Memories of the future. An eyewitness notes. ДАРЬЯ Дмитриевна РОСНИНА

slowly got off the table and examined herself: instead of the lacerated wound there was only a barely visible scar. The air pleasantly smelled of medical drugs. With a hum of content Alex headed to the equipment warehouse, where she started raking around shelves for something suitable. She came across packages with standard underwear, shirts and shoes. All necessary combat gear was manufactured by the military Printers in compliance with the standard programs. The military never washed their clothes by themselves, but simply disposed of them, while new clothes were printed as required. Alex knew that clothing printer operators liked creating something non-standard and unusual. They proudly referred to their works as “military collections” in “Gladiator”, “Viking” or “Star Wars” styles. Those could be colored shirts made of gyroscopic material or unusually designed trousers. Such clothes were especially favored by soldiers and officers. Everyone wanted to have, aside from standard suits, something unique and convenient.

      Soon Alex found a one-size white shirt adjustable to the body dimensions with a fit-in heat control system. Her clothing set was supplemented with sand-colored sports trousers and loafers. Having changed, Alex threw her worn underwear into a utilizer and returned to the equipment warehouse to explore its contents. There she saw racks with combat suits designed for military campaigns in desert environment.

      The gear was properly improved and upgraded directly at the base and included built-in batteries protecting hips and back, stimulating agents reserves, hypodermic injectors used for wounds healing, high-protein food stocks and body heat control systems. What a remarkable collection! Alex added some required devices to her combat gear set. Having studied and assessed the most advanced gear options, she went to enormous sand-colored machines that reminded of scorpions.

      “Combat cyborgs,” she muttered “and evacuators as well. You guys seem to be specially made for deserts!”

      The scorpions were standing in the depth of the warehouse near a large hinged door corresponding to their dimensions. But Alex passed them by, as her attention was caught by most unusual combat exoskeletons. Alex turned short in admiration before them. The nearest exoskeleton steadily rested on huge legs that looked like those of a tyrannosaurus. The second one was similar to a mantis. At a closer look, Alex realized that their legs length could vary as required.

      A pilot could ensconce himself cozily in the mass center point, which provided for balance and easy control. A pilot’s body was securely protected by several armor layers. And the air regeneration system seemed to be provided as well.

      Close by there were manipulator samples and weapons specially designed for state-of-the-art developments. Everything was thought out to the last detail in terms of functionality. She touched and closely examined the rough mat surface of the exoskeleton to make sure that it was also designed on the Printer. The design author took as the basis the insect body structure, inspired by its perfect and simple natural forms.

      “The master touch is clearly seen,” she reflected in admiration. Further on there were various new models of AI-based exoskeletons and combat machines. Alex with professional interest noted a few advanced and highly sophisticated models of flying exoskeletons, whose distinctive feature was the capacity to fulfill combat mission both under a pilot control and in automatic mode. In addition, their control function was extended in such a way so as to allow a pilot to use either standard control systems or verbal and mental ones at choice. In essence, those models were universal combat platforms for any equipment or gear to be built on. She looked automatically at a hanger with her old worn-out flight suit and boots that now seemed to be part of her past.

      “People seem to have surpassed themselves in efforts to destroy their own kind,” Alex muttered, “I will back here later – there’s plenty of interesting,” she thought decidedly. Alex put a pistol with a holster next her new suit. "I ought to make sure the suit is filled with water and all required medical arsenal before going out,” she thought.

      “Lovely,” Alex said to herself as she stepped out into the hallway “I’m really lucky to have access to such a warehouse!”

      A convenient combat suit and sophisticated armored exoskeleton were what anyone in her world would like to have.

      “I wonder what is there of interest in the food unit?” she said to herself again.

      She liked the base: like any other military facility it was perfectly clean, neat, and functional. She guessed that the base used to be a home to a special reconnaissance unit. “Used to be..?”

      “No, they are still operative. Only they have abandoned their natural biological bodies.” Still Alex could not get accustomed to the concept of “abandoning a body”.

      Thinking about that, she stopped near the next door down the hallway; the door noiselessly crawled aside upon her approach. On entering, she immediately saw Wolf Abel. He was lying on a large table and funnily swirling with his whole body in a doggy style. The long soldiery table was the ideal place for that amusement he obviously enjoyed.

      At her unexpected appearance, the Wolf stopped swirling, deftly turned over and assumed the sphinx position.

      Smiling, Alex stopped short at the doorway, staring at the Wolf’s huge body whirling like a small puppy. He slowly and proudly turned his head in her direction and, gazing her in the eye, sent a common thought form to all present in the room:

      "Friends, allow me to introduce Alex Bjorg to you! As soon as the commander joins us, I will acquaint you with our guest in due order,” the edges of his chap slightly went up, showing white teeth, which evidently indicated a smile.

      “I was showing guys some techniques of fight with GMAs, such as a counter-move with one’s tail and pads to ensure a swift turn-over. Come to the vending machines, our synthesizer is up and running, choose whatever you like and take a seat at the second table, which is my favorite place.

      As you can see, we no longer use the notion “food” as such. Instead, we say “energy”. However our medical and catering blocks are maintained in operating mode just in case we have to host a hundred of soldiers in biological bodies or a pilot-girl”, he explained by sending another thought form.

      Alex approached the food synthesizer and habitually picked up some meal from dispensers and put it in an expendable plate: protein porridge with albumin balls and a glass of pure water. She sat up on a wide bench by a long soldiery table, put a tray with her meal next to her and turned to the Wolf. Alex felt she was being looked at by the whole staff of the base through the boards with scanners.

      The bizarre aspect of this situation was that artificial intelligence could be present at the room without any body, while watching the interlocutor in any spectrum of their vision, starting from infrared one. It looked as though she had to talk with empty space. Alex was more accustomed to large animated officers’ gatherings in the bar of her squadron. However not all people were able to retain their natural biological bodies. As a result of serious fight wounds or injuries, many of them had to transfer into cyber bodies that sometimes could look rather peculiar. The protracted war and diseases usually left people no chance but to abandon their natural bodies.

      “Now that everyone is present,” announced the Wolf in a common thought form.

      Alex told him: “Abel, let’s not stand on ceremony, just put everyone into the picture and introduce me to the guys.”

      Abel looked up the black sphere under the ceiling and solemnly said:

      “Colleagues, this is senior lieutenant Alex nicknamed Bjorg. It was her landing that I showed you. The aircraft is beyond repair. But, fortunately, I was able to save the second pilot– navigator. I have rewritten him temporary into myself. He is now within a separate processor of the base. It’s an artificial intelligence named Eol after the ancient God of Winds. So let’s welcome new members! By the way, we are in need of pilots, operators and simply someone to talk to!” he uttered, wiggling his ears, “Therefore I will try to convince Alex and Eol to change their job places and stay at the base. And if she accepts our offer, we’ll delegate her the north-western sector stretching up to the Ocean that Ninochka was in charge of.”

      The Wolf cut himself a break and carried on.

      “What prompted me to take this