Chapter 7.
Time.
7.1.
The present.
One fine summer day, or rather in the afternoon, I went to Lulu to invite her to swim on the river. Fortunately, walk not far through the most beautiful meadows.
Having inquired about the latest news in the world of politics, economics, art and science from the cat Marquis, we began to get together.
The cat was always in the center of all events, as he was constantly half asleep on the couch watching the TV. In the summer, however, it was difficult to find a cool place, and he missed events sleeping on the bench, half slipping.
Before leaving, the Marquis told us the following story.
Last night, as always, lying on the couch, he switched the TV. An interesting program was shown there.
One wizard spoke to a huge audience. And the topic was also very interesting, which haunted him.
The topic was: What is Time.
So, either the Wizard spoke monotonously, or it was hot, but Marquisik did not understand half of the program, and then, under the Wizard's monotonous voice, fell asleep.
He woke up when they already began to clap their hands.
So, the Marquis took my word, that I would ask everyone on the river on this topic.
Someone all the same knows something.
Well, I couldn't help but please the old pirate, and I promised.
Nothing complicated, I thought.
Walking through the meadows in the summer is already a pleasant experience in itself.
All kinds of insects, butterflies, bumblebees fly around, small birds sing to all voices. On both sides of the clearing, the most beautiful flowers bloom, creating delicious smells all around.
We usually take a watermelon with us, as it is always the tastiest there.
Usually, there are rarely many bathers by the river. But this time, it seemed, all the animals from neighboring villages and forests had gathered.
Three or four village watchdogs, ducks with ducklings, beavers, a chanterelle, a hedgehog and a rabbit. The rabbit was probably the smartest. I rarely entered into discussions with him, especially on scientific topics. Usually, talking to him, I realized how hopelessly I was behind in this life.
In general, we were all very friendly since childhood. Every summer, swimming, sunbathing, laughing, exchanged news.
I asked the titmouse about the Astrologer, whom we met in winter, and whom we visited. Yes, yes, the one who asked us an insoluble riddle about the stars. It turns out, that the Astrologer has not been seen for several months.
Probably, at the Yacht Regatta somewhere, as promised, I thought.
So, having bathed a lot in the late afternoon, everyone was getting ready to go home.
Then I remembered about the Marquis, and the promise to ask someone, who is smarter about, what time is. And, without wasting that very time, until everyone had dispersed, I began to question.
Despite all the simplicity and obviousness, even a certain stupidity of the question itself, some difficulties arose.
So, everyone rushed into dreams with each other. All were divided into two camps.
Some dreamed. Ah, if you go back in time, you could look at the Pharaohs, say hello to the Kings of different dynasties, check the facts about which historians write. Why, you could run away from the Dinosaurs themselves, or maybe look, who actually built the pyramids.
Others dreamed. Oh, if you get into the future, you could see how far civilization will step, at interplanetary spaceships, inhabitants who have defeated all diseases. Fly to other stars, meet aliens there. But what can I say, just make money and get rich, knowing in advance all the events at least a day in advance.
But then. there was some kind of incomprehensible hitch, which by the way I expected least of all.
It got to the simplest thing - to the Present.
Then everyone began to look at the clock. Fortunately, there are no problems with the clock now - for any color and taste, as they say. At least wrist, at least in various gizmos.
It is almost impossible to remain without time now. Everyone began to call the time to the nearest second, but the hand on the clock was constantly moving and it was unrealistic to catch hold of the present.
Then I began to question everyone separately.
What is the present?
One said, that the present is a moment, one second. The second one said, that the real thing for him is when we are all swimming right here on the river. The third declared, that the present is today. Etc. There were many more different answers and they all seemed correct.
I noticed in all this some kind of elusive mystery.
And it lay right on the surface. It was so simple, obvious, and at the same time stunning in this simplicity, that no one paid attention to it !!
And then it dawned on me. The answer turned out to be like the strongest blow, from the side, from which I expected it the least in the world.
Nobody knew, ….what the Present Time is !!!
Everyone definitely knew exactly, what the past and the future were - although no one had ever seen them !!!
And I had no doubts about it either.
But no one could say the simplest and most obvious, what the present is.
Which, it would seem, everyone sees - here it is - you can touch - before your eyes!
That is, there were many answers, they are all correct, but at the same time .... there was …no answer!
I did not expect such a dastardly blow.
All dreams about the past and the future began to fall into the abyss, thoughts were clouded with fog and I understood the reason - the fulcrum began to disappear from under my feet - the point from which everything was repelled. It was no longer there.
All have already gone home. Unfortunately, I had nothing to tell the Marquis so far, and I walked around his house, so as not to catch his eye.
At night, of course, I could not sleep for a long time and tossed and turned for a long time.
I got an unexpected idea! How could I not have guessed before.
I instantly rushed to my electronic device, through which in a matter of minutes you can get in a compressed form all the information accumulated throughout history, on any issue.
And here it is - lo and behold - everything is ... here, time ... here ... more ... and so I frantically flipped page after page, fingers trembling with anticipation, pressing the keys.
