When did this happen? Peter was looking for a point of report on the death of the habitual world and directed his question to the Almighty Mind, if such still exists in the Universe. Who else would be able to give any answer? Ten seconds later, his doubts turned out to be extremely inappropriate and even blasphemous. Something inexplicable and unthinkable has happened. Suddenly, a violet ray, coming from nowhere, cut through the blue of the sky, drew a straight line, dividing the firmament in half, and then fell on the earths surface somewhere near the elusive horizon and drew gigantic signs on a huge icy rock:
2086, Yellowstone.
Kalinkin was speechless and silently gazed at the rock with the titanic epitaph on the dazzling white tomb monument of human civilization.
But the demonstration of power did not end there. In confirmation of the authenticity of the message, the higher powers, with the hand of an invisible artist, depicted right there, on a rock, the figure of a young slender woman in a dress of snow brocade, skirt and bodice, with ribbons and lace. Her gorgeous costume shimmered with snowflakes, buttons and silks. On his head is a huge wig, falling from his head to his chest like a frozen waterfall, and spreading abundantly on his shoulders. But the most amazing thing was waiting for Peter ahead. After a few seconds, the motionless drawing came to life with a leisurely, graceful gait, the lady easily glided across the invisible parquet, elegantly turning her head in his direction and smiling mysteriously. Looking at her classic, chiseled face and huge transparent eyes with icicles instead of black pupils, he almost fainted from what he saw, how unexpected, recognizable and at the same time completely impossible it was. The memory of her pierced him like lightning, and Peter remained in place, as if nailed, unable to move.
Thats how they go crazy Peter thought distantly, as if about someone else.
The Countess de Burlemont, his Daria, looked at him through the millennia.
CHAPTER 13. RESIDENCE. RF
Hello, Mr. President! Kalinkin was courteous and emphatically calm. He was comfortably seated in an armchair at the side table, facing the incoming person. A spacious room of yellow-olive shades, with two banners and the coat of arms of the Russian Federation on the wall. On the left, ten meters away, there is a huge monitor. Behind his back is a metal barrel on legs, the only new object in the setting, not counting the guest himself.
Who are you? How did you end up here? The Supreme Commander-in-Chief was seriously alarmed, if not surprised, to see a man in his office, protected from the outside world by all available means, from the construction of the labyrinth of the building itself, technical means of protection, to bodyguards and several sanitary cordons. Lost in his thoughts, he started in surprise. Despite the Chekist tempering and endurance gained thanks to considerable managerial experience, he did not expect to see anyone here.
A normal human reaction thought Peter.
To the alarm button placed under the black tabletop with a computer screen, and you need to take five more steps, but for some reason presidents legs refused to obey and grew into the light yellow parquet.
A terrorist attack? involuntarily, the most obvious explanation flashed through the brain for a person on the first line of fire, whose motorcade increased annually and this year reached seventy special vehicles, not counting helicopters, snipers and FSO operatives in the form of traffic police officers along the entire route. He fixed his imperious gaze on the newcomer, hoping to paralyze his will, as he brilliantly managed to do in a conversation at his favorite table with all sorts of governors there. Some government officials sweated mercilessly and were afraid to accidentally empty their bladder out of fear. But today the situation was reversed. However, the stranger has not yet made any sudden movements, no weapons were there were, and the president pulled himself together with an effort of will.
Five minutes ago, Peter Kalinkin flew over from ice France and woke up sitting in a time machine chair, on the monitor screen on July 12, 2024, Moscow time 16 hours 15 minutes. He turned off the unit by pressing the red button and waited. A smart machine moved him to the right point when the owner of the residence was already in public service to Novo-Ogarevo, or maybe to the Crimea, because the offices were identical, and the exact location of the first person of the state was a secret just in case, but in this particular case it did not work.
Peter gallantly invited the president to take his rightful place and put his hands on the table. He himself remained sitting, turning to the right, to the interlocutor, and immediately got down to business.
