Part IV – Decision is made

One year has passed off since the world government under the 18th amendment to the general Constitution “On equal access to knowledge” opened officially “Gates”. Daily hundreds of people decide to change their fortune and step into the mystery. Let’s greet our present adventurers. Adams Rodgers –”

“Just to think, tomorrow everybody will know about your name in these lists, Tars,” said Bob excitedly, deadening a sound of the radio and steering the gravitmobile expressively. 

“For me it will have no sense,” answered Tars from the passenger’s seat. “Thanks for the help, dear friend. Your message and the car were in time as we had agreed.”

Tars shuddered on the seat. He was nervous noticeably. Though he was one of the first in the team of scientists which on behalf of the world government were researching the “Gates’ that had been found 10 years ago but this fact didn’t encourage him.  And that could be explained because during this time they had not succeeded in understanding anything. By that day he knew about the “Gates” as little as the other inhabitants of the planet. The well discovered at the archaeological excavations of ancient caves had a shape of perfect circle of ten kilometers in diameter and black color, covered by symbols glowing in blue shade and which had not been still deciphered. Any substance organic or inorganic going through the “Gates” disappeared completely and even   leaving  no radiation.

Therefore the lobbyists of the party “World equality” after many years of political battles forced the government to open the access to the strange well for everybody who wished. Within one year it turned into exiting and popular show. Some people entered the “Gates” and never returned, the others watched at home, drinking bear with pizza and discussing on exited and slightly scared faces of the leaving ones. 

The only thing uniting all those who had decided to change their fortune was their feelings. The overwhelming majority of those who were interviewed by Tars, as a scientific worker of the “Gates” project. told him honestly that they did not feel mortal danger. On the contrary they felt unexplained impulse to enter there towards unknown.

The same impulse strengthened by curiosity of a scientist was felt by Tars too. Every day this desire to learn unknown was getting stronger and stronger but the depression of everyday routine was growing up too. Only sensual relations with Ayuna were as the balancing weight.

“But today even this protector has been stripped,” contemplated Tars getting out of Bob’s automobile who had driven him up home.

 “About ten thousand people have gone through the “Gates”. Nobody has returned,” continued he, warming up his supper at home.

“Tomorrow I will find out everything, tomorrow will not repeat yesterday, tomorrow will be the last groundhog day of mine– of clever, strong, sporty, curios – but any way of a groundhog,” he was contemplating turning over in the bed and trying to fall asleep.

“How scaring the mystery is,”- Tars having only pajama and sleepers on and holding a cup of coffee, he was watching the dawn through the window of his spacious kitchen. He had not managed to sleep a wink.

“Today is my last day on this planet,” the thoughts were stirring in his head. Only staring from the rear seat of the taxi at the rising sun calmed him down a little.   

“I appear to get rid of everything being spare, can all that have been of any importance for me? What a strange feeling of freedom,” he thought signing the documents about absence of any debts and claims against the government, and also about alienation of all private property in favour of the society. It was the cost of the ticket through The “Gates”, the political compromise between leaving creators of the public setup and the World Government.

“Just think, Katrin, that I had prepared the conditions to tell the decisive words, I had just caught a breath to tell of all my plans when he broke me off, thanked for braking up with him, kissed my cheek in brotherly and left,” expressed her indignation Ayuna to her friend in the same café.“Just on this place yesterday all that came about.”

“Can you have decided anything?”grinned Katrin. “At our last meeting you did not appear to have any decision. You are a kind of pendulum, as we know you.”

“What on earth a woman are you?” Ayuna raised her eyebrows with irritation.“You don’t try to encourage and be iodinated by his action. What does it matter if I have decided anything or didn’t? Maybe, I am not ready to decide anything. And you want to be called my friend!”

Having pouted her lips like a Cupid’s bow, Ayuna turned with annoyance to the window. Katrin understood very well that in such cases it was the best to leave her alone with her offences for a while. She would cool down faster. Therefore, having called for the waitress and asked to switch off the screen above the bar counter, Katrin took out the powder-case and watched herself in the small looking glass. The reflection showed her the face of pretty blonde girl with protruded cheek bones and delicate features. Straight chiselled  nose, small ears, pressed to the head and decorated with diamond pussets, set off her noble  birth.

“Oh, look, night show is beginning. New party of oddballs is going to dive into the abyss,” Katrin, keeping to do make-up, was trying to distract her friend.

“Let’s greet our today’s adventures. Samanta Foks, the former meteoritic  geologist, 33 years old,” there was being broadcasted from the screen on the bar counter. 

“Fuck them all these misfits, only complete losers dive into uknown,” talked back Ayuna.  

“It has worked,” smiled mentally Katrin and kept saying,

“By statistics, on the contrast, the majority of the leaving ones are successful and  mature citizens.”

“Let them get out of here, in any case our planets are overpeopled,” Ayuna kept being angry.

“Let’s applause and say farewell to Samanta. I remind that in accordance with the statute on the “Gates” the fifth part of her property will be transferred into bits and will be raffled off among our spectators which have sent a short message “Dai-Dai” to the number 000…” broadcasting of the popular show was going on the screen.

