No use: there can be no logical proof on the basis of some axioms in the solution of these problems. God always talks with people on the language of life’s circumstances. And using the whole historical experience one can see that it is the life’s axiom, though somebody may express it more precisely than I did. One either accepts it on trust or doesn’t accept it “on trust” as well. Nevertheless, how the history’s oppressiveness shows, the majority of people want neither to hear nor to understand the sentences of this language.
Dear Mr. Holmes, you are young and have a certain experience in solving puzzles of such kind. My old friend Lois Renier told me of your visit to Zurich and I asked him to arrange our meeting. Obviously, you have expected to hear something else but I can’t help you any more. Yes, I know and understand something what I’ve told you of relying on my family traditions and legends. But the noble aristocracy in a majority of it has lost its creative potential; notwithstanding the fact that there are some its strange and curious representatives, who still is interested by new information or fresh ideas. What I have told you is not just my thoughts. For the last year I was studying the works published at the site www.dotu.ru. It is Russian[45] and I have no problems with it, since each and every idea can be interpreted unambiguously. And if you are interested where does the worldviews like one you’ve heard here come from, you should visit this site. You will find there many things that will help you to turn over a new leaf in your worldview and to escape the prison of old stereotypes. I also hope that you, Holmes, will help us to solve this riddle. I’m ready to give you all assistance I can give. Feel free to use any material I have.
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Everybody felt himself overfilled by the impressions. Moreover it’s darkening quickly in the mountains and Renier wanted to reach Zurich before dark. The parting was natural and sincere. The master followed the car until it turned. Silver BMW seemed to drive by itself as if Renier had only helped it. Holmes was thoughtful and kept silence. Something told by Pfanfaltz proofed his hypothesis but much was so uncommon, new and unexpected that goes far beyond the worldview with which he had entered “Ascania-Nova”. And he needed a time and an intimate knowledge of the “picnics” symbolism to comprehend everything heard.
September 27 – October 4. Spain. Madrid – El Escorial
The whole next day Holmes spent in Geneva and on Thursday, September 27, left for Madrid by a morning flight. Imagine how he was surprised when installing himself in his room in the hotel[46], situated opposite to the world-known museum “El Prado”, he switched on a TV set and heard a report about the act of terrorism in the parliament of canton Zug. Some person dressed like a policeman freely entered the conference building and coolly shot eleven members of parliament and three members of government and then he committed a suicide. It was told that the “kamikaze” had been on the books of local mental health service and had got some claims for the members of parliament. An act of terrorism once again and once again a “maniac”. Moreover, there were eleven victims and Holmes, remembering Pfanfaltz’s words about the language of life’s circumstances, considered this event to be somehow symbolic and fatalistic.
For nearly the whole week Holmes was busy with the firm’s business in Madrid and rarely opened the “picnics” for thinking once again. His version was filling by new details but still was unstable. He was near to call Watson when the firm’s leaders suggested him to fly to Cairo on Friday, October 5. There the two-day conference of “Ernst & Young” representatives devoted to the nationalization of several big private companies was going to take place. Some tendency in the sphere of medium-sized and large businesses observed by Holmes for the last ten years showed that the International positions in the world are growing stronger. Interested for meeting some persons participating in the International’s world strategy development he agreed to continue his journey.
Holmes got two free days and apparently to vary his trip his satellite Mr. Antonio Ugarte, the firm’s Spanish official, suggested visiting El Escorial, the calm town where in the 16th century the official royal residence[47] was for some time situated. Holmes talked to Ugarte about the Spanish civil war and made a suggestion that the result of those events of 1936 was predetermined. Somebody, ruling the global historical process, wanted to see the developments variant alternative to that, which had taken place in Russia in 1917. And though some historians say that “the History doesn’t tolerate any conjunctive mood”, in the real history there are some forces that would like to see how the “conjunctive mood” is realized on practice.
By his views Antonio was far from the Trotskyites followers. He was still respecting General Franco who by his opinion didn’t let Hitler to engage Spain into the World War II. Attentively hearing Holmes’s version of the causes of the civil war he promised to make a meeting in El Escorial with interesting people. They were able to answer many questions about hidden motives of the events of 1936. Holmes took his suggestion with pleasure, since it was first time when he had a chance to visit a residence of Spanish kings. Situated 50 kilometres away from Madrid El Escorial was just buried in verdure. It was a nice sunny day and the air was uncommonly clean and clear. Tourists overfilled the public green space and the famous square.
Holmes and Antonio parked their car and for a long time walked down the narrow streets of the old town. After the midday they came to a house were small company had gathered. Antonio introduced Holmes to the master Pedro Coliado, full-bodied man with coal-black hair. Right away he invited his guests to the sitting room where two other guests had already sat and actively discussed something on Spanish.
Andrew Verov, – introduced himself not tall stocky man who was about forty.
Are you Russian? – For some reason asked Holmes.
Yes, Mr. Holmes, - answered Verov in English. – But I’ve been living in Spain for ten years.
Paolo Riego, – socially smiled the second one and added. – Spanish, but lived in Russia for some time.
When Holmes looked on the table they were sitting at he could hardly believe his eyes. There were three “picnics” and the copies of calendars on 1994 with some strange pictures from already-known Russian paper “Chas Pick”.
The guests looked at Holmes so as if they were sure that the “picnics” were familiar to him. He himself suddenly thought that he was a go-between in the discussion of some grandiose and formidable mysterious plot. The master served coffee and the talk, interrupted by arrival of the new guests, continued. Only that moment Holmes noticed that the guests weren’t discussing the picnics. They looked at the map of Madrid with a big wrench-looking hand crossing the city cornerwise and having its palm on the very central square. Holmes asked Antonio to translate him the discussion, but Andrew apologized and started to retell the matter of the discussion on good English.