Advanced Beings and a Fork in the Road of Evolution. Fidess

great!» all the men at the table exclaimed. «You have decided to contribute to the development of society in the end, haven’t you? To try and help those who are stumbling through the darkness find the right path?»

      «Well, again, my book is a drop in the ocean. Even if it or other books do get published, they won’t be able to alter the general course. People will take them as pure fiction.»

      «Which they are not!»

      «We are the only ones who know it,» Boss resettled his glasses on his nose.

      A short pause was followed by the talking of the Boss’s companions over each other:

      «Creative work is admirable!» the companions flipped through the book in turns. «You should definitely publish it!»

      Meanwhile, the waiters took the empty plates away.

      «Bring us some green tea,» Boss said to one of the waiters casually. «That beautiful tea, the one that unfurls into a big flower. And would you kindly add some hot water to the teapot each time we finish the tea?»

      «Coming right up, sir,» the waiter made a polite bow.

      A moment later, small elegant cups and saucers as well as two glass teapots appeared on the wooden table. Each teapot had a little bundle of tea leaves inside that were slowly opening and «blooming» into big flowers of incredible beauty: One was white, the other was red.

      It was fascinating! The tea was served with two cake stands featuring devastatingly delicious and beautiful fine pastry.

      When the men got to dessert, the music faded away: The musicians left. It was almost eleven, the time when the restaurant closed, and the only guests left at the restaurant were the same group of men. The staff of the restaurant seemed to know them well and let them stay late. Needless to say, all the restaurant workers who had to stay were lavishly rewarded for such a long shift.

      As the men were animatedly discussing something while enjoying the wonderful pastry and drinking the tea with a subtle, delicate flavor, some of the bored waiters and the owner of the restaurant went quiet, hoping to hear at least something of what the mysterious guests were talking about over the monotonous crackling of fire.

      It was the middle of the night when, satisfied and a little sleepy, the men decided to leave. They left a rather generous tip and headed for the expensive cars that reflected the lights of the street lamps with their shiny curves. The drivers had already been waiting for the men. After long hours in the restaurant, it was especially nice to breathe in the crisp and crystal-clear air of the Alps.

      The men got into their cars with spacious interiors without further ado, and the cars drove them away into the dark of night, slowly and gently, as if knowing the special value of their passengers. Only tire tracks remained in the squeaky snow but soon a blizzard hid them.

      And in the meantime, the waiters in the cozy restaurant were hastily clearing the table which was so recently occupied by the generous men, hurrying home to get at least some rest and sleep.

      When one of the waiters finally came to get a wipe down on the table, he suddenly stepped on something. The young man stepped back, bent down, and saw a book lying on the floor. There was not a single word on the dark-green leather binding. The waiter flipped through some pages but they turned out to be empty. Frustrated, he put his finding on one of the armchairs and took the cloth again but suddenly noticed the gold lettering glistening on the book cover: «Advanced beings and a Fork in the Road of Evolution». He opened the book again in disbelief: All the pages were covered with text.

      «It seems I should have some rest,» the young man thought with a shake of his head. «The book though seems interesting, I’ve never heard of it,» he fiddled with it pensively. «I have just been thinking about reading something new and unusual, and here it is, getting right into my hands. Of course, I will give it back later… However, I’d better see if I can find anything about it. It’s so intriguing to learn what such serious gentlemen read,» the waiter put the book into his pocket, took out his phone, and began to slide his fingers across the phone screen routinely but, surprisingly enough, without success. «The book doesn’t seem to exist.

      Curious. Maybe it hasn’t been published yet?» the thought struck the young man. «Then I will quickly read it tonight and report the find tomorrow. Nothing bad will happen. Right, that’s what I am going to do.»

      «Hey, Adam! What’s taking you so long? We are leaving,» his colleagues, wrapped up in warm winter clothes, were already heading towards the exit. «There’s going to be a boxing competition tonight, the transmission is about to start!»

      «Okay, okay, I’m coming,» Adam shouted back and rushed to the dressing room.

      «It’s either sleeping or watching box live. I bet Adam will choose the second option, so don’t expect him to get here on time tomorrow,» one of the waiters concluded.

      When Adam, tired but satisfied, finally got home, into bed, he first looked around for some reason, listened to the silence but neither saw nor heard anything suspicious. Only then he got his today’s trophy out of the nightstand drawer where he had thoughtfully hidden it upon returning home. The book was yet unpublished but it definitely contained some valuable information, since it had had the attention of the great and the good.

      The young man turned on the lamp over his head, switching the rest of the lights off, made himself comfortable, placed a pillow behind his back, pulled a soft cozy blanket over his chest, and heaved a deep sigh, as if preparing himself for a possible shock.

      With the increased interest, he carefully opened the book. Of course, he was very tired but you don’t lay your hands on something like this every day. That was a million-to-one chance and he had to give it back tomorrow. Adam was looking forward to learning something jaw-dropping and he was somehow sure that his expectations will be justified.

      «Chapter One. The Curious Incident,» Adam only had a chance to read the title of the chapter when a cat suddenly jumped onto his bed.

      The young man gave a cry but realized it was his own Sphynx cat and breathed a sigh of relief.

      «You startled me! Look what I’ve found today. Are you curious? I am too,» Adam was talking to the cat as if it was able to understand him. It was a hairless Sphynx with pink skin and huge green eyes on the tiny chiseled head. The cat stared at Adam, meowed as if giving a positive answer, purred, and curled up in a ball on the blanket.

      «Thousands of years ago, in the part of the world that is covered with impassable hot sands…» Adam swallowed the words as if fearing that something would stop him from reading the book, the accidentally found book that had mysteriously slipped from the firm grasp of its owner, to the end. The young man’s imagination was slowly carrying him into some alternate reality.

      Part II. Advanced beings and a Fork in the Road of Evolution

      Chapter One. The Curious Incident

      Thousands of years ago, in the part of the world that is covered with impassable hot sands stretching for hundreds of kilometers, one of the first civilizations was born. Plenty of misconceptions have accumulated about its great achievements while very few know the truth. It’s time to lift the curtain of secrecy for those who are ready.

      As is often the case, the great was born from the ordinary. You might argue: «How’s that?! It is not uncommon for the ordinary to remain ordinary unless it is not wiped off the face of the earth yet. But what would undoubtedly result in the Great?» You are right, there is a very important ingredient. It is known to one and all since the dawn of time and yet it doesn’t come easy.

      But let us talk first about the events of the bygone history and you will find the answer to your question yourself.

      It was the end of a sultry day.