The colony. Chapter 11: The Doctor's Tale

Raytnov and Gordon sat at the bar in the dining room, and in front of each was a glass of whiskey. Angus paced the space behind them for a long time, but then went to the porthole and thought about something.

Isaac kicked them out of the operating room, explaining that he needed concentration and silence to perform the operation. Everyone understood this and did not object, only Emilia insisted on staying and helping. At first, Isaac was against it, but could not disagree with the argument that every medic should have an assistant.

“To Barney,” said Raytnov, raising his glass, already the third.
“For his speedy recovery,” corrected Gordon, “but it turns out to be ambiguous.”

With a ringing sound, they clinked glasses and drained them in one gulp, while wrinkling equally. Gordon abruptly put the glass down, almost breaking it, and put his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair. Raytnov updated the drink for himself and his friend and said:

- This is my fault, Gordon. It was impossible to go out so stupid.

Gordon looked up at him and waved his hand.

- When will you stop carrying this nonsense? Stop blaming yourself, you're not at fault. We are on a strange and hostile planet, and we cannot fail to make mistakes at all. This is not our home.

Raytnov took a small sip.

“Yes, I know,” he said, “but I should have thought of greater security.”
“In that case, I should have thought about it.” And Barney, too, and ... ”Gordon faltered and looked towards the doctor,“ and to him. ”

Raytnov turned his head toward the porthole, opposite which stood Angus. He crossed his arms over his chest and continued to look out pensively, although it was already quite dark.

“I guess he sees him well in the dark,” said Gordon, referring to the doctor’s glasses.

Angus seemed to have heard him, straightened his glasses, and began to carefully peer somewhere, bringing his face closer to the porthole. There was a titan somewhere nearby - surely he had brought the rover to a state that was completely unsuitable for repair. However, there were no holograms and radars in the canteen case - at least, the guys did not find the switch responsible for this. Raytnov grunted, shook his head, and returned to his glass, almost empty again.

“You know,” he said thoughtfully, “but Isaac is right,” the prokushennaya carotid artery could not just take it and stop bleeding.

Gordon looked at him in silence.

“Barney should no longer be alive,” Raytnov continued, “the bite is too deep.”

Gordon had the same thought repeatedly in his head, and he also did not understand how a person could live with such a wound on his neck. And at the time of finding Barney was not just alive, but, according to Isaac, lost not so much blood. As if his body noticed and fixed the hole himself - no matter how silly it sounded.

“Isaac will put him on his feet,” Gordon said, and knocked the contents of the glass down the throat again.

Raytnov wanted to follow his example, but turned to the left, feeling movement next to him. Angus sat down and put his glasses in front of him. He stared at them for a few seconds, and only then looked up and met Raithnov’s eyes. The latter silently took another glass from the counter, set it in front of the doctor and filled it to the top, and then filled the glasses for himself and Gordon.

- Did you know? He suddenly asked.

The doctor hesitated for a moment, but answered quickly:

- Yes.
- What exactly?
- Almost all.

Raytnov took a deep breath, looked into his eyes and suddenly laughed.

“But from the very first day after the attack I began to suspect you,” he said.
“I know,” replied Angus, smiling slightly, “that evening when Gordon and Barney arrived, you sat at the same counter and discussed this with them.”

Raytnov looked at Gordon - he frowned, remembering, and then pointedly shook his head and said:

- Let me guess. Points?
“Glasses,” the doctor confirmed, “good eyesight, good hearing and some protection.”
- And detail?
“Let's wait for Isaac and Emilia — it will be interesting for them to listen too,” answered Angus, and then raised his glass, “and now let's drink to Barney.”
“To Barney,” said Raytnov with Gordon, and once again felt the warmth descending through the esophagus.

The three of them sat and talked on neutral topics for a while. Once Raytnov got up and went to the transition to the medical corps to find out how the operation goes, but Gordon stopped him.

Finally, the doors began to hiss and Isaac entered the dining room, followed by Emilia. Looks at Isaac was a little confused, but quite cheerful. Gordon rose from his seat and took a couple of steps to meet him with a dumb question in his eyes.

Isaac moved closer and stood next to Gordon, glancing at everyone. He did not know where to begin, and an awkward silence reigned.

