Kolya's parents are relatively old - they are not yet forty. And they consider themselves very young, they bought a boat, paint it and cherish it, drag it ashore, lower it into the water, repair the engine, convene guests to fry kebabs and sing tourist songs. But they are useless travelers, they do not know how to use their happiness at all. Last year, we traveled along the Volga for two weeks, and swam only a hundred kilometers - you can die of laughter. Kolya is not interested in them. Their romance does not suit him, it is very comfortable. So on that April Sunday, he flatly refused to go with them to paint the precious "Seagull". He said he had a test tomorrow. His parents were so touched by his consciousness that they did not bother. And Kolya had a completely free Sunday, without parents, without work, you can live at your own pleasure, like the Greek philosopher Epicurus.
When Kolya woke up, his parents were gone. There was a note on the table with a request to go for kefir and a ruble.
In the morning, a free day seems endless. Therefore, Kolya was in no hurry. He turned on the radio at full volume and began to think about who to call. But it was still early, all the friends were sleeping, and Kolya decided to go for kefir. He took a ruble, a bag, empty bottles and walked out onto the stairs.
Two orderlies came straight up the stairs to him and carried a folded stretcher. The orderlies were elderly, strong, like loaders, only in uniform caps and white coats. Kolya stopped. And then he noticed that the door to the neighboring apartment was ajar and voices were heard from there. The paramedics carried the stretcher through that door. Something happened to a neighbor, Nikolai Nikolaevich.
The neighbor lived alone, often went on business trips, and Kolya did not know where he worked. Kolya decided to wait. Soon the door opened and the orderlies carried a stretcher up the stairs. On the stretcher lay Nikolai Nikolaevich, pale, covered with a sheet almost to the very throat. Behind was a young doctor with a thick suitcase. The doctor stopped at the door and asked:
What to do with the apartment?
At that moment, Nikolai Nikolaevich saw Kolya and was delighted.
Hello, namesake, - he said quietly. - It's good that you met me. You see, it's heartbreaking. Such is the misfortune!
Nothing, - said Kolya, - you will recover.
Thank you for the kind words. I have a request to you: take my key. A friend from Murmansk is due to visit me one of these days. He knows that if I'm not at home, you have the keys.
Kolya escorted the stretcher with Nikolai Nikolaevich to the street. The orderlies carefully placed them in " ambulance". Hearts need complete rest.
When to expect? he asked Nikolai Nikolayevich, who was already in the car.
A month later. Probably earlier. I'll call you as soon as I get up.
Call me, I'll visit you, - said Kolya. - Maybe you need to buy fruit? You do not hesitate.
My friend from Murmansk should bring me medicine. I look forward to your mediation.
Do not hesitate, - said Kolya. - My old people are also happy to help you.
The ambulance abruptly took off and rushed off to the Sklifosovsky clinic, as the doctor said goodbye to Kolya. Kolya stood and looked after the car. He felt sorry for Nikolai Nikolaevich. The neighbor was a decent person, he never pretended to be a mentor to minors, he did not teach how to live, and it was interesting to talk with him. Then Kolya went to the store and bought kefir. When I paid at the cash desk, I felt in my pocket the key to Nikolai Nikolayevich's apartment and thought - I would not forget to hang it in the corridor in a conspicuous place: when a friend from Murmansk arrives, the key will be found right away. But when he returned home, Kolya did not hang up the key. He had an idea.
The fact is that on the desk of Nikolai Nikolayevich there was a model of a frigate. It was made of wood, cloth sails, twine shrouds, real guns, copper. Nikolai Nikolaevich once said that the frigate was made of two thousand parts and exactly copied from the real one. Kolya liked to look at the frigate. If you sit down a little and squint your eyes, you can imagine that the frigate is sailing on the ocean, and the sails have sagged, because the second week is calm.
When Fima Korolev from Kolya's class found out about the frigate, he began to ask to visit Nikolai Nikolayevich, but Kolya was in no hurry to take him on a visit. It is dangerous to take Fima to visit, because he is terribly impudent, clumsy, he will definitely grab something and break it. Fima got tired of being reminded, and he said:
Take me a measurement from the frigate. I am going to build a sailboat, but there is not enough literature. What do you have to do to help someone!
The conversation with Fimka was yesterday, and today Nikolai Nikolayevich fell ill. In the evening, the parents will arrive, they can hide the key, and Fima will never believe that the neighbor is in the hospital - he will decide that Kolya is inventing again.
For this reason, Kolya went home, took a sheet of paper, a ruler and a pencil and opened the door to a neighbor.
At that moment, he did not think that he was doing bad things. After all, if he had asked permission from Nikolai Nikolaevich, he probably would not have refused.
Kolya closed the door behind him, hid the key in his pocket, turned on the light in the corridor to admire the African masks that hung on the wall and bared their teeth.
Then Kolya slowly walked into a large room, which was the study and bedroom of Nikolai Nikolayevich. The bed on the couch had not been made, the sheets were rumpled, the phone was dangling from the floor. Kolya imagined how Nikolai Nikolayevich reached for the phone and dialed "03". Kolya put the receiver on the hook. Kolya had never been alone in this apartment, and it, in essence, was ordinary, it seemed too empty and even a little ominous. Standing in the middle of the room, Kolya felt that he did not quite right, and he wanted to leave and not take measurements from the frigate.
