Audiobook
- No. Forget. Just get it out of your head. No.
“You say that every time. Whatever I suggest.
- And I'm right every time.
Katya narrowed her eyes. Ani realized that now she would remember a time when he was wrong. And then another and another. She had a good memory. And a clear mind. And every day she became smarter and smarter. It is difficult to manage a younger sister who is smarter than you. Especially Katya.
- We will not steal the robot, - said Ani, trying to put all his authority in his voice. Then he stopped, looked around - and switched to a whisper:
- Are you crazy? Do you want an article?
- This is not theft! - Katya whispered. - In fact of the matter. Nobody's robot!
- This does not happen!
- Last time you said that there are no free Pokémon. And I won. Two! And the year before last ...
- It's different! Lord, how can I explain to you ... - Ani put the half-eaten hamburger on the table. The appetite was gone completely.
- There is also free money. You just need to rob the bank. Don’t you understand, it’s one thing to sing at a competition, and another to steal… Listen, can we discuss this not in public?
- No, I specially invited you here so that you would not have time to dissuade me.
Ani jumped up in his chair and began to look around.
- Do not turn your head! - Katya hissed, - Yes, he's here.
- Well, you ... you !!!
Katya's eyes lit up, as if she had started winning at Monopoly.
- Let me explain again. Their factory address is "interrupted". It's like a car with fake license plates.
- With fake numbers! - Ani threw up his hands.
- Yes, wait! After all, we are not faking the numbers. The robot's address has already been interrupted. He has no master contacts. He will never come home. He only has a program of action and a command to come to a conditional place where the owner should meet him.
- Why is this done?
- Well, let's say a person buys drugs ...
- Does this robot have drugs ?!
- I do not know. No. Not in this case. Do not interrupt! Let's say a robot buys something forbidden. Then he goes to a conditional place. The owner of the robot comes there too. If the robot is not caught and there is no surveillance, then everything is clean. You can pick up. And if not clean, then you can always say that he is not yours. Do you understand? The number is broken. So, it happens that the robot is sent on a mission, and the owner then does not come to the meeting. And the robot falls out of the system. He is not wanted because no one is looking for him. The owner will not lay claim to him, because the rights are tied to the number. Maybe the owner is hiding. Or died already. The robot just wanders around until it becomes unusable. But we can pick it up.
- So. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Clear. And why did you put on a raspberry beret? To make us easier to remember and identify?
- Don't you listen to me at all? I found such a scheme ...
- Do you really think that the first one came up with it? The hijackers and anti-thieves don't know what a sixteen-year-old girl has gone through with her mind?
- Hey. I work in the second largest ...
- Yes, I know where you work!
- Because you got me there! Your smelly programming and your smelly robots. And your smelly software testing.
- Well, what is it? - Ani winced.
- Oh-oh-oh, my older brother teaches me politeness. You can't say "smelly". It is necessary to say “it seems to me that this cheese has expired”. So, it seems to me that your programming has expired! And you have expired. Sitting in this office, looking at smelly databases of smelly robots, and as soon as a good idea comes to my mind ...
- Good idea! - Ani could only exclaim.
- Yes! By the way, I dreamed about her, like Mendeleev, - Katya's tears flashed. - Listen. It is necessary to compare the base of the main city navigation with the base of physical addresses connected to the router. For example, to the router in this McDuck. Then we will get a list of addresses not registered in the city system. Right? Why are they not registered? Because - well, as an option - these are numbers illegally interrupted. Unless, of course, the special services are excluded.
- I already lost my thought. You talk like bad ads. Tell me just one thing please. Access to these bases ... does everyone have access?
- I have, - Katya folded her arms over her chest.
- Illegal, right?
- Legally ... Shmegally! In your smelly office, every cleaning lady can access anything. All customer data is on a silver platter. Speaking of saucers. You know what robots bring to Sheila Johnson's hotel room?
- Is it an actress?
- Actress! I, too, would be an actress, if you did not arrange me in a smelly….
- Fine. - Ani got up. - Let's go home.
Katya also got up and licked the salt from her fingers.
- I'm going to the robot. If suddenly something - first of all, hire a lawyer. Agreed?
Katya left the table and went to the tables at the parapet. Ani looked over there, but the sun, breaking through the windows, prevented him from seeing those sitting. He saw only silhouettes.
- Wait, - he grabbed his sister by the sleeve, - why do you need a whole robot?
- Will carry coffee in bed. What is the question in general?
- We don't drink coffee. We cannot afford coffee.
“And we can’t allow it ever, if you continue to command me.
- You don't have enough money?
“I inherited only my older brother,” said Katya. Quiet, but with a strange malice. Ani had never heard her speak in such a voice, - Let go of your hand or I will scream.
Ani knew she was really screaming. Katya was never shy. Who was she like? Parents - Ani remembered well the times when they were still alive - were surprised. Of the whole family, only Katya considered modesty a useful quality, but not necessary - something like suspenders. Ani dropped his hand. Katya went to the tables by the parapet.
Ani flopped back onto the sofa and began to follow her sister out of the corner of her eye.
He felt like a man lost in a huge office building. Where to go is not clear. He could no longer order his sister. He could not argue with her. Couldn't persuade her. Everywhere he turned, there was an empty corridor around the bend, but his sister was not there. At least her old one. The new Katya spoke unfamiliar words in an unfamiliar voice. Driving it was no easier than driving a car without autopilot. Any careless touch of the pedal - and it exploded, tore from its place and threatened to crash into a concrete wall along with the driver.
