“You got everything right. Can you feel the warmth of my hands? And do you perceive the surrounding world? This means that you are alive and it is we who defeated them, Atarva! Since we’ve created the Super Brain ourselves! And now we are going to make the Transition together. Now no one will separate us from our creature – that will be simply impossible! Of course, we’ll proceed with our research. And we are in for so many discoveries! We’ll enjoy the new quality of life, my friend, which will not only give us immortality, but also an access to knowledge! You have always dreamt of that!”

“I’ve always dreamt of that, Asha,” Atarva repeated her words docilely, nodding his head, and tears appeared in his eyes, “Thank you! Now I am ready! Let’s go.”

 Without taking her eyes off Atarva’s face, Asha said in a firm and resolute voice:

“Absolem! You know what to do! Open the Transition!”

The first heavy drops fell from the black cloud on the empty shore, and the stiff wave resumed its run, breaking into white foam along the shore.

The doors of the lift on the lab’s ground floor opened, and a group of people dressed in similar dark suits stepped into the hallway. They appeared to know exactly where to go and quickly walked along the row of doors.

Having approached one of the doors, a man with a suitcase opened it and looked inside.

“Go and check!” he ordered briefly to one of the men. After a while, the latter came out and silently nodded to the man with a suitcase.

Then he immediately activated a communicator on the lobe of his ear and reported to someone in a voice deprived of any intonation and emotions: “We’ve determined an accident during the experiment. Yes, all the three.”

Upon hearing the reply, he said in the same neutral voice: “The second group have taken away the order. We are returning.”

 He cast yet another glance inside the room, following his habit to thoroughly check everything, and caught sight of a poster pinned to the wall: TO FIGHT AND TO SEARCH, TO FIND AND NOT TO GIVE UP!”

( TO BE CONTINUED)