And he did not leave because an old flintlock pistol hung on the wall. Nikolai Nikolaevich let Kolya hold it in his hands, but half the pleasure is lost if they look at you at the same time. Kolya removed a pistol from the wall, took the firing pin away and aimed at the window. A crow flew past the window. Kolya pulled the trigger, the gun clicked softly. Of course, with bullets and gunpowder, the shot would have been louder.
Kolya hung up the pistol and then saw the door to the back room. The door is like a door, but it had a peculiarity: it is always locked. How many times Kolya visited a neighbor, he never saw this door open. Kolya had been wondering for a long time what could be hiding behind the door, and once asked Nikolai Nikolaevich:
What do you have there?
Have you read about Bluebeard? - Nikolai Nikolaevich asked in response.
Yes, you are not married.
Curious boys are hidden there,” Nikolai Nikolaevich said. - Seven pieces. There is room for the eighth.
This ended the conversation. Kolya didn't ask anymore. Everyone has their own pride.
And now Kolya saw that a key was sticking out of the white door. Apparently, Nikolai Nikolayevich did not expect that he would fall ill, and then he forgot to take it out.
Kolya went to the door and began to think. Probably some documents, papers or valuables. Or maybe a stamp collection. And in general, if you are not shown a room, there is nothing to go there.
Kolya wanted to return to the frigate, but suddenly he thought: what if the neighbor keeps some rare animal in the back room? So rare and dangerous that you can't even show it to anyone. Let's say an anaconda snake is twelve meters long. And now this rare animal sits hungry and does not know that there is no one to feed it. whole month. If it is an anaconda or a camel, it is not so scary, they can do without food and water, but if it is a tiger, then it will rush around the room for several days and, if it is not possible to break the walls, it will die of hunger. And if it succeeds, it could end even worse. After all, he will jump from the second floor onto the lawn, remember the flowers of pensioner Chuvpilo, swallow the pensioner, then gobble up an ice cream kiosk and get a sore throat.
If someone told Kolya now that he was jealous of Alice, Kolya would be indignant. What is there to envy? She was just born too late. Here Kolya was born on time and even visited the future. He is like a scout on a long trip. He flew forward, looked at how things were going, then he would return back and, together with everyone else, would continue on foot. That's it. And yet, of course, he envied Alice a little. She had seen a lot of interesting things. And her adventures were not like ordinary ones. And in general, when he saw her closer, he liked her. Like a personality. And Kolya followed Alice. It will be interesting to see what she will do. Maybe another dinosaur is waiting for her?
But it turned out that Alice was heading towards a building that had "Computer Center" written on it. But she didn't get in there. The director of the zoo, Professor Seleznev, came out to meet her. Father and daughter met ten paces from Kolya, and therefore he heard every word of their conversation, but so that they would not think that he was eavesdropping, Kolya turned to the cage, along which a grim horned wolf, covered with iron scales, ran in circles.
Barely found you, father, - said Alice. - Everything is fine. Are you leaving?
Yes. I'll be back in two weeks.
If you see your mother there, tell me that I have read all the books she left me. Will come - we'll bet.
What, didn't you like it?
Differently. It's a pity to waste time on fiction.
You know, I'm not your ally in this, - said Professor Seleznev. - I'm afraid you'll grow up a dry and boring person. It seems to me that two years ago you were much more cheerful and your favorite book was The Three Musketeers.
Also Space Zoology.
Fine. Look, don't forget to have breakfast.
I would forget, but the robot Grishka will never allow it. And if I want to have lunch, I will go to my grandparents. They don't get hungry.
Oh, by the way, did you take the myelophone again? You know it's not a toy. What if one of the animals gets sick?
Do I play?
Alice, don't get me wrong. There are only twenty myelophones in the entire Earth. They are distributed among the largest institutes and medical centers. The crystal at the center of the myelophone is so rare that last years eight expeditions searched the asteroid Vlasta and found only twenty-six...
Dad, did you decide to give me a lecture? Alice was surprised. - I know it very well. And I promise you: today, as soon as I finish the experiment with the hollow, I will return it to the clinic. You know my word is firm. But what if, after all, hollow people think a little? Exactly when do they bloom?
Maybe you are right. Okay, I'm off. And don't forget grandma and grandpa. They miss you without you.
Alice and her father kissed and parted.
Kolya was about to follow Alice when he suddenly saw two people sitting in the shade on a soft bench. One of them appeared to be dozing, his wide-brimmed sombrero hat over his eyes. The second, half his height and three times thinner, wrapped in a blue cloak so that only his nose and eyes stuck out, felt Kolya's gaze and turned away.
Kolya could have sworn that these were the same people who crawled out of the vase in the Martian ship. True, he wasn't 100% sure because they were in disguise and it was rather dark in the Martian ship, but if it was them, what were they doing here?
The little one pushed the big one in the side and said something. They immediately got up and quickly walked away. In the same direction as Alice went.
Kolya thought that these people had also heard the conversation between Alice and her father, but that was not what bothered him. What if he didn't like these people? Maybe, in fact, the little one has a mother on Pluto, who is waiting for him for his birthday, and the son could not get a ticket? Maybe the talker was actually imitating the call of the Cledian owl, and not the pirates. Thinking so, Kolya went after those people because he didn't like them. Didn't like it, that's all.