Sitting for a while and reading a detailed description of time, from the oldest treatises of husbands in marble, and ending with countless endless detailed descriptions of the wizards of our time.
Gradually, a kind of disgusting emptiness formed in me.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
I could not find among the millions of descriptions ...
No one!! definitions of what Time is.
How? This ... maybe ?? - one of the most discussed at all times, by all inhabitants of all lands phenomenon, has no basis - Nothing,… Emptiness?
For all these centuries of our civilization, the matter has moved not one Step.
Who, how and why ... so ... guard this Secret ???
So, almost not sleeping, in the early morning, having breakfast, I set off on a long journey.
My path lay far beyond the meadows. So, I went out after dark. The grass was wet with dew. All my shoes were soaked and I had to go barefoot.
I would like to tell you about the one, to whom I was heading. He is a genius. Yes, a simple genius. If anyone could help me, it was only him. He was the last hope.
As a child, he assembled a device at home, which was assembled by huge enterprises with an incredible number of wizards.
In adolescence, he, together with his teacher, assembled a device, that allows you to track and control signals passing between the stars, entering the circuit closest to us.
What is this chain ?? Many will be surprised.
I don't think I will reveal a big secret. The Astrologer will forgive me.
Yes, as it turned out later, they are very friendly with him and do some things together, when he is here on so-called business trips.
When you look at the stars, they are all the same at first glance. Something more, some less. Something brighter, some dimmer.
But there are stars, that stand out from the others. They are located in a certain order, usually not crowded, but at the maximum possible distance from each other, often along the perimeter.
Not very high from the horizon. But they have a difference, that most are aware of, but did not attach importance to. It looks like the most convenient logistics chain.
There is a specific reason for choosing their combination. Lulu and I love to watch too, whether it's always, every night, the chain is the same or different. As if a garland on a Christmas tree. Now one chain is ignited, then another.
Next time I will definitely ask the Astrologer, what such beauty is for.
He greeted me, as always, very warmly. While I was getting settled, I changed my clothes, put on tea. All this time he asked me about the latest news, about Lulu, about our mutual friends.
Some time ago, having retired from the main business, he found a new hobby. He bought up at different fairs very old various devices, the device of which had been forgotten for a long time and restored them.
Every time, during my visits, he eagerly invited me to his laboratory. This laboratory is worth a separate description. Entering it, along the perimeter from floor to ceiling, it is not clear how, various devices are lined up.
The funny thing is that, of course, I did not know, what they were all for, neither the names, nor even in what field of activity they were used. He always explained to me about his latest projects, as if we were equals. I have always tried to seem at least a little up to par.
But about myself, I knew only one thing - How lucky I am in my life, that I can now just stand next to him and listen, even though I do not understand anything. I knew, that if all wizards were like him, we would not have a single unsolved problem. Although life would probably become boring after that.
We went out into the fresh air to the river.
There, with warm summer days, he loved to sit and reflect on the old days.
We stopped and stood for a while, looking at the slow, majestically unhurried flow of the great river.
“You know,” he said, as if from somewhere far away.
- Despite the seeming simplicity, the question of Time is one of the most difficult.
- This riddle consists of two halves - two worlds: material and those, that are abroad.
- We can lift the veil of secrecy only from our material side, our material Universe.
- The second half of the riddle is hidden in nothingness, about which nothing is known.
Being and Non-being are two mutually exclusive, but interconnected systems.
- All the arguments of material philosophers about the immaterial, run into a black void.
- Further - taboo - there is no move. And this secret is guarded like no other.
- So ... to our mysterious riddle.
- It's all about its seeming simplicity. This is the first and very important pitfall over time. The simpler a thing or phenomenon seems, the more difficult it is to understand. The more it is protected from prying eyes.
- The wizards of all lands, armed with everything they could, searched half of the Universe in search of time. They even mentally launched rockets everywhere at the speed of light, trying to deceive it.
- I do not reproach them for anything. Our physical capabilities are limited.
- Imagine, the greatest discovery in the local lands was made more than a century ago. The most famous Wizard was waiting for the day of the experiment, the conditions under which it was possible, the Lunar eclipse, which occurred only ... twice during his Life !! What can we even talk about?
- But the point is not, that we do not have sufficiently perfect equipment. All the great key discoveries just do not require over-precise measurements. Things are much worse. The lock was hidden … inside us.
- Lock ? Inside us?? How is this even possible?
- You know what a thing.
“You certainly know my passion for watches. What kind of them I do not have, ranging from the ancient solar and sand ending atomic. Made from materials that the Astrologer drags me is incomprehensible from what distance, about which no one has even heard.
- I keep them as a reminder, so that this never happens to me again. I've been blinded for a long time, just like you. This eternal race for precision. It then opened a gap, a weak link in the protection.
- Although it would be more accurate to say that finally, I was allowed to touch the secret, because there simply cannot be any gaps in the security.
- No one knows exactly, when the very first watches were invented and by whom. But for sure, that is a very long time ago. It is not clear how inhabitants used to live without them, but their main function is to bring a certain order into life. Life immediately became, undoubtedly, more understandable, predictable and convenient.
