Before we drink the cup of fate
Let's drink, my dear, another cup, together
It may turn out that take a sip before death
The sky will not allow us in its madness
Omar Khayyam
Spiritual prisons
The lunch was very tasty. I had to admit that the food here was excellent. Exactly half past three, as we agreed with Nastya, I was waiting for her on the alley, from which the path to the mountains began. When Nastya came up, I did not really recognize her. She was wearing a long dress that reached down to the ground, made of some kind of ethnic material. Her hair was braided, and a canvas bag with a long flap dangled freely from a rag strap over her shoulder. Round glasses with a wide frame, interesting in style, complemented the picture.
- Wow!
I always go to the mountains like this.
- Why the bag?
- Yes, for herbs, but different flowers. My grandmother, by the way, was an herbalist, she taught me a lot ...
- I always suspected that you, Nastya, are a witch!
A little embarrassed, Nastya laughed. Something about her laugh struck me as suspicious. Not in a hurry, but not too much delay, we moved along the path to the mountains.
- Where are we going?
- To begin with, I will show you the dolmens.
— Dolmens?
— What didn't you know? This is the main local attraction. One of them is nearby. Let's hurry, it's about one and a half kilometers to it.
We were surrounded by amazing scenery. The air was filled with the chirping of grasshoppers. From time to time, wonderful views of the mountains and the sea were seen from the trail. Often, going off the path, Nastya picked plants, rubbed them in her hands, sniffed them, and put them in her bag under the valve.
Half an hour later, wiping the sweat from our foreheads, we went out into the hollow between the hills.
- And here he is, dolmen. They say that it is more than four thousand years old, it is older than the Egyptian pyramids. What do you think it looks like?
I looked where Nastya was pointing. On an earthen glade stood an even cube made of heavy stone slabs. It was almost the height of a man, and in one side of the cube was a small hole dug out, through which it was impossible to climb in or out. It is only possible to pass food and water.
- I think, Nastya, that most of all it looks like a prison cell.
- Come on, Mikhail, no romance. The most authoritative archaeologists claim that these are religious buildings. In general, it is believed that dolmens are places of power.
- Well, prisons are also, in a sense, places of power, and in the most practical sense ...
- When a person began to build religious buildings, it was a huge step in the development of primitive society.
- Well, when society stopped killing criminals, and began to give them the opportunity to atone for their guilt and correct themselves, is this a less significant stage of progress?
- I see you do not argue.
- Do not be offended, Nastya. I am even ready to admit that these are really ritual structures for the development of spiritual qualities. But then it gets even more ridiculous. People themselves build prisons for their souls. And they spend their whole lives in them, in the hope of gaining freedom.
Abstragon
Near the dolmen we noticed a stream. Having stopped arguing, we tried to freshen up with it and wipe our hands, shoulders and head with cold water. The stream was shallow and it was not easy. Having somehow coped with this task, we decided to take a little rest in the shade. Nastya sat down closer to me. Lowering her voice a little, she asked:
- Michael, can I tell you my little secret.
- ???
— The fact is that although I am an employee at the Institute of Quantum Dynamics, I am still doing some research that is not directly related to the subject of our institute. I don't tell anyone about them, even Marat Ibrahimovic doesn't know. Otherwise, he will laugh at me, or even worse, fire me. Tell me? You are interested?
“Yes, of course, tell me. I am extremely interested in everything unusual, especially if it is connected with you.
We smiled at each other.
Here is the result of some of my research.
With these words, Nastya took out a small vial with a greenish liquid from her bag.
- What is it?
This is Abstragon.
“Abstra… Abstra… What…?”
— Abstragon. This is a local herbal tincture of my own invention. It suppresses a person's ability to think abstractly.
“But why… Why might this be needed at all?”
“You see, Mikhail, it seems to me that there are a lot of troubles on Earth, due to the fact that a person complicates everything too much. How is it with you programmers...
— Overengineering?
- Yes, an excessive pile of abstractions. And very often, in order to solve a problem, you need to think specifically, so to speak, in accordance with the situation. This is where abstraction can help. It aims at a real, practical solution to the problem. Don't want to try?
I glanced apprehensively at the vial of greenish vodka. Not wanting to seem like a coward in front of a pretty girl, he answered:
- You can try.
— Okay, Mikhail, can you climb that rock?
Nastya pointed to a sheer stone wall four stories high. Barely noticeable ledges were visible on the wall and in some places withered tufts of grass stuck out.
- Most likely no. You can’t collect bones here, ”I answered, realistically assessing my climbing abilities.
— You see, abstractions interfere with you. “An impregnable rock”, “A weak person without preparation” - all these images are formed by abstract thinking. Now try abstraction. Only a little, no more than two sips.
