Eight & Ninth Circles. Evolution Tower of Fraud and Treachery

"Darkness. Light pours out of darkness and chaos is born."

I was somewhere very far away. It was either very hot or, on the contrary, cold there. And it's always bad, no hope. Forever.

"Whoa! Again?"

"Are you awake?"

"Whoa! Where did you come from?"

I was sitting on the ground near a tree, and in front of me was a shadow rabbit. We were in the forest, but it was not in flames.

"When I took the shadows away, I came back for you. You were on fire and an army of demons surrounded you. But worst of all, you seem to have turned into demon ... "

" That's how it is. Why did you help me? "

" Why did you run away? You don't trust me, do you? I see it in my eyes. But please believe me in the last You've fought enough, there are only a couple of steps left. There you will find out everything you wanted to know. Okay? "

" Now I don't have to choose, and I'm tired of running away. But if you deceive me ... "

"Okay. Let's go then."

"Where?"

"Let's look at Hell."

She led me up the hill.

" We are on the Raven Hills. "

So, these were Vorobyovy Hills, they were located not far from Neskuchny Garden, which had to be burned. I could decipher this hellish cipher better and better.

"Yes, there is not much left before you hang, ha ha ha!"

"No! We will put him in ice and torture him forever."

The trees did not calm down here either, grimacing and mocking.

"Shut up."

And silence.

"Did you say something?"

"Not for you."

"Okay, we're almost up to the observation deck."

We looked out of the woods and started up the stairs.

"What about Minos's eyes?"

"Are you still afraid of them?

" I'm not afraid, but they are annoying and take a lot of energy to summon their servants. "

" Nothing, we won't be here long. "

We went to the observation deck, paved with marble slabs. On one side were the flaming concrete ruins of Moscow, and on the other - the capital's university. Its towers were also blazing with fire, and some devilry was going on inside. At the very top was an inverted five-pointed star.

"And what have we forgotten here?"

"Do you remember what you need to do to get out of Hell?"

"You bet: overcome all sins. There are two left. "

" Look. Where do you think they are? "

I walked to the edge of the observation deck. It had a great panoramic view of Moscow.

" For me, these two circles seem to be one - a lie. The biggest lying sinner ... "

" Satan. "

" Yes. It's easy. He is at the very center of his sinful kingdom. But not in what everyone would think. This is just an appearance. In fact, he's in Hell-City. This is the most luxurious place in Hell and with the best views of its domain. "

" Got it. So, we ... "

" ... there. "

I knelt down in front of the shadow rabbit.

" Huh? What are you doing? "

" Get on my back. This is the fastest way. "

" Um, okay. "

When she sat on my back, I grabbed her legs to secure her. Then I got ready and ran. The distance to Hell-City was only a couple of kilometers, and most of the road is straight.

"Aren't you afraid to meet Satan? Do you have a plan? "

" A little. But I'm willing to do anything to end it all. When I see him, then I'll think of it."

In the middle of the way the road turned, but I ran straight through the forest and houses. On the way I met the Satan River.I don't remember what it was called in reality, but I have already visited one of its tributaries - the Satanka River. At the very beginning, when I was running away from the shadow rabbit. It's time to end this nightmare, because I still want to live.

We moved freely without encountering resistance. The main part of the forces of Hell was aimed at persecuting and capturing the shadows. When we were running across the bridge over the Styx, I did not notice any guards on the other side. Hell-City consisted of several skyscrapers. A kind of city within a city. A worthy contender for the title of the city of Dit. We ran into the territory of the city and stopped; the shadow-rabbit came down to the ground

"Oops! And in which one?"

“In this one.”

I pointed to the Evolution Tower. The building consisted almost entirely of glass windows, and it looked like a piece of DNA.

"Hmm ... it looks like that. So, what are you going to do, go up there and look for it?"

"Practically. Only he will find me. "

" Woouuuuuuu! "

Suddenly a siren blared, the sound came from different parts of the city.

" Damn, all the demons of hell will come here soon! "

"Then let's not waste any time, are you with me?"

"Yes, until the very end."

It inspired confidence or even more distrust. We entered the building without hindrance, there was no one inside. I examined the building. From it one could clearly see what was happening outside. Outside, it was the other way around. Not only the outer part was finished with mirrored glass, but also a large number of elements inside, including the elevator we entered. I selected the last floor on the panel, the elevator started. We climbed up, picking up speed. From the transparent elevator one could clearly see the interior of the building with all its partitions and the blazing Hell. The elevator climbed higher and higher, and its speed continued to increase until it exceeded the light speed, as it seemed to me. The overload was so powerful that I was pushed to the floor, but I continued to stand. There were only rays of light smeared with speed around. I haven't seen the rabbit shadow.

