Chepenko Evgenia
Notes on the "Tailed Star"
1. great writer
"... - You are my life, my soul, my love. Without you, the future loses its meaning.
With these words, he embraced Cathy and kissed her passionately, tenderly, as a man truly in love can kiss.
I looked up from my book and sniffled. How beautifully Cole writes about love. What words do her heroes say, their nobility, upbringing, pride. I sighed and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, my cheeks starting to itch from the salt water. The stomach churned. Wow! I didn't notice at all when I started crying. It is a pity to part with the novel, but fate is calling.
I allowed myself another five minutes to swim in the spacious ocean of dreams and fantasies, then returned to the cruel reality. Judging by the clock, there was no more than forty minutes of sleep left. Here are the green trees! This again managed to read so well!
I got up from my chair, straightened my stiff limbs, went up to the table, pressed a button on the luminous panel of the remote control, the curtain near the transparent wall moved aside. Orange dawn glimmered behind the glass. Since the indefinite strike of public utilities workers ended, it has even become beautiful.
The city below was seething. Cars rushed along the three-tiered highway. Trains were dropping off and picking up passengers. People crowded at bus stops, sidewalks, footbridges. The snow that had accumulated during the night had already melted a little and mixed with mud, forming a black-gray coating on horizontal surfaces, as always happens in mid-January. And if the trade unions of the road workers do not stop their strike immediately, then by tomorrow, taking into account the forecast of meteorologists, the whole city will be in one big traffic jam, and as a result, people will pour into the subway. The pressure is guaranteed. Brr.
It got a little uncomfortable. I winced. Almost five years had passed since she left the position of personnel manager, but she preferred not to return to the memories of the majestic subway during peak hours. I loved the smell of the subway, its halls, trains, but only when there was an opportunity to turn around and look around, and not at those moments when you get into the car and take out from there, practically without moving a single limb, and you ride with someone all the way something under the arm, and not always clean. Some things don't change for centuries.
An ambulance streaked across the top floor. Few made way for her. I sighed. No. There are definitely no good fellows left in this world.
The laptop beeped for a video call. Someone decided that it was time for Svetik to get up. I glanced at the time. Wow! It turns out reflections on life took more than half an hour. Pressed connect. On the screen appeared the face of Lisa, my editor, slightly slowed down by the distance.
Hello! Great writer. Got up?
Got up. I sighed.
That is great. Well, how? Did you collect everything?
Yes. - Just in case, I glanced at the suitcase in the middle of the bed, which I filled so diligently yesterday according to the list. Unfortunately, the rest of the room was absolute chaos.
Documentation?
Telephone?
Laptop?
You are talking about him.
Oh! Well, don't forget. How many times did you go through the list?
Class. What am I calling. You leave early. Yaroslav told me now that the trains are running with a delay. Well, did you hear about the explosion yesterday?
I got lost.
No-no. What explosion?
Wow! Haven't watched the news yet?
All clear with you. - Lizka from the other side of the screen waved her hand at me. - In short, two wagons went off the rails. Nothing serious, the guys can't do anything serious for a long time. Thank you FSB people. Passengers have a maximum of bruises, bruises and the like. But the schedule was spoiled capitally. There was confusion all night. So, let's not sit there too long for coffee.
Okay. Thank you Liz - My face seemed to have taken on a preoccupied look, judging by the way my friend wagged her finger playfully.
You, Light, most importantly, do not bother too much. If you miss your flight, call me, I'll arrange the next one for you. After all, the ticket isn't going anywhere. No one will take your place in the hotel.
OK. Lizok! Thank you. You have always been my salvation.
Well, everyone! Let's. Happy holidays! Walk properly! So that five years ahead.
I laughed.
Fine! Bye.
Bye. - She passed out. The window darkened and rolled up.
I hurried to the kitchen. Yaroslav, Lizkin's husband, just won't wag. If he said things with the schedule are bad, so it is. Better early. You have to sleep on the ship.
The coffee maker whirred and poured sweet coffee with cream into the cup. I took out pita bread, smeared it with mayonnaise and began to chew while standing, feverishly going through the list of things for the vacation in my brain. This is the third run.
My eyes fell on a colorful brochure printed a week ago, promising heavenly pleasures in a comfortable hotel and an unforgettable safari through the wild jungles of Kedrovka.
From the textbook "Planetary science. Grade 5."
Kedrovka - the fourth planet solar system in the constellation...
Main stream economic development- tourism, forestry industry. Population - immigrants who migrated in the middle of the twenty-first century from the Earth. Indigenous population - absent. Flora, fauna - specific. Until now, scientists are arguing about the recognition of certain types of vegetation as intelligent ...
She carefully packed the laptop into a suitcase, slipped into a T-shirt, jeans, a sweatshirt with a hood, a jacket in record time, wrapped a scarf over it. She grabbed the keys from the table and flew out into the corridor like a bullet. The elevator doors silently launched me into their insides and, a moment later, let me out almost as silently. The concierge downstairs, paying tribute to traditions - an elderly, blind-sighted granny, affably nodded goodbye to me.
How long are you leaving us?
For two and a half weeks. - I smiled. Are the holidays starting?
Happy to rest. And come - right after new book?
Yeah. - I smiled.
Grandmother bent down conspiratorially.
If it's not a secret, do you have any ideas?
Nastasya Andreevna, having received valuable information, nodded her head in understanding. I exhaled in relief. Of course, there were no new ideas in my head. For five years, she was so devastated that Lizka decided to give me a legal vacation.
I walked out of the hall, the unpleasant smell of pavement shampoo and the rumble hit my nose. Familiar signs of the awakened big city. I started looking around for a taxi, the car was in a paid parking lot since yesterday. The taxi driver was found surprisingly quickly. The price, of course, is sky-high - who would doubt it - but it was more important to catch the flight.
The warning came in handy, the train, on which I took the ticket, was late, a direct transit to the spaceport. So I sat for forty minutes at the station at the exit, right on the suitcase, because there were no other places. But already in the car I found a place and drove almost comfortably, I bought heated coffee in the machine and, while drinking, I bought another four in reserve, I don’t know why, you never know the overlays in life with my luck, plus a couple of bottles of water.
