The colony. Epilogue

Through the veil of viscous fog, Raytnov began to discern some kind of noise, which came as if from the depths of his mind and every moment took on more and more distinct outlines. Soon, the noise began to remotely resemble a human voice, and for an instant, Raytnov seemed to hear his name.

“I woke up at last,” a voice said softly, when he slightly winced and moaned. - Feel good?

Raytnov mumbled something inarticulate, without opening his eyes, but it turned out to be quite enough so that the answer was regarded as positive.

- That's great, - the voice sounded more fun. - You can wash and change clothes, and then come to us.

Raytnov heard footsteps moving away from his bed and wanted to ask something, but his tongue was still not obedient. And then the voice, as if reading his thoughts, clarified:

- On the arrow to the right. There will not be lost.

A second later, he heard a slight hiss of a door.

Alex opened his eyes with difficulty and looked around. He was in a cramped room, however, there was everything needed for one person: a bed, a small dresser for personal belongings, a wardrobe and a tiny shower.

Raytnov sat on the bed and felt at the same time strange and unpleasant sensations - as if his body did not belong to him. It still carried out commands emanating from the brain, but somehow reluctantly, retarded. With some more effort, Raytnov rose. His eyes darkened slightly, so he had to lean his hand on the cabinet in order not to fall. When his state of health improved, he looked down and made sure that he was wearing the same uniform as before. The fact that no one touched or disguised him during sleep slightly calmed Alex.

Throwing off his uniform, he walked to the shower stall with an uncertain gait. The water was cool, but not cold. The temperature was pleasant, and little by little, Raytnov began to regain control of his body. For a few minutes, Alex just stood under the tap and enjoyed the sensation. Drowsiness finally began to pass, giving way to clarity of consciousness.

Raytnov turned off the water and pressed a button that says "Drying." The booth slightly buzzed, and after a second began to envelop it with powerful streams of warm air. Outside, Alex went to the closet and took out all the necessary clothes. The new uniform was the usual overalls of a researcher without any distinctive features. On the chest stood the logo of the corporation Planet Earth, the same as on the shuttle standing in Port.

Alex sat on the bed and tried to remember everything that happened to him. To his surprise, memories floated up quite easily in his mind. He remembered their trip on the rover and what happened after. He also remembered the conversation with Angus and the mysterious man whom he called Mr. President. He remembered everything that had happened to him since the day he woke up from sleeping on Alpha a little over three months ago. Contrary to the words of Angus, the memories did not leave him. And why did Angus call him brother?

Slamming himself on the knees, Raytnov rose and headed for the exit from the capsule. The door with a soft hiss went to the side, and on the wall opposite, he saw an arrow to the right with the inscription "The Captain's Bridge." Without thinking, he headed in the direction indicated.

Apparently, the ship was absolutely tiny, because there were no more than thirty steps to the door at the end of the corridor, and the bridge was right behind her. Three people settled around the hologram in the center of the room and were discussing something vigorously, and Raytnov sighed with relief because two of them were familiar to him. A third, short and stocky man, he had never seen.

“Well, you and dormouse,” Barney said happily, heading towards his friend and holding out his hand. “We have already been on an hour to discuss matters.”
“Glad to see you guys,” Raytnov felt a rapid heartbeat and remembered the words of Angus. “So the resistance really exists?” I did not dream?
“As you can see,” Barney turned and looked around the bridge. - It has as many as four people, well, or five, if you count Angus.
“Well, you’ll go for two,” Gordon smiled.
“Wow ...” Raytnov wanted to be sarcastically surprised, but only disappointment was heard in his voice. “Only five ... six people?” Where is Angus?

Chunky walked closer and smiled broadly.

“Barney, as usual, is joking,” he said in a soft voice, and Raytnov recognized him immediately. - We are many, we are everywhere. But we need to act wisely if we want to defeat a corporation. Angus is at the next iteration, on Demetrione. By the way, I'm Jim.
“Very nice,” Raytnov shook his outstretched hand and confusedly turned his gaze to the porthole. Millions of stars and constellations fit in a tiny window, and Alex could not tear his eyes away from him.

“Well, let's get our comrade up to date,” suggested Jim. He created the impression of a person who does not like to waste time and throw words around. - Time is playing against us, the bases will soon be rebuilt and new settlers will be launched.

