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him up, Kronos added: “Life is sometimes like a picture that you look at from afar, but the closer you get, the clearer it becomes.” Chris Taffer, I can tell you one thing: live, and fate itself will steer your ship in the right direction.

      Hearing footsteps in the corridor, Chris said goodbye to Kronos and hurried to his workplace.

      * * *

      Barbara got sick and was admitted to the hospital, and Chris decided to take three days off work to take care of his mother. At the same time, it will be convenient to meet Minerva. After visiting his mother in the hospital, at the agreed time, Chris arrived at the fountain on Marx Avenue and began to wait. The clock already showed 20:30, and he was about to leave, but he saw a girl rushing towards him. She seemed even more beautiful to him than at the first meeting, and evoked previously unknown feelings.

      – Sorry I’m late. Guardians were arresting rebels all over the Continent, and they needed to make sure there was no surveillance.

      Chris handed Minerva the bundle of books and nodded.

      – I understand.

      – Follow me. We need to go to Luz to check the contents of these books for the presence of a code.

      Arriving at a bookstore combined with a library, the girl led Chris into a room in the middle of which stood a device that displayed information on a monitor. They handed the package to Nail, the scanning specialist, and left the room.

      Taking a seat at one of the reading tables in the middle of the room, Minerva asked:

      – What prompted you to come today?

      Chris lowered his eyes and said:

      “I spoke with Kronos, and he said that the rule of the head of the Continent would lead to a dictatorship. Despite this, he does not intend to help the resistance, since he is dependent on the opinion of the majority, and it is on the side of Mr. Roskhald. It became clear that Kronos is for the evolutionary path of development, despite the fact that this may take decades.

      “We had no doubt that he would accept neutrality, and no words would be able to awaken him.” As far as you know, Kronos is programmed to support the majority; you shouldn’t expect loyalty on his part. The goal of Artificial Intelligence is to preserve life on Earth, to prevent humanity from destroying itself in wars and revolutions. That is why he prefers not to interfere in the evolutionary process, following the opinion of the people. If radical measures are not taken that can awaken the Wise One, then very soon the head of the Continent will completely seize power.

      Chris listened silently to the girl. He understood that he could not delay, but he was worried about the methods of the rebels’ fight against the regime. Minerva continued:

      “We have a plan, and if we manage to implement it, the chair under the ruler will shake.” We want to destroy what made him gain such a high percentage in the elections – the video camera. It is necessary to disable the Phoenix satellite, thereby the influence of propagandists on the minds of people will decrease, and the people will rise up. Many people are already wondering what is happening. You are not the only one who is worried about what will happen to the Continent in the near future. Therefore, if we disable the Phoenix satellite broadcasting, thereby stopping the state propaganda, people will begin to wake up and hear us sooner.

      Trying to get his point across to Minerva, Chris said:

      – Until yesterday, Vinland, as indicated in the Code, had only one satellite – the Phoenix for civilian purposes. It appeared in geostationary orbit 19 years ago, I’m not sure that the ruler’s high rating is associated only with the satellite.

      To convince Chris of the success of the idea, the girl added:

      “By disabling the Phoenix, we will turn off the main propaganda channel, distribute messages on pirated resources and distribute leaflets on the streets, calling on them to come out and resist the authorities. It may be possible to avoid bloodshed if the ruler voluntarily resigns after seeing large-scale protests. This is the only way to make him hear the voice of the people. Therefore, we need that same list.

      – Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about him.

      “We previously planned to use it after the attack, but we can’t wait any longer.” According to the plan of the rebel high council, the attack on the Phoenix will take place in the near future. After this, people from the list must lead actions of disobedience in each of the major cities and seize power. If Nail fails to locate the list, especially the names of those serving in the Ministry of Information tower, then the operation may have to be postponed.

      At Steve’s direction, Minerva continued to tell Chris about the importance of the list and the need to find it. Realizing its key significance in the change of power on the Continent, Chris wondered where the missing document could be found. Suddenly a noise was heard outside the door, and Steve entered the hall, dragging Cheng on his back.

      – What’s happened? “Minerva immediately rushed towards them. – Is Cheng injured? Steve, put it on the sofa, I’ll take a look now…

      The wounded man was laid down, and Minerva began the examination.

      Chris felt a little strange. He wanted to leave and stay at the same time. By leaving, he will leave the injured person in trouble, and if he stays, he may be drawn into a very dubious story, and the matter will certainly not be without trouble. Does he need trouble? He always believed that issues should be resolved peacefully and certainly did not intend to act together with the rebels.

      “The drones are shooting at all the flying cars as they approach the border with Luz,” Steve muttered and, turning his gaze to Chris, frozen by the bed with the wounded Cheng, added: “You’d better wait out the danger here, and Minerva, as you can see, won’t be able to take you away now.”.

      Minerva, deftly handling a portable first aid kit, meanwhile finished the bandage and injected the wounded man with stimulants and painkillers.

      “It’s okay,” Cheng smiled sparingly. – It got a little bit annoying.

      “Yeah,” Minerva shook her head reproachfully.

      A triple knock was heard. Steve looked at his watch and asked Mr. Anand to let his comrades in and take them to a special room. As the guests followed the owner of the bookstore, Steve asked Minerva:

      – There is a meeting in thirty minutes, do you want to take part or will you stay with the guest?

      “I’ll definitely come, maybe I can be useful in something,” after thinking a little, the girl asked her question: “Where is Nigel?” Was he with you?

      “In the morning, the three of us went to the capital to meet with the hackers that Nigel found on the dark Internet. The hackers were supposed to point out to us vulnerabilities in the architecture of Phoenix, but when I saw the guard drones in the air, I realized that agents had arrived under the guise of hackers at the meeting, and we fell into a trap. Without thinking twice, I ordered everyone to return to their aircraft and scatter in different directions, agreeing to meet in Luz in the evening,” Steve paced the hall in alarm. “Cheng and I managed to return to headquarters, but Nigel has not been in touch since that very moment.”

      Listening to Steve’s story about the trap set by the guards, Minerva said with excitement in her voice:

      “Today, arrests of suspected rebel ties are taking place throughout Vinland. According to official information alone, guards captured more than twenty people without even bringing any charges. Perhaps Nigel had taken refuge in one of the safe houses to wait out today’s raid.

      “I’d like to believe that’s true,” Steve nodded. – The government has taken active action and is going to put an end to the insurgency. One thing is clear: we cannot delay.

      Chris listened carefully to Steve’s

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