Рок Сергей : другие произведения.

Mozbroorrey the phenomenon (En)

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  1. Beginning
  
  
  
  Hills, being cut by ravines, from a distance seem like a set of loafs, and their color depends on seasons. Our season is summer when each ravine is a separate world, full of snakes and spiders. In fact, the ravine in our language is designated as yar so we have two different notions. A ravine is a sandy place, and an "ovrag" is a ravine overgrown with grass and trees.
  For many years, people have been using yars as dumpsters. Even before, children loved to play war, running through these littered places and making toy weapons from sticks, wire and old belongings.
  You know that when you have no weapon, you can shoot with your finger. Very simple way. Stretch your hand, stretch your index finger, and then, you need to use militaristic sounds.
  "Tj!"
  "J-j!"
  "Ta-ta-ta!"
  "Bam!"
  "Cha, cha!"
  "Wh!"
  "BJ!"
  The choice of weapon in such cases is a very important thing. You know, Soviet stores had always been full of guns. The simplest pistol cost 15 kopecks - red plastic, no trigger, no attributes. To simulate the sound of shooting, it was necessary to produce battle cries. The more advanced models had triggers and could click, and the kids really appreciated that.
  Growing up, children began to do inventions. Popular models of weapons were made on the basis of a stick, an elastic band and a clothespin. Such a rifle was loaded with corn grain and fired at a distance of up to fifteen meters. The direct hit was painful. This fostered a fighting spirit. All brands of such weapons were single-shot, so each warrior was ready take more than one unit with him.
  Slingshot shooting was a logical continuation of the previous line. As they got older, the students were fond of chemistry and made firecrackers, the chemical composition of which included magnesium and potassium permanganate.
  There have never been great chemists on our street. Maybe I were? Yes, I learned how to get chlorine from fertilizers, being in the eighth grade, but all this was done for aesthetic reasons. Dreams, nothing more.
  Let's talk about bicycles. That time, I myself stood for hours in the "Culttovari" (Culture Goods) store, staring, dreaming. I had my grandfather's old bicycle designed for adults. Few people liked the driving method "under the frame", so called "Pod Ramkoi". Many put up with this, but it was the wrong method of biking. With the "Zif" ramp bike at my disposal, I was at heaven nine and could take part in the so-called air battles.
  OK, we emulated planes with bicycles. Imagine, that your bike is a fighter. You are a hero, Pokryshkin maybe, and you bike is LA-7 maybe, two machine guns, 1250 horsepower engine, speed 620 kilometers per hour. Your friend is a Yak-3, very maneuverable fighter. Going by the streets, we meet a group of hostile planes. BF-109, German planes.
  "Hello, there! How"s life?"
  "We wanted to go to the bread factory to beg for hot bred. But it"s closed."
   Let"s play the war."
  "OK. Which side are you on?"
  "We want to be Soviets."
  "Great. We are fascist. Do you want to use apples?"
  "Yes, I do."
  "OK. I will be throwing plumes. They are rockets."
  "Planes in WWII had no rockets."
  "OK, let it be a very heavy machine gun."
  First, we got two pockets loaded with apples to throw them to the enemy. Second, there should have been bombers, and after a time one bomber joined us. It was two-men crew plane - Mozbruker brother, Sashka and Lioshka, blond boys. Sashka worked as a pilot and Lioshka, the foolish little fink, as a shooter.
  "You"re the real Tu-2 plane," I said.
  "We are heroes," Lioshka said firmly. His voice always sounded like the groan of a pink pig.
  "Do you have medals."
  "I am real Hero of the USSR."
  "OK. Let"s fight."
  We rode as devils ignoring obstacles, jumping over bordures and pits. I"ve just recalled that bordures were very dangerous. Both Mozbruker often stumbled upon them, and it ended with deafening whining. Lioshka had an ability to yell as a siren and people though he was tortured. On this occasion, I warned him:
  "Watch out for the bordure."
  To say the truth, Mozbruker were Germans by their father Kostya Mozbruker. Their parents divorced not long ago, but the mother, Love Mozbruker, now bearing the surname Sazanskaya, changed men like gloves. The brothers called them "fathers" or "Dyadyas" which meant Uncles. One Duadya = One Uncle. This was the subject of constant gossip.
  Playing spies, were watched them sitting in bushes near their yard. The game assumed that we were monitoring the enemy headquarters. To say it honestly, it was worth it - the house of Mozbrukers was the real Fuhrer bunker. In addition, it was rumored that old man Verchenko, the grandfather of Lioshka and Sashka, served in the Gestapo in wartime.
  Then, out dogfight went on. Doing circles around the DK (the House of Culture, bit municipal building), we shouted and laughed. In any case, La-7 were always better that BF-109, but the close fight was the most interesting adventure, and it was when, catching up with the enemy, you hit him with your front wheel. If you sent your adversary to the ground making him yelling, you triumphed. However, the bomber was brought down. Liosha flew parallel to the ground and met a tree."
  "OO-e-e-e-e-e-e-e!"
  He was always a master of loud howling.
  Sasha Mozbruker howled less loudly, and it seemed that he was injured. He was a great simulator. Both of them were simulators.
  "Our crew is killed," I said, "pilots couldn"t jump out with parachutes. They died the death of the brave. Glory to the Soviet heroes!"
  
  * * *
  
  In summer, we set out for trips, and the ravines were our magic places. As we played different role games, Mozbrukers came to the slopes to break bottles. It pissed us off, and sometimes we were ready to punish them. In 1985, we performed the Ku Klux Klan operation, specially to stop them doing this. Coming to the slopes, Sashka was filled with hopes for new horizons and new broken bottles. Yura the Pan sat in the bushes and wrote down everything what happened. He worked as a scout. Coming to my house, he reported on the situation.
  "We have to punish him," I said.
  Volodya the Bear has come.
  "Let"s lure him into a trap."
  "What will you offer to do?"
  "Ku Klux Klan."
  "Oh."
  "We"" smear his face with pepper and put a hood on his head. It will serve him right."
  We had suited the action to the word. Oh, the year of 1985 was the best of all. We continued to play agents. Volodya the Bear found a place on bottom of our ravine where we could smoke lard at the stake. Doing picnics, we were the happiest boys. It was beyond all.
  Yes, we were great ravine explorers. We dreamed of finding the deepest, the darkest, and the Sand Yar was the first in our rating. We hoped that there were dinosaur bones there so we dug sand searching for different shells.
  "I think they are ancient," concluded Gorokhov.
  "I think not," I said.
  "No! No! Look at them."
  "OK."
  "Have you read "The Black Light?"
  "Certainly."
  If you remember, there was a book where two fellows came into a ravine and found a spaceship. This apparatus lay in the sand for several billion years. It landed at a time when there were no even dinosaurs on earth. The guys found an audio recording and were amazed at the incredible story. As for us, we dreamed of something like that. The Sand Yar looked fit for having a space craft in its sand.
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Autumn. Students go to school to sit their pants off, until holes, to throw their schoolbags to each over, depicting some athletes, playing the ape. A football game where an apple was besides ball was a common, standard thing for boys. Also, we often played ice hockey without ice, being like a swarm of mad subhuman examples. What was really the ice hockey without ice? Yes. It was popular.
   Our sports equipment was different. For example, hockey sticks made of mops. Cans in a role of a hockey puck. Bags as bits or pins. Other types of sports. The seething youthful energy knew no bounds.
   Now, imagine hummer throwers or even javelin throwers, their glory and greatness. Visiting dining room, student had been training in different aspects. At first, cereals throwing. Who is the best in it? Let"s clear it out. Well. You set you spoon on the brink of your plate and load some cereals into a dipper. The far end is a special device, a lever arm which forms a sort of throwing weapons.
  "Get ready?"
  "Sight 120!"
  "Fire!"
  You should hit the edge of the spoon with your palm. It flips. Moving by the energy of inertia, kasha is sent to flight. It comes as an echo of Gagarin"s performance in 1961. Eggs? No, no one could forget about them. Once they appeared on the table, an awful call was heard:
  Embryos!
  Immediately, the action unfolded with renewed vigor.
  When boys and girls were running from their classes to the dining room, it"s was matter survival to grab a spoon or else you may stay hungry. All of the spoons lay in the big aluminum basin. When the first runner grabbed it, there came the second, the third and so on. Hand by hand, a crab"s competition. Whose grasp was stronger? Sooner or later, the cup was tumbled upside down. All spoons were on the table and part of them on the floor. One, who had no desire to run and snatch a spoon from someone else's hand, could remain without a spoon at all.
  Some inventive students, of course, could bring the spoons with them. In a way, it was a rather unpopular decision because only a real kolkhoznik could do that. A student, being uncovered, could get many aliases. One boy got a nickname "The Spoon" in that manner. From time to time you could hear merry but offensive shouts:
  "Hey, Spoon!"
  "Come on, Spoon!"
  "Give me the ball, Spoon!"
  "Where is your spoon, Spoon?"
  "Do you like eggs, Spoon?"
  As for forks, they"ve often been used as swords. However, the diner time is short. The main battles have always been deployed on a football field.
  Days went by. It grew colder. The hateful subjects were becoming harder. The teachers were armed, you know. A wooden pointer was a perfect thing for upbringing. One good hit on the head of a shouting hooligan, and everything is alright. The teacher of literature had a flair for mortification. Her ability to punish was above all other skills.
  "Sergey! Look at me! What"s that?"
  "Flies, he-he."
  "Where did you get them?"
  "I don"t know."
  "But they are in the box!"
  "I want to release them."
  "Stop. Don"t do that."
  "Sorry, Ludmila Ivanovna. It"s too late."
  Being freed, the flies filled the classroom with terrible buzzing. Everybody laughed. The teacher chuckled angrily, took her eerie pointer, long and thick, and there was a blow of life. Pieces flew apart in all direction. Only think it over - she"s broken such a hard thing. V-Touch (the real name - Sergey) didn"t feel hurt. He laughed as a steed.
  Students got more joyful closer to the winter, the time for strange inventors. One boy, whose name was Yura, tried to construct jet slags in 1984. Everybody remember his story. One snowy day he was able to drive as fast as 78 km per hour. That occasion took place on Gorka which was the slope of our traditional hill. On this basis, I have to describe our neighborhood. Our town is placed at the edge of a tableland which is the remnants of the ancient ocean, the Tetis. A man, who would arrive here for the first time, seeing from the top, could think that we live in a mountain region because slopes really remained hills.
  Gorka!
  Depending on the proximity to the streets, many of Gorkas were drinking establishments of natural origin. People came to these places, sat in a circle, drank moonshine and swore loudly. Seeing a passer-by, the drunks began to shout, greeting him. In those years, it was customary offer a glass to any random person, although sometimes fights happened here.
   As you go there for a stroll, you have to pass by piles of garbage-locals throw it right behind their fences. Far ravines were clean and some kids went hiking there.
  The popular slogan was: Let's go to Gorka. Passing further, we walked to the river, to the bridge, and beyond the bridge was the village of Severny. Approaching the bridge, you could see many graffiti on its metal sides:
  