The four of them settled down at the hologram, which displayed the base of "Alpha". Safe and sound.

“As in the past, the Alpha base will be attacked first,” Jim said, and then put his fist to his chin, and his face took on a thoughtful expression.

Raytnov looked at him in surprise.

“Not even that,” he continued after a pause. - Let's start from the beginning. As you already know, there is a corporation we all once worked for. You three, - Jim looked around at the rest, - at one point they became disagreeable to her. They began to ask questions, and in general began to think more of what they were supposed to. It was impossible to dismiss you, for obvious reasons, but there was no sense from you at work either. Continue?
“And so we were simply sent to an experiment, which we ourselves were preparing. “Barney finished for him.”
- Exactly. The purpose of the experiment, as you know again, was what?
- Testing ... me? - suggested Barney.
“Yes and no,” Jim put his hands on his hips and looked up at him. - Of course, it was necessary to look at you in action. And it was necessary to select the survivors, to look at how they act together. With the goal, then all the survivors inject the same pill as you, and then put everyone in stasis until better times.
- What kind of times are these? - I do not understand Alex.
“Well, when will you come in handy to quell rebellions, for example,” Jim explained. - Or to fight aliens, if they exist at all. In short, for dirty work. Well, there, of course, they will clear your mind again and give you clear and understandable instructions. In general, the corporation collects an army of elite fighters. You three were supposed to be them.

Jim studied the faces of each of the three “fighters” in turn, and, making sure that there were no signs of misunderstanding on them, he continued.

- Such are the cases. And our Movement wants to destroy all this monopoly and stop these manipulations with human consciousness. As a joke, we call ourselves fighters for human rights, hehe.

Rytnov’s gaze was once again chained to the millions of stars, centered around the window.

“I don’t know anything about your past,” Jim continued in between. - I know only what I have already said - you started thinking a lot, and you were pressed. And now let's go back to the experiment, if there are no questions.

There were no questions, so Jim continued:

- Including yours, there were already two experiments. The first one failed completely because the titans destroyed all the Alpha settlers on the first night. On the second night, the same thing happened with Delta.
- And when does the third experiment start? - asked Raytnov.
“In a few weeks, when the bases are restored.” Now the orbital station again covered all the domes, so that the Titans do not turn up ahead of time. When the repair is completed, new settlers will be launched. They will be given exactly three months to settle down and make contacts, and then the dome will be removed. Well, what next, you already know.

Raytnov crossed his arms and began to measure the room with his steps, as if it helped him to structure his thoughts better.

“Isaac and Emilia will go to the experiment again,” he said thoughtfully. “Like Joe and Scott.”
“Like a couple hundred more,” said Jim. - We need to save them all. Let's start with this.
- So what is next? - Barney asked.
- And then ... - in the eyes of Jim flashed light. - We will continue to make plans to disrupt other experiments of the corporation. They have a great many. But we need to start small, and I believe that we are quite able to save the new settlers. The corporation does not know about the Movement, therefore there is an advantage on our side.
“How are we going to save the settlers?”
“There are our people at the orbital station,” Jim replied. - Angus had to make a lot of efforts to make them appear.
- And they will delay the dome?
- Not really. We will delay the dome with you.

Gordon and Barney exchanged glances, and smiles slowly began to appear on each of them.

“The job is exactly your profile,” Jim winked at them. - Our colleagues at the station lightly dig in the databases and start an extraordinary check. Checks happen from time to time, so all the staff have long been accustomed to this, and no one will pay special attention to it.
- Will we be engineers and supervisors? - Finished thought Raytnov.
- Exactly. Our ship, too, will not cause any suspicion, since it is formally owned by the corporation. Angus thought it through.

With these words, Jim looked at Rytnov, and he remembered the words of Angus that one should not act openly against a corporation. Each step had to be thought through in detail.

“I like the plan,” Gordon nodded. - But there was one question.
“I listen to you, Gordon,” Jim turned to him.
“If we manage to save everyone, how will we take them from Demetrion?” Is this also thought out?

Jim scratched his chin and smiled.

- Let's just say we thought about it. We need cargo ships.
- That is, they are not there now? - asked Barney.
“They are not there now,” Jim confirmed, but his voice expressed no doubt that this would soon change. - But it is a matter of time. In any case, we need ships to move in space. Our Movement is growing day by day, and each of us in varying degrees, is working on this issue. How can.

