– According to you they are all perverts.
– Sure not, – Vika smiles, – But these are the guests that are remembered. None of our girls would squeal on Gunslinger. All the more that you never made orgies and weren’t disgusted to sit with us.
– Are you sure?
– Lenia, all our personnel is from Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, Kazakhstan. What do you think, does the love towards the government or big business exist there?
– I’ve never noticed such perversions.
– That’s my point. For your success!
We drink cognac, Unfortunate joins us. His face is emotionless as if he have sipped some tea.
– What about Cap? – I remember – This is the one who remembers me for sure!
– Not that breed. Well defined asocial type… he won’t squeal on you.
– He seemed capable of much to me.
Vika drums her fingers against the table.
– Lenia… Cap always takes the red album. This is a special group, where everything is allowed. Not just chains, lashes and petty sadist’s delights, but any atrocities. Murders, body dismemberment… should I go on?
– Thanks, that’s enough.
– So, Cap never does anything of this. He comes to us to socialize… to talk.
– And that’s how he pissed everybody off?
– Lenia, when the solid unkie orders the red album, brings the girl to the dungeon and rips out her throat screaming “I’m a vampire!”, this is lousy, disgusting but understandable. It’s just an illness. When a plain looking youth sits across the girl and starts a ‘sincere talk’ with her… when he spends money to prove her in a couple of hours that she is a slut and a dirty beast, that she doesn’t deserve to live on Earth… this is much more terrible, believe me.
– Why? – Unfortunate enters the talk suddenly.
– Because it’s a curse. The right to judge and the right to rule. The right for the Truth. It’s easy to sort it out with a stupid person or a beast. It’s much more difficult with somebody who considers himself superhuman, a clean, clever and pure one. Generals fighting for peace, rulers destroying corruption, perverts condemning pornography – oh Lord, haven’t we seen enough of them? Maybe this is a kind of curse that overhangs above the mankind? When they promise order one should expect chaos, when they defend life – death comes, when they defend moral – people turn into animals. You just have to say – I’m above that, I’m cleaner, I’m better – and requital comes immediately. Only those who don’t climb the pedestal and never promise any miracles do bring good into the world.
I can feel that they have become engaged seriously and meddle quickly:
– Stop! Vika, let’s do without disputes about good and evil! In such a way it’s possible to declare killers and thieves justs!
– You’re a thief yourself, – notes Vika.
– I help to distribute information.
– And the pickpocket teaches the people vigilance. But does the single mother with many children whose purse with a whole salary was stolen need such a lesson?
I have millions of objections. I can try to explain that stealing somebody else’s files is not the most important in diver’s work. Hacker can be much more successful in that without even entering virtuality, and there’s a big difference between stealing the data and copying it: I never leave empty computers behind. What the hell is the difference for the mankind who will be the first in producing new shampoo or cold reliever?
But I don’t want to argue with Vika.
– I’m sorry, – she touches my hand, – I’m wrong.
– Why not? You kicked my butt well…
– I’m sorry… You see Unfortunate, we have fallen in the world of pure information, the world of complete licence. One can fight, lead a dissolute life, engage in hooliganism. There’s no laws ready, and most important – the human mentality isn’t ready. There’s almost no punishments in the Deep – even if they excommunicate you from the Net, it’s possible to reenter under the different name. One can get into troubles stealing data, but even here restraining norms are minimal. Go ahead and try to prove to the jury that it was Mr John Smith who stole a new game from Microprose’s server, smuggled it to Vanya Petrov who released it to the market in a pirate manner with the help of Van Xo. It’s a world of unprovable crimes and fake deaths. Only the pain in the soul remains real – but who would ever measure this pain that slid across the wires and squeezed your heart? We have nothing left except the moral, the funny shabby moral. And we realized that it’s so much more comfortable to be a scum or a saint than a human… just a human, a real human.
– But what is that – a human? – says Unfortunate, – Just a human, a real human?
– I’d explain you, – I reply, – If I was God. Cut this out you two, okay?
– But I’m really curious, – Unfortunate still talks in a quiet, even somehow indifferent tone but there’s a spark of excitement in his eyes.
– You’re the human.
– Why?
Really, why? Wasn’t I ready to consider him nothing more than just a cunning program? I feel confused but Vika also looks at me waiting for an answer and I say:
– I don’t know. You didn’t shoot people in “Labyrinth”, you rescued nonexistent kid… But this is an extreme stupidity… You cite Carroll in original but the human is not just a crammed load of knowledge… You’re in the Deep for the third day in a row and you’re still fine…
Vika looks at Unfortunate in surprise.
– And nobody knows how did you enter virtuality… but this is not a human indication but the opposite…
He waits patiently.
– You know, this is something inside us, – I say suddenly even for myself. – You’re a human for me… because I’d like to be your friend.
It seems that Unfortunate is confused.
– We’re all wearing masks here in the Deep, maybe it’s for the better, maybe it’s closer to the truth. I don’t know. When you exit into the real world, you might turn out to be a very unpleasant type. But here and now I consider you human. It’s impossible to explain.
