Passengers look at the rights. Said the rough male voice of the captain. He also works as a driver. This is the palace of our dictator Mirte. May his reign be eternal.
Well be there soon. Maria finally spoke up. So you need to shave. She got everything she needed for the occasion. Yourself or I can help.
Myself. I can take a beard pill without help. You didnt think I was using this junk. I took the electric razor and threw it on the floor. Who do they take me for? For the cave dweller. Such devices have not been used for fifty years. Then he took a pill. The hair on my beard began to fall out. Convenient thing. Although after it and dizzy. But not for long, five minutes.
Now he will take you. Maria laughed, but then she said seriously. And maybe not executed. You have a long tongue. In all senses.
I argue, did not. All my life my character has let me down. Maybe even more silent. Even though I cant live like this.
In the distance I saw him. Rulers Palace. The most beautiful building Ive ever seen, apart from spilled condensed milk on a naked cheerleader in my hotel room. All white, he was supposed to inspire awe. He coped with this task. High under two hundred floors. How long will the dictator have to fall if I throw him off. These thoughts made me smile. Mary got it all wrong.
I like the palace. I fell right in love with him. Built in just a year. under his personal supervision.
How many people died on the construction of this sarcophagus?
No more than a hundred for sure. Although ten designers were shot after. They put toilets next to the kitchen. And he doesnt like it. I was there only once. When my hero received a referral to you.
What is a hundred people for such a yes? All of you are the same. Office rats. I said, seeing how she winced. I wanted to kiss my nose. It hurts, hes cute. But he didnt. Although you are the cutest of rats. I would take you in a cage to live with me.
If you ask well, I can and will agree. She winked at me. No wonder they say that people with a normal psyche do not go to such bodies. Especially in the twenty-second century.
Fortunately, we drove up, and the conversation ended there. Her obsession with me scared me. I knew such fans. At first, everything goes smoothly with them. But as they get to know me better, scandals suit me. All of them are wrong. Not according to their stupid fantasies. For now, though, its good for me. I can speak freely with her. Still wont give up. If you wanted me for such words, they would have been thrown into space long ago.
Near the palace we were met by an old bald butler in a tailcoat. There was no security. Although it was not required. To enter the palace, we passed three checkpoints. Such a barrier to resistance will not pass. They dont even try. They are waiting.
I welcome you guests of the Palace of Justice and Happiness. I am his butler Sergey Dedul. He smiled happily and bowed. Great person. Our support and protection awaits you. You, dear Maria, are waiting on the first floor in the bar. He wants to talk to our guest Yuri in private. If so, Ill let you know. And you will get another appointment.
Ill be waiting for your arrival. Maria kissed me on the cheek and went to the palace. Then she turned on the white marble stairs and said. My hero. Survive. Then she quickly left.
The butler just shrugged. Apparently he didnt care. There are many guests like me. Leaving less. He walked forward with his brisk gait. I followed him. I thought that the palace of such a dictator would look like a dark crypt with torture chambers and gallows. But no, inside there were people in beach clothes. The first floor reminded me more of a simple resort hotel. Nice music played. There are no screams and groans. Although there are enough of them in the basements. As I heard. Although I live in the provinces, I have access to the dark Internet.
The nice girl at the reception desk smiled at us and said while straightening her purple hair.
Oh, new guest. Do you want a room with a view of the statue of the ruler or the sea?
Hes not on vacation. He is his guest.
Said grandfather pointing fingers up. Who does this dictator take himself for? He aims too high. I touched the piece of metal in my hand behind my sleeve. Good. I hid a small ice pick while we were driving. Maybe today will be his last day. How good life will be.
Thats good. Elevator to the left. You know the password.
Ill figure it out somehow. Said the old man.
We went to the elevator. Portraits of the dictator in various poses were everywhere. A statue describing his exploits. How he disgusts me. Three years of his reign is the worst time in my life. But then the elevator with pleasant music reached the two hundredth floor. We went along a long narrow white corridor. It was empty. White carpets, white doors. Everything is white. Whats in this guys head.
Heres your door.
The old man said as he stopped at a door without a sign. The main thing is not to be rude to him. He is strict. But he loves to talk. So good luck. He left and waved at the elevator. The door closed behind him. I was left alone. Fear ran down my back. I will see him. Even the thought alone is scary. He is the destroyer of millions. Appeared out of nowhere three years ago. Seized power. Keeps everyone oppressed. Beast, not man. I took a deep breath and entered. Didnt knock. Much honor for such carrion.