Jim paused for a moment, then turned and headed for the control panel to check something. Raytnov followed him.

“Jim,” he whispered as they walked a few steps away.

Waiting until the interlocutor turned to him, Raytnov continued:

- Is it true that we are brothers with Angus?
“Of course,” Jim put a hand on his shoulder. - It's true, Alex. You are siblings. And Angus asked me to tell you that this time you were prudent enough so that he would not have to get you back from Demetrion.

With these words, Raytnov was a little uncomfortable. He suddenly felt that he could be much more useful for people here, in the ranks of the Movement, than among the settlers.

“We need you, Alex,” Jim’s hand tightened on his shoulder. - We need your ponder. While Angus is there in the fields, the role of the leader of the Movement will fall on you. You must be reasonable.
“I promise,” Raytnov nodded, feeling the feeling unknown to him until now. Responsibility for the lives of hundreds of other people.

Jim smiled and nodded back.

“Hey guys,” Barney shouted. “But will the settlers also have memory turned off?” What if they don't want to join us?
“And where should they go,” Jim shrugged. - We have the private affairs of each of them. When they read them and find out what the corporation planned to do with them, they will hate it.

For a few moments, there was silence, which Jim himself had broken.

“Remember my words, Companions,” he said proudly. “We are all people without a past.” It unites us. But we are also united by something else. We are all people with a great future.

Isaac slowly opened his eyes and saw a white ceiling, lined with thin parallel stripes of black. Consciousness slowly, as if reluctantly, returned to him, but for some reason Isaac could not remember where he was and how he got here.

He turned his head to the left, then to the right and realized that he was in some kind of capsule. Isaac lifted himself up on his elbows, and, overcoming the discomfort that suddenly appeared in his chest, sat down. Suddenly, an unexpectedly strong pain impulse struck the head, and Isaac winced.

“Good morning, Isaac,” a pleasant female voice sounded.

Next to the capsule was a young girl, dressed in a white uniform of a researcher. A smile played on her lips.

- Welcome to the planet Demetrion! - continued the girl. - I am your virtual assistant and I will answer all your questions. But first, let me introduce you to the forefront and tell you why you are here.

Isaac looked at her with surprise, but his dry tongue did not allow him to ask questions.

- If your state of health leaves much to be desired, do not worry, - the smile did not leave the assistant's lips. - These are the consequences of hibernation, in which you stayed exactly a month. To your right you will find a vessel with a recovery solution - take it, and you will get better.

Isaac turned his head in the direction indicated. From a round hole next to his hand a small bottle with a clear liquid, like water, was pulled out. He unscrewed the cap and took a small sip. The taste of the solution also did not differ much from ordinary water, and Isaac greedily drank the entire contents of the bottle. The effect began to act almost instantly - at least, now his language was obeyed.

“Why don't I remember anything?”
- Do you remember. But these memories are hidden in the depths of your subconscious, and it will take some time for your brain to access them again. Typically, the process of memory recovery takes from one to three days.

The effect of the accepted solution continued to gain strength. Isaac massaged his eyes, stretched his neck, and glanced at the hologram.

- What do I need to do next? - He asked.

The girl smiled even wider and tilted her head slightly.

“The instructions are extremely simple, but before I voice them, let me ask you a question: Do you remember what your specialty is and what did you do on Earth?”

Isaac thought for a moment.

“Well,” he said tentatively, “I think I was a biologist.” - Then his voice began to sound more confident. - Yes, exactly, I do biology. I study and catalog the species of creatures that we find on different planets.
“You are showing excellent results,” it seemed that if the hologram smiled even wider, it would break. - You have already begun to recall important details. The purpose of your arrival on the planet Deme ...
“I already knew,” Isaac interrupted. - Explore the species that live on this planet.

The virtual assistant froze for a second, as if searching in her program for the rules of behavior in situations where she is interrupted and told something for her.

“I see you feel better,” she continued. - I will not take your time further - the expedition leader will tell you about the rest. He is already waiting for you in the audience with a welcome speech. You can leave your cell and follow the blue signs - the rest of the colonists will also be there.