Far ahead, Kolya saw Alice's red jumpsuit. She entered the door of the tall coral building. A minute later, both "hares", in a sombrero and in a cape, also disappeared into this building.
Kolya did not hesitate. He hurried to the building and ran inside.
The building turned out to be a terrarium. A high narrow corridor led between glass walls behind which all sorts of reptiles could be seen. But Kolya paid no attention to them. He did not even recoil when one snake jumped to the glass and tried to bite through it. She hit the glass with her shiny horned muzzle, flashed her poisonous teeth, and the muddy poison ran down the glass.
The terrarium was empty. Suddenly Kolya froze. A fat man and a thin one loomed ahead. Kolya pressed himself against the wall, which in this place protruded a little into the corridor. The fat man looked around, but did not see him. And both slipped around the corner.
Ahead, a corridor merged into a large hall.
Kolya ran on tiptoe to the entrance to the hall and looked out, clinging to the wall.
The hall was vast, round, with a dome. A gentle hill rose in the middle of the hall. What lay on the hill most of all looked like a section of a concrete pipe three meters in diameter, with thick walls. From such pipes, only thinner, gas pipelines are folded.
Outside, the pipe was covered with green moss, from which grew small flowers that looked like forget-me-nots. The inside walls were smooth and shiny.
Alice was standing inside this tube, a black bag was opened, from which a wire was pulled to Alice's ear.
Listen, hollow, - said Alice, and her voice echoed in the pipe, - I still suspect what you are thinking. I just don't know at what frequency. Well tell me!
Alice leaned over to her purse and adjusted something there.
Kolya looked around, not understanding where the fat man and the thin one had gone. At first he did not find them, but then the brim of a wide hat betrayed the fat man. It turns out that they went over the hill and hid there.
Kolya had no doubt that Alice was in danger. He saw the hat slowly lift, as a second man squatted around the hill and his cloaked head appeared at the far end of the hollow.
And then Kolya could not stand it and shouted:
Alice! Behind!
The cape's head was gone. The fat man, having lost his hat, rushed to the rear exit from the hall.
What's happened? Alice asked.
She turned around and saw no one. She easily jumped out of the pipe. There was a Mexican sombrero on the floor.
And Kolya was already rushing down the corridor to the exit. The main thing is that he scared them away. But he didn't want Alice to see him and start asking why he was screaming. So simple. I wanted to and shouted.
Kolya thought that Alice would be chasing him, and so in a few jumps he crossed the area in front of the terrarium and ran along a narrow alley.
Where are you going?
Kolya tried to get around the man who got in the way, but he grabbed him tightly. Kolya saw two birch trunks, raised his head and recognized Electron.
I'm looking for you all over Cosmoso, and you?
What am I? I've been looking for you too.
Maybe you are afraid of something?
I was afraid? It's just time for me to go home.
And don't you want some ice cream?
No thanks.
How far are you getting home?
More than an hour, - said Kolya.
Well, let's swear. Take your breath away. And you don't have a face.
Kolya did not argue. He was glad of an old acquaintance. Just asked:
And what time?
Sixth hour.
Crazy how time flies! Kolya said.
They sat side by side. Kolya thought he might learn something from Electron.
How is your food system? Kolya asked. - Stopped feeding the dragons cannabis?
Kolya was constantly peering into the gap between the bamboo bushes in order to see what was happening on the site in front of the terrarium. But there, except for rare passers-by, nothing happened. Neither the fat man with the thin one, nor Alice was in sight.
Stupid mistake, - said Electron. - Not a single elementary robot would have done such a thing, not to mention a person. For a machine, what is meat, what is hemp - nothing more than a set of characters. No, this arbitrariness must be limited ...
And what kind of machine is this - myelophone? Kolya asked. - Also from the new ones?
Myelophone? No, it's been several years since it was invented. But the myelophones will probably run out soon.
Why? Is it possible?
Such an exceptional case. After all, the apparatus itself did not say any new word in technology. Just an electronic amplifier with a receiver. The main thing in it is a crystal. In the meantime, these crystals have only been found on the asteroid Vlasta; it’s a very small asteroid, rushed from somewhere from another Galaxy a million years ago, fell into the orbit of the Sun, and has been spinning since then. And so far, twenty of these crystals or a little more have been found. Some think that they were made by the inhabitants of the planet from which Vlasta once broke away, others even suspect that these crystals are living beings, only they live so slowly that it takes tens of thousands of years to notice it. The center of the myelophone is such a crystal. And no one can make more myelophones than there are crystals in the world. Is that clear?
It's not clear, Kolya said. - Why do you need a myelophone?
Strange, have you heard of the myelophone?
Well, I missed it, - Kolya answered.
Elektron Stepanovich looked ruefully at Kolya, sighed, but continued:
When the first crystals were brought to Earth and began to be studied, one of the scientists noticed that when people come close, something changes in the structure of the crystal. Scientists began to fight over this matter and finally realized that crystals can capture the waves emitted by the brain. Then they guessed to connect the crystals with amplifiers, and one day the scientists heard the thoughts. Can you imagine what a turmoil has begun in the scientific world!
Yes perishing, likely, - said Kolya.
And you haven't heard about it?
Maybe I was small? So myelophone can read minds from a distance?
Certainly. What am I telling you! Can you imagine how many people were willing to get myelophone?