Hire a lawyer, he thought. I’m completely nuts. What am I going to tell him, this lawyer? Where can I get it? A little more, and only the last name will connect me with this young lady. "
And the name, by the way. "Ani" is Japanese elder brother. This nickname stuck to him from Katya. Friends after her also began to call him "Ani". Then colleagues. And all the rest. Then it turned out that it was correct to say "onii-chan", but it was too late. He himself sometimes forgot who he really was - Andrei or, perhaps, Anton. When you have a younger sister to take care of, and like sparks fly out of your sister, you only have time to take care of her. And before you even notice how she reshapes you for herself, gives you a name and the habit of constantly inserting English through a word. He did not resist - as long as Katya, albeit kicking and swearing, but went the intended path. High school and first job. If she turned a blind eye to her stupid teenage dream of becoming an actress, she got to her feet. And even if there are poisonous green boots on my feet, this will pass with age.If, of course, Katya will happily survive her teen age ...
Katya returned.
Ani jumped up.
- Well?
Katya was puzzled. She sat down at the table, began to pick up the salt from the fried potatoes with her finger and lick it off, looking thoughtfully in front of her.
- So what?
- I initiated verbal contact. I mean, I said hello. He sat alone. He did not have anti-theft algorithms, otherwise he would shout that he would call the police. I just said hello back. I took out my tablet and started going through the protocols by which I can get into it ...
Katya fell silent.
- Well? Did you climb in? ..
- No, I didn't.
Katya looked embarrassed and tense, which is rare. Ani saw her like this only when she asked him to close the zipper on his back.
- And? Why? Let's put it this way: either you tell me everything, or I'm not your assistant.
- He invited me to go to audition.
- Samples?
- To the film studio. Casting. He said that I was beautiful. I have a non-standard appearance, like Audrey Hepburn - there was such an actress, you don't know. I have a big nose, but I'm beautiful. I also said I have great taste in clothes. And a wonderful beret. I asked him to read something to him.
- And you, of course, read it, - said Ani.
- Mmm. Uh-huh.
- With expression.
- Yeah.
- And he liked it.
- Yeah. Highly.
"So ... that is, he won't bring me coffee in bed - is this canceled?"
- I thought, if you steal him, this chance will be lost.
Ani again felt himself standing at the end of the corridor. This time the fork was not the worst. More terrible was the fact that the floor disappeared under my feet.
- Wait, but what about his physical address or what?
“He explained before I could ask. They hide addresses to avoid paying bribes and to prevent cops from fining customers. It is illegal to invite people to cast on the street in our district because this is how officials fight against porn producers.
“And this, of course, is not porn,” Ani said venomously.
- In no case!
- That's what he said, right?
- Yes. But look, he looks ... very decent.
- Well, of course. With a tie, I suppose?
- In a woolen vest. Elegant.
"You won't go there," Ani said quickly. - You're not going anywhere. You won't go to this casting. You will only go there with me.
While Katya is puzzled, she can be outstripped.
“For heaven's sake,” she said, “the robot has made an appointment at the library. He said that I could take my father or brother with me.
Nobody came to the meeting. Whoever wanted to impress the girl by setting up a conversation in a fashionable place, he ignored the promise. Katya was in vain preening, Ani was in vain nervous. Both in vain went to the city center from the outskirts. Katya bit her lip and cursed under her breath. Somehow, Ani managed to defend this rule: no foul language. Katya either obeyed, or considered swearing not suitable for the image of a young actress. They walked around the library. Katya furtively studied the visitors and the robot messengers. Ani studied paper books, thinking in an undertone that it was barbarism to print letters on trees felled and ground into pulp.
“In the same way, it was possible to preserve the tradition of writing on calfskin.
- The skin is expensive.
- Trees too. How many trees do we have in our city? Fifteen?
- Sixteen. You are also a tree. You have no thoughts and feelings.
- But I have a talented sister.
- Yes.
- Who knows how to program. She will work and pursue a career. Because she's very, very good at programming.
- I'm doing well. Out!
They went out into the street. Ani felt relieved. Asphalt and cinders, a stream of passers-by. The simple goal is to join the stream, take the subway, follow the signs. It's easier than controlling a living person. Ani loved the streets. Maybe if there were still trees growing on the streets, he would love them even more.
- We'll come back here, - said Katya, - I think I noticed something.
- What?
She herself did not understand what it was. And I decided not to think about it, but just went to bed. In the dream, as is usually the case, the answer appeared: in the library she recognized the person. More precisely, not a person, but a look. Either scared, or offended, like a cat that jumped out from under a car. Katya knew this guy. He studied in a parallel class and was not one of those who read books. He, too, was waiting for someone in the library. That's for sure.
Without getting out of bed, Katya poked at the communicator.
- Ol? Do you remember this one? Well, one that looks forever like this. I understand, right? How is it? And why? And how really? OK, bye!
The boy's name was Film. Of course, he had a normal name, but by his real name you can get only official information, useful no more than the number of the subway car in which you are flying. And with a nickname, you can collect all the school rumors.
- Fine, - said Ani, - Now you are in great company. Future famous actress and young criminal. They are looking for a drug dealer robot. They are looking, looking, but they can’t find it.
- They'll find it! They will find it! And only old people speak with sarcasm.
