The Ball. Volume#1. “Kuluangwa”. Michael Ouzikov

instrument made on the basis of a familiar object to you, «Trigger,» I came across a thought.

      …dear Johansson, soon you will be able to read your poems to Homer himself! Meanwhile, I will be discussing my findings with the great Archimedes. Give me time, and I will send you a copy of my research diary, and you will see for yourself that I am not sick in the head, as many around me are already beginning to assume. Unfortunately, even Mr. Morgan, my good financial backer, is also beginning to lean towards this view. All that excited him was my successful experiment with the disappearance of the old power generator in Philadelphia, as well as the presence of my most important – his, Mr. Morgan’s – incredible object, a round catalyst (which he jokingly calls the «ball of Gods,» and I – «Trigger»). Some other time, I will write to you in detail how he jumped and slapped his thighs when I showed him the green electromagnetic waves which appeared during the disappearance in Philadelphia, unbelievably resembling a fog. I held the ball in my outstretched hand, and it lit up in my hands like a little sun of cold and lifeless plasma.

      Your Excellency,

      We have also found that after returning from Colorado Springs, Mr. Tesla informed journalists of the Herald Tribune that he had established contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. Few took this statement seriously. However, there are indications that Mr. Tesla is continuing his investigation of «parallel worlds» by himself, with the help of the object of our interest, without publicizing any of the results. He discusses all of his experiments only personally with Mr. Morgan during garden walks or in a completely closed laboratory that does not give us the opportunity to listen and learn the contents of their conversations. During their garden walks, Mr. Tesla and Mr. Morgan sometimes play with a ball (that is, the «subject» of our interest). The dimensions of this ball do not exceed 5 to 7 inches in diameter. They play the so-called English football, which is now becoming in vogue in Russia. At all other times while on the territory observed by us, Mr. Tesla did not part with the ball at any moment.

      The report of our scientific consultants concludes that Mr. Tesla uses the subject known as «Trigger» to make machinery for altering the electromagnetic vibrations of his own brain. In other words, he uses the ball to control his mental activity, and thus he can communicate with time-shifted realities. I also report that the German intelligence is keenly interested in Mr. Tesla’s activities. In particular, a certain Mr. Krauser entered employ as a part-time assistant at Mr. Tesla’s laboratory; to our knowledge, Mr. Krauser is an agent of the German General Staff’s intelligence organ.

      Mr. Tesla is decisively transferring his work to Long Island. Thus, in order to speed up our work, I am requesting your sanction for the possibility of extraction and subsequent copying of Mr. Tesla’s research records as well as the actual «Trigger» – by any means necessary, including extreme measures.

      Considering the importance of this object to the interests of the Russian state, we will inform you immediately upon receipt of new information.

      First Deputy Russian Envoy to the North American United States

      Joseph C. Grabbe

      ***

      The extraction of the subject of interest and of Mr. Tesla’s archive using extreme measures is strictly prohibited. Find an opportunity to obtain the materials by other means. Embed our agents in all of Mr. Tesla’s accessible communication channels. Report personally to myself and General V.A. Tselebrovsky on any new developments concerning Mr. Tesla.

      7th Dept. of the 1st Division of the 2nd Quartermaster

      General N.S. Ermolov

      ***

      To: 1st (Military-statistical) Division of the 2nd Quartermaster, General A.P. Simonov

      August 23, 1914

      MEMORANDUM

      Your Excellency,

      I bring to your attention the mood of the intelligence officers of the General Staff.

      Russia’s defeat in the war with Japan revealed significant shortcomings in the organization of our military intelligence. The war of 1904—1905 demonstrated the necessity of not only continuous reconnaissance during combat operations, but also of permanent surveillance within the territory of the probable opponent and other states, recruitment of agents, bribery of military and state officials, and counterintelligence, which is neglected, according to most intelligence officers. In addition, I offer the latest report from our agents on the case of Mr. Tesla.

      According to our information, in the summer of 1914, when Serbia was at the center of events that led to the beginning of World War I, Mr. Tesla remained in America, taking part in soliciting funds for the Serbian army. Several times in the presence of the press, he expressed a very vague idea clearly related to his recent scientific developments. For instance: «The time will come when some scientific genius will invent a machine capable of destroying one or more armies in one action.»

      We propose to maximally activate our group’s efforts to retrieve Mr. Tesla’s technical documents before the German intelligence service does so.

      Colonel V.V. Sedyakin

      CHAPTER 8

      70° 4» 36» N

      170° 51» 12» E

      Chaunsky District, Chukotka, Russian Federation

      March 31, 2001

      «This damned place! What in the world attracted you here, tell me? We could be sitting right now in a sauna! You won’t even get yourself cleaned properly! Always showers and showers! It’s not humanlike. People tried with their souls, heated it, cut an ice-hole. It’s winter, damn it!»

      «In my opinion, it’s spring! And it’s very beautiful here! Look at how the wind walks, and such waves! Maybe we’ll shoot down something? Who roams here now?»

      «We can take a fox. But not with this weather – too much damn wind.»

      The two men were walking slowly, in measuring steps, along the coast of the Chukchi Sea. One of them, an authoritative figure, listened attentively to what the other was explaining. The «boss» had an expensive-looking shotgun hanging over his shoulder. On the melting snow, rolling through the snow dunes, two vehicles slowly followed the men: a black Toyota Land Cruiser and a Russian-made all-terrain army vehicle, GAZ-34039. Three other men in dark jackets journeyed at a distance along the same course, scanning the desolate, forbidding surroundings.

      The discussion turned to setting up a repeater station in this area to ensure continued telephone and internet connection for the few towns and villages. The nearest such station was in Pevek and had a service range of several hundred kilometers. This was clearly not enough for the needs of the villages, geological stations, settlements of reindeer herders and hunters, and for the increasing shipping traffic on the Northern Sea Route. Moscow was keenly interested in developing this area and openly hinted to the private sector that it would be nice to not use state funds, but «other» financial resources instead. As they say, there was little choice.

      «Andrei Andreyevich, you have to understand that if we set the station here, people will be sent here as if to the pole for exile. Even animals haven’t walked these lands in years. It’s a dead place!» loudly voiced the elderly man in a fur cap pulled down over his head and hustling and waving his short arms.

      «Don’t worry, Nikolai Alekseyevich, everything will be fine.» It was evident that the tall young man with a red week-old beard, a bare head and in dark glasses, and in a short, light and, apparently, very warm jacket, turned to his companion with an elaborate yet condescending politeness. «If necessary, I’ll send a good work force here. Bachelors and experienced explorers. There have to be three people per shift. It’ll be warm under the roof, with