Читать книгу Parallel Worlds pro et contra - Артур Задикян - Страница 5

Seeing the humdrum and grayness of life taking over him, Rutra decided to shake things up. And there is no means of shaking off the moping more violently than a fix. Having a lot of knowledge, which, however, Rutra received through his work in a top-secret organization whose main mission was to manage human society, he decided to use it in another mission. It was no secret that throughout human history, information and knowledge had been the most important weapon and value. They have been killed for, hidden, paid for, organized alliances and waged wars. The modern clans that run society have carefully concealed how they rule the masses of Earthlings. They disguised themselves, gave out false ideas, played the spectacle of friends and enemies, and hid new technologies. Despite the fact that to the average citizen it could seem that he was restricted in his freedom, he was controlled tacitly and invisibly – total control was needed first of all for the protection of this very citizen. After all, the "digital" war among themselves was waged not only by the special services, i.e. the clans of society management, but also by "dark" personalities united in hidden groups. In this world, the world of people, there were also other worlds, worlds hidden from the gaze of the average person. For example, looking at the beautiful terrestrial world, we do not see magma and the boiling core at the center of the earth; only an occasional reminder of it in volcanic eruptions. Here, too, we sometimes learn about the existence of the secret world indirectly through echoes and consequences that are difficult to conceal.

For years, that's what Rutra has been doing, collecting, systematizing, hiding information from the citizens, for their own good. Yes, yes. In order to preserve peace, society and human peace, it is necessary to control not only the technology of production of chemical, bacteriological and nuclear weapons, but also ordinary wiretapping of telephone conversations. For example, a sufficiently competent chemist can produce potent slow-acting poisons, scatter them in a room and a person will die in a few weeks or months. And the cause of death will be virtually impossible to establish. And there is much more, up to connection to your phone and hidden broadcasting of a special program that will secretly adjust you, program you for certain actions.

Rutra had a kind of hobby: he was interested in alternative science. It could be considered alternative only insofar as it was quite real, especially for the system in which he was operating. Accordingly, Rutra's social circle was made up of the same "scientific fantasists". The advanced technologies, hidden from the public, with which he was familiarized by duty, gave him the opportunity to become nothing less than a scientific talent. This transformation in him was a kind of prelude to the future, perhaps for all mankind. A chip in his brain, a direct connection with a supercomputer, a "second brain", powerful and informed, in the form of artificial intelligence, gave enormous possibilities. One only had to know how to control it and have a talent for extraordinary abstract thinking.

Knowing Rutra's predisposition in this regard and his high leadership status, he was once invited to a closed secret meeting at the very center. More precisely, it was an invitation to a friendly discussion. Knowing Rutra's progressive, cutting-edge views, the center's scientific community was no stranger to presenting fantastic ideas, no matter how implausible they seemed. For example, Rutra and one of them seriously discussed and planned an experiment to implant a cloned thymus gland into an elderly person to test the possibility of rejuvenating the body. Studying this method, they came to the conclusion that it is easier to clone an exact copy of a human being, and then to transfer the mind, consciousness, i.e. the human spirit, into the body. For those uninitiated into the secrets of the center's technologies it seemed absurd and fantastic, but everything was much simpler. Cloning was no longer a secret for anyone. Rapid growth of the organism was achieved with the help of technologies long used in animal breeding, and the transfer of consciousness, which although seemed incredible and miraculous transmigration of souls, was actually a technique of launching pre-scanned, recorded in a special program of chemical reactions of the brain for no more than a day. There was even a technology of instant scanning, recording and transfer from one brain to another, only in this case the accuracy of memories could be broken, or even completely lost some fragments, which, however, could happen in the disease of any person and without "pumping" consciousness. The scientific community, even with all the freedom of action that was given to them at the facility, did not dare to conduct such complex experiments without the support of the leadership. Still, this organization was created and served certain purposes, which were indicated by those who govern all other secret or explicit organizations that are authorities on the planet.

Rutra took advantage of being the golden mean in the command of this power hierarchy and treating the main persons of power of their group. These are not police and military organizations, as many might think. It is not financial and economic organizations; not even religious ones. It is her majesty science and the doers of science. The priests of the modern world.

Rutra was trusted, his progressive and strict principles suited both sides, so he could enjoy almost complete freedom. No one in their system could boast of complete freedom, by the way; everyone depended on each other, and all decisions were made collegially. When they met at a meeting, which, however, was not so rare, they periodically discussed ideas that they considered secret only because the public would be horrified if they learned about the idea to realize such a thing.

Rutra decided to listen to the scientific community. In return, he wanted to propose something even more revolutionary. The general public, that is, ordinary citizens, could not learn about all this, could not adequately perceive the proposals due to the delirium of the ideas discussed. But the employees of the center were of great concern, because there were those who could use the technology.

This time even Ruthra was at a loss, if such a thing could happen; rather, he was confused. The scientist's idea was fantastic, unbelievable. And that made it all the more enticing to Ruthra, provoking a desire to try, not deny, even though he was merely proposing a real experiment with a human using his own technology. Rutra, despite his recklessness and bravery, was guided solely by a "sober" mind. In this case, it was impossible to send Squirrel and Strelka and then check the state of their bodies. In this technology, a person's consciousness was sent, so it was possible to check whether it worked or not only when this consciousness returned to the original body, i.e. to find out from the person personally. There was, of course, a risk of its non-return. In fact, it was something comparable to the first human flight into space. Was there a risk of Gagarin's death? Of course there was! Is there a risk for astronauts going into space to die even now with all the advanced technology? Of course there is!

The essence of the method proposed by the scientist was to test it on Earth. In principle, the technology was not much different from the state in virtual reality, only in this case one had to actually be in the real world only in someone else's body. It was certainly hard to imagine, but what else did Rutra have to wonder about…? He was offered nothing less than to try to transfer his consciousness from his own body to another. According to the scientist, with whom they were already friends and like-minded, it was possible, in a state of hypnotic sleep, to retain one's body and then transfer one's consciousness back. Rutra was familiar with such technology, so he was not so shocked, and he himself had participated in experiments on the transfer of consciousness, only to save the native body after a complete transfer could not be, the autonomic nervous system for some reason shut down. The technology had been developed by a secret academician with whom Rutra had worked under the previous program at the Polygon facility, in an underground city-state (if not a separate civilization). Only then the technology had worked a little differently: after the academician had tested it on himself, it had led to his death. There was, of course, another version, which Rutra put forward: the academician transferred his consciousness into a younger employee, and made his body dead. An ingenious alibi. It didn't matter so much now; Rutra was engaged in a new, more scientific endeavor, as opposed to one dominated by the military and political.

After discussing the proposed program, Rutra agreed to try it in practice, that is, to try it out for himself. It was not easy for him. His brain could not yet adequately imagine such a thing. How could he take and incarnate in another body! Suddenly Rutra said:

– And in what body, for crying out loud? – he asked his friend, whose trusting relationship with him had caused him to miss this important question.

– Don't worry about it. So that you don't worry too much, I understand how it is, I have made the following decision: I will become you, and you will become me.

– You're so smart. How's that?

– I've already tried everything on animals.

– Without authorization?

– Come on, I got free rein. Where it goes from here.

– And how? How did you realize that they had become each other? Did they just say to you, "We're different mice now"?

Ruthra almost laughed. His friend jokingly gave a look of scholarly arrogance on his face. Ruthra gave an even more arrogant look in return, and only his smile betrayed the friendly banter.