– Then maybe it’s for good that I can’t exit into reality? – asks Unfortunate. He looks at Vika and smiles shyly, – The thing is, I’m not a human.
Here we go again.
Insanity, part two.
Vika smiles examining Unfortunate, and my heart sinks.
– Vika… he doesn’t lie. He never lies. – I say slowly standing up – When he doesn’t want to reply, he just says nothing… – I take her hand and pull her from the table. Unfortunate watches us, sadly and calmly.
– Was it a joke? – Vika nods to Unfortunate questionably.
– No.
– He can’t joke, – I confirm. – You really can’t exit the Deep?
– No.
– Are you a human?
– No.
– Who are you?
Silence.
– You see? – I almost shout, – He doesn’t reply!
– A minute ago you called me a human, – says Unfortunate, – You even said that you’d like to be my friend. Was it true?
Now it’s my turn to be silent.
– You said that the truth is here and now, – he goes on, – Anyone may be himself in the Deep, without any makeup. Only the soul… if to believe in it.
– Yes! – I say, – Yes, it was true!
– Then what scares you? My confession?
I nod. Vika snuggles close and I can feel how she shakes. I didn’t expect her to be so scared.
– Why didn’t you tell before? – I shout.
– I told you enough, Leonid.
At this point Vika starts to laugh excitedly.
– You’re crazy, both of you! You’re not human? – she breaks free, approaches Unfortunate, takes his hand, – Tell me!
– What do you define by the term ‘human’?
– A bipedal creature without feathers!
– I
’m NOT a human.
The nightmare goes on. Unfortunate plays his games, Vika is confused and I don’t know anymore how to break the chain of riddles and omissions. Computer mind is impossible! It’s not time yet for it to be born. But I can’t consider Unfortunate’s words a lie either!
The phone ring that tears the silence is like a salvation.
Vika steps back from Unfortunate, opens the door of the sideboard. A cordless phone lies there among scattered jars, packages and boxes.
– Yes? – says Vika without averting her gaze from Unfortunate.
The voice in the handset is loud and confident, I can hear it well and recognize it immediately.
– I’d like to talk to Gunslinger.
– Whom? – Vika is genuinely surprised.
– Gunslinger. Tell him that Man Without Face wants to talk to him.
I step forward and take the phone.
– Talk.
– Firstly, I’d like to congratulate you Gunslinger. Secondly, I suggest you to come out.
– No fucking way. – I reply.
– Gunslinger, we have no time for games. I’m standing by the main entrance. But this time I outstrip our competitors for a couple of minutes only, no more. Al-Kabar could trace your route. Come out.
– And what’s next?
– You will get the promised reward and I will get Unfortunate.
A loud phone, a very loud one. I look at the blonde guy who doesn’t consider himself a human, at frowning Vika.
– I think he doesn’t want to go with you, – I reply, – I’m sorry.
– Gunslinger, we had a deal…
– I didn’t promise to give you the guy. I’ve got him out of “Labyrinth” and all the rest is our own business.
– You take too much responsibility on yourself, diver.
– At least somebody must make decisions, right?
– Well, you’ve made yours.
The voice vanishes. In a second the floor quivers, pushing us to the ceiling, the log walls crunch, bending. A picture with a waterfall on it falls on me and the sound of water returns me to my senses.
I rise and crawl along the kicking floor. This is not an earthquake, this is the brothel’s walls falling apart, they break the security system so naively praised by Computer Wiz.
Though, if nobody broke into the hut yet, it means that the security wasn’t too bad after all.
– Vika!
I help her to stand up, her face is in blood, the jersey sleeve torn off.
– Bastards, – she whispers.
Only Unfortunate haven’t fallen down, he stands propped against the wall, outstretching his hands to the sides to keep balance.
– I’ll come out of the bui… – he starts, but the next explosion booms and muffles his words, – It’s inevitable…
– Do you want to surrender?
– No, but…
– Then stop fluttering! – I shake Vika slightly, – Are there any ropes in the room?
She shakes her head in confusion.
– We need ropes!
Vika turns to look at the window, she understood.
– We could jump…
– We’ll kill ourselves, there’s seven and a half meters to go!
Fortunately Vika doesn’t notice the exactness of the figure, otherwise I wouldn’t avoid a untimely scandal. Women are made of a different clay.
– On the third floor… – she starts, and then the door flies open. I tear the belt from my body and it turns into lash with a soft hiss. But there’s neither Man Without face nor his mercenaries in the door, Computer Wiz hangs there balancing on his winged slippers. The corridor behind his back is enveloped in colorful glow, flashes and as I look at this carnival blur, something starts happening to me – my movements slow down, lose their precision…
– Wow, ‘Warlock Nine-thousandth’! – screams the Wiz cheerfully seeing the lash in my hand, flows into the room, shuts the door and my sudden fatigue disappears. – Vika, where’s Madam?
– I’m for her!
– Brothello is under attack! – Wiz is still having fun – The first floor was freakin’ swept out to hell! The braker is on but they move anyway!