First of all, I do not pose any threat to you, but do not give any signs or commands, I am elusive. And listen, he asked rather hastily. Then he paused a little and began to speak more slowly, trying to be as convincing as possible. My name is Peter Kalinkin, from St. Petersburg, your hometown. Ill be brief. By the will of fate, I am rewarded with an extraordinary ability to move through time and space as I please. I found myself here, and this, I think, is the best proof of the truthfulness of my words.
The president nodded slightly, without taking his eyes off him, habitually assessing the personality and mental state of the interlocutor, a man of about thirty, professionally studied his face, the expression of blue eyes and the movement of lips during conversation.
Nothing betrays a mental patient in him, except the essence of his speeches, he thought.
The uninvited visitor was talking some nonsense, really nonsense, but the situation demanded: you need to listen, even express some interest, and then After all, these, there, behind the door, at the displays, must sooner or later figure out and take action. Therefore, it is necessary to wait and pretend that you are listening
I am invisible to tracking devices, Peter said firmly, sensing the interlocutors concern.
And this construction next to you is a time machine? with undisguised irony, the president supported the conversation for the first time and turned his eyes to a nondescript iron barrel with hoops on short metal legs, and thought: Of course, he is paranoid. But how did he get here?
I have no barriers, but the place was chosen by the time machine according to the cause-and-effect relationship. Peter didnt know how to read thoughts, but he caught this one.
Hearing the legal terms, the president smiled and really relaxed. The anxiety suddenly disappeared somewhere, and he again felt as usual, the master of the situation.
What do you see the connection in? he asked politely. It was really curious: what would this decently dressed citizen in a black suit from Keaton answer? By a mocking coincidence, the owner of the office was wearing exactly the same, even speckled ties, even a wristwatch of the same brand, only on the other, right hand. The mirror image, similar to a challenge, was alarming and at the same time distressing.
I think the importance of the information that I am simply obliged to convey to you, taking into account your unlimited powers in Russia and your influence in the world. This is without flattery.
The presidents face remained impenetrable.
What kind of information?
The world, the whole planet is in terrible danger, a catastrophe. I have just come from there and saw everything with my own eyes: there is no Paris, there is reason to believe that the whole of France and even Europe perished under a layer of ice!
The president thought for a while, and then, as if for the record, said:
The Russian leadership pays great attention to climate problems together with the leading world powers and international organizations. Recently I had to express my point of view on these issues in my interview, including global warming and permafrost in Siberia.
Having finished the sentence, he made a meaningful pause and looked at his counterpart, as if looking for his support and a proper assessment of his words. And he thought irritably:
Its already been fifteen minutes, how much longer do I have to act here? Burdocks!
That is why I am addressing you, Mr. President!
And what is the source of the danger? the guarantor asked in a completely businesslike way.
Yellowstone supervolcano. Located in Wyoming, USA. It will explode in 2086, hundreds of millions will die, the climate will change irreversibly on the planet, dust will eclipse the atmosphere from the suns rays, a long cold snap will come, ice will erase the civilization of the twenty-first century, chaos will come.
In every phrase, in every word of Kalinkin, genuine anxiety sounded. The President listened without interrupting and continued to analyze what he had heard:
Lets assume for a moment that this is true. The terrible truth. But there is no proof! Am I referring to this subject as a source!? And how relevant is it now, in the period of integration of the country after reconciliation, because sixty years are ahead And then, it directly concerns America our business partners, friends of our enemies, and those who have property and investments there. Even if I inform the US president about this, it will not bring any dividends to either Russia or its leadership. But the Western media will easily laugh at me, my image will suffer, and the trust rating will undoubtedly fall
Peter looked at the president and tried to get into the course of his reasoning, but he clearly failed. Hoping for real support in the name of humanity, he did not expect much gratitude for himself personally, but hoped for unconditional interest in such a serious issue and empathy for a caring, responsible citizen of his country.
Yes, thanks for the warning. Saving the people is one of the main tasks in Russia. The consistent fight against poverty and international terrorism is important, these are our priorities. I have already stated this from the rostrum of the economic forum, he heard. And if your information is reliable, I recommend contacting the US presidential administration directly, without intermediaries. After all, as you noted, this is THEIR volcano. And I will call the volcanologists at our Academy of Sciences, and I will instruct them to thoroughly study this issue. After all, we are on the same planet and have already defeated the pandemic!