“We finally stopped the bleeding,” he finally said, “the pulse is weak, but stable.

Gordon continued to look him in the eye inquiringly.

“I would say he will survive,” Isaac continued, looking away, “but ... I'm not sure.”

Emilia crossed her arms and looked at Isaac, then at Gordon.

- And what is the reason for doubt? - asked Raytnov, - the state is stable.
- The fact is that the state is stable, but it should not be so. With such a wound on his neck, he should already be dead due to blood loss.

Isaac scratched his head and finished the thought:

“But he has a wound that seemed to heal itself, preventing excessive blood loss - even a transfusion is not required, which I personally consider impossible. I first see this and do not know what to expect next. Emilia and I did our best and connected Barney to automation, but then we can only wait and watch.

Raytnov took another glass from the bar and filled it in half.

“You're doing great, Isaac,” he said, handing the glass, “these are the legitimate fifty grams after the operation.” Emilia?

She nodded positively and there was another glass less on the bar counter. Isaac came up and put the already empty glass back and glanced at the doctor - he slowly brought the glass to his lips and took a small sip, savoring the taste of the drink and looking at the well-known point on the wall in front of him. Then, just as slowly, he lowered his glass and said, without taking his eyes off the wall:

“Barney will be fine.”

He turned in his chair, leaning his left elbow on the bar, and caught himself with questioning glances.

- I am ready to answer any questions about what is happening here.

Raytnov also turned in his chair and looked at the doctor in focus. In his eyes was not a drop of intoxication.

- Who are you? He asked shortly.

The doctor did not look away.

“My name is Angus, this is my real name,” he said, “and I am here as an observer.”

Rytnova clearly did not accept such an answer.

- Well? - he raised his voice, without waiting for the continuation, - an observer for anything, and why the hell do we even have an observer? What conclusion should I draw from what you just said? Speak immediately deployed, do not force to clarify.

Angus looked down and decided not to annoy him further.

- There is such a corporation - “Planet Earth”. “Planet Earth”, if translated. They position themselves as space explorers and pioneers of worlds. They are also engaged in space tourism and the external protection of the Earth from relatively large celestial bodies such as asteroids. But in reality it is a giant who has crushed more than eighty percent of the production on our planet. You could say this corporation owns the Earth.

“I hear this name for the first time,” said Raytnov dryly.

“Of course, the entire power of the corporation is not advertised,” continued the doctor, “in the world, Planet Earth is known as a small private company with a specific field of activity. But look at your tablets, at your uniform. Go to the hangar and look at the brand of the rover and the manufacturer of your weapon. You will see the names of the leading brands in each of the regions there, because we did not spare money for our expedition and purchased the best equipment and ammunition. But no one knows that everything - I repeat, all these brands are only divisions of the corporation “Planet Earth”. All this imitation of the fight against monopoly is a show for ordinary people, and in fact there is only one player. And he owns colossal assets and can afford a lot.

Angus, in the old oratorical habit, looked around at his listeners. The beginning of the story turned out to be intriguing, and everyone listened carefully.

- How do you know this? - clarified Emilia.
- My great-grandfather once saved the life of one of the high-ranking members of the round table of this corporation and became his close friend. Traditions are honored, so both my grandfather, and father, and I were in a circle of attorneys.
- It started so long ago? - Emilia was surprised.
“Well, did you think the planet was monopolized in one generation?” They also before my great-grandfather was hell knows how much. Alex, could you pour me some more? Her throat was dry.

Raytnov silently updated the contents of his glass, and then picked up the bottle in front of him and looked inquiringly at everyone.

“Come on, come on,” said Gordon, moving his glass.

When all the other glasses were filled and went into the right hands, Angus continued:

- I mentioned that the corporation “Planet Earth” positions itself as a space explorer and discoverer of worlds. While scientists are telling earthlings about the latest orbital telescopes and the potentially inhabited planets they have found, the corporation silently sends drones to these very planets and examines them more closely. Demetrion - the most interesting of all currently open planets. Life on it managed to take a rather complex form - it is very similar to our Earth in the era of dinosaurs.
- And how many known inhabited worlds? - asked Isaac.

