displeasure in a "quiet" argument with her mother was very possible. Fathers want sons, after all, and it's not their whim, it's subconscious. But YatSan was also a late child, so her parents certainly spoiled her as much as they could. Then there is the financially secure environment. YatSan's sister was married to a businessman who was a big bourgeois by the standards of their town. Accordingly, he did business with people of the same rank, which gave her the opportunity to meet, and then to seduce and marry some small-minded, but very well-mannered young man, the son of a vodka magnate of that region. The event that followed was most likely important for Irene in choosing the main person for the experiment. After seven years of marriage, YatSan was divorced, and she had never been pregnant. It was this fact that was very important to the science project. All this gave YatSan a kind of anger, a desire to overcome difficulties. Firstly, she was divorced, secondly, she had no children, so the desire to show herself a winner and the best in some field in her raged, hidden, however, absolute external calm. Thirdly, the craving for money. On the one hand – she had a rich sister, and on the other hand – the loss of financial security after the divorce, she somehow received nothing from her ex-husband. Accordingly, YatSan was obviously willing to take risks to become rich. And that made Rutru very happy. As for YatSan's physical ability to conceive a child, with the technology their secret world possessed, there was no problem, only a man could not give birth, and even then with a categorical refusal.

Ruthra was a bit impulsive by nature, so it was important for him to feel sympathy for the people he chose. Irene took care of the rest. Ruthra couldn't fully work with a person if he didn't like them. So, without thinking long, although his brain was simultaneously solving a lot of questions, Ruthra asked Irene to organize a trip to the regions where the intellectual game of the team was held. A day later he was already looking at the scenery from a bird's-eye view of the hillside above the port city. Irene took care of the necessary online coin announcements, which had already appeared on the screen of the future head of the Ribhu team. There was a special meaning in the project's name. Of course, each person received a new name, which was pronounced not only in the dialog, but was also listed in all the documents of the Sphere system. Usually Irene did all this, prepared the necessary package of documents, and a new personality appeared. In the special services it was a usual thing. In the "stock" there were virtual personalities also with a full package of documents, and at the right moment the bodies were "attached" to them. A person who came into the system's field of vision, who was chosen by the system, could no longer remain the same. He would become the owner of the secrets of the world, which at first shocked him, and even more so were a shock to everyone else. To put it simply, in the Sphere system there were no concepts of good and evil in the usual sense. People were only temporary inhabitants of the planet, and the concept of "war" was applied in the programs with the same necessity as the concept of "peace".

Ruthra already knew his new agents in absentia. So they were Andrian, YatSan, Julia and Catherine. Andrian wrote Ruthra a message with questions about a coin, which was a rare piece from the era of the Russian monarchs with the coat of arms of the Masonic lodge. They arranged a meeting where, over a cup of coffee, Ruthra, of course, sometimes with Irene's help, dazzled with his excellent knowledge of history, geography, politics and business aspects, mixing them all into one narrative, based on his passion for intellectual games. It was a primer – and it worked.

After a couple of days, which did not pass without dialog about the reason for the meeting, Andrian offered Rutra to participate in an intellectual game with his friends from the team. That's how Rutra found himself in the gaming club. His time was precious. Or rather, Rutra couldn't pay much attention to it, so with Irene's help a network was launched, which spread praise odes about the new "cat in boots" of the local region across the expanses of a rather quiet, but periodically shooting town. Of course, and appearance, and manners, and some gallantry Rutra, coupled with generosity, manifested in treating girls with champagne and in paying the entrance ticket to the game, also played a role. Friendly sincere attention has always meant more than the words that ladies often hear in abundance from men, while knowing the real purpose that is actually the source of these displays. However, without seeing too much action, women tacitly relegate such a man to the rank of "tit-for-tat". Rutra even liked this kind of courtship himself, and it felt like some secret indicators that every woman has and very carefully hides from the male community; women and men communicate much among themselves wordlessly, and if they use language, they get a rattling mixture that can be both sweet and poisonous.