He flies to me, grabs my sleeve and asks excitedly:
– Saw this illumination? So much junk info is flowing to their modems, any computer would choke! Well, except the good one… Vika, so where’s Madam?
– Can we hold out against this?
– No, sure not! Cool profies are working! But never mind, everything is being logged, we’ll file such a protest – don’t worry… Where’s Madam, I won’t start active systems without her order!
Vika’s body flickers, she broadens in her chest and hips, the face melts like wax. So that’s how looks the diver from the side when exiting virtuality and changing body.
– Fire up everything you have, – orders Madam.
– Oh! Ah! – Wiz thrusts his eyes open in theatrical surprise. Can he ever stop playing I wonder? – I knew, I knew that!
His hands are busy not with a show though, he gets a small console from his pocket and starts typing in some commands.
– We won’t hold out anyway, Madam Vika!
– We must get out, Wiz.
– Madam! – Wiz presses his hands against his heart, – I can’t help with that so quickly, the diver is necessary here!
– It doesn’t anything to do with divers, – I wave my hand towards the window, – The rope is necessary!
– To hang yourselves up? – laughs Wiz. He crosses his legs, falls on the floor and starts pulling off his slippers not stopping to chatter – Geez how funny, that weirdo on the third floor, you know, the one who likes sex for three, he never tells anything about himself, was so scared that jumped out of the window! He fell into the pool and now splashes there screaming that he can’t swim and he’s the State Duma deputy and we must save him…
He throws me the slippers.
– Take these, the power is unlimited, you’ll descend all three! Madam, why didn’t you ever tell that Vika is your mask, I’m not tattler, I wouldn’t tell anybody!
I pull the slippers on, the wings quiver excitedly and thresh against my fingers. Funny: Madam is Vika’s mask for Wiz, for me it’s vice versa.
– Oh, what a load of scandals will we have now… And who are you man, huh?
Unfortunate doesn’t reply, maybe he feels dizzy too, just as me? Computer Wiz looks like a multitasking operating system which is simultaneously busy both with buffoonery and a serious work. I can’t do that.
– Thanks, – I say trying to stand up. Wiz nudges me under my elbow and holds while I’m balancing in the air getting used to it. The feeling is absolutely weird, this is not a jet knapsack which is used on some “Labyrinth“‘s levels, but a real walking on air.
– Just like on stairs, – whispers Wiz, – Like ascending-descending stairways.
– Wiz, how much more time do we have? – Madam looks around the hut business-like, hangs Vika’s purse on her shoulder, then starts pulling jars and packages from the sideboard and throwing them out of the window with a basketball player’s moves. I doubt we’ll have time to pick all this stuff up but I don’t argue.
– Just for a little parting kiss!
– Then let’s postpone it until our next meeting. Please Wiz, try to hold them as long as you can… Chatter with them or something…
– I’ll try… – confuses Wiz suddenly, – Well… I don’t know how…
– Vika, return into your body, – I ask examining Madam’s mighty dimensions, then approach Unfortunate who still clings to the wall.
– Man, I don’t care who you are, a human or a program. I tend to agree with both!
He looks into my eyes silently.
– I don’t want to give you to those freaks. I’ll try to rescue you. Do you believe me?
Unfortunate stays silent.
– I still want to be your friend, – I say, – Whoever you might be.
He makes a step towards me, I add:
– Please… Let’s not give those bastards a pleasure to get us!
I think I’ve said something wrong.
– Good – regardless of the evil? – inquires Unfortunate.
– How else? – Wiz enters the talk suddenly. He have plopped into the armchair, crossed his legs and became suddenly serious, – If there’s no any starting point – everything becomes senseless.
Unfortunate silences and obediently pads to the window with us. Vika – not Madam, but Vika – have already climbed the window-sill and looks down with a strange expression.
– You what, fear heights? – I ask a bit too late.
– Come on, don’t lose the time, huh! – shouts Wiz behind us. I turn back to look at him – his fingers are threshing against the console while the roaring starts behind the door as if of the Boeing on the runway. Somebody’s scream is almost muffled by the roaring. Flames scurry along the wooden door.
– Wiz, what about you?
Computer Wiz smiles and takes something from his pocket that looks most like a chicken egg.
– I have this.
– What’s that?
– You’ll see. – promises the Wiz.
Vika and Unfortunate hang on my shoulders so simultaneously that no other command is required. I step over the window-sill and place my foot on the air. The air holds.
The wind hits me on the side, the river noises some 100 meters below, I start feeling dizzy. I must exit, exit the Deep.
But I just… don’t want to see Vika’s face as a colorful pixel mesh.
Initially I was going to descend onto the slope but now I see it won’t make sense: the path is blocked with boulders… damned earthquake! I go forward and down, above the slope, the canyon, the roaring mountain river – to the opposite slope, covered with green thickets.
– I even fear to fly planes… – whispers Vika. I avert my look from the chasm below and look at her.
– Hold on, baby…
– Have you… surfaced?
– No!
She shuts her eyes for a second, then raises her head:
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