- Did the robot tell you that too?
- Yes, robot. School psychologist. He said sarcasm is ridicule. And ridicule is devaluation. And depreciation is protection. What are you defending against?
- Oh. I am not defending myself. I protect - you.
- From whom? From a missing robot?
- From some muddy story in which you plunge. With a run - as in a puddle, you loved in childhood.
- Yeah. Well, you will always be by my side, right? Would you pick up and comfort your little sister?
- Note, now you are speaking with sarcasm. And no. Your crazy robot is now chatting with some other fool in some other McDuck. You can go to the library. After work. And if anything - call. But if you want advice ...
- I don't want to.
- Go to the casting. Any casting, not necessarily this one. Try the part and take it easy.
- Thanks for permission.
- Again sarcasm. Two-one. Why do you need this particular robot? He was lost. Nobody has set new tasks for him for a long time. This means that he has been inviting girls to casting in the same film for two years now. And the film was already shot a long time ago.
Katya swore at her brother in a whisper under her breath.
“I don’t know why. But I'll figure it out.
- God bless you.
Ani kissed her sister on the forehead. Katya grimaced. Ani went to work, knowing that this story would not have any continuation, and delighted that Katya did not find his calmness suspicious. He wanted her to unravel the story herself and burn herself, but it didn't hurt.
- Hey, Film! Are you a Film? Hey.
- I do not respond to that word.
- Has already responded.
- Well, yes ... Damn. What do you need?
- You're waiting for the robot here. Tell us about him.
The film always looked away from the interlocutor, and his eyes were constantly running, as if someone invisible with a whip was approaching him. Therefore, it was difficult to know if he was scared or behaving normally.
- I won't tell. What? Which robot?
- The robot that invited you here.
- What? You go! What is it to you? Why do you want it? Leave me alone.
- Relax. I'm looking for lost robots. For reward. If you tell me, I have a share. One hundred fifty.
The film shifted his shoulders and glanced around.
“One hundred and seventy,” said Katya.
- No, he's not lost, - said the Film.
- Well, we can check it with the help of any patrolman. A simple request from a tablet - let's try his number in the city database. And all the cases. Going?
“No patrolmen,” Foil said quietly. - You do not understand.
- I understand more than you. I work for AndanteSoft, I heard I suppose?
- Not. Didn't hear. I don't know anything at all. Didn't see any robot. Go away.
The film swung slightly at Katya, first turning his back to the CCTV camera.
- I'm not leaving. And just try to touch. I will scream.
Katya spoke in a whisper, but the library had already begun to look back at the teenagers. Katya stood facing the shelf and took off the book. The security camera reacted to this and turned directly at Katya. The books were expensive. And although the libraries were free, the fine for tainted paper was enormous. Either successful people of age, or golden youth went here. However, the golden youth were spinning in the next room - drinking coffee and flirting. One way or another, neither Katya, let alone Film, looked like golden youth. Katina's clothes betrayed her as a girl from the sleeping area, who could not live in the old center. She could only come here by subway. The film, who lived in the same area with Katya, did not even try to somehow hide his origin, and therefore looked in the interior of the library like a plastic bag blown onto the veranda of an expensive restaurant.
“If only I had a haircut,” thought Katya, “Or I took off my shabby electronics. It is written on his forehead that he has one foot in the alleyway and the other in prison. "
Katya took a deep breath and decided to go for broke.
“It has to do with that story,” she said quietly, “with your little sister. Correctly?
The film froze, clenched his fists and came close to Katya.
- Listen, - he gasped, - Fuck you very fast! Is that clear? I have not seen anything. No robot.
“But I saw,” someone said clearly.
Katya and Filka shuddered and turned around.
- Where are we going? Katya asked.
- Here, girl, there is an abandoned office nearby with a large cozy hall.
Katya slowed down and looked at the Film. The film was also clearly not happy and also slowed down.
“Don't be afraid, girl. And you boy, don't be afraid.
- You yourself are a boy, - Film muttered.
“Well, yes, I'm a boy,” the boy agreed good-naturedly.
The plump young man really looked like a child, although he was hardly much younger than Katya.
- There are many of us. People like you, boy, and people like you, girl.
- What is it? - Katya frowned. - I am the only one.
- Selected.
- Maybe the chosen ones? Katya asked.
“Maybe,” the fat man readily agreed. - We came.
The office really looked abandoned and was in the back of the block. Katya tensed. Then, without really having time to understand what she was doing, she quietly activated her glasses and made a gesture to send her coordinates to Ani.
“Don't be afraid,” the boy said. “I was also afraid at first. And then he stopped. It will be the same with you.
Katya understood why the building looks abandoned: the bricks are overgrown with moss. Downtown, she thought. - We're on the embankment. Moss grows from moisture. This does not happen in residential areas. " She again felt like a stranger - a flawed poor man who entered a beautiful place where beautiful people live. But now fate itself pushes her vzashy - in a pen for silly youth.
The fat boy confidently entered the building through the fire escape. Katya and Filka looked at each other. The tape shrugged, and they followed. The guys passed several corridors and found themselves in a semi-dark hall with large windows and a beautiful view of the river.
- Beginners! Someone said.
They were surrounded on all sides.
As the chubby boy had predicted, Katya was frightened and even decided to run away at first, but she quickly calmed down. The greeters looked at the newcomers, greeted quietly and quickly dispersed to their corners. Katya met the eyes of a girl of her age, dressed in a simple denim suit. The girl smiled, nodded affably and looked away, clearly embarrassed.
