Right Bank.
10/27/2120.
Kuznetsk Region, RFR.
The truck slowed down and soon stopped. The whole time they had been traveling, the right bank had only appeared as a forest on one side and a steep cliff with one-story houses on the other.
Dragovich finally jumped out. The truck, like several others, stopped in the middle of the avenue along which tram tracks were laid. One branch went down, to where the column had arrived from, that is, this branch led to the left bank. On the side opposite the road from the river there was a medium-sized park, now partially occupied by various vehicles. At the entrance to the park lay a crumpled metal frame, which had once been a thoroughly made tribune - Dragovich had seen it more than once, watching TV programs from the right bank. Flaxen-Haired, meanwhile, did not miss the opportunity to show off in front of the others - he always tried to attract attention. Now he was demonstratively stamping his feet and jumping up and down. Judging by his words and tone, this was his way of expressing warm feelings for his native land liberated from the "Kom.batt" gang.
"Kom.batt" itself and its government had been in the "citadel", that is, the power plant complex, for several days now. They had been blocked there almost on the first day of the natural anomaly.
It was not the glow that forced them to drop everything and run to the fortifications, but the fact that a couple of their fortified areas had come into contact with the OMSDONs. More precisely, the initiative came from the invading forces.
Moving to the fortified town was not without meaning, but what happened next was more interesting. The Kom.batt clashes turned out to be only a remote probing - the OMSDONs were not suicidal. They probably expected that some ace in the hole would be used, for example, the destruction of fortifications with cruise missiles. Not having waited for this breakthrough strike, the OMSDON retreated to their original positions.
Meanwhile, the units left to control the city suddenly blocked the "citadel". In the SFS, in this stub, a military coup took place. The new self-proclaimed, it would be more correct, given the history of the SFS, to repeat this word more than once, immediately went to open negotiations with the central authorities. In some ways, this was a worthy move - the threat of invasion and battles was averted.
On the left bank, everything happened according to a softer scenario and "Doc" managed to save face to a much greater extent than "Kom.batt". "Doc" personally announced the start of the negotiation process, then fled to neighboring Kazakhstan and disappeared there.
The SFS and KANAR in their previous form ceased to exist. Now it was just a Super Federation. In general, it could have become a thing of the past, but the elements intervened - confusion now engulfed the entire world. Evil tongues said that this was the real Conversion of War.
Be that as it may, now sticks with white flags were sticking out of the numerous windows of the multi-story buildings on the right bank, standing along the avenue. They had been sticking out for several days. Initially, they seemed to be intended for the units that staged the coup. Now they were signaling the incoming left bankers. Contrary to previous propaganda, the locals showed absolutely no aggression towards those who arrived from the left bank. In some places, joint units had already been formed from former right bank and left bank units - the city had to be kept under control. No one had cancelled out the looters or any other similar element, not even the elements.
After the unit received the task, Dragovich and Flaxen-Haired headed west, where the tram line ran. It was easier to walk along it than along the roadway, where every now and then someone drove by.
Somewhere far ahead, a thin mast with a radar towered, which used to protect the industrial area of "Inter-Nitro". Back then, after the spring raid, it was repaired rather quickly. Now it has become a good visual landmark - the railway went God knows where.
- It looks like the very edge of the city, - said Dragovich, who already knew how the blocks were scattered here.
- There, further on, a few kilometers, begins a large multi-story city district, - answered Flaxen-Haired, - I used to live there. Before we moved out of town. A long time ago, before the Pre-War. I was little then.
Dragovich remembered that Flaxen-Haired had told them about it more than once.
- Aren't these the same neighborhoods that were visible from afar? - he asked Flaxen-H.
The terrain was such that if you drove away from the river beyond the city limits, to the airport area or somewhere nearby, only then would you see the night lights of some right-bank neighborhood, and not just one.
Flaxen-Haired confirmed Dragovich's guess.
However, further advancement brought them to a one-story village or neighborhood. There was no end in sight.
At some point, they heard aircraft noise. Looking up, both saw a single attack aircraft rushing east. It was flying low, no more than a kilometer in altitude.
The sun, shining with a light unclouded by any clouds, shone especially sharply. The green glow was almost invisible during the day, but perhaps the changes in the nature of daylight were somehow connected to the new state of the atmosphere.
On some days, the seemingly clear sky was striped with cloud stripes stretching from horizon to horizon, resembling translucent contrails. This is what cirrus clouds now looked like, smeared by stratospheric winds rushing them from west to east. Today, the sky was absolutely clear.
There were also some changes in the climate. Now, in mid-November, it was no colder here than on some September day. Dragovich could only compare it with last year, but the others knew what they were talking about.
Perhaps this was an additional factor, in addition to the military detente, prompting everyone to simple celebrations. And now, music was blaring from several courtyards at once. As in the multi-story blocks, white flags could be seen above the courtyards, dangling from exposed sticks or tubes. Here and there, there were Russian ones, signifying the end of the confrontation with the central authorities.