– Oh, oh, oh, we're so important. Such a great, brilliant scientist has, of course, transplanted the brain of a tiger into a rabbit.

Rutra laughed. The other colleagues present at the dialog couldn't afford to be so cavalier with Rutra, so they watched the "performance" in silence, smiling.

– All right, you win. Yes, I transferred, as you put it, the brain, or rather, what's in it, of a mouse into a cat… and vice versa. I won't tell you how I realized it worked, but I will tell you that it was very funny. You can laugh now. No, you're not laughing? Ha-ha-ha. I'll laugh for you. All right, ready?

Ruthra made a serious face, he was still trying to bring his comrade back to subordination in front of those present.

– I'm ready. Let's get started. Let's go to the virtualization room.

– Not in a virtual room. I couldn't conduct secret experiments there, especially not from such a harmful boss.

– Uh-oh, tell me you've been keeping a secret from Big Sis.

They smiled, however, and so did everyone behind them. Big Sister was the name of the artificial intelligence in the facility, which was connected to literally everything, either wired or wireless. For example, even the plates in the dining room showed the temperature of the food in them, not to mention the total control even without surveillance through video cameras. The artificial intelligence that Rutra had named after the chief administrator, Irene, not only constantly scanned the entire space inside and outside the facility, but also had a perfect view of what was inside people, even their emotional state. That was the price of the highest caste. In return, there was life in another world, where there were no concepts of "can", "can't", "cost", "boundaries", "power" and many other things in the usual understanding of society. It was a different world, a world of power and omnipotence over people's consciousness, and it demanded constant perfect trust.

Ruthra guessed that his friend, and now his colleague, since he was also involved in the scientific development of mind transfer technology, was not telling him something. If the technology was ready, if it could be tested on humans, the main computer would know about it, and sanctions would be necessary. Most likely, the scientist wanted to present something similar in virtual reality and show that the program is worth spending time, money and human resources on it. And the use of supercomputer resources also required reports, including the subsequent results and their practical usefulness. Knowing the methods of the "luminary of science," as Rutra jokingly, and not only he, called his friend, he agreed.

Being in virtual reality was not new. Rutra had even stopped arguing with himself and the staff about whether the event was in the virtual world or in reality. He was already calculating reflexively – at any moment it was necessary to foresee the possibility of being in the virtual world. The main trick was that from there you were constantly returning to the real world, that is, you couldn't fail to realize where you were in the end. And from here, from the real world, the entrance was always through virtual reality settings. Virtual reality was like a dream. We don't know if we're dreaming or not. And once we realize it, we're actually awake. The virtual reality session was necessary to check real intentions, motivation, actions, desires, i.e. how a person would actually act depending on this or that situation in which he or she might find himself or herself. All variants of events were modeled by the supercomputer, it had knowledge about any person of the Earth: the data were in some database one way or another. Especially about the personalities whose deeds and decisions influenced the course of events of mankind. However, in the modern world, where free will was officially declared, a person could never be a personality, on whose deeds fateful changes depended, without giving rights for it to other similar personalities, who were already those who made global decisions. In all disputes and disagreements, the power-holders observed an unspoken rule of preserving their dominance and power – rotation was allowed only among themselves. For the same reason, checks in virtual reality directly in this center were a periodic procedure – like a session of psychoanalysis and questionnaires.

So the program proposed by the scientist seemed to Rutra to be a routine test, but at the same time, a doubt crept into him intuitively. Very often his delusional ideas and suggestions were miraculously realized. Just in case, he agreed to the experiment with the additional settings and recommendations given to Irene.

The Sphere Center's secret laboratory was located in the left wing of the underground city behind the main command shelter. It was not a military facility, it was not a civilian facility, or rather, it was "out of this world". 99% of the people of Earth, or even more, do not know who or what is controlling them. This system of "who and what" was referred to in documents and in the everyday conversation of those who knew and constituted it as "The Sphere". Ruthra, although he was already the head of the control board, could not always understand the idea of the creators of this and similar objects, whose life he had been breathing for the past five years. Why a shelter was needed at a depth of 500 meters, he could not understand. Was it just in case? Anyway, that was not the main reasoning for Rutra. Scientists, the best of the best, who for the most part could not be called scientists because of their age, were the wizards who had done wonders for the world living in the "past," relative to the level of development of the system in which these "bright minds" were. Many things that seemed magical and unbelievable to ordinary people were commonplace here. This is how that world, the world of ordinary people, was run.

Even the great minds of the facility themselves were unusual. All of them had chips implanted in their brains, which in turn were reinforced by wave stimulation of connections and had direct access to a common network – both internal (to the data provided by the supercomputer) and external (to the worldwide networks, to the Internet). So they were not so much thinking and reasoning as they were generating new ideas and then combining them to create new things. Many results were tested in VR settings, i.e. not on the computer screen, but directly in the virtual world. VR – this is the professional jargon of the center's employees, members of the system, called the settings and the state of virtual reality itself.

– Are you saying I should go down into that hellhole? I see what you were doing down there. And the way you sang, the way you sang– upgrading the VR facilities. But in reality, you were digging a subterranean hole.

– All right, then. Let's go.

– I'm not going anywhere. There's a reason for the rumors about devils and demons. You've been consciousness-altering animals in there. I'm pretty sure of it. At least there's some validity to all this nonsense.

– That's where you'll meet them. Or is Mr. ex-agent zero-zero-seven… oh, no, google zero-seven, afraid of something? Although those people can't be cowards or exes. Right?

– It didn't work, esteemed luminary of science. So why don't you try it out here in the virtual reality room?

– It won't work there. It's the wrong setup. I'll go to my room for an additional program module. Now we can admit it: His Majesty the Grand Inquisitor is in our ranks, or rather, in the conspiracy with us," he said with pathos, more to his colleagues than to Ruthra, even with a bit of snicker, emphasizing the jocularity with funny notes.

– I can see why Irene left this situation unaddressed. Well, well, well, well.

– Oh, come on. Let's get down to business. There's a big event coming up, and you're getting suspicious. I'm outta here.

After the scientist had left, Rutra looked closely and really suspiciously at the scientist who was engaged in methods of completely rewriting the content of the human brain and embodying it in artificial form, that is, in a supercomputer. And he did it so clearly and accurately that even people who knew the man very closely could not distinguish a dialog with a computer from the real one. To be more precise, the scientist could embody a person in a computer, preserving all subsequent processes of thinking development, reactions, intonations, age and emotional changes. The technology allowed copying all chemical reactions that took place in the brain and using their decoding to learn what the human consciousness itself could not remember.

– What's he got in store for me, confess? Why can't this be tried on a standard virtual reality setting?

– You know, not only does every mystery come true, but every miracle also comes true. I confess: just as the inventors of atomic weapons were afraid of their invention, we are afraid of ours.

– So tell me, what is it?

– We need to go to the special lab.

– Come on, is that a trick you're doing?

– They're waiting for you. Well, not just you.

Rutra was, of course, overcome with curiosity: not just from the experiment, but from "not just you."

– I'm ready," he said confidently. – I was already curious.

– Come in, please.