- At the same time, the inhabitants paid for their comfort just some monstrous price. The inhabitants were robbed of ... the present.
“It's like a kind of deal, that goes into all major exchanges.
- Where to hide the lock?
- Of course, where no one would think to look for it !!
- Brilliant isn't it ?!? he smiled broadly.
- Hidden deep inside the inhabitants themselves !!
- The guard does not close his eyes for a second, guarding this secret.
- Even I can't reveal it to you.
- But, since you are here, and you ask me about it, then the guard is ready, for some reason only known to him, to retreat. And you may be allowed to … look at the time.
- Look ??
- At Time ??? I exclaimed.
- Yes.
We sat for some time on the bench chatting about this and that.
It was already in the evening, and I was getting ready for the return trip.
My old friend and teacher looked at me intently and said.
- Never demand anything from anyone. It's useless. If it's time for you to know, you will find out.
-On the way back home, when you go along the Road, that leads to Nowhere.
- If the strongest wind rises, know that this Time has come to show itself.
- Become a face to him, feel his movement, density, smell, warmth, flight, strength, inevitability.
- It will bring you knowledge of the present. You will just see it without any mysticism.
- This will be your real Birth.
- To see the Present is a great discovery, and is the first step on the way.
- There is no further way without this step.
7.2
Forgery.
I turned and, elated, walked back.
- Stop !!
- Come back!! shouted my old teacher.
Startled with surprise, I turned and walked slowly towards him. Without explaining anything, he gestured for me, to follow him.
Silently, we abruptly walked into his laboratory and he with all his might slammed the door behind him in such a way, that something fell from the walls.
He pointed to a chair and sank into his own chair, closing his eyes.
There was a pause, and some sort of ominous silence.
I waited patiently.
Finally, slowly and with great difficulty, wearily he said
- According to the plan and logic, I had to let you go, my friend, after a hint about the road.
- But our life is called life, that not everything goes according to plan.
- I knew, that sooner or later you will come with your question.
- And I knew in advance, what to answer you….
- But everything has changed so dramatically, that I have to react urgently.
“A terrible danger looms over you, from which I must urgently protect you,” he said in a trembling voice.
- Everything has gone too far. And this is no longer a curious game an inhabitant solving another riddle of nature.
I noticed how his hands were shaking. I have never seen him in such a helpless state.
- Do you remember I mentioned that the mystery of time consists of two halves?
- Any secret always consists of two parts. The first part lies in our world, the second does not.
“The first half is the one I just told you.
- That part of the secret, that is not in our world, is always strictly guarded and poses a mortal danger to the researcher.
- I want to save your life from this danger.
- In the future, know that the second part of any riddle is extremely dangerous, and not for everyone.
- What is the time for you? asked my mentor.
And then, he answered for me
- Time for you is Past, Present and Future.
“This is exactly what all researchers have focused on, isn't it? he asked.
- Oh sure! I exclaimed.
My old friend looked at me intently and said quietly:
“This is exactly, what you and me are no longer interested in.
- Not interested in the Past, Present and Future?!? I cried out, stunned.
- Yes, he answered.
- So, he continued.
- To understand what we will be talking about, it is necessary to go back far into the Past.
- To the very beginning, the birth of science.
- It is not known for certain, who came up with the idea to start counting objects, visible around us.
- The inhabitants noticed, that this is very helpful in life.
- This is how the first rudiments of the economy and the first collective economic activity appeared.
- Numbers were invented for counting.
- Society has made a giant leap forward.
“You see all these devices here, in this super-powerful laboratory.
- What do you think they are all for?
- That's right, for one single purpose - measurements.
- You also noticed that my devices are the most powerful and modern,
which is only possible to buy.
- Surely, you have a question - why ?
- Why all this race for accuracy ??
- If you know, for example, the law, by which this or that natural phenomenon operates, why delve into it so deeply, chasing super precision?
-This question is the cornerstone of this topic.
- The Secret of Time.
“This is really a real challenge for a researcher. A real diamond.
- The inhabitants from their first conscious days noticed one fundamental phenomenon - everything around them is subject to change.
- Something, as if by magic, changes the whole world around them, and themselves.
- For a long time there was no explanation for this phenomenon.
- By that period, with the appearance of numbers and counting, mathematics was born as a science.
- With the advent of science, the problem has become more acute than ever.
- In those ancient times, the concept of time was born.
- So, let's get down to the very essence.
-What did it take time for?
- The simplest concept of time, the ancient inhabitants, naturally associated with overcoming any distance.
-To unify it and accept it by the majority of the inhabitants, some repetitive, understandable to everyone, natural phenomenon was chosen.
- For example, the rotation of our planet around our star.
- Or, millennia later, the vibration of an atom of some stable chemical element.
- That is, to describe the processes occurring with matter, the ancient alchemists used ... matter itself.
- On the other hand, most of the inhabitants do not even know about the existence of time. And this in no way prevents them from living a normal life.
- Time was needed first of all for alchemists and ancient mathematicians.
- For what???