  
  Vasya is fool
  
  Kolya is goat
  
  Misha is condom
  
  I was here
  
  We were here
  
  Your mouth is bad
  
  It resembled signs of an ancient man. Under the main part of the bridge there was a technology stairway which went horizontally. It considered to be a matter of heroism to go the other side there.
  But here is your rod. You sit here, you are fishing hoping to catch a greatest carp. As usual, you het only tiny roach and minnows. Cars run over you head with dull creeping sound. You are silent. Fishing is a holy occupation. You can tell after this:
  Guys. I was fishing.
  You can be proud of that.
  What else about Yura? Producing his inventions, he lost his teeth on tests. Real boys are stunt-masters. Their slogan is - be like me while I am alive.
  I can tell you one case. We were sitting on slope doing nothing, talking about nothing, dreaming to get to Islands. A group of hot fellows approached the clay road that led down, and it was a very steep place.
  "Look, blokes," said one of fellows, "learn while I am alive."
  He started. Then, he rolled over and flew, and in our slang such a fly had a definition "to fly like a fish." He landed on his belly, holding up a cloud of dust.
  "Mmm," he moaned with pain, "never repeat this, blokes."
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  2. Pop-music, pop-actions
  
  
  At that time, Lioshka was already in the second grade, and Sashka was either in the fifth or in the sixth, and the most popular music was "Modern Talking", "Joy", Pougachiova, Leontiev, Antonov. Although Lioshka was a great romantic, no cared about it. Having saved 10 kopecks, he bought notebooks and drew funny faces. The main thing here was that his mother, Love Sazanskaya, did not see it. The mother was a strict educator. She usually used a belt.
  One could hear something thunderous which could tell us about how powerful were loudspeakers of Lenka Bakulina"s cassette player. It was a big topic as we dreamt about good audio devices. The song was "Bolero" by Fancy. Yeah, having this she was a princess. Lenka dressed brightly almost like her oldest doll, which now was dusted in the corner. Her name was Ira, she was plastic and pale gal. One eye cracked, one hand was absent. As for now, Lenka was indifferent to her considering herself as quite a grown-up. The music ran:
  
  Let"s not be the ones outside
  Looking at the world go by saw you standing all alone
  Wasted time has gone for good
  Play no more, its understood...
  
  
   She resembled an actress of corps de ballet. She undressed and dressed again. She put on her newest dress, dotted, "Adidas" cap, fashion sneakers "Botas" and blue jeans.
  She came out to the street where she met Lioshka who was loafing. He adored to wander here and there, trying to find something edible. The enthusiast idler, young and funny fellow of 8 years old, he liked to eat green fruits calling them "bubki".
  "Oh! This is you," Lenka said "Come here, boy! Did you find bubki?"
  "What do you want?" he asked proudly.
  "Do it with me! I am the teacher!"
  Lenka began to spring round, singing:
  "Oh, ballet, ballet, ballet! O-o-o".
  She sang it with the hope that she was a skillful dancer.
  "Well," Lioshka said ",Billet, billet, billet".
  He started to twist.
  "Leg up!" Lenka commanded.
  Lioshka lifted his leg, slipped badly and fell down right into the mud. Lenka began to laugh like a horse. It was the real heart-rending neigh. Lenka raised her leg and her jeans had burst. She ran away with wild screaming. Lioshka had nothing but to go home to hide his dirty trousers lest his mother should observe it. Otherwise, it would be a nice flogging.
  It was darkening. Mom, Babushka and Gran-dad were sitting in the kitchen. Sashka and Lioshka were in the room where they composed several poems and proverbs for the future songs. Here, Sashka went ahead as a real poet. One of the texts spoke:
  
  
  Three minutes, the hours.
  The sign of sausage is ours.
  
  The minutes of the sausage
  It"s watch, not the porridge.
  
  The bagel, it"s a sign of you,
  It"s the watches too.
  
  You and me
  Is nothing and bread.
  
  You and me,
  And the bagel instead.
  
  But no butter.
  Only dry bagel"s mutter.
  
  If you want many things
  Lekhosha tried to do this.
  
  
  Here, I can make a remark. Mozbruker brothers had many nicknames, which was due to their weird behavior. Lioshka is a diminutive for Liosha, Alexey. Also, Allyafa, Allyafontent, Lefontent, Lehonten, Gnida, the Crum, Lehosha. I have to add one thing- in the poultry yard there was two little chickens who had the same name. Both of them were Lehosha.
  So, Lehosha was ready to play. He put on mother"s dress. He found a little white bonnet to try it on. Lastly, he used a lipstick so that he looked like a very smart girl. He began to dance and sing.
  "Ballet, ballet, ballet".
  Doing this he entered the kitchen, waving a scarf like a madam. A cap with sour cream had fallen on Granma"s head.
  "Oy-oy-oy," Lioshka commented fearfully.
  "Lioshka!" the mother yelled angrily.
  Perhaps it was a very bad solution. Lioshka tried to escape when she grabbed a broom. Granddad had tooled up with a harsh brutal knout. Lioshka got away and was running through the raspberry bushes in the vegetable garden as one the doors led right there. The pursuit was very noisy.
  Our neighbors had been always eager to watch a chase of that kind. Sergey "Sepa" Cropko was very enthusiastic about sitting in the bushed on slope, near their garden, waiting for something interesting. Such things happened so often that we had a good time being good viewers. Maslakov, his friend, took great pleasure in watching the chase.
  Meanwhile, the action was in full swing. The mother slipped badly and flew into the garden restroom. Grandma stepped over her and ran on her fours, continuing to move through the raspberry. The dress of Lioshka was too long so that he hooked on a tree. The yellow leaves flew down. Continuing her evil running, Mother Luba looked like she was ready to tear the son into pieces. Alas, it was not him that was on her way so that she had a head-on collision with a whitewashed tree.
  The nightfall was coming, but the pursuit was going on. For Lioshka, it was good to find a real shelter, such as a shed or maybe a loft, and now he came running to the shed where he hit his forehead on the board which was set vertically. The Mother and the Grandpa ran in next to him. That board propped an overhang which was full of different stuff like wooden boxes, bolts, nuts and something like that. All that articles fell down with awful sound. Lioshka whined. The Mother got through the logjam where she confused Sashka with Lioshka. Then, she captured Sashka and, holding his ear, led him for execution, the standing on a salt.
  Being naïve, Lioshka came back, but punishment was inevitable. Justice has been done. Sashka was released, Lioshka was standing on salt with his knees, undergoing pangs of conscience.
  With a sense of accomplishment, Mother Luba went to a disco which was held in the DK, a big social house near-by. Those years DKs were the main places for refreshment. "Modern Talking" was the most popular band of that year, people like to hum:
  
  Brother Louie, Louie, Louie
  Oh, she's only looking to me
  Oh, let it Louie
  She's undercover
  Brother Louie, Louie, Louie
  Oh, doing what he's doing.
  So, leave it Louie
  Cause I'm a lover
  
  As we know, a very inventive and rather cunning singer, Sergey Minaev, sang those songs, inventing his own texts. Surely, you well remember the song "VDNH! A resident is waiting for at VDNH!"
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  3. Different things
  
  In the pale morning sparrows tweeted, causing negative thoughts. Sashka yawned, there was nothing to do than to prepare his suitcase for lessons. He was in for a history lesson which he considered dangerous, so he was full of controversy thought. This subject was the most unloving for him. I have to say that many of students hated the History for no one knows what. The historian, Maria Alexandrovna, was strict and could maintain discipline during the lessons. However, indiscipline exemplars had many chance to get a blow in the head by a pointer. You have to remember, our teachers had always used pointers as a weapon of retaliation. Also, there was a rule - girls want to learn, boys want to remain dumbasses.
  And here, Sashka came to school, and the lesson of Geography started. The task was to fill the contour maps. Being a master loafer, he couldn"t do such simple thing, but he tore the cover from an atlas and put it on maps. Doing so, he hoped to deceive the teacher, but there was nothing dangerous, and he didn't get a bad grade.
  At a break, students pushed each other and played latki. You"re possibly don"t know that game, and the hell with it. Latki is the stupidest game of all. The essence of this game is to run after each other, shouting "Latka!" and clap each other.
  Then, the Russian language lesson was coming as something inevitable and formidable, and Sashka got deuce, as ever. He was red as a tomato all through his breakup.
  As for Lioshka, all day long Liosha spent standing in the corner sucking his finger and twitching his leg. For you, it"s not easy to understand this strange thing. Yes, Liosha sucked his finger. Parents and teachers tried to wean him from this bad habit, but in vain.
  As Sashka returned home, and he could see Lenka going along the rows of her flowers, in the yard.
  "Hello!" he cheered her.
  She smiled, being in a pose of a pop-singer.
  After half an hour, she was standing in the yard talking to her mother in a loud voice. Aunt Masha, Lenka"s mother, so called Marii, had a very sever face, as ever. Here, she tried to play a role of a yard teacher.
   "Why don"t you do your lessons, Sashka?" she enquired.
  "Let Lenka watch yourself."
  "What do you know what?"
  "What, what?"
  "What?"
  "Wwaht!"
  "Sashka!"
  "Shka, shka!"
  "What you said? Boy, I'll whup you!"
  "Fatty!"
  "What you said to?"
  "You heard! Horse!"
  Aunt Masha took a brick and broken it on the Sashka"s head. He was lucky. He was diehard. But a fragment of the brick met Aunt Masha"s forehead, and one splitter got right into her open mouth, so she had to shut up. Waving her hands as a big dancing bird, she moved forth to get Sashka as her main motto was "I will get you". Sashka dodged so that she rammed the fence and broke down several boards.
   "Brute! Ha-ha!" Sashka was in triumph.
  Another strike aimed its goal. Rex, the Sashka"s dog, jumped out, got to the street with desire to bite everyone. It tried to approach Aunt Masha but her fists worked like a rotor mechanism, quickly and fatally. The dog was thrown to the side like a rag
  "Oh, you snake!" where was a voice.
  Sashka"s mother approached with threatening shouting. The fight broke out. Aunt Masha crashed the gates of her fence as she punched it several times, so at the end the gates broke in two.
  Very soon the direction of events has changed. Mother was chasing Sashka as Aunt Masha revealed her the truth.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  September sun was warm. Crows, hanging in the sky, looked like flying pieces of black issue. A blue "ZIL" truck, making gurgling sound, drove across the street. A red tractor, the sound of which resembled a knock of a skeleton with teeth, slowly moved in the parallel street. Geese loudly roared. Chickens sang their songs. In the puddle that was in the middle of the street, ducks swam.
  Lioshka said to Sashka:
  "Let"s catch Dunka."
  "Well!"
  Dunka was the tricolor cat about which Sashka composed a proverb:
  