The medic headed for the exit, and Ruthra followed suit. They walked down the corridors to the medical sector, entered the elevator, which took them to the deeper depths of this mystical realm of mystery and secrets. They came out into a semi-dark corridor, eerily cold, walked down it for a while and began to descend the stairs. Soon they found themselves in front of the only doors. Suddenly, something like something Ruthra had seen before appeared ahead, in the place where the door had been. It had been there, in the exit from the secret laboratory of a scientist no less mad and talented than the one with whom Ruthra was now doing the project and was now involved in it, in the passage from the laboratory to the stairs leading to the super-secret Polygon facility. Ruthra thought, "And this one, like the other one, is in the business of transferring consciousness from one body to another. It's a similar moment right now. Isn't that a sign?" Of course he didn't believe in superstition, but he did believe in a theory of his own devising. And according to this theory – nothing can be unreasonable for the consciousness, and if the consciousness is unable to explain something to itself, it regards it, for example, as a miracle. The scale of events that were subject to interpretation was very wide – from a cat that ran across the street and a broken mirror to dreams and divine revelations. Everything that could not be explained by reason – consciousness considered from any position, but certainly did not leave without explanations. Not god – so devil, not devil – so devil, not devil – so devil, not devil – so devil, not devil – so evil fairy, not evil fairy – so hand of fate, not hand of fate – so regularity of horoscope and so on. It was both scary and curious at the same time.

Instead of a door, there was a void, and behind it was a dark, impenetrable abyss. There was no other way. The professor went through there, or rather, he disappeared into the black hole. Ruthra waited for about ten seconds, hoping he would return, then took a step into the void. It felt like pouring a bucket of ice water on a sleeping person. Ruthra went blind for a moment, his brain rebooting. He found himself in a new reality, a room flooded with the brightest light, the structure of which was transparent. Ruthra could find no other explanation. He was floating, literally floating, though he was firmly on his feet. There was no ceiling, floor, or walls visible. Only a faintly blue outline reminded him that they were there… and there was something else in this room. Suddenly, a pair of glasses that looked more like the eyes of a giant dragonfly appeared out of the void in front of Ruthra's face.

– Don't resist," he heard the familiar sound in his brain.

Ruthra didn't move. The goggles seemed to rest on his eyes on their own. The sight and view changed instantly. Now it was clear: it was a huge room, a hall, in the center of which stood a phantasmagorical installation; a huge bizarre sarcophagus of liquid that boiled and smoked. The first impression of what he saw was this. The second thing Ruthra thought was, "Well, you scientists and mages, well, you're also those wizards." After all, all this was an artificial influence on the brain, which forcibly saw it all in such an "image". Nothing was real, Rutra knew this technology.

– This is my installation," said the "luminary of science" with a certain pride and boastfulness.

Then the scientist added:

– I confess, I confess, all this works thanks to your invention. Even, I would say, a discovery based on the theory of entangled particles, and, of course, this is the labor of a huge number of people, scientists.

Ruthra smiled.

– Oh, your majesty, all men are like men, and we are gods.

– What?" the doctor asked.

– No, just thinking out loud.

– What do you say we give it a shot?

– I wonder what kind of trick you have in store for me?

– What makes you say that?

– Because you don't get it.

– Are you talking about here and not in the virtualization room? Come on, buddy.

– Now, that alone tells me a lot. There's definitely a catch! I'm sure of it. Consciousness transfer according to my methodology, based on my discovery, can be realized there, too, on those installations.

– All right. Let's do this… I'm in. I'll go into trance first, then you.

– What does it do? What am I, a high school student?

– Okay, farther. You supervise my full dive. See how the equipment works, and then dive in after me.

– It's a little unclear. If you're trying to convince me that there's no catch, then what's the point of doing the experiment here?

– This is our usual workplace. Here is our professional laboratory, and over there is our office – and it is not ours. I don't even know all the entrances and exits there. Especially the installations there are not professional. It's a different program. It tests the purity of people's intentions in a trance state. Thoughts and thoughts. And here there are hundreds of other indicators. Here you can immerse your consciousness in the state of infancy and check what and how it influenced your worldview, for example, on the first day of the first grade at school.

– It's really Freudian.

– Oh, no. Freud, we'd be looking for a graveyard of sexual trauma in your soul. We're looking for motivation. That's more Jungian. Let's go, shall we?

– God be with you. What else you got in mind, I'd like to know.

– Don't worry, you'll live.

– All right, lie down. I'll supervise.

The scientist lay down in the rig, a mask was placed over his face, and additional pieces of instrumentation were placed on his body.

– It's clearly a long time coming, since you so clearly want to know everything about him....

– We can get your heart rate and blood pressure remotely.

– That's what I'm talking about. What are those suction cups with the gauges?

– It's to stimulate the body to react differently.

– All right. You scientists will come up with anything to calm and dull the vigilance. Just one multi-pronged global program to convince the whole world that you need constant medical treatment is worth it.

Ruthra laughed at what he had said. The rest of the scientists, who had been smiling modestly at first, laughed at what he had said.

– You should know that," said one of them at last, with courage.

– All right, I'm going down. Where are you throwing us out?

– Nowhere. You're staying right here in the building. As the patron told you, there will be a test of feeling in another body. That is, you will wake up in a virtual reality not as you, but as another person, in this case you will be our chief, and our chief will be you.

– Oh, I see the level. You're the chief, you're the patron. I am not so honored.

– Oh, come on. You have the most respect in the system.

– All right, let's go.

– Shall we turn it on?

– Let's turn it on. Just give me a second. I've got some work to do on my technique.

Rutra took out a regular ballpoint pen and wrote the time on his hand to the nearest second, and indicated the year as well. No one in the center wrote in the usual way. Everyone wrote their thoughts directly into Irene's memory, and she translated them into any format.

After checking the instruments and the scientist's condition readings, Ruthra lay down in the rig. After the manipulations, he felt the invisible waves affecting his brain and began to fall asleep. Rutra soon woke up, and only his being in the rig told him the alternative – either he was in the real world or in virtual reality. Otherwise, if Ruthra had appeared in a different setting, there was definitely no way he would have been able to determine that he was in the virtual world and would have been sure that everything was real. But now there were two factors that helped him make the right decision: the first was the setting, and the second was the presence or absence of a simple but ingenious inscription on his arm. He had never tried to figure out where he really was, whether he was in the virtual or in reality! He even beat himself with a stun gun, checked his blood after taking alcohol: in reality red blood cells stick together after taking alcohol, but in the virtual world they do not. But it did not work: in the virtual world a person could drink alcohol, become drunk there, but in the real world his blood would still be without alcohol. And if the same person takes and checks his blood in the virtual world, i.e. his "virtual" blood, it will naturally be the same as under the influence of alcohol. That's how it is. And here everything is simple: the main thing is to accustom yourself at the level of reflexes to constantly write and constantly check what you have written. Accordingly, if you don't see the writing, it means that you are in the virtual world.

And in general – it is impossible to realize that the world is not real based on one's sensations. Absolutely everything is like in ordinary life: feelings, smells, emotions… everything. Only when you leave the virtual world and you are shown a recording – then you realize that you were in the virtual world. You do realize, but you still can't believe it, because the sensations there are so real.

And now Ruthra was sort of in "reality". Everything was as usual. He woke up, the scientists were standing around, the second "client" was lying next to him, and only Rutra's habit, already reflexive, made it clear: there was no tape on his hand. So he was in the virtual world. Although, beginning to fully realize reality, Rutra began to realize: something else was wrong… For some reason he was not on the right, but on the left of the second installation… Rutra assessed the situation once more. No note on his hand? No. Then it's not real. That's right. Who's next to him? It wasn't a "scientific luminary" lying next to him. The person next to him was– "Oh, shit. This can't be happening! They're playing me again," was the first thing that ran through his head. – Who is this? And who am I?"