"Some tricks again?"

"No more tricks."

I don't know what happened to the elevator next, but everything seemed to freeze in zero gravity. Outside mirrored windows were sliding - one of the most beautiful sights I have seen. Tens of thousands of windows moved in a single rhythm, playing with the light and creating their own spaces within the building. All mirrors in the building changed and created their own worlds, their own visual atmosphere. Suddenly, two mirrors in front of me, which represented the entrance to the elevator, began to open. Blinding light poured from there, and a human-like figure emerged.

"That's how. So, you are Satan - my worst enemy? I pictured you a little differently."

"With a shiny bald head or three What are you, I'm just his son - Lucifer bringing light. And I brought you the light of truth - truth. "

He looked exactly like me.

" Because I am you Rather, one of the projections of a single essence - our Ego. "

He also reads my thoughts? Yeah, it won't be easy in the end.

"It depends on how you look, but you will watch a lot."

"You need to control your thoughts."

"Do you understand that this is pointless? And I'm not your enemy. More precisely, the enemy, but not the one that you imagined. You can call me Fraud. You are Mikhail, like me, but let's delimit us for convenience. I will call you Self, because we studied together... "

"... by self-fraud?"

"See? You are beginning to mature into the root. The root of evil."

"The root of evil is in me? Evil is those who steal, kill - I am not! I know who my ... "

" Enemy? Are you talking about those in power? Yes, you are not a trembling creature, but you have not yet gained power. And the reason for your personal Hell is not primarily because of them, what are you talking about? you’ll find out now. And by the way, are you sure you’re not the same? "

" What are you talking about? Lay out your cards already! "

" Yes, let's not delay. Movement is life! around, doesn't it look like anything? "

The mirrored cells were constantly moving and could create any visual image. It was like I was in a completely different dimension, completely controlled by ...

"Me? Or you? Or who? Visual information represents the lion's share of information that we receive from the outside. Control over it can mean ..."

"... complete control over the mind? Yes, considering ..."

"... the very mind that processes this information. This aspect was dealt with ..."

"... self-deception. I ... what was I trying to do? And why should I ... "

" ... have to believe me? Myself? The time of the apocalypse is almost here - and this is the time to remove the veil of lies. "

" This is still another illusion; I just need to ... "

"... kill someone again? It's up to you, but look at yourself first. I have seen everything, unlike you."

All the mirrors suddenly stopped and began to rotate rapidly, and then gradually form a single image. I moved to university. The lecture had just ended, and Shulgin asked me to come to him for an important conversation. He offered to participate in one research experiment, which is sponsored by the government itself. I didn’t treat the authorities very well, to put it mildly, so I refused at first. But the teacher insisted so strongly that I promised to think more. And when I found out that Lilia had already agreed and was actively involved, I still changed my mind.

It turned out that they had almost everything ready, although Lilia and I contributed our bit to the research. It was a genetic engineering project, scientists were trying to learn how to manipulate a person's DNA in order to change his body, help regrow lost limbs, and generally make any changes that might be useful. Then I had questions, to whom is it useful? The government sponsored the project for a reason. The sums were impressive, as was the number of employees involved.

The experiments were highly classified, so I had no access to all the information. Lilia said that scientists have already tested the new drug on living things, even like humans. But they did not succeed, the experiment always got out of control for various reasons.

“I think it's all about thinking. Although this is also the end product of the brain. In this case, you first need to deceive the brain and let it do the whole thing. body with the help of thought - sounds crazy! One wrong thought - and you are a corpse, or even worse - a shapeless and eternally in pain creature - one of the worst fears. "

This is how I expressed Lilia's thoughts about unsuccessful experiments. They really were doomed to failure if they did not take this factor into account. And if they did take into account, then it is still somehow wrong. But most of all with Lilia I discussed the other side of the issue - from the very end. Let's say we would have succeeded, and we would have created a drug to control the human genome. This is almost the same as the power of God! Who will be able and who will have the strength, and more importantly justice, to manage this? Our world is cruel and often very dirty, at least it was so with our country, where the authorities wanted to spit on everyone but themselves. It was scary to imagine what they are capable of with such power. Lilia also shared her thoughts, but she was more fascinated by the beginning - science, the experiment itself and how it happens.