I took a sip from the vial. It tasted like moonshine mixed with absinthe. We stood and waited. I stood and looked at Nastya, she looked at me.
Suddenly I felt an extraordinary lightness and flexibility in my body. After a while, thoughts began to disappear in my head. I went to the rock. The legs themselves somehow arched unnaturally, and I, clutching my hands for no reason, immediately rose to a height of one meter.
I vaguely remember what happened next. I turned into some strange, clever mixture of ape and spider. In several tricks, I overcame half of the rock. Looked down. Nastya waved her hand. Having easily climbed onto the rock, I waved to her from the very top.
- Michael, there is a path on the other side. Get down on it.
After a while I stood in front of Nastya. My head was still empty. Unexpectedly for myself, I approached her face, took off her glasses and kissed her. The abstraction was probably still in effect. Nastya did not resist, although she did not take the astragon.
We went down to the scientific town, holding hands. In front of the pine alleys, I turned to Nastya and took her by both hands.
“You know, we programmers also have one way to deal with unnecessary complexity. This is the principle of Keep it simple, stuped. Short for KISS. And I kissed her again. A little embarrassed, we parted ways.
Beautiful far away
Before going to bed, I decided to take a shower. In the mountains, I sweated a lot and I wanted to stand under the jets of cool water. I saw an intelligent elderly man sitting on a bench not far from the alley.
— Tell me, do you know where you can take a shower?
- You can do it right in the building, you can do it in the new gym - that's right. And you can in the old showers, but you probably won’t like it, they are almost never used.
I became interested.
— Do these old showers work?
- Young man, if you have any idea where you are, you should understand that everything works everywhere for us, and around the clock.
Without a moment's hesitation, I headed for the old showers.
It was a one-story brick building with a wooden door. A lantern burned above the door, swinging in the wind on a flexible suspension. The door was not locked. I entered. He fumbled for the switch and turned on the light. My expectations were justified - in front of me was a classic unified shower room, which used to be massively made in pioneer and student camps, sanatoriums, swimming pools and other facilities.
My body shook with excitement. I am not satisfied with the description of paradise, where a person wanders around the garden and eats apples from time to time, trying not to accidentally meet with snakes. I wouldn't last a week there. A real paradise here - in the old Soviet showers. I could be in them for ages, in those chipped-tiled showers.
Usually in such showers we fooled around with friends. Having occupied the department, they bawled some cult song together. I especially liked to sing “Beautiful is far away”. Fantastic acoustics multiplied by young outlook on life gave unimaginable sensations.
I turned on the shower and adjusted the water. I took a note from the middle octave. The shower room responded with sensuous echoes. Started to sing. “I hear a voice from a beautiful distance, the voice of the morning in silver dew.” I remembered my school and student years. I'm eighteen again! I sang and sang. There was a complete reverb. If someone came in from the side, he would think that I was crazy. The third chorus is the most penetrating.
I swear that I will become cleaner and kinder
And in trouble I will not leave a friend ... never ... yes ... other ... ha
The voice trembled for some unknown reason. I tried to sing again, but I couldn't. A lump came up to the throat and the whole chest was bound by an incomprehensible force ...
I remembered everything. I remembered everything that happened next with me and my friends. I remembered how we first began to participate in a serious project and completely quarreled over some ridiculous money. And also because of who is still in charge of the project. I remembered how a friend and I liked the same girl, and I deceived a friend by running away with her from a party. I remembered how, together with another friend, I worked in the same department and I became the boss, and he had to quit. And more, more…
There is no hiding from this behind any perimeter, and under any level. Quantum computers and neural interfaces are powerless here. The lump in my chest turned over, melted and turned into tears. I sat naked on the sharp beaten tiles and cried. Salty tears mixed with chlorinated water and fell directly into the throat.
Universe! What should I do so that I can sincerely sing again “I swear that I will become cleaner and kinder, and in trouble I will never ask a friend” and you believed me again, as before? He lifted his face and looked up. From the ceiling, unblinking, a Soviet lamp of a unified design was looking at me.
Night
After the shower, I came to the building and tried to calm down. But I still didn't have a very good night. I'm confused. I thought a lot about Nastya. Is there more between us than the absence of abstract barriers? What does she have with Marat Ibrahimovic. Inwardly, I felt that they were, so to speak, not quite strangers. What to do? I fell asleep only in the morning, consoling myself with the thought that maybe the next day would not be in vain. And I finally find out what the “ASO Modeling Laboratory” is.
(to be continued: Entropy Protocol - Part 5 of 6 - Infinite Radiance of the Spotless Mind)
Source: www.habr.com