He shook his head, "What is this, bring me back to reality!" Nearby, in a neighboring rig lay… him!

It is very difficult to make the consciousness believe in its absence from the real world only on the basis of the fact that the brain knows about the existence of the virtual. How can you convince yourself, in the apparent reality of the self, that you are not in reality, it's all not true? How?

– And there you go," he heard in his head.

– Who's that? Irene, is that you?

Ruthra asked because the voice was unusual: male. The artificial intelligence could speak in a man's voice, but it didn't give orders to do so.

– No, it's not me.

– Then who?

– I don't know. There was no commutation through me.

– Then how and who?

– I'm checking. There was no outside entrance to you.

– And to whom, me? What's going on?

Ruthra glanced angrily at the "servants of science" who stood a little away from the rigs, then awkwardly stood up and walked over to the next rig. He couldn't believe his eyes – there was a man who looked just like him! Suddenly, Ruthra realized that the scientist could have done such a thing to learn the secrets he possessed in the real world. He shuddered, "Then who am I now?"

Ruthra looked into the mirror set into the wall, a large, full-length mirror. He couldn't say he was horrified; he couldn't say he was surprised… Strangely enough, Ruthra didn't even feel a strong sense of surprise, so much so that he'd been raised and trained by virtual reality, or rather, by feeling in it and not believing in it afterward. Ruthra was aware of what the scientist had done, knew it wasn't real, but couldn't quite grasp the purpose, though he could guess. Apparently, the one wanted to demonstrate his new capabilities and accomplishments. Of course, the brazenness and daring he had displayed was also so provocative that Ruthra's rage could hardly be contained by his new body. His body, and in fact the body of a scientist! The mirror reflected the "luminary of science".

Another man's body was horrible. Though it was perfectly normal by Ruthra's standards, quite athletic, it was alien. The only thing that made him feel better was the unreality of what was happening. Ruthra rushed to wake himself up, to reprimand the insolent man who'd gotten into his body and end the experiment, but then he felt another twitch. He couldn't influence the real world in the virtual world, he couldn't order the experiment to stop!

– For crying out loud, you're not natural either! – he yelled at the scientists. – Wake him up immediately! – he shouted, realizing at the same time the absurdity of his demand in two guises.

Even if it was natural – it wasn't Ruthra who was ordering them, it worked. The tricky scientist could have made sure they didn't know about the most intimate part of the experiment. Ruthra walked over and kicked the rig in which his body lay with fury. The machine shook slightly, and the man lying in it spoke without opening his eyes.

– Well, well, well, I'd ask you.

It was said in the style of his fellow scientist, with a smile and a joking tone, but emphasizing his importance.

– Come on, get up, there's a prize waiting for you, maybe even a Nobel Prize. You've succeeded, so you can return my body, otherwise there will be no one to defend the project in front of the council.

– I don't need that. I have my personality written down and I can be you from time to time and when I need to be me.

The tone was slightly haughty and the words spoken were arrogant.

Rutra was almost insulted by this.

– What does it mean to think?

– And there you go.

He climbed out of the rig and looked in the mirror.

– We're in virtual reality, so don't get too excited. I saw the timer, if they don't force you back, you have 20 minutes to enjoy being commander.

– And you're okay, keeping in shape. Or is that done by technology, too? There's no way around it, it's the chip stimulating your muscles.

– Tell me what you're up to. Let's just say the surprise didn't work out.

– What's the surprise, honored scientist? The only surprise is in the alteration of memory. I admit, although you know it yourself, it can be influenced, to put it mildly, edited.

– What are you talking about? We worked together on this technology.

– It's not that important right now.

– Exactly. Why would you do that in virtual reality?

Rutra pointed at himself.

– You hopefully haven't forgotten, there is a board meeting scheduled for today.

– И?

– What do you say in there?

– Enough with the clowning around. This is virtual reality. We weren't wearing helmets or sensors.

– And they were taken beforehand. That's my technology.

– I almost believe it. About 18 minutes to go. Keep going.

– Okay, okay, let's just get out of here. If we're in the virtual, it doesn't matter. We'll wake up wherever we are. In the meantime, I'll give you, I mean, like me, access to the information that you, well, again, like, instead of me, should present to the council.

– Please remember the chain of command. Friendship is friendship, but we're not drinking buddies.

– That's exactly what I'm telling you, let's go.

– All right, let's see what song you're gonna sing next. I don't want our friendship to end.

– That's later, now let's go. If you think we're in the virtual, then let's continue the experiment. Let's go.

– All right, let's go.

They went to the upper level, walked to the scientists' block, and approached the office.

– Let's make a deal like this: so that we don't confuse employees, coworkers, and understand each other better, you call me Big Boss and I'll call you Big Date.

– All right, Big Boss, can't wait for the time to run out.

– Yes, Big Data. Stand in front of the scanner, the lock is set to my body.

– What do you want in there?

– I need to access the information through the chip. It's still in the brain.

The scanner clicked, the door moved aside, and they entered. The scientist's colleagues followed them like an entourage, or perhaps an escort.

– Dear Big-data, I turn on the link, make contact between the chip and the system, remove the password, and you already know everything I knew. I mean… It's really confusing.

He laughed.

– Come on, smile, smile. Make me feel like a big important boss too. No, not a boss, but part of the power of the world. How did you get into this system, anyway? It's not the billionaires who are the rulers of the souls of men, it's some dark personalities.

– I'll ask you to be careful where you turn. There are billionaires out there, and there are people like you. The first one to conceive is the one with the power over everyone.

– Uh-oh. That's an interesting thought. I'll say – and my idea is not a bad one.

– It'll be over soon.

– Soon. Maybe I'll like it… and leave it at that.

– The timer's a stubborn thing, and Irene can see everything.

– Don't forget that timers are made by people, programmed by people, and yes Irene was created by people like us.

– Stop fantasizing. What's next?

– Open in your memory, recall my speech, the arguments about convincing the council in the reality of the program of transmigration of consciousness, the existence of parallel worlds and the possibility of instilling consciousness from here into a person there.

– I hope you get cured. Your past programs have been a success after all.

– Tell me, you didn't believe it, did you? All of you – the council, other colleagues and staff, no one.

– In rapid cloning?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– Who'd believe you could make a human being like a crystal in a test tube?

– That's right. It worked.

– Right. That's why you're in complete control.

– And then why not put someone else's mind into that body?

– What do you mean? You mean the Super Spy program?

– Yeah. You build a body, take out the personality you want, put in your mind, and presto! – you're ready to be president.

– People like you, trust someone like that, leave them unchecked – that way you'll replace everyone with yourself.

– Why, just like that, we are the rulers of the world.

– Yeah. And they're fools, that's why they're rulers over such… and more. We've forgotten what you're up to, buddy. I did it back in my last Super Spy program. Chipping and mind transference. You weren't the first to think of it. And in case you haven't forgotten, I've developed many important programs with you.

– Yes, yes, I remember everything, Your Excellency. Just the scientific basis, all the little things on which the technology is based, have been developed and realized through experiments by our scientific community.

– Okay, what's next? What else is in the program?

– Nothing in the program. Just life as usual. What was on the schedule? Council presentation coming up.

– Oh, those minutes would be up by now. How much time is left?

– Buddy.

He smiled.

– It's kind of unusual to have a dialog. We're not in virtual reality. I'm being honest with you. Yeah, it's an experiment, I didn't mean to do anything wrong. Although I had it all figured out, I suspect the system had more than that. I mean, you can't hide from Irene. She could have known what we were up to, for all I know. It doesn't matter, though, because I'm not going to take over by switching identities. I want to prove to the council that my program is real.

