– Friendship," Catherine said.
– Friendship," Iulia said boldly and firmly, but it didn't sound the same coming from Catherine.
Still, she wanted a special role for herself.
Chapter 3: Where do we dream?
Meanwhile, YatSan "woke up."
– What did you dream about? – Ruthra asked, helping her up.
– Oh, my God, is it true?
Ruthra looked at his friend and coworker "witching" behind the equipment.
– What did you tell her? – He asked me bluntly.
– Nothing unreal. She remembers everything," he said with a sly smile.
– Lied down in one setting, got up out of another, argued a bit, and back again. Right, YatSan?
– So close. I was dreaming of another world. Now I realize it was a dream.
– Which one? – Iulia asked with a mixture of hope and fear that wasn't entirely clear, even to Ruthra.
– I dreamt it was like you were the president and I…" she said, looking at Rutra without finishing her speech.
– You what?
– It's like I'm your wife," YatSan finished with a smile, and there was joy in her voice.
– Oh!" he said. – What an honor.
Those present also smiled, laughed, and began clapping their hands, encouraging Rutra.
– Rutrue for president, Rutrue for president.
– Oh, wait a minute. There's a war going on," YatSan said worriedly.
Ruthra glanced over to the scientist.
– It's not me. It's real.
– So it's bad.
– What's bad? – Andrian asked.
Ruthra looked at him and said in a way that made it clear to everyone: this was no joke.
– There is such a version that dreams are reflections of the mirror world. That is, these twin particles affect us in such a way. First on the dream, then we perform an action on the basis of a thought, which may well appear due to brain changes in the dream. So we decipher dreams one way or another. Otherwise they would mean nothing to reality at all. We, on the other hand, after watching cartoons, do not consider them somehow realizable.
– Wait, let me rest. I can't take it anymore.
YatSan walked toward the exit.
– All right, we'll rest for an hour. Tea, coffee and your favorite goodies are on the house.
The hour passed quickly, which meant that time could be different, but it could also be felt differently. Ruthra, the luminary of science, and Andrian were thinking about the dream, how identical it could be in our world, and whether it was real? Or is it all just an assumption on their part? Rutra argued that everything is real, because if you explain to an ignorant person that a mirror can reflect – it would be difficult for him to understand, without seeing the reality of it. And cloned animals and genetically modified products bear the stamp of Satanism. What to speak about cloning a human being and transferring consciousness into him. Any miracle ceases to be a miracle when our brain gets tired of thinking about it.
Ruthra stood up, clapping his hands for attention.
– I may surprise you, but I only want you to be surprised because of the urgency. Or maybe there's no urgency, but how do we know? Let's just say that Yat-San's dream will definitely spur me to speed things up, or rather, experiment. I want to do it tomorrow. Yat-San is ready. I'll tell you, you're a beauty, I'll give you a round of applause.
Everyone clapped.
– I admit, I thought it would be much harder to get through, and in some ways, I was afraid of the disruption and failure. You did a professional job. What do you think about tomorrow?
YatSan, looking around at everyone, with an ironic smile, said:
– Yeah, I was more afraid, too. Is it gonna be the same?
– It's even easier. You go into the session and come out in your body.
– Go on, then.
– We're resting today.
– Oh, that's great. Why don't we fight in person? – Andrian suggested, referring, of course, to chess.
– I accept," Ruthra said.
Then, walking over to YatSan, he took her under his elbow and, escorting her to the exit, asked caringly:
– So, you ready? You ready to go?
– Let's go," she said firmly.
– I'll give you time to rest," Ruthra said to the team. – Tomorrow will be the end of our doubts.
He fixed his gaze on the doctor. Iulia said thoughtfully:
– Distant worlds," and turning to YatSan, her face expressed both pity, apparently because of the danger, and envy and a kind of joy.
The latter, mixed with jealousy, spoke not of joy at Rutra's choice of a girlfriend for the first role, but more of the absence of a first lady performer at his side. After all, YatSan now carried the unspoken title of first lady, and here it turned out the holy place was empty. Not everyone would realize this, though everyone could understand it. Ruthra had grasped that fine line.
YatSan, reading the messages on her friends' faces, met her gaze with Iulia's. At that moment, they realized what their eyes were saying to each other. Ruthra, on the other hand, saw their thoughts. They were especially emotionally vivid in Iulia's: "Yes, you, my dear, are honored to fly to distant worlds, but I am staying here." They looked at each other for a long time. YatSan, herself calm and sweet, sometimes acted a little reckless and naive, but she was quite firm of character, self-assured. After realizing the unspoken message from her friend, she didn't react at all, only gave a haughty, willful smile. It wasn't that YatSan didn't value the friendship or wasn't happy with her friend, it was the power that her status as a pioneer gave her. YatSan had often been in the second role, guided by her friend's advice, but now she was absolutely sure of herself, or rather, she believed in herself, and even more precisely – became sure, having realized that she was not chosen for her pretty eyes. IuLia understood this too, and signaled back about her first role in the rest of the group. That here on Earth, Ruthra would be waiting only for her, Iulia. She wanted to tell her friend that no matter how hard you tried, it wouldn't work. That's what happens between women when they want to remain friends, but nevertheless show with a slight arrogance who has the power in a rivalry.
Chapter 4. YatSan in a parallel world
The next day came quickly.
"Let's begin the first part of the process," Ruthra commanded silently. – Now YatSan is being connected to the supercomputer."
– So, Mrs. Yat-san, are you ready to fly? This time, it's going to be grown-up.
– You always spoke with irony, as if you were making a movie in which I was the main character.
– You're no picnic either. Let's see how you do in there.
– Don't scare me with the "you" thing. I know what it means.
Rutra continued in his own spirit.
– All right, guys, let's go, shall we?
– It was romantic for me at first. A form of self-affirmation. Then I was attracted by the status of the first role. And now, after all these transmigrations of souls and life in virtual reality, I'm more attracted