Classics fantasy – 6

– What does all this mean? – I asked Ale, having ended survey of a portrait.

– So Americans look – told Ale and took a portrait. – And here’s the thing. We received data that to us the spy is sent. At this moment you appeared…

– And you solved?.

Ale shrugged shoulders:

– Quite clear precaution. There come disturbing times. Possibly, again it is necessary to create Council. This word is familiar to you?

– Certainly. And you do not have it?

– Many years in it there was no need.

– And now?

– And now it became necessary again. Apparently, you really the person from the remote past. Over time we will explain this riddle. For now I can give you some explanations.

– I admit, I do not understand much and very much I want to hear your explanations, but whether it is impossible to postpone them till tomorrow? I was tired to death, and… the dream overcomes me…

I yawned from ear to ear. Ale with curiosity looked at me.

– Really at you always so terribly opened a mouth when there was a wish to sleep? It was called, apparently, зе… зе…

– To yawn.

– Yes, to yawn. I read about it.

Ale took out from a pocket a graceful box from lilac metal, opened it and stretched to me.

– Swallow one of these pills, and your dream and fatigue will disappear.

Having noticed my fluctuation, he hasty told:

– Be not afraid, it is not drug which artificially stimulates nervous activity, like your awful cigarettes. These are the pills neutralizing fatigue products. They are harmless and make the same action, as a normal dream.

I swallowed a pill and suddenly felt fresh, as after good, sound sleep.

– There now you see. Why to lose unproductively a third of life on a dream if this time can be spent more productively! Now you are located to listen to me?

– I burn with impatience…

– So listen.

And, having taken seat more conveniently in a chair, Ale began the story.

Many years revolutionary shocks swept ago across all Europe and Asia. I will not list you stages of this awful, but at the same time and great era. The American capitalists sent the fleet to the aid of European “brothers” on a class, but the fleet was broken by the joint English, German, French and Russian naval forces. Then the scared Americans hurried to go back home, having provided events in Europe to own current, but not losing thirst to profit on death of economic power of the transatlantic neighbors. However these hopes were not equaled – revolution won. In America disorders of workers began. The American workers asked to help. And we, of course, did not deny to them this assistance…

Ale sadly hung the head and became silent. I with impatience expected continuation of the story.

– But this help did not bring benefit. The American equipment quite seized at this time the new most terrible tool of destruction – death beams. The joint fleet sent by us did not see the enemy: it was exterminated in the high sea by the invisible opponent. Nobody returned from this expedition, except one submarine which incidentally avoided actions of beams, maybe, because floated too deeply. Sailors of this boat told awful details. From the windows which supplied our submarines, having lit with searchlights a gloom of depths of the ocean, seamen saw the falling rain from fragments of the ships, the whole clouds of brainless fishes or with half the burned trunk, incidentally escaped pieces of human bodies. All inhabitants of the sea who got to a killing zone were incinerated. Water in the ocean boiled, and probably on a surface it evaporated. Even at that depth at which there was a submarine water heated up so that seamen nearly died. Action of devil beams, obviously, not only thermal. They destroy fabrics of a live organism by ultrashort electrofluctuations.

– It has communication with radio waves?

– Alas, all this the same radio, but applied for destruction.

– And in what all this came to an end?

– It was only the beginning. We tried to apply the air fleet. At that time and our equipment was already highly developed. We had aircrafts operating by the principle of flight of rockets. These vessels could rise above a layer of the air atmosphere, that is it is more than two thousand meters. We hoped to attack the enemy unawares “from the sky”. But the enemy was well prepared. Obviously, on all borders of America from the earth the same invisible, but killing beams were directed up. Hardly our aircrafts made of special metal entered this veil as were burned even not to ashes, and to steam…

And ten hours later terrible disaster rushed over all countries of Europe and Asia. Through the fortieth meridian of northern latitude – across Spain, Italy, the Balkans, Asia Minor, Turkestan, China and the island Nippon in Japan without uniform sound the killing beam which incinerated on the way in a strip hundred kilometers wide all buildings, people, animals, fields, cotton fields, gardens rushed.

– Yes here, look – told Ale.

He approached a distributive board and pressed several buttons with figures, then turned the lever. Light went out, and the screen recovered. I expected to see the movie, but what I saw surpassed all my expectations. It were not “documentary pictures” it there was life. Illusion was full.

Here street of some city…

– Spain – said Ale in low tones.

…All houses along the street obliquely were as though are cut off by some invisible knife which opened internal rooms. Where there passed the awful beam, there were only heaps of ruins, heaps of ashes and garbage. Here and there parts of human bodies rolled. Everything, got to a beam area of coverage, was incinerated. In places the fires burned down. I heard a flame crash, a roar of falling of walls. The escaped mad people wandered among these ruins, vainly trying to find for the family. They sobbed, shouted, sent someone damnations… Here the woman ran with a wild hair and mad eyes.

– Augusto, Augusto! – she shouted. And suddenly, having faced directly me, hysterical laughed loudly…

I heard her laughter, terrible cries of people. The show was tremendous. Involuntarily I turned away.

– Several hours later later accidents are removed – with emotion spoke Ale.

It turned levers, and on the screen the new picture appeared.

– Everything that remained from the Italian town of Marateo of the gulf Polikastra – Ale told.

Several palm trees and heaps of ruins, two swarty, curly children and the old woman in tatters. At one child legs on a knee were annealed. It lay unconscious. The boy is more senior looked at him with silent horror, and the old woman, having inclined over the child, shook the gray-haired ruffled head and howled lingeringly, hysterically as dogs howl… Nearby, with oskalenny teeth and the big glazed-over eyes, the asinine head – one head lay… Leaves of palm trees rustled, stones under the running waves as sad accompaniment to monotonous, tugging at heartstrings, I howl old women rustled… It was too…

– I cannot more – I said in low tones – there is enough!

Ale sighed, turned the lever. The screen went out, and in the room light lit up.

Suppressed just seen, we sat silently.

– I saw these pictures more than once – told at last Ale – but also I cannot still watch them without deep nervousness…

– Yes, it is awful – I answered.

– When our youth sees these pictures, it is lit by such hatred and such thirst of fight that it is difficult to keep her from daredevil acts and the aimless victims. We infrequently show these pictures.

– Tell me, this cinema? – I when nervousness settled a little asked.

– A combination of the sounding cinema and transfer of moving images and sounds on radio. We have a central film archive operating automatically. I put number on this board, the movie necessary to me automatically moves in a movie camera, it begins to work at the screen installed in film archive. Through radio the image and sounds are transmitted to any place.