– I almost believed it. What's next? The clock is ticking.

– Let them tick, it won't make a difference. We're not in a virtual reality.

– What's next?

– Let's go to the council.

– И?

– And you will defend the project," Ruthra in the professor's body laughed now.

– Okay, I'm gonna go with your bullshit. It's like it all hits you in the brain when you remove the password.

They got out and went to the council chamber. It was impossible for anyone to get in. A system of pass scanners checked everything down to the DNA code. Big Data was identified as a scientist, Big Boss as the real Rutra. Only the certainty that they were in virtual reality helped Rutra keep his cool.

– I wonder when you thought of that. I mean, the board isn't really aware of your proposal. Why do you have to present it in this scenario? And more importantly, how do you want to use it in reality? Because you're about to find out the council's reaction to the way we introduce ourselves. And I'm not gonna tell you I'm not really a scientist. I won't tell you about the switch. Then what? I mean, that's obviously what you're counting on, isn't it?

– I'm counting on it, I'm confessing it, and it's going to work out the way I planned.

– Let's see. What's the real thing? What's the point? There, in reality, no one will give you an endorsement just for praise in the virtual, even if you convince the council here. In fact, I've already convinced them… Oh, I get it. Since the weighty word on the council is mine and the responsibility for projects with risk is mine – you want to use my body to make an endorsement. It's ingenious, but it's also primitive. It's not a big deal. You'll test everyone's reaction, and maybe not even everyone… I'm sure many will remain silent.

– I'll tell you all about it later. Let's go in.

– Not yet. You took a body, but you don't know the life of that body. They're still waiting for you, or rather for me, in the lobby, with questions and suggestions. So don't embarrass me. I didn't download the chip with the information. Heh-heh," he teased Big Boss.

The meeting was set for the morning. Rutra had not, of course, prepared the speech, had no final position, much less a decision, but was still more inclined to approve the program than to reject it. Responsibility was responsibility, what had he to fear? In case of failure his personal projects would be rejected? So in this project, the subsequent use and the ideas themselves had been suggested by him. Ruthra had even envisioned the scenario, knowing the methods and mannerisms of his learned associate. Everything would be exactly in the perspective that was commonplace to him, however, that was the peculiar aura of this place, of this world. For example, the scientists would propose to implement some fantastic program, perhaps with the help of the "idea generator" installation they had created, to enter the alpha resonance frequency of the brain of a scientific specialist who was working on the cloning project, and "give birth" in his brain to the solution of a complex problem of changing DNA to adapt animals to the atmosphere of Mars. All such things were realistic for them. Ruthra had speculated how things would be, only speculation – for that's what speculation is for, it doesn't have to be a pattern. This time things weren't going according to plan. Besides, the personalities weren't the same now. They'd approach Rutra with questions, and what would Big Boss say? The only thing that comforted him was that this was a virtual world, and the session was still about six minutes away.

In the hall, a specialist in the study of the microcosm and the effect on matter of massless particles approached Rutra, that is, his body, which contained the "luminary of science," even before the meeting began, and, taking him by the shoulder in a friendly manner, said conspiratorially quietly, almost in a whisper:

– I have something to tell you that will make you more surprised than ever.

– Yeah? Even that happens? – Big Boss said with irony.

– Imagine that," replied the minister of science. – Believe me, it will change your perception of reality.

– I dunno, if it still has room to flip, flip it, however, I think it will remain unshakable.

– You'd better be prepared.

– All right. (Sighs) Let's get on with it.

– So, before, well, as is our custom," the doctor smiled, "you should listen to the information. So that your consciousness can be prepared for the load it will take, and your logic can digest what is coming.

– That's kind of what we're here for. I'm all ears.

– No, no, no. Of course, general information first, because this will be a collegial decision. I gave you the general tone of the conversation from the beginning, because your opinion will determine how seriously they will take what I have to say.

Rutra, though not real, understood the scientist's cunning. Everyone knew about Rutra's supervision and support of scientific projects; he really delved into them, actively participated and proposed progressive ideas.

– All right, I promise to give you the floor. You will definitely propose your project. But please, you understand, the main agenda is for another program. If you want, you can give me the details later, preferably with evidence. And I'll gather the new council afterwards. If, of course, the proposed by you has a place in the overall strategic paradigm of the system.

– Oh yes, I'll be sure to introduce you to everything.

"So much for the second stratagem," thought Big-data. It turns out that if in his body he could not find out the secrets of the competing groups, for this he would have to cooperate with them, offering something of his own, then this way he could find out all the plans and programs, the levels of success achieved by all the scientific groups.

Rutra was right. The rest of their dialog made a lot of things clear.

– Tentatively, judging by the mysteriousness of your tone, you have succeeded, I can tell you. I, knowing your fraternity and your experiments on digitizing human consciousness and its further existence inside a supercomputer, am even afraid to think what else you will propose.

It's clear," thought Ruthra in the scientist's body, "this is a direct competitor, his developments are very much needed. Apparently, there were already rumors in the scientific community that the luminary of science wanted to get his project promoted and thus bury all such projects, of course, if the idea was approved. Which was most likely with Rutra's involvement. Big-data decided to listen to their dialog, making an indifferent disinterested look.

– Isn't that bad. You can be in different guises and talk to yourself.

– All right, all right, stop. You know how that turned out.

– I'm sorry, that wasn't with you.

– Do you remember when the computer fell in love with a bunch of girls by pretending to be a famous athlete?

– Yes. That incident was the fault of this man… whatever you call him. I don't know him personally.

– Paris.

– Yeah, that guy, Paris. But he wasn't a big-time athlete.

– Even so. It's a nightmare. Imagine what could be done with this method. What if he talks to his family or business, pretending to be the real him, and then makes you believe that it's the right thing to do? He'd find arguments, examples. After all, how he beautifully falsified and even created some facts. The complete falsification of the broadcasting of international competitions is worth it.

– Well you don't have to, especially for young people, believe everything that comes at you from the net so unquestioningly.

– Oh, my God, I don't know who I'm hearing this from.

They smiled and walked to the conference room and sat down at the table. Already seated, Big-boss nodded to Big-data. The room was full and buzzed like a beehive. Everyone was interested in the topic; both management and scientists had come. The final preparations were underway.

The big boss, who to everyone was Rutra, suggested wearing special masks. All those participating in the discussion, realizing the upcoming presentation methodology, put on without question. After the equipment was checked, i.e. a powerful beam of light flashed in front of their eyes in the mask, after which the surrounding reality completely changed, space disappeared, everything became white light, as if nothing, not even the wearer of the helmet, existed – the invisible presenter announced the beginning of the meeting. The essence of what was going on in the virtual reality helmet was a special special effect: one could be directly in the place, in the process that was being discussed. If the story was about some terrain – the surroundings became exactly the same as what was being talked about. If the story was about space, then, for example, solar flares were drawn directly in front of your eyes, you could be in the boiling atmosphere of Venus, watch the flight of everything that was "swallowed" by a black hole, as well as look at the nucleus of an atom, "dig" into the stomach of a shark, and so on.

