Напряжение / Voltage: Глава 26

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Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 08:09

The second hand trembled, unable to overcome the heavy metal pin stuck right into the face of the massive floor clock. There, inside the mahogany case, the whole mechanism trembled faintly under the pressure of the tight spring, waiting for a new beat from the small cogs. But there was none - so the minute hand froze, and the hour hand fell asleep.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 08:30

Once the great-grandfather of the owner of this place, angry at the servants bringing up new problems before he had time to deal with the old ones, ordered time to stop, and when it did not obey, for the first time, he stopped the mechanism with his own hand and, as befits a legendary ancestor, resolved all difficulties in a single second.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 08:32

Although, they say, he simply threw the dagger at the clock, wanting at least a minute's respite from the business. It is also said that he did not throw it at the clock but at the thieving steward, who dodged it. But in the beautiful stories of ancestors and tradition, there is little room for thieving managers and much for pathos and splendid accomplishments.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 08:35

The problems have hardly diminished since then. Even now, two hundred years after the origin of the tradition, a voluminous silk-embossed folder, yellow and therefore requiring prompt consideration, is frozen on the corner of the desk. But time has stood still, so why rush?

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 08:36

It froze for everyone - a clever mechanism paused the time of all the clocks in the palace - the great-grandfather of the owner of the place had appreciated his father's idea and was also talented enough to carry it out. And since some time, the pause has also touched electronics - in-house manufacturers have easily enforced tradition in telephones and wristwatches, ensuring the timelessness of the whole palace. Otherwise, what kind of tradition is it if it is allowed to be broken?

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 08:59

Alas, the clock will soon go again, continuing to count down the seconds, minutes, and hours, synchronizing with world time once the mechanism has been started. In the meantime, there is no time. Problems are frozen at the edge of the future, unable to slide into the present.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 09:00

The prince had a wonderful state of inner peace that he did not want to lose, especially after a hard and exhausting job. It is true that to the uninitiated it may seem trifling and frivolous, but anyone who has ever made presents for his beloved daughter knows what hard work it is. After all, the wave of joy from the meeting, after the whirlwind of happiness from the boxes of gifts comes the time of trying on all the gifts and showing clothes to her beloved father. And try to dodge it!

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 09:02

However, in the second hour, the Prince tried to sneak out, citing extremely important clan matters that did not require any delay, and the faithful Amir immediately placed the yellow folder on the table with a look of mystery and a frown. It didn't help - Kseniya had resorted to the time-stop mechanism for the first time in three decades. The last time was sort of like another war...

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 09:13

In short, all the dresses were reviewed. And the prince made a dreadful vow to himself not to present more than three dresses at a time. The daughter went away to discuss the presents with her friend. Her father got up to start the time again... And then he thought and decided to indulge in another dozen minutes of the holiday, paired with his faithful friend. I did not want to talk about serious things. Unless it was something nice.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 09:28

"How is my daughter doing?" Once again admiring the stopped clock, the prince asked.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 09:29

"Pretty much," Amir shook his head, leaning back in his chair with pleasure. "It's easy to teach when the student knows what should lead to a mistake and what will be correct."

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 09:32

"What does it look like?" the prince became interested.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 09:32

"She stands with her eyes covered. Sometimes for about an hour, sometimes all day without making a single attempt. But then it's all on the first try."

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 11:06

"That is, of course, good," the man at the head of the table said slowly, "but the body will not keep up with the mind."

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 11:09

"But her room in the infirmary is empty, thankfully," Amir shrugged, "a mistake at the rank of 'Teacher' is too high a cost."

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 11:10

"At what rank?!" The prince asked the question disbelievingly, not trying to suppress the emotions of pride and happiness.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 11:11

"You'd think!" sniggered his sworn brother. "Before 'Veteran' I banned all that witchcraft stuff. If it breaks an arm or a leg," Amir snorted nonchalantly. "The healers have a few days' works to do. Oh, don't give me that angry look! Pain has to be felt before it can be brought to someone else."

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 11:12

"She is, after all, a little girl," grumbled the Prince, as if he himself had not grown up in the same conditions as a child.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 11:13

"You decide for yourselves whether she's a weapon or a girl," Amir grimaced. "If she's a weapon, she must be able to defend herself. Or die before it falls into the wrong hands. If it's your daughter, then what the hell..."

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 11:33

"All right, that's enough," the Prince raised his hands conciliatory. "And her friend? Tai... what's her name?"

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 11:34

"Tai Ling," his sworn brother said with a wry glance at his friend. "Great potential. And with Ksyusha's advice... I guess we're teaching her together. Your daughter stops her when she's about to do something stupid and tear down half the range with us."

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 11:43

"Found out where we got this miracle from?"