Young people sat on office chairs and large pillows on the floor. Some were looking at the newcomers, others were reading or talking quietly.
The tape cleared his throat loudly and asked:
- Who is in charge here?
The audience was clearly confused. The fat boy who brought Katya and Plenka said:
- Among us, the main thing is probably not, boy. If there is a chief, he has not yet come to us ... Now Joe will probably explain to you.
A boy with a strange look came up to Katya. She thought he was blind.
“You're beautiful,” Joe said. “You have a slightly ridiculous appearance. Big nose, large teeth. But you're beautiful.
“Joe has a weird way of saying whatever comes into his head,” the fat boy explained.
“You're as beautiful as Sheila Johnson before her third plastic nose surgery,” Joe said.
“Joe also knows a lot about movies,” the fat man explained.
- What are we here? - Asked the film, - Are we here to talk about cinema?
Joe turned towards him, looking past him.
- Why are we here? - he asked.
The film was silent, looking incredulously from one face to another.
“Then I’ll tell you,” Joe said. - Here Cheese said correctly: I have a strange way of saying what came into my head. This is such a bad upbringing. In general, I am the only son of rich parents. It sucks, although no one believes me. It's especially bad in Moscow in the last half century, when a resident of Putilkovo earns in a month as much as an hour of parking on Sivtsev-Vrazhek costs. I am exaggerating, but not much. I also love other people. And here I am not exaggerating. Big companies. Vote. Jokes. But I didn't have them. In the cottage village where I grew up, there are few people and a lot of pampered bastards. I was looking for friends. School, university, clubs, interest groups. But there was one problem. I did not understand what exactly people need - me myself or my money. Tried to hide who I was, but it only made things more difficult. Tried throwing parties at my own expensebut did not understand - do people come to me or drink for free? And the girls? Do they like me? I? With freckles and a weird look? And with a manner of carrying shit out loud? Or do they want to hook the rich?
In the end, I just started paying for communication. He began to say: come to me, I will pay. I'm rich and I can talk about Coppola's films.
But once I met a robot. And this robot said, "Stop buying friends."
- How did he guess? Katya asked.
Joe smiled.
- I do not know. None of us know. But for each of us, he was able to look into the soul. That's how I got to the library.
- He made an appointment for you? Katya asked.
- And he promised to teach me how to be friends. But he did not appear. At first I thought it was a joke. "Maybe the robot meant that the answer is in the books?" - I thought. And he began to read. Until I met Anya. Anya walked through the library looking lost. So I realized that I was not alone. And we began to get together and invite those whom the robot sent to the library to our company.
"But the robot ... have you seen it since then?"
- No. Everyone meets him only once. He cannot be found and asked again. But you can take advantage of the chance that he gives you.
- So what? Is that all? - asked the film, - are you meeting here like in a club?
“Yes, that's all,” Joe said simply.
“I believe that this is a messenger from above,” one girl with a nervous face suddenly said. “We must gather like fragments of a mirror. We go to each other. Someday we will turn into something beautiful. Into a new force.
- And I believe that Galya is talking religious nonsense, - said Joe. - The robot, of course, is mysterious, really. I don't even know what to think. I do not believe in higher powers. I see subtle social engineering here. What is difficult to argue with is the fact that everyone came to the library not from a good life. We ... how is it? Square pegs in round holes? Square in a round? Those who are not suitable. Those who are not satisfied with this world. Those who want to change it. But he doesn't know how. The robot finds us and gives us a push.
- It gives us faith, - said Galya.
“Well, at least faith in yourself,” Joe said conciliatoryly.
The tape grunted and put his hands in his pockets. He was clearly not impressed by Joe's story. The latter turned his half-focused gaze on him.
- Film, well, tell me, - Katya asked, - You weren't looking for friends, right? Maybe the guys will help.
The tape pulled back and thrust his hands into his pockets even deeper, as if he was asked for a loan.
- Then I'll tell you, - said Katya, - The film is not so long ago ...
- No, - Joe raised his hand towards Katya's voice, continuing to look through the Film, - We have a rule. Everyone tells their own story. If he wants to.
- Yes. Listen. She knows, - the film showed her chin at Katya, - Everyone knows at my school. Two years ago ... I stole amphetamines from Batey. Sniffed. Well. He got into the car for Batin. I wanted to ride. And crushed his little sister to death. I went out of the gate for now. Here. They tried. Given conditional. And this week this robot. I wanted to ask him for little things. Well, you know, you approach a robot that obviously, you know ...
- No, we don't, - said Katya, - we don't.
- Well, who obviously drags drugs. Whoever is in the subject will notice. And you ask him so ... well, not much. If you press, you tell him that you will hand over to the patrolman. And he definitely gives money. So that's it. I didn't have time to open my mouth, and he ...
Joe smiled and raised his index finger, like a person who hears a favorite place in a song.
- And he spoke first. Says, I, Igor, know one person ... Igor is me, if anything. That is my name, that is. Igor is my name ... Igor call me ...
- We understand, - said Joe.
- And he called me by name. I know, he says, one policeman who sells amphetamines. Sells them to children. And teenagers. And nothing can be done with him, because his superiors are covering. I am looking for, he says, not indifferent people. Quietly says so. Looks into the soul. And I understand that he knows my story. And so to me ...