Peace be upon you hero Yuri. Said the old man in the red tunic. He was exactly like in the portraits. Domineering. Proud. Nasty. Slippery. An animal in human form.
Yes, Mirta. I came. I started getting closer. The room was basic. Only a desk and two chairs. The window is open, behind it is a balcony. Here is my goal. For your soul. I quickly approached him. He took out a knife and plunged it into his heart. Sparks went out of him. He turned out to be an android. He fell, I began to rejoice and beat him with my feet. This is the end of you creature.
Bravo Yuri. Said a female voice. Thats how I imagined our meeting. The lady appeared out of thin air. You can see a masking field on it. I am Mirte, the real and the only one. But in order not to glow, I chose this prototype. As you can see it is easy to replace. Another android entered the room.
But how? You were our Minister of Education Elena Sidorovich. Support of the Republic. How could you betray her ideals.
Shes rotten from the inside. Only in this way could we escape the invasion of the galactic council. And their Enturian slaves. Corpse-eater races. Upon learning of the presidents betrayal, I removed him. He wanted to make a contract with him to sell people. They would eat them. Here are the bastards. I missed the first batch of three hundred million. But she couldnt take it anymore. Every restaurant in the galaxy is filled with people. Such horror.
But your methods are no better. Many people were killed.
Whom? Tell me at least one last name.
Well. I hesitated. People disappeared. But I didnt know where. I didnt see any bodies either. I do not know. But they certainly were. I think so. I only saw how the bags were taken out of the cells. I did not see the bodies themselves.
Youre a fool. All prisoners are sent to the planet Paradise. There they live in paradise and are happy.
And what about my torture. I showed the scar on the right leg from the overseers iron.
Its all in your head. There is no scar. And torture in reality too. It was all holograms for you to confess. My new way of interrogation. Look. They came up to me. She took out the device and ran it over her leg. The scar is gone. Here you see. Nice hologram. But it goes away with the emission of these impulsive waves. I found the technology during an archaeological expedition to Mars many years ago. But the government banned its development. Here are the fools. The old republic disgusts me.
But how can that be? I was completely dumbfounded and confused words. All I thought about was the dictator of the lodges. Even who he is. This woman is my ideal in life. My idol. She saved us all from war for many years. Fight for equality and justice. I personally voted for her in the elections. But she lost them. Maybe everything was set up. The world appeared before me in its true light. Recovering a little, I said. Elena, why did you call me? I will do everything for you. You know I voted for you.
I was very upset when our football team was kicked out of the galaxy championship. I always liked him. My late husband loved watching it. This is his memory. I gave a lot of bribes for this. But we were allowed into the final part of the championship. Only three games and we are in the semi-finals. This will be announced tomorrow. But there was a condition. Another team will go from us. I have decided that you will be his coach. The team is waiting for you at the training camp. I chose the players myself. Nearly. They are all nice guys. There are ladies too. Dont hate them.
I will do anything for you, I repeated. Is there a car waiting for me downstairs? Correctly?
Yes. And let Mary go with you. She is your team captain. The girl plays well and is faithful to me. She saw my doubtful faces and continued. Dont worry, she played football. And most importantly Yuri. Dont tell anyone who I am. I nodded and started walking towards the exit. By the way, champion. Stop writing nasty things about me under the pseudonym Champ88. It hurts me to read that I am an old and bald grandfather. She smiled a beautiful smile. Ladies under fifty. Otherwise, you will be my first person to be executed personally.
I took a sip and left. Maybe shes not as kind as I thought. The elevator played a familiar tune. I recognized her. This is the anthem of the Ministry of Education. Everything came together in my head. The face of a dictator is a collective image of the rulers of the past. Maria met me on the first floor near the bar. A young boy in short black swimming trunks, with the body of an athlete, was clearly rolling up to her. She didnt like it.
The lady is with me. Puppy aside. I said proudly. I am the coach of the national team. Dreamed about it all my life. Wings appeared on my back. I can fly straight.
Who said that? He turned around. Big boo. Head above me. He is from new people. With altered DNA. Bred specifically for the war with the council.