For the time being, the "surroundings" were just a white background. Then, from afar, the "celebrant" appeared – a scientist, whom his colleagues called "Mr. Brain" and "the luminary of science," or rather, his body, because Rutra was inside, calling him a magician and sorcerer, to which the scientist smiled modestly. So, this magician and sorcerer, and in fact Rutra, having entered the role, in his style began the narration. Knowing the scientist's manners, the audience was prepared to hear a report on the theory of the universe and everything related to it. Ruthra checked the time. The chipped didn't need to look at their watches to do this. They "saw" the time inside themselves. At an internal signal, which was the thought itself, the time appeared in their minds like an exact memory. So, there was less than a minute left to exit the virtual reality. Ruthra decided to start cryptically, to make one last check before exiting.

– You know, I'm going to tell you something you won't believe, and you'll be wrong. And what I'm going to tell you is this: you don't exist. Soon I will show you this tape, and you will realize that this moment does not exist in the real world.

Then he was silent, waiting for the time to expire. The assembled people, all of whom were periodically tested in the virtual world, knew when and under what conditions they would approve what Rutra was now proclaiming. The expressions on their faces showed incomprehension. Finally the time was up. Ruthra expected a repetition of the process that usually accompanies the exit from virtual reality – "darkening" of consciousness, disappearance of visible things, completely white light in the eyes, a second blackout of senses and mind, and then a "miraculous" appearance in a new place, or rather, in the virtual reality installation. Time expired, Ruthra waited, but there was no change. "What is it? – He thought to himself. – Didn't the timer go off… It couldn't be. Irene was supposed to be in control." There was a nervous silence in the room – there was an explanation to be made.

– So tell us why," the head of the world information services control interrupted the silence.

Rutra had been on friendly enough terms with him, and they occasionally played chess in the evenings, but this played a cruel trick. He forgot his present appearance and began to speak to him as Rutra.

– I will. I'll be blunt. Soon we'll all be watching the meeting on tape. The point is, it's not real. I know what you're thinking right now. I'm sorry if I'm patronizing myself, but I'm speaking as a professional. I, unlike you, intuitively understand the state in virtual and real reality. You can't understand it. For you, what's happening now and your condition are real. This is actually an experiment. The scientific community presenting the project and I conceived it. Let me explain. You have all been in virtual reality and you know what a double feeling you get after leaving it. Naturally, initially everything that happens seems natural to you. Naturally, you don't believe it's virtual reality. Well, what can I tell you about it… You yourself have tried many times to understand – and still do not understand. It's not that important. I conceived this project myself. Or rather, the idea part of it, I took a very active part in its development. Of course, the academic community, namely, the block that directly initiated the meeting, hoped for me as the head of the Council of Masters, counted on me to promote the project.

Ruthra noticed the thoughtfulness and wariness with which the people regarded everything. Not only could you read it on their faces, you could literally feel their emotional state. For some reason, only one person was laughing… "Damn it," Ruthra said to himself. He was the one laughing. Or rather, Big Boss was laughing. Ruthra looked at him furiously. He realized that the trickster had somehow changed the time on the timer. Looking around, Ruthra instantly realized that his speech was illogical, if not comical. He was saying what he wanted to say, but it was not what he wanted to say, because his body was different. He had to explain it somehow.

– Wait a minute, I get it. It's not me talking, I mean, I'm… You'll see. We're conducting an experiment. In addition to being in a virtual world, you're listening to a non-scientist. That is, as if you're listening to a "luminary of science", but actually it's me, the head of the Council of Masters Rutra Tigrovich Paschov.

Everyone looked at Big-daddy in amazement, and Big-boss, clapping his hands, said:

– Well, you know, with all due respect, colleague, I think you are misrepresenting your experiments… or achievements, I don't know what to call it. And I'll tell you, even though you consider this reality to be virtual, I'd like to point out some rules of protocol. You know my name well, so it would be nice if you would call yourself by your first name on the board as well. The fact that you are a "luminary of science", the fact that everyone calls you that and it has already taken root – no one is against it, but still this is not even an international seminar of the scientific community.

– Look, I'd ask you to stop this charade. First, let me know what time you set the timer for. Because we should be back to reality by now. Secondly, you know for a fact that my name is what I said it was, and I and a few members of the council know what your name is, a secret scientist, and what documents and appearance you go out into the world with. So, since you have been provided with such a level of secrecy and identity protection, kindly stop breaking comedy and tell the council about the essence of your experiment. An ingenious experiment, no doubt, I'm not disputing that.

– I'll tell you this: to hear such a thing from an eminent doctor and then entrust him with programs crucial for mankind is not only risky, but also inappropriate. Do you want to tell me who's in my body? It's not me.

– Look, what's going on? – the chairman of the council, who in real life was the head of the UN's top supervisory board, intervened in their dialog.

– And here's what's going on," Big-data made his trademark gesture, raising the index finger of his left hand. – Our esteemed scientist, "luminary of science", who, by the way, called himself that initially, offered me to conduct an experiment. The essence of the experiment is as follows: he and I enter virtual reality, where I must be him, and he me. We check the possibility of this, as they say, just in case. That's why it's an experiment. But this trickster, I will not hesitate to say so, was up to something, I realized it later… But first of all, why I did not give it all so much importance and why I agreed to come to the meeting in his image. The thing is that he needed to be in my body at our meeting. His goal is to use me to get you to approve the project. The project, which, as I now realized before the meeting, he stole partly from my ideas and partly from the developments of a rival group. He needs all of this to get funding and later world fame after we declassify it. That's the way it is. I'll even say more: the proposed technology is revolutionary. With its help, you can seize power better than with the program "Super Spy". After all, according to the rules of our organization – to control and maintain power, we voluntarily constantly hold sessions in virtual reality. So he wants to enter the body of everyone he wants, as he does now, and then make a decision on behalf of the person he wants to become. As now he wants to express support and approval of the presented project on my behalf.

– Can I stop you? We've heard a lot more than that, but this is beyond comprehension. We understand you're conducting an experiment, or rather, it's a kind of defense of the project, a way to show the council its… I don't even know what to call it. Mr. Master Paschow, can you reveal the details of the project?

– Project details? It goes like this. I myself do not quite understand what the "luminary of science" seeks, apparently, this is part of his plan to discredit the one who put forward the idea, developed the theory and proposed the method, the way of scientific research, that is me. Most likely the answer is in the proof from the contrary. Exactly as he said, only in reverse. Indeed we entered virtual reality, only we had already come out into reality, and there was no transfer of one personality into another.

– That's a lie! – Big-data shouted. – He's playing around. He doesn't realize that we'll come out of virtual reality and everyone will know what's going on. In principle, though, the experiment went great. I agree with that. But, buddy, it's time to come clean. All we have to do is ask the board if they approve of the methodology.

There were indignant cries, and the atmosphere was getting nervous. The Chairman decided to make it clear.

– What's the project, what's the methodology? What are you presenting to us? Initially it was declared one thing, and now it's some kind of performance. If you're conspiring like this, it's time to reveal the details of the project. Approve what? You initiated a meeting to approve a program that borders on the level of, I would say, super fiction. Even though the cloning project is a success, what you're proposing is beyond the realm of reality. You want to get the project approved and funded, you claim that not only "there is intelligent life outside of human civilization," but you say, "It's exactly like ours, a mirror image." So they are parallel worlds. Aren't they? Besides, you are going to convince the council in the possibility of transferring not only consciousness from person to person, simply speaking, something like a magic transmigration of souls, but you are also convincing in your ability to do it at a distance, with penetration into these parallel worlds. And these parallel worlds, according to your claims, can be anywhere, even in another universe. Allegedly, according to your theory, by the way, Rutra Tigrovich, they must be in infinity. And, as it turns out, it is very easy to find them, the main thing is to determine the connection between the entangled pairs of electrons, which have existed since the creation of the world and are constantly renewed. You know, even at our level, I mean brain-supercomputer connection, not everyone has a good idea of quantum entanglement and why this connection is instantaneous, why the laws of the universe are not violated, although this very connection can exceed the speed of light by hundreds of thousands of times. It is all right, we will study it. The question is this. To be convincing, you should have provided evidence of the first stage – the transfer of a person into another body and back. Then there would be some credibility to all of this. As it is, I don't understand what kind of a show you're putting on. You, Mr. Magister, should know that the council can't be persuaded like that.

