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THE OUTLAND 25
But the phone, which, it seems, did not care at all, was found under the rubble of scraps of paper.— Rob.— Good morning, Rob. Soothing voice, impeccable manner. Bauer, who else. Though what does he care about—” “I suppose you've already discovered what your office has become. I want to reassure you - the perpetrators have already been found.- It's good that. How can I work now?- We have already ordered the replacement equipment, as soon as it passes the inventory at the supply manager, we will start connecting you."But what's wrong here?" It feels like Mamai has passed!I don't know all the details, unfortunately. You know, there are security protocols, only the monitoring service has all the information, and it says nothing to avoid leaks.- That is, it is useless for me to go to them and ask who is here and what they have done?- Useless. Bauer pissed off. “Most likely, they will oblige you with several more non-disclosure agreements. Don't tease the geese, Rob, just be patient
THE OUTLAND 26
“They say there were giants here.- Yura, I'm sorry, we all ... - Edik winked at me fervently, without completing the sentence.He got better though. Albeit not as fast as I would like, and warm April has already managed to smoothly flow into an almost hot May smelling of herbs, but still. Edik returned to duty. The inner yard of the hospital is overgrown with grass, so far short, dotted with whimsically walking paths, trees, bushes, where it is so convenient for patients to walk after the operation. Although, of course, "walking" is not really about us. A wheelchair, a rigid frame around the neck that makes it difficult to turn the head - and this is after almost a month under anesthesia.Nevertheless, despite the fact that I sometimes forgot about it, Edik turned fifty. And this is not twenty or even thirty years, when most of the sores heal almost instantly. He was not even considered elderly yet with an increased life expectancy, but without specific therapy, the incisions on his
THE OUTLAND 27
For some reason, I was very frightened by the fact that I didn’t even think to hint about the magic wand waiting in the wings on the boss’s modem. Where did such secrecy come from in me, unwillingness to share my plans, trump cards with someone?"It seems that I am becoming more and more like Edik," I thought with incomprehensible bitterness.But now was definitely not the time for such talk. Not a place. It was not worth telling the authorities that I had made contact with my past: they let me out on bail, as well as arranged to work under Edik, with the condition that "never again.""Nothing. There is always a chance that Edik will just take his place, watch the game, and then the crawler will remain unclaimed, no one will know about him, and so on. On the other hand, if Edik fails, then I will have to use the program during the game process, then no one should know about it for sure.Ed, are you done? Bauer approached us inaudibly from the direction of the lilac bushes.- And then.
THE OUTLAND 28
"Welcome to the world of Alien War. Warning: To avoid network latency issues, please select the closest local cluster to you!"I hovered over a huge map of the world, made as if by a medieval cartographer - parchment yellow with age, puffy cheeks of the wind and, of course, the obligatory "dragons live here" somewhere in the western part of the map.Most of the map turned out to be inactive, in fact, the choice was between the continent, which occupied the entire eastern part, a tiny island in the northwest of it, and an archipelago in the southwestern part of the ocean, uninventively named Western."Recommended Clusters:Western HabitatOshtaniaLimbo"— Eh… Well, let's go first.The map of the continent unfolded, approached, filled with conventional icons, rivers stretched from the mountains, and scary monsters inhabited the forests."Please choose a starting location. Warning: the starting location determines your future class!Available locations:Khaang's handSuburb GaryGreat C
THE OUTLAND 29
Fulfillment is a duty, overfulfillment is an honor.- Went. And remember: you should always see at least one comrade.“Even in the toilet?”No, just look at him. “I got another slap on the back of the head. “I did so much good for him, I feed him, sing, I gave him the old instrument, and he is insolent to me. I will single out a partner and forbid my daughter to run to you, since you are so smart.We made the rest of the way to the square in silence: he, due to his taciturnity, and I, trying to figure out whether to be offended by him or wait a bit.Yes, people! Simes began as soon as we found ourselves in front of a crowd of miners not much different from him. “The miners reported that they saw an elemental again in the third drift, so today we are going to the second one.- There is no ore. - I heard a voice from the crowd.- And what is more important for you - to get the ore or keep your head on your shoulders? That's it. In addition, there was an old shield left, perhaps we will
THE OUTLAND 30
It’s just that the game conventions seem to be incomprehensible as the air coming here, like the work rate of a miner who needs to work not from here until lunch, but just hit a stone with a pick a couple of hundred times. So here.And here is another game convention. A skeleton, who knows how it ended up here. Quite human, clean, he lay with his arms crossed over his chest, as if he had died long before he was dragged here. But what a huge one! Of course, I was not the tallest, but this one was almost twice as tall as me! No, this would definitely not have passed according to our drifts. Perhaps there is another way?I put the lantern next to a strange skull, covered with skillful knitting, geometric patterns. Definitely not human, more likely belonging to some kind of monster. But here everything was just obvious - the deceased must have used this skull during his lifetime as a kind of helmet, protecting his head from blows.What was required to be proved - the skull-helmet easily s