Dont fight boys. Ill go with the hero. And you, Petya, go while youre safe. She took a small blaster out of her purse. When he saw him, he backed away and plunged into the pool. Everyone laughed. Lets go faster before he realizes its not loaded.
She and I ran to the car at the entrance. Lets go to the space port. These are the adventures that await me. After all, managing a team is a difficult task. Especially the new team. With such a captain.
Chapter 2 Training
What do you say, does the coach like the base? Asked Maria when we flew to the base on Mars.
Good base I said. It looks like a lot of money was spent on it. Everything is new and clean. New lawn. Its too bad that this money was wasted. We are unlikely to win at least one game.
Cheer up coach. The most interesting is ahead. Ill introduce you to the team. She took me to the field. It all started there. Two teams played a match. Some are in red t-shirts, others are in blue. Everyone is young and beautiful. Lots of ladies. What made me happy. They are beautiful, I can walk with them. Thats what Ive always done with the team. Once even with a nurse was. These memories make me smile. The team thought I was glad to meet you. Heres a bunch of nerds. Yes, I and my team in the best years of ten zero would have beaten them. But many friends no longer exist. Exiled for political remarks. Some died from anabolic steroids. Sports do not tolerate weakness.
I sat in the head coachs chair. People came to meet me. Then I gave the order and they continued the game. It is clear that they played poorly. Only Nilova played well. I was approached by an assistant coach and my friend from the national team. Defender Pedro Liones. Not a bad player. But badass.
Hi, friend. What do you think of their game?
To tell you honestly or lie. I said laughing. A friend handed me a bottle of kvass. We went nuts.
Dont be hard on them. The best who is. And most importantly. He said in my ear. Not involved in political activities. Well, except for the captain. But she is a beautiful girl and the judges like her. We might skip.
They will definitely let us in. Will they throw stones at us? For the fact that we attacked the Casiopeans and captured their fleet. Some of the planets even.
Well, this galactic council is quite insolent. They want us to live the way they want. But we are patriots. And they had rights to these planets and ships.
Youre a patriot Pedro. I laughed. I myself caught him reading forbidden literature in the locker room. Even in the best years of the republic, there was a lot of such waste paper. The intrigues of the galactic brainwashing council. As a result, it is clear that they succeeded. Everyone went crazy.
When its beneficial. I left the team. He spent three years in a colony. Made a team there. Won the championship between the colonies. Mirte personally chose me. He knows that I dont want to go back and I will obey him in everything. Yuri we live in a world that is so unlike ours before. Everything was simple there. Now everything is difficult. Any word and you are the enemy. Although you might not even want to. He closed his eyes, apparently remembering his prison years. Be careful. There are a lot of scammers here.
I already understood that. But lets talk about the team. How are you training them?
Five three two. The simplest scheme. We have two hitters. Nilova and Mess. He insisted on such a scheme. Its hard to argue with him. Maybe you can curb him. I could not. Let me introduce you to him better. He raised his hand and a tall man in his twenties approached us. New growth of DNA of the changed people. The pride of the new administration.
Was your name Pedro? He said in a hoarse voice.
Coach Gromov wants to talk about tactics. You dont listen to me.
The two-meter strong man looked at me with obvious surprise. They are born with a sense of their superiority over ordinary people.
I appreciated your game and Ill tell you right away. You suck. There is no defense at all. Attack not played. Youre pulling the blanket too much on yourself. Nilova could score several times. But you didnt pass. Im changing your position on the field. You are now a central midfielder.
How so. I am the best player on the team. Nilova cannot run fast like me and I have a three percent more accurate shot.
This is my decision. Do not argue. I said loudly so that everyone could hear, because on the field everyone played at half strength listening to our conversation. Who will argue with me will not get a place in the base for the next match. So decide for yourself.
Good coach. The strong man said and began to leave. A tambourine about yourself. I wont leave it like that. The dictator will know about it. He himself chose me as an attacker.
Well you built it. Thats how it should be with them. Its good that you are with us. We may have a chance. They are like children. These altered ones are maturing quickly. He is only two years old. Here he is behaving like a child. But with him we have a chance.
I doubt it. I laughed. We are good friends. But I cant do miracles.
So the day passed. My requirement was met and the team played at the level of my yard team. Well, there is still time. But the opponent wont give us a chance.
Okay guys. Thats all for today. Rest until tomorrow. But no nonsense.