about you?
– I will make a clone, copy myself so that you will understand me very well.
– Why did you decide to become a woman?
– Later. You're already here.
In its type, this center was practically a copy of the polygon. Who was behind it was even more intriguing. The attendant stayed in the corridor.
The administrator's office was ordinary, not mirrored. The attendant was telling the truth – reflections made my eyes hurt.
– I welcome you," said the receptionist, extending his hand. – Keep your gloves on, you can call me Noah. I, like that legendary character, am building this ship, fearing Armageddon. I knew the purpose of your visit six months ago. I was expecting you then. I'll be honest, I'm surprised to find a representative of the collegium, but if there is something in this world that is not known to them, that is us, then it is a very serious secret. You can visit any department, just don't tell employees of different departments what you talked about with their colleagues. We have strict controls, and employees in one department may not know that there is another department. In other words, everyone knows their own section and nothing more. The state of the entire center is not known to anyone except the top brass here and in the board. At the White House, many people don't even have clearance to 51. By the way, and there you can see with what and how you can send a disguised signal. We have such installations, but I think there are just as many in Russia. I hope you have checked them and they are under control.
– What I need to know is not that a signal can be sent, but that it will be processed and encrypted in such a way that it will be accepted by the receiving device as valid.
– Okay, my friend, flag in hand, as you say.
He looked at the door, it opened, the attendant was waiting.
– Show our colleague out.
Ruthra thanked him, said goodbye, and left. The attendant led him down the corridors to the proper compartments. He didn't enter the bays, only introduced Ruthra and showed him his security clearance. There were many interesting things in these compartments, but not on his quest. They were mostly laboratories and testing grounds. They were similar to what he had at his proving ground, only the emphasis was mostly on flying technology, biology, and studying the effects on the brain.
After looking through most of the compartments, Ruthra realized that the difference between "Polygon" and what was here was vast. The Polygon was not known to exist, while here there could be an "outsider", albeit a "scientist", but still an outsider. Or was he wrong? Could it be that the 'Polygon' was also visited by experts from here? "Right, that's it, Alikhanov talked about something like that," Ruthra suddenly realized. – "That's right. It's closed to the uninitiated, but to a representative of Echelon 2, they're one organization. They're working on the same program together. I wonder which one?" Ruthra decided to find out, now he had special opportunities – a blockage, an accomplice in the form of a cybernetic brain with human intelligence, information not only on the entire Internet, but also on closed, secret databases.
It was obvious that Rutra had not shown everything. It became abundantly clear – the processes of chipping and rapid learning are conducted and studied in various laboratories and compartments of the test site.
When Ruthra (or rather, his "renewed" brain_ had sufficiently studied the scheme of passages and levels, he asked the attendant to leave him alone. He was glad and kindly explained how to find his way to the right place. As in Polygon, a glowing line on the wall could be turned on. You had to get close to the wall, and a series of bars on the wall would light up in directions. You had to select the line you wanted, bring the badge closer, contact the badge chip with the luminous stripe, and then it became visible to the badge. Between the badge and the wall appeared a laser line of a certain color, corresponding to the compartment, which was indicated on the scheme. The diagram was located at each fork of the corridor.
The attendant explained how to use it, then gave Ruthra a machine to communicate with him, showed him on the 3D map that was displayed on top of the pass bracelet's display where the household unit with the sleeping quarters was, and went about his business. Ruthra was free, now he had to find those doctors.
Passing through the departments here was simplified. Admission areas were pre-inscribed on a badge that was visually invisible. Instead of a pupil scan, walking up to the door was sufficient. If access was granted, the door became matte, no longer reflective; if you got a little closer, it opened.
Ruthra contacted Isa.
– What department does Dr. Rousey work in?
– She is listed under the same letterhead as Academician Alikhanov.
– What's that?
– The letter sos; is the letter used to mark persons under special control, restricted freedom of contact and movement.
– Where do I find her?
– Bimolecular Transgeniology Unit.
– Can you connect to this station's computer?
– Uh, no.
– How do you know about who and where she is?
– I was provided with information, because I work for the board, and I was loaded with information from everyone who is connected to me. Everything they see, hear, feel, think.
– Even like that?
– You and your kind are the perfect spies. Everything you see, hear, feel, think, can be transmitted over a distance, without instruments. No external instruments. Everything you need is already inside you. The brain is the perfect receiver and transmitter. You only need to be able to amplify it, chip and decode the signals.
– Okay, I'm getting tired.
Ruthra found one of the intersections, lit up the schematic with his badge, found the biomolecular transgeniology unit on it, contacted the badge with his line, and went where the laser led. He remembered that the attendant had covered his eyes with a hooded mask. Ruthra did the same, visibility changed. Through the mask everything looked in matte color, his eyes didn't hurt from the constant wandering of the image, especially when there were several people moving through the corridors.
Soon he arrived at the place. The door wouldn't open, there was no clearance.
– What to do? – He asked Isa.
– Call her," she suggested or recommended.
– How?
– Wait, they're having lunch soon, someone will come out, tell them to call. It's normal here.
Rutra did so, and soon a woman, in her early thirties, of oriental type, came out.
– I'm here to see you. May I speak to you? – Ruthra addressed her.
– Are you from Russia? – she asked with hope in her voice.
– Yes," Ruthra answered, looking at her wonderingly. – Why, can you tell? Or did you recognize it in some other way?
– No. I knew a trusted specialist was coming, a doctor from Russia studying systems that transmit information signals in unconventional ways. Let's go to the cafeteria, have lunch, and we can talk.
– Were