– That's what I'm saying, a hoax," Big Boss replied. – I'm telling you, our luminary of science turned out to be a fake. We still need to check his role in the cloning project. Although what is there to check, the cloning itself was not invented by him, the technology of "pumping" consciousness is not his, the whole idea is mine. And in general – it's nonsense, what he's saying… we can go and check the virtual reality settings.

– This is a conspiracy. It's a mutiny! – shouted Big Daddy.

– I think he's out of his mind. He realized that his scam was about to be exposed, so he decided to try to fool everyone in the way he thinks he can," Big Boss said. – I think he's going to say to me that he wants to take over, he put my mind in his body… or some such nonsense.

– Wait, wait, wait. What the hell is going on? Are you two in cahoots? – The chairman interrupted him.

– Arrest him, I command you! – shouted Big Daddy.

– You see, he's a danger to society," Big Boss parried.

– Oh, wait a minute. What have you turned this meeting into? You know how important it is. It's not even a meeting of heads of state. We can't meet all of a sudden, even on such an important but single issue. I'm eliminating you both. The council has equally important matters on its agenda," said the chairman.

– Arrest us both. Remove me temporarily from power, or rather him. Time must be running out soon anyway," Big-data said in a harsh tone.

– Suspend, suspend, take control. We need to know what's going on. Take them to the medical section. Do a sanity check. Something's going on here. And I'm initiating danger level one. I hope the council agrees with me," the chairman sounded frankly annoyed. – Regarding virtual reality, the timer cannot be changed. It's the way Irene is programmed. It's for security reasons. If you saw the original start time, it should not have changed. Secondly, the second defense: you cannot re-enter virtual reality in virtual reality. So I'm going to send you to the lab in the science block – you did a session there – and we'll check it out there. If you enter the session – it means that this is reality, and if not – we are in the virtual world. Although it's not serious. If the council will allow me, I'll go over the latest security settings. I think it's about time the scientific community knew them. You, Master Ruthra, of all people, should know that. We all have a signaling code that signals every hour that we're in the real world. The virtual world doesn't have that program. That's why the thought doesn't even occur there. So, gentlemen, let us dispel your doubts and at the same time, I think, take part in your experiment, – he grinned slightly, and this reaction was transmitted to many in the hall. – I hope you don't mind being escorted to the laboratory?

– I absolutely do not," Big Boss blurted out instantly.

– This is kindergarten. You can check the protocols," said Ruthra in the scientist's body.

– You see, commentary is unnecessary," Big Boss said snidely, trying to imitate Rutra's gestures, namely, opening his palms up in front of him.

– Alrighty, let's go," Big-data muttered with a dose of anger and walked towards the exit.

– Irene, put me through to security, escort them to the lab, and live stream what's happening here. While we discuss the process of robotization of industries in developed countries and the consequences of migration associated with it. And the second question is about cloning in animal husbandry in developed countries. Now we have reached the point where we don't need people, cows without udders.

Big Boss and Big Data walked through with a security escort, though there was still the signal of Irene's remote taser still on. "Haven't we given a lot of power to artificial intelligence," Ruthra thought, glancing absently at the flashing light accompanying them.

– What are you up to? – He finally got his thoughts together and turned to Big Boss.

– What are you talking about, sir?

– Enough already. Tell me what you're doing.

– I don't know what you're talking about.

– Look, friendship is friendship, but you seem to have lost your fear. I'm gonna cut off your access to the lab. You and your unit were assembled by me as a team of the best, most progressive and advanced scientists in the world. I've given you brain enhancements and a direct link to the knowledge base. It is not yet known whether you could be such a "luminary of science", as you present yourself, if it were not for brain enhancement and full access to the works of other scientists, and in fact the tacit use of them. And of any scientific center in the world.

– I'll point out, this disease has a name, too. I'm sorry, you may have a split personality.

– You're out of your mind.

– I would ask you to respect the subordination in the dialog.

– All right, Mr. Cheeky, let's see.

They entered the lab, the rigs were empty.

– Well, you see," Big Boss decided to get smart.

– Lie down, the concert is over," Big-data "threw" him.

– Now you will be shocked, however science must also have sacrifices.

– Come on, come on. Enough already," Big-data almost bellowed and lay down in the machine.

The laboratory workers present began to put on their masks and check the readings of the instruments. The voice of the chairman was heard in everyone's head. The Conference system was turned on, they were all in a common dialog, Irene too.

– Irene, can you tell me where these people are located?

– They are in the real world," Irene stated dryly.

– What are you talking about? Are you saying I'm crazy? Mr. Chairman, please analyze what's going on. It's already annoying me frankly. What the hell is going on? Do you realize what's going on? This guy wants to steal my body. No less than that," said Rutra, who looked like a doctoral-level scientist to everyone.

– With all due respect to you and your merits – medics, or rather psychiatrists, should intervene in what is going on.

– Mr. Master, we need to conduct a virtual reality session. Or rather, to terminate it. I don't really know how. It should end on its own. What the hell am I worried about? It should end sooner or later. Maybe in virtual reality it seems to us that a lot of time has passed, but in reality it hasn't expired yet.

The big boss, too, took off his mask and climbed out of the rig himself, sat down on its edge, then addressed the chairman, though it was an address to the whole council, for all could hear them.

– Mr. Presiding Magistrate, I think this situation has been described many times in medical practice. I think the scientist just needs to rest… or he should be treated already. Sorry, I too thought it was a joke or part of his program.

– What are you talking about, you con artist. Give me back my body! – shouted Big Data.

– Dear Doctor, will you make your own way to a psychiatrist or…I hope we are well-mannered people.

– Mr. Magister, it's terrible. I don't even know how to explain it to you. This man tricked me into these installations and changed the contents of our brains. He put his consciousness into my body and mine into his. It's, it's, it's a horror. It's a nightmare. Can you imagine such a thing?! – Big Data was almost shouting.

– Calm down. I see– I don't even know what I see anymore. It's impossible. You said so yourself. I mean, I'm already confused with you. Master Ruthra Paschow said it was impossible. The body would either die or be in a coma for some time, with a five or six minute return of consciousness, as I recall. It's impossible to transfer consciousness from one body to another, or rather, from a body to a clone and then back again after a long time. Especially not like this.

– As you can see, it's possible. He achieved it and kept it secret. And now, when we checked everything, he used it," Big-data began to explain calmly.

– That's the kind of dreamer you'd have to look for," Big Boss put in.

– You found him," the chairman replied.

– On my own head," Big Boss answered him guiltily.

– Will you go to the psychiatrist, Mr. Doctor? – asked the chairman courteously.

– I'm not going anywhere! Check out Irene's protocols. It should all be documented. You can't let this go, he'll be in your body tomorrow. Imagine what he could do.

– So you mean to say that it is possible to transfer consciousness between people, to return to the original body, with both bodies functioning absolutely normally? Is that what you're trying to convince me and the council of?