- In the process of describing the world with the help of their laws and formulas, it began to fall out something extremely important, the foundation on which everything rests.
- So tell me, what time is ?? my teacher asked sternly.
- I was instantly confused, began to make excuses, my thoughts got confused.
- There is nothing wrong that you do not know.
- I'll tell you more.
- Not a single alchemist, mathematician or common man will answer you this question.
- So, everything that I will say next has incredible meaning, which will lead you very soon to the place, where the fate of the world is being decided.
- The whole point, no matter how trite it sounds, is the substitution of concepts.
- In order to distort reality, a huge number of words - Parasites - were deliberately introduced into the speech of the inhabitants.
- As a rule, a lot of confusing words revolve around one concept.
- To find the right one, you need to have the skill of discernment.
- For example - the word Free.
- The word is, but the phenomenon itself is not.
- Even your own star does not shine for you just like that, for free.
- What the inhabitants understand by time is called Memory.
- Memory is a property of inhabitants, their physiological feature.
“They describe the outside world with their tiny brains through their inner sensations.
- There is no yesterday, but there is a memory of it.
- There is no future day, but there is a Reflexive Memory, that tomorrow always comes.
- Even the wonderful realization, that tomorrow will never come for millions of inhabitants, does not make them come to their senses, wake up from the illusion.
- You probably often heard, how at numerous scientific symposia, some upstart was stigmatized for deceit and anti-scientific character?
- Modern alchemists have introduced the concept of Space - Time.
- Space is matter.
- Time is not matter, but something, impregnated, smeared disguised in matter, a figment of the imagination of alchemists.
- All modern science, where you meet in the calculations Time, is a figment of imagination, rubbish !!
- They stuck time into the countless number of laws of being and formulas, invented by them, that have nothing to do with reality !!!
- You can safely throw away all textbooks and scientific treatises, where time is present in the calculations.
- They describe the material world with an intangible instrument !!!
- Who are they ??? I asked quietly, wiped the sweat from my brow, trying to make sense of what I heard.
- That's not even the point, my interlocutor continued.
- It's about modern alchemists and mathematicians.
- Most of them do not understand themselves.
- I'm talking about a very narrow, closed circle.
- Real alchemists are the oldest and smartest caste of thieves and adventurers.
- They understand everything and do their dark deeds.
“As in the old days, they are only interested in wealth and power.
- They're still making huge treasures in the ignorance of the inhabitants.
- What could be meaner than this ???
- But the situation is as follows, that I will be frank with you almost to the end.
- All these deceitful alchemists, mathematicians and scientists with their invented world, perform one important function, for which they can be forgiven for everything.
- Without knowing it, they are a protective tool that protects the inhabitants from ... Reality ..
- At first, I thought I was tired and misheard. And then I asked my old friend to repeat.
-Yes, you heard right, they protect us from Reality,
- Is reality really that terrible ?!? I exclaimed.
7.3
A meeting.
- Before getting to the heart of the problem, I must tell a mysterious story, that I have never shared with anyone, my teacher said.
- As you already know, in my youth, I took a job at one of the many merchant vessels carrying various goods. An old, half-rotten ship, it is not clear how it is kept on the water.
- The team was made up of real, thoroughly saturated with salt, sea wolves, which no one seemed to expect at home, and who had nothing to lose.
- The team was as if born for this particular ship. The resemblance and coherence was perfect, which is success in all maritime affairs.
- I was hired, as a cabin boy.
- In general, I think, there is no such profession as a sailor.
- Every sailor is a romantic at heart, dreaming of becoming a pirate.
- And every pirate dreams of being free.
- It's an endless race in a circle.
- So, once again, loaded up to the top with some kind of junk, our ship set off heavily. Experienced sailors followed us with their eyes from the shore, as if on their last journey.
- Everything was new and interesting for me.
- All my free time I was spinning around the wheelhouse.
- Noticing my curiosity and ability to count, the navigator often invited me to his place. Laying out another map on the table, he talked about the basics of navigation.
- But the most majestic feeling was, when on a cloudless night, in the open ocean, we got out on deck.
- Standing in the midst of the stars, I listened to the stories of the earliest navigators, who had no maps and navigation devices, bravely rushed towards fate.
- They gave their lives to luck and the stars, that were theirs only guides.
- One night, deciding to breathe fresh air as usual, I went out to the deck. Peering into the blackness surrounding us, I shuddered, not noticing approached navigator.
- As always, in a fatherly way, he asked about my affairs.
- We stood in silence, looking at the stars.
- Then, with visible alarm and caution, he asked, have I noticed something unusual.
- I looked at him with interest, answering, that I had not noticed anything.
- He, plunged into deep thought, as suddenly as he had appeared, disappeared into the darkness.
- We've been on the road for more than a week.
- The days alternated one after another.
- By the evening of one of the days, the weather began to deteriorate noticeably. Judging by the scowl on the captain's face, difficult tests awaited us.
- I climbed into my cabin, and lay down with anxious foreboding
sleep.
- I woke up from some kind of growing rumble. There was a deafening crack all around. It seemed that each new wave hit would be the last in my life.