I was not privy to all the intricacies of development, especially not a scientist, but I still had a lot of knowledge ... The development was based on the CRISPR-Cas technique, in which you can literally cut out unnecessary DNA sections in a human cell, and then add the necessary ones. But for each such change, you need to know exactly what each gene is responsible for. Moreover, it was necessary to organize a whole "plant" inside a person for the production of bacteria and viruses, which, after being processed inside the cell, will create the necessary changes. In fact, they tried to force the brain, consisting of nerve cells and blood vessels, to create completely new types of cells that were not characteristic of the human body. The first such experiment was the experience of introducing the genes of mollusks that are responsible for the synthesis of mucins. A person has his own, but these were responsible for some other types of mucins.

Now it was becoming a little clear to me why, while crying, I could once see reality. Apparently, my glands were actively working and somehow interfered with the work of new cells, which were also involved in the production of mucin. Hence the mineralization of the skin and other body tissues, because mucin is involved in the mineralization of mollusk shells. Now I remembered bacteria capable of synthesizing the protein titin, which is the basis of skeletal muscle. Moreover, with the proper structure of the fabric, it could be stronger than Kevlar and withstand a bullet hit. The further I thought, the more it became clear, and the more my excitement and fear grew. If man is a cell plant, then I was an industrial revolution. Feeling that the stream of thoughts leads me in the wrong direction, I decided to return.

After a while, Lilia, having heard my idea, invited me to implement it in order to help research. She also motivated this by her mistrust of the leaders, although I explained to her that we are the same people and can also do bad things. But we nevertheless decided to experience it on our young souls. More precisely mine, since Lily was supposed to follow the experiment.

"Okay. If you're sure, let's do it."

"Are you in doubt? Although this is a good sign. But he can become fatal mistake, do you understand? "

" Yes, I thought it over well and ... "

" ... and? "

" It's okay. But remember, blue is for you and red is for me. "

" What are you talking about? Wait, is this from some movie, something familiar? "

" Just remember, okay? "

“Okay, if this is so important to you.”

I decided to give two more doses of the substance just in case something goes wrong. One is the dose of the active drug, and the second is the antidote. I had access to the laboratory, so I managed to make a small amount, although it was very difficult both to create and to take it out of the laboratory. If a student is able to bypass the entire security system of such an important biological laboratory, do they deserve to own this drug? I put both doses in small syringes that were hidden behind the sapphire and ruby ​​on the ring. I put it in a box.

"The exit was in my pocket the whole time."

"And it's still there."

"But there was no turning back."

For self-deception, I had to add a few more drugs that helped to forget about the plan, because he should not have been known to me for the very idea of ​​deceiving the brain. I also had to use a feature of one disease - the correlation of a visible face to a person. This is when you clearly see a face, you can describe it, but you cannot say who this person is. Even if you know him perfectly. Lily was so important to me, but I couldn't recognize her. We worked hard to figure out how to trick me together.

Then, of course, the experiment began. It was an important day for me, because after the introduction of the first drugs, I decided to confess my love to Lilia on a date and give her a ring. We built a GPS tag into the box, just in case, so that Lilia can always find me. I also forgot about her, as well as about the included microphone, in order to monitor my condition at least by voice. The rest seemed overkill.

Lilia injected me in the subway with the second, the same drug, after which the whole show began. Lily guided me, protected me, watched. Managed. Lilith in the club - it was also Lilia. Now I partly regretted that I had not kissed her then.

She also fed, helped to sleep, without losing the thread of the narrative that was written by my mind. Then, under the bridge, I was really close to death, as I lost the feeling of the need for food and realized it too late. In this state, I spent energy recklessly. She also charged the headphones, just in case. But then the situation was even more critical, since I ran away from Lilia and was alone for a long time, the effect of the substance ended. My immune system continued to fight the invasion and was reluctant to accept the new order. Lily fed, injected a new dose and also helped sleep.

After the actions developed rapidly, my body did change, although not everything corresponded to what was happening in my head. In the seventh circle - the circle of violence - I reached the peak of strength, but began to lose control. Lilia helped here too, she turned off the music, which so strongly inspires me to aggression, and then I passed out myself. Apparently, it was too drastic a change for my consciousness, which was rushing towards destruction at full speed.

As a result, I was really able to change my body and now I can change it at the cellular level, and almost at the molecular level! But ...

"Yes, there is only one" but "left."

There was no more Fraud, but there were countless reflections of me in the mirrors, just like in the mirror maze. Greed. Then I spoke to all of them, but the reflections only repeated me.

"The only thing left to do is to find the resolve, to take absolute control. Otherwise, I will really ... die.".

