Interview with Vladimir Likhachev, father of Nikolai Likhachev, better known as Chris Kaspersky
Hi, Habravchane!
This is not the first time I come to visit Vladimir Likhachev, the father of Chris Kaspersky, to visit and visit him. The second time, he did not refuse me and allowed me to interview him with which I share with you. The original text is placed in the journal "System Administrator", in which Chris loved to write.
Nikolai Likhachev's father, better known as Chris Kaspersky, talks about how his extraordinary and famous son was
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- Do you plan to write a book about your son? If so, what will it be about and what years of your son's life would you like to describe?
- Yes, I plan to write a book. It will be the memories of Chris Kaspersky, covering his entire life path. Childhood and school years will be described as briefly as possible. I will try to dwell in sufficient detail on his creative path and his hobbies.
- Is it true that Kohl received a silver medal, not a gold one, and did not go to graduation at school?
- True. The attitude at school to Nicholas was ambiguous: someone treated him jealously, with envy. His classmates often did not understand him; high school students were embarrassed to admit that he was somehow smarter than them. Being a ninth-grader, the son explained to some tenth-graders difficult questions in chemistry, and it was simpler and clearer than what is written in the textbook and how the teachers explained it.
He also had a difficult relationship with many teachers. With great respect, the son treated the teacher of physics, who also led programming, to the teacher of labor and to the teacher of physical education. However, due to a conflict with some teachers, two dashes appeared on Nikolai’s certificate - physical education and life support. Therefore, he did not go to the prom night, explaining his refusal to his mother: “Mom, I hate school.”
- And what kind of discovery did Kolya make at school when he got carried away with astronomy?
- Not a discovery, but a unique observation. Once, observing the moon, Nikolai noticed that lightning was slipping across its surface. He described this phenomenon in detail in the observation diary, while indicating its date, time, approximate location of observation with geographic coordinates. For a long time he tried to understand what a strange phenomenon he saw on the surface of the moon.
Almost a year later, he came across the postal address of an academician in astronomy, published in the journal Earth and the Universe. After some deliberation, Nikolai sent him a letter describing this phenomenon and asked the question: “Please explain what it was.” Soon came the return letter, followed by two more. I want to quote them here.
“Dear Nikolai! Many thanks for the letter. The phenomenon you observed is of great interest. I entered it in the international data bank, where all observations, amateurs and professionals are taken into account. As for the interpretation of the phenomenon, it is most likely electrical discharges triggered by a moonquake or even a small eruption of a lunar volcano. It is known that lunar processes are accompanied by strong electrical phenomena. Your observations are of great interest, since such events occur quite rarely, and I, for example, have not yet managed to see something in this spirit.
02/06/1995
“Dear Nikolai Vladimirovich!
As it became known, you on March 24, 1994 observed a short-term phenomenon on the Moon. The research institute for the study of anomalous phenomena (NIIAA) within the framework of the AAM program (see Earth and Universe, 1993, No. 6, p. 59) collects such messages. I urge you to fill out the attached questionnaire and return it to the following address: Ukraine, 310022 Kharkov-22, PO Box 4684, Research Institute of Archeology, Arkhipov A.V. It will be very unfortunate if your message does not enter the scientific circulation.
Sincerely, head. Dep. space research institute
Arkhipov Alexey Viktorovich.
03/20/1995
“Dear N.V. Likhachev!
Thank you for the valuable report on the short-term phenomenon on the Moon on March 24, 1994. I would just like to clarify the direction of movement of the sparks (in the selenographic coordinate system) and their number (at least approximately). I would be grateful for your name and middle name.
Your observation coincided with a company of international patrols of non-standard phenomena on the moon during the flight of the American AMC Clementine. Information on the phenomenon of March 24, 1994 was sent to the coordinator of this program, the president of the American lunar society D.O. Darling.
Respectfully,
Arkhipov Alexey Viktorovich "
- How and when did he begin to show abilities?
- From about the age of four. Somehow a very intelligent man came to us and, for the sake of a joke, he asked his son a question: “Tell me, Kolya, if you cut off one corner at the table, how many corners will it have”. The meaning of the question had not yet reached my consciousness, as Kolya replied: "Five."
He began to demonstrate early thinking outside the box. For example, listening to a story about how a fox kicked a hare out of a hut, and he goes and cries, many children feel sorry for the hare, and Kohl said: “There’s no need to cry. One hut built, instead of crying and complaining to everyone, take and build the second. But the question of what came first into the world: an egg or a chicken, he answered: “Why does everyone forget about the rooster?”
Even before school, Nick knew how to work with a soldering iron, collected various schemes. I learned to read myself, about a year or two before school. The son went to the first class, already fluently reading.
At about the same period, he began quite quickly to count - add and subtract, however, small quantities. Could do up to a dozen or more mixed operations in the mind. We call the number, then add or subtract so much further. Then we ask: “How much will it be?” He answered, without hesitation, immediately right.
We had a very rich technical library, because Nicholas's mother graduated from the university with a degree in chemical analyst. The son studied chemistry, not all, but what was interesting to him. Of course, he did not have system knowledge, but his knowledge of chemistry went far beyond the school curriculum.
For home experiments, he compiled a very decent laboratory. As a result, he became interested in pyrotechnics. Designed "bombs". Calculated the optimal ratio of components. For the safety of their treatment has developed its moderator. "Invention" went to the masses. At school on all floors "explosions" began to rattle.
However, everything comes to an end. The potassium permanganate was over and there was a fertile silence, but it did not last long. It all started again. The teachers are perplexed: potassium permanganate cannot be found during the day with fire, and explosions continue.
