– Is there any reason to think so? – Ruthra decided to ask, even though he knew there was.

– Quite, but to do that, you'll need to find someone who worked closely with Schneider.

– Who's that?

– Officially he was a military geologist, in reality he was a special facilities construction manager.

– Why is S4 more secret than Area 51?

– It is believed that mutual learning and technology exchange with aliens takes place here. This zone has been codenamed "Back Side of the Moon". Because on the back side of the Moon, according to astronauts who have been there, there are intermediate alien bases.

– What's really going on here?

– I don't know exactly, but all these technologies exist, but exactly who created them is not known. For example, if I fail at something, I get some scientific bureau to help me, but the result is the same, because the task at hand is from the realm of fantasy. In the end, the problem is solved, the invention or discovery appears, but who the author – is not known. You need to find Gabo.

– Why?

– He was working with Dennis.

– Who is he?

– His real name is Bob Lazar, he worked here, then fell into disgrace like Alikhanov, started talking a lot, claimed he couldn't keep quiet about what he saw, in the name of humanity.

– I meant who Gabo is, and in general, you know, the purpose of my visit is quite real, earthly. If it helps me in my task, I will find Lazar.

– It'll help, believe me. Your task will seem elementary once you know what they can do here. Decrypting and hiding a signal is elementary, it can be sent from space.

– And the encryption?

– Go to Livermore Labs, get an answer.

– Tell me what you know about this Lazarus.

– This is where Bob Lazar was assigned to S4. From December 1988 to April 1989, he headed the physical branch of the S4 facility. Upon arrival, Lazar found over a hundred manuals on his new desk in blue folders with information about aliens and alien technology. There were black and white photos of dead aliens, as well as medical reports of their autopsies. There were also photos of living aliens labeled "extraterrestrial biological entity" in the folders. In fact, S4 is a four-level underground ufological laboratory, the core of Area-51 and the biggest secret of the U.S. government. On September 29, 1995, President Clinton signed a special executive order on the special status of Area-51. He said: "It is of vital importance to the United States that classified information about this base not become public."

Rutra understood it from a different perspective. To this day, Area-51 is where the world's most technologically advanced airplanes are tested. In addition to the veteran F-117A, which is being retired, the Lockheed U-2, the Blackbird SR-71, the B-2 stealth bomber, the mysterious Aurora project, and others were developed here.

Ruzi was obsessed with something else. She wouldn't stop.

– Everyone I've talked to claims that all the super-secret inventions could only come into existence due to the activities of the ufological laboratory of the S4 facility, that is, due to the use of alien technology.

– That's it? – Ruthra asked with slight displeasure.

– Everything," she replied guiltily and resentfully.

Then, looking at Ruthra hopefully, she said, eyes wide:

– Find Gabo in the spatial metrology bay.

Ruthra understood everything. Lunch was over. They got up and walked back, she went into her compartment, Rutra went to the nearest scoreboard. In parting she said: "I want to go to the sea." Ruthra realized it was a request and a hint, nodded to her, turned around, looked for the space metrology bay on the schematic. He followed the laser line down the wizened corridors and floors. It was very interesting if someone walked toward him. Because of his inexperience, Ruthra often failed to see them in time and was constantly bumping into them.

Ruthra finally found the bay, the badge blinked, signaling no access. A voice came over the speaker of the clearance system:

– Who are you?

– I'm here at Ruzi's request," Ruthra explained and introduced himself. – You can call me Dr. Rutra.

A few seconds later, the door opened. Behind the door, a man sat on a special device. He was an invalid, just as Ruzi had warned. He had something that looked like an outgrowth instead of legs. He had probably had polio as a child.

– I'm Dr. Gabo," he introduced himself, while looking intently at Rutra, "pausing" to study his eyes, then opening his own wide.

Ruthra realized what this was all about.

– Come in, just call me Gabo. Come with me.

He, sitting on something that looked like a cushion, pressed a button on a key fob that hung from his belt, the "cushion" moved it to the side, no leverage or hydraulics. It was a magnetic cushion rig, it literally floated in the air. Gabo pressed another button and "flew" forward.

– It's convenient with the button, you know exactly what you thought and duplicate it physically," he commented on the process, realizing that for someone who is allowed into such "holy of holies", it's backward technology.

Ruthra followed him. Soon they were in a room as empty and mirrored as all the corridors. Gabo pulled an object from his pocket that looked like a flashlight and inserted it into a hole in the floor. What happened next prompted Rutru to think that there was something else that could surprise him. Light "poured" from the flashlight, there was no other way to explain it. The blue light slowly began to illuminate and envelope Rutru and Gabo in a "dome". Soon the mirrored walls were no longer visible and neither were the floor and ceiling. They were inside the sphere.

– We've got half an hour before this gets suspicious. If anything, you and I were talking about the properties of the photoelectric effect. Alibis are important. I hope you don't get confused.

– Which one?

– The one that won Einstein the Nobel Prize.

– About the 3rd law of the photoelectric effect?

– All of them.

– Be more specific.

Ruthra asked for clarification, since Gabo had emphasized that the alibi was important. Rutra understood it himself, not quite realizing the essence of the meeting yet. And clarifications were needed, because the entire photoeffect was explained in 1905 by Albert Einstein on the basis of Max Planck's hypothesis about the quantum nature of light. For which, in 1921, he, thanks to the nomination of Swedish physicist Carl Wilhelm Oseen, received the Nobel Prize.

– It's not that hard to explain if the discovery has already been made," Gabo replied, thus making it clear that he understood the "topic", and at the same time it was a "marker" for the reaction by which they began to understand "their topic".

– Well, that explains it, now for the main point," Ruthra said.

– Are you the scientist Ruzi warned me about?

– I guess. I don't know what she warned you about or when.

– She's known about your visit for a long time. What are you interested in?

– Encryption, decryption, masking of the signal source. Covert, top-secret dual-purpose installations that can be used for this purpose.

– Why would you do that?

– We picked up a signal that the coded system accepted as valid.

– So what?

– This system is the Perimeter Program. Do you know about it?

– Oh, yeah. That's it?

Rutra didn't like that Gabo wasn't serious about what he said, so he decided to change the subject. As it turned out, it didn't work.