However, everything went on like clockwork. Downright amazing! I went through the check-in, scanned my luggage, then safely completed the boarding and - voila! - my legal single junior suite number thirty-nine. I put my simple luggage under the bed and began to look around for disposable underwear. Fly on a high-speed to Kedrovka for a day. A flight attendant in a stupid green uniform stuck her head in the door.
Get your tickets ready, I'll deliver the linen! - And quickly disappeared, apparently not expecting a polite answer.
Well tickets, so tickets, I muttered. - And, quickly pulling out the last ones from the bottom of her pocket, she sat down on the bed in anticipation. Twenty minutes later the girl reappeared.
Let's.
I held out a plastic proof of the legality of the presence on board. The stone-faced stewardess checked the barcode.
Svetlana Shmeleva. So. Here is your underwear. - With a gesture of a magician, she took out from behind her back, as it turned out there was a cart hiding there, a plastic bag with a crystal white filling and casually threw it to me.
Thank you. - I said through my teeth.
And why do you want to spit from their politeness?
You're welcome. - With no less affection, she said and disappeared into the corridor. I happily slammed the door and began to crawl. You should sleep.
The ship jerked and began to move. Ten minutes of buzzing, rattling and shaking, no matter what anyone claims, but no noise isolation and artificial gravity can save you from the inconvenience of leaving the atmosphere, but then smooth movement and silence.
I reached into the top pocket of my suitcase, took out a box of a universal phrase book and began to deal with the instructions.
So. "Open package". I opened it. "Remove device". Extracted. "Enable. Set default language. (See page 12)". Well, they did it to me in the salon! What's next then? "Remove the protective film from the adhesive surface." Where? A. Found. Withdrew. "Carefully insert into the auricle. Attention: do not insert deeply!" Ha, a note for idiots, where without it. I went to the mirror and placed a miniature flesh-colored device in my right ear, more like a millimeter-wide piece of plaster. Further? "The phrasebook turns on and off automatically when picking up speech other than the default." Great. Well, like everything. I looked in the mirror again, smoothed my hair so that my ear was not visible at all. Although the phrasebook was already not noticeable. Great.
Finally, all the inconveniences of shaking and noise are left behind.
Here it is, as they say, open space. Let's go to rest! Hello thinking cedar groves safari and sunbathing by the pool. Until then sleep. I stretched out on the narrow pull-out bed, closed my eyes, and tried to relax.
Stomach growled treacherously. It started to get tiring. For all the worries, she did not pay attention to her stomach at all, and he demanded food, and preferably quickly. I sighed. Trees are green!
Sleep will have to be postponed. Got up. She pulled the key card from the table and dragged herself to the third floor to the buffet. There must be something edible...
Of the edible were only pies with potatoes. OK. With potatoes, so potatoes. I took sweet tea, two pies and settled down at a table near the porthole.
I had almost finished my unplanned lunch when a young woman, a buffet worker, sat down next to me.
Excuse me, but are you by any chance a writer?
Accidentally yes.
Svetlana Shmeleva?
Well, that's what the parents decided.
The barmaid nodded happily and beamed. One could answer no, but now PR is PR. The more friendly I will be, the more readers.
How about an autograph?
I also nodded, melancholy chewing on a pie. It is a pity that I, as a carnivorous creature, did not find meat.
The barmaid fished out of her pocket, apparently prepared in advance, a notepad and a pen and held them out. While I was diligently deducing the nominal dedication, I was asked about the already published books. I responded on autopilot. Suddenly, my interlocutor clung to the table and whispered.
Do you want more pie? - And conspiratorially added. - Belyash.
I thought I couldn't be surprised anymore. No. It turned out to be possible.
Of course I want! I leaned back.
She nodded triumphantly and stood up. Meanwhile, I scanned the degree of my satiety and, based on the results, decided to become impudent.
Are there two?
The girl smiled and nodded again. I seem to be lit up with happiness and gratitude, because a couple of minutes later, I received my predatory dinner, seasoned with kind smiles. And three minutes later, four armed men in masks burst into the cafe and pointed half of their weapons at me.
2. Abduction
Frankly, I choked, and then remained sitting with a full mouth.
Get up! - The front commanded me. Senior what? In general, I never considered myself a damned dangerous person - short, thin, did not study martial arts - so I looked around just in case. And what? Suddenly behind a couple of tough commandos. But there was no one there, except for the gray, frightened faces of visitors and staff. I shrugged my shoulders in disbelief and stood up.
Go out! - They spoke with an accent. OK. Came out. What's next?
Two thugs lowered their guns and, briskly jumping up to me, grabbed me by the arms.
Hey! - For some reason, the thought came to mind that if this is an abduction, they will not feed. I rushed to the table and grabbed the second belyash. The men twitched, but when they saw the pie, they relaxed and, apparently for edification, they tangibly poked me in the back.
Cool in men, however, lexicon.
I obediently moved my feet and chewed. In the corridor we were met by a tall, imposing man in a mask. Yes, my escorts are just kids compared to this! Here he is the main one.
We took her. - Briefly threw one of the four to the giant. Of course, I didn’t understand what he hissed and whistled there, but the device helpfully whispered the translation into my ear. Out of habit, I twitched, which attracted attention.
Another palpable kick in the back followed.
Hey! Now that was too much! It hurts!
To the ship. The giant stepped forward. And then it dawned on me.
My luggage!
What? - The chief was confused.
Like what! - I started to appear out of place. - Well, these are Russian space lines. Now I won't be here! And then look for documents, fistula with the wind in the field! Who will restore them to me? A?
I was kicked in the back again. I turned to the owner of the heavy hand.
You gorilla-like bastard! It hurts!
The guard unceremoniously repeated the blow. Unflappable gorilla.
Key! - Chief pulled me an open hand. Of course, I am impudent, but I confess I did not count on such a concession. Surprise must have been reflected on my face, because under the mask my eyes narrowed, and wrinkles crawled from them to the sides. Like, well, made me laugh, mother!
He was still waiting. I hurriedly nodded my head at my right jeans pocket. He carefully removed the plastic rectangle and disappeared from view. The subordinates still unceremoniously dragged me to the emergency docking hatch. Aha! These bastards used the technique of rescuers. And I'm still wondering why they slipped so quietly.