Mom arranged for an interrogation at home to Nicholas: where do children get potassium permanganate from? “Nowhere, it is nowhere,” was the answer. “I found her a substitute.” “And what are you dug up to replace it?” - “Old batteries, in which the depolarizer contains manganese oxide. There is a lot of it in them. I counted how much it would take to replace potassium permanganate, checked and gave the “recipe” to the guys. ”
In the evenings over tea, Mom and Kohl often had long conversations. Sometimes these conversations concerned chemistry. Nikolai says something, and mom starts arguing with him: “This is wrong, it cannot be.” A long dispute never lasted. The son dragged some abstruse hefty book out of the closet, quickly flipped through it and, finding a controversial question, showed it to his mother, after which the answer followed: “Sorry, son, I forgot.”
School program son was given without difficulty. If he liked some object and was needed for programming, he began to master it in depth. An example would be math. Programming required complex mathematical calculations far beyond the school curriculum. There was no one to consult, and the son began to study certain sections of higher mathematics. At the computer science competition there was a question - to sort the numbers with the minimum number of operations. He did this in a single operation. This technique was used in his programs.
Another example is biology. At first he did not like her. But after buying a child microscope, Kolya began studying cells. Subsequently, on the computer "Agat" checked Darwin's theory of evolution.
To do this, he wrote a virus that was a kernel located in a secluded place and not showing itself. Kernel functions were supposed to package viruses. In the package, each virus has some deviations from the rest. When finding and removing viruses, the kernel analyzed by what parameters the virus was found and removed. The next package was created with these parameters in mind and so on.
The first viruses were easily detected and removed, but the further, the harder and harder it was to do. The process was not fully completed, there was not enough memory, it was all full of viruses. During the evening tea, Nikolai told us: "I agree with Darwin's theory, it was confirmed in my experiment."
Not without physics. An example is a homemade telescope, designed by him from the children's kit "Optic Cabinet", a photographic enlarger and other optical devices. Previously were made the most complicated optical calculations. One can not even talk about astronomy - this is the most serious hobby of many years of his life.
- When did he hack into the first commercial program and how did it look?
- In school, Nicholas broke a lot of small and simple programs. They needed him to work on the computer, sometimes for friends. Broke very quickly, happened to be managed in five minutes. Several times, watching the hacking process, I asked: “How do you determine where to stop and where to fix something?” He replied: “I feel and know where to stop and where a correction is required. Why i do not know".
The first commercial hacking was carried out about three years after graduation. At that time, we bought almost all the computer equipment in one company in the city of Armavir. Nicholas was well known there. Once he was offered to hack an accounting program, explaining that it is used only in ministries and large banks (the 1C program was not yet available). The program was supplied with an external electronic key and had very strong protection. Hacking it was almost impossible. When asked how much it would cost, Nikolay was told that the program costs a lot of money. The son took three packs of three-inch floppy disks at the company and returned home by bus. The program was hacked two weeks later. During this time he went to the company several times.
The program was launched, it worked normally and showed that it is licensed. Giving the program to the “customer” Nikolay asked: “How much will I get for it?” The answer was unexpected: “Nothing. We were joking. No one needs this program, we didn’t believe that you could hack it. Give us the floppies. ” Nikolay calmly replied: “It is not needed, it is not needed like that. And I will not give you a floppy disk. I spent on trips to you from Uspenka, it will be compensation for the bus. ”
But the story with the accounting is not over. About a month later the intercity call. Someone irritated voice asked to call Nicholas to the phone. And then it began: you are so saki that he has done. Your accounting program from a very serious person destroyed the entire database. The son answered: “But you said that nobody needs it, and they didn’t pay me. If you said that it would be sold, I would give you a password that you need to enter when you start the program. ”
The conflict was resolved peacefully. The program is no longer sold. This was the first and last commercial hack made by the future Chris Kaspersky.
- Did Nikolay in Russia manage to work as an officially hired worker?
- Yes, I did, but very little. The first job was in the Assumption district site of the federal postal service as an engineer in computer engineering and programming. He worked there for long. Then he was taken to the tax inspectorate by the chief state tax inspector in the department of accounting, reporting and analysis. And actually worked as an admin. But there he did not last long. The work had its pros and cons. It was necessary to arrive by seven o'clock in the morning, to start the server (at that time the servers were turned off for the night). Leave at six o'clock in the evening, turning off the server, but not before the last employee leaves the tax officer. Sometimes, the son stayed until eight o'clock in the evening. Salary was significantly lower than promised.
But the most basic minus, which Nikolai was very frightened of, is a subscription about criminal liability for information leakage. At that time, reports were taken to Krasnodar on diskette. And it often happened that "dashing guys" stopped the car and demanded a floppy disk to copy. And this is a leak of information, and the admin can not do anything about it. And the corporate protection program was very weak. The son offered to write his own, much more resistant. They refused, they need, they say, programs only from certain organizations.
A few years later, Nikolai wrote an article on the protection of information in the tax service. On another trip to Moscow, he had a meeting with a police colonel, a specialist in high-tech crime. The first question that was asked: "Where did the information about the status of protection in the tax service." Nicholas explained that he worked in the tax and knows the subject well. Everything that is written in the article was authentic facts.
- Is it true that Chris was made an O-1 type visa?
- Yes true. O-1 Non-Immigration Work Visa is for people with outstanding abilities who come to work in the United States under a temporary contract. An applicant who has been approved for such a visa has the right to live and work in the country for a certain period of time, and also to take along a spouse and children who are allowed to study, but not work.
Unlike a work visa of type H-1B, the number of O-1 visas issued per year is not quotaed, while in order to apply for a work visa O-1, an applicant does not need to have a university degree, a labor certificate or an invitation from a particular employer in the US . However, you must prove to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that you have unique talents and abilities in any field — art, sports, science, or business.
Work visa O-1 is temporary and is issued for a specific project, or for three years. An O-1 visa holder may further qualify for an immigration visa (EB-1A) and a Green Card.