The tape looked away. He looked past the hushed children through the window, behind which a gray river flowed.
- And I felt so ashamed. Yes, I ... I haven't forgiven myself. But there is something ... As if he said to me: “Why do you live as before? You walk with the same ones. You make money. Do something!"
- And invited me to the library.
- Yes, that's it. Only I don’t understand a damn yet. I thought I'd meet here ... well, people who.
The film began to make gestures with his hands, as if he were chopping something with the edge of his palm.
“Something like an active organized group,” Joe prompted. “Or a community organization. Or a party. Perhaps of a radical nature.
- In. Sense. This kind.
- Clear. Interesting, - said Joe, - and you see in front of you the wrong people who are able to bring out a criminal creature.
- Well it is more like Yes.
“Well, on behalf of our meeting, I apologize. But I urge you not to rush to conclusions. Maybe someone will be able to help you with your task. Talk, listen to our stories. Or maybe after a while a new person will come to us from the library. Who will he be? A person with a history similar to yours? Or, say, a journalist tired of writing about clothing for cats and deciding to investigate a serious problem.
“But this cop. Drug dealer. Where to find him now?
“I believe it's a sign,” said Galya melodiously. “Perhaps there was no merchant. The Messenger simply said that you, Igor, do not need to live as before. After all, you wanted to devote yourself to something greater. Right?
The film shrugged nervously. He blinked and nodded.
- Okay, - said Joe, - Katya?
Everyone turned their eyes to Katya, and she noticed that Foil breathed out with obvious relief.
- Katya, do you want to tell your story? No pressure. Maybe another time.
- Yes, easily. Only, I'm afraid that against the background of the history of the Film it will be rather pale. Although ... if you think about it, I almost ... - Katya laughed - in general, I was going to force the Messenger to carry coffee to bed ...
Two days later, Katya announced that she was leaving home to live in the Shelter.
At the exit from the office building, which the guys called the Shelter, Katya met Ani. They walked along the embankment. Katya recounted what she had heard at the meeting. Ani looked at the gray water of the Moscow River and the concrete of the embankment.
- And how did they react to your story?
- They laughed when I told how I wanted to reflash the Messenger. And in general, they supported my desire to become an actress.
- And what do you think?
- I do not know. I think this is good. Is not it so? When you really want something, you are given a chance. Destiny sends a messenger. Isn't that usually the case?
Ani sucked in air like cigarette smoke, blew out a cloud of steam back into the gray Moscow fog and said:
- I was driving to work and kept thinking about this robot of yours. And about your school psychologist. And I remembered that I have a childhood friend who works as a school psychologist. Yes, the rich have real people in their schools.
- What kind of living person can withstand working at school?
- And do not say! But they get paid a lot. So, I asked him for advice on how to deal with my teenage sister. I also talked about the robot from McDonald's. And he, it turns out, has an acting studio at the school. I can arrange for you. He says it is very promising.
Katya thought about it.
- Thanks, no. Not yet.
- You don't want to become an actress anymore?
“I don’t want to be under your supervision.
Ani didn’t answer, and Katya found it strange. Usually he did not hesitate to itch for half an hour, picking up some words, then others. It’s like her head was a room, and he was sliding one dusty sofa after another into it. And then he fell silent, like a man standing by a huge construction robot with voice control in fear of blurting out something wrong.
And on Sunday morning, when Katya pulled out a bag of things into the corridor, he looked at her worriedly, but nodded.
- Do you take your school psychologist with you?
The school psychologist was a cat-shaped robot. It was possible to communicate with him on difficult topics. The information was processed somewhere on the servers of the Ministry of Education.
- I cut off his access so that he would not give out where I live now.
“Reasonable,” Ani nodded.
- Isn't that sarcasm?
- No. I'm happy for you. Self-defense is a useful skill.
Katya, accustomed to snapping, did not know what to say.
- Why don't you stop me?
- What's the point? I can't keep you at home. You will go wherever you want. You don't quit your job. As for the rest ... How can I stop you from knowing what? You haven't decided what you are going to do in this life.
- No, I decided! - Katya flared up.
- Yes? And what?
- Live not like you.
“The boring old brother has one advantage - his own car,” Ani wanted to sneer, but bit his tongue.
“Somehow you easily agreed to take me,” Katya said suspiciously.
“So at least you'll be under supervision. I know that otherwise you will still trample yourself or in a company with some type, ”he thought.
“You are my only sister,” Ani said, not taking his eyes off the road.
- This is an evasive answer.
- I'm learning from you.
- Really?
- I asked half an hour ago if none of your new friends had a car? What did you say?
- I said “Mmm. Hmm-mm. " Was it evasive?
- Highly.
- Well, just ...
- Yes, I understand everything.
- Really?
- Look: You are only secondarily interested in who and why sends the children to the library. First of all, you realized that you got into the company of your own kind and decided to become the first, best and most important.
- What are you!
- Yes! Do I know you. You will not compete for leadership, but you will definitely draw attention to yourself. When you wanted to be an actress, you didn't want to act, you wanted to shine. So it is now: you are only slightly interested in the riddle of the meeting, but you decided to solve it first. To make friends admire.
- Mmm. Hmmm. And you yourself are not interested in what kind of robot it is, are you, Sigmund?
“So I found out a long time ago,” Ani thought.
“You need to learn how to translate the conversation a little more skillfully,” he said aloud.
- So you're not interested?