- I was scared as never before andI began to make my way closer to the deck.
“Something unimaginable was happening outside. In the full blackness, illuminated by flashes of lightning, the hurricane tried to tear our last refuge to shreds. One of the three masts fell, water flooded the hold. Panic reigned. Several sailors were missing.
- We held out until the morning. By morning, the storm had subsided a little. Inflicting our ship is seriously damaged. All our equipment has been withdrawn
out of service.
- Finding itself almost uncontrollable and without means of communication, the ship shook from side to side, until on the fourth day, exhausted, we did not notice an island in the distance.
- Gathering the last strength, we went to it.
- The captain has gathered the council in his cabin.
- To replenish supplies and repair the ship, it was decided to land ashore. We had no other choice.
- So, in the evening of the same day, my foot stepped on an island unknown to anyone !!
“We hastily built something like a tent camp on the beach.
- As soon as everything was arranged, everyone fell to sleep exhausted.
- I woke up the next day only closer to dinner.
- The captain has assembled the formation.
- The task was set, first of all, to explore the island and establish contact with the local population.
- Everyone was burning with curiosity and impatience.
-The whole team was divided into groups. Each group got its own search area, and we set off.
- The island itself turned out to be small. We are not any of the inhabitants
discovered.
- Frankly, I was in the rainforest for the first time.
- And it amazed me! What an incredible variety of life!
- It has retained its pristine origin probably from the times dinosaurs!
- From all sides some different sounds and screams were heard.
- All kinds of giant ferns hid a small river, which was very by the way to replenish fresh water supplies.
- In the evening, everyone returned to the camp.
- None of the inhabitants were found, but there was plenty of material to replace the broken mast.
- It was decided to repair the ship on their own, and then get to the nearest port.
- In the tropics, there is always about the same temperature.
- Day and night.
- At night it was the hardest for me.
- I often woke up in the middle of the night and went to swim in order to somehow refresh myself.
“That night was no exception.
- I woke up sweating from the heat and stuffiness, left the tent and headed into the jungle.
- This time I decided to diversify my bathing a little.
- Shortly I noticed one beautiful place nearby and went straight there.
- At night in the forest nothing was visible, and I made my way through the thicket at random.
- After about half an hour, I realized that I was lost.
- I started growing panic and I didn’t make out the road any more, with the last of my strength I walked with eyes that saw nothing.
- Suddenly I heard a noise. Sound of the surf !
- Ocean ! I rushed straight in that direction.
- The jungle began to thin out and I finally came to the shore.
“There was solid blackness all around. Only by the sound of the rolling waves did I know the boundary of the ocean.
- Looking around, I noticed in the distance some kind of weak glare.
- Perhaps it seemed, that there could glow??
- I cautiously moved in that direction, not taking my eyes from that direction.
- After some time, the reflection repeated itself, and I sat down in surprise.
- After sitting a little, I moved on, approaching a small bay.
- The reflection repeated itself again and I was dumbfounded - not far from the coast there was a majestic sailing ship.
- I stood on the shore for a long time, numb with fear.
- But everything around was quiet and calm, only a light breeze blew over me.
- No sounds came from the ship.
- And I made up my mind.
- Two huge rounded spots swam in the water - slopes, and several medium sharks.
- I went into the water, the water and sand sparkled with plankton.
- I swam.
- In the sparkling water under the sky sparkling from the stars to the shimmering ship!
- Having swam in silence, I noticed a hanging rope, along which I climbed onto the deck.
- At this moment I was expecting the appearance of someone from the team.
“But there was no one, and an ominous silence hung in the air.
- Where did everyone go ??? My thoughts began to get confused, not knowing what to catch on to.
- I began to observe with interest everything that I saw.
- The ship was in excellent condition, of some very ancient construction, but
very strong.
- It was immediately clear, that everything in it was thought out to the smallest detail.
- I went into the wheelhouse and did not find anything of modern instruments there.
- Only a steering wheel with strange notches, something like a compass, and a scroll of maps that have turned yellow from time to time.
- The ship had several cabins. They all looked austere.
- Quite quickly, I surveyed almost the entire space of the ship.
- In the end, I went back to the deck.
- The ship was in perfect condition and ready to sail at any time.
- I constantly had a terrible feeling of unreality of what was happening.
“There was a pale bluish fog everywhere.
- The most depressing impression was left by the question about the team.
- Where did everyone go ??? There can be no ship without a captain and crew !!
- Standing on deck all alone, under a cap of countless stars,… I understood everything.
- Stunned, I leaned on the railing.
- The ship was waiting… for me !!!
- I was his captain and crew !!
- I knew, that one of the most important, decisive moments had come in my life, which will determine my whole future life.
- My faithful companion was waiting for my decision. It was waiting for the command.
- I dashed across the deck like a wounded animal.
- Even then, I knew one trick.
- If the problem is so big, that you don't know what to do, stop.
- Wait for the time, and the correct answer will come by itself.
- I waited ... there was no answer.
- With tears in my eyes, I jumped into the water and, without looking back, swam to the shore.
7.4
Back side.