With these words, the hologram disappeared, and the cell door opened. Isaac got out of the capsule and immediately stretched, flexing his stiff joints. He looked around - except for the capsule itself, there was absolutely nothing in the tiny cell - and then looked down and examined his clothes. He was wearing a white T-shirt and soft white pants. There was no shoe, but the floors were made of pleasant material and had a comfortable temperature, so this fact did not cause any inconvenience. Isaac raised his right hand to his face and felt his chin and cheeks - within a month he had managed to overgrow with that awkward and ragged little beard that he did not like so much. "Hurry up to shave" - ​​he thought and stepped out.

He got into a large round room, and all over its circumference, one after another, doors began to open, from which surprised faces appeared. Some of the people already stood in the center of the room and looked around. All were dressed the same.

The door next door opened with a slight hiss, and a pretty girl came out who immediately liked Isaac. She was just below him, and black hair fell in waves on her shoulders and back.

“Hi,” she smiled when their eyes crossed. - I'm Emilia.
“Isaac,” he smiled back, and mentally cursed the beard sticking out in different directions. Now it probably will not be possible to produce a positive effect on the interlocutor.
“Nice beard,” Emilia smiled contrary to Isaac’s expectations, and he was a little embarrassed.

His attention was suddenly attracted by a tall and mighty man, outwardly something resembling a monkey. His face was covered with an impenetrable layer of black bristle, which grew evenly and almost from the eyes. The forearms were also covered with an impressive amount of dark hair.

“Hey, shorty,” the giant boomed, addressing a short and stout colonist who was standing nearby.
“U-hi,” he said quickly, and just in case, he immediately introduced himself: “I am C-Scott.”
- Very nice. But I will call you Liliput if you don't mind.

With these words, he carefully looked at the interlocutor, awaiting a response.

- Not r-vs, - he shrugged. - And what is your name?
- I'm Joe. But you can just call me Joe if you are offended by Liliputa. Where are you going from?
“I'm a mechanic,” Scott lifted his head proudly.
“Oh, your little brother,” Joe said in a smile. - We will build space ships with you. Or do you prefer flame throwers on wheels to burn all evil spirits?

Isaac never heard Scott's answer, because they began to move away.

“Colorful guys,” Emilia cringed slightly. “Do you remember anything?”
“It seems like I'm a biologist here,” for some reason, Isaac began to feel embarrassed and blushing. - I will add to the catalogs of local animals.
- I'm on the part of psychology. So, if you get tired of living creatures and want to communicate with people, come in, - Emilia winked at him. - True, I still do not know where my office is here.
“I will definitely come,” Isaac winked at him. - Let's go to the audience?

Together they headed along the blue line to one of the doors that was wider than the others. She led into a straight and rather wide corridor without branches. It ended with the entrance to a large square room, which, apparently, was the audience. Behind the podium there was already a man in glasses and in a dark-gray uniform of a research assistant. He had a thin face, and his hair was neatly arranged on the left side. It was difficult to determine his age by appearance, but offhand it could be given for 30-35 years.

Isaac turned around and only then noticed that on both sides of the entrance to the audience were people in black military uniforms and, without taking their eyes off and practically not blinking, looked at the man behind the podium.

Five minutes later, all the colonists were already in the audience. Emilia decided to squeeze into the front rows and pulled Isaac behind her. The welcome speech was about to start, and, despite the large number of people, there was almost complete silence in the room. Views were riveted to a single person.

- I am glad to welcome you, friends! - Finally he said, adjusting his glasses. - My name is Angus.

He stopped for a second and barely changed his face. Emilia looked questioningly at Isaac, but he only shrugged.

“I called these people friends,” thought Angus, and was surprised at the thought. He looked around the crowd and suddenly realized that for the first time he had not lied. All these people are now his friends, even though most of them are unfamiliar to him.

Angus had been rehearsing his speech for a long time, but now he couldn’t squeeze a word out of himself, like a careless student in the stern teacher’s exam. His gaze jumped from one person to another, and Angus understood more and more clearly the complexity of his idea.

But when his eyes pulled familiar faces out of the crowd, his doubts finally vanished. Now that Raytnov, Gordon and Barney - the shock trinity that was to serve the Corporation, will stand against it, the Movement really has hope. Angus looked at Emilia and could not look away from her eyes. She did not remember him, but nodded encouragingly and smiled at him, as if understanding how worried he was.

Angus smiled back. He believed that this time everything will work out.