– I don't want to. He does. Or rather, it doesn't mean anything at all. There's no such thing, we're in a virtual world," Big-data replied to the chairman, trying to keep a calm tone.

– I assure you, you're in the real world. You don't believe me? You don't believe the board, you don't believe Irene? I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to take you to a psychiatrist.

After these words, Big-data shook slightly and collapsed on the virtual reality unit's cot without moving. After about ten seconds, he groaned and said with difficulty:

– It's a conspiracy, it's a power grab. He'll have all the access to Irene.

Suddenly Big Boss stood up, his coworkers walked over to him and began to stack Big Daddy in the BP rig.

– What's going on? – The chairman asked sternly.

– Wait a minute, your honor, I'll explain everything and even show you," Big-boss said while checking the readings of the devices.

Words were addressed to the chairman and the board.

– That's right, we're not in a virtual reality, except that reality isn't quite what it seems.

– Mr. Master Paschow, what are you up to? I must remind you, the council meets in person quite rarely, because having everyone in one place goes against the concept of security. The council requires immediate clarification. In spite of your lofty status, provide clarification! Or I'll be forced to ask you to voluntarily go to a psychiatrist as well.

– All right, Mr. Chairman. Just listen to this. The distinguished doctor is not entirely wrong. The fact is that we did conduct an experiment. Please check the record and the protocol of this experiment.

– Irene, show us, the council, the tape and the protocol of their experiment," the chairman asked.

– I can't do it. These files are locked in me.

– Blocked how? Who can block you at all?

– Only someone who has the code to the customization.

– You mean Master Paschow has blocked you?

– Yeah, the lockdown code is a cipher in his DNA. Only he can make the changes.

– Changes cannot be global and permanent. Are these files saved?

– Yes, Your Honor, preserved.

– Mr. Magister Paschow, the council demands that these files be unlocked immediately.

– I'll clarify. Irene is not fully blocked on this event. You can see what time the lockout occurred. Irene, let me know the time of the lockout.

– This morning; 8 hours 46 minutes and 27 seconds.

– Now would you please advise what time the BP session started?

– This morning; 8 hours 28 minutes and 59 seconds.

– Gentlemen, don't you find my action on chronology strange?

– We find not only your action on the timeline strange, but everything that is going on today in general. Explain what's going on.

– Logically, I should have blocked Irene before the BP session if I wanted to hide something. However, it turns out that I do want to hide something, since I did block the recording and logging of events. Isn't that right?

– Rutra Tigrovic, please be clear, we're not here to investigate.

– Wait, that's the whole point. Let's do this, since you want to find out fast. Let's go into virtual reality, then come out and check the recording of the last session.

– Why?

– I wish the esteemed luminary of science would stop having a split personality.

– I don't have a split personality! Grifter, give me back my body! – shouted Big Daddy, who had almost regained consciousness.

– Okay, honorable council? – ignoring the cries of the "scientist," Big Boss asked.

– Let's do it already, I think it has to do with the new experiments," the chairman's voice trembled a little, either from concealed anger or from uncertainty about the decision.

– Irene, once I'm in the installation, before you put us into the VR state, connect to me by password, I'll access the DNA code, and you can show the esteemed council the past record and the event logs. Then, when we're in session, run the reverse process – from what we ran in the locked files. I've already entered the data into you, you know the algorithm of action.

– I get it.

Big Boss lay down in the rig, he and Big Data were hooked up to the system, the indicators began to show changes only they could understand, Rutra's waspy voice could be heard in the scientist's body.

– Just try not to give me my body back.

In review for the board, which was also a kind of reality, went the footage from the last session. Nothing unusual was happening. The session passed, the subjects stood up, and only the unusualness of what was happening was visible from the dialogs. Those present began to follow the broadcasted picture with more and more curiosity. In the meantime, the BP signal indicator in the laboratory went out, and then the indicators of another installation turned on. When everyone began to watch the scene of the conversation in the hall in front of the council hall, the chairman turned to Irene:

– Irene, did Master Ruthra know about the experiments being conducted by the "luminary of science"?

– Yeah. I did.

– Has he participated in them before?

– Yes, without his resolution it is impossible to turn on the installations.

– This second setup in the lab is needed to transfer personality from brain to brain?

– Yeah. It's an advanced setup they've perfected.

– Who directly perfected it – Master Rutra or the "luminary of science"?

– "A luminary of science."

– What's going on out there now?

– They're walking out of the session.

At this time in the lab, the staff was removing the masks from Rutra and the scientist. Rutra, not waiting for all the Velcro to be removed, jumped up and looked in the mirror:

– Holy shit, I'm gonna dream about this.

Then Ruthra looked around the room and those present, the doctor climbing out of the rig, looked in the mirror again, and, stretching his words, repeated:

– So it's all true? Irene, do you have it all on tape?

– Yes, Comrade Commander.

Irene, used to Ruthra's turns of speech and jokes, could afford to talk to him that way, knowing that Ruthra liked it.

– So it's all true?

– Really, really," the doctor said, slowing down his words as he approached Rutra.

– You will be suspended from the experiments," Ruthra said in a stern yet friendly manner.

– I was so scared, you have no idea.

– What the hell are you doing?

– You should have added "mother of God."

Ruthra exhaled heavily: because of their friendship and running the project together, he had no desire to punish the scientist.

– Then go and explain your narcissism. You've gained a lot of control. I can tell you that much.

– No big deal, but it'll make you and the board believe it.

– Let's go, dreamer.

Already on the way to the hall Ruthra asked Irene:

– Irene, did you realize what was going on?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– Why didn't you tell me or the board what happened?

– You told me not to do that. A later inspection would have revealed it. At this point, I had to follow your orders. You set, in consultation with the council, first priority over all others to carry out your order. Only the group complex code of the chairman, the head of the security group and the master of the financial and economic block can disable your lockdown.

– I know that. Why are you telling me this?

– You didn't consider the mechanics of this situation. I knew your body had a different consciousness. I knew about the successful animal experiments. I controlled the entire process, only I couldn't make a decision on my own knowing that. The system is tuned to your DNA code and takes that password as top priority. That's what the doctor used. Your DNA is still there.

– So you didn't know about it, you didn't assume it?

– No, I didn't. I could calculate the possible options if the possibility of the outcome of the experiment was put into me.

– And he, it turns out, put in the impossibility… and that's why you didn't provide for that option?

– Yeah. (chuckles)

– There you go, darling. Here's the dirt on you. You should have alerted the security system. Otherwise, you basically accessed all the access systems through my DNA code.

– No way. Why would you suddenly prove my one hundred percent confidence in the positive outcome of an experiment?

– After you got the animals, you could change the data you entered.

– Why would I do that? How do I know if it would have worked or not?

– So, without knowing, you put my life, the life of the station's Chief Master, in danger?

– Well, I'm sorry, Your Majesty, at that moment, you weren't the Master Chief of Station to me. You were my colleague who developed part of the methodology, by the way.

– That was close. Let's see what you have to say to the board. Either way, you'll be under a lot of scrutiny. You knew all along.

– That's the whole point. You don't get it. You just keep talking and talking.

– I get it. Settle down. Genius, but still.

– I gave them food for the first stage so that they would approve a feast for the second and third.

– What's the third one?

– Flying and settling in there.

– Are you trying to make my program look like your own again?

– So go represent her yourself.

– Calm down. Come on in. I'll back you up.

They entered the conference room, the assistants put on their masks. The scientist, without saying hello, began his topic.