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 11:43

The flight to China turned out to be remarkably successful, although it did not bring rich trophies or political promises. Only one child - a girl of her daughter's age, the one she had seen in the prophecy. But the girl's potential made up for all the inconvenience - strong blood was too rare, very reluctant to let genetically valuable material out of families, planning marriages and families for centuries to come so as not to degenerate.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:43

Of course, wars, political alliances, and disgrace interfered with plans, blood could be diluted by marriages with the ungifted, and gifts could easily disappear and reappear across generations. Some branches were rejected outright, and the heirs of destroyed families were hunted for their Blood Power. But that was the lot of the clan's eugenics, a dull and stale job of pandering that was tried not to be remembered. Because it is somehow unpleasant to realize that a beloved spouse, casually met, found and kept, is a result of work of a whole department, working to make records of a hundred years old matchmaking turn into real love. Emotional attachment favorably influenced the power potential of descendants. It is only later, when it will be necessary to turn the "beloved" wife into the "first" wife, the stubborn husband will be shown not a particularly pleasant truth in photos and video recordings... In general, geneticists are not liked.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:46

But a prince is not a position where you can dislike something. So the trophy is extremely fortunate and has already been signed up for the same minor running around at the neighboring range. In six years they will have a big and beautiful love affair with a lot of children... In principle, this is enough for the prince, and the details about the life history of the foundling are not so important. The materials have probably been prepared for a long time, but if the leader of the whole clan decides to find out everything, he will be buried under a heap of trivialities. That is why information often lies dormant until it is asked for.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:47

However, there is a difference between potential as a human being and realized potential. And if a girl has curbed her power, she is no longer just future kin but part of the clan's arsenal. One must know everything about one's weapons.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:48

A standard power struggle. In the best traditions of Chinese princedoms - adults to the knife, children to slave pens. The girl was very lucky to be with us.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:48

"And us with her," the Prince shook his head in agreement.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:49

"By the way, some distant relatives have recently turned up. Great-uncles on her mother's side - I don't know what to call it in one word. They are offering a ransom, a respectable ransom."

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:50

"Fresh blood is more expensive," the older man brushed it aside. "Do they even get along?"

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:50

"I'll show you now," Amir smirked at something, activating the screen in the plane of the table.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:50

In the center of the room, in front of a huge mirror, Xenia was arranging her friend's new hairstyle, just as she did with her favorite doll. The pretty Chinese girl smiled shyly at the reflection - and looked not at herself but at Ksyusha.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:51

"They are," concluded the prince.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:51

"Оh!" Amir exclaimed when he spotted the old servant in the frame. "There you are!"

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:52

"Look, don't touch the honored man..." the prince grimaced.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:53

"No, no, I gave my word to retire him," Amir fussed. "I'm going to run, okay?"

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:54

And immediately rushed out the door.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:54

After a while, the screen showed the old man waddling rapidly towards the exit, and after about three minutes, Amir ran after him. The prince clicked the screen with mild curiosity, changing cameras and watching the chase. Here the time between glimpses was reduced to two minutes... And there were only three rooms and one passage... Hm, and now for some reason to the ground floor, and then by the next flight to the third and again to the second... Alas, another five minutes - and by an established tradition the boundary between the female and common halves separated them...

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:56

"I'm a little late," the prince commented to his brother, who was frozen on the threshold and turned off the screen. "I'll be back to work in five minutes."

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:57

"He was so annoying!" The old man came into the children's room, shut the door immediately, and leaned against the door with his whole body.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:59

His rapid breathing indicated an uneasy distance for a respectable age, and the slight pallor on his face indicated the dangerous proximity of his pursuer.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 17:01

"You should confess who you really are," Ksyusha replied in a calm voice, scrutinizing something on the two huge screens mounted on the wall.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 17:02

If the prince could have peeked into his daughter's room, he would surely have been greatly surprised - primarily by the fact that he had recently seen Kseniya elsewhere, in a completely different occupation. Though come to think of it, the chase was going on throughout the entire space of the palace, girding all the floors twice, so there was time... Which does not at all explain the contents of the screens enclosed in green frames with a stylized ornament of the clan crest.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 17:03

"You want me dead!" The grandfather was indignant at the suggestion. "They're like woodpeckers peak all brains out," the old man pecked his head several times with his fingers. "Grandfather, help me! Grandpa, give it to me! Granddaddy, do it!" he mocked. "There is no peace even in death - they go to the grave and complain! And if I hadn't put microphones there, what would they be doing then?!"

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 17:04

"Help would not have been out of place." With a glimpse, Ksyusha greeted her grandfather with a smile and went back to her concentrated clicking on the keys.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 17:10

"I have someone to help," the grandfather grumbled, taking a seat next to his granddaughter. "Is this a clan intranet?"

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 17:10

"Yeah," Ksyusha replied briefly as she continued deleting files from the clan's internal storage.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 17:10

"How does you get access?"

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:27

"It's on a piece of paper by Daddy, under the keyboard," the girl brushed it off.

Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 16:37