Catherine was calm and judicious, the kind of person Ruthra wanted to entrust with monitoring and analyzing the contacts between Iulia and YatSan. Iulia in turn was to be both a beacon and an anchor for actions, motivations for actions, and checks and balances on YatSan's actions, but not all of them. IuLia had many pluses as well as, perhaps, minuses. For example, in her 36, she managed to live with several men for quite a long time, one of whom gave birth to a child, but after 3 years of joint life "love-wetting" ended: the woman chose a child and freedom. YatSan did the same after seven years and without a child, the absence of which may have been the cause of the estrangement, but this, of course, according to the rules of the genre, she denied. Although there "love-carrots" was initially boiled, suitable for vinaigrette. Either way the wenches were on a systematic search, which is what Rutra needed. Of course, that couldn't be the main criterion by which Rutra chose them.

IuLia was active, a leader, a motivation for others, an epathetic personality. YatSan was more quiet, but very observant and cautious. By zodiac sign she was a Libra, and this played both a positive role – in the form of prudence and responsibility in actions, and a little bit negative – in manifestations of indecisiveness. Although the latter was not so important, the main thing, as they say, was not to make fateful mistakes that could not be changed . But time passed, and, as you know, ladies fade, and the school system produces every year not only future specialists, but also new competitors, and in the case of women – competitors, because boys older than themselves rarely choose and prefer younger, brighter.

A spectacle was played out in which, especially for the ladies, of great importance were the demonstrative purchases for large sums of money or the money transfers that Rutra asked Iulia to make, giving access to his account. Once in a while, quite respectable men, richly dressed and with guards, would visit Rutra when he was in the company of the crew. In addition, Rutra would put calls on speakerphone that discussed large deals and incidents (both happy and sad) with very famous personalities. And, of course, a certain secret halo, maintained at his request, was around his reports, which Rutra would let Rutra secretly review ostensibly to correct spelling errors. These papers, of course, included very important organizations and individuals with high government positions mixed with unknown names, who nevertheless had solid academic degrees. Of course, this aroused interest.

Once again, when Rutra pretended to be very busy so he couldn't take part in the game, he decided to stir up even more interest and offered to help the team help him. It was an intrigue fueled by the hint of large sums of money and even fame. Uh-oh, what is our life?…caviar, then red, then black. That's what Rutra himself liked to say. And it all worked out. Rutra devised a plan, he came up with a new event – the release of another book with overwhelming reviews and awards; everyone was invited to celebrate the success. Prior to this, Rutra had occasionally spoken about his work and the topics addressed in the books – conspiracies, mysteries, secret data – which suggested Rutra's uneasy inner content. So, at the meeting Rutra offered, already friends, to participate with him in a secret program, warning in advance that although they pay very large sums for participation – the responsibility will be no less high. In particular, Rutra announced a condition that required moving to a secret center and living there for a while, without leaving, under complete control, with minimal contact with the outside world. After a couple of glasses of the brut that the ladies had chosen, what Rutra said was received with interest and cheerful levity, and only Andrian, after cheers, asked seriously:

– Is this something real or is it a game, based on a book you have in mind?

– What's so unrealistic about it? I'm offering you a serious topic. And it looks fantastic at first, because you haven't seen anything yet.

– Uh-oh," Yatsan exclaimed. – From the way you said it, it's all true.

– I'm telling you, the subject is wo," Ruthra clenched his fist and pointed his thumb up.

– Did you even understand what he meant? – Andrian asked her.

– I missed something too," Catherine intervened.

– Rutra, are these amounts a gimmick?

Of course, for the average person, such an offer might have seemed unrealistic. Moving to a secret center, and literally everyone should know the legend about a completely different activity, although with some secrecy (allegedly a shift in a foreign country), the offer to receive a million dollars at the end… it was confusing, but at the same time made them feel euphoric. This cocktail bubbled in them for about 13 seconds and eventually burst out in fireworks in the form of cheers and emotional aura vibrations.

– Rutra, say it's a joke! – Iulia's eyes were shining, and at the same time she hoped it was true.

– Guys, please sit down and listen to me seriously now," Rutra said calmly and monotonously. – I'm offering you a very serious thing. Are you ready for it? It is a very great responsibility, and perhaps even a danger and a risk. But I tell you at once that you are in no particular danger, provided you comply with the requirements. The main threat to you is if you violate the regime of secrecy and secrecy. At this stage, I must warn you of your responsibilities and offer to participate. Either you refuse, or from now on you are in the program… and are bound by secrecy, even if you do not agree to the experiment. And if you do, you can't leave the program until it's over. This program is supposed to last a year. You can't leave the system even if you don't participate in the program. Not until after a year. And if you violate the non-disclosure regime, you'll be arrested and most likely spend the rest of your life in a restricted area.

