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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 Sergeevna shared with me, shared, – the neighbor lowered her voice conspiratorially and stared at me, as if she remembered a horror movie. – Her husband disappeared at the village about five years ago, she was wanted, but they didn’t find him anywhere. And why are you interested? – she asked suspiciously, as if realizing that she had given away a great secret to a stranger.

– Yes, I am aware that he have disappeared, maybe some new information has appeared, – looking down, Pyotr Mikhailovich squeezed out with difficulty.

– New information – that electricity has risen in price again, and a tax on clean air has been introduced, – the neighbor abruptly cut off the conversation, startling herself, and slammed the door.

Having found out that five years later he, the former, was not in the house at the moment, Kalinkin reasoned sensibly: to meet himself in the future is pure fiction. A.P. Chekhov was right: it can’t be, because it can never be! The miracle machine transported Pyotr Mikhailovich to another time, but there was an updated image of him in the future, changed beyond recognition and not coinciding with the usual one. So, the neighbor communicated, one might say, with the personality of Kalinkin, but in a different bodily shell. Here’s proof of discovery number two: it’s impossible to recognize a time traveler…

Pyotr Mikhailovich returned to the apartment, sat down on a chair in the kitchen to think about the situation again:

– So… if I disappeared from that time, what should I do next? How can I prove at least to myself that I made a leap five years ahead?

The pernicious habit of pouring in a hundred and fifty grams of vodka to clear his brain, he resolutely left in the past: the experiment should be pure, unclouded alcohol, in the name of the interests of all mankind. However, there was no vodka at hand either: Kalinkin checked the refrigerator – just in case. Lofty motives have generated a solution ingenious in its simplicity: I will take some object with me from my apartment, and even this plastic elephant standing on the dresser – upon returning to reality, it will be a material proof of time travel.

– That’s right, and I’ll tear out today’s calendar sheet for memory: June 17, 2026, – Pyotr Mikhailovich decided, put the elephant in a plastic bag and went out into the yard for a walk – I wonder what has changed in the neighborhood?

On a beautiful summer day, Kalinkin walked alone along the sidewalk past old brick houses and narrow lawns with stunted grass. Neither oncoming nor cross – all disappeared somewhere, which seemed very strange.

– Are all extinct, or what?

Cars whizzed by, throwing out dirt and soot – the era of electric carts has not yet come, as once planned. He turned left onto the broad Avenue of Science – so it was written on a sign attached to the brick wall of the building.

– So, science exists in Russia! – Kalinkin noted to himself.

At one time, in connection with the liquidation of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, it was fired, and after a short thought, Pyotr Mikhailovich went to the night watchmen: well, the old man should not go to taxi drivers, although if life forces…

– Interestingly, – philosophized Pyotr Mikhailovich, – in the twentieth century the country created institutes of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and in the twenty-first century institutions of all kinds of problems suddenly began to arise: problems of the economy, problems of globalization, problems of entrepreneurship. It turns out: institutes and scientists are not engaged in science, but in problems that people themselves have created… Is this the progress? What were you thinking about earlier?

Thinking in this way, Pyotr Mikhailovich slowly moved along the avenue to the Akademicheskaya metro station and curiously looked at the signs of beauty salons and bank boards with a rate of 52—53 rubles to the yuan, but in his seemingly smart head, nothing clicked, illuminated, puzzled – and where are the dollars, and where is the euro? The metro turned out to be in the old place and has been preserved in almost the same gray, dull form, with concrete walls, a pie-thick roof and glass doors, representing stability in the field of architecture. And here people were already scurrying, crowds of people, Russians of the future. Oncoming streams of passengers poured out of the ground lobby and rushed back down, disappearing underground. The faces of those walking in the crowd were hidden by masks, and on the heads of each there was a headdress with a white plaque and a black number. Mentally, Pyotr Mikhailovich picked up a suitable comparison: a gathering of beekeepers in a huge apiary! He even rejoiced at his quick wit, but not for long: someone’s male voice with a characteristic southern accent interrupted his thoughts:

– Citizen, what are you doing here?