One of the thugs disconnected the netbook from the opened video surveillance panel. It's clear how they ended up in the dining room instead of breaking into the cabin.
I was escorted through the docking airlock to the kidnapper ship. As far as it was possible to make out through the murky portholes, it was a mercenary ship, as indicated by the symbols painted in several places on the hull, and this pleased. Of course, even in the buffet I guessed by the masks, but it's always nice to get confirmation. It's a pity you can't make out the belonging of the ship from here.
Mercenaries are good! There will be no murder or self-mutilation for you. Kidnapping, most likely for ransom. Otherwise, he is inscribed with a writer of romance novels for women? Writing history, right? Too bad if they were hired by an interplanetary terrorist group, the avengers. These guys will send me to Earth in parts. Fifty years ago this was practiced. I shivered. Brr. Not a bad thing now, all the more so it is unlikely, "revenge" in terms of explosions, terrorist attacks, sabotage there, they have not been doing the rest for a long time.
As a last resort, if the fuses ordered me, I will try to outbid. The woman is not poor.
While I was thinking, I was led through the corridors. I was surprised to pay attention to the rather strange design of the ship. Although it might seem. They put me in a small cabin, compared to junior suite number thirty-nine, it's just a luxurious room in a great hotel. Looking up, she stumbled and almost fell onto the bed. The masked men stepped out and the door slammed shut on the other side. I took a deep breath and sat down on the only chair in the middle of the room.
The nerves that had haunted me all the previous night, although I was only flying to a resort, were silent now, when fate was doing a swift somersault with the abduction. An invincible calm spread through his body. Well, okay! I will eat whites.
I dug my teeth into the soft, completely cooled dough due to the efforts of the thieves and began to chew evenly, looking around.
So clean, white, cozy. Only the furniture is screwed to the floor. Why did it happen?
Suddenly the door swung open, and a giant appeared in the opening with my red suitcase.
Thanks. - I muttered, about to ask a couple of questions, but, to my misfortune, he calmly turned around and left. However, he returned rather quickly. I just had time to wipe my greasy hands with wet wipes.
You are a hostage.
And then I do not stick. - I blurted out. You need to be more polite. He shrugged his shoulders indifferently, unceremoniously clung to my left hand and fastened the clasp of the bracelet. Wow! I looked at the toy in surprise. These are worn by guys with a suspended sentence. High-strength heat-resistant plastic plus a sensor with a detection radius of five kilometers, this is if in open space, and if in its inhabited parts, where amplifiers float, you can’t hide it. Such a thing does not burn and does not rot. In which case, only dust will remain of me and this toy.
All your movements will be known. The captain confirmed my suspicions. And the fact that he was the captain was no longer in doubt. Painfully impressive or something, solid and gives orders from right to left. - Here is the key to the cabin. In half an hour you will be handed over to the customer.
Ezhkin cat! And this is fucking badass! Very!
Who is the customer? - I squeaked. Now the nerves have made themselves felt.
- "Revenge" - The captain shrugged indifferently. For some reason, I looked at my fingers, long, thin, so graceful. Horrible! Soon they won't be. The kidnapper, too, turned his back on my hands. It's a pity you can't see behind the mask what he's thinking. While I was figuring out the features of the face, the captain stood up.
Stop. How much were you paid?
He turned around curiously.
I will pay more. - I continued.
It is unlikely.
The issue is not discussed. - The door was closed.
I looked at the bracelet and the key. Crap! Crap! Panic. What to do? What to do? Half an hour! She flung open the door. At the entrance stood a young man in a mask. I hastily closed it. We must call for help! Exactly!
I rushed to the bag, but there was no phone or modem there. Freaks! The suitcase was searched. I began to swear heart-rendingly, trying to think sensibly at the same time. Only, alas, nothing more or less useful came to mind. I rushed to the exit. He seems to have said I can move around.
Hey! Succubus! Where is your Captain?
"Succubus" glared at me indifferently.
The captain said not to let you near him.
And the deputy?
The captain told you not to let anyone near you.
Look, you can't talk to the captain for me, I...
The captain told me not to talk to you.
Oh! Damn you, infection!
I rushed down the corridor at a run, hoping to find someone with whom I could negotiate. And why the hell did you so naively assume that I would have enough time to persuade? Spoiled child of civilization! How long have we not maimed people! (Well, except for plastic surgery.) I will be one of the first in the last half century! The youngster kept slapping me imperturbably with a machine gun at the ready. Heavy, old-fashioned combat boots thudded on the floor.
Sometimes I came across oncoming guys, also, by the way, in masks, but as soon as I rushed to them, they shied away. So she spent the measured half an hour, dangling around someone else's ship and achieving nothing.
Suddenly, a siren wailed. The succubus grabbed me by the collar, dragged me to the cabin and, having taken away the key, locked me inside.
As time went. I was completely lost in conjectures, ran around the cabin from corner to corner and wrung my hands helplessly, looking at the time.
Finally, when the waiting began to seem absolutely unbearable, they remembered me. Although it may be more correct to say they forgot. Without explaining anything, my friend Succubus appeared in the doorway, threw the key on the bed and disappeared. I took the plastic card in shock and looked out the door. Nobody! Only my bracelet winks a friendly green eye. Wow!
I cautiously stepped out the door. Compared to the mercenary army boots, my wonderful rubber-soled suede boots, which I spent a lot of money on last fall, did not make any sound when walking. So I crept down the corridor silently and at random. Now the logic somehow started to work and I got to the cabin. And then, quite impolitely, she hid behind the door in the corridor. The captain's voice was already familiar to me. But others are not. A whisper in my ear helped a lot.
What now, captain? - Yeah. Guessed!
All according to plan. Let's go shopping.
And a hostage.
I have not decided yet.
But so much money was spent on the operation!
Captain, how about a ransom? Now that the avengers' ship has been destroyed. - Offered an invisible third. What? So what the heck! I indecently lowered my elbow down and whispered with my lips: yes! However, there was silence there.