  The sticks of sausage
  Alike cat and watch.
  
  All the local cats were afraid of Dunka. In reality, her skin was of five colors. Dunka was quite a tender with boys. At the same time, she could beat and bite and be vary angry with other cats and even dogs.
  "Here she is!" Lioshka said solemnly.
  "Aha!"
  Dunka was sitting on the fence top nursing her kitten, so called Cesar, a person with a very sunny character.
  "Whom will we take?" answered Lioshka "Dunka or Cenzura?"
  "Both."
  Sashka was sneaking up from one side, Lioshka from another. Sashka started and jumped on the fence. Dunka stretched him. Sashka yelled.
  "See," Lioshka bawled with even more delight, "Borzenj!"
  Yes, it was the truth. Low and black, Borzenj ran by the street with barking. It was a dog which was living at three yards at once.
  "Mama! Mamai!" Lioshka shouted with fear.
  Sashka and Lioshka rushed away, escaping from Borzenj. As to the dog, it had no ideas. It was going, nothing else. But all of a sudden Dunka leapt on his back from the fence. She saddled the dog, and they started their running together, howling and mewing.
  
  
  
  4. "Awesad" pop-band
  
  
  There was a gathering. "Awesad" pop-group got together for training music skills. It was the band of our street. Each man or woman had known about "Awesad". As to instruments, Lioshka fetched balalaika. Sashka was a drummer. In his disposal were two buckets playing the role of barrels, one wooden box, several bottles and a piece of plywood. Vovka Vorobiov, neighbor and Sashka"s classmate, took a glockenspiel. Lenka had some ability in playing little children synthesizer. Kepeese girls, all five of them, who lived next to Mozbruker"s yard, came to participate the action. Lenka Kepeese had a little childish grand-piano. He sister Valya took plastic accordion. It was rather stiff so it was worth killing someone by blow to one"s head. Katya had the accordion of the same model.
  A repetition started. Sashka composed a song.
  
  Two dogs were running.
  I knew one of them.
  But the sausage was hanging,
  And there was a lamb.
  
  But Borzenj just appeared.
  Fearful as he was,
  And people disappeared,
  My heart cross.
  
  Save your sausage.
  Save it forever.
  Don"t forget about courage.
  Be valiant as ever.
  
  After the repetition all the neighbors gathered together. Slavka, another local boy, came in front and tried to announce the performance. But it was not simply because of his stammering.
  Sashka commenced to beat his drum kit. The bottles were very sonorous. Lenka played her instrument. Almost immediately she finished. Vovka tinkled by the glockenspiel. Lenka Kepeese began to whine showing back vocals. Lenka was the lead vocalist.
  
  He is running
  He is running
  He is running
  He is running
  
  By narrow streets
  By the streets that is very narrow
  
  Slavka started to play the covers of pans.
  
  Very dark street
  Very awful one
  Very terrible
  Very horrible
  
  And all shouted in chorus:
  
  Borzenj!
  
  Lenka mewed with her synthesizer. All the artists sang in somehow sepulchral voices.
  
  And you!
  You!
  Of course
  You
  Fear not!
  Fear not!
  
  So they started playing, all at once singing in chorus.
  
  And the signal spot
  It"s shining.
  It"s shining.
  It"s shining.
  
  Oh. Yeah.
  Oh. Yeah.
  Oh. Yeah.
  Million scarlet roses
  
  At this moment Sashka stroke the bottle so that it collapsed and fragments got right into hair of Maria Nikolaevna.
  "I will get you!" she made a heart-rending outcry.
  
  5. Mozbroorrey the phenomenon
  
  
  It was darkening. Leaves rustled. It was warm and quietly. Waves of old heat were going from asphalt. Crickets whistled. A plane was buzzing somewhere in height, persuasive and small. There, passengers must have been sleeping or peering down, with their dreams of the current deeds. But there was something buzzing simultaneously. What it was? The sky was dark and deep blue, beautiful in its transparency. Closer to the dark, contours of trees resembled big unknown animals.
  Sashka was sitting on the fence top being busy with nothing. Then, he had his eyes out and nearly fell off.
  "Green ray!" he yelled.
  Indeed, the green ray was raising from the road. A flash glimpsed in the sky and beams of multi-color light scattered. A greenish glow appeared, going down, getting immensity with each second. It was happening so fast that people couldn"t say a word.
  "I will get.... Het....," Marii, Tiotya Masha opened her mouth, rushed forward and disappeared behind her wicket.
  Chickens clucked in horror. The glow, now looking as if being a sort of liquid, was spreading rapidly taking all the sky. Other green outbreaks blinked. From the south, long red lines stretched and a structure was formed from them. The red spots crossed roof of heaven and a whistle came again. Connection, blotches formed a structure. There appeared strict lines, curves, arcs and something else. After a time, this formation fixated itself in one position, and people, with their mouths open, stared up, firstly without words. Soon, they started quite discussions, partly petrified with horror. No one could believe, that here, in our time, such thing can happen without orders.
  Voices were heard:
  "What"s that?"
  "Oh, God."
  "Aliens?"
  "No."
  "Most likely, this aurora borealis."
  "Fool! We live in the south."
  "I am not a fool. But you are fool!"
  "I think this is a secret test."
  "No."
  "Why?"
  "Goat!"
  "Now I'll give you a snap."
  Never before had people seen anything like it. Even the old people did not talk about this. I must say that there was no talk of flying saucers on TV at that time.
  
  
  The strange sightseeing finished after an hour, but the rest of glow was present in some parts of welkin.
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Tuesday. For Sashka, it wasn"t a hardest day. It was five lessons but all of them were rather easy. First of all, Sashka had no desire to get up. But Lioshka had. His bed was near Sashka"s. He twitched. A leg of the bed broke. Lioshka popped out from the room and raced to a toilet. Yes, the previous evening he had eaten a lot of bubkas which meant green, unripe berries.
  Sashka woke up hearing Babushka"s voice outside as she talked to someone.
  