Pyotr Mikhailovich turned around: in front of him stood two stocky beekeepers, dressed in strange clothes, like the uniform of security guards in a shopping center five years ago.

– I’m looking at the subway building. What’s the matter? – Kalinkin was genuinely amazed.

– Why without a mask and a security number? – pushed, the one who is older. Pyotr Mikhailovich, trying to resolve the situation without conflict, politely asked:

– I forgot at home. And who are you?

– We are a volunteer squad of the Guard of Russia, – he received a proud answer, – you have grossly violated (it sounded like vi have violated) the decree on a special temporary regime. Follow us.

– Where to?

– To the police!

Kalinkin felt funny and even curious – some kind of incident, but he did not resist and contradict. The trio tramped along Civil Avenue to the building of the police department, where, after completing a quest with a cheerful color music, they found themselves in the duty room – a place of rendering legal services. Vigilant amateurs, having fused Pyotr Mikhailovich to professionals, turned around and recovered for a new search for evaders and violators. The chief on duty with one big star on his shoulder straps, apparently a general, took the guest into a separate room, sat him down on a chair and ordered him to wait. Kalinkin looked around: a black door, blue worn linoleum on the floor and the same blue painted brick walls, a barred window, an unpleasant, stagnant smell… Pyotr Mikhailovich even mentally refrained from unpatriotic comparisons, but he felt extremely shitty.

A nasty premonition sucked him in the pit of his stomach, a painful feeling of guilt arose; as if by magic, the constitutional rights of a citizen instantly self-destructed, and the personality and dignity of a person turned into something virtual. Involuntarily shivering, as if the punishing sword of either the proletariat or the bourgeoisie hovered over him there, under the ceiling, he became frightened and quiet. Five minutes later, a man in civilian clothes entered, but this one was already without a mask, sat down at the table facing Kalinkin and began filling out a questionnaire: first name, last name, patronymic, year of birth, registration address – in general, everything is like under Tsar Peas. From time to time he glanced at the monitor screen and tapped the keyboard keys. When the overture was over, questions began to pour in:

– What is the date, month, year today? – Kalinkin answered unmistakably.

– Why without documents? Why without a mask and a number? – The man didn’t look up from the table.

– Sorry, I forgot at home.

– And what were you doing at the metro station?

– I stood and looked at the pavilion building.

– Why? – The man raised his head and stared unfriendly at the prisoner.

– How why? It’s just interesting to watch. And what, is it forbidden?

– It’s not forbidden, but normal people don’t just stand by the subway and don’t look ostensibly at the pavilion. Who did you have an appointment with and for what purpose?

– I was alone and didn’t plan any meeting. Just walking. Don’t you believe me? – Pyotr Mikhailovich was genuinely surprised.

– I could believe it if it weren’t for the oddities in your behavior. Hence the question: when was the last time you took drugs? During the inspection, a toy elephant was seized from you. Why did you take him with you? Is that an identification mark?

The prisoner suddenly felt dizzy from excitement, but he answered with dignity, proudly raising his chin:

– This is an ordinary toy, nothing more.

– But you are not a child to carry toys with you. Well, you must agree – it’s very strange! – The word “strange” in his mouth sounded like a terrible accusation, Kalinkin noted to himself.

– Who did you want to give it to? Isn’t this a bookmark container? – the investigator squinted. – Witty. However, the examination will soon show whether there are traces of powder…

– Did you break the elephant? – Pyotr Mikhailovich could not stand it. – Galina will kill me!

– Galina is your accomplice?

– My wife, she’s at the village now.

– What happens, citizen? So, without your wife’s permission, you seized common property from the apartment and wanted to transfer it to a third party without her knowledge? Listen: it is in your own interests to refute the suspicions that have arisen and to prove the absence of the sale and storage of prohibited substances. You are in the status of a suspect, the measure is up to five years! – The man clearly enjoyed intimidating the unfortunate detainee.

