– Anna, calm down, – the man, noticing her confusion, held out his hand. – I’ll explain everything.
– Alexander? But you… you…
The man gently took her by the shoulders.
– Yes. But a lot is not what it seems… I’m alive, but in a different way.
A familiar image flashed through her mind’s eye: the hospital, the same one she had volunteered for during the last epidemic, ten years ago. A tinted window, bright lamplight, a table with an artificial lung ventilator and… a hospital bed on which an unconscious man lies. They became friends in practice… Although they were separated by a tangible age difference, he never refused to help his wards, he could give wise advice, and at the same time remained himself, without arrogance or arrogance. And he was always so kind to her… But the outbreak of the epidemic had its own plans. The girl felt that her strength was leaving her. If the young man who accompanied Alexander had not supported her, she would have fallen.
– Alex?! You… But how?! I have seen with my own eyes…
– Hush, hush … – the man hugged the frightened girl. She immediately felt the anxiety dissipate, disappear. – Everything is fine. I know that this is unexpected for you, but… You will understand everything soon, I promise, – the man gently ran his hand through the girl’s silky hair. “Do you remember that vision, a few years ago?
The girl nodded uncertainly.
– So, it was you! And I thought I was going crazy…
– No, you’re fine. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. And by the way, my real name is Art…
***
Arthur woke up as if someone had pushed him in the side. Tired from the long journey, he was drawn to fall asleep again, and, waving his hand at everything, he was already falling into the world of dreams, when he heard someone scream. The dream immediately vanished. The man started up and, having risen on the bed, began to listen. However, the cry was no longer repeated. He put on his jacket and left the tent. There was such a thick fog around that almost nothing could be seen, except for the vague outlines of neighboring tents. Trying not to make any noise, he groped his way to one of them, but lifting up the canopy, he noticed that Anna’s bed was empty. The young man was seized with an unpleasant presentiment. In agitation, he touched Alla on the shoulder, she started up and looked at Arthur incomprehensibly:
– Arthur, what are you doing here? What the…
– Alla, where is Anna?
– And how do I know… I was sleeping! What is it?
Arthur jumped out of the tent and called again:
– Anna!
However, there was no answer, and the young man hesitated. To wake everyone up meant to sow panic, and it never leads to anything good. Finally, what does he lose if he tries to figure out what happened himself? Having made up his mind, Arthur moved forward along a path barely visible in the fog. And then… he heard them. Strange signals, similar to the callsigns used on ships. As if in a dream, the young man walked towards them, when suddenly…
He didn’t notice how it happened. Losing his balance and clutching at the air with his hands, Arthur collapsed into the void. However, the flight ended before it even started. The skill and experience of climbing made themselves felt – grabbing the edge of the crevice, he tried to feel the bottom with his foot and, to his amazement, found a light metal ladder. There was no way back and, slowly but surely, the young man went downstairs. The light of day had faded and a slight twilight reigned all around. As his feet touched the floor, the young man looked around. It looks like he is in some kind of dungeon. Complaining about the lack of a flashlight, he groped his way forward. Metal! The walls of the room were completely made of metal! Cautiously moving along one of them, he noticed another staircase leading into darkness and began to descend again, as a bright light flooded the entire surrounding space. Discouraged, Arthur stopped, shielding his eyes with his hands. There were voices from below. The young man quickly overcame the remaining steps. Before his eyes appeared a huge hall, from which the doors of the compartments departed in different directions. But then, at one of the doors, near an incomprehensible device in the form of a type-setting panel, he saw three people. They turned around and Arthur saw Anna among them.
– Anna?
– Arthur? The girl approached the man. – How did you get here?
– Where here? Anna, where are we?
– And what do you think?
– I… – Arthur looked around in bewilderment. Then he met the gaze of a tall man in the clothes of an astronaut. As if reading his mind, he nodded. -Does it mean…
– Surprised? – Anna smiled ironically. – But you yourself wanted to find “something extraordinary,” didn’t you?
– Yes, – Arthur pursed his lip. The slightly mocking look of the girl almost pissed him off. – Thank you for the reminder. I already realized that I was visiting aliens. Aren’t you afraid we’ll be their guinea pigs?
The girl frowned.
– Looks like someone has been watching The X-Files too much. Yes, Arthur, we are indeed in an alien spacecraft. And let me introduce Art, the commander of the expedition, and Mikkel, the captain of the Aldabra.
The astronauts bowed, placing their hands on their chests.
– Very pleased to meet you, – Commander Art waved his hand around the room. – Welcome to Aldabra – the fastest ship in the Orion Constellation.
– Well, nice to meet you, – Arthur held out his hand and Commander Art smiled and shook it.
– Forgive me for interrupting you, – the young man whom Anna called the captain of the ship took a step forward. Graceful, dressed in a silvery suit, with black hair pulled back, he looked like the hero of some fantastic movie about elves. Noticing Anna’s enthusiastic gaze fixed on the alien, Arthur felt an unexpected pang of jealousy mixed with envy. The man pursed his lip, and his hands clenched into fists of their own accord. Not noticing the complete hatred of the look of the man, the Captain looked around everyone with a serious look of chocolate eyes. – We don’t have much time.
The commander nodded, turning his gaze to the girl.
– Oh sure. Anna, now I hope you understand the reason for your being here.
– Not quite… – Anna replied with a shrug. – Although… if you want to say that, once on your ship, we ended up in, so to speak, an alternate reality…
– What?! Arthur looked at Anna in shock. Anna, are you out of your mind? What is another alternate reality?
The astronaut shook his head.
– No, – Commander Art exchanged glances with Mikkel, who impatiently crossed his arms over his chest, and hastened to add. – You are in your own time and space, but we are all connected by one common mission, thanks to which you found our base and our ship.
Seeing that the young people still did not understand him, he sighed.
– Apparently, explanations are indispensable… I think you have heard about the spirits that protect your planet? So, we, of course, are not one of them, but our mission is to observe the life of earthlings.
– Like “Men in Black”, or what? – Arthur chuckled.
– Something like that, – Commander Art nodded. – Of course, this sounds fantastic, but I’m sure, Anna, you are not one of those who need to prove that your planet is not the only one inhabited in the Universe.
The girl nodded. For many years she studied astronomy, the Vedas and Ancient Texts. And Arthur’s recent