   talking with somebody, outside. Sasha tried to make out the words of the conversation
  "What? Yak tse? Yes. It was the Lord. He went over in the sky. Yes. Yak tse? No. Yes. Jesus Christ walked along. No. Yes."
  Sashka dressed and came out. Babushka was talking to a tall guy who stood near a wicket. His appearance was strange as he looked like a over fashioned hippy, long haired and pale. Sashka approached. The guy said:
  "My, compliments boy! What"s your name?"
  "Alexander".
  "Listen to me, Alexander. We had a long conversation about yesterday"s glowing. Had you seen it?"
  "Yes."
  "This glow had a name. It"s "Mozbroorrey the phenomenon."
  Since Sashka's surname was Mozbrucker, he decided that he was being bullied.
  "It"s Zapodlo," he said, and this word had many meaning including "more than bad", "leave me alone", etc.
  As a fact, all members in his family had different last names. Both Sashka and Lioshka were Mozbrukers, the mother"s name was Sazanskaya, Grandfather and Grandmother were Verchenko. Last year, their mother changed her last names twice and was Petrova and Akopyants. As we know, there were a lot of ambiguities and legends. For example, grandfather in the war served the Nazis, and the children called him a policeman. Grandmother was a moonshine developer. As for a current father, there was none. No, recently father Kolya was still available only periodically.
  "Isn"t your last name Mozbroorrey?" enquired the guy.
  "Yes," Sashka lied without a reason.
  "Oh, wonderful! Alexander Mozbroorrey! But are you a relative of Franko Mozbroorrey, the Italian scientist?"
  "I don"t know. Maybe. Maybe not."
  "Schwartz. Come here," said the guy.
  Another tall guy came up. It was a tall curly haired blond with freckles on his face.
  "But who are you?" Sashka asked.
  "We came to observe the glow of "Mozbroorrey". We live in the inn, we came from abroad and stayed in the neighbor town of Ogurtsovo. But here, in Glazov, we rent a hut. Very old hut. However, I would advise you to do your own observation. I believe, you can be popular. Having such a great last name, you will succeed in a short time. If you have any ideas call 212-55. My name is Snow Rubber, Joe Snow Rubber, but Joe is my penname. I am Yuri, Yuri Sergeevich. You can call me as you want. This is Willy Shwarckophf.
  The second guy bowed.
  "No, we have to go, Sasha Mozbroorrey. Say hello to your family. Tell them about your mission. We must go. Great things await us. We have to go to the place and do a soil analysis. After that we need to call to Paris. But you cannot call to Paris from your town of Glazov. We will have to go to the regional center and order the call. Good luck to you, Sasha Mozbroorrey."
  Sashka prepared for school and said to Lioshka:
  "Go to Sergey. Tell him to find a proper place for observations."
  "Where?"
  "In the Yar. We did the same thing with Vovka a while ago. As for the further, you should find binoculars. Understand?"
  "Aha."
  Sashka came to the school where he immediately met his schoolmates - Pueza, Derkachov, Vorobiov, Myasov. Also, there was Sokolov, a fat dude from the parallel class. For a time, they discussed the main question, namely, the strangest phenomenon happened last might. There were very many opinions. The teachers also talked about mysterious structures in the sky. The physics teacher spoke loudly in the hallway:
  "It's them. These are flying saucers!"
  The Tractor instructor, whose nickname was Rabbit, laughed merrily. Not everyone knew that at night the Rabbit comes to the schoolyard on a bicycle and steals bricks intended for the construction of a military town.
  Sashka said that a foreign expedition had arrived in Glazov to study the alien aurora. He also lied that he received a direct task to study this phenomenon. He his classmates them to visit him in the evening.
  Two last lessons were the Labor what was the typical time for concentrated loafing. Only one thing stuck in his head like a splinter, and he rushed towards a telephone cabin. He had one rusty copeyka, as ever. Sashka hit a payphone by his feast, picked up a receiver, hit once more and dialed 212-55.
  He waited for a long while but nobody answered. He hit the apparatus again and then, a militiamen approached. It was a classical man in blue jacket.
  "Well, well, well. Breaking the telephone.... Well."
  "No! No!" Sashka exclaimed.
  "Let"s go. This is the end."
  "But dyadenka! The sound was bad, I only tried to improve it."
  "Oh. You unscrew the dynamic? Well-well-well. It is necessary to write it in the protocol."
   "Not! It"s mine!"
  "Changing?"
  "Yes. No. I only!"
  "All is clear with you. Come on. We have to go to the children room of militia."
  So the militiaman led Sashka.
  "What"s your name, boy?"
  "Sasha."
  "But last name?"
  "Mozbroorrey. No. Verch..."
  "Where do you live?"
  "Pervomayskaya, 200."
  "It"s the wrong number. It doesn"t exist. Tell the truth!"
  "No. It exists."
  "There is no such number!"
  "Yes! Yes!"
  "But honestly, Sasha! Tell the truth, or it will not be worse for you."
  "Well. I am..."
  "Where?"
  "There."
  "Who are your parents?"
  "My mother.... Love."
  "Love? I see. But what"s her last name?"
  "Verch.... Sulusu."
  "Sulusu?"
  "No. No. Mozbroorrey."
  "Hmm. Verchenko?"
  "Yes, dyadenka"
  "Luba. Well. Go. You are free. Send greeting to Love... Rather, to your mother. Go. But if I will meet you again.... With telephone.... Luba. Love. But children are not love...."
  Of course, that dyadenka couldn"t be the one of the multiple fathers, but Sashka didn"t know the meaning of word "lover". Even worse. Luba, Lobov, Love - that time she had a great popularity among men in Glazov. And here, Sashka felt himself happy - everything got away with him.
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  As it was arranged, in the evening all boys have met at Sashka"s place. Everyone went to Danilov where in the special room a camera was standing on a tripod. Several copybooks were on a table. The Moon was bright, silver and insolent. It was dark outside. It seemed that a big time needed to wait till something could appear. Meanwhile, Babushka called Sashka in a loud voice. Her squeaky voice was floating along the street, ricocheting from one fence to another:
  "Unuchek!"
  "Damn," Sashka said, "It"s she. Again!"
  "Unucheck," uttered Peuza ironically.
  "I am now....I will return."
  Sashka ran out of the shed and directed homeward. Then, several yells came from there.
  "Home! Go home!"
  "Ba!"
  "Home! Home! Home! Home! Or you"ll be knouted."
  It was a very dangerous moment in view of the fact that grandmother had already heated herself and was ready to start pursuit.
  That very moment....
  Two green rays appeared on the opposite side of the river, at some distance from each other. They connected and a hissed, and t was like wired, full of power, connected and began to spark. After being merged into one big light item, the ray hit the land. Grass took fire, and an awful rumble was heard. With that, clouds of green with some structures inside rose up, forming something surrealistic.
  There was a sense that something huge was ready to come out from that fog, and when it happened, the thing resembled a dark shadow lightened at the edges. Looking at this closer, as far as it could be seen from a distance, one could distinguish a strange fissure. Something jumbled, something dissipated, and a roar, something of a voice, came, and there were some noted.
  "Yu!"
  "Yu!"
  "Yuiss!"
  How far it was? No less than two or three kilometers from the hill where the viewers were. Red waves came forth after that. A new structure had something of scattered bones of an unknown creature as if someone intended to frightened people. Disappearing, this show of light left some patches of mold-like fragments.
  Those, who saw it, were convinced that the earth was visited by representatives of the interstellar mind. Nevertheless, the night came into his own, gradually putting out black and white TV-screens in windows. Unknown spirits, leaving their nests, started their promenades through people"s minds, generating dreams.
  That was not all, and the one who knew this was Sashka who came out of his room, climbed on a tree and began to do visual research. He had sharp eyesight. He was right doing this as after some time there was a second round which started with a blue signal rocket launched on the other side. A blue oval, rather big, flickering with a faint blue light, appeared right after this, and another "Yuiss" sound was heard. Flash. Another, even brighter. Explosion.
  Sashka jumped down from a tree, rushed to the phone and dialed 212-55. A hoarse voice answered him.
  "God damn! Who is it?"
  "This is Sasha".
  "The right leg of the bitch! Who are you?"
   "This is me. This is Alexander. Mozbroorrey"
  "Oh, no. Go to hell, blunt mozbrurian snout! Pig!"
  "No, I am not a pig."
  "I smell this. You phone from your stall to deprive people from dream. You smart."
  "Fool!" Sashka shouted in response.
  "What? Oh, what do you want, moron? Who sent you to me? Who are your bitch-mother? Is it you? Mos... Mos who? Mos... Mos...."
  "You are lofan yourself."
  "Go to hell, die not and never disturb honest people!"
  Sashka went to bed.
  The next day lessons didn"t frighten him as there was nothing frightening. Sashka has always been a good loafer and not enthusiastic about subjects. He liked cartoons, trips to the pool for fishing, though the pull was without fish. Also, he was extremely keen on watching goods in the "Culttovari" shop as many of his peers did.
  Sashka stood rooted to the spot, staring at motorcycle parts. His mouth was open, his eyes wide. Maslakov, popular high school student, was standing near him, and he was buying a phone with big dialer.
  "Oh, it"s you," he said gloomily, "what are you doing here, Mozbruker?"
  "What? What is what?" answered Sashka in his in your favorite stupid manner.
  "As I may see, you don't want to get smart, but look, this is phone. I"ve just bought it."
  "But why?"
  "Oh. Don"t be a fool. It"s phone. I just needed it."
  "What do you want to do with it?"
  Maslakov wagged his finger at his temple.
  "You. What do you do with the phone?"
  "Hmmm.... Mother rings. She rings to..... Dyadya Kolya. Dyadya Sasha. Papa Sasha. Papa Kolya. Dyadya Zhenya. Dyadya Vasya. Dyadya Hacheek. Dyadya...."
  "What?" asked a man standing beside.
  "So you may see, Mozbruker. Dyadyas. They are. This is the use of the telephone. Don"t you see? But what for you are here?"
  "I came to see a camera".
  "You are able to use it, aren"t you?"
  "Certainly"
  "And how?"
  "Very simple. Chik. And all.
  "Chik?"
  "Yes".
  "Well. Show it"
  Sashka raised his right hand and displayed a fig.
  "That"s not it. You can"t," concluded Maslakov.
  "I can!"
  "Well. A film. Of what use is it?"
  "I've heard about a red film. If you shoot with red film, then all the people in the frame will be naked."
  "Oh, it"s the case. Where do you want to get a red film? As you see, there is no red one here, in this shop."
  "I will take it in Moscow."
  "Oh, great choice. Do you have relatives in Moscow?"
  "No. Yes."
  "Honest boy. How will you be doing your shots?"
  "Chik, and all."
  "Chik again?"
  "Y... Yes."
   "Well. But for what photographic paper is?"
  "To be embed"
  Maslakov pointed at a big pack of photographic paper "Samshit". Sashka opened his mouth and sat down on a chair where thumbtacks were scattered.
  "OK," concluded Maslakov, "stupidity can desensitize a person."
  Sashka stood up as if nothing had happened and thumbtacks showered down like confetti."
  "You should go to Fotokruzhok . They will teach you. Go right now. Ask for Lunushkin. Your classmate. You have to reach it, and your brain will be alright."
  Sashka paid no attention to this conversation. Everything was jumbled in his skull, but one thought still remained immanent: he was ready for podvigs , he was confident that aliens exist. After he had done his lessons, badly though, he ran out to find a free payphone. There this was that some phones on streets which could be turned on with the help of fist. One good hit and the phone started working. So, Sashka was ready to dial "212-55".
  Long beeps. Jangled noises. Distant speech. A snap.
  "This is Sasha Mozbroorrey".
  "Oh. It"s great that you"re calling to me. Long time no see! What"s new, Sasha Mozbroorrey?" asked Joe Snow Rubber.
  
  
  
  
  "I don"t know. I am..."
  "You are the same Mozbroorrey who lives at Pervomayskaya, 4?"
  "Yes. But I"ve made a call last night and somebody was yelling at me as hell".
  "It"s tenants. They are living with babka. Some worker returned from lager and was angry. But babka was on her guard."
  "What"s the babka?"
  "Simple babka ."
  "Did you see the glow over the river?"
  "Ah. The glowing of Mozbroorrey. Well. That is how it calls, you should know this.
  "Sorry, my babka was chasing me when it happened."
  "Maybe she"s guilty?"
  "Why? There was something green and blue, tu-tu-tu-tu-tu."
  "Tu-tu-tu? All right. What else?"
  "Something has blown up. Vu-vu-vu-vu-vu."
  "Vu? Great stuff. I will go to the City tomorrow. Have you got a camera?"
  "No"
  "It"s a pity. But I fetch it for you."
  