Maybe ... - Finally held out my smart brute. - In the end, we did not violate the agreement with the Union. The prisoner is safe and sound. But we have the opportunity to try to solve a long-standing problem. Who is she there? Why did the avengers need that they were ready to give their own for her?
I stuck out my lower lip behind the wall. No. Of course, I did not expect that harsh men read my books. In general, it was not worth hoping for. But still, somehow, there was a glimmer of hope that at least they knew in advance who they were stealing! After all, everyone on Earth has heard of me. With the Internet, this is nowhere. I wonder why the fuses gave someone of their own for me? And it turns out I'm a valuable person!
Chepenko Evgenia
Notes on the "Tailed Star"
1. Great writer
"... - You are my life, my soul, my love. Without you, the future loses its meaning.
With these words, he embraced Cathy and kissed her passionately, tenderly, as a man truly in love can kiss.
I looked up from my book and sniffled. How beautifully Cole writes about love. What words do her heroes say, their nobility, upbringing, pride. I sighed and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, my cheeks starting to itch from the salt water. The stomach churned. Wow! I didn't notice at all when I started crying. It is a pity to part with the novel, but fate is calling.
I allowed myself another five minutes to swim in the spacious ocean of dreams and fantasies, then returned to the cruel reality. Judging by the clock, there was no more than forty minutes of sleep left. Here are the green trees! This again managed to read so well!
I got up from my chair, straightened my stiff limbs, went up to the table, pressed a button on the luminous panel of the remote control, the curtain near the transparent wall moved aside. Orange dawn glimmered behind the glass. Since the indefinite strike of public utilities workers ended, it has even become beautiful.
The city below was seething. Cars rushed along the three-tiered highway. Trains were dropping off and picking up passengers. People crowded at bus stops, sidewalks, footbridges. The snow that had accumulated during the night had already melted a little and mixed with mud, forming a black-gray coating on horizontal surfaces, as always happens in mid-January. And if the trade unions of the road workers do not stop their strike immediately, then by tomorrow, taking into account the forecast of meteorologists, the whole city will be in one big traffic jam, and as a result, people will pour into the subway. The pressure is guaranteed. Brr.
It got a little uncomfortable. I winced. Almost five years had passed since she left the position of personnel manager, but she preferred not to return to the memories of the majestic subway during peak hours. I loved the smell of the subway, its halls, trains, but only when there was an opportunity to turn around and look around, and not at those moments when you get into the car and take out from there, practically without moving a single limb, and you ride with someone all the way something under the arm, and not always clean. Some things don't change for centuries.
An ambulance streaked across the top floor. Few made way for her. I sighed. No. There are definitely no good fellows left in this world.
The laptop beeped for a video call. Someone decided that it was time for Svetik to get up. I glanced at the time. Wow! It turns out reflections on life took more than half an hour. Pressed connect. On the screen appeared the face of Lisa, my editor, slightly slowed down by the distance.
Hello! Great writer. Got up?
Got up. I sighed.
That is great. Well, how? Did you collect everything?
Yes. - Just in case, I glanced at the suitcase in the middle of the bed, which I filled so diligently yesterday according to the list. Unfortunately, the rest of the room was absolute chaos.
Documentation?
Telephone?
Laptop?
You are talking about him.
Oh! Well, don't forget. How many times did you go through the list?
Class. What am I calling. You leave early. Yaroslav told me now that the trains are running with a delay. Well, did you hear about the explosion yesterday?
I got lost.
No-no. What explosion?
Wow! Haven't watched the news yet?
All clear with you. - Lizka from the other side of the screen waved her hand at me. - In short, two wagons went off the rails. Nothing serious, the guys can't do anything serious for a long time. Thank you FSB people. Passengers have a maximum of bruises, bruises and the like. But the schedule was spoiled capitally. There was confusion all night. So, let's not sit there too long for coffee.
Okay. Thank you Liz - My face seemed to have taken on a preoccupied look, judging by the way my friend wagged her finger playfully.
You, Light, most importantly, do not bother too much. If you miss your flight, call me, I'll arrange the next one for you. After all, the ticket isn't going anywhere. No one will take your place in the hotel.
OK. Lizok! Thank you. You have always been my salvation.
Well, everyone! Let's. Happy holidays! Walk properly! So that five years ahead.
I laughed.
Fine! Bye.
Bye. - She passed out. The window darkened and rolled up.
I hurried to the kitchen. Yaroslav, Lizkin's husband, just won't wag. If he said things with the schedule are bad, so it is. Better early. You have to sleep on the ship.
The coffee maker whirred and poured sweet coffee with cream into the cup. I took out pita bread, smeared it with mayonnaise and began to chew while standing, feverishly going through the list of things for the vacation in my brain. This is the third run.
My eyes fell on a colorful brochure printed a week ago, promising heavenly pleasures in a comfortable hotel and an unforgettable safari through the wild jungles of Kedrovka.
From the textbook "Planetary science. Grade 5."
Kedrovka is the fourth planet of the solar system in the constellation ...
The main direction of economic development is tourism, the forestry industry. Population - immigrants who migrated in the middle of the twenty-first century from the Earth. Indigenous population - absent. Flora, fauna - specific. Until now, scientists are arguing about the recognition of certain types of vegetation as intelligent ...
She carefully packed the laptop into a suitcase, slipped into a T-shirt, jeans, a sweatshirt with a hood, a jacket in record time, wrapped a scarf over it. She grabbed the keys from the table and flew out into the corridor like a bullet. The elevator doors silently launched me into their insides and, a moment later, let me out almost as silently. The concierge downstairs, paying tribute to traditions - an elderly, blind-sighted granny, affably nodded goodbye to me.
How long are you leaving us?
For two and a half weeks. - I smiled. Are the holidays starting?
Happy to rest. Will you come right away for a new book?
Yeah. - I smiled.
Grandmother bent down conspiratorially.
If it's not a secret, do you have any ideas?
There are some, Nastasya Andreevna. But only you to anyone, they have not yet fully taken shape, the editor is not yet aware of it. I think vacation will give me a boost.
Nastasya Andreevna, having received valuable information, nodded her head in understanding. I exhaled in relief. Of course, there were no new ideas in my head. For five years, she was so devastated that Lizka decided to give me a legal vacation.