“I wonder how you figured out where to look for him.
- Aha! That's the same.
- Well, like this?
- The robot needs to recharge somewhere, right? And I had his RMAC address - I read it when we met the robot at McDonald's. Charging systems read the address before issuing current.
- What for?
- Well, at least not to distribute electricity for free.
- So someone pays for the robot?
- Not now. But once, someone and strongly forward.
- Have you ever wondered why this area of the Moscow region is called the armpit?
- Actually, yes, he chose a strange place. It is not clear what prevents recharging at any station in the center. A physical address is a set of numbers that say nothing. Although no, it is clear: all the stations in the city are large network stations, they make sure that they do not charge anyone. And in the wilderness there are small private traders who charge anyone, just to pay. But there are also disadvantages. Charging logs of small stations sometimes leak into the wrong hands.
- Bad hands? Wait, how did you get the logs of this gas station?
- Well ... found some guys.
Ani sighed.
Katya paused, looking at the stunted bushes that flickered outside the window, and began to think aloud:
- I'm still trying to understand why the robot brought me and all these guys together. Are we really fragments of something whole? And if so, what is this whole? If this is a mirror, as Galya says, then who will be reflected in it?
- And how, there are guesses?
- Not yet. Everyone has many good qualities. Joe is honest. Galya sees someone else's pain. Olya is a good mathematician. And so on. But so far - Katya showed how her fingers are locked into the lock - nothing adds up.
“How well he thinks. But he makes one mistake. Literally one ”- Ani bit his tongue.
A piece of plaster cracked under Katya's heel.
- Hello, Katya, - said the robot, without turning.
He stood with his back to the entrance and looked out the window. A wire dangled from under the hem of his expensive woolen jacket. Katya and Ani found the robot on the third floor of an abandoned unfinished building opposite the Alexandrovasilievsky cemetery.
“Hello,” said Katya. - How are you doing?
- Good. Thanks. I look great and am full of energy.
The robot spoke with an artistry that Ani had never heard from a machine in her entire life. He hated posers, but the robot managed to put a disarming self-irony into his voice. He did it so skillfully that Ani instantly understood how this machine managed to confuse Katya's head during a short conversation in the diner.
- And how are you doing? How is your career? - the robot turned slightly towards the girl.
- That's exactly what I wanted to talk about. You invited me to audition ...
- Invited, - the robot smiled.
- And did not come to the meeting.
- A man had to come instead of me. So it should be. I hope he came.
- Uh-uh. Not certainly in that way.
- Not really? But did you come?
- I met someone.
- Well, that's great. Have you been helped with your career?
“Well… strictly speaking, yes. We're going company. We are the ones you invited to the library. And among these guys there were people with connections.
The robot nodded and smiled.
- Well, fine.
- Is that what you intended?
The robot laughed softly instead of answering. Ani narrowed his eyes, looking at the car. Katya rubbed her palms and shifted from foot to foot.
"Can you… can you tell who your master is?" And why are you sending people to the library?
- No. Sorry, Katya. I dont know. Or, perhaps, I cannot say.
- But why is he hiding from us?
- When you become a famous person, Katya, you will understand the price of anonymity.
- But ...
- Think how strange it is. In the East, monks who pray for decades become famous. They gain moral authority. And we in the West are looking for answers to all questions ... from whom? At the artists. Stars. We follow them. We read about them. We study their personal lives through a microscope. Or should I have said "through a telescope" since we are talking about the stars?
The robot smiled. Ani looked sideways at Katya. The robot alternated a wise tone with an ironic one, now towering over the interlocutor, now inviting him to laugh at himself, and this clearly worked: Katya was melting.
"Here it is!" - Ani thought.
“But he knows something. Your owner, Katya did not give up. - Once interferes in our life.
- Perhaps he is also only a guide?
- Did you mean "messenger"?
- And what do you think?
“I don’t think anything,” Katya said suddenly angrily. - But I give a grudge that I'll find out. So tell your master.
- He also asked me to tell you something.
- To me? Did he know we'd meet again?
- Did anyone doubt it.
- So what?
- Literally the following: make a good face in a bad game, grow good grass in your yard, put good firewood on your grass, play only a game that is worth a candle. Chase one hare, not two, do not run from fire to fire. Do not look for flaws in seven nannies, do not spare seeds for good grass. Do not go into the river without knowing the ford, do not disgrace yourself in front of honest people, stand on the right, walk on the left, but grass and firewood are the first thing. Build a house and raise a son, there was no penny, there would be no altyn, there is no fish without labor, there is no fish without a pond, without grass, however, fish and labor are nonsense. Wrote nonsense - do not chop with an ax, do it today, do not put it off for later, plant grass and chop wood, two heads are better, but you have one head. Do not open your mouth on someone else's inch, do not steal corals from Clara - you will get a term, do not look like that,that they put in a coffin more beautifully. Stop by the highway. Sasha will come over it.
Katya and Ani exchanged glances.
- Could you please dump the text for me? - Katya asked.
“Um, let me tell you something,” Ani said.
- You? Wait a minute.
- Yes I. You do not understand? He can chat until evening and not really say anything. Unlike him, I know who his master is.
-You?
Ani smiled apologetically. Their conversation was interrupted by footsteps.
“Here they are, here,” a voice said.
- Seryoga? You? - Katya was surprised.
