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She will be uncomfortable with us! She is happy to be left alone in the warmth and dampness…

      – Hans, I’m at my wit’s end! Or you have gone crazy! If you had a talk with the toad and heard the answers, tell her it’s an order!

      – I’ve already told her!

      – What did she say?

      – She isn’t going to obey your orders, she is an independent toad, well-known and respectful in her circles. She has a high self-esteem and the second level of intelligence…

      – Ah, that’s it, she’s a toad with intelligence… So, stop feeding her!

      – Impossible, sir, she will complain to the institute that sent her, we’ll be in trouble!

      – Damn her! Go dress warmly! Lower the temperature! Offer your toad a sock, a handkerchief, or something to keep it, that is, her warm.

      – Don’t worry about her, sir, if anything, she’ll go into hibernation and…

      – To hell with her, I’m fed up! Turn on the air evacuation, I am going to catch mosquitoes myself and, perhaps, eat them, to be on the safe side! There were my wings someplace…

      – Your wings sir?

      – No time for you now, Hans!

      – I’m eager to help you, sir!

      – No, just sit on your ass and watch the toad! Install 24/7 surveillance around her! These could be links in the same chain… Trust me! You never know what to expect from toads, mosquitoes and the Russians… This could be the beginning of a big conspiracy, Hans, but we are aware, alert and are already acting!

      Quantum principle

      – Sir, we are to be in square AGZ6835YB the day after tomorrow!

      – Sure, Hans, we will!

      – Yes, but sir, we need to be in square QGAPU364F concurrently!

      – So what, Hans? It’s almost the same distance to them, we can manage!

      – I’m afraid we can’t, sir, they are in different galaxies, we cannot be in both of them simultaneously!

      – You mean, in two days we must be in two different places at the same time?

      – Exactly, sir!

      – I wonder, who planned the route?

      – I’m afraid you did, sir!

      – And who is responsible for the navigation and in addition the junior in rank?

      – I guess it is me, sir!

      – That is, we both are to blame! See, we’ve already split the problem in half! Not bad for a start!

      – It hardly helps, sir! Maybe we can send a message and cancel one of the missions?

      – Impossible, Hans, we are in another galaxy. The signal will go there for thousands of years.

      – How are we going to do the trick, sir?

      – We will apply the quantum principle!

      – How’s that, sir?

      – We will be in both places at the same time with a 50% probability!

      – Great idea, sir! But I don’t quite understand how to implement it!

      – What is it that you don’t understand, Hans?

      – Which half do we fly with this quantum principle to?

      – Hans, we are not flying at all, but flying with a probability of 50%, and in different directions!

      – That is, sir?

      – That is, we are not flying at all! If it’s easier for you to comprehend. Imagine that we fly to one place, others will look for us, and they will find us for sure, and they will also find out that we weren’t intending to fly to them at all. Is that so, Hans?

      – Yes, sir!

      – And they will also find out that we flew to others.

      – Just so, sir!

      – Respectively, we will offend them by showing that they are not important to us, but those others are! What are we getting as a result?

      – What, sir?

      – A lot of mess, actually! We will cause a competition between them on who is more important. Somebody will inevitably complain to the High Council, we’ll get troubles, prosecutions, and so forth. Do we need all that, Hans?

      – We don’t, sir!

      – That’s why I announce two days’ urgent work to troubleshoot the navigation system! Mark this in the journal and send the message to the base!

      – But the navigation system is alright, sir!

      – There you’re again! Who brought us into this jungle of the Universe? Who forced us to choose between two squares of space in the middle of the third square of space, who failed to warn us about an error in navigation? It’s all this blasted system!

      – Serving the System, sir!

      – You’d better, Hans! Mind you, in two days we may come up with something better…

      Sarai

      – Sir, we are running out of fuel!

      – What is there on the course?

      – In half an hour from us, there’s the “Caravanserai 14” base.

      – Request boarding and refueling!

      – There’s no access, sir. They have run out of fuel! In an hour of flight, there is “Caravanserai 15”!

      – Request a refueling and landing!

      – They don’t accept anybody; they are on quarantine!

      – Plague on both their Serais, Hans, on we go!

      – Next is the base “Berlogovo 13”! As the name suggests, they are the Russians, sir!

      – Request their rates and affiliation!

      – Pytchpytchshlimazlbesamemucho…

      – What The Hemp is that?

      – That’s their answer, sir!

      – Blast! Request again!

      – The same answer, sir!

      – Probably everyone is drunk as shit. They look ridiculous and disgraceful there, Hans, I am telling you, this is the Russian base!

      – What’s to be done, sir? We need to refuel, otherwise we will not reach the destination!

      – No fear! We’ll have to smile from ear to ear, drink vodka and shout Russian songs about their homeland and Cheburashka.

      – Who’s Cheburashka, sir?

      – Nobody knows for sure, Hans! It’s a small bear cub sort of creature with big round ears. Every Russian likes it so much, that may die for it.

      – Does it bite?

      – Bites haven’t been reported yet, its mouth is too small, but it has a friend, a crocodile, that one may bite for sure!

      – Those Russians, Sir.

      – Those Russians definitely, Hans! Where were you born?

      – On the Isle of Consent, sir!

      – Oh, Consent! That’s your luck, Hans! You can tell them a story about your consent, I trust you can cope.

      – Only with your help, sir!

      – And some aspirin that we pocket!

      – There

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