"The immune system is still not giving up? I see. I already deceived myself. Now there was only ..."

Realizing this thought, my mind did not want to think further. After all, this also meant his death. Because I had to become a completely different kind of living organism.

"... betray myself."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

I was crazy about this thought! Meanwhile, I was stormed by a giant ... RNA? No, hand! She managed to reach the elevator and shook it. When I was able to collect my thoughts, I took control of the mirrors and adjusted them to see the enemy. Now the windows have become transparent again, and I looked around.

"So, so, so. So, the Evolution Tower is Lake Cocytus? It remains only to find the leader of the main organized criminal group -"Lake"."

Next to Cocytus, as expected, were giants disguised as skyscrapers.

"These amazing transformations continue! And I will follow them."

Other towers also began to transform to support their giant brother. Tower 2000, Eye and Federation went into battle. They circled around me, aiming for an attack. Apparently, the Eye was eyeing my DNA that the Federation was about to cut, judging by the forming scissors in the giant's hands. Although it was difficult to call it hands. Rather, something between anthropomorphic representations and real forms of molecules. Was Tower 2000 supposed to hold me back and distract me?

I took advantage of the control of the building and started creating long and sharp whips that prevented Eye from watching me. Others also fought off the giants. Tower-2000 was larger and had a cubic shape, so it defended well, protecting its core. And he also attacked me well with crushing attacks. The Federation was the most dangerous, but it could not attack blindly without the help of Eye. Otherwise, it was fraught with the death of the whole organism.

I was in the minority, which made it difficult to fight. Tower 2000 was able to transform around me, gradually creating cubic structures around the Tower of Evolution. Which took some of my control away. It was getting more and more difficult for me to attack Eye, but he was already looking at my DNA sections, and the Federation scissors were at the ready. But suddenly it got dark and our sensory systems were temporarily disoriented. The darkness was from a figure in the sky that obscured the common luminary - the Sun.

An unknown creature landed on the top of the Evolution tower and, apparently, also wanted to gain control over it. It was a three-headed eagle with a crown on its head.

"Satan."

"He is. So, you came here, Mikhail. Power is sweet, isn't it? But I won't let you enjoy it, it's all mine! "

I imagined this battle a little more ethical, but that's not the point? While the giants were distracted by their master or another invader, I already infected the most vulnerable of the towers "Federation. By the time the immune system realized this, it was too late. With the help of the Federation and I, I easily captured and rebuilt Tower 2000, and Eye was practically helpless in this situation.

" What are you doing? Stop! You will destroy us all! "

Satan flapped his wings, rose into the air, and a halo appeared above him. I do not know what exactly he wanted to do, but I prevented him. Taking control of all the towers, I united them and scrolled up to reach Satan and pierce him through.

"Y-, you'll regret it ..."

"Don't tell me, I already regretted it in advance."

Elevator.

I returned to reality. And now I knew for sure that it was she and I would not return back to "Hell". I made such a conclusion based on all the information, including those previously hidden from me. I was overwhelmed with confidence except for two things. I still haven't decided what to do with this power. And where did Lily go? I was filled with the deepest horror from the assumption that it could, in principle, not exist, and I somehow created it myself. But I quickly rejected it, it was extremely unlikely.

I climbed to the very top - the roof of the Evolution tower. Lily stood in the center, and when she heard the sound of the arriving elevator, she turned to me.

"What are you doing here?"

"What? You asked me to go ahead yourself."

Strange, because I did not remember this. I heard the sound of metal cutting through the air, somewhere far away in the atmosphere. And so apart from the wind and the noise of the city, I did not hear any extraneous sounds. Possibly Lilia’s heartbeat even faster.

"Is she also excited or excited about what we're doing?" I thought.

"How did it go? It's over, right?"

I nodded. Did the microphone help her make that conclusion? No matter. Although I reached the pinnacle of evolution, as I myself believed, I had one unfinished business that did not let me go as a person. I reached into my pocket for the ring box. It was important to my ex. And these are solid pluses for me now. She is a wonderful specimen of a person - smart, beautiful, healthy. Our children will rule the world. But this is nonsense, I haven't decided yet what to do with this power. Now I just wanted to propose to her to marry me. And donate a ring in this incredibly scenic and symbolic place - at the top of the Evolution Tower.

"What do you have there?"

I smiled - how long have I waited for this joy, like an eternity. Only the excitement did not leave that something was wrong about the upcoming decision of his fate, if not the whole world. But at that moment, Lily's future answer was more worried. I wonder if she likes me at all? Will her attitude towards me be so strongly influenced by what happened? Such love experiences even somewhat calmed my everyday life, into which I returned more and more every second.