I walked out of the hall, the unpleasant smell of pavement shampoo and the rumble hit my nose. Familiar signs of an awakened big city. I started looking around for a taxi, the car was in a paid parking lot since yesterday. The taxi driver was found surprisingly quickly. The price, of course, is sky-high - who would doubt it - but it was more important to catch the flight.
Chepenko Evgenia
Notes on the "Tailed Star"
1. Great writer
"... - You are my life, my soul, my love. Without you, the future loses its meaning.
With these words, he embraced Cathy and kissed her passionately, tenderly, as a man truly in love can kiss.
I looked up from my book and sniffled. How beautifully Cole writes about love. What words do her heroes say, their nobility, upbringing, pride. I sighed and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, my cheeks starting to itch from the salt water. The stomach churned. Wow! I didn't notice at all when I started crying. It is a pity to part with the novel, but fate is calling.
I allowed myself another five minutes to swim in the spacious ocean of dreams and fantasies, then returned to the cruel reality. Judging by the clock, there was no more than forty minutes of sleep left. Here are the green trees! This again managed to read so well!
I got up from my chair, straightened my stiff limbs, went up to the table, pressed a button on the luminous panel of the remote control, the curtain near the transparent wall moved aside. Orange dawn glimmered behind the glass. Since the indefinite strike of public utilities workers ended, it has even become beautiful.
The city below was seething. Cars rushed along the three-tiered highway. Trains were dropping off and picking up passengers. People crowded at bus stops, sidewalks, footbridges. The snow that had accumulated during the night had already melted a little and mixed with mud, forming a black-gray coating on horizontal surfaces, as always happens in mid-January. And if the trade unions of the road workers do not stop their strike immediately, then by tomorrow, taking into account the forecast of meteorologists, the whole city will be in one big traffic jam, and as a result, people will pour into the subway. The pressure is guaranteed. Brr.
It got a little uncomfortable. I winced. Almost five years had passed since she left the position of personnel manager, but she preferred not to return to the memories of the majestic subway during peak hours. I loved the smell of the subway, its halls, trains, but only when there was an opportunity to turn around and look around, and not at those moments when you get into the car and take out from there, practically without moving a single limb, and you ride with someone all the way something under the arm, and not always clean. Some things don't change for centuries.
An ambulance streaked across the top floor. Few made way for her. I sighed. No. There are definitely no good fellows left in this world.
The laptop beeped for a video call. Someone decided that it was time for Svetik to get up. I glanced at the time. Wow! It turns out reflections on life took more than half an hour. Pressed connect. On the screen appeared the face of Lisa, my editor, slightly slowed down by the distance.
Hello! Great writer. Got up?
Got up. I sighed.
That is great. Well, how? Did you collect everything?
Yes. - Just in case, I glanced at the suitcase in the middle of the bed, which I filled so diligently yesterday according to the list. Unfortunately, the rest of the room was absolute chaos.
Documentation?
Telephone?
Laptop?
You are talking about him.
Oh! Well, don't forget. How many times did you go through the list?
Class. What am I calling. You leave early. Yaroslav told me now that the trains are running with a delay. Well, did you hear about the explosion yesterday?
I got lost.
No-no. What explosion?
Wow! Haven't watched the news yet?
All clear with you. - Lizka from the other side of the screen waved her hand at me. - In short, two wagons went off the rails. Nothing serious, the guys can't do anything serious for a long time. Thank you FSB people. Passengers have a maximum of bruises, bruises and the like. But the schedule was spoiled capitally. There was confusion all night. So, let's not sit there too long for coffee.
Okay. Thank you Liz - My face seemed to have taken on a preoccupied look, judging by the way my friend wagged her finger playfully.
You, Light, most importantly, do not bother too much. If you miss your flight, call me, I'll arrange the next one for you. After all, the ticket isn't going anywhere. No one will take your place in the hotel.
OK. Lizok! Thank you. You have always been my salvation.
Well, everyone! Let's. Happy holidays! Walk properly! So that five years ahead.
Chepenko Evgenia
Notes on the "Tailed Star"
1. Great writer
"... - You are my life, my soul, my love. Without you, the future loses its meaning.
With these words, he embraced Cathy and kissed her passionately, tenderly, as a man truly in love can kiss.
I looked up from my book and sniffled. How beautifully Cole writes about love. What words do her heroes say, their nobility, upbringing, pride. I sighed and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, my cheeks starting to itch from the salt water. The stomach churned. Wow! I didn't notice at all when I started crying. It is a pity to part with the novel, but fate is calling.
I allowed myself another five minutes to swim in the spacious ocean of dreams and fantasies, then returned to the cruel reality. Judging by the clock, there was no more than forty minutes of sleep left. Here are the green trees! This again managed to read so well!
I got up from my chair, straightened my stiff limbs, went up to the table, pressed a button on the luminous panel of the remote control, the curtain near the transparent wall moved aside. Orange dawn glimmered behind the glass. Since the indefinite strike of public utilities workers ended, it has even become beautiful.
The city below was seething. Cars rushed along the three-tiered highway. Trains were dropping off and picking up passengers. People crowded at bus stops, sidewalks, footbridges. The snow that had accumulated during the night had already melted a little and mixed with mud, forming a black-gray coating on horizontal surfaces, as always happens in mid-January. And if the trade unions of the road workers do not stop their strike immediately, then by tomorrow, taking into account the forecast of meteorologists, the whole city will be in one big traffic jam, and as a result, people will pour into the subway. The pressure is guaranteed. Brr.
It got a little uncomfortable. I winced. Almost five years had passed since she left the position of personnel manager, but she preferred not to return to the memories of the majestic subway during peak hours. I loved the smell of the subway, its halls, trains, but only when there was an opportunity to turn around and look around, and not at those moments when you get into the car and take out from there, practically without moving a single limb, and you ride with someone all the way something under the arm, and not always clean. Some things don't change for centuries.
An ambulance streaked across the top floor. Few made way for her. I sighed. No. There are definitely no good fellows left in this world.
The laptop beeped for a video call. Someone decided that it was time for Svetik to get up. I glanced at the time. Wow! It turns out reflections on life took more than half an hour. Pressed connect. On the screen appeared the face of Lisa, my editor, slightly slowed down by the distance.