When the issue of Chris's relocation to the USA and office work was resolved, the challenge was to obtain a work visa. But the issuance of these visas by the embassy is made once a year, and if the number of applications submitted exceeds the quota, a “lottery” is played. Visas for the current year have already been issued. Wait for the next year - not the fact that the lottery is lucky. McAfee management puzzled their lawyers about finding a way to get a working visa guaranteed. Having studied everything that is written by Chris and how it is used, lawyers were able to prove to the immigration service that Nikolai Likhachev has the right to obtain an O-1 visa.
Nicholas received the visa in 2010, but not in Moscow, but in Malaysia. He explained his decision simply: “I have been doing a business visa in the US for half a year at the Moscow embassy for almost three months.” It is understandable, his passport was covered in the stamps of the customs of visa-free countries and glued in visas. The embassy said that verification is required.
- What did Chris do after leaving McAfee?
- Chris was cut from the company, and the cut order was adopted at a very high level. In the morning he came to work, and at the checkpoint they said: “The pass has been canceled, you no longer work here.” Personal things were not given to him: a laptop, a disk drive and notebooks. This is a gross violation of the law. Chris hired lawyers and sued. He won the trial and received good compensation.
The company issued a certificate to Chris that he was reduced in order to reorganize the structural unit and that he was a good worker and competent specialist. For several months, Chris tried to get a job in various organizations. He arranged for employers, but they all laughed at the certificate. Such specialists and with such a characteristic is not reduced. They even called McAfee to confirm the authenticity of the certificate. They answered: “Yes, it’s shortened. Yes, an excellent specialist and a good worker. But if you hire him, you will have big problems with us. ” McAfee is the leading IT security company in the US; all small firms are under its “heel” and do not want to spoil relations with it.
Although there was a company that decided to hire Chris. She was 200 kilometers from San Francisco. Nikolai was tested and interviewed, then the employer with the deputy invited him to dinner at a restaurant. This actually means that he has already been hired. Then in the United States was the period of presidential elections for Obama for a second term. After the first election, Obama sent Chris a memorable 100-dollar gold coin with his image for election support (emigrants do not vote).
At the beginning of the dinner, the chef began asking Chris for whom he would vote. “I am an expat, I have no right to vote,” Chris answered. “Well, if I were not an emigrant, for whom would I have given my vote?” - “For Obama”. Chris did not know that the entire state votes for another candidate. Then the chief called the waiter, settled with him and told Chris: “You can sit and eat, everything is paid. Here you have a hundred dollars on the way back. ” This was the last attempt to get a job.
What did Chris do next? The first is "fartsovka", the exchange of illegal immigrants.In the US, it is allowed by law. As he later wrote to me, changing money is more complicated than programming on a computer.
Then, as part of a group of initiative guys, Chris developed a lightweight, flexible and breathable bulletproof vest. But extremely expensive. Tests at the army training ground were successful. The following year, the development of another model of body armor began - very cheap, flexible, with sleeves, with adjustable thermal cooling, and bulletproof. In the first version, the bullet was inhibited, in the second, the bullet made a U-turn of eighty degrees.
We can not say about his successes in aviation. This is what Chris said: “I want to be the first person in the world (!) Who learned to fly before driving a car.” The result was not slow to wait - training courses, exam and ... he became the co-pilot of the helicopter. Then another course - received a license for the right to negotiate with the air traffic controller. But that was not enough for him.
I quote from Chris about the plane on which he learned to fly: “An old plane. Even in Vietnam flew. Then he was sold by the US Army for $ 500 total. It still flies. ” Flight exam passed on the same plane, and for a twenty-minute flight the engine of the aircraft three times gloh. And on such a "miracle of technology" it was necessary to perform the aerobatics - a dead loop. When leaving the loop: “... I lost my orientation in space. Here without a dispatcher and from the air it is not clear where to fly and where from. Therefore, decreased in circles. " For this he lowered the estimate.
Then there was another flying school in Florida. One of the largest flight schools, more precisely - the second largest in the United States. Training and internship on seven models of aircraft, exam ... first pilot of the aircraft. And here it is a license that “... gives the right to piloting without supervision in the United States, Canada and other countries that accept American licenses. If the airfield is closer than one mile from the vast reservoir in which you can drown, then another license is required. I'm on my way to her. Already passed the water training (diving under water from the layout) ".
Chris dreamed of working as a pilot. He already had offers from two employers. He dreamed of working as an aerotaxist in Nevada and then in Alaska, but the tragedy cut short his plans
The license allows "... the entire flight cycle from scheduling, pre-flight testing of equipment, takeoff, piloting, landing, logging in the journal - I can do all this on my own. I can not fix faults before takeoff. This requires a different license. ”
Chris twice on the instructions of the sheriff participated in paid combat operations to apprehend gangs. In the first operation, four guys with him who did not serve in the army, took a gang of six armed men. Chris had to shoot a man for the first time in his life. All six were detained.
Preparation for the second operation took a long time. For the initial version of the operation, Chris at the army training ground shot a sniper rifle of 7.62 caliber, which is much more powerful than our three-line and achieved a stable target loss at a distance of one mile. In the latest version of the operation, shooting at such a distance was not required. The task of the sheriff was pretty tough: you can not shoot at unarmed people, you can not set fire and blow up the building, there may be innocent people. The number of gangsters - arms dealers, from about three to thirty people. The operation involved seven people who did not serve in the army, and one retired veteran of three wars. Twenty-eight people were packed. None of them was killed, there were only wounded.
- Chris told me that he earned $ 1 000 000. Is this true?
- No not like this. This is from the field of Myshha tales. He never had such a lot of money. Although he tried to show himself a successful man.
- On the RSDN there was a big controversy about how to help you. Did anyone get in touch with you?
- When I read the controversy on the forum, I admired people. What did they propose to perpetuate Chris's memory: to name the street by its name, to erect a monument, to organize a museum, and so on and so forth. They wrote a lot to help their father. But, unfortunately, they talked, promoted each other, “let the steam run off,” and immediately forgot.