Of course, I can imagine, - said Kolya. - All the magicians immediately ran.
Who? Magicians? What's with the magicians?
Well, which thoughts guess.
Electron looked at Kolya like he was crazy, and even his drooping mustache rose a centimeter. But he controlled himself and said:
Certainly not magicians. First, doctors. It is one thing when a patient tells or diagnostic machines make a diagnosis, but in some diseases, for example, in nervous diseases, it is important to know what a person really thinks. Or in children's clinics. Until the child has learned to speak, he cannot explain what and where it hurts.
And why did they give such a device to the zoo?
Not to the zoo, but to Cosmoso. We have space animals, some of them are completely unique, and people can’t always really understand how to feed them, what temperature they like, and in general what needs they have. So they gave out one of the twenty myelophones that are on Earth for us. But we protect it more than the apple of our eye.
Of course, take care! Kolya said. - I myself saw how Alice dragged him into the terrarium. Nearly lost.
One should not think that Kolya is a scammer by nature. He was just angry at Alice for risking such a valuable instrument. Only twenty on the whole Earth and in hospitals without exception, and she runs around Cosmoso and listens to the thoughts of some pipe!
If she dragged, - said Electron, - it means that Professor Seleznev allowed her.
Still, - said Kolya, - dear dad!
I look at you and from time to time I am surprised, - said Electron. - It would seem that there is nothing strange about you, except for clothes. The guy is like a guy. And sometimes you blurt out such things, as if you were some kind of native of the Middle Ages.
What did I say?
You said that Professor Seleznyov could risk a valuable device in order to please his stupid daughter. At least that's how you sounded. Firstly, Alice is a fairly responsible person, and if she needs a myelophone, then for business ...
To eavesdrop on the thoughts of some kind of hollow, ”said Kolya. He didn't want to give up.
Right. I also suspect that the thinker is empty. Moreover, he is now blooming and he may have new emotions. I would be glad if your head worked at least five times weaker than Alice's.
Thank you, - said Kolya, - for the compliment.
It goes without saying that after this he began to treat Alice worse than before. A vengeful feeling even arose: let those Gavriks steal the myelophone from her. That's when she jumps with all her abilities.
Good, - said Electron Stepanovich. - I have to go. Was glad to meet you. Maybe we'll meet again.
From his tone it was clear that he already regrets that he met. Well, please, Kolya thought.
Are you not going? asked Electron.
No, I'll sit a little longer.
If you need anything, you can always find me here.
Thank you. I will take into account.
Kolya remained sitting on a soft, like a sofa, bench. The sun was already hiding behind the trees, clouds tinted by the approaching sunset were crawling across the sky. We must give Electron time to go home. I don't want to meet him anymore. Moreover, he suspects something, and if we meet again, he may guess - then it is still unknown when I will return home. And I already wanted to go home. Kolya was tired, and not so much his legs were tired as his head. She exceeded her daily allowance. Kolya remembered that today the Thirteen Chairs Zucchini was being shown on TV, and thought it would be good to be in time for the start. Of course, it would be necessary to take something else as a keepsake, otherwise he does not carry many souvenirs with him, but there was nothing souvenir nearby. They didn't even sell postcards. In vain, perhaps, he did not take a newspaper for himself in the morning. Here to show the guys! But then he did not think that this day would end so soon.
Kolya pulled a penknife out of his pocket - a good knife, he traded it with Fima Korolev for two sets of Burundi stamps - and decided to leave a memory of himself. The seat of the bench was soft, you could not cut anything here, but the back seemed to be wooden. There was no one in the alley, the visitors from Cosmoso had dispersed. A cart loaded with pots, pots, and thermos flasks drove along the big path, behind the bamboo bushes. Apparently, they started to feed the animals. As if in the food center they again mixed up who to give what. Now a bowl of soup. Actually, he didn't like soup, who likes soup? Only at the insistence of your parents do you eat it. But if you spent the day on ice cream, bagels and lemonade, then you want soup.
Kolya turned sideways and began carving his business card. He has been hit more than once in his life for this passion. Once, when he carved his initials on the desk, even his father was called to school. But you can't leave the future without leaving any trace. In a hundred years, you will definitely have to look here and look at your own work.
The back of the bench turned out to be soft, cut easily. It's probably not wood, but some kind of plastic that looks like wood.
Nobody interfered with Kolya. Once a family passed by, but Kolya covered the knife with his palm and pretended to be examining the bushes. Kolya carved on the back with large block letters:
KOLYA, 6TH CLASS "B", SCHOOL 26
Everything is clear, but no one will guess. They will search in their 26th school. Electron must have gone home. It's time for us too. After all, you still have to flip through half the city, and at eight o'clock the "Zucchini" will begin.
Kolya put the knife in his pocket and went to the exit. He passed a clearing in which the Skliss dozed - cows like cows - and turned to main alley leading to the exit. He walked quickly but carefully and thought that if he saw Electron, he would quickly dive into the bushes. Just not for those who love ice cream. Kolya caught up with the pond and saw that the Bronte dinosaur had climbed out of the water and was standing with its front paws on the shore. And here is Alice. She hung her black bag on the railing of the pond, jumped over it and ended up on the bank. Bronte, like a tame elephant, bent his front paws to make it easier for Alice to climb on him. Kolya even froze in surprise. Here it gives!
