Speech from a piece of paper.
- We still need to find a time to launch the missiles, - continued Landskricht, - we could launch them now, send them along an elliptical trajectory and back. Then, on approach to Earth, they would pick up speed properly, making our entire undertaking safe from missile defense.
However, if we do this right now, then seeing this unexpected activity, they, on Earth, will naturally suspect something is wrong. We will present this as your own demarche - you do not want to harm anyone and are firing ammunition to an unknown destination, seemingly away from Earth. We will fire nine pieces, leave a couple. Nine will be more than enough. You will make a speech. So that everyone will be touched by how the hero of the past couple of days, a revolutionary, now a revolutionary-loser, in fact, the same simple guy as everyone else, decided to abandon his formidable weapon.
- What speech and about what? - Zavirdyaev asked incredulously.
- I have everything printed out already. Only half a page. But that's later. Now, after everything you've been through, you need to sleep.
Zavirdyaev was indeed feeling sleepy. It was hard to say whether it was due to the anesthesia or natural causes.
- Sit down in the chair and sleep. It would be better not to put it off. There are things to do tomorrow. By the way, the chip was so invigorating you - it can do that. In general, it would be better to go to the passenger compartment and lie down, or rather, get comfortable. Don't forget to go to the toilet.
- You didn't have to say that, - Zavirdyaev grumbled, after which he obediently reached for the hatch leading to the habitable compartment, - I'll sleep there, - he announced, already flying into the hatch, - and you take charge here. And it will be calmer for me, because sometimes you behave like that... What's wrong with my head now? Don't wet the wound?
- There's a bandage there. Don't touch it. We'll take it off in a couple of days and that's it. It'll come off easily. At first, Zavirdyaev thought it would be better to sleep in a spacesuit and helmet, but then he thought about it and decided that since Landskricht, a living black hole, okay, an alien who had already managed to demonstrate some of her abilities inaccessible to ordinary people, was on board, then she would somehow be able to make sure that everything was calm on the ship, but if she wanted the opposite, then no helmet or spacesuit would change anything. So he didn't put on his gear, which he had left in the "cabin".
- After visiting the toilet, which for a person who had nothing to do with flying was quite an attraction, Zavirdyaev chose a bunk closer to the small porthole and tied himself with flimsy straps. Instead of a pillow there was a thing that resembled a soft toy in material and feel - a huge cap on the whole head, like those of birds of prey.
There were holes for the mouth and nose, there was a slit for the eyes, which was closed with a flap on Velcro. There were also holes for the ears - this was provided so that the astronaut would not remain deaf to everything happening around him in his sleep - you never know what could happen. This thing also reliably insured against accidental, albeit light, blows to the head, if the astronaut decided to sleep without fastening his seat belt - this also happened.
The light in the habitable compartment, of course, was not turned off, but this did not bother Zavirdyaev much - he decided not to use the sticker on his eyes. Having chatted in his bed for about ten minutes, he began to listen to the measured hum of the ventilation, the abrupt signals coming from the command module and other similar discord. He still couldn't fall asleep, although there, in the command compartment, he clearly felt a wave of heaviness and fatigue roll over him.
- What's happening on Earth now? - the thought haunted him.
Instead of this whole conversation with Landskricht, it was supposed to familiarize him with what was happening on Earth and, in addition to everything, send short directive messages. Regarding the directives, Landskricht assured him that she had some powerful AI at her disposal that would easily take this on itself. Nevertheless, he still wanted to be aware of what was happening there now.
Suddenly, Landskricht's head poked through the hatch leading from the command compartment, then flew in completely.
- Are you awake? - she inquired.
- As you can see.
- She kicked the wall of the compartment with her foot, and soon was already approaching the strapped-in Zavirdyaev.
- I was already starting to worry that you had forgotten about me, that you had decided to leave me alone. Is there anything in your suitcase? Some kind of sleeping pill? Just not chloroform.
- Why are you talking about chloroform?
- Such is your work style. A bit rough.
- You've guessed right. On your Earth, for example, there are your bosses, there is some other intelligent life that you don't know about. And everyone has their own methods. Your big people have simply concentrated all the power for themselves through cunning, intelligence and social mechanisms. Someone invades consciousness, and a little more unceremoniously than I do. Well, my thing is... What do you think?
- What? Gravity or something?
- Well, no, that's not what I mean. In the human sense. Well, some have cunning, some have deception.
- And you?
- And I have brute force. Who would have thought, right? Only I can't boast of such precision things as, for example, knocking out a tank, and I don't want to.
- Yes, let people continue to die, if you don't want to.
- I wonder what she would look like in battle, and what she would do? Could she really put an entire army to flight? - thought Zavirdyaev.
- Don't pretend that you're dumber than you are. Or just look at him! He's got half a pot of stupidity, but he wants to show that he's got the whole thing.
- Thank you. You've learned to talk very well, - Zavirdyaev grumbled angrily.
- As I understand it, you don't want to sleep anymore. I'll help you now, - with these words she began to pull the cover off his head. Zavirdyaev wanted to comment on this somehow sarcastically, this unceremoniousness, but he decided not to bother himself even with this and endured everything in silence. Meanwhile, the fingers of Landskricht, who had disappeared somewhere, grabbed his temples.
- Close your eyes and fall asleep. Of course, you don't remember how you fall asleep, do you?
- You'll be surprised, but no, and no one does.
- Now lie silently and say nothing. I will assume that you have agreed. And we do have some common memories. Remember, we went to a party at the SFS... Why did they have to block everything?
- Zavirdyaev remembered how about a year and a half ago he dragged himself to a street gathering organized by the SFS "Com.batt". And Landskricht was there too... Zavirdyaev's leg jerked away from something. It was absolutely obvious that it was one of those jerks that happen when falling asleep. But it started too quickly. His head finally became heavy and there was no desire to open his eyes. The command module was constantly emitting its signals - abrupt beeps, like on a telephone, and all sorts of beeps - this is how, in particular, the irradiation of large missile defense radars was noted. Although it was a bit strange where these sounds were coming from here, on the main avenue of this shitty SFS, on one side of which a snowstorm was raging - it was not surprising - this often happens instead of rain. Zavirdyaev wanted to go into some shop and fill a whole bag of various booze - the journey ahead was long. It seemed like there was some woman nearby, although screw her. Now he would get on the right bus alone and leave this asshole forever. It seemed like this bus, stops over there...