The doctor turned his head to him and put the glass in his other hand.

- Total known eight planets on which life has already arisen. But in seven of them she is still rather primitive, unlike Demetrion. Here not only life is developed, but also plant crops - here humanity can find a new home. Hence the name, because Demeter is the goddess of fertility in ancient Greek mythology.

Angus paused for a moment and then continued, glancing at Rytnov:

- However, humanity does not know anything about this world. “Planet Earth” has high hopes for it, but keeps its discovery secret. And since the plans for Demetrion are really impressive, it must be carefully investigated.

The doctor's gaze slid over to Gordon.

- And also try to live on it.
- What does “try to live” mean? - Gordon did not understand.
“This means,” answered Angus, “that no one needs our research, because all the data on the soil of Demetrion and on the titans have long been known to corporations.” And here we are the trial settlers.

For a minute there was a dead silence in the dining room - everyone was thinking about the information he had just received. Isaac looked at Emilia and noticed that she had barely noticeably whispered something. He did not hear the words, but he read lips - usually this phrase was used in the context of extreme surprise. Isaac mentally agreed with Emilia and asked:

- If the corporation was aware of the titans, then why were we not there?

Raytnov turned the glass in his hands and anticipated the doctor's answer.

“At first, the leadership wanted to inform the expedition,” answered Angus, “but as you know, large corporations are rarely humane - the information is more important to them. So they decided to experiment and see how a handful of people would survive in a hostile world.
“How cruel it is,” said Emilia, wincing.
“I agree,” said the doctor, “and it makes no sense.” For humanity, even the titans are not a problem, because their claws and the sense of smell are not even close by with modern weapons and surveillance systems. But, nevertheless, the corporation found the sense in it - they wanted to check the latest weapons in action.

The four listeners looked at each other.

- And where is this weapon? - Raytnov asked, - Gordon, maybe in your pocket?

He shook his head and skeptically curled his lips.

- Where is this weapon then? How and when are they going to check it?
- Maybe the titans are weapons? - suggested Isaac.
“Then I don’t understand,” said Raytnov, “are the titans a weapon or is it the result of evolution?”

Waiting for everyone to turn their heads toward him again, Angus said:

“Titans are the result of evolution.” And the weapon is now among us.

Isaac guessed what the doctor was talking about and rolled his eyes.

- Barney? Is Barney a weapon?

The doctor smiled slightly and nodded. Then he took a small sip of whiskey, put the glass on the bar and continued:

- That's the answer, why his wounds healed themselves, not allowing him to lose a lot of blood.
“What about physical strength?” - Gordon asked.
- All parameters improved. Recovery, strength, reaction, accuracy - Barney is much better off than the common man.

Raytnov and Gordon exchanged glances.

“So that's why that wolf was lying with his jaw torn off,” said Alex, “Barney is just damn strong.” Do you remember how he easily lifted the generator, which we barely kept together with you? And how did you shoot another wolf that attacked you shortly before arriving here?

Gordon nodded affirmatively, but still frowned and asked the question:

“Why then did he not notice the wolf that attacked him today?”
“Because he is not some terminator or universal soldier,” answered Angus, “he has a more perfect body, but he still remains a man.”

Isaac crossed his arms and asked:

- How much time does he need to recover?
- Given the nature of the injury, about three to four days.
“Why bother making a weapon out of a man?” Asked Emilia.

The doctor thought for a second and answered pointedly:

- Weapons are multifaceted. On a par with technical perfection, it is necessary to perfect the perfection of the performers themselves.

For a while, everyone again plunged into silent meditations, and then Raithnov drank the contents of the glass in a gulp, abruptly put it on the table and reached for the doctor’s glasses, which lay on the counter. Angus did not interfere with this, quite the contrary - he watched with interest. Raytnov turned the glasses in his hands, and then put them on, but did not notice anything unusual.

“I understand that they are strictly personalized and serve only one owner,” he said, putting the glasses back on the rack, “how do they work?”

The doctor took them from the rack and began to turn in his hands.