Alice was already astride the dinosaur, and he, stepping carefully into the water so as not to splash his mate, swam across the pond, and shifting ducks, pink geese, birds with needles, like hedgehogs, and other strange creatures blurred like boats in front of passenger ship, giving way.
Friends floated to the middle of the pond, and the dinosaur arched its neck like a swan. It was a beautiful sight, and few of the last visitors to Cosmoso stopped to look at this picture. And Kolya himself was so staring that he saw a fat man without a hat and a thin one running along the path only when they were already approaching the exit. The fat man clutched a black bag to his chest. One glance was enough for Kolya to understand that this was the bag with the myelophone, so thoughtlessly left by Alice on the shore.
Eh, - Kolya said aloud, - I warned you!
And he ran as fast as he could after the thieves. Of course, he should have shouted for everyone to catch them, and he guessed to shout when the bandits had already disappeared into the cave with sparkling microbirds.
Hold on! Kolya shouted, but his breath was taken away from his quick run, and if Alice heard him and turned around, then, of course, she did not see the real abductors.
Kolya ran out onto the deserted square in front of Cosmoso. The thieves were already running up to the bus. It was bus number 6 "Cosmozo-Sokolniki". There were two more buses nearby.
I must say that Kolya ran much faster than space pirates. Those spent many years in drunkenness and revelry on spaceships, did not go in for sports at all, and entrusted all the menial work to others. Therefore, he flew into the sixth bus almost simultaneously with the thieves. He was still lucky, because just in front of the pirates there were two women who were talking animatedly and occupying the entire passage to the curtain, behind which were the Sokolniki, so that the thin pirate who was running in front had to slow down, and the fat man ran into him and lifted him higher hand with a bag so as not to damage the myelophone. And then Kolya caught up with them.
The women, who did not know what was happening behind, disappeared behind the screen.
Following them, the thin pirate Rats also disappeared.
The fat man turned around and recognized Kolya, whom he had noticed back in the terrarium. He drew some kind of weapon and growled menacingly, but did not dare to do anything, but only hurried to the curtain.
It happens that the only correct decision comes in one second, and if you began to think, you would never have thought of it. The fat man still held the bag with the myelophone over his head and had already begun to enter the screen, when Kolya jumped up and pulled the bag towards him. The fat man did not expect this, and his fingers loosened, and he himself was already on the other side of the screen, in Sokolniki, probably twenty kilometers from Kolya.
Kolya grabbed the bag and ran back, jumped out of the bus to the square. The area was large and completely empty. Unfortunately, not a single person nearby. And Alice is gone. She didn't hear, did she? Kolya forgot that when he ran after the pirates, Alice was on Bronty's back in the middle of the pond. From there, you won't get to the exit right away.
Kolya stopped by the bus. He understood that it only took a few seconds for the thieves to run around the bus, enter it again and come back here. What to do? Kolya did not dare to run across the entire area to Cosmoso, because he saw a weapon in the fat man's hand - while he was running, the pirates could easily kill him. And sorry, goodbye then "Zucchini" Thirteen Chairs ".
But there were two more buses in front of Kolya. And on the nearest was the inscription:
No. 8 "COSMOSO - PROSPECT OF THE WORLD"
Kolya, without a moment's hesitation, jumped into this bus, ran through the passenger compartment, shot through the screen like an arrow and ended up at the Prospect Mira bus stop. There he saw a bus:
No. 3 "PROSPECT MIR - GOGOLEV BOULEVARD"
Luckily, there were several people there. I had to stand in line. People were in no hurry, talking, and Kolya lost a whole minute while he got on the bus. And as he entered, he turned around and saw that a thin bandit was crawling out of the next one. He turns his head, looks out for Kolya. Kolya realized that the thieves could not be outwitted: they split up - one ran into the eighth bus, and the other was lying in wait for him somewhere else.
In desperation, Kolya slipped under the feet of the passengers and flew through the screen like a bullet.
He didn't know if the thief had seen him, but he decided not to waste time anyway. Almost knocking the woman down, he ran across the square. He was afraid to look back, see the pirates, hear a hail or even a shot. Only when he reached the first trees and hid behind a thick maple trunk did he catch his breath.
Probably, he should have called for help those people who got on the bus with him on Prospekt Mira, but it’s good to think with a calm mind. If criminals are chasing you, there is no time for reflection. Especially if they are angry with you, like unleashed wolves: after all, you have taken away their most valuable booty.
Standing behind a tree, Kolya began to think. He decided that he would not return to Cosmoso: if Alice was such a halda that she missed the myelophone, let her cry now. We know these wise guys, excellent students, Kolya thought. He himself never went to honors students and was not going to become one. But Kolya was not an evil person and had already figured out how he would return the myelophone. He will give it to Javad or one of the naturalists at the school station. They seem to be familiar with Alice and will be able to return the myelophone to her. And he will go home.
No, the fat man couldn't see him, Kolya decided, and at that moment he approached the woman whom Kolya had almost knocked down while flying out of the bus. The woman stood at the edge of the bus stop and waited for a free flip bubble to fly up.
The fat man bowed politely and asked her about something... Kolya did not hear the words, but it was not difficult to guess that he was asking if the boy had just run past. And, to his horror, Kolya saw that the woman nodded, and showed how Kolya flew past her, and extended her hand towards the boulevard, it even seemed to Kolya that her finger was buried right into it. He cowered behind a tree trunk. What to do? It was evident that the fat man took something black out of his pocket, probably a walkie-talkie. Calls a friend. There's not a second to lose.