“Here one more stupid chick has lightened our planet,” said she, watching a girl with red hair disappearing into the “Gates. “Katrin, do understand that they are escaping from the severe reality of this world, we have been created and have to bear all suffers of the life for some purpose. “In there,” Auna, having forgotten of her offence, pointed to the screen,”is the way for those who have yielded themselves or for chronic romantic adventures stuck in their illusive dreams.”

“But, my dear, you are sure to be suffering. You are sitting in the most emotional café in the capital and drinking coffee delivered from the planet Ayudar, paying 1 bit for a small cup. There are systems where a person earning this amount per month is considered to be well-off.”   

“– We are passing on to the next participant, Tars Bekkings,  33 years old, senior scientific worker of the Institute for Research of Unknown. The last 10 years of his life he has dedicated to study the “Gates”, he has witnessed the thousands of people come in there forever, and now he himself is ready to dive in the mysterious abyss. Tars, let me ask you some questions. How did you come down to such a crucial decision? –”  

Never before there had been so silent in the café “Beryozka” comfortably situated in the center of the government district of the main planet of the Empire. Mantel of deathly hush came over the premise that had been buzzing with talks a moment ago. The waiters stopped dead, the barrister froze up as if wishing to turn into a stone, numerous visitors, generally the members of the capital elite, started trying to get in touch on their braсelets with some ones. At that moment in the café there were heard only sounds coming from the screen showing Tars who was the last interview in his life and also the sound of ears uniting the hall and stretching towards Ayuna. At that, in accordance with the elite upbringing and in spite of betraying silence everybody kept pretending to be indifferent to what was going on the screen as well as to the daughter of Sir Gem Silva, the admiral of Space troops,  who was sitting frozen with her arm stretched towards the screen.

“I wonder who is Tars – the yielding one or the romantic adventurer?” Katrin tried to relax the atmosphere. This joke turned out to sound very loudly in the silent café. The speed of typing messages in the bracelets by the visitors considerably increased.   

“Even don’t try, Silva,” Katrin, knowing too her well, switched to whisper after noticing in her eyes wild sparkles.  She understood it to be the first sign that her friend is going to lose control.

“Why do you get lovesick for this pauper –”

“Okey, bracelet, access code “Red”, corruption mode “Eleventh”, fighting mode “Direct threat”.” Not listening to the rest of her friend’s talk, Ayuna in prompt step and with military bearing that appeared unexpectedly made for the exit towards the gravitmobile that had started to turn, in accordance with the received command, into a flyer and at the same time she kept activating the modes accessible only for the supreme military estate of the Empire. 

“Stop, stupid thing, really stop moving,” Katrin was running after her friend.”I am with you!” It was the last phrase heard by the café’s guests before Katrin ran out to the street.

The mankind got through tens of key transitional stages during thousands years of its development. The first scientific discoveries  in the field of a quantum movement along the Universe strings which allowed to research infinite quantity of new planets and changed deeply political and cultural structure of the society.  New technologies and intergalaxy races after getting into sometimes not peaceful interaction with the mankind made the latter change laws and many of moral standards. 

People, having determined their predatory role in the Universe, evolved into a new format of social structure to avert self-destruction –  into the Empire having the principle of public benefit as its basis. 

The more important are the man’s achievements and benefit for the Empire the more money and privileges gains a man and their family. Consequently during the centuries of this system’s existence there had grown up elite dynasties covering by their influence whole galaxies.   

Empire’s authorities, having concentrated on research of infinite quantity of new planets and knowledge, the whole cooking of internal policy and social structure had delegated to the global artificial intelligence that implemented a new world order including legalization of corruption as one of its element.

 Having enough quantity of money it was possible to extinguish in automatic mode nearly any crime by instant transfer of bits to the bracelet of the victim. That let more possibilities for those who were useful for the society and give reasons for the others.

“– Make a route to the “Gates”, deliver for the shortest term, prepare plasma outfit for the fighting landing,” Ayuna’s voice commands sounded especially like war commands in the light flashing of the gravitflyer in fighting mode.   

“Now you are very much like your father,” said Katrin, letting the machine to fix her on the passenger seat before the coming trip.

After little pause she added,

“I have never seen the eleventh corruption mode. It is the level of military missin of the Empire guard units. I would like to know the route, taking into account that all routes are overloaded. We are in the center of the night capital where the interplanet annual charity exhibition of little fractions is opening.” 

“The route is ready. Estimated time of arrival – 19minutes. Approximate cost of the delivery – 1.8 billion bits,” cut in mechanical voice of the global artificial intelligence.

“It’s absolutely impossible,” jabbered Katrin.“To fly there along government gravihighway free of traffic jams takes about forty minutes. The “Gates” are deeply underground on the fiftieth level. I wonder how this intelligence was going to get you there for 19 minutes.”  

“We’ll be in time. The deal is accepted,” Ayuna commanded sharply and turned to Katrin. The eye pupils of the elder daughter of Silva’s dynasty were shining with neon silvery light – neurostimulators, injected in her in accordance with fighting mode activated before through the gravitflyer’s seat – concentrated her intention to the fulfillment of the mission.”

“This enamoured stupid thing is stoned in addition,” Katrin managed to exclaim before the flyer shot upwards pressing them both to the seats.