– I didn’t have any drugs and I don’t have any. You’re confusing me in vain, – Kalinkin became emboldened, but the investigator has heard these speeches twenty times a day for the past ten years with a break for a short vacation once a year for a couple of weeks.

– Pyotr Mikhailovich, – the man looked into the questionnaire and changed his tone to almost affectionate, – well, judge for yourself: what kind of person in his right mind would go to the metro station for no reason, without a purpose, and even with a package containing a plastic toy and a calendar sheet with today’s date? So this piece of paper is a conditional sign?

– It’s just a leaf from the calendar, and I didn’t break anything, – Kalinkin fumed.

– Firstly, you violated it: during a special period you appeared in a public place without a mask and a security number, and secondly, you are now in a place where people don’t just get there… We will check everything and wait for the results of the examination. I warn you about criminal liability for giving false testimony. Sign here and here and here.

Pyotr Mikhailovich nervously and illegibly signed each sheet at the bottom, leaving some kind of squiggle, and then asked:

– What are the voluntary squads of the National Guard?

– A-a-a, – the investigator grinned. – This is, so to speak, an initiative of active segments of the population in pursuance of the Decree on the further development of democracy during the Great Restoration of the Country…

The policeman’s face became alien and impenetrable again.

– And now follow the employee for fingerprinting, you will have to issue a detention for a couple of days until all the circumstances are clarified.

Seeing the mute question in the innocent eyes of the arrested man and after being silent for a while, the man sharply slammed his hand on the table and added softly, typing every word:

– Pyotr Mikhailovich Kalinkin, whom you introduced yourself to, disappeared about five years ago and is wanted. Your appearance does not match the description and photo of the wanted person involved.

When the metal door of the detention cell screeched shut behind Pyotr Mikhailovich, he decided not to abuse the hospitality of the authorities and say goodbye to such a sad future, using a saving phrase:

– I want to go back! – However, there was no reaction. He broke into a cold sweat. Have you really forgotten? – Ah! he remembered. – I want to go back!!!

Time stopped, and the body, along with the sinless soul of Pyotr Mikhailovich, disappeared from the bullpen of the police department without a trace. When the loss was discovered in the evening, the police were surprised a lot, but due to the specifics of the service, they did not hesitate for a long time – and it happens occasionally. They simply withdrew the protocol of interrogation and the act of detention, as if they were not in nature, and that’s the end of it: who needs this Kalinkin, and without him, life is full of other worries.

When Galina Sergeevna Kalinkina returned home from the hospital a couple of weeks later, she found the elephant missing from the chest of drawers. Not that there is any value, but it’s just amazing: she remembered that the figure was always there, in the morning she dusted it with a rag. The elephant himself could not go anywhere! This iron argument and a woman’s insight made her take a closer look at the apartment, and on you: for some reason, a calendar sheet was torn out, there is the sixteenth of June and the eighteenth is in place, but there is no seventeenth. Some kind of devilry… She did not call her friends, but went to consult a neighbor. And neighbor told her about the visit of a strange man: he pestered her with questions, pretended to be a friend. Maybe he is the thief who broke into the apartment? True, it was embarrassing: the things and jewelry dear to her heart were in place, but the fact of penetration alarmed her so much that Galina Sergeevna decided to go to the police tomorrow, without a shake-up, with a statement about the theft. Moreover, this is exactly how they recommend acting on TV.

A man in civilian clothes questioned her, clearly not interested in this small matter. But when Kalinkina gave the address and announced the missing elephant, something cleared up in the investigator’s head, he immediately perked up and clarified:

– Is the calendar sheet missing?

And he was not surprised when he heard an easily predictable answer:

– Gone, gone, for June 17, 2026…

The investigator asked Galina Sergeevna to wait, and he went to the head of the department with a short report about the loss of a toy in the form of an elephant, a calendar sheet and a muddy man who disappeared from custody a couple of weeks ago. The chief instructed to send an investigative team to the victim’s address, and he picked up the secure phone and called the curator, following the instructions: to inform whom about all extraordinary incidents. The fingerprints taken at the police department from allegedly Kalinkin predictably coincided with the traces in the apartment, and thus the fact of his penetration into the dwelling and theft was irrefutably proved. Two circumstances were alarming: although the description of the criminal given by the neighbor coincided with the description of the detainee, Galina Sergeevna herself did not recognize her husband in him in any way. And most importantly: where did the criminal go?