And Kolya started to run.
Kir Bulychev
One hundred years ahead
PART 1. GUEST FROM THE PAST
1. WHAT IF ANACONDA IS OUTSIDE THE DOOR?
Kolya's parents are relatively old - they are not yet forty. And they consider themselves very young, they bought a boat, paint it and cherish it, drag it ashore, lower it into the water, repair the engine, convene guests to fry kebabs and sing tourist songs. But they are useless travelers, they do not know how to use their happiness at all. Last year, we traveled along the Volga for two weeks, and swam only a hundred kilometers - you can die of laughter. Kolya is not interested in them. Their romance does not suit him, it is very comfortable. So on that April Sunday, he flatly refused to go with them to paint the precious "Seagull". He said he had a test tomorrow. His parents were so touched by his consciousness that they did not bother. And Kolya had a completely free Sunday, without parents, without work, you can live at your own pleasure, like the Greek philosopher Epicurus.
When Kolya woke up, his parents were gone. There was a note on the table with a request to go for kefir and a ruble.
In the morning, a free day seems endless. Therefore, Kolya was in no hurry. He turned on the radio at full volume and began to think about who to call. But it was still early, all the friends were sleeping, and Kolya decided to go for kefir. He took a ruble, a bag, empty bottles and went out onto the stairs.
Two orderlies came straight up the stairs to him and carried a folded stretcher. The orderlies were elderly, strong, like loaders, only in uniform caps and white coats. Kolya stopped. And then he noticed that the door to the neighboring apartment was ajar and voices were heard from there. The paramedics carried the stretcher through that door. Something happened to a neighbor, Nikolai Nikolaevich.
The neighbor lived alone, often went on business trips, and Kolya did not know where he worked. Kolya decided to wait. Soon the door opened and the orderlies carried a stretcher up the stairs. On the stretcher lay Nikolai Nikolaevich, pale, covered with a sheet almost to the very throat. Behind was a young doctor with a thick suitcase. The doctor stopped at the door and asked:
What to do with the apartment?
At that moment, Nikolai Nikolaevich saw Kolya and was delighted.
Hello, namesake, - he said quietly. - It's good that you met me. You see, it's heartbreaking. Such is the misfortune!
Nothing, - said Kolya, - you will recover.
Thank you for the kind words. I have a request to you: take my key. A friend from Murmansk is due to visit me one of these days. He knows that if I'm not at home, you have the keys.
Kolya escorted the stretcher with Nikolai Nikolaevich to the street. The paramedics carefully placed them in the ambulance. Hearts need complete rest.
When to expect? he asked Nikolai Nikolayevich, who was already in the car.
A month later. Probably earlier. I'll call you as soon as I get up.
Call me, I'll visit you, - said Kolya. - Maybe you need to buy fruit? You do not hesitate.
My friend from Murmansk should bring me medicine. I look forward to your mediation.
Do not hesitate, - said Kolya. - My old people are also happy to help you.
The ambulance abruptly took off and rushed off to the Sklifosovsky clinic, as the doctor said goodbye to Kolya. Kolya stood and looked after the car. He felt sorry for Nikolai Nikolaevich. The neighbor was a decent person, he never pretended to be a mentor to minors, he did not teach how to live, and it was interesting to talk with him. Then Kolya went to the store and bought kefir. When I paid at the cash desk, I felt in my pocket the key to Nikolai Nikolayevich's apartment and thought - I would not forget to hang it in the corridor in a conspicuous place: when a friend from Murmansk arrives, the key will be found right away. But when he returned home, Kolya did not hang up the key. He had an idea.
The fact is that on the desk of Nikolai Nikolayevich there was a model of a frigate. It was made of wood, cloth sails, twine shrouds, real guns, copper. Nikolai Nikolaevich once said that the frigate was made of two thousand parts and exactly copied from the real one. Kolya liked to look at the frigate. If you sit down a little and squint your eyes, you can imagine that the frigate is sailing on the ocean, and the sails have sagged, because the second week is calm.
When Fima Korolev from Kolya's class found out about the frigate, he began to ask to visit Nikolai Nikolayevich, but Kolya was in no hurry to take him on a visit. It is dangerous to take Fima to visit, because he is terribly impudent, clumsy, he will definitely grab something and break it. Fima got tired of being reminded, and he said:
Take me a measurement from the frigate. I am going to build a sailboat, but there is not enough literature. What do you have to do to help someone!
The conversation with Fimka was yesterday, and today Nikolai Nikolayevich fell ill. In the evening, the parents will arrive, they can hide the key, and Fima will never believe that the neighbor is in the hospital - he will decide that Kolya is inventing again.
For this reason, Kolya went home, took a sheet of paper, a ruler and a pencil and opened the door to a neighbor.
At that moment, he did not think that he was doing bad things. After all, if he had asked permission from Nikolai Nikolaevich, he probably would not have refused.
Kolya closed the door behind him, hid the key in his pocket, turned on the light in the corridor to admire the African masks that hung on the wall and bared their teeth.