The sociable Flaxen-Haired did not fail to approach one of the gates and shout:
- Hello, how are you?!
The reaction was quite friendly. Dragovich never ceased to be surprised at how quickly the enmity between the two banks melted away. It must have been artificially pumped up all these years.
- How did it happen that you saw Zaperdyaev himself and did not leave a single photo, Flaxen-Haired began again.
- You're getting on my nerves! - Dragovich grumbled angrily. - And even if there had been a photo, would it have made me a millionaire?
- That's true, - Flaxen-Haired agreed.
- "The Mexican" was drinking with them for a few days, so what?
- Or maybe it wasn't him who was flying, but some super agent using his name?
- And then, what was the point of me taking a photo with him? He was a dude like any other, boring. Well, "was" in the sense of "was on a trip." - Dragovich corrected himself.
Lightning flashed somewhere above.
Flaxen-Haired cursed - like many others, he hadn't had time to get used to the fact that now and then there was flashing and rumbling in the clear sky, even without any military activity. Any such sound made him instinctively look for a mast with a lantern. They, these masts, hadn't gone anywhere and were still winking.
- It's almost as warm as ours, - Dragovich began. - Maybe it'll be time to head home soon.
- As you wish, just make sure you don't have to run back. We have to wait until everything settles down.
- How do you mean, settle down? What needs to happen to say that everything has settled down?
- Well, at least the sky will stop shining green.
- Great. Do you know when it will stop shining?
- Well, or when the postponed elections are held. I'm talking about the American ones.
- Not much better. And if it's true that Oppenheimer is now hiding somewhere in Russia, then what then?
- This is some kind of nonsense, I don't believe these rumors, - answered Flaxen-Haired. - First of all, why, and secondly, what will America do all this time?
If at first, a few days ago, Oppenheimer's escape was spread, funny to say, throughout the entire flying headquarters, like some kind of stupid joke launched by God knows who, then with each passing day they began to talk about it more and more seriously.
- Zaperdyaev said this before he went crazy, - began Dragovich. - He said that national borders would be erased and if everything goes well, then there will be that Conversion, the one as it was imagined. And if something goes wrong, then the borders will also be erased and everyone will split into factions like the SFS and KANAR, maybe someone else. Only all this is already on a global scale. Well, in the Western Bloc. Don't you remember? Well, that's where it went wrong. It's not for nothing that "Kom.batt" hid in the citadel. From there they communicate with the same ones on the other side of the world via laser line.
- I don't believe he's coordinating with anyone, - Flaxen-Haired replied. - And I don't really like this whole story. It's good, of course, that everything has calmed down, - he, as he had done many times before, found the nearest piece of wood and knocked.
- It would be better if everything went as it should and a normal Conversion happened, - Flaxen-Haired continued. - And now it's completely unclear what will happen. Who's dealing with the reactors now? I wish I knew who did everything that started the polar lights. Zaperdyaev couldn't have calculated it. They say that such an arsenal is needed for this, and such preliminary calculations and probing... Probably, "@enemy" couldn't have done it without. Now let them sort out their own rebellion or revolution. They are communists by nature, so let them bring back the communist way of life. It will be calmer for us.
- The reactors are most likely under guard. Maybe fortified, I don't know for sure. After all, whoever built the citadel wasn't such fools, - answered Dragovich.
- No, they were fools. They did it themselves, didn't know what and why. This is the Soviet Union.
- In general, I think, - began Dragovich, not particularly wanting to hear about the Soviet Union once again, - I think that we can say that everything has calmed down when we can watch regular news and when it is broadcast around the world like before. Then we can definitely say that order is being restored.
- In general, this is the right idea. If communications are restored, then this will be a sign that everyone is coming to their senses. All of humanity. The main thing now is that they don't start fighting again. But in general, I myself would like to leave here. If there are no more mobilizations, then everyone will flock from here. Some will go home, some will just leave. Before the Super Federation, the Region was dying, and it will be so again. The Soviets drove people here by force, and there is no normal life here - The climate and all that.
- Look now, everything is different, - objected Dragovich.
- And how does anyone know whether it will be for a long time or not?
Flaxen-Haired reached for the radio. Radio communication now worked completely differently than before - on a portable VHF radio anyone could hear someone who was talking from the opposite end of the Earth. Not always, but from time to time the signals got through - now they were reflected from the ionized upper layers of the atmosphere. Previously, under previous conditions, this also happened, but with completely different, lower frequencies.
Now, with a certain amount of luck and a slightly more cumbersome antenna than a portable one, anyone could even talk to someone from another continent. That's how all the rumors were spreading now. Someone was trying to organize radio broadcasting. The satellite network, which previously made it possible to listen to voice transmissions in exactly the same way, now could not break through to Earth with its signal. Lightning flashed again. The sun, which had shone with its harsh light in the afternoon, was now confidently heading towards the sunset. The evening twilight here in mid-November came indecently early. The sky began to acquire an increasingly distinct greenish tint.