appeared on the lit screen (it was strange that there was no “Galina Sergeevna” option). How inopportunely a thick dictionary was lying around somewhere in a city apartment, but who could have guessed that it would be useful in agriculture? He had to press the Russian icon with my index finger, as in an ATM, and then there were signs with the command:
– “Sit in the chair.” – Well, I sat down.
– “Put on the hood.” – Put it on.
– “Choose time” and two rectangles – “Past” and “Future”.
A sensitive sense of smell and everyday experience suggested: it smells like kerosene. A couple of years ago, Kalinkin found a curious scientific publication in a free newspaper, which they put in mailboxes. Of course, not everyone can handle an article about the hypothetical ability to travel in the universe using space-time tunnels in the form of wormholes. The persistent mind of Pyotr Mikhailovich was able to master it from the second time, but the idea seemed like an incomprehensible invention: is an instantaneous leap in time possible? And here, in the hall, this theory can be confirmed and become a reality! If what was happening wasn’t a game or a waking dream, he was on the verge of a fantastic opportunity. However, Pyotr Mikhailovich quickly realized: after taking the first step, it will not work to change the process, you can lose everything – Galya, the house, the usual and calm way of life, and, perhaps, life itself. The device hardly gives guarantees and insurance. On the other hand, the situation is so unique that, without a doubt, he, Pyotr Kalinkin, is a lucky man chosen by fate, a mole in the tunnel of Time! The unknown was so fascinating and attracted that it outweighed all fears and awakened in him a sense of courage. However, how valuable in his eyes are the promised paradise life on a pension of twenty thousand rubles, and bliss on quarter acre of land? Challenge accepted! The seductress sirens have already started their insidious hypnotic songs:
“Become zero, become zero and everything will be very good,” sounded in his ears, and he decided, as any adventurer would have decided in his place.
– But which rectangle should I click on? – Kalinkin scratched his head in indecision. – There have been a lot of interesting events in the past, from the Early Paleozoic to… however, what is the minimum step back? Is it possible last night? And an hour, a minute ago? If you think big, historically, then I would like to talk to Aristotle or, by the way, even with the cunning Gioconda…
From the suddenly opened prospects, ordinary logic got stuck, fantasies overshadowed common sense. Pyotr Mikhailovich forced himself to calm down, and after a short hesitation decided to apply the method of scientific poke, leaving the choice to his Majesty chance. Really, why break your head? He made a wish, crouching down to the window, and began to observe: if a bird flies from right to left, then it is necessary to fly into the past, and if the vector goes opposite, it means into the future. Five minutes passed, and the birds, as luck would have it, seemed to have hidden somewhere, disrupting the experiment. The impatient observer was already shifting from one foot to the other, unflatteringly describing the whole feathered world to himself, when suddenly some dead sparrow fluttered at the left edge of the frame, then sat down on it, unaware of its historical mission. Seeing the old man’s terrible, unshaven face behind the glass, the chick was stunned with fear, soiled the window, asshole, well, fluttered to the right and pointing to the Future!
– Undoubtedly: very smart people came up with this device, – Kalinkin came to the conclusion when two more signs appeared on the screen – “Time” and “Place”, – everything is concrete, fine tuning! Maybe it’s a virtual reality device, like five D? Then why in such a disguised form? Most likely, it was hidden by aliens from outer space, from another dimension! Those who are on flying saucers, the Americans showed them on video!
On the screen in red – “Attention!” – lit up a memo-instructions for reverse movement for a time traveler:
– “In order to avoid a dangerous situation! The return is activated at any moment of the journey by the command “I want to go back”.
The choice of a place with a poor imagination is obvious: a favorite city on the Neva river, Butlerova street, a native apartment with a balcony on the third floor… The time is at random, in about five years, 2026, June. It was only necessary to answer the questions, as space and time moved apart, absorbing Kalinkin along with the mysterious apparatus.
Ten minutes later, Galina Sergeevna called her husband, then went to look for him in the house, walked around the whole plot, but, to her surprise, she did not find him anywhere. The iron barrel lying on the veranda was also missing.
CHAPTER 2. LEAP INTO THE UNKNOWN
It didn’t seem like a long jump into the future to Kalinkin. Consciousness turned off, as with anesthesia, and it was not possible to feel anything during this movement through the years. Pyotr Mikhailovich opened his eyes and found himself in a painfully familiar six – meter kitchen, clean dishes on the table, flowers on the windowsill, everything neatly tidied up. Cautiously, still not fully believing in what was happening, I walked around the apartment – there is no hostess at home, the situation in the rooms does not seem to have changed, everything is as it was five years ago: Sony TV, photos hang on the walls, including his portrait, books shine with spines in the closet, on the sofa – the usual pillows. I sneaked into the pantry, put my hand under an old blanket – a stash of five hundred rubles on the spot, and his heart was relieved.
He turned on the TV for interest, and there – he don’t understand: either a cartoon, or a press conference:
– Attention, attention, Ivan the Fool at the microphone. Today we will find out how many percent of the remaining people as a result of optimization…
Kalinkin was not interested in fairy tales, and he de-energized the storehouse of news.
– And where is Galina? So June is the same month, she is obviously at the village, planting a vegetable garden, – Pyotr Mikhailovich realized. – Maybe I’m there too?
This metaphysical question took him by surprise: what happened to me in 2026? An amazing discovery was waiting for Pyotr Mikhailovich in the corridor by the mirror: where is my gray beard? A strange face of a man of about forty-five looked at him from the looking glass…
– Wow… – the shocked traveler could only squeeze out and almost cracked his head on the open closet door, and when the ability to think returned, he realized:
– If there is my reflection in the mirror, then the age and appearance change when jumping, a fact! But I wasn’t warned about this monster on four legs…
A clock ticked on the shelf, busily counting down the seconds of the new time.
– Honest mother, what should I do? Kalinkin burst out in despair, but there was no one to hear his words in the deserted apartment. However, there was still hope: upon returning back, everything would return to normal. And how to check: isn’t everything happening an illusion? Slowly going out on the stairs, he called the neighbor’s apartment, introduced himself as a relative of Galina – they say, he did not find her at home. The neighbor opened the door, did not recognize him, but said the obvious about his wife: at the village. But then the following question arose reasonably, and Pyotr Mikhailovich asked it with difficulty – his throat was so tight with excitement:
– And where is her husband?
– Galina