  
  
  6. Sudden message.
  
  
  Sashka didn"t want to study subjects. It was four weeks before vacations. He didn"t do homework as other boys did. However, perseverance in doing lesson considered Zapodlo which meant that only fools and weaklings were interested in. Nevertheless, boys adored Labor lessons because there they could do something with their hands. They liked woodworking Machines. The teacher"s nickname as That Hat, but sometimes there was other man whose nickname was Rabbit. It was a very funny old fellow with horse teeth. His second name was Zubenko which meant something like "Teethman". Not all boys liked sport lessons because they wanted to play football, but teacher forced them to do monotonous repetitious tasks.
  Sashka woke up. It was rather dark in the street, but the light was coming in by each minute.
  Washing his face, he could hear a radio playing, and it was "The Pioneer Dawn" program. Then, he came to have a breakfast and saw Lioshka coming in from the street.
  "Lioshka? What"s the story?" Sashka asked. "Why don"t you sleep?"
  "I am... I was.... I"ve been"
  "What?"
  "I had a walk. I saw him. Maslakov! Stupid moron. Snotter. Soplyack . He held long wires in his hands?"
  All of a sudden, something clicked and speaker"s voice on the radio had changed, and there was another one talking about something transcendent.
  "Hello, boys and girls! This is the Pioneer Down. Now we shall talk you about.... Not about Mozbroorrey the Phenomenon. But.... Don"t touch capacitor!"
  
  A Hiss. A Strange sound.
  
  "Moscow time is 7.45."
  It was a woman"s voice. But it has changed again.
  
  "Another session of Mozbroorrey the phenomenon took place on 25"th of September, 1985. It wasn"t for the first time, but that time scientists were able to put some data down. It was running under support of two Super Yuisses, several strange rays and even one half-transparent Mozbrurian Face. What it is? Our specialist, Kosten, had told us about this.
  Yep... It"s very odd when the Phenomenon works with the support of Mozbrurian Face...
  But....
  I think, it was quite a precedent that Super Yuisses revealed themselves for there should be some proper conditions for this.
  But they were green!
  Nope. The beams. They were green, and it rendered some fog around, and even flaming gases. I would compare it to colossal puff of flame suddenly and violently squirted out from the land. A huge outbreak of incandescent gas is obviously linked to process which took place somewhere in the core.
  But UFOs?
  Oh, it"s a difficult event.
  What meant those jets of fire?
  I think, an alien story is perfectly valid.
  Could you tell me about scientists who are busy in the project?
  Oh, there too many of them. Professor Maltsev is at the helm. We are the creatures who inhabit this earth, we are for them as monkeys to us. It depends on the intellectual side of man. What lives there?
  That time something cracked and the translation had interrupted.
  "Sashka! Go to school" a strict voice of mother came.
  Although Sashka believed that Lioshka was more frivolous, this was not the case. While he was getting ready for school, Lioshka made entries in his diary.
  
  - it happened
  
  - Mozbrurian face. Here should be some connection between
  
  - Super Yuiss. I need binoculars
  
  - Green Ray!
  
  
  The first lesson was Geography. The teacher talked about the nature of the USSR, and half of the students were picking their noses. As a rule, Sashka never took his school diary with him because he knew well all the power of knout, the whip, no matter who punished him. Each bad mark could render tempest in a glass of water and subsequent torture. The teacher, a woman, tall as log, told her stories with reluctance watching dull boys yawning. One of pupils, nicknamed Peuza, liked to fart during the lessons, and he did it in a hidden way. On that occasion he failed, and all the class discussed it during the break.
  "Nothing special," Peuza said, "I can do it better. I am the champion."
  At the next lesson which was the English lesson the teacher, Alexandra Ivanovna, asked pupils to retell the news. Tanya Carpova said:
  "In the "Pioneer Dawn" there was a story about how our cosmonauts work at orbit."
  "Well," said the teacher, "What else? What about conditions in the orbit? Sorokina?"
  "In the orbit conditions are conducive," answered Sorokina.
  "Very well. Will their flight be prolonged or not? Also, what named of cocoanuts you know? Petrov?"
  "Gretchko, Leonov."
  "Very good."
  Alexandra Ivanovna had very long and good-figured but unshaved legs and boys often, with or without conclusions, peered at them. Her voice was like a honey, and she never scolded anyone. In contrast to this, the German"s language teacher was very and her nickname was Toad.
  "Mozbruker. What"s new?"
  "I...," Sashka embarrassed. "There was about Mozbroorrey the phenomenon. Yes. A German"s scientist had discovered it".
  "Oh. Now, pull yourself together and tell us what are you talking about?"
  "Extraterrestrial living forms! They visited you. They visit us. Yes, us was seeing."
  "Do you want to say, that it was something like..."
  "Yes. Something like this!"
  The class broke with laughter.
  "You are laughing, but it was tangible. This morning they did a message, in the "Pioneer Dawn" about this."
  "And... You said that it had a name of Mozbroorrey?"
  "Yes!"
  The burst of laughter repeated.
  Sashka sat down. He was ashamed.
  There was a lunch after that lesson and children ran to the dining room not to eat but to gobble up what was prepared for them. Doing this, they cursed and fought. There was nothing to tone down the process. To say the truth, eggs were flying like shells. As for the teachers, they got used to that considered them baboons. There was nothing wrong for them to give nicknamed to students. Sashka had an underground name "The Moscow", and even pedagogue knew this.
  For lunch, there was soup, a cutlet with potatoes, and a casserole. Curd casserole was considered a delicious dish. Some of the students ate it, and some threw it at each other. One of the important conditions for the dinner was the battle on spoons. The fact is that the spoons usually lay in a large aluminum bowl. The disciples grabbed spoons and forks with special brutality.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Now we should remember one thing which happened with Lioshka next morning. As was his wont, he woke up early and advanced to the ravine where he had his morning dreams rotated under influence of his desire. It couldn"t be something of the sleepwalking because he didn"t sleep, but he was the only one who did it.
  Now, he came up with idea that he could find something in the ravine. He descended, not far, scattering debris with his feet. Neighbors liked to discuss the other neighbors about who and what throws into the ravine. Love Mozbruker, rather Sazanskaya, Lioshka"s mother, used to fight them. As we know, her sparring partner was Maria Nikolaevna, Lenka's mother. Many called Sasha and Lioshka morons, while Love Stepanovna was considered a prostitute. Also, they said about grandfather Stepan that he was an old Nazi and collaborated with the Hitler personally.
  Encouraged by his own imagination, Lioshka began digging through the garbage and found a strange box
  "Hurray!" he exclaimed
  Running home, he opened the box and took out a thick notebook containing drawings and text. The cover of the notebook read:
  
  Extraterrestrial Family. Mozbroorrey. Mozbrook population
  
  Oh! Liosha almost fainted.
  It was a great discovery, but what did it promise? The text in the notebook was handwritten, but in a very good handwriting. There were a lot of pictures, they had strange objects and a lot of inhuman faces. A short list of the Mozbrook population looked like this:
  
  Commosbrew
  
  Zipper
  
  Mozbreng
  
  Hero in Red Pants
  
  Elephant-Yu-Yu
  
  Mozbrusant
  
  Ordinary Bzdu
  
  Relic Bzdu
  
  Superjuiss
  
  Gnidarewiss
  
  Ruiss Blue
  
  Ruiss red
  
  Elipsoidmash
  
  Ectosbrew
  
  Gniss, a flying one
  
  Gniss, a running
  
  The Green Ray
  
  Ortosbrue
  
  Mozbreishie
  
  Glisteishie
  
  Plastic Sasoon
  
  Then, Lioshka had read one of the articles.
  
  Relic Bzdu refers to the humanoid modification of the Rewisses. Relic Bzdu runs through the forests at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour. You can tell its presence by its characteristic odor. Sometimes it happens like this: at first, a terrible crackling is heard in the bushes, after that an exclamation of "Yu-yu" is heard. An uninformed person might think that there is a strange living subject in the forest, but this is not so. Although, if you look at it, the Relic Bzdu is still more alive than dead. So, a person expects to meet someone, but at this time a cloud of stinking yellow gas appears. This phenomenon is called "Yellow Cloud". Some Ufologists mistakenly associate the Yellow Cloud with something else. This is not true.
  The minimum speed of movement of the Relic Bzdu is 0 kilometers per hour
  Maximum recorded speed - 48 kilometers per hour
  
  
  
  
  