- As I mentioned, they allow you to see better and hear better. They illuminate all warm-blooded creatures in the field of visibility, and it was in this way that I killed the wolf today - I myself did not see him because of the thick vegetation that separated us, but my glasses saw him. The second is improved hearing. The handle fits snugly to the skull and transmits impulses directly to the brain through vibration - this is how I heard your conversation about suspicions about me a few days ago.

The doctor fell silent and put the glasses back on the rack - there was no point in putting them on now.

“You also mentioned that they give a bit of protection,” Gordon reminded.

Angus finished the contents of his glass.

- Right. Glasses give ... gave me protection from both the titans and the wolves. Supposedly from other creatures besides humans.

Raytnov silently looked into the doctor's eyes, waiting for the continuation, which was not long in coming:

- It happens as follows. Demetrion has several hundred satellites of the corporation in orbit, who constantly know my location with an error of up to half a meter and continuously send an energy beam to this point. Man is not able to feel it, but he regularly scares away any predators, even the titans. Roughly speaking, I was constantly under a protective dome.

He turned his glass over and set it upside down, depicting a dome.

- The radius of protection is not too large, but if I need to increase it significantly, I can give the satellites a signal by tapping the handle in this place. In this case, the beam becomes much more powerful in the short term. By the way, Alex, this is how we arrived here from Alpha - I constantly caused a powerful beam that scared the titans. And there were a lot of them in the vicinity ...

Gordon put his hand to his chin and began to stroke his beard. Then he opened his mouth to ask a question, but Angus got ahead of him and continued the story:

- This is how the defense system of this military base functions. Only she does not use the help of satellites - she herself is able to generate a dome.
“Can we activate it somehow?” Asked Raytnov.
- We can, but for this it is necessary to penetrate the command post. You were right again, Alex - one of the buildings, the purpose of which is not marked on the map, is the heart of the base. But to get there will not be easy - we'll talk about this a little later, in the morning.
- And our bases? - asked Emilia, - Alpha, Delta? Did they also have a protective dome?
“No,” answered Angus, “these bases were part of the experiment.” In the study materials of the “expedition” it is said that there are no predators on the planet larger than wolves, and the walls of these research bases served precisely as protection against them.
“I already guess what the answer will be,” Gordon said at last, “but why did we live on this planet for three months and did not meet a single living titan?”

The doctor decided not to suggest the children themselves to guess and answered:

- All the same satellites. They generated a huge dome that covered all our bases. And one day he was shot.
“And the corporation just watched the titans stealing up to defenseless bases and killing innocent people?” Asked Emilia.

Angus lowered his eyes.

“Yes,” he replied, with a shrug, “but all these people cannot be called innocent.”

Catching a questioning look at himself, he continued:

- With rare exceptions, the expedition sent the criminals, who were awaiting the death penalty. Those of them who agreed to the experiment were introduced false memories of the past life and were given certain skills.
- What about us? - asked Emilia - are we criminals too?

The doctor sighed.

- I do not have detailed information about each, only general statistics. I can only say about Barney - he was also waiting for the death penalty.
- For what?
- For disobeying leadership. You probably noticed that he is a good military man. This skill he did not get used to - he worked him all his life. And once, during the execution of a secret mission, he needed to kill several innocent people who happened to be witnesses of the operation. And Barney refused to do it - for this he fell under the tribunal.
“But instead, he became an even more formidable weapon and ended up here?” - suggested Gordon.
“Exactly,” said Angus.
- Why did you tell all this? - asked Raytnov, yawning and covering his open mouth with his hand, - what about your observer mission?

The doctor smiled sadly and looked at him.

- They stopped sending me a beam. This means that I am no longer an observer, I am one of the experimental ones.

Now it was Raytnov’s turn to smile mysteriously. Then he rubbed his eyes tiredly, looked at his watch - it was nearing midnight - and said:

- It's too late. I propose to meet here tomorrow at eight o'clock, have a good breakfast and discuss a plan of action. Do we have a chance to get out of here?

The doctor nodded.

“Well, that's fine,” said Raytnov, moving his glass to a specially marked rectangular zone, from where the mechanical hand would then pick it up and send it to the sink, so that after a couple of minutes it would be put back on the shelf with clean glasses.

He got up, wished everyone good night and headed to the second floor, to his room.

I will be glad to see everyone in VK group :)