– No, there's no fourth. Did you realize we went down to the third?

– Got it, just didn't think it was a subway. Although it's not clear what was where we were having a smoke break.

– It's not really a subway, there are such dead ends that even I don't know everything in so many years.

– What's a capsule station?

– You're about to find out.

They got off at this station, which was similar to the one where Vasilievich had told them about the Perimeter problem. No one was there, there was a sliding iron door on the opposite wall. Zhidkov approached it, looked into the reader's scanner, there was a click, and the door slid open. There was a huge pipe. To get into it, he had to push back another hatch, which Vasilievich did. Rutra saw a kind of capsule inside, a specially equipped place for one person.

– Sit down, or rather – lie down, you'll try it out, – said the chief.

– I hope no trickery is intended?

– How can our work be without a catch?

– Is it safe? – Ruthra asked in a firm voice.

– Trust me, absolutely. The road to heaven is always safe. This is a new installation for emergency and high-speed travel between stations.

Ruthra looked around the rig; there didn't seem to be anything dangerous in it. He climbed in, and Vasilievich slammed first the hatch of the capsule itself and then the main hatch. Rutra got a little worried, looked questioningly through the glass windows of both hatches at Vasilievich. He smiled in his pleasant way. Inside the capsule was a soft bed-chair that automatically "enveloped" him so that he was almost in a spacesuit. There were no controls of any kind. Rutra looked at the Colonel again, no sound was heard, Vasilievich was indicating something with his hands – either "no" or "don't do it". In a split second several metamorphoses occurred to Rutra – waves of anxiety, outrage, indignation, concern and uncertainty came over him all at once. He realized the meaning of Vasilievich's gesture – "goodbye." Rutra's body shook with the jerk of the "capsule," which raced, accelerating more and more, down the tube. Where was this strange machine going? Rutra did not lose his composure. Logic told him he was not going to death.

We often look for parallel worlds without noticing the real world around us. We want to solve a conspiracy theory without knowing the theory itself. Are there organizations running the world? From this book you'll learn about the one and only mystery. Rutra, by fate or by someone's design, has fallen into it. What awaits him? Who is his friend and who is his enemy: human or artificial intelligence? Who will come back out – him or his double? A fascinating journey into a super-secret, super-technological world hidden in the bowels of the earth awaits you.

The most powerful influence on us is a secret that is carefully hidden from us.

The capsule was accelerating at breakneck speed, and it was dark. Ruthra was nervous, shaking violently. Suddenly there was light, the capsule was passing through the station. Ruthra noticed that this station was very similar to the one where he had boarded the tube; he saw the sign "#22" on the wall and remembered that at the beginning of the journey it had said "#21". The capsule swept through the station; pitch blackness came again. Ruthra calmed down a bit and looked around. The capsule wasn't so cramped. A holographic display lit up in front of his face, and the words "Speak" flashed on it, not very brightly. After a little thought, he asked:

– What to say and to whom?

– Good afternoon," a female voice replied.

– Who am I talking to?

– I am the central reference computer, my call sign is Knight.

Ruthra thought it was a prank at first, but the situation was too serious for jokes. The pod sped past another station, which was exactly the same as the previous two. Ruthra oriented himself: the Knight call sign indicated that the stations had official names as well. It was customary in intelligence and military circles to use secret designations for facilities, towns, villages, military units, etc.; to contact a station, you had to give the operator a secret call sign.

Where is the capsule going? Judging by what Vasilievich said, he figured that the capsule would return to where he sat in it.

– Where is the capsule going? – Ruthra asked.

– The capsule is not coming, the capsule is going," the voice replied.

– Don't be so smart, tell me where the pod is going. – Ruthra said irritably.

– The final destination is the Polygon facility. I am a computer, I answer according to the program, don't get angry.

Ruthra took a deep exhale, calmed down, determined to make contact:

– I understand you're an operator?

Although Zero had employed a similar machine capable of supporting logical dialog, he had never had a conversation with it that way.

The computer did not respond. Then Ruthra decided to emphasize the more important question:

– What's "Polygon"? We have to go back.

– Program set," the voice replied.

– Where is this located? – Ruthra was outraged, though he tried to remain calm.

– The Polygon Center is an advanced level training facility.

– What level? I've had enough of my own.

– I'm not authorized to answer that.

– Where is it located?

– The Polygon facility is located at paragraph 88.

– 88? – Ruthra asked in surprise and annoyance.

– 88," repeated a voice from the speakers.

The capsule was traveling through a very long station, and it was not like the others: high ceiling, huge tubes partially embedded in the wall running in a semicircle along the walls. Ruthra realized that they were not tubes: incredibly, they were marked with ballistic missile markings. On exiting the station, the number 36 was painted on the wall. "When will it be 88?" – he thought. After running through several options in his mind, Rutra decided to check the "interlocutor".

– Tell me all about Center Zero," he said.

– The answer requires an eight-digit tolerance code.

– All right, tell me what you're authorized to tell me.

– About what, exactly?

– Tell me about the Polygon point," Ruthra suggested.

– The Polygon Center is used to enhance individuals," the computer replied briefly.

– That's it?

– That's it for you. For more information – you must give the eight-digit authorization code.

– Where am I supposed to get it?

– You should know it if you have a security clearance.

– I guess I have clearance, but no code," Ruthra said, more to himself than to her. – Well, why do I need you as my interlocutor?

– I can answer unclassified questions and I also monitor your well-being.

– And how am I feeling? – Ruthra asked with some sarcasm.

– Your parameters are normal," the computer mind replied calmly.

– Unclassified questions – what are those for you?

– They're not for me.

It was no use getting angry, you had to ask in a way "she" understood.

– What questions are unclassified? – Ruthra asked, hoping for a precise answer.

This time the computer got it 'right', though it didn't help Ruthra. "She" said:

– I can answer any publicly available questions from open databases and some about ongoing processes.