  
  6. The next
  
  
  Sashka came home. Lioshka was at home already. There came a ring of phone. Babushka approached the apparatus. Sashka heeded.
  "What. Yeah. N. Our children are good. Yak tse tak? Lioshka, come here. Did you piddle?"
  "Never!"
  "So. I"ve just said. My Lioshka had never lied. When mama comes? I don"t know. She went. Yes. With boys. What? With fellows. Nowhere. May be, in the evening."
  Lessons have always been a weak point of Sashka. Moreover, one of his fathers, so calls Papa Aram (Mother has always had season husbands) learn him that lessons have no meaning because "a man has to be clever and with hands!" However, sometimes Sashka did his homework. He seated himself by the table and started to learn Russian language. All of a sudden, he was struck by loud voices which ran from the street. Oh, the such splitting noise! A bunch of guys, in the amount of ten or more, walked by the street. All in jackets. All with backpacks. With cameras. A bearded muzhik carried big camcorder.
  When this noisy crowd passed by, Sashka was restless. He tried to pull himself together, but the next thing came as a sudden flashback, and it looked like the reality worked wrong. It was the crowd, another or the same, which went past their yard. All in jackets. With backpack. With cameras. A beard muzhik carried big camcorder. All of them were below average growth.
   Dwarfs?
  Ghosts?
  How it could be?
  One of the group was familiar to Sashka, and he was taller, the guy in the blue nylon jacket. This buddy had told Sashka about the phenomenon. Now, he came in the direction of their wicket, came up and asked for someone. Babushka came up, meeting him, pronouncing her classical "Yak, tse, sho vi robite ." Understanding, that that was a wrong conversation, Sashka rushed out and joined the them.
  "Oh, this is you!" the guy was glad. "What"s new, Alexander?" asked Snow Rubber.
  "Mmm.... Nothing... But anything. Yes."
  "As you see, we set out for. We go for a big trip. And it"s a real expedition. We are going to conduct research."
  "Yes," Sashka mumbled.
  "What do you know about the extraterrestrial?"
  "I... am."
  "You should know that there are too many dangerous things in space. Some of them go down and raising different scenes. If a plane gets into it, it will never go away. Remember this. Have you ever heard of "The Gniss Zone?"
  "No."
  "No, we have something of the kind. There, behind the river, something strange is going on. If a real Zone formed there, we have problems. The Zone can expand itself. This moment, you smile like a fool, but the soon you can be imbibed, and no one knows what will happen with living objects. Remember this! Do you have a basement?"
  "Yes."
  "Do you have zakrutki there?"
  "Yes."
  "How many zakrutki you have?"
  "Many."
  "Keep them. If you are forced to live in the basement, they will help you to survive."
   "Sashka! Go home!" Babushka cried.
  "Why is she calling you?" said the guy.
  "She is afraid."
  "But you are here? Don"t she think somebody may kidnap you. Yes? Don"t...."
  "Hmm.... Yes. When we are playing in the street she very worried about us. But we are not afraid."
  "What about night?"
  "We like to play pryatki in the night when Grandfather is out on his duty and mother is at disco."
  "Oh, she"s so fashion!"
  "Yes. Most time we don"t play in the evening until late. We play "Edible - Not Edible. But granny wants us to play peretripki ."
  "What"s this?"
  "It a rotten play. She forced us to jump over a skipping rope."
  "Oh. It"s really bad. Did you really do this?"
  "What can I do? Once, somebody said to her that a naked man advanced from the Street of Delegates. She was so worried so that she started to drive us into the yard."
  "Why?"
  "He was coming."
  "Who?"
  "The naked man!"
  "Oh. Such a case! Now, tell me please, do you continue to do observations?"
  "Which observations?"
  "Do you explore Mozbrooorrey the Phenomenon?"
  "I do!"
  "Have you seen a goo?"
  "No! But yes. But it was Grishka!"
  "Who is that?"
  "The goose!"
  "Oh. Such a case! OK. I see, you are a good fellow, and you do your best! Now, it"s time to go. We start our big expedition, and, we will meet again, it would be for good because no one knows whether we return or not. Remember things, Alexander Mozbroorrey! Be watchful, and one day you will become a great scientist."
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  Sashka loved bicycles. In his infantry, when he couldn"t walk, he rode his little bicycle and local boys were dumbfounded by this fact. They told:
  "Such a fool! He can"t go yet, but he can ride."
  However, it looked quite fantastic, but it was true. In the age of 6 Sashka first tried to smoke, and mother bushed him with no mercy, but he remained persistent in his desire to be older.
  Sashka used to rode his bicycle, chasing dogs, and dogs knew him well. If some of them got out of a yard, it followed him on a parallel course with loud barking. Sometimes, there was a whole pack. They drove him with frantic noise.
  Stones? Oh, if only you knew! Some boys hated Sashka for that ability and were ready to bash him for that, but Sashka ran very fast. Running to the side, he started throwing stones, shouting and name-calling:
  "Goat!"
  "Ass!"
  "Dick!"
  "Poo!"
  "Excrements!"
  "Shit!"
  The boys from the vicinity often tried to chase him to punish, but running fast, Sashka dropped into the yard, locked the wicket, climbed up the gate and monkeyed.
  "Su-su-su-su-su!"
  "Vu-vu-vu-vu-vu."
  "Tu-tu-tu-tu!"
  "Ass! Ass! Ass! Ass!"
  Having become little older, he wasn"t much cleverer, but he thought otherwise. However, local boys had become a little bit older too and had no idea about chasing Sashka or throwing stones. Now, they had a new interesting occupation: they like to troll Maria Nikolaevna, Marii. Yet, Sashka was the first to came out with that idea. One day Maria Nikolaevna, Lenka"s mother, called Sashka "The son of prostitute." Sashka was intimidated, but all of a sudden something whirled in him and he found an answer:
  "Aunt-Hippo!"
  "What?"
  "Underdeveloped mare!"
  "What did you say, miscarriage?"
  The name-calling poured out of Sasha's mouth like a cornucopia:
  "Pig!"
  "Turkey head!"
  "Fat-mouthed goose!"
  "Elephant!"
  "Oil-Fat-Combine!"
  "Sausage Eater!"
  Other boys called Maria Nikolaevna Marii, and there was a legend, very popular one, about four sticks of sausage. Boiled sausage cost four rubles and forty kopecks in the store, and this product was considered something of a chic. People very often bought 300-500 grams of sausage. Once Maria Nikolaevna came to the store and bought four sticks of sausage, and it was much more than 4 kilos.
  If we remember "The Awesad" pop-band, there was a song about four sticks of sausage, and this song wasn"t banned as Marii didn"t understand all pathos of young musicians.
   To the play the music, musicians used childish instruments which were bought in "The Children World." Sashka wasn"t the true musician, but Syava, who lived round the corner of the street, could play the self-made drums based on buckets. Syava participated "Awesad" once or twice. He had his own cassette-recorder and was extremely keen on popular and rock music. Not all boys had such, so that they were deprived of listening to bands like "The Scorpions" and "Deep Purple". Now Syava was too modern, too fashion for "the Awesad". His apparatus was truly mythical, and it was called "Elektronika-211". Sashka and Lioshka had only vinyl player, and the best record was "The hard day"s night" by The Beatles.
  Meanwhile, Lioshka was ready to go on playing the music. He tried to compose lyrics about dogs and cats. The cat Dunka was rather popular because her ability to act indifferently to people using her tail as a special sign. Was Lioshka a real poet or he only tried to express his subconscious moods? Although being considered to be a moron, he liked to read science fiction. In the library, he lent such authors like Voyskunsky and Velistov, but the mainstream of that time were books about war.
  Now, let"s read another lyric of Lioshka.
  
  A dog
  
  I didn"t know
  Who it was
  I didn"t know
  Who it was
  
  Who sat in the clump
  Itching its ear
  Who left fleas
  Who"s stolen a bread
  
  Lioshka thought about a red dog Eleonor which roamed to and fro, very often climbing to the yards and even hunting yellow chickens. Children have always been keen on stray dogs, though Borzeng was at first place. They used to feed them fetching something from home. Eleonor was the most prominent of them due to her ability to eat unsorted things such as apricots and even cherry. Once, she got to their vegetable garden and gnawed at the bottom of a cherry tree. Children was overjoyed by this.
  
  Who it was
  shit on the doorstep?
  She or he?
  Or may be a ghost?
  
  
  Sashka went to the Photo Studio, so called "Fotokruzhok". There was a little workshop consisted of two rooms where four boys were doing photographs. Having noticed Sashka they cried out loud, and it wasn"t easy to say whether they did it amiably or not.
  Sashka stood by a table where a photographic enlarger was set. There were two other tables. The room was rather old, and putting their outwear off, boys piled it on a far table. Sashka groped a place to put his jacket and hat there.
   "Learn how to do this" said the classmate of Sashka, fat boy Lunushkin.
  He put a sheet of paper under the photo enlarger and turned it on. A negative picture appeared. Then, he put that list into a photo tray where some liquid was splattering.
   "Oh Ty zh !" Sashka explained.
  Here, the next photograph was almost ready. One hand, two hands, fours hands. Lunushkin on his photo was multi-handed.
  "Ho-ho-ho", Sashka commented.
  Sashka fumbled with his hand to find his hat and found it flowing in the photo tray. He squeezed it and put it over his bosom that nobody could see it wet. So, here was a lesson of developing and fixating.
   "Look. Do it like this."
  "Yes."
  "This is fixative. Never put it into your mouth?"
  "Why so"
  "It"s acidic. But there exists a neutral one."
  "May I drink it?"
  "Are you a fool".
  Sashka put his hat on a battery to have it dried and set off to inspect the DK. Soon, he returned because a cleaning lady shouted at him. It was all for this day, and feeling no ability in photograph Sashka went home.
  What about "ship-ship" term? In fact, it was a highly unknown teaser. Moreover, it was not even a tease, but a phrase stating that your interlocutor is a fool. Sashka learned this expression from his mother, as she said that this is what people say at the soap factory. When last time Vadya Shukher gave him a slap in the face, he answered: ship-ship. Also, he liked to say "Go to the ditch!".
  Having his secret album, Lioshka felt like a real professor. He read.
  
  
  Orthosbrew
  
  Orthosbrew is the majestic and secret Mozbruk muzzle. It cannot be said that among all the other Mozbruk muzzles, this was the most important figure, but nevertheless, there is pathos here. Look at this oval. And these contours! When one ellipse transitions into another, isn't this evidence of the beginning of the end? Thin lines at the top. Thin lines at the bottom. The face seems to be asking for food, but in fact, we are not talking about any food. This is eating by the eyes. Orthosbrew's gaze is magnetic, but it's a very strange magnetism. If you stand in the way of this gaze, then you are the word in the line of fire.
  Orthosbrew.
  This look does not even work like a cannon, but as something combined. Cannon and beam. The question of whether he will eat you with his eyes or not is rather hypothetical.
  Appearing in the sky, Orthosbrew is always alone. You will never meet two of the same Orthosbrews.
  Appearing in your head, Orthosbrew wants you to go crazy. The masters of cosmic meditation believe that the risk is not justified. Maintaining mental health is very important.
  Now, a few words about the "I'm brainwashing!" Yes, you remember, a strange signal was caught by the Arecibo radio telescope, which first broadcast one phrase:
  I'm brainwashing!
  I'm brainwashing!
  Then the signal was as follows:
  
  Brue!
  Mosebrew!
  I'm mosbru!
  Orthosbrew!
  
  Scientists believe that this particular signal belongs to Orthosbrew.
  