Hello! Great writer. Got up?
Got up. I sighed.
That is great. Well, how? Did you collect everything?
Yes. - Just in case, I glanced at the suitcase in the middle of the bed, which I filled so diligently yesterday according to the list. Unfortunately, the rest of the room was absolute chaos.
Documentation?
Telephone?
Laptop?
You are talking about him.
Oh! Well, don't forget. How many times did you go through the list?
Class. What am I calling. You leave early. Yaroslav told me now that the trains are running with a delay. Well, did you hear about the explosion yesterday?
I got lost.
No-no. What explosion?
Wow! Haven't watched the news yet?
All clear with you. - Lizka from the other side of the screen waved her hand at me. - In short, two wagons went off the rails. Nothing serious, the guys can't do anything serious for a long time. Thank you FSB people. Passengers have a maximum of bruises, bruises and the like. But the schedule was spoiled capitally. There was confusion all night. So, let's not sit there too long for coffee.
Okay. Thank you Liz - My face seemed to have taken on a preoccupied look, judging by the way my friend wagged her finger playfully.
You, Light, most importantly, do not bother too much. If you miss your flight, call me, I'll arrange the next one for you. After all, the ticket isn't going anywhere. No one will take your place in the hotel.
OK. Lizok! Thank you. You have always been my salvation.
Well, everyone! Let's. Happy holidays! Walk properly! So that five years ahead.
I laughed.
Fine! Bye.
Bye. - She passed out. The window darkened and rolled up.
I hurried to the kitchen. Yaroslav, Lizkin's husband, just won't wag. If he said things with the schedule are bad, so it is. Better early. You have to sleep on the ship.
The coffee maker whirred and poured sweet coffee with cream into the cup. I took out pita bread, smeared it with mayonnaise and began to chew while standing, feverishly going through the list of things for the vacation in my brain. This is the third run.
My eyes fell on a colorful brochure printed a week ago, promising heavenly pleasures in a comfortable hotel and an unforgettable safari through the wild jungles of Kedrovka.
From the textbook "Planetary science. Grade 5."
Kedrovka is the fourth planet of the solar system in the constellation ...
The main direction of economic development is tourism, the forestry industry. Population - immigrants who migrated in the middle of the twenty-first century from the Earth. Indigenous population - absent. Flora, fauna - specific. Until now, scientists are arguing about the recognition of certain types of vegetation as intelligent ...
She carefully packed the laptop into a suitcase, slipped into a T-shirt, jeans, a sweatshirt with a hood, a jacket in record time, wrapped a scarf over it. She grabbed the keys from the table and flew out into the corridor like a bullet. The elevator doors silently launched me into their insides and, a moment later, let me out almost as silently. The concierge downstairs, paying tribute to traditions - an elderly, blind-sighted granny, affably nodded goodbye to me.
How long are you leaving us?
For two and a half weeks. - I smiled. Are the holidays starting?
Happy to rest. Will you come right away for a new book?
Yeah. - I smiled.
Grandmother bent down conspiratorially.
If it's not a secret, do you have any ideas?
There are some, Nastasya Andreevna. But only you to anyone, they have not yet fully taken shape, the editor is not yet aware of it. I think vacation will give me a boost.
Nastasya Andreevna, having received valuable information, nodded her head in understanding. I exhaled in relief. Of course, there were no new ideas in my head. For five years, she was so devastated that Lizka decided to give me a legal vacation.
I walked out of the hall, the unpleasant smell of pavement shampoo and the rumble hit my nose. Familiar signs of an awakened big city. I started looking around for a taxi, the car was in a paid parking lot since yesterday. The taxi driver was found surprisingly quickly. The price, of course, is sky-high - who would doubt it - but it was more important to catch the flight.
The warning came in handy, the train, on which I took the ticket, was late, a direct transit to the spaceport. So I sat for forty minutes at the station at the exit, right on the suitcase, because there were no other places. But already in the car I found a place and drove almost comfortably, I bought heated coffee in the machine and, while drinking, I bought another four in reserve, I don’t know why, you never know the overlays in life with my luck, plus a couple of bottles of water.
However, everything went on like clockwork. Downright amazing! I went through the check-in, scanned my luggage, then safely completed the boarding and - voila! - my legal single junior suite number thirty-nine. I put my simple luggage under the bed and began to look around for disposable underwear. Fly on a high-speed to Kedrovka for a day. A flight attendant in a stupid green uniform stuck her head in the door.
Get your tickets ready, I'll deliver the linen! - And quickly disappeared, apparently not expecting a polite answer.
Well tickets, so tickets, I muttered. - And, quickly pulling out the last ones from the bottom of her pocket, she sat down on the bed in anticipation. Twenty minutes later the girl reappeared.
Let's.
I held out a plastic proof of the legality of the presence on board. The stone-faced stewardess checked the barcode.
Svetlana Shmeleva. So. Here is your underwear. - With a gesture of a magician, she took out from behind her back, as it turned out there was a cart hiding there, a plastic bag with a crystal white filling and casually threw it to me.
Thank you. - I said through my teeth.
And why do you want to spit from their politeness?
You're welcome. - With no less affection, she said and disappeared into the corridor. I happily slammed the door and began to crawl. You should sleep.
The ship jerked and began to move. Ten minutes of buzzing, rattling and shaking, no matter what anyone claims, but no noise isolation and artificial gravity can save you from the inconvenience of leaving the atmosphere, but then smooth movement and silence.