I was helped both morally and financially by classmates at the institute, professors at the university, and close people. They did not ask how to help me. They silently put money on the phone, during that period they had to call the Foreign Ministry and the embassy in America. The money that remained from the negotiations, went to a good cause. The monument to Chris is mostly paid with this money.
- Yes, the monument turned out to be very good, two-sided, with a photograph of Chris and his words. It is hard for me to ask you this question, but tell me, how did you hear about the tragedy?
- When Chris left for the last trip to Florida, he promised that he would report about himself every day. And really, I started posting a video on YouTube on my page - one leap per day. For me, this was enough, it means that everything is alive and well. The last video was for February 9, and then - a pause. I began to worry more and more.
On March 9, at the end of the day, an acquaintance called me and asked how long I had read the news on the Internet. I replied that I did not read them at all. He paused and said: "Accept my condolences." In my heart everything snapped. But some hope was still warming. I asked, “What do you mean?” He said that my son had died tragically.
The first thought was: what to do, how to be and where to run? I didn't have the addresses of Chris's friends. Recently, as if anticipating misfortune, I asked him to give the addresses of his Russian-speaking friends, but he laughed and said: “Folder, what will happen to me, everything will be fine.”
Having tried for several days a lot of options in trying to find Chris's friends, I went to the RSDN forum. There in the correspondence sometimes there were questions how to find parents in order to inform them about the tragedy. To everyone who asked, I sent the answer that I am Chris's father, my home address, e-mail and phone number. Only one of my son’s closest friends answered. And one more person from Mineral Waters.
All these days, while I was trying to reach out to Chris's friends, the image of Chris occasionally appeared in front of me. I felt it naturally. He tried to tell me something, as if to direct my actions. After I went out on Chris's friend and we started a correspondence with him, the image of Chris did not appear next to me.
- What kind of religion did Chris come up with, which united many religions and did not contradict one another?
- History and religion are inextricably linked. To understand history, you need to know religion. To understand religion, you need to know the story. Back in school, Chris became interested in religion. With the advent of the Internet, he significantly deepened his knowledge. I went to the Vatican library and read a lot of materials there. In addition to Christianity, he studied most of the religions of the world.
He had his own theory that once a man was created by God, it means that he descended from him. In each person there is a piece of God. I can not explain in more detail, I do not remember the exact wording (the correspondence for this period has been lost). I remember only the most important thing. All people descended from God, only in different religions God is called differently.
Then everything goes to equality and peaceful existence without wars and conflicts. Believers like it, they are already tired of wars on a religious basis.
The congregation from neighboring Catholic parishes began to move on to Chris. We told him that it was not good and that trouble might arise, and he replied: “What can I do, the parishioners ask why there is blood, unemployment, poverty around? But the priest in the parish cannot explain anything to his parishioners! Here they come to me. ”
“When they ask me a standard question: why does blood flow on the ground and where does God look? I explain that God has enemies. And that for us is paradise, for God - ADB, where, in fact, the enemies overthrew him, and science calls this phenomenon the Big Bang. God became very angry and realized that he needed to get out of here somehow, and therefore he created man. Man is created: a) cruel, b) inquisitive. Curiosity leads to the knowledge of the world, and sooner or later people will find a way to get out of the Universe to the next level. And here human cruelty is very useful to scatter enemies around the perimeter. ” (From personal correspondence)
- What do you think, if nothing happened to Kolya in childhood, would he have become who he was?
- Most likely he would not be able to achieve such success. Once, a long time ago, I talked with one doctor. He told what things the son does, and very often he knows what needs to be done and what happens. The doctor replied simply: “What do you want? He comes from the next world. Most people who have been there develop extraordinary abilities, someone becomes a predictor, someone heals, some people are psychics, and your son chooses the technical path. ”
- Tell me, is it planned to reprint his books?
- Solon Publishing House is interested in reprinting most of its books. The question has been agreed with me. The copyright to Chris's publications has been transferred to me and notarized.
- How did your son get into shooting and jumping?
- Chris still in his youth liked air rifle shooting. I have several times taken it from work, but the problems were with bullets. Tyr was not in the village.
Having moved to America, to the city of Reston, Chris found a huge shooting range, where they shoot from real weapons. In this dash during the day, distances of 10, 25 and 50 meters were opened. In the evening, another distance of 75 and 100 meters opened. Chris tried to shoot a pistol, and he really liked it. Then the first gun was bought.
We often chatted with him. I gave him advice — stance, training the arm and practicing a smooth descent, but he decided on his own. Somewhere I took a piece of armor-plate from the Apache helicopter, secured it on the front door and fired in the apartment before stupor.
Then he became interested in rifle shooting. It turned out that the passion for shooting gives very little sickly physical activity. Chris wrote: "If I shoot the whole day in the dash, then by evening the muscles of my whole body are sore from overstrain."
Then there was a heavy, large-caliber weapon, including an anti-tank gun from the times of the Patriotic War. It’s hard to list all the weapons Chris tested during his time in the United States.
In his home arsenal, besides pistols, rifles and machine guns, there was a grenade launcher and a gift from friends - a semi-automatic 500-caliber gun.
With jumping it is easier. Once I went with a friend to the Dropzone, to see how the skydivers jump, became interested. I decided to test myself and make one jump with an instructor, in tandem. I jumped, I liked it. I decided to jump again ... and got hooked, tightened.
Chris has passed gradual exams for all categories. He received a license to jump with a parachute from an airplane, a helicopter and a balloon - day and night, on the ground and water. Chris wrote to me: “Folder, you have no idea when you jump from a height of 12,000 feet and fly at a speed of 170 kilometers per hour, then you feel in the air like a fish in water. The feeling that you got into another world. "
And about a jump at low altitude: “For me, a jump from 3,500 feet is an eternity. Need to open up to 3000 feet. There are five seconds of time. During this time, you can perform several aerobatics with the loss of stability, to gain stability and throw away the parachute. ”
Unfortunately, Chris got carried away speed landing, it was fatal for him. I really want the memory of Chris to remain in the hearts of his fans and that the new generation remember him and not forget.