  
  Mozbruk desire
  
  What the Mozbruk desire is? People were thinking, planets huddled about the sun. Level rays passed by, but the curved once stood still to get into. If he could have spoken his thoughts.
  Suck letters. Find them, when they fell from the front side of the "KAZ" truck which had fallen from the road. Words are big, not plastic, this is the true salty metal. The letters sound tunefully, with the air that people can fly.
  What about a knout? It elevates you. Previous floggings were abolished; the new ones haven"t come yet. From now onwards it is not forbidden to suck letters.
  Once in a while, he was taken aback, and then, he sounded because some sort of knouting justice is especially eloquent.
  In days to come everything is changing, but it links only with letters which were hidden in the shed.
  Who will hoist the flag of revolution?
  Secret desire to know the saliva more deeply, and everything is changed. Mozbruk desire. New letters are twice as thick. Maybe you are leaged yourself with a sack of sugar behind a corner? Who knows?
  
  Lioshka couldn"t understand the sense of this text, but there was something familiar in it. Several months ago a big KAZ truck jumped out of the road and stood still on the descent. Big letters K, A and Z ripped off, and brothers found them, and Lioshka loved to put the big K letter in his mouth. Lioshka liked candies, but mother has never bought them. Sometimes they stole caked sugar from the sack which stood round the corner, behind the door, and was dangerous as Grandfather was very strict. Seeing, that his brother began to suck letters, Sashka tried it. It wasn"t delicious but all of a sudden he liked it.
  
  
  
  7. The time of evil belt, and other subjects
  
  
  The evening. The smell of soup. Grandmother, Motya Granny, was a big specialist in cooking "galushka" soup. But both brothers liked borsh because everybody liked it. Cooking borsh, Baba Motya spared no beets.
   Mother Love was at home and talked on the phone. Having a very free nature, Love Sazanskaya liked parties and she often visited them. This evening she was going somewhere. When she left, Babushka turned on the radio, and there was rather strange translation where an abrupt, agitated voice told about the expedition, which arrived in the town of Glazov.
  
  The expedition of Academy of Science of USSR arrived. The head of it is Willy Shwartskopf, the professor of...."
  
  Boom! "UI!" Lioshka ran into the kitchen.
  "There are wires!" he screamed like being insane. "I"ve just found wires. Maslakov was coming in the morning. He asked about you. He asked when you are getting up".
  "And what did you answer?"
  "At 7.45 a.m. Like in radio."
  "Why radio?"
  "It was told there."
  "Here you are, Lekhosha," Sashka said.
  This moment a sudden voice of mother came:
  "Lioshka! Come here! Quickly!"
  "Ma! Why?" Lioshka was frightened as he was sure that mother was off. Now it didn't bode well.
  "They said you"ve been loafing in the school, ah?!" she yelled.
  "Not me. This is she."
  "Who?"
  "She! The teacher"
  "Yes. Let"s go with me!"
  "Ma-a! I won"t go!"
  It was a time for the evil belt. Sometimes Mother used salt to set Lioshka on it with his knees. She was unforgiving.
  Next morning one could hear neighbor girls outside who talked with sparrows. Joking aside. They were not as inventive or crazy to consider them the creatures with a rich imagination, but there was something different. Their Granny couldn"t speak Russian. She was the clear Kazakh German, and she claimed that sparrows had names.
  "Babrak!" cried girls.
  There were too much sparrows but they were sure that they could distinguish them from one another.
  "Babrak! Babrak!"
  Thereby, Sashka, but Lioshka especially, were very glad that there was someone more stupid.
  The name of the oldest of Keepese's daughters was Lena. The old grandmother did not pronounce this word and loudly squeaked "Ene". The girls did very poorly at school. The highest of the marks was "3". Basically, they got deuces. However, they were diligent students of Lenka Bakulina, who taught them dancing and singing.
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  Sashka"s been dreaming of big-headed hunting matches. It was very popular to struck them here and there, eating the flame with a stunned gaze. Sashka came to the "Hunter and Fisherman" store, which sold a lot of fascination goods. One big tourist bowler was very interesting. On the other hand, fishing rods were more important for each boy. Oh, the dry fuel!
   "How much is..."
  "What do you want? We close!" the shop assistant was rude, as ever.
  "Hunter matches".
  "Matches are not toys for children".
  "But have you got any?"
  "Hey, boy. Go home!"
  "But... Have you got any powder?"
  "No powder. Patsans. They bought all the powder."
  "Patsans ?"
  "Yes"
  "Why don"t you sell me the matches"
  "It"s forbidden".
  "But powder?"
  "It is prohibited. Boy! We are going to close the shop. Stop gazing. Go home."
  "Excuse me. But who they were!"
  "The big crowd. They bought a wholesale lot. They weren"t as young as you. Don"t you see it"s time to go!"
  
  
  * * *
  
  There was a meeting. Sashka gathered all the friends. Here were Hacheek, Victor, Sergeon, Vorobiov, Peuza, Kepeese girls, Lenka Bakulnia.
  "I have problems," he said ",this morning I"ve found only a casing without any camera in my shed. "I"ve found of traces of extraterrestrial life, but it"s hard to say how it works. My camera "Smena" is gone. There"s only casing."
  "Does it mean that there was something strange?" Lenka inquired.
  "Yes."
  "Are you doo-doo?" answered Vorobiov.
  "Never tell like this!" Sashka said. "There was a film in it! Maybe, there were flying object there. Hands down! They watch us!"
  As we know, Lioshka had already read a lot from the alien copy-book, but now he was silent. He found a "Z" letter and sucked it, hiding his finger behind a hand. Kepeese girls were always shy and modest. In addition to their love for sparrows, they adored disco music and the "Merry Boys" ensemble which sang a song "Don"t worry, Tiotya!"
  The conversation about Mozbroorrey was very noisy. Trying to prove his point of view, Sashka shouted and gesticulated. Also, they talked about a hole in trousers, about matches, new cartoons. It was all. Sashka went home. Vorobiov thought:
  "All fools are always heroes. You bet! All the matches are out of stock. Powder. There is a clue. It is clear that we are being led by the nose, but guys are too inventive and numerous. There must be a conspiracy here. But it cannot be that they did this only to fool only us. They have fooled a lot of people already!"
  If only Vovka could know about the mysterious notebook that fell into the hands of Lioshka!
  
  
  
  8. Super Yuiss
  
  Saturday morning Sashka got up very early to meet Yuri Sergeevich Snow Rubber near his wicket and have a scientific conversation about the paranormal. I must say that Yuri Sergeevich looked strange and even somehow artificial, resembling some kind of biorobot, but Sasha was not embarrassed. Willy, a tall fellow, accompanied him. Grandma looked out of the gate to poke her nose into what was happening and say her "yak tse, scho vie robite khloptsi?"
   "Hello."
  "Hello, Sasha Mozbroorrey."
  Yuri Sergeevich was pale as death.
  "Don"t you know what"s the day today?"
  "Yes. It"s 4-th of October," Sashka answered.
  "And time?"
  "7.25, Moscow time".
  "Well. You are precise as a Swiss watch. Do you take interest in Mozbroorrey the Phenomenon?"
  "Yes".
  "Well. We can give you a good science job."
  "Which?"
  "You go to the village of Severnoe to buy all the kerosene."
  "But how?"
  "I will give you instructions."
  "Oh."
  "Aliens want to want, yeah? They want to get ahead of you, but you will get helpers, you will be operating one by one and sometimes even in masks, because they hung the satellite over us, and it makes shots. They want to stop us. They want to open gates between worlds, though some gates had been already open. They want to pursue, but still we don"t know what goes first. We admit that there are two phenomena which go separately, anyway, we should deprive them from their assets."
  "Use colors and mask. Never unmask yourself," Willy gave advice.
  "OK. I want to help you. But what about money?"
  "Money is such a trifle. Here is 150 roubles. You should act accurately because this money has a radioactive trace so that a special force can find you. Be careful, never trust strangers. Aliens learned how to wear an artificial skin. Be secretive."
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  Sashka went to school. After the first lesson he came up to Pueza and said:
  "I"ve just found out something about the Mozbroorrey. It starts from a spot on the land, and it is always near bushes which is also too close to bushes."
  "And what?"
  "Nothing. But here is some connection. What if someone is hiding there?"
  "But who hides?"
  "We can"t know this. Flying bodies appear from nowhere, but they have a "Yuiss" sound, and it is like someone whispers it in a very loud voice, as if an amplifier there. It tries to analyze it and I summarize it."
  The second lesson had passed. Pupils were running like devils directing to the dining-room. Sashka threw his suitcase onto a shelf and was rammed by the flock of hungry boys and girls. Sashka fell down and was trampled without mercy. He raised, dirty, messy... But another threat carried him and cast away. Pupils rushed to wolf themselves as if they were starving a long time. Sashka crept towards the doors like a soldier who got the last command.
  Spoons! He should make it or else he would be without the one. Angry students still were in their running. Hands clipped like crab claws or scissors. Sashka raised and rushed forward and here was a success - he grabbed the spoon and jumped on his stool. But all in vain. There was no bread, all the bread was snapped up, and the breadbasket was empty. Ones, who took too much of it, were ready to through it somewhere, but the bread wasn"t as good as eggs. While Sashka ate porridge, the moment of boiled-eggs-battle began. Eggs flews like shells and sometimes Sashka ducked. Another egg swept over him and got into Steblyanko"s open mouth.
  "Ye-ye," said Steblyanko.
  Sashka finished his eating and went to the next lesson.
  
  
  Lioshka continued his reading.
  