“Hi, Katie,” the young man replied. He was slightly older than Ani and looked as if someone was trying to make a copy of Katya's older brother, replacing every detail with something more offensive to the eye. Instead of a neat bang, he had dreadlocks. Instead of clear skin - acne. Instead of an ironed shirt - a hoodie. Instead of modest glasses - an expensive but scratched model. It's the same with facial expressions.
- What are you doing here?
- We thought that you probably didn’t just punch the license plate through the murky bases and decided to see what kind of number it was, and what kind of car it was.
- Nice car, - said a bald two-meter guy who grew up behind Seryoga's back and smiled. - Dressed expensively. But I don't seem to be a prostitute.
- Let's figure it out, - said Seryoga.
- What do you mean we'll figure it out? - said Katya, - Do not meddle in my business!
The guy looked at Katya and immediately averted his eyes.
“Don't make a noise, Katie. It's ours now. If we sell well, you get a share.
- Do not dare! - Katya screamed. Tears flashed in her eyes. She glanced at Ani. The bald bull also gave Ani a look, and the school fights were vividly recalled. Seryoga winced.
“So, don't vibrate,” he said. - And you, Katie, and you, deer. Is your car downstairs? Let's burn the wheels. If you shout, we will burn you.
- I'll call the police! - Katya shouted.
Katya knew how to shout well. The guys froze and looked at each other, but quickly came to their senses.
- Did you hit your head? - asked the bald man with sympathy.
Katya looked down. Ani began to guess that the police visit would turn into problems not for the guys, but for Katya.
Seryoga grunted unpleasantly and took out the tablet.
- Do not dare! - Katya said quietly. - This is a special robot. He ... we ... you mustn't touch him.
- I would be in your place, - said the robot, - listen to the girl.
Seryoga glanced at the robot and dropped his gaze back to the tablet.
- I am someone else's property, and I cannot be hijacked. It is fraught.
The bald bogai looked anxiously at Seryoga.
- How many times have I heard this, - said Seryoga bald. - Do not pay attention. The robot is a regular drop. All drops are trying to hang out.
“It's dangerous, young people. I warn you, ”the robot said quietly.
Seryoga continued to run his finger across the tablet without raising his nose.
- Turn on your brain! - said the robot in a completely different tone. - Who controls the charging of the Northwest?
- ABOUT! This is already an interesting conversation, - said Seryoga. - It is known who. Only he does not herd you.
- How do you know?
The guys looked at each other.
The robot lifted its chin slightly, and Seryoga's tablet booted, accepting a message from the robot.
- What did I say? - said Seryoga and showed the tablet to his friend. - Drop. Hasanov was shot two years ago. After him there was Chekhov, but Chek is no longer either.
“They dropped you and merged,” he said to the robot. “Otherwise, your master would have negotiated with the new owner.
The tablet flew out of Seryoga's hands - Katya knocked it out.
- Here is a bitch!
Katya flew off from the impact and crumpled on the floor.
Ani wanted to rush to Seryoga, but did not have time to take a step: the guy who had just stood on his feet was already lying facedown on the floor. His arm was twisted back, and his neck was crushed by a leather boot - expensive and perfectly polished. The robot stood on top of the man, twisting its arm. Most of all, Ani was frightened by the grace of the pose and the ease with which he moved one and a half meters. The power cable was still sticking out from under the hem of his jacket, swaying only slightly. In his left hand he had bald glasses. The robot held them elegantly, like a teacup, squeezing the bow with two fingers and putting the little finger aside.
Katya, Ani and the bald one looked at each other. Each read the fear in the other's eyes. Robots used to raise their hand against a person, but this happened less often than plane crashes, and there was a noise in the news every time. Anya's mouth went dry. He thought that if he chose from a plane crash and a robot controlled by a criminal creature, then he would choose a disaster. Since he is alive and standing on the ground, it means that the catastrophe is over. And the robot - here it is: switched on and moving.
Seryoga wheezed under the boot.
The robot scanned the room carefully and took a step back. The guy crawled away, rubbing his neck.
- Sergei, I have a request for you, - the robot returned to its usual manner. - Whitelist my number at this station. At your own expense. Otherwise I will kill you.
- You won't kill! - Seryoga croaked. - You will be calculated by cameras and turned off.
- Don't argue with him, what are you doing! Calm down, said the bald man.
- Katya, - said the robot, - if you please, put your tablet aside.
Katya froze and looked at the car. The robot smiled at her. Katya put down her tablet. The girl was still on the floor, covered in dust and pieces of plaster.
“Further away,” said the robot.
Katya pushed her tablet aside.
“Your friend is right,” said the robot Seryoga. - Don't argue with me. I can kill a person and leave the scene such that the investigation will come to the conclusion that another person killed him.
He looked around at the guys.
“Or make a person commit suicide right in front of the surveillance cameras that you threaten me with. Or kill a person and then hide the corpse. Or four corpses. Not a problem for this wilderness. So, I need a whitelist, as well as your ... The
robot froze.
Katya exhaled noisily. Ani followed her gaze and saw that Katya, releasing her foot from her slipper, pressed the little toe of her left foot to the tablet.
Seryoga swore obscenely.
- What the hell was that now? The bald man asked. - How can you remove protection from an attack on a person?
- I see it myself for the first time, - said Seryoga. - Complete chaos. In principle, you can, of course. But only the manufacturer can do this. And the secret services. Maybe this is the secret services ...
Seryoga looked at Katya.
- How are you so fast? ...