To be continued...
This is not the first time I come to visit Vladimir Likhachev, the father of Chris Kaspersky, to visit and visit him. The second time, he did not refuse me and allowed me to interview him with which I share with you. The original text is placed in the journal "System Administrator", in which Chris loved to write.
Nikolai Likhachev's father, better known as Chris Kaspersky, talks about how his extraordinary and famous son was
')
- Do you plan to write a book about your son? If so, what will it be about and what years of your son's life would you like to describe?
- Yes, I plan to write a book. It will be the memories of Chris Kaspersky, covering his entire life path. Childhood and school years will be described as briefly as possible. I will try to dwell in sufficient detail on his creative path and his hobbies.
- Is it true that Kohl received a silver medal, not a gold one, and did not go to graduation at school?
- True. The attitude at school to Nicholas was ambiguous: someone treated him jealously, with envy. His classmates often did not understand him; high school students were embarrassed to admit that he was somehow smarter than them. Being a ninth-grader, the son explained to some tenth-graders difficult questions in chemistry, and it was simpler and clearer than what is written in the textbook and how the teachers explained it.
He also had a difficult relationship with many teachers. With great respect, the son treated the teacher of physics, who also led programming, to the teacher of labor and to the teacher of physical education. However, due to a conflict with some teachers, two dashes appeared on Nikolai’s certificate - physical education and life support. Therefore, he did not go to the prom night, explaining his refusal to his mother: “Mom, I hate school.”
- And what kind of discovery did Kolya make at school when he got carried away with astronomy?
- Not a discovery, but a unique observation. Once, observing the moon, Nikolai noticed that lightning was slipping across its surface. He described this phenomenon in detail in the observation diary, while indicating its date, time, approximate location of observation with geographic coordinates. For a long time he tried to understand what a strange phenomenon he saw on the surface of the moon.
Almost a year later, he came across the postal address of an academician in astronomy, published in the journal Earth and the Universe. After some deliberation, Nikolai sent him a letter describing this phenomenon and asked the question: “Please explain what it was.” Soon came the return letter, followed by two more. I want to quote them here.
“Dear Nikolai! Many thanks for the letter. The phenomenon you observed is of great interest. I entered it in the international data bank, where all observations, amateurs and professionals are taken into account. As for the interpretation of the phenomenon, it is most likely electrical discharges triggered by a moonquake or even a small eruption of a lunar volcano. It is known that lunar processes are accompanied by strong electrical phenomena. Your observations are of great interest, since such events occur quite rarely, and I, for example, have not yet managed to see something in this spirit.
02/06/1995
“Dear Nikolai Vladimirovich!
As it became known, you on March 24, 1994 observed a short-term phenomenon on the Moon. The research institute for the study of anomalous phenomena (NIIAA) within the framework of the AAM program (see Earth and Universe, 1993, No. 6, p. 59) collects such messages. I urge you to fill out the attached questionnaire and return it to the following address: Ukraine, 310022 Kharkov-22, PO Box 4684, Research Institute of Archeology, Arkhipov A.V. It will be very unfortunate if your message does not enter the scientific circulation.
Sincerely, head. Dep. space research institute
Arkhipov Alexey Viktorovich.
03/20/1995
“Dear N.V. Likhachev!
Thank you for the valuable report on the short-term phenomenon on the Moon on March 24, 1994. I would just like to clarify the direction of movement of the sparks (in the selenographic coordinate system) and their number (at least approximately). I would be grateful for your name and middle name.
Your observation coincided with a company of international patrols of non-standard phenomena on the moon during the flight of the American AMC Clementine. Information on the phenomenon of March 24, 1994 was sent to the coordinator of this program, the president of the American lunar society D.O. Darling.
Respectfully,
Arkhipov Alexey Viktorovich "
- How and when did he begin to show abilities?
- From about the age of four. Somehow a very intelligent man came to us and, for the sake of a joke, he asked his son a question: “Tell me, Kolya, if you cut off one corner at the table, how many corners will it have”. The meaning of the question had not yet reached my consciousness, as Kolya replied: "Five."
He began to demonstrate early thinking outside the box. For example, listening to a story about how a fox kicked a hare out of a hut, and he goes and cries, many children feel sorry for the hare, and Kohl said: “There’s no need to cry. One hut built, instead of crying and complaining to everyone, take and build the second. But the question of what came first into the world: an egg or a chicken, he answered: “Why does everyone forget about the rooster?”
Even before school, Nick knew how to work with a soldering iron, collected various schemes. I learned to read myself, about a year or two before school. The son went to the first class, already fluently reading.
At about the same period, he began quite quickly to count - add and subtract, however, small quantities. Could do up to a dozen or more mixed operations in the mind. We call the number, then add or subtract so much further. Then we ask: “How much will it be?” He answered, without hesitation, immediately right.
We had a very rich technical library, because Nicholas's mother graduated from the university with a degree in chemical analyst. The son studied chemistry, not all, but what was interesting to him. Of course, he did not have system knowledge, but his knowledge of chemistry went far beyond the school curriculum.
For home experiments, he compiled a very decent laboratory. As a result, he became interested in pyrotechnics. Designed "bombs". Calculated the optimal ratio of components. For the safety of their treatment has developed its moderator. "Invention" went to the masses. At school on all floors "explosions" began to rattle.
However, everything comes to an end. The potassium permanganate was over and there was a fertile silence, but it did not last long. It all started again. The teachers are perplexed: potassium permanganate cannot be found during the day with fire, and explosions continue.
Mom arranged for an interrogation at home to Nicholas: where do children get potassium permanganate from? “Nowhere, it is nowhere,” was the answer. “I found her a substitute.” “And what are you dug up to replace it?” - “Old batteries, in which the depolarizer contains manganese oxide. There is a lot of it in them. I counted how much it would take to replace potassium permanganate, checked and gave the “recipe” to the guys. ”
In the evenings over tea, Mom and Kohl often had long conversations. Sometimes these conversations concerned chemistry. Nikolai says something, and mom starts arguing with him: “This is wrong, it cannot be.” A long dispute never lasted. The son dragged some abstruse hefty book out of the closet, quickly flipped through it and, finding a controversial question, showed it to his mother, after which the answer followed: “Sorry, son, I forgot.”