For the first time the story about the snake is published: The case of the snake. - D. Mordovtsev. The fiery serpent of the seven chapters / Household essays of the past century (Imaginary visions and prophecies) // Historical Bulletin. 1882. Vol. VIII. No. 4-6. pp. 483-485. Here the text is given according to the edition: TRADITIONAL FOLKLORE OF THE NOVGOROD REGION. Proverbs and sayings. Puzzles. Signs and beliefs. Children's folklore. Eschatology. According to records 1963-2002. / Compiled by: M.N. Vlasova, V.I. Zhekulina. - St. Petersburg: Troyanov's Trail, 2006.FIRE KITE OVER NOVGOROD
In 1728, "a fiery serpent with eight heads" appeared over Novgorod the Great. Feofan Prokopovich, Archbishop of Novgorod, reported to the Synod that Mikhail Iosifov, who was being held "on some business" in Moscow, in the cell office, "of the village of Valdai pop" announced the following. When he was kept "on the same case" in the Novgorod archbishop's house, "at the discharge, in the office of schismatic cases under arrest", then his cell-attendant Yakov Alekseev came to him and said to him these words: a fiery serpent with seven heads would fly over the Novgorod cathedral church, which took from Ladoga and hovered over that church and over our house (Feofan Prokopovich - M.V.) and over Yuryev and over Klopsky monasteries, and then flew to Staraya Rusa. And in that de it will be both at home and at the monastery not without reason; which, de vision, many citizens saw, ”but who exactly did not say that.”
When Feofan Prokopovich was informed about this "talk", he ordered the cell-attendant to "interrogate in detail" and, "if it comes to a bodily search, then send it to the secular court." The “case of the fiery serpent” began. They took Yaakov, a cell-attendant, for interrogation. The cell attendant "locked up". He kept repeating: “Never did he, Jacob, take off, priest, such speeches about any vision did not happen ...” “They took up the priest. Have you heard such things from him? — Truly heard... [...] — And why did you show the wrong thing before? “And then I showed my unconsciousness.” And the cell-attendant continued to repeat: the priest “told” about the fiery serpent, wanting to “annoy the serpent” to the church hierarchs. Why did the pope invent the "fiction about the snake"? Being "tried in some case", he was under arrest - both in Novgorod and in Moscow. “And here, sitting under arrest, he thinks of a “fiery serpent about seven chapters” and weaves already to Novgorod: “there they told me about the serpent when I was sitting there and suing” But who said? - Some kind of Yakov, “cell-attendant of Judge Archimandrite Andronicus.” This, it seems, is the whole clue: it was probably this same Andronicus who judged him... So, it is necessary to annoy him with the “fiery serpent”, at least through his cell-attendant.” ""And what does it mean that the serpent curled over Novgorod Cathedral, yes, over the archbishop's house, and over the monasteries of Yuryev and Klopsky, and then flew to Staraya Rusa ”- let the judges themselves bite it and shake it on their mustache ... ”(Mordovtsev 1882:
483-483) The meaning of the appearance of the fiery serpent both in the 18th century and later could be interpreted in different ways. This mythological character is traditionally polysemantic. The ideas about the fiery serpent reflected the concepts of animated heavenly, “fiery phenomena” (about “living” flying, falling stars, meteorites, unusual flashes) and the dead man, inhabitant and “owner” of another, underground (possibly, heavenly) kingdom , which visits people living on earth, mostly languishing widows. “Having flown over the pipe and scattered with sparks”, the snake pretends to be a handsome guy or a late husband and, as a rule, destroys women: they begin to dry, wither (the snake “sucks out” their strength , and sometimes even crushes, eats them themselves). A fiery serpent can serve a person endowed with witchcraft abilities. He brings wealth, prosperity to the house, but, in the end, destroys the owner. You can only be saved from it by a miracle - Novg., Cherep., AREM. f.7, op.1, No. 798:1; Vlad., Smirnov 1922: 72; Ural, Fairytale Commission 1927:30; Zabaik., Loginovsky 1903:14. See also: Vlasova 2001:192 (Arkh., Tamb., Kaluga, Sarat., Simb., V. Sib.).
D.K. Zelenin considered “fantastic money-bearing snakes, incubi and succubus” to be an international phenomenon (Zelenin 1936: 202). In the beliefs of many provinces of Russia, a fiery serpent (dragon, already, a club, a ball), which is not described quite definitely, is a form of existence (transformation) or evidence of the presence of unclean spirits, mainly a trait: a fiery serpent - overthrown from heaven, but not flying to land of devils (Tul.); flame around the invisible devil (Vlad.); an unclean spirit (Kur.), etc. According to scattered testimonies about the Novgorod beliefs of the 19th-early 20th centuries, a fiery serpent can serve people endowed with witchcraft abilities (he “whispers” with the sorceress Nastasya Minkina, Arakcheev’s cohabitant - Memoirs 1871 :556).
On March 15, 1895, at 9 p.m., a “fiery serpent with a tail” (or “pair”) allegedly flew over the Pomeranye station in the Novgorod district: “I carried money to someone.” The couple, the locals claimed, is an unclean spirit that flies at night in the form of a fiery serpent "to those people who know him." He “carries them money, which makes them rich. So if a person suddenly got rich, then the people say that he was hit with a couple of money. N. Sinozersky, who reported this information, considered the snake "an unusually large fireball" and separated it from "shooting stars", which are "taken by the people for angels flying to earth for the souls of people - the righteous, or for angels carrying the souls of babies who are born "(Sinozersky 1896: 143).
The published text, most likely, reflects the idea of a "sign serpent" - a revitalized, prophetic celestial phenomenon, or a "star with a tail." Compare: Peasants sometimes directly called meteorites snakes (Arkh., Don, Kostr.); revered as fiery serpents (Simb.) (Vlasova 2001:191; see also: Vlasova 1998: 386-396). “In the Urals, they said that at the end of the summer of 1858 in the Kirghiz Bukeev Horde, a huge snake fell from the sky: “How do you know where it came from and why? “Maybe, what a sign”” (Zheleznov 1910:111). In Perm, the comet of 1858 was simply called "a star with a tail" (Zelenin 1910:165). In turn, comets were called "hairy or tailed stars." Sometimes a fiery serpent was distinguished "from ordinary shooting stars", which in the St. Petersburg and Yaroslavl provinces were called "snakes". They argued: “While the“ snakes ”fall immediately, quickly - the fiery serpent flies impetuously, in jumps (Smol, lips.) Or makes an arcuate flight (Ryaz. lips.), - all these features are well noticed by the people" (Svyatsky 1913 : 181-182).