Then Kolya slowly walked into a large room, which was the study and bedroom of Nikolai Nikolayevich. The bed on the couch had not been made, the sheets were rumpled, the phone was dangling from the floor. Kolya imagined how Nikolai Nikolayevich reached for the phone and dialed "03". Kolya put the receiver on the hook. Kolya had never been alone in this apartment, and it, in essence, was ordinary, it seemed too empty and even a little ominous. Standing in the middle of the room, Kolya felt that he did not quite right, and he wanted to leave and not take measurements from the frigate.
If you come to a foreign city for a short time, then in one day you can see its streets, even meet someone, visit a museum, and so on. But you are unlikely to understand how people live there, what worries, troubles and joys they have. Therefore, everything can be misunderstood.
This is if you come to another city. But what if you come to a completely different world, like Kolya?
Kolya walked and rode through the streets, saw different things, met people and immediately parted with them. He understood something - not everything changes in a hundred years. But Kolya did not see and did not understand much. It seemed to him that in a hundred years people would live carefree and cheerfully. They will do what they are interested in, go to masquerades, fly on wings and travel to other planets. But he did not see any difficulties or difficulties in the life of future people. It just so happened. And there were difficulties and difficulties, of course. And others than ours, and just the same. Of course, no one deceived Kolya, did not hide - after all, everyone took him for a contemporary. But in one day you can only see what lies on top.
And it is not surprising that when Kolya saw a fat man and a thin one in the ship, who were hiding behind the boxes, he did not understand what kind of people they were. True, the young watch officer on the ship did not guess. And Captain Poloskov was alarmed, he almost recognized them, but they had already moved far away.
And Captain Poloskov saw them only two years ago, when he flew on the Pegasus ship with the expedition of the Moscow Zoo to collect rare animals and birds on other planets. By the way, this expedition also included the girl Alice, who was taken with her by her father, the director of the zoo.
Travelers had to endure many adventures and face one unpleasant company - space pirates. And what's so amazing about that? Previously, when ships were sailing, they sailed the seas and oceans sea pirates. Over time, telephones, radios, high-speed ships and planes appeared on Earth, the pirates had nowhere to hide, escape from the chase, and they disappeared on Earth. Another thing is in space. A galaxy can be compared to an ocean, only it is millions of times larger. Like islands, planets are scattered across it, like archipelagos - constellations. And everything else is a desert, on which spaceships float.
Different peoples live in the Galaxy. As once on Earth, advanced peoples and backward peoples, and even savages, live side by side here. There are even in the Galaxy and such planets, the inhabitants of which still have no idea how it is possible not to fight.
This is what space pirates use. They need money and jewelry, luxury and entertainment. But most of all - the power over the world. At one time, such pirates were a real disaster, but one day the Galaxy got tired of it. Its inhabitants took this matter seriously.
All the planets of the Galactic Union joined forces, specially built several fast cruisers, and the war on piracy began. A few months later, almost all the pirates were caught, their bases were found, and even some goodness was returned to the owners. But some of the most sophisticated and cunning space robbers hid. And among them were two famous bandits. One was called Veselchak U. He was fat, as if he was made of fat balls. At first glance, he might seem like a kind and talkative fat man, but it would be fatal mistake. No one, not even the closest friends, could trust Veselchak U. He even mother sold into slavery on a backward planet. True, it was at the very beginning of his career, and then, when he got rich, he remembered his mother and flew to that planet to buy her back. But it turned out that by that time my mother had redeemed herself from slavery, became the queen of the principality of Ant Hill and met her beloved son so that he and his ship could hardly be carried away.
Veselchak Wu considered himself a great cunning. And if there was no one to outwit, then he sat down to play cards with himself and beat himself, while desperately cheating.
Quite different was his friend Rat from the dead planet Krokrys. Crorats have always fought, they didn’t even know another occupation. They fought until they killed each other, the last of them hiding in the dark dungeons. The rat got tired of running through the dungeons, and he went into the pirates. He became the coldest and cruelest villain in the galaxy.
Rats from Crorat are always in a synthetic shell. Most often, he likes to pose as a small, thin, sad person. And under this shell lies an insect with furry legs, a round body and sharp thin claws. It has small wings on its back, but it flies poorly. Wings are needed by rats in order to buzz and stun the enemy. In addition, the Rat has a tail with a poisonous sting at the end. True, this poison only works on other rats.
When almost all the pirates were caught, these two bandits joined forces, although they had previously been at enmity. Since then, for five years now, they have been roaming the Galaxy together. They have to hide. Until recently, they had their own ship and several henchmen, but when the expedition on the Pegasus defeated them with the help of three captains, the pirates were completely impoverished. They managed to escape from justice, but had to hide on distant planets for two years. Out of desperation, they rushed for support to the mother of Veselchak U, but she did not need a loser son, and she kicked them out.
And it had to happen that Kolya, having got into the future for one day, met precisely with Veselchak U and the Rat, although, of course, he did not suspect that they had such a stormy biography.
The pirates arrived on Earth in the morning and did not expect to stay here for a long time. They were afraid that they would be immediately caught on Earth, and they needed to find some kind of ship that would take them to Pluto. A small expedition was working on Pluto, and soon a ship laden with gold was to go to earth from there. After all, it is known that there is more gold on Pluto than granite.