I came closer and began to utter the words.

"Lily, I ..."

I was about to open the box when the annoying sound of metal cutting through the air became too unbearable. I looked up and saw a helicopter flying in our direction.

"Mikhail ... Misha, forgive me. Please."

"W- what does this mean? It can't be. This is a helicopter with ... "

" Yes, with the project staff. I told them about your idea, and they were seriously interested in it. Therefore ... they followed us throughout the experiment and ... "

" They know about the ring? I had to take care of the secrecy of making the additional dose and antidote. But what if I missed something? Damn it! This is the key to Pandora's box! " Those were my first thoughts.

I couldn't give my feelings the first move.

"Traitor."

She closed her eyes and could see that she was holding back tears, but she did not do well - the first drops were already streaming down her cheeks.

"I couldn't do otherwise! This is too much of a burden for the two of us ... Please, think and understand me!"

"Oh, I understood you perfectly."

I went to her side, and in the meantime, the helicopter, chock-full of people, had already begun to land on the roof.

Walking up to Lilia, I held out a clenched fist to her. She watched me intently, our gazes crossed and stopped at each other. I unclenched my fist and walked on. She managed to react and caught.

"Ring? Misha, really...?"

"Do you remember how my name is translated from Hebrew? Like God. It's time to stop being likeness and become God. "

" N- no! Stop before it's too la-"

She didn't dare to continue talking, as the helicopter had already turned off the engines and the doors opened.

"Welcome to reality, Mikhail! Tell me honestly, did it really work out?"

Lilia continued to stand aside. All the arrivals were in specialized chemical protection suits, which included gas masks. More precisely, their advanced versions. One of the project leaders, Dr. Stopotsev, came to see me. I saw him very rarely, but he was definitely a big shot. How he himself understood the project itself, I did not know. Together with him there were several other laboratory staff, some I recognized - they were really good scientists. They kept a little to the side. Whom I was definitely expecting and not expecting were several soldiers, armed to the teeth. I saw some of their weapons for the first time and could only guess about its purpose. Well prepared, you can’t say anything. Is it enough?

"Yes, more than."

I raised my right hand up, the soldiers reacted quickly and aimed their weapons at me.

"Wait a minute! He most likely wants to show us what he has learned! Do not be afraid, Mikhail, show me."

I turned my hand into a blade and began to examine it myself. For the first time I see him in reality, and the step-by-step transformation itself was fascinating. It was as if it were both bone and mineral. How many demons have I cut them and how many times has he saved my ... life?

"Oh-oh-oh, yes! That same blade! This is the first time I see it in reality, not on tape. It's fantastic! No, this is science, damn it! Ha ha ha! Can you see this? See!? Congratulations, Mikhail! You are the world's first CRISPeR! "

CRISPeR? It sounded logical, that is, in a scientific way with a touch of the game. Other scientists, too, could hardly restrain their admiration, either over the general success, or over their own contribution. This rather frightened the soldiers, they exchanged glances. "Damn it" - so he said.

"So, what's next?"

"And then we'll extract from you, I'm not afraid to say, divine DNA!"

"Maybe Let's call it Darwin's after all? "

" Later we'll think about the nomenclature! I just ruined the whole epic. In general, we'll extract it from you so that you don't suddenly do something, especially with yourself. The human body is very fragile, I think you figured it out yourself. "

" And then? "

They got a little hesitated.

" We'll investigate it, of course. So many useful things can be done with our discovery! And that's it. Thanks to you and our entire team. Well, are you ready to create a new brave world with us? "

" How! "

I turned the blade back into a hand and snapped my fingers. For showiness, I always wanted to do this. Everyone in the helicopter and on the landing, except for Lilia, suddenly lost control of themselves, fell to the ground and began to wriggle, making unintelligible sounds.

"What did you do to them?"

"You no longer concern Lilia. You won't be my Lilith, goodbye. "

I entered the helicopter, by that time all the arrivals had finished transforming into my copies and joined me. The pilots turned on their engines and prepared to take off.

"Mikhail!!!"

She ran to the helicopter, but it was too late, and she could not change anything.

I flew with my thirteen copies in a helicopter right in the center of a multi-million-dollar city. My possibilities seemed to me limitless, because I completely controlled a person - myself - and could control others the same, that is, take over the whole world.

Was this what evolution was aiming for? Worldwide globalization!

The End...