School program son was given without difficulty. If he liked some object and was needed for programming, he began to master it in depth. An example would be math. Programming required complex mathematical calculations far beyond the school curriculum. There was no one to consult, and the son began to study certain sections of higher mathematics. At the computer science competition there was a question - to sort the numbers with the minimum number of operations. He did this in a single operation. This technique was used in his programs.
Another example is biology. At first he did not like her. But after buying a child microscope, Kolya began studying cells. Subsequently, on the computer "Agat" checked Darwin's theory of evolution.
To do this, he wrote a virus that was a kernel located in a secluded place and not showing itself. Kernel functions were supposed to package viruses. In the package, each virus has some deviations from the rest. When finding and removing viruses, the kernel analyzed by what parameters the virus was found and removed. The next package was created with these parameters in mind and so on.
The first viruses were easily detected and removed, but the further, the harder and harder it was to do. The process was not fully completed, there was not enough memory, it was all full of viruses. During the evening tea, Nikolai told us: "I agree with Darwin's theory, it was confirmed in my experiment."
Not without physics. An example is a homemade telescope, designed by him from the children's kit "Optic Cabinet", a photographic enlarger and other optical devices. Previously were made the most complicated optical calculations. One can not even talk about astronomy - this is the most serious hobby of many years of his life.
- When did he hack into the first commercial program and how did it look?
- In school, Nicholas broke a lot of small and simple programs. They needed him to work on the computer, sometimes for friends. Broke very quickly, happened to be managed in five minutes. Several times, watching the hacking process, I asked: “How do you determine where to stop and where to fix something?” He replied: “I feel and know where to stop and where a correction is required. Why i do not know".
The first commercial hacking was carried out about three years after graduation. At that time, we bought almost all the computer equipment in one company in the city of Armavir. Nicholas was well known there. Once he was offered to hack an accounting program, explaining that it is used only in ministries and large banks (the 1C program was not yet available). The program was supplied with an external electronic key and had very strong protection. Hacking it was almost impossible. When asked how much it would cost, Nikolay was told that the program costs a lot of money. The son took three packs of three-inch floppy disks at the company and returned home by bus. The program was hacked two weeks later. During this time he went to the company several times.
The program was launched, it worked normally and showed that it is licensed. Giving the program to the “customer” Nikolay asked: “How much will I get for it?” The answer was unexpected: “Nothing. We were joking. No one needs this program, we didn’t believe that you could hack it. Give us the floppies. ” Nikolay calmly replied: “It is not needed, it is not needed like that. And I will not give you a floppy disk. I spent on trips to you from Uspenka, it will be compensation for the bus. ”
But the story with the accounting is not over. About a month later the intercity call. Someone irritated voice asked to call Nicholas to the phone. And then it began: you are so saki that he has done. Your accounting program from a very serious person destroyed the entire database. The son answered: “But you said that nobody needs it, and they didn’t pay me. If you said that it would be sold, I would give you a password that you need to enter when you start the program. ”
The conflict was resolved peacefully. The program is no longer sold. This was the first and last commercial hack made by the future Chris Kaspersky.
- Did Nikolay in Russia manage to work as an officially hired worker?
- Yes, I did, but very little. The first job was in the Assumption district site of the federal postal service as an engineer in computer engineering and programming. He worked there for long. Then he was taken to the tax inspectorate by the chief state tax inspector in the department of accounting, reporting and analysis. And actually worked as an admin. But there he did not last long. The work had its pros and cons. It was necessary to arrive by seven o'clock in the morning, to start the server (at that time the servers were turned off for the night). Leave at six o'clock in the evening, turning off the server, but not before the last employee leaves the tax officer. Sometimes, the son stayed until eight o'clock in the evening. Salary was significantly lower than promised.
But the most basic minus, which Nikolai was very frightened of, is a subscription about criminal liability for information leakage. At that time, reports were taken to Krasnodar on diskette. And it often happened that "dashing guys" stopped the car and demanded a floppy disk to copy. And this is a leak of information, and the admin can not do anything about it. And the corporate protection program was very weak. The son offered to write his own, much more resistant. They refused, they need, they say, programs only from certain organizations.
A few years later, Nikolai wrote an article on the protection of information in the tax service. On another trip to Moscow, he had a meeting with a police colonel, a specialist in high-tech crime. The first question that was asked: "Where did the information about the status of protection in the tax service." Nicholas explained that he worked in the tax and knows the subject well. Everything that is written in the article was authentic facts.
- Is it true that Chris was made an O-1 type visa?
- Yes true. O-1 Non-Immigration Work Visa is for people with outstanding abilities who come to work in the United States under a temporary contract. An applicant who has been approved for such a visa has the right to live and work in the country for a certain period of time, and also to take along a spouse and children who are allowed to study, but not work.
Unlike a work visa of type H-1B, the number of O-1 visas issued per year is not quotaed, while in order to apply for a work visa O-1, an applicant does not need to have a university degree, a labor certificate or an invitation from a particular employer in the US . However, you must prove to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that you have unique talents and abilities in any field — art, sports, science, or business.
Work visa O-1 is temporary and is issued for a specific project, or for three years. An O-1 visa holder may further qualify for an immigration visa (EB-1A) and a Green Card.
When the issue of Chris's relocation to the USA and office work was resolved, the challenge was to obtain a work visa. But the issuance of these visas by the embassy is made once a year, and if the number of applications submitted exceeds the quota, a “lottery” is played. Visas for the current year have already been issued. Wait for the next year - not the fact that the lottery is lucky. McAfee management puzzled their lawyers about finding a way to get a working visa guaranteed. Having studied everything that is written by Chris and how it is used, lawyers were able to prove to the immigration service that Nikolai Likhachev has the right to obtain an O-1 visa.