They all succeeded, and if not for the error of the computer, they would have flown to Pluto, seized the ship and rushed off into space with a cargo of gold. Or maybe they wouldn't have been able to. Unknown. But when they climbed into the vase, the trolley transferred its weight to the control room. And the weight turned out to be one hundred and ninety-three kilograms more than the norm. The control room checked the lists and found that this is the weight of one container that should be sent to Mars, and sent a cart to the Martian ship. Pirates did not take into account this detail and lost.
The exposed "hares" managed to get lost in the crowd of admirers of the great singer Milena Mitina. They decided to take refuge in the city until tomorrow, and then, when everything calms down, return to the spaceport. But first, I had to disguise myself.
As soon as they were inside the building, Veselchak U gave a prearranged signal, and the pirates disappeared behind a row of machines that dispensed candy for those who were sick in space.
Everyone around was busy with their own business. The pirates caught their breath a little - after all, only two minutes ago they thought that their song was sung - then the Rat took a small stick from his pocket. As soon as you press on its end, a long, thirty meters, almost invisible wire with claws on its tail stretches out of the wand. In fact, it was not a wire, but a Valapas snake - a strange creature that lives in the bushes of an unnamed planet. Usually this one already lies in an underground hole, but as soon as some animal passes nearby, it straightens up in the blink of an eye and, like an arrow, pierces it. I don't need much. He is content with little - he will tear out a tuft of wool or a feather, he himself feeds on mosquitoes. The rest of the prey is needed for the nest in which his girlfriend sleeps. And the girlfriends of the Valapas snakes are thick snakes the size of an anaconda, they need soft bedding. Therefore, he robs passers-by - he tries for the family. Such a snake Rat has long adapted for petty theft and always dragged with him. So this time the Valapassky one came in handy. A group of tourists surrounded the guide, laughter was heard. And no one noticed how a thin translucent thread stretched to things. First, the claws seized a wide thin blue cape, and she, like a stingray along the bottom of the bay, rushed off to the machine guns. The distracted Associate Professor Spusi-va-pus-va-pas-va-pos, who looked like a blue horse in an aquarium, who hurried straight from the stadium to the spaceport so as not to miss the flight, saw a blue cape sliding across the floor. He decided that this was not a cape, but some kind of alien visitor, only similar to a blue cape. So Associate Professor Spusi-wah-pus-wah-pas-wah-pos excused himself and jumped up to avoid stepping on the stranger, the water in his aquarium rippling and splashing on the floor. Docent said:
I'm sorry I spat on you.
But the cape had already disappeared behind the machine guns.
Well, blue mare, - the gloomy Rat scolded the assistant professor. - You'll have to, Veselchak U, walk under this cape. I can't, I'll catch a cold, I have weak joints.
Do I want to catch a cold? - Veselchak U. was surprised. - Besides, this cape is small for me. Get me a sombrero.
The sombrero belonged to a Mexican tourist, hanging behind his back on ribbons tied under his throat.
The rat launched the Valapas snake again, and it clutched the sombrero in a death grip. The rat pulled the snake by the tail, and even pulled the tourist's hat. The ribbon came undone, the tourist could not stay on his feet and fell to the floor. The sombrero quickly crawled towards the machine guns, and at that time the assistant professor Spusi-va-pus-va-pas-va-pos returned. He saw that some other, round alien was quickly crawling towards him. He jumped up to avoid stepping on him, splashed him with water from the aquarium and said:
Sorry I'm so distracted!
And in response, from behind the machine gun was heard terrible curse in space jargon. So terrible that the blue horse in the aquarium plugged his ears and blushed. The assistant professor did not know that pirates were terribly afraid of a cold.
The Mexican tourist jumped up and began to look for a sombrero, but he was gone. The tourist claimed to the lost and found office that his sombrero ran away. And in the meantime, he came out from behind the machine guns fat person in a sombrero pulled down over his eyes, and behind him hurried another man, wrapped in a wet blue cloak so that only a pointed nose stuck out. The man in the cape sneezed deafeningly.
The pirates slipped out to the bubble parking lot shortly after Kolya, quickly climbed into the double bubble, and raced away from the spaceport.
Where will we stay? - asked Veselchak U. - Nicely we fooled them! And he laughed.
Shh! - answered the Rat. - The control room can overhear.
On Earth, the control room doesn't eavesdrop on conversations. Especially since we speak a pirate language.
Anyway, I'll ask in a whisper.
Where are we now?
The rat studied the inscriptions under the buttons. There were more than a hundred inscriptions, but all of them did not suit the pirates.
Here! hissed the Rat. - This is where we're going. Maybe even find some benefit. No one will think to look for us there.
His thin synthetic finger, hiding the claw, rested on the button, under which was written:
"COSMOSO"
And at this time, Kolya was already flying to Moscow. He was heading towards Mira Avenue, from where he was going to return to Gogol Boulevard and then to the Institute of Time.
Everything would be fine, I even met Milena Mitina, it only made me sleepy. The ice cream with lemonade and sandwiches was probably still on. Or maybe the person is tired.
The journey was calm, Kolya did not violate traffic rules. He took out a stone in his pocket, a gift great singer. The stone shone beautifully in the sun. It was warm and cozy. Kolya put the stone back in his pocket and decided that, while the point was, he would close his eyes and think a little about different things. He closed his eyes, but did not have time to think about anything, because he fell asleep.
In his sleep, he leaned forward, put his head in his hands, and accidentally pressed the button with the inscription "Cosmoso" with his elbow.