- As you can see, many years have passed since then.
- We nevertheless repaired our vessel, and somehow getting to the nearest port, we got up for major repairs.
- After this campaign, I, replacing the navigator, plowed for several more years
oceans.
- After finishing my work at sea, settling in a secluded village, I came to grips with the work and passion of my life - invention.
- As you already know, I made many discoveries and finally was able to bring them to life by constructing many different devices.
“And they all use the time.
- Time has always been my muse and passion.
- I have always had the most accurate clock in the kingdom.
- For my devices to work, a prerequisite was the perfect synchronization of all parts of the mechanism.
- Therefore, I always calculated everything carefully.
- Once, during the calculations, I noticed one curious detail, peculiarity, which was always in front of my eyes, but for some reason, I never paid attention to it.
- First of all, when I see any kind of madness, I look for a catch in the Mind.
- The main task and work of the Mind is to entertain and play games with
their bearers - inhabitants.
- It absolutely does not care, what games to play with them.
- The mind is completely indifferent, whether it plays with its carriers in reality or in
fictional fairy tale.
- The mind always plays with the inhabitants in such games, that are interesting to them and are in demand from them at a given time.
- It is like a toastmaster at a wedding or an entertainer of a mass.
- The main task for Reason is that the inhabitants do not get bored and be happy.
- So, checking the madness, that I noticed, the Reason was all right.
-Then I thought, there might be a problem in the calculations ??
- Since all modern science is an instrument of Reason, it constantly plays and manipulates inhabitants through science.
- First of all, mathematics, as a bearer of calculus.
- But to my surprise, the calculations were also all right.
- I have long understood, that science, trying with all its might to appear as a stronghold of Reality, sooner or later will lead me to what it is trying so hard to hide.
- To the mysterious edge, the end of the world, that I have been looking for for so long.
- To the world, where Reality ends.
- I, not knowing what to do, stunned, locked myself at home in the library, and sat down in a chair.
- Glancing over the huge shelves with books, I recalled everything I know about life.
- Books have always been a concentration of observations and conclusions of the inhabitants, carried by them through the centuries.
- What are they trying to tell and convey to us?
- Almost every book spoke explicitly or implicitly about what is not.
- About some otherworldly things.
- About what we cannot know, but it is definitely there.
- What is it? Fears? Superstition?
- Our Mind is again playing such a specific and exciting game with us ??
- I remembered my childhood, where we, as children, gathered in the evening somewhere in a secluded place, told and retold each other various strange and scary storiesabout ghosts and unexplained phenomena.
- How scary it was then to disperse and go to bed!
- Then, as an adult, I became acquainted with religion and various countless
spiritual teachings.
- And what do you think is in their basis ???
- Yes, you are right, the basis of all religions and spiritual teachings is the otherworldly, invisible, the world that does not exist.
- The same scary tales, only for adults.
- And finally, the apotheosis of everything otherworldly and unreal, the culmination is modern science, where there is a mythical time in almost every formula.
- Exactly where the least expected, everything surrealistic was embodied.
- Thus, according to my most conservative calculations, the other world
occupies, like a hidden part of the iceberg, at least half of our life.
- What is this illusory world ???
- How to treat it ???
- You can't just take it and throw it aside.
“I’m no longer young,” continued my old friend and teacher.
- And I've seen everything in this world.
“I have read many religious books that detail many miracles.
- I also read to the holes most science fiction novels, in which the mind is on the verge of insanity, paints all kinds of miracles.
- Also, being an inventor and constantly being at the forefront of science,
was always aware of the latest discoveries.
-One only articles about deep space and various collisions that happen there.
- And these all kinds of pictures from telescopes !!!
- I was happy as a child !!
- Homeric laughter just tore me from all this phantasmagoria and unreality of what was happening !!
- I couldn't believe my eyes !!
- I always expected, when I open them again, this crazy nightmare the dream will stop.
- But it happened ... Something ...
- What do you think, every time I buy all these insanely expensive latest measuring instruments ??
- To prove something???
-No, I buy, and I will buy them for any money, to refute, what I found !!!
7.5
Promise.
- So, my friend continued,
- Our life consists of real and unreal parts.
- Even if you have never encountered the otherworldly, it does not mean anything.
- The stories themselves about them are real, and they are not random and point to something.
- Our Universe is a very sensitive and finely tuned, single organism.
- Suppose, that sometimes, some small glitches, errors occur in it.
- Naturally, they are reflected in something unusual.
- But that's not the point.
- What I will say now, you must learn once and for all, right now. Because you can't hesitate.
- You have come to a very dangerous line.
- We all live in some already established world.
- Everything is more or less stable.
- It doesn't matter for the world, whether we live in reality or illusion.
- Stability is important for it.
- Imagine, that something appears, that can shake this stability and turn the whole world into chaos and question its very existence.
-The only thing that can do this, is ….Knowledge.
- What is the world doing in this case?
- Protected.
- How do you think, the real battle is going on?
- Probably, after watching movies about knights, you imagine how two brave warriors in armor and with swords come out and cut themselves for the amusement of the public, until one of them falls dead ??
