A Serious Conversation

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Сожалеем, но текст оригинала доступен только зарегистрированным пользователям.	* PART 1. The Seventh Testing Area * staswiz 22.11.12 в 07:07 0 PART 1. Testing Area # 7 algrid 28.11.12 в 08:14 0	+2
	A Serious Conversation staswiz 22.11.12 в 07:07 0
	A clerk looked at Bykov with his single eye. staswiz 22.11.12 в 07:33 0
	- From Central Asia? staswiz 22.11.12 в 07:33 0
	- Yes. staswiz 22.11.12 в 07:34 0
	- Papers... staswiz 22.11.12 в 07:35 0
	He commandingly stretched his arm across the table. With it's enormously long index finger, the clerk's arm looked like a claw because half of the palm and three other fingers were absent. Bykov put his ID and assignment papers in this hand. The clerk leisurely opened the assignment and read it: staswiz 22.11.12 в 07:47 0	+2
	"The mechanical engineer of Gobi's Soviet-Chinese expedition Bykov Aleksey Petrovich is sent by the Ministry of Geology for conversation about the further service. The reason is a query from SCIPC..." staswiz 22.11.12 в 07:58 0	+1
	Then he quickly looked through ID, gave it back and pointed at the door upholstered with black oilcloth. staswiz 22.11.12 в 08:28 0
	- Come in. Comrade Krauhin is waiting for you. staswiz 22.11.12 в 08:28 0	+1
	Bykov asked: staswiz 22.11.12 в 08:29 0
	- Will the assignment remain with you? staswiz 22.11.12 в 08:31 0	+1
	- The assignment will remain with me. staswiz 22.11.12 в 08:31 0
	There were some people sitting on the chairs along the walls in the waiting room. Obviously they were waiting their turns or summons. No one pay any attention to Aleksey Petrovich. It seemed to be strange. He had heard the opposite point about dispositions in state departments of the capital. However, he stopped thinking of the single-eyed clerk and complaisant visitors when he stepped into the office. staswiz 22.11.12 в 09:08 0
	The windows in this spacious and gloomy office were covered with bamboo blinds. The bare plastic walls shone dimly. The floor was covered with a soft red carpet. Bykov looked around seeking the owner of the office and he saw two bald spots near the wide and deserted desk. One bald head was pale or even some grayish. It towered motionlessly over the back of the armchair for visitors. The other one was light saffron. It leaned over folders across the table and was swinging. It looked like its owner suspiciously sniffed tracing papers and blueprints placed in front of him. staswiz 22.11.12 в 09:33 0	+3
	Then Bykov saw the third bald head. It belonged to an ugly fat figure in a gray suit collapsed on the carpet. Its gray bald head was clumsily buried in the corner between a wall and a safe. A round rope ran from its neck to the table and hid under it... staswiz 23.11.12 в 06:47 0
	After all, every boss has his own habits, but hasn't it gone too far? staswiz 23.11.12 в 07:02 0	+1
	Bykov awkwardly shifted from foot to foot, again pulled the zipper of his jacket and anxiously looked back at the door. At that moment the saffron bald spot disappeared. There was a heavy breathing, and a muffled hoarse voice said with satisfaction: "Keeps great! Excellent!" А bulky stooping figure in a working nylon overall slowly rose above the table. staswiz 23.11.12 в 07:41 0
	The man was of great height, very broad in shoulders and probably very heavy. His face covered with brown pitted skin seemed a mask. Thin-lipped mouth was compressed into a straight line, and from under the powerful convex forehead the round eyes with no eyelashes coldly and carefully looked at Bykov. staswiz 23.11.12 в 08:01 0
	- What do you want? - he asked huskily. staswiz 23.11.12 в 08:03 0	+1
	I need to see comrade Krauhin, - said Bykov, glancing warily at the bald figure sprawled on the carpet. staswiz 23.11.12 в 08:10 0
	- I am Krauhin. - The man with round eyes also glanced at the figure and stared at Bykov again. staswiz 23.11.12 в 08:12 0
	The bald spot in the armchair remained motionless. Bykov hesitated a moment, took a few steps forward and introduced himself. Krauhin listened with his head tilted. staswiz 23.11.12 в 08:19 0
	- Glad to see you. - he said reservedly. - I waited for you yesterday, comrade Bykov. Please be seated. - He pointed with a huge, like a shovel, hand in the direction of the armchair. - Here, please. Free up the seat and sit down. staswiz 23.11.12 в 08:26 0	+1
	Nothing understanding, Bykov came to the table, turned to the armchair and barely kept a nervous laugh. A strange suit lay in the chair. It was made from gray elastic tissue and reminded a diving suit. A round silver cap with metal clasps bulged over the back of the armchair. staswiz 23.11.12 в 08:41 0
	- Remove it, put it on the floor - said Krauhin. staswiz 23.11.12 в 09:47 0