Such beliefs, very common in Russia, noted by A.N. Afanasiev, have been studied repeatedly (Senatorsky 1883; Zelenin 1910, etc.). All such phenomena, harbingers of future changes, have attracted special attention since ancient times. “The Russian chroniclers associated the comet of 1223 with the unfortunate battle on Kalka, the comet of 1264 with a strong pestilence of cattle, the comet of 1382 with the invasion of Russia by Tokhtamysh. After the comet of 1471-1474, “there was a lot of evil on earth, famine, pestilence and battle,” the chronicler notes. The comet of 1858 “schismatics called the star “com” and used it to claim that the second coming would soon come” (Zelenin 1910: 164-165). In general, such celestial phenomena were traditionally considered in Russia as “warnings” (harbingers of troubles) or “punishment from God”: “brooms that sweep the sky before God’s feet”; "stars with smoke tails" that "hang" below the clouds - "God sends them to correct people" (Arch.) (Svyatsky 1913: 179-80).
At the same time, the “tail” of a celestial phenomenon raised up predicts war, and lowered down, pestilence (Zelenin 1910: 167). However, many believed that “generally important” and even favorable events could be predicted in this way (“God’s planet cannot portend evil”). “In September 1618, when the Polish prince Vladislav settled down near Moscow, a comet appeared in the sky. Its head, according to the chronicle, stood over the very city of Moscow, and its tail stretched to the Polish and German lands. The tsar and those around him saw this as an omen that Moscow would be taken by the prince. But others objected to them: “When this star appears over which the head of the state stands, it shows there all the good, peace and prosperity, and where the tail stretches, in those countries it will be disorder, bloodshed, internecine strife and great wars". “And be fulfilled,” adds the New Chronicler, “tacos for the last.”
Similarly, “before the abolition of serfdom, the comet lay in the sky for six weeks” (Zelenin 1910:165, 168). On the other hand, although with the adoption of Christianity, comets and other celestial phenomena began to be considered signs of an omniscient God, "belief in star law", a view of comets as living beings, "willful" or generated by the forces of evil or omniscient nature, was never finally obsolete neither in folk cosmogony nor in vapocryphal literature. This is also evidenced by the stable image of the “comet-snake”. Therefore, the appearance of a fiery serpent over Novgorod could be interpreted in different ways, completely opposite: both as a “sign-warning” sent down by God, and as a manifestation of the unclean, who was attracted by the sinful deeds of church hierarchs. The appearance of the serpent could be considered a consequence of the “witchcraft” of the church clergy, which was endowed in Russian beliefs (they were not alienated by the educated classes) with special supernatural abilities (Truvorov 1889: 714-715; Galkovsky 1916: 221-222, etc.).
The seven-headed serpent probably emphasized its power, or the degree of sinfulness of the clergy. And yet, of particular interest here, perhaps, is not so much the traditional beliefs embodied in the document, but their specific refraction in the political and public life first quarter XVIII century. The fire serpent was at the center of the trial. However, this or that presence of supernatural forces and beings in legal proceedings is quite traditional for Russia - and in numerous trials about witchcraft and corruption (see: Esipov 1883; Kostomarov 1883; Astrov 1889; Truvorov 1889; Cherepnin 1929; Eleonskaya 1994 and etc.), and in civil cases, where evil spirits turn into a kind of "evidence of the unreliability" of the one who comes into contact with it (this feature is especially characteristic of early XVIII century).
Characteristic, for example, is a selection of cases from the archives of the Secret Office, analyzed by M.I. Semevsky: the spread of rumors about the appearance of kikimora in the Trinity Cathedral of St. Petersburg is interpreted as "fiction about the desolation of the city"; prediction by a Swedish doctor of the year of the death of Peter I - as a "divination" with the aim of destroying the sovereign (Semevsky 1884: 88-100; 90-95). All this is quite consistent with the motley confusion of concepts that reigned in the minds of many Russians at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. In pre-Petrine Russia, "Vedic dreams", their consequences could be considered both quite real and "socially significant". In particular, “the government requirement was that, when swearing to the king, they swore not to resort to a conspiracy and also to actions and objects associated with it” (Oleonskaya 1994: 100-101).
The non-superstitious Peter I interpreted “witchcraft” and other manifestations of the supernatural, mostly quite prosaically, that is, as a kind of disguised anti-state and anti-social activity. But his subjects, either out of habit or because of the persistence of superstition, continued to invest irrational meaning in rational concepts and, with redoubled zeal, sought in the course of legal proceedings not only treason, but real “Vedic dreams”, accompanied by the intervention of evil spirits. In the end (although in the legislation of the Petrine and post-Petrine times, hysterics, possessed, sorcerers were automatically recognized as pretenders and deceivers - Tatishchev 1978: 326-327; Kostomarov 1883: 481-494) superstition nevertheless took a firm place and in everyday life, and in legal practice like Russia transformed by Peter I.
"1. It influences the motive of the crime - it is the superstition of the subject who violated the law, summed up a century later the legal historian. - 2. It is a means of fraud, when the offender uses the superstition of a famous person in order to steal his property by deceit. 3. Superstition is an instrument of revenge in case of hysteria and false accusation of someone of witchcraft. 4. Superstition creates imaginary crimes, which are often made the subject of legal proceedings” (Levenstim 1897: 153).
In the “case of the fiery serpent over Novgorod”, the serpent most likely became a “revenge tool”, although more specific meaning his appearance has remained unsolved. His Grace Aaron, "Bishop of Korel and Ladoga" (it was not for nothing that "the serpent came from Ladoga") - in his consistory in Novgorod, an investigation was carried out about the mysterious serpent and "there were interrogations of the priest Iosifov and the judge's cell-attendant Yakov accused by him" - reported to Feofan Prokopovich: " both interrogated people rested on their previous testimonies and demanded a “civil search”. And this is "torture, dungeon." In addition, this search will inevitably "hook" and many others, whom the ill-fated priest thinks to annoy. Feofan Prokopovich nevertheless informed the Synod of the need to send "this Yakov", and later - and "this priest Mikhail" to a civil court, that "without a decision of the Synod it is dangerous and requires a resolution to that." In the Synod, the case, apparently, was lost. Or, at least, it did not receive the wide public outcry desired by priest Iosifov (Mordovtsev 1882: 484-485). And the "serpent with seven heads", waving its fiery tail, melted without a trace in the Novgorod sky.
