*
Suddenly, Michael felt that someone, having showered chill, was looking at his neck. Having tasted the Chateau he slowly turned and looked a badly lit corner of the large room around. Having turned off all sounds for some time, he stood still, listening to the piercing silence. His big face covered with sweat. For a moment, he calmed down. Having taken out a big Colt, he looked into dark corners of the vast residence. Skull could not get rid of the thought that someone was hiding nearby. He turned back bedspreads, opened doors, looked under the tables, behind the curtains, into closets, open drawers and chests, as if playing hide and seek. His heart was beating like when he was fifteen, in rainy cold night on the corner in the Bronx.
Maher slowly aimed his Colt and looked up. He felt that he would see. Having closed his eyes, he began to shoot. With trembling hands, he changed charges. A dry crack of single shots changed with short automatic bursts.
*
For the first time since his youth, Michael was bitterly crying. He knew that his great mission, his incredible huge work disappears, like morning fog. Having taken away the Colt, he knelt. Something flowing colorful translucent hung over them at a height of three meters. Maher sadly raised his hands then he bowed and touched his feet, as if they didn’t exist. Having clenched his face with force, he looked up. He dropped the gun away. He awkwardly fell down on a warm silicone floor with a crash. Skull could not understand who was in front of him. It seemed to him that it was partially transformed Colonel. Or the ancient Volh? And maybe his father, whom he has not seen? Or, bloody Berik was falling on wet asphalt.
Something was both far and close, and a little higher. Maher felt warm in the whole body which he had never felt. Probably, it was the heavenly mercy? Or, probably, the love which Michael has never experienced?
"You are elected and you can reach the other side. But you have to leave the abyss of time, not to drown in the rapids. Leave only unblemished mercy in the boiler of Chronos ".
Maher knelt. What he felt was irreversible for him.
The angel was leaving far, and then disappeared.
Stupefied he went to the exit. Incredible lightness and rejoicing filled his soul. For the first time he was free, breaking endless shackles on himself. Gears of the world, invented by him, stopped.
Having thought a bit, Maher took off a bracelet with his immortality, chucking him out forever. The bracelet has been spinning on a smooth floor for a long time.
Nearby there was a lifeless Colonel’s body. Michael hoisted Dux on his back and went upstairs.
To the light, breathing, grass, birth.
*
In summer 2018 the War of the Immortals, as it was called ended. Some pockets of conflicts broke out, causing destruction and chaos in some regions of the globe. For the first time the war touched all countries and peoples of the world. Total amount of dead people were hundreds of millions. During the conflicts in 2016-2017, the civilization couldn’t elude multiple nuclear explosions, leaving lifeless infected waste grounds.
The UN building was an area of the continuous human passions battle and desperate shooting. In the end, the former wild mahers of Harlem took the UN building away brick by brick.
In August 2018 in Greenland was opened a new huge international complex of skyscrapers, based on the concepts of the UN, UNESCO and non-government organizations. A new name, TCATC "a tree of creatures and threats of the civilization", was the hope of mankind. The latest generation started a complex solution like the Bill of Human Rights. Modern priests showed ordinary people knowledge of large and small creatures’ hierarchies.
Unfortunately, of course, a realm of delusions couldn’t change the nature of people. Flatulence, fights, hatred, whispering of gossip, persistent insanity, fierce hatred, envy, vile blows at the dusk left social groups in cynical narrow boundaries, sometimes breaking a thin common cover of humanity. But step by step, at schools appeared new subjects, reducing closed information and following notorious lie.
In new Godthab in Greenland there were formulated: "Bill on Freedom of Information," "Right to knowledge of other beings and other civilizations" and “Prohibition of the destruction of the creatures”. The foundation of the TCATC was laid in the concept of saving diversity of creatures and searching for the balance.
Finally, for the first time, there was declared an official doctrine that armed conflicts were direct violation of human rights. Official or unofficial war, as barbarism and incredible savagery, began since that moment to be classified as a crime and was completely prohibited. There began blurring of the boundaries between two countries.
In the TCATC there was created a governmental organization to resolve power struggles. Prohibition of war and burying the ax was certainly a naive dream of most people. As always, conflicts shook the globe. But above armed conflicts appeared a powerful Rapid Reaction Corps, which not only permit to light a fire of the major war, but also to sent quickly kings and suites to the Worldwide Police and then to the dock. A very grave crime was considered by the court in Godthab as contractual wars.
*
After the lessons of war in 2015-2018 was adopted declaration: "Equal and obligatory right for treatment for every inhabitant of the Earth." On these pages, along with the Hippocratic oath there were: the prohibition any state of military and biological secret research, complete and obligatory holding of the scientific research and the fight against corruption. It was written, that no man or a social group doesn’t have any right to additional benefits for treatment, medicine and a special right to longevity.
Epilogue
Early June morning 2019 in the foothills of Altai there was a crowd of village gapers. Yesterday at the Stone Mountain they put a huge multicolored balloon. Several workers have been assembling that incredible miracle for the whole day. They said that the Montgolfier was brought from Japan.
Everyone wanted to know who would be in the gondola. A house on the Stone Mountain appeared suddenly, as if out of air. Nobody had ever lived on the top earlier. Evil long tongues whispered: "It's clear, probably, the authorities had been paid a lot!"
The house was like a small medieval castle with the turrets of grey stone. They said that the tower has been built by mythical sons. Someone laid with them the foundation. But then those sons disappeared. It was said that they were from the town or even from abroad, from big houses.
Inhabitants of the castle hadn’t been seen by anybody. At night, there was a light in the window and sometimes there appeared dark shadows. Ubiquitous boys were observing a lean grey-haired retired serviceman. Once they saw him on a huge rock and some big Skull, bushy eyebrows and black eyes. They were silently sitting on the hill, frying tortillas on the fire and observing endless divine mountains, sparkling with rare sunbeams. And as if from somewhere came a dark-eyed beauty with charming kids.
The boys were telling that somehow very serious people came from the country. Put the post. They also saw there snipers. But the inhabitants as if vanished into thin air. A few days later they left. The boys were given a phone number to call in case of need. Local police did not mysteriously notice the building, as if they were blind.
That’s why there was a fair amount of people, probably a half of the village, and many of them from the country.
*
For the whole night Colonel has been putting papers in order. He had to finish the concluding remarks of the manuscript. A volume archive and crumpled drafts flew into the fireplace embers, bent and crumbled to dust.