	Bykov looked back at the fat dummy lying in the corner near the safe. staswiz 23.11.12 в 09:49 0
	- This is a special suit, too, - Krauhin said impatiently. - Sit down! staswiz 23.11.12 в 09:51 0
	Bykov hastily vacated the armchair and sat down, feeling some embarrassment. Krauhin was staring at him unblinkingly. staswiz 23.11.12 в 09:52 0	+1
	- So ... - He drummed his pale fingers on the table. - Well, comrade Bykov, let's get acquainted. Call me Nikolay Zaharovich. Show favor and pay attention to me, as they say. You will have to work under my supervision. Unless, of course... staswiz 23.11.12 в 10:00 0	+1
	An abrupt phone call interrupted him. He picked up the phone. staswiz 23.11.12 в 10:03 0
	- Wait a minute, comrade Bykov... I'm listening ... Yes, I am... staswiz 23.11.12 в 10:04 0
	He did not say a word, but in the bluish light from the videophone screen Bykov saw that his face immediately flushed with paint. His bare temples swollen with nodes of dark veins. Apparently, the conversation was about very serious things. Out of courtesy Bykov looked down and started to scrutinize the special suit lying on the carpet next to the armchair. Through the open collar one could see the contents of the helmet. It seemed to Bykov that he could distinguish rough pattern of the carpet even though the silver sphere was completely opaque from outside. Bykov bent down to have a better look at the helmet, but at this point there was a brief crack of the hurled phone and then a light click of the switch. staswiz 23.11.12 в 11:06 0
	- Call up Pokatilov, now! - he ordered in a hoarse whisper. staswiz 23.11.12 в 11:16 0	+2
	- Yes, sir! - answered someone invisible. staswiz 23.11.12 в 11:17 0	+2
	- In an hour. staswiz 23.11.12 в 11:18 0
	- Yes, sir! In an hour!.. staswiz 23.11.12 в 11:18 0	+1
	Again the switch clicked and a silence fell. Bykov looked up and saw that Krauhin was strongly rubbing his face with palms. staswiz 23.11.12 в 11:22 0
	- So, - he said quietly noticing that Bykov was looking at him. - What a stupid! Like talking to the wall ... I'm sorry, comrade Bykov. Where are we ... Yeah ... Once again, I apologize. So, our conversation will be a serious one, but we have few time. There's no time at all. Let's get started... First of all, I would like to become more familiar with you. Tell me about yourself. staswiz 23.11.12 в 11:35 0
	- What exactly? - said Bykov. staswiz 23.11.12 в 11:37 0	+1
	First of all, your biography. staswiz 23.11.12 в 11:38 0
	- Biography? - The engineer thought a while. - I have a very simple life. I was born in 19 .., in a water transport worker's family near the town of Gorky. My father died early, I hadn't been three years old yet. Then I was brought up and educated at a boarding school till fifteen years. Then for four years I worked as an engineer's assistant and as an engineer of jet amphibious gliders at the river of Volga. I'm a hockey player. I participated in two Olympic games within our team "Volga". Then I entered the Higher Technical School of Ground Transport. It is a former school of Armored Wheeled Troops. ("Why am I talking so much?" - an unpleasant thought stung him.) I graduated from the Department of Expeditionary Nuclear Transport. Well ... I was sent to the mountains of Tien-Shan region... Then to the sands of Gobi ... There I served in the army. And there I joined the Party. What else? That's it. staswiz 23.11.12 в 12:24 0
	- Well, the biography is simple, - Krauhin agreed. - Are you thirty three years old now, aren't you? staswiz 23.11.12 в 12:26 0
	- I will be thirty-four in a month. staswiz 23.11.12 в 12:27 0
	- And not married, of course? staswiz 23.11.12 в 12:27 0
	Such a thrust from the chief seemed to Bykov pretty tactless. The engineer did not like allusions about his appearance and that "of course" offended him. In addition, it seemed to him that Krauhin's face was also far from ideals of male beauty. He even wanted to tell about this but decided to keep quiet. Anyways, it is unlikely that his appearance has a crucial meaning for Krauhin. Moreover, Bykov knew at least one woman for whom his sun-burnt face, boot-looking nose and red coarse hair do not play a decisive role. staswiz 23.11.12 в 12:51 0	+5
	- I want to say - continued Krauhin - that even six months ago, it seems to me, you were single. staswiz 23.11.12 в 12:55 0
	- Yes, - Bykov said dryly - I'm still a bachelor now. Yet... staswiz 23.11.12 в 12:57 0	+1
	He suddenly realized that Krauhin knows a lot about him and asks questions not for his answers, but to make a "personal impression", or for some other unclear purpose. It was unpleasant, and Bykov pricked up his ears. staswiz 23.11.12 в 13:02 0	+1
	- Yet I'm still a bachelor, - he repeated. staswiz 23.11.12 в 13:04 0

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