The President smiled triumphantly: he masterfully, skillfully handled a difficult situation, gave a concrete answer to an inadequate person and managed to protect himself and, consequently, the entire Russian government and inviolability from a tragic, ridiculous accident. However, so far none of these oafs from the security service has even made an attempt to protect him, he must do everything himself, everything himself After thinking about it, he decided that a certain benefit from the supposedly unlimited possibilities of this type can still be tried to extract:
Tell me, can you describe the situation in the world, say, in a year?
What exactly is meant? Kalinkin tensed.
The president looked at Peter with cunning and evasively, unhurriedly, they say you know, clarified:
Territories of military conflicts, the cost of oil, stock prices of large American companies, the ruble exchange rate in the end! By doing this, you will be able to provide invaluable assistance to our state
While waiting for an answer, the owner of the office looked at his watch, and then calmly shifted his gaze to Peter. He understood everything, turned around and abruptly closed the door of the barrel. The device is working. A minute later, sitting in the chair of the time machine, he was already typing icons for a trip to the White House in Washington.
Ill think about it, Kalinkin replied, maintaining the dialogue and not looking at the president, trying to buy him much needed time. Native penates have already become uninteresting to him. Disappearing into the wormhole, he did not even have time to say goodbye. Ugh, Peter, how uncultured
The president was in thought for a few seconds, then pressed the intercom button and calmly said:
The head of security call to me
CHAPTER 14. THE OVAL OFFICE
Returning from a meeting with the president, Peter struggled to understand what exactly caused his distrust, or rather, misunderstanding in a conversation with the first person of America. Whether due to sound skepticism, or due to old age, the news of a catastrophe of universal scale did not cause the owner of the Oval Office not only an acute, but even a visible reaction. The owner sat in an armchair at a large table a gift from Queen Victoria to President Hayes in 1880. Peter modestly sat opposite in the same black suit from Keaton, next to the time machine, and looked around curiously, involuntarily comparing his impressions with the sensations of meeting with the first person of Russia. The whole atmosphere of the conversation in this world-famous hall with a ceiling at least five meters high, artfully draped with gold curtains, windows and numerous doors, parquet covered with a blue oval carpet, in the center of which the American coat of arms was emblazoned, inspired calm confidence and conservatism in traditions and views. After completing his brief statement, Peter waited for an answer, but the president was in no hurry to express his attitude to what he heard. Surprise? Shock? It seemed to Kalinkin that no event could shake the psychological Aikido developed over decades, inherent in a wise man and an experienced politician. What can not be said about taste and political views. Taking office in early 2021, the Democrat installed busts of figures symbolizing progress in his office: Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy He also hung portraits of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, outlining continuity as his political credo. There is also a moonstone, a tribute to the American space program, science and the American dream. The pause lasted for a good five minutes, and Peter had the opportunity to adequately appreciate all the splendor of the interior and the taste of its creators. Of course, he did not know in the face of these outstanding figures of America, looking with some arrogance at an uninvited guest from canvases and pedestals, guarding the tranquility of the owner his office guardian spirits.
Finally, after a sleepy reflection of the interlocutor, in response to his rather emotional story (of course, in good American English), he received a leisurely and verified message in his formulations, which boils down to the following:
If Im not mistaken, in 2007, during the presidency of George W. Bush, we created a special scientific council for the study of Yellowstone. The volcano began to be seriously studied by the best American geophysicists and seismologists. Even intelligence officers and the US Secretary of Defense joined the work. Meetings were held every month, which were personally chaired by the President. But as far as I know, by now scientists have come to the conclusion that the information about the impending catastrophe has been significantly exaggerated. But even if you believe such forecasts, many questions involuntarily arise. For example, why is there so little talk about this in the press and on television? The fact is that the United States Government has recognized that it is inappropriate to cover this topic, since humanity is unable to prevent the impending catastrophe. Moreover, creating panic and rocking the boat there are so many challenges and problems in modern society. By the way, the UN has supported and approved our position.