THE OUTLAND 31
"You are exiting the location of the Mines. You are entering the location of the village of Eyautlmant (Mount), population - 120 people."Thanks, I wouldn't have guessed it myself.- People, move to the square for now, and we are behind the headman. Rob, with me.I nodded obediently. It seems that today I have already upset the foreman too much, so he will forbid my daughter to communicate with me. Which, of course, would not be desirable. Of all the people I met here, Agnis was the only one who treated me well.“Brigadier, what are we going to do with the elemental?” - I asked when we separated from the team and walked to the headman's detached hut.- What do they do with it? We'll wait until it leaves. He does not sit in one place for a long time - as soon as he realizes that there is no food, he will move on.Simes's words largely coincided with my thoughts, but one point still needed to be clarified.So we just wait? How do we know he's gone?- Miners. Simes answered curtly and po
THE OUTLAND 32
— Well, not personally Brother Foma, some paladins? I grumbled. - There must be people who do this?“The holy paladins are busy holding back evil spirits on the southern border of the Great Church, where all the abomination from the khaang abysses is rushing towards us. Would you like to draw boundaries?- So, did you eat it? Simes laughed. - My daughter is smart, don't put your finger in her mouth.- Dad!- I'll go home. Is there anything in the oven?- Yes, I put cabbage soup in the morning - as I knew that it would come in handy.- Shchi is good. Come on, feed your father.- Yes, dad. The brigadier and his daughter set off from the square.I went home too. I, unlike Simes, did not have caring female hands at home, so there was nothing to count on a hot dinner. But in the knapsack from the very morning the supplies that Agnis brought in the morning remained forgotten. It would be necessary to conduct an audit, to see what God sent."The working day is over. Check the equipment and t
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- THE OUTLAND
Epilogue
And then ... Everything went - as it went. And may there always remain worlds where people are lonely, where it is dark, and icteric palms of maples fall from the sky. One day Avdeyka and his mother... Aunt? The devil will break his leg in their difficult relationship. One way or another, they will definitely get there. Maybe one day they will get to the chair where my reader is bent from loneliness. Who knows, the universe is merciful and loves its children. But it is not exactly. But it is known: today the very first seven testers-gods got up from sleep. Eduardo, Shelly, Alexey, Umbra, Erebus and Nyukta, Selina. Alive, absolutely. Skinny, of course, like a spring rook, but quite sane. Shelly even tried to pick up her son from the distributor, but she was quickly explained that he would definitely be better there. Astrix also did not go away, although he got out from under the dropper. From time to time he walks into other people's dreams, treats him to strange drinks and cigare
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181
Rob, hurry up! Astrix's voice called. We won't be able to hold him back for long!The scarlet bloody whip in the air was overwhelmed by several multi-colored energy flows at once, trembling with tension. The thaumaturge, gaping, stopped bombarding me with new spells for a change and stared at the doomsday reigning in the sky.Who are you boy? Why did you decide that to treat you the same way as everyone else is the greatest injustice? Where did the thoughts in your head come from that people should be connected by feelings and affections, and not by common interests?I understood what all this battle was about, what the road had led to until now. The boy remained alone all his life, believing that he was just very unlucky, and that somewhere there must be friendly hands, a warm smile and hope for tomorrow - you just need to look properly. About the fact that the world is dying of loneliness, he learned much later, becoming much older.A world that didn't need a boy. A world that aband
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180
- Un-life. Why don't you rein in your robbers then? - I almost believed it. Nearly. “The corruption is preparing for a massive raid on the lands of the living, which means…- I know. But I'm still an avatar, my abilities are limited. And I can't go anywhere from here. To become a goddess in the fullest sense of the word, I need...— Believers! I slapped my forehead. - Well, of course. Followers, believers, own church.“We can start with the first knights. So... How do you look... - She blushed, looked away. - Well…“Become one of those ugly strategists?— Rob! You are to blame for their appearance! You can look whatever you want!- Nevermind. But you yourself understand - there is some complexity. If I'm next to you on Limbo right now, it most likely means that I'm dead. And a corpse cannot be turned corrupted. An undead connecting rod - you can, but not with Filth.- It's true. But something has changed.- Yes?“You see, two people from the same account came into this world. And one
- THE OUTLAND
179