CHAPTER 3. RETURN

Pyotr Mikhailovich woke up sitting in an armchair. In front of him is a monitor screen with the date: June 17, 2021, Moscow time – 17 hours 43 minutes, at the bottom of the phrase:

– “The penetration into the future is over. Stand up and remove the hood. Turn off the device by pressing the red button!”

The button was pressed, the structure with the monitor and the chair began to deflate and disappear into the air, and instead an iron barrel on metal legs reappeared. Kalinkin stood beside the time machine and was silent, gathering his thoughts. Have arrived… And where, exactly? After looking around, the traveler discovered that he was in an unfamiliar place, in some kind of closed, poorly lit room, like a warehouse or utility room. Pushing open the unlocked door, he found himself in the trading floor of the store, where this morning (oh, a miracle!) he bought batteries. The saleswoman involuntarily shuddered from surprise when she saw a stranger coming out of the office, and with fright called the administrator. Pyotr Mikhailovich only managed to spread his hands as a sign of good intentions, show empty palms and take a look in the mirror on the wall…The administrator, an energetic middle-aged lady, jumped out of the next room, went for rapprochement and attacked a young man who had fallen from nowhere with a powerful body and tricky questions: from where? why? why?, subjected him to a light search and let him go in peace, gently pushing him out into the street. Kalinkin realized that he was back in a country village, not far from his own house. Well, if so, fate itself prompted: go to your wife and clarify the situation, which yesterday would have seemed complete nonsense and absurdity.

After leaving the store, Pyotr Mikhailovich stopped and carefully examined his clothes. He remember that he went to the Future in his usual outfit – a work jacket and jeans, but he defiled at Butlerov street and the police in a brown suit. Now, after returning, he found himself dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit and short boots, and on his head was a blue baseball cap. There was, of course, no answer to the question of how and why clothes were changed and in which intertemporal atelier he was changed. But this circumstance is not so mysterious compared to the stunning change in appearance, and the age has decreased again! During the flight to 2026, he rejuvenated by twenty years and remained unrecognized by a neighbor who knew him like a flake from his student days. Did the reverse jump reduce (or did give him a gift) two more decades – at least that’s how Kalinkin looked now, walking briskly along the narrow village road, and felt like he matched his years. Apparently, this is the bonus from the barrel for bold experiments.

Pyotr Mikhailovich, or rather Peter looked with interest at the picture of summer spreading out before him, saw it in a new way, as if for the first time. By evening, the heat of the day finally relented and receded, cirrus clouds appeared high in the sky, stretching into white rag strips, daring from time to time to cover His Majesty the Sun. Suddenly the wind died down, and the orchestra of grasshoppers with crickets performed a concerto in D minor for the traveler, splashing their melodies in the fading nature. Here, around the corner, is his house with a dilapidated picket fence, a gate and a narrow path leading to a familiar door.

Galina Sergeevna was sitting in the kitchen and drinking tea alone, thinking about where her husband could have gone – he had not been in the house or on the plot for an hour. Her husband’s mobile phone was lying next to her, so she could only wait – apparently, Pyotr Mikhailovich decided to take a walk around the neighborhood, to be alone with himself. A sudden noise from the courtyard alerted her, there was a knock on the door.

– Who’s there? – The woman asked in a trembling voice.

– Can I come in? – An unfamiliar deep voice asked.

– Come in! – Galina Sergeevna allowed, and despite the external calmness, her soul sank into her heels: Pyotr Mikhailovich would not knock…

There was a creak, heavy footsteps were heard on the stairs, and a young man of about twenty-five appeared on the threshold, wearing a blue overalls, short boots and a blue baseball cap with the inscription “Reebok”.