Nicholas received the visa in 2010, but not in Moscow, but in Malaysia. He explained his decision simply: “I have been doing a business visa in the US for half a year at the Moscow embassy for almost three months.” It is understandable, his passport was covered in the stamps of the customs of visa-free countries and glued in visas. The embassy said that verification is required.
- What did Chris do after leaving McAfee?
- Chris was cut from the company, and the cut order was adopted at a very high level. In the morning he came to work, and at the checkpoint they said: “The pass has been canceled, you no longer work here.” Personal things were not given to him: a laptop, a disk drive and notebooks. This is a gross violation of the law. Chris hired lawyers and sued. He won the trial and received good compensation.
The company issued a certificate to Chris that he was reduced in order to reorganize the structural unit and that he was a good worker and competent specialist. For several months, Chris tried to get a job in various organizations. He arranged for employers, but they all laughed at the certificate. Such specialists and with such a characteristic is not reduced. They even called McAfee to confirm the authenticity of the certificate. They answered: “Yes, it’s shortened. Yes, an excellent specialist and a good worker. But if you hire him, you will have big problems with us. ” McAfee is the leading IT security company in the US; all small firms are under its “heel” and do not want to spoil relations with it.
Although there was a company that decided to hire Chris. She was 200 kilometers from San Francisco. Nikolai was tested and interviewed, then the employer with the deputy invited him to dinner at a restaurant. This actually means that he has already been hired. Then in the United States was the period of presidential elections for Obama for a second term. After the first election, Obama sent Chris a memorable 100-dollar gold coin with his image for election support (emigrants do not vote).
At the beginning of the dinner, the chef began asking Chris for whom he would vote. “I am an expat, I have no right to vote,” Chris answered. “Well, if I were not an emigrant, for whom would I have given my vote?” - “For Obama”. Chris did not know that the entire state votes for another candidate. Then the chief called the waiter, settled with him and told Chris: “You can sit and eat, everything is paid. Here you have a hundred dollars on the way back. ” This was the last attempt to get a job.
What did Chris do next? The first is "fartsovka", the exchange of illegal immigrants.In the US, it is allowed by law. As he later wrote to me, changing money is more complicated than programming on a computer.
Then, as part of a group of initiative guys, Chris developed a lightweight, flexible and breathable bulletproof vest. But extremely expensive. Tests at the army training ground were successful. The following year, the development of another model of body armor began - very cheap, flexible, with sleeves, with adjustable thermal cooling, and bulletproof. In the first version, the bullet was inhibited, in the second, the bullet made a U-turn of eighty degrees.
We can not say about his successes in aviation. This is what Chris said: “I want to be the first person in the world (!) Who learned to fly before driving a car.” The result was not slow to wait - training courses, exam and ... he became the co-pilot of the helicopter. Then another course - received a license for the right to negotiate with the air traffic controller. But that was not enough for him.
I quote from Chris about the plane on which he learned to fly: “An old plane. Even in Vietnam flew. Then he was sold by the US Army for $ 500 total. It still flies. ” Flight exam passed on the same plane, and for a twenty-minute flight the engine of the aircraft three times gloh. And on such a "miracle of technology" it was necessary to perform the aerobatics - a dead loop. When leaving the loop: “... I lost my orientation in space. Here without a dispatcher and from the air it is not clear where to fly and where from. Therefore, decreased in circles. " For this he lowered the estimate.
Then there was another flying school in Florida. One of the largest flight schools, more precisely - the second largest in the United States. Training and internship on seven models of aircraft, exam ... first pilot of the aircraft. And here it is a license that “... gives the right to piloting without supervision in the United States, Canada and other countries that accept American licenses. If the airfield is closer than one mile from the vast reservoir in which you can drown, then another license is required. I'm on my way to her. Already passed the water training (diving under water from the layout) ".
Chris dreamed of working as a pilot. He already had offers from two employers. He dreamed of working as an aerotaxist in Nevada and then in Alaska, but the tragedy cut short his plans
The license allows "... the entire flight cycle from scheduling, pre-flight testing of equipment, takeoff, piloting, landing, logging in the journal - I can do all this on my own. I can not fix faults before takeoff. This requires a different license. ”
Chris twice on the instructions of the sheriff participated in paid combat operations to apprehend gangs. In the first operation, four guys with him who did not serve in the army, took a gang of six armed men. Chris had to shoot a man for the first time in his life. All six were detained.
Preparation for the second operation took a long time. For the initial version of the operation, Chris at the army training ground shot a sniper rifle of 7.62 caliber, which is much more powerful than our three-line and achieved a stable target loss at a distance of one mile. In the latest version of the operation, shooting at such a distance was not required. The task of the sheriff was pretty tough: you can not shoot at unarmed people, you can not set fire and blow up the building, there may be innocent people. The number of gangsters - arms dealers, from about three to thirty people. The operation involved seven people who did not serve in the army, and one retired veteran of three wars. Twenty-eight people were packed. None of them was killed, there were only wounded.
- Chris told me that he earned $ 1 000 000. Is this true?
- No not like this. This is from the field of Myshha tales. He never had such a lot of money. Although he tried to show himself a successful man.
- On the RSDN there was a big controversy about how to help you. Did anyone get in touch with you?
- When I read the controversy on the forum, I admired people. What did they propose to perpetuate Chris's memory: to name the street by its name, to erect a monument, to organize a museum, and so on and so forth. They wrote a lot to help their father. But, unfortunately, they talked, promoted each other, “let the steam run off,” and immediately forgot.
I was helped both morally and financially by classmates at the institute, professors at the university, and close people. They did not ask how to help me. They silently put money on the phone, during that period they had to call the Foreign Ministry and the embassy in America. The money that remained from the negotiations, went to a good cause. The monument to Chris is mostly paid with this money.