"I look into my eyes ... I'll touch my lips. And what to say when I'm gone?" - Asked guitar picks over the black Icelandic beach, and the night was surprisingly warm, not at all suitable for November in the northern latitudes of Limbo.Night again, beach again. Another terrible headache.“Rob, Rob…” Nervous, sensitive fingers stroked my head. “You never get used to the fact that the body is a weapon. Relaxed, believed in the brothers on opposite sides of the barricades. That's what I got. Did you get it?- I cant. I complained without opening my eyes. - I'm tired. Why do they keep killing me? We almost agreed, almost resolved the issue.“We haven’t decided, stupid Robushka. And they couldn't. Understand that from the point of view of Warcraft, it is he who overcomes fifty years of captivity, cut off from his loved one, overcomes obstacle after obstacle, trying to reunite the family. Or at least avenge their deaths. And when he wins, there will be a happy epilogue and everyone will be
- THE OUTLAND
178
He dissapeared."Spider, come on!" I pleaded.A silent prayer burst out of my chest and spread throughout the Oikumene, and when there was no space between me and the fury of the avenging god, a huge black sword, literally a millimeter above my head, was stopped by a blade of sand.“You should look for an opponent in size,” Astrix smiled white-toothed.So you helped him. Ware said slowly. "It's good that both of you are here!"- And what will you do? Ban me too?- Not.Ware waved his hand, and the glow of the font parted, releasing the already familiar crystal, which contained the powers of the defeated gods. Only this one was much larger, and not empty. Zhdan froze inside him with his mouth wide open from a tearing cry!- Oh, you're a creature. Spider said softly. “You do understand that after this you won’t leave here with your own feet?”- Don't care. I don't care at all! I will kill you both!The clapping of his hands fanned the blood around him, and the magician's body seemed to
- THE OUTLAND
177
Closed tightly, I almost completely stopped relying on the light, leaving only my new outlandish vision. It gave the picture with spots, intersecting lines, but the brain quickly adjusted itself, and from the flickering in front of the inner gaze, it independently completed a completely three-dimensional picture of the environment. The steps underfoot seemed new, almost untrodden, although the temple itself is definitely more than two thousand years old...However, this is logical. Only a couple of dozen people have walked this road. The senior pantheon came to the Font when it was still an ordinary cave in the mountain, and, of course, no staircase had yet been built. So consider it an untrodden path.Turn after turn, the levels went past - the sacrificial altar, administrative premises, the household unit, the barracks ... Soon, according to the sensations, the ground level also passed. This was told to me by my vision, since nothing has changed in all other parameters. There were n
- THE OUTLAND
176
The Christmas tree backed away, and I, sinfully squeezing past it in half, stared thoughtfully at my avatar. A savage Amri, a slave by birth, a pacifist by conviction - it was necessary to manage, in such and such a world, to get a lowered pain threshold! Laughter and sin, in general, are obviously cannon fodder, which usually does not survive even the first serious battle.But they survived. And they didn't even get scars. Unless, of course, do not count those inside. And, of course, a snowflake peeking out from under the undergarments. But this is not a scar, but rather a protective mark. Okay, good time to pull, it is already in short supply.- Hey, get up! I called.The spider said something about the reunion of soul and body. But damn, how to implement it? God somehow forgot to mention the technical details - either he really didn’t know, or for him such tricks are so in the order of things that they are not worth clarifying.No answer. Of course."Get up, motherfucker!" I shook
- THE OUTLAND
175
- What?! I barked. - What nonsense! Xolotl is alive, I personally...- Killed her? Astrix raised an eyebrow. “Finished off what little was left of her?”But you are all alive. You, Ware, other scumbags. What happened to Shelly?- She was already unstable at the time of digitization because of the child, you understand? One and a half consciousness, working out of tune. Technique then simply did not provide for such a situation ... And now, you yourself understand. Pregnancy is a vanishingly rare phenomenon these days.“But she gave birth in those two thousand years.- Both in real life and in virtual, yes. But in real life, the process of childbirth is simply the separation of one from the other without any sacrifice on the part of the psychostructure. In the virtual, everything turned out a little differently.And who did she give birth to? Gary?The spider chuckled.- Does not give you a dream of rest, I see. No, not Gary. Who cares. The main thing is that the rejection mechanism at
- THE OUTLAND
174
Agnis exhaled convulsively again, but said nothing.— In general, it all started with Haang as the very first. He went to the abyss, where he deposed the archangel. Now all the Filth is in his hands. They do not touch people yet, but they destroyed one cemetery. Guess which one.“The same thing, without the ankh!” I gasped. “So there is no longer any protection between humans and the Filth!”- Right. Khaang's troops catch all living things and turn them into Filth - they accumulate strength. As soon as they accumulate enough, they move on. We have no idea where, but it is clear now: Haang will not be the only corrupted god at the head of this army. Soon the rest will realize where the game is fatter, and against the seven demons, I'm afraid even I can't resist.- Good. What we can do?- Restore balance. Astrix shrugged. — Return the ankh to its homeland, restore the lich of the plundered cemetery. Even one lich can hold back the Filth indefinitely, and if he summons a bone dragon...-