“Yes, I started breaking it long ago,” said Katya hoarsely. - A few days ago.
- What didn't you break right away?
- None of your business.
- Let's go, - said Ani.
Brother and sister walked past the guys without meeting their eyes. Once on the stairs, they ran down to their car. Ani unlocked the car with trembling hands.
- Well, why aren't you sitting down? - he asked Katya.
- Wait, - she fiddled with the tablet. - Open the trunk.
Ani obeyed. A robot walked out of the building with a brisk step. There was a blank expression on his face, he proceeded to the car, stepped into the trunk and lay down, pulling his legs up to his chin.
- Katya! - said Ani.
They drove out of the "armpit" at the maximum speed allowed. Half an hour later, Katya demanded to stop at the side of the road to wash. Ani poured water on her hands from a bottle and watched her sister's face change. Instead of fear - confusion. Instead of confusion - curiosity.
- It's a special agent's robot, right? What do you know? And where? - Katya demanded, drying herself off with a handkerchief.
- Well, where do you think?
Katya thought about it.
- You spoke about your friend a psychologist. And I mentioned that I told him about the robot I talked to at McDonald's. So?
- That's right.
- And what did he say to that?
- He said "very interesting" and promised to call back.
- Well, don't be too tired. Have you called back?
- In an hour. Pretty horny. And he told about the serial killer Nikolai Vasilyevich Chigirinskikh. He was caught long ago. From 2170 to 2173, he tortured, killed and raped. 28 young men and women. Minimum. Lured into his house or car. Cunningly forced to put on handcuffs.
- I do not understand. How can you coax a person into handcuffing?
- I'm surprised myself. Let's think about it. Tell me, when the robot invited you to audition, did he give you the lyrics that you had to learn?
- Yes. The play "Chestnut Man".
- And?
Katya nodded gloomily.
“Someone is being arrested in it along the way.
- And that someone you were supposed to play?
- Yeah.
- Well, for example.
- Wait, you mean ... But why should a special agent ... Or ...
- While I was waiting for you at the door of your new club of like-minded people, I read an article about psychological manipulations. Do you know when a person can be manipulated?
- When does he want to become an actress? - Katya snapped.
- When a person has psychological vulnerability. For example - I am citing an encyclopedia - he has "low self-confidence."
“I have low confidence in you,” Katya muttered out of inertia, but quietly.
- You can seduce one. I will quote again. “The manipulator uses charm, praise, flattery, or openly supports the victim in order to reduce his resistance and earn trust and loyalty.”
- A Film?
- It's called a guilt trip. He would have been hooked on guilt.
Katya fell silent. She went over in her memory the guys with whom she had lived for the last two days, but they suddenly seemed strange to her, as if she were looking at them through inverted binoculars.
- The way I see it, - continued Ani, - The maniac does not risk going hunting himself. He releases a robot with a fake number. The robot listens to conversations, looks for young people. Gullible, dependent, lonely. Naive. Narcissistic and greedy for praise. She starts a seemingly casual conversation. Well, or he waits until they speak to him. Throws the bait. Leads to a conditional place. And there already ...
- But the killer was caught ...
- But the robot was not looked for. Who needs it. And the killer himself refused to extradite him. I think this is such a petty revenge. The robot was left to roam the city and work according to the old program.
Katya turned around as if she wanted to make sure that the robot did not get out of the trunk and was not sitting in the back seat.
- Heck. I do not believe.
“You saw what he did. I have one question, where are the police looking? How could you give up looking for a robot? It's like leaving a gun or a cleaver at a crime scene. But our police, apparently, do not care. The maniac was caught. And after all, one of the escaped boys was describing a robot with a nice appearance in a gray woolen jacket ...
- Well ... - said Katya, lost in thought and added loudly:
- B ****!
Ani smiled sadly.
- You're good at it. Beautiful clear voice. As if not a mat, but bells rang.
- I'm good at everything, - Katya responded gloomily, - except how to understand people. That is, in robots.
- Do not worry, you will learn. You see, you went the right way, only mixed up the sign. Where it was necessary to put a minus, you put a plus. You needed to study the guys' weaknesses, not their strengths. You know? Perhaps I will allow you to swear. Once a day. Under my supervision.
- And you knew that all along? Why didn't you tell me?
- I wanted you to guess. Every story you plunge into ends with a tedious lecture from your older brother. I thought that for a change I should give you the opportunity to dig everything yourself. Since there is no maniac, but there is only a chatty machine. I just did not take into account that you yourself can drag the bandits on the tail.
Katya sighed.
- Listen, robots are more interesting than they seemed. Maybe I should still stay in this job? If one robot can fool two dozen young people ... Stop! I have to tell them!
- Think. Are you sure?
- What is there to think!
- They seem to be doing well. Square in a round or whatever they call themselves. Found each other. Are going to the mirror. Well, fine, let them gather in the mirror, so as not to hang themselves.
Katya hit Ani.
- OK OK. I will not be sarcastic. But I really don't feel sorry for them.
Katya hit Ani again. Then again and again. Then she burst into tears and buried herself in his shoulder.
“They could have been killed. Anyone could be killed. Torment! Nobody would have stopped them when they walked to this library.
- Because none of them had an older brother.
- Yeah.
- Which - mind you - every time is right.
Katya hit Ani.
Writer Pavel Gubarev . Download the entire book, subscribe.
Katya. Fantastic story
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