- Yes, the monument turned out to be very good, two-sided, with a photograph of Chris and his words. It is hard for me to ask you this question, but tell me, how did you hear about the tragedy?
- When Chris left for the last trip to Florida, he promised that he would report about himself every day. And really, I started posting a video on YouTube on my page - one leap per day. For me, this was enough, it means that everything is alive and well. The last video was for February 9, and then - a pause. I began to worry more and more.
On March 9, at the end of the day, an acquaintance called me and asked how long I had read the news on the Internet. I replied that I did not read them at all. He paused and said: "Accept my condolences." In my heart everything snapped. But some hope was still warming. I asked, “What do you mean?” He said that my son had died tragically.
The first thought was: what to do, how to be and where to run? I didn't have the addresses of Chris's friends. Recently, as if anticipating misfortune, I asked him to give the addresses of his Russian-speaking friends, but he laughed and said: “Folder, what will happen to me, everything will be fine.”
Having tried for several days a lot of options in trying to find Chris's friends, I went to the RSDN forum. There in the correspondence sometimes there were questions how to find parents in order to inform them about the tragedy. To everyone who asked, I sent the answer that I am Chris's father, my home address, e-mail and phone number. Only one of my son’s closest friends answered. And one more person from Mineral Waters.
All these days, while I was trying to reach out to Chris's friends, the image of Chris occasionally appeared in front of me. I felt it naturally. He tried to tell me something, as if to direct my actions. After I went out on Chris's friend and we started a correspondence with him, the image of Chris did not appear next to me.
- What kind of religion did Chris come up with, which united many religions and did not contradict one another?
- History and religion are inextricably linked. To understand history, you need to know religion. To understand religion, you need to know the story. Back in school, Chris became interested in religion. With the advent of the Internet, he significantly deepened his knowledge. I went to the Vatican library and read a lot of materials there. In addition to Christianity, he studied most of the religions of the world.
He had his own theory that once a man was created by God, it means that he descended from him. In each person there is a piece of God. I can not explain in more detail, I do not remember the exact wording (the correspondence for this period has been lost). I remember only the most important thing. All people descended from God, only in different religions God is called differently.
Then everything goes to equality and peaceful existence without wars and conflicts. Believers like it, they are already tired of wars on a religious basis.
The congregation from neighboring Catholic parishes began to move on to Chris. We told him that it was not good and that trouble might arise, and he replied: “What can I do, the parishioners ask why there is blood, unemployment, poverty around? But the priest in the parish cannot explain anything to his parishioners! Here they come to me. ”
“When they ask me a standard question: why does blood flow on the ground and where does God look? I explain that God has enemies. And that for us is paradise, for God - ADB, where, in fact, the enemies overthrew him, and science calls this phenomenon the Big Bang. God became very angry and realized that he needed to get out of here somehow, and therefore he created man. Man is created: a) cruel, b) inquisitive. Curiosity leads to the knowledge of the world, and sooner or later people will find a way to get out of the Universe to the next level. And here human cruelty is very useful to scatter enemies around the perimeter. ” (From personal correspondence)
- What do you think, if nothing happened to Kolya in childhood, would he have become who he was?
- Most likely he would not be able to achieve such success. Once, a long time ago, I talked with one doctor. He told what things the son does, and very often he knows what needs to be done and what happens. The doctor replied simply: “What do you want? He comes from the next world. Most people who have been there develop extraordinary abilities, someone becomes a predictor, someone heals, some people are psychics, and your son chooses the technical path. ”
- Tell me, is it planned to reprint his books?
- Solon Publishing House is interested in reprinting most of its books. The question has been agreed with me. The copyright to Chris's publications has been transferred to me and notarized.
- How did your son get into shooting and jumping?
- Chris still in his youth liked air rifle shooting. I have several times taken it from work, but the problems were with bullets. Tyr was not in the village.
Having moved to America, to the city of Reston, Chris found a huge shooting range, where they shoot from real weapons. In this dash during the day, distances of 10, 25 and 50 meters were opened. In the evening, another distance of 75 and 100 meters opened. Chris tried to shoot a pistol, and he really liked it. Then the first gun was bought.
We often chatted with him. I gave him advice — stance, training the arm and practicing a smooth descent, but he decided on his own. Somewhere I took a piece of armor-plate from the Apache helicopter, secured it on the front door and fired in the apartment before stupor.
Then he became interested in rifle shooting. It turned out that the passion for shooting gives very little sickly physical activity. Chris wrote: "If I shoot the whole day in the dash, then by evening the muscles of my whole body are sore from overstrain."
Then there was a heavy, large-caliber weapon, including an anti-tank gun from the times of the Patriotic War. It’s hard to list all the weapons Chris tested during his time in the United States.
In his home arsenal, besides pistols, rifles and machine guns, there was a grenade launcher and a gift from friends - a semi-automatic 500-caliber gun.
With jumping it is easier. Once I went with a friend to the Dropzone, to see how the skydivers jump, became interested. I decided to test myself and make one jump with an instructor, in tandem. I jumped, I liked it. I decided to jump again ... and got hooked, tightened.
Chris has passed gradual exams for all categories. He received a license to jump with a parachute from an airplane, a helicopter and a balloon - day and night, on the ground and water. Chris wrote to me: “Folder, you have no idea when you jump from a height of 12,000 feet and fly at a speed of 170 kilometers per hour, then you feel in the air like a fish in water. The feeling that you got into another world. "
And about a jump at low altitude: “For me, a jump from 3,500 feet is an eternity. Need to open up to 3000 feet. There are five seconds of time. During this time, you can perform several aerobatics with the loss of stability, to gain stability and throw away the parachute. ”
Unfortunately, Chris got carried away speed landing, it was fatal for him. I really want the memory of Chris to remain in the hearts of his fans and that the new generation remember him and not forget.
To be continued...
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/447394/
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