– Excuse me, mistress, – the guest began reassuringly, seeing the fright in the eyes of an elderly woman, – I’m going around the houses in the neighborhood, I suggest drilling wells. Do you have an old well on your site, as with drinking water?

– There is water, but my husband and I haven’t decided anything about the well yet, – and as if in justification, she added: – We haven’t been here long, we haven’t looked around properly yet…

Galina Sergeevna’s sudden fear did not let go yet, but she tried with all her might not to show it – some frightening implausibility emanated from the man. His visit from the point of view of common sense is also inexplicable and mysterious: it’s too late to go around the house, rather, it’s just an excuse. However, the guest was in no hurry to leave and closely followed the behavior of the hostess, and she intuitively, unmistakably felt that it was not the well at all.

– What kind of day is this? First Pyotr disappeared somewhere, and now this strange guest? – she thought, and aloud, in order to round off the strange conversation, politely suggested: – And you come to us in a couple of days, talk to the owner…

– I will do that, – the guy agreed, resolutely put on his cap and left without saying goodbye. When the door slammed and the footsteps in the garden died away, Galina Sergeevna, without feeling, slowly got up and walked stiffly to the open window, carefully closed the shutters and latched them on the latches. Her hands were shaking as if from exertion, her head was spinning, and her body was stiff with fright. She returned to the table, managed to drink water from a glass, then tried to get a bottle of medicine, but the floor swayed treacherously and went out from under her feet. Flying away into the darkness and piercing pain, she still thought about Pyotr.

The time machine played a cruel joke with Pyotr Mikhailovich. He appeared before his Galina as a young stranger full of strength and health. Shocked no less than his wife, assessing the situation as if from the outside, he intended not to injure his ridiculous explanations for at least another couple of days in order to save her from an imminent blow. Perhaps something will change during this time… The game eventually presented the second side of the coin – the reckoning for superpowers, which also needs to be comprehended and taken for granted. Having left his own house, burdened with the revealed truths, Peter had no idea where to go, and wandered aimlessly along the highway. Then, unable to think of anything better, he turned around and headed back to the store. At this late hour there were no more visitors, and out of desperation, he started a bold conversation with a pretty saleswoman about urgent needs: I’m so thirsty that I have nowhere to spend the night… There are practically no chances of success, but, surprisingly, the girl remembered and recognized him and, calmly measuring him with her impenetrable black eyes, asked:

– And what were you doing in the warehouse?

– Yes, I accidentally went there… – Kalinkin lied clumsily.

It was hardly true, but his helpless appearance confirmed better than any words: He is not from here, he have nowhere to go, even if a wolf howls… after a little thought, the girl calmly said in a melodious voice:

– If you’re thirsty, buy a couple of beers, well, or stronger… And the snack, so be it, I’ll cook it myself.

Mein goth! Kalinkin almost jumped for joy and at first did not even believe what he had heard: what a surprise and contrast with the new self that had not yet fully formed! His eyes studied her expression and finally lit up with an inner fire of hope. The psychological swing swung again, the cave of Ali Baba’s treasures opened up before him: pleasant company, a warm overnight stay, and if he was really lucky, then a woman’s caress.

– What’s your name, not Mother Teresa? – he joked.

– Daria. And you?

Carefully, so as not to scare away, not to dispel this mirage, Peter asked as politely as possible to choose snacks to her taste, and even in this she did not disappoint. Where he got the money in his pocket so conveniently turned out to be – probably a mystery, on a par with new clothes… When the store closed, the two of them walked leisurely side by side, shoulder to shoulder, occasionally looking at each other with interest. When she reached the gate, jokingly, or maybe seriously, a new acquaintance stopped and asked Peter:

– Aren’t you a criminal?

– Does it really look like? – Peter retorted with a smile.

– I don’t think so. Married? – that’s how easily they switched to “you”.

– I don’t even know, – Peter exhaled after a pause. But strangely enough, this answer was received favorably: everything happens, and she has already seen something in her life.