- No.
- Real battles take place under a dense cover, behind which outsiders cannot see anything.
“None of those around you will ever guess what happened.
- For those, who have approached the dangerous line, everything ends sadly.
- Just imagine, how difficult the path of an explorer is!
- For many years, researchers have been approaching some cherished door.
-Then, if by that time they are still in good health and memory, they pick up a key to it.
- All this happens from this comfortable side, where they can periodically rest and think about everything in a familiar environment.
-The door finally gives way, and they rush through it at breakneck speed, not thinking, how they will come back.
- From the opposite side, there is almost no chance to come back.
- This is the difference between protecting the secrets of time from others. It lures you into a trap, from which there is almost no escape.
There was a painful pause.
- Everything, that I told you earlier about the road and the present is all true.
- Lies in only one thing.
- This will not be your first step towards unraveling the time, but the first and the last step !!!
- You won't have any next steps !!
- I think you can handle it quickly.
- You will become rich and powerful.
- You will become free, you will become whoever you want.
- What else do you need ???
At these words, my teacher rushed to me.
Grabbing my hand, my friend whispered
- You must promise me here and now, that you will calm down and the question of time will be over for you at this stage !!!
After a while, he added heavily
- But I know, that money and power will not stop you, like most alchemists, knowing your stubbornness, I know that you will go to that door.
“It would be unfair, not to tell about your future adversary, if you dare.
- This is the perfect warrior with experience in battles since the very beginning of the world.
- He never gets tired and does not lose vigilance, unlike you.
- He will not calm down for a second, until he reaches his goal.
- He will wait, until you stop waiting for him, and come to you alone, without witnesses.
- I can't help you with anything…. Nobody can.
- As soon as you relax, he, without hesitation for a second, at the same instant, will deliver a crushing blow.
- We have known each other for many years. We went through a lot together. Together we celebrated victories and experienced defeats. But we have always moved forward.
- If earlier, someone told me, that I would move back in fear, I would have laughed.
- You are not a stranger to me.
- So, all I ask of you, is to stop where I said.
7.6
Labyrinth.
- When you are passionate about something, and do your job, without looking back at anyone, at one fine moment your plans coincide with the plans of the System.
- From this very moment you start working together!
- All your efforts come together!
- And this is one of the most dangerous traps of the System.
- Traps ?? I whispered fearfully.
- Yes .. my friend answered.
- During my long life, I have met a large number of outstanding researchers and scientists, who have made many mind-blowing discoveries.
“But I don’t know anyone, who managed to get out of this trap.
- To my great regret, they all ended up in a trap.
- They remained locked up, frozen in eternity, buried alive ...
“It’s impossible to get out of this trap.
- There is only one way.
- This is when the System itself will give you an antidote and a hint on how to get out of the endless maze of this trap.
- The road, that a real explorer walks, is so fragile, that one wrong move will turn everything into dust.
- Imagine a museum with an endless corridor.
- You walk on it.
- Halls with exhibits begin to open to your right and left.
- You enter one room and immediately find yourself in a completely different, fantastic world, so exciting, that you forget about everything ...
- There is no happier creature in the whole world at the moment.
- What else can a scientist want, how not to investigate what no one has ever seen before him ???
- How so !? I exclaimed.
- The thing is, he replied, that when you start working together with the System, it raises all your qualities to infinite values.
I have never seen my friend in such a mood.
He began to walk around the room, unable to cope with the excitement.
- Yes, it's been a long time since System and me worked together!
- There was no creature happier than me in the world !!
- The System became my true friend and teacher.
- And it seemed to me, that nothing could darken our friendship.
7.7
Values.
My friend went to the window.
For a long time he peered beyond the horizon, at the gray sky and leaden clouds floating near the ground.
Finally, waking up, he said:
So, we come with you to one of the most important, one of the most decisive and exciting questions, which I have deliberately avoided for a long time.
This question is considered one of the most dire.
This question could not be avoided by anyone in this world.
And everyone, who stood in the way of this issue, everyone lost.
- And what is this question?!? I screamed in bewilderment.
- This is one of the fundamental questions of life.
- A question about the meaning of life and its values.
- Absolutely any creature has a purpose and a set of values in life.
- Nobody knows, what is behind all this.
- As soon as something becomes important to you, you instantly become vulnerable.
- Probably, you have noticed who the creatures turn into, acquiring all their lives, no matter what, good or evil, money and power, knowledge or something else.
- The whole horror lies in the fact, that the System could not avoid this issue either.
- The System has always been a Standard for me.
- She was a fulcrum for me.
- Everything I did, I did for her and with her.
- I knew, that it was impossible to get around this issue.
- And it is also impossible to get out of it as a winner.
- From that moment, I have changed.
- I knew, that no matter, how perfect the System was, it would not be able to get away from it.
- When you look at the world around you, what is the first feeling you experience? my friend asked.
- A feeling of endless delight and surprise! I answered without hesitation.
- Yes, perhaps you are right, he replied.
“Modern science and religious teachings tell us the same thing.