Their faces became serious, the ladies looked at each other, then smiles appeared. Ruthra continued, noticing this:

– What did you think, you were offered that much money out of the blue? Surely there's something important behind it.

– Strange, why us? – Andrian asked.

– Yes, amazing," Catherine maintained her interest.

Iulia looked at Ruthra questioningly. Their gazes crossed involuntarily. Ruthra felt a spark. Iulia was unaware of his ability (with Irene's help) to read minds. She used a secret language that Ruthra called the "poke method," and many called it enchantments. Where the origins of the word are unknown. It's like the concept of god: anything that is intuitively perceived as reasonable but rationally inexplicable. Few people think about why we determine a lot of things by looking, what the expressions "to read the eyes", "to strike with a look" mean. This language was to be finally understood by mankind in the era of the reign of artificial intelligence …

Ruthra could easily read her intentions and goals, and it was clear. An unmarried woman with a child, good-looking (both externally and internally); of course she wanted to marry, and to marry a worthy man. This did not interfere with the plans. It even accompanied them. Ruthra decided to play along. Of course, Catherine and YatSan also desired attention. Many men don't understand why women try to be so attractive: it's a kind of sport. They, having received attention, can forget about the admirer at all. The main thing – to satisfy their desire, and no matter how then a man would not try – interest and love for himself may not deserve. This is the nature of women. They need a lot of "tits in the hands". They need a guarantee just in case. Just like men, but on the contrary, pokoketnichal, put noodles on ears – and maybe there will be a continuation, maybe it will be easy to plunge into the "labyrinths of nirvana".

It was a card to be played, of course, even though Ruthra was betting on YatSan, but again he intuitively sensed her peculiar irresponsibility, which was itself unconsciously manifest. It was just that the girl, if she could be called that, had not yet found herself in situations where everything depended solely on her, on her thoughtful actions.

– Can we make it?

– Let's get serious.

Rutra was surprised to hear it from YatSan. She was clearly intrigued and interested in the proposal and the experiment.

– Listen carefully. This is very serious. First, do you accept the condition of secrecy?

– Accept," IuLia said, smiling, while glancing at YatSan, indicating a lack of understanding of the seriousness of the offer.

Ruthra, looking at the situation "from the outside", was able to realize: they were not yet a good idea of the danger if they broke their promises. He decided to explain everything again in a different environment and in a different place.

– Let's do it this way, if you're interested in what I've suggested – tomorrow we'll meet at that building, and then in the appropriate office I'll tell you everything in detail.

Rutra pointed them to a building not far from the café where everyone was sitting. It was the local FSB office.

– Just no questions, no doubts, no pomp and circumstance, no disclosure. Consider our agreement already made. The sum I offered you is not offered for a case that does not involve great responsibility and risk. I'll ask you to take that into account, too.

– That's what makes me doubt," Andrian retorted.

– Do you accept the treaty? – Ruthra asked sternly.

– I think so," Andrian answered first and as if for everyone, looking at his friends.

– I'll see you tomorrow, then. I'll meet you there.

Ruthra pointed at the building again. There was a look of disbelief on their faces. Ruthra got up from the table and said goodbye, making one last remark:

– But I tell you right away: if you don't believe me, if you are not serious, if you say one word, then immediately, even if I ask you to do so, refuse. This is an extremely important matter. I'm not joking. Honestly… I can read what is behind your smiles.

– No smiles. I really believe it, but it's unusual," Iulia justified herself.

– You'll understand tomorrow. Goodbye.

Chapter 10. Ticket to those worlds

The next day, as agreed, they met at the appointed place. Accordingly, a command was given "from above" and an indication was given of where Rutra had decided to perform the rite of enlistment. By and large, he was not even surprised by the arrival of all of them: he had confidence in the boys. In addition, the fact of the reward played a significant role. People do not know whether the promise of paradise is true or false, but the probability that it is true is so important that they try to fulfill the conditions to hypothetically be there, especially these conditions are not so difficult. And here coming to a meeting is too simple a requirement to fail to fulfill and deprive oneself of the possibility of getting a weighty sum of money.

Rutra made sure that the people were met and escorted to a secret windowless room in the underground floor. He wanted to create an aura of mysterious importance, which he succeeded in doing: the arrivals were no longer the jokers they had been before, their faces were serious. Rutra did not "cheapen" the plot with such a conversation starter: "Well, now do you realize who you're talking to?" No, as was his custom, he behaved in a simple manner and got straight to the point.

– Good morning, gang. It's come to fruition. We are all together in the process. Although we're not yet in parallel worlds, they're not far away. Just a few thousand kilometers away is the laboratory. There we have the equipment that will transport you to other dimensions. Yes, yes. There's also an observation and training room. How's that working out for you? Let me tell you about something that is purely scientific in style and scientific in itself. The first and foremost thing you have to accept is that you're in the system, and there's no easy way out. In fact, there is no way out of there at all. If you think my inviting you and welcoming you into this organization is too cool, it's not really. This is just a normal government organization. I could have received you elsewhere, but receiving you here gives you a certain sense of importance and seriousness. It's really very serious. Honestly, absolutely no kidding. If you take it lightly, if you're going to change your mind, much less demonstrate any sort of whimsy, then leave right away. And if you stay, then know that if you violate the terms you have accepted – no friendship. Nothing will save you. I'm dead serious. Think of me as a stranger. If you enter the system, you're there forever.

The faces of his new friends were serious and at the same time incomprehensible. Of course, everyone was wondering why me and what it all meant. Ruthra didn't make them worry about those questions.

– I understand you're thinking, if this is so serious, why did they pick me? What do you have to do with something so important? Well, you have to accept the first condition first, and then the whole deal. I repeat: you are entering a system from which there is no way out. Do you understand?

Rutra somewhat famously began pointing his index finger at each, and people took turns nodding their heads and saying "yes."

– Now that's it, the jokes are over, as well as some of your past life, you have a new secret stage to begin. Now I'll explain further. Only first I have to turn on this little thing that blocks our conversations even from these friends.

He pointed his index finger upward, and everyone knew who he meant, then Ruthra pressed a button on the self-heating coffee cup, and robotic butterflies flew out of it, scattered to the corners of the room, attached themselves to the walls, and began flashing. The spectacle was dignified and certainly felt like a show to those present so far. However, everyone realized – this was not happening in an apartment, a cafe, or even an office. They had a premonition of something both amusing and dangerous.

– At this stage I will tell you about the main topic, the second stage is for you to move with me to other lands. Everything will be clearly formalized as an important business trip to a foreign country. Accordingly, you will first for alibi, as a legend, will be invited to work in an international corporation, and perhaps – and in the embassy of one of the countries. I think the embassy will be even better. The third stage is direct involvement in the project. Now why you. By way of introduction I will say: you have to believe me, there is no game. And there's no time for games either. If something is not clear – memorize, then ask. You were chosen for this project by an artificial intelligence. Ask me again why. It did not choose you exactly, but the most suitable combination according to many indicators, which included many things, from age and state of health, including moral and psychological, to the parameters of everything that concerns you and society in ten years. Everything is very simple and everything is very complicated. So, let's start from the point where it means that you should believe me, and listen further… There is a certain super-secret international program, in which I am a very important bird, let's say so – in popular language. Now, the main backbone of this group are scientists. Believe me, the level of science that you know, though it may be overwhelming to some, is stone age for our group. Or almost. For example, what would you say if I told you about the possibility of cloning, creating a copy of you, downloading your digital copy through your brain and instilling your image into the clone. You would say: nonsense and fantasy. And I will answer you: you will live and work in this system. Now I will say again, as if by the way, although you understand, I warn you… Yes, yes, you will have to think quickly and understand me half-heartedly. And I want to say, of course, what else?

Ruthra pointed a finger at Iulia, who, thinking, snapped back:

– You have to be able to keep quiet.

– Not only that," Ruthra added with a look of approval and satisfaction on his face. – You're not as free as you'd like to be, but you're in the system. If you break the contract, your memory will be erased. Yeah, yeah, I'm not kidding or scaring you. It's not a fantasy, it's already a reality for many, not quite even secret, secret structures. You should be aware of that. Shall we continue?

Everyone nodded.

– So first I'll tell you something scientific, and then I'll tell you what I and a group of smart guys and secret world rulers have planned. Shall we?

– I'm curious," Iulia was the first to answer.

She was the most active.

– I'm intrigued too," Catherine replied.

– I hope you don't need a degree to understand," Andrian said a little jokingly.

YatSan remained silent, but she signaled with a look that she was waiting for more information.