- Do you know, where almost any philosophical and religious treatise begins?
- From the description of the creation of the world.
- Whenever I study something like this, I never cease to be amazed at the grandeur, significance and importance of this process !!
- It is impossible even to understand, and the very description of the creation of the world has been reduced to a description of a fabulous action !!
- Do you have any idea, how complicated the process of creating the world is?
- How important this world should be for the Creator !!!
- And then, I was shocked by one guess.
- I knew one thing from birth. It is somehow mysteriously embedded in my very essence.
- If something is important to you and makes sense to you, you become addicted.
- You become vulnerable.
- The System is finally trapped !!
- I could do whatever I wanted with her !!!
At one moment, she understood everything.
7.8
Bitterness.
A deafening silence hung in the air.
I didn't know what to say.
He turned the topic abruptly in a completely unexpected way by asking an unusual question:
- What can you tell me about sense of humor? What is it in your opinion ???
I shrugged my shoulders in bewilderment.
But the scientist himself was at a loss and some helplessness.
- I asked you this question for a reason.
- It would seem, that there is something wrong with that? Sense of humor..
- Everything changed in an instant, he continued, ceasing to be himself and his whole face turned gray.
- At one point I was not up to jokes, he croaked.
- I just want to give you one of the most important life advice.
- When someone tries to tell you, explain, teach you something important and with utmost seriousness,…. run.
- Run and never look back !!!
- I don't know, how alive and sensual the System is.
“But one thing I know for sure.
- I want to tell you about her sense of humor.
- I have always treated with awe and reverence for what I see, before the world that was once created.
- One evening, walking alone along a deserted and beautiful road, under a sky strewn with stars, I stopped.
- Summer sunset as always in these forgotten places was magnificent.
- Some lights blinked in the distance, crickets chirped in the grass.
- Like any researcher, when I succeeded in doing something, I always felt like a winner.
- The world around me has always been a battlefield for me.
- And every time, with every new step forward, I felt the defeated Universe receding under my onslaught.
- I had the same sweet foreboding that evening.
- Suddenly, among the usual sounds of the evening, I heard something distant ...
- Barely audible ringing, similar to the ringing of a bell.
- What can not be imagined in such a magical evening, I thought with a smile.
- But the ringing continued to grow.
- I thought, that something might be wrong with me.
“Then, thanks to many years of experience, I realized, that something inexplicable was happening.
- The ringing continued to grow, I froze peering into the warm sunset.
- What was a ringing, turned into a cheerful and perky laughter, turning into a rumble, shaking the surrounding fragile picture of the world.
- The answer to my riddle began to unfold before my eyes !!
- I stood spellbound.
- The world began to crumble under my feet, everything around began to collapse.
- All, that was the basis of my existence disappeared like a fog.
- I turned back and ran.
- Cheerful laughter turned into madness.
- It was no longer humor, but insane, all destructive laughter.
- I ran, stumbled and fell. Then, I tried to run again, falling into the endless quagmire.
- Everything, that was sacred to me, for a minute disappeared in this laughter.
- What I learned that evening crossed out my whole life for some moments.
- Even in my most daring thoughts, I could not allow this.
- It was the strongest blow to Reason, from which it will never recover.
- My world has changed forever since that time.
- That, which I clung to all my life, and formed the foundation on which I leaned, fighting the System, she tore into shreds and threw them in my face in an instant.
- All this madness rushed into infinity again, leaving me no chance. She responded with infinity to my every attack.
- So, the System showed me its sense of humor.
An oppressive silence reigned again.
My friend shrank from fear and misunderstanding of what was happening.
At that moment, he stopped recognizing me. He did not understand where he was, who he was, and why.
I thought, that our conversation was over, and was about to say goodbye to my old friend, when he slowly, closing his eyes, pronounced in a strange, unnatural voice.
- What do you think, looking at this entire grandiose Universe, how long does it take for the System, to create and completely destroy it ?!?
I froze, not understanding anything, fearing for the reason of my teacher and mine.
He looked through me, slowly asked
- With what frame rate do you see a Movie called life?!?
- How so?!! I shouted back.
- My teacher, unable to stand any longer, barely keeping on his feet, heavily bowing his head, said slowly:
- Have you heard anything about the Shimmering Universe ??
- Universe - Ghost?!?
- The Universe, which exists and which does not exist ???
- The Universe, everyone has lost, and which everyone has forgotten about ???
- A Universe, that rushes through endless blackness, violating all known laws, bringing chilling horror to everything around ???
“You know, many years have passed since that meeting with the ship waiting for me.
- Since then, for many years, there was not a single day I did not think about it.
- Did I do the right thing, not staying with it then ??
- In life it is never too late to change everything.
- I know, that the ship is still standing in that bay and waiting.
- Nothing holds me any more, I did everything that was required.
- It's time to move on.
- In the near future I will make a decision, and maybe, I will take you with me.
“Also, inform Lulu and the Marquis to be ready.
- I need a reliable, proven, well-coordinated team.
-When we are together, we can succeed, get closer to this mystery and return unharmed back.
- Maybe the System will forgive and spare us …