  King Mozbruro
  
  The ships are flying. Rockets emit jets.
  Measure the length of the jet!
  The concept of the Jet is multicultural. You may know the truth of the Jet, but this is the Jet that comes out of the tap.
  The cat loves to play with the Jet.
  King Mozbruro has been inside his starship for centuries. He is majestic and tall. His height is 12 meters.
  If you think that your genome contains its particles, be silent, because you will never be like him.
  Majestic King!
  Only the guru of radio electronics has access to a method for constructing super heterodyne! But you obviously think that everything in the world has already been invented. What a naive opinion!
  Can your dreams broadcast this?
  If one day the voice of King Mozbruro appears in your head, this does not mean that you are the chosen one. Perhaps a hole has appeared in your head, and it receives signals from the ether.
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  After the school he came home. He called Lenka, Vorobiov, Pasha Zhigailov, nicknamed Peuza and Sergey (so called Sergeon). He has a new version:
  "I think, I have a link, but we need some equipment to fixate it, but I"m sure that we can detect it using microphones."
  Vorobiov was a strange guy, but the main strangeness was in his father"s ability to construct different stuff, the kolkhoz technics. For example, he built a moped out of the children bicycle. Having a "D-50" engine, it could do 30 kilometers per hours, and it was rather fast for such a little thing. Yes, it was dangerous, and father had built another model which was bigger and, thereto, safer. But this model wasn"t good because it had weak frame.
  Last Year, Vitya (that was his name) started to invent a racing car. It wasn"t completed, because friends crushed him during a booze party. The thing could make 40 kilometers per hour and had four wheels.
  His father's thirst for invention led him to design an aircraft. It should have been a real flying device. It might rise into the air to a height of twenty meters and hang there. True, this unit was built in demo version, made one flight and crashed. As before, it was based on the D-50 engine
  "If I put a more powerful motor, we could fly over the river," said Vitya.
  Vitya"s comrade, Gorokhov, was a good welder. The main problem was alcohol. In fact, this did not stop Vitya from collecting motorcycles from a variety of garbage and riding them through the streets. The police never caught him.
  As for kerosene, history hides all the details from us. It is only known that on that day Sasha dreamed that he was a red rooster, and his friend was a dragon, and they were flying over the town.
  "Listen to me," he said to Lenka soon, "We"ve found an exact thing. "Mozbroorrey the Phenomenon" had a beginning from a red spot in the sky. But on the land there is a fissure. We know that the fissure depends of actions in the air. The link."
  "We know nothing about the parentage of the phenomenon," said Lenka very competently.
  Vorobiov found himself to be a boy of reason, so that he mulled it over trying to be a sort of a scientist. He didn"t believe in the extraterrestrial version of the matter. By what mean was it performed? A bunch of balloons hang over fields? Very complicated but possible. But the thing about beams looked rather impalpable. Could intruders use real laser? Where did they get it? As for the rest, the powder which was bought by patsans looked like a real evidence.
  However, the next repetition of "Awesad" group was close by. Lenka, Lioshka, Slavka and Kepeese-sisters, full of their reveries about sparrows, were in the spot. Lenka has always been like Alla Pugachova, since then she played a role of teacher. She taught both music and dancing. The new song was dedicated to Tobic, the little black dog, Lenka"s pet.
  
  Flowers were yellow.
  Tobic was going.
  He stumped and thumbed.
  Tobic, Tobic.
  
  As a fact, Lenka was the owner of several little dogs, very foolish and hectic. One of which was Tobic. It was a small sleek male.
  
  Tobic, Tobic.
  La-la-la-la-la.
  Tobic, Tobic.
  La-la-la-la-la.
  
  There was a case when Sashka noticed a candy laying on the ground. Sashka and Lioshka were big masters of picking something edible from the floor, and once neighbor boys threw Sashka a candy with paper. It was a popular story, and many times passed since then, but that time Sashka notices Tobic who was interested in candy.
  "This is mine," said Sashka, took it and showed in his mouth.
  Meanwhile, the song about that black and slickly buddy went on:
  
  When he is coming
  There is nothing.
  When he is sitting
  Around is a cat"s meeting.
  
  It was darkening when Vovka heard a heart-rending cry. After this a signal rocket rose up. Then, after several minutes, a strange cart appeared on the street. There was one horse and two passengers, and Vovka knew them as they were Schwarzkopf and Snow Rubber, and something ghostly was in that view. Not wanting to accept the situation, Vovka decided to follow this cart. He climbed through the bushes very fast.
  The cart stood still near the Gorka. All of a sudden, Sashka jumped out as if from nowhere, and in a minute the space was full of boys who carried canisters. All that canisters were loaded on the cart and taken away.
  Vorobiov was full of suspicions. Vovka said:
  "Alright. We"ll see."
  Next day he found out that in the "Xoztovari " shop all dry fuel was bought by a group of patsans. Too suspicious! Then, he visited some shops and here some terrified facts were revealed: aside from dry fuel, patsans bought oil colors and aluminum powder.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Sashka was sitting on logs. Yuri (Joe) Snow Rubber approached him.
  "Greetings, Sasha Mozbroorrey."
  He was pale, as ever.
  "Good day."
  "Have you done any research as to Mozbroorrey the Phenomenon?"
  "Yes, of course. I"ve got to know that two sides are struggling. One goes from the air and the other is in the land".
  "Well done! You did the great job. But I"ll told you one thing. it is contrary to the common sense, but we"ve made a conclusion that this is it. Okay. We"ll talk of it later.
  You may know or not that.... Our planet Earth occurred from a protoplanetary cloud. I"ve just told it in advance but... There was a universe. Like ours. And people there got to know about a catastrophic future. The explosion of a quasar was threatening all the population. But they survived in a very strange way. After the explosion the large cloud of gasses appeared. Molecules which left from that process formed different types of life. Such as.... May be some sorts of them may live in the conditions of open space. However, the big substance had originated. A sentient. But the camera which was the sanctuary for inhabitants of that planet appeared to be in the center of the core of our planet. Not long ago did they left the place. They reached the surface. Before it the Reihyuiss has arisen. The substance and Reihyuiss had a long period of struggle. And the Reihyuiss defeated. But there were holes, and some things came out and began to fly around the Planet Earth. And some sort of intelligence had born from itself. You can definite this one by its specific sound "Yuiss". This phenomenon had a name. "Super Yuiss". These things or may be plasma animals had bred deep under the surface so that there had been a very few space for them. It was only a matter of time to come up and conquer all the Earth. According to our data the only exit from a subsoil is not far from here. It is near here. This night we are going to advance far behind the river. We"ll return next morning."
  "Oh, what an impossible thing!" Sashka exclaimed.
   "Nothing serious. We need details. You can help us. We greet young researchers."
  
  
  * * *
  
  Before the next events had happened, Lioshka open his secret copy-book and had read an article about Mozbrusant. Yes, Lioshka had will of steel giving up the compote that grandma cooked. He climbed into a thicket of raspberries, and here no one could find him. It was evening. Behind the fence, Valya Kepeese was calling her favorite bird.
  "Babrak! Where are you now?"
  Lioshka read.
  "Babrak! Babrak! Come to me!"
  All in vain.
  
  
  Mozbrusant
  
  
  
  Mozbrusant stood at the end of the earth. He opened his mouth and said: Oh! His mouth was incredibly rounded. The edge of the earth was steep. Clouds hung in the distance, and they looked like strange cities. Who lived there? After all, these were open spaces outside the earth.
  Mozbrusant bent down, took a stone and stuffed it into his mouth. The stone was tasteless. Then Mozbrusant took the stone out of his mouth.
  He walked along the edge of the earth and looked for a delicious stone.
  There were stars in the sky. The stars were like grapes. If Mozbrusant had a chance, he would reach for these stars, rip them off and put them in his mouth.
  It was getting dark.
  Cloud cities looked great.
  "YU!" said Mozbrusant.
  He walked two kilometers and shouted:
  "Whoa! Zui!"
  Nobody knows what Mozbrusant was talking about. What kind of language was it? Scientists have tried to decipher the language of Mozbrusant.
  It is known for sure that Mozbrusant does not exist in a single copy. Professor Miller of the University of Maputo has proposed the following classification of Mozbrusants:
  
  Plain Mozbrusant
  
  Santa mozbra
  
  Mozbrusant Gas
  
  Evening mozbrusant
  
  Mozbrusant sucking
  
  Mozbrusant gnawing corner
  
  Polusant
  
  Two-Tu-Sant
  
  Sbru_mozbru
  
  Evasant
  
  Worm-eater Sant
  
  10-Sant - Methane-Propane-Ezobutane
  
  Velo sant
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  It was quite dark. Sashka was sitting on the top of a fence. Tiotya Masha had conversation with Baba Motya. All gone. Sashka continues to sit. Something luminous flashed in the air and "Yuiss" was heard. Sashka ran up to a telephone and dialed 212-55.
  "Hello".
  Creaking. Coughing.
   "Hey. It"s night already. It"s late. What do you need?"
  "This is Sasha".
  "Which Sasha?"
  "Sasha Mozbroorrey".
  "Hmm.... Rats! Who are you?"
  "I..."
  "Oh... This is you. Again. Yeah," the voice was full of frustration.
  "Yuri Sergeevich.... I"ve seen it!"
  "Him? Where did you see him?"
  "In the air!"
  "Oh. I"ve just recalled. Mozbrurian stout. This you".
  A row of obscenities came after it.
   "I"m...I only... I"ve heard...."
  "Where is Lioshka?"
  "Which Lioshka?"
  "Oh, you bastard!"
  "No. This is you!"
  "What?"
  A multitude of new words, rather offensive. For Sashka.
  "Himself... The ass!" Sashka yelled.
  "What?"
  The was the terrible screeching.
  
  The was a considerable cold snap. During the day temperature has often risen more than 20 degrees. As it was rather cold, Lioshka wore padded jacket and red trousers. It was already 10 o"clock on Sunday which was reflected in Lenka"s turning the cassette recorder to record songs from "The Morning Post". Lenka sat on a sofa. Her granny called her to have breakfast but she talked her into fetching her soup right here. Lenka turned on the TV set and started to take eat but...
  Everyone"s known about Lioshka"s ability to do bizarre actions. In the street Lioshka wrenched his head as if someone dragged him by it and ran. As if an invisible rope was tied to his chin. He was running down very fast. Father of Vovka Vorobiov, Vitya, was driving a garbage truck when it happened. Lioshka was running straight ahead being ready to have a head-on collision. Confused, Vitya turned to the left, rammed the gates of Dorohovs, went further, got inside and unloaded all the garbage near the doors. As garbage flew in all directions, part of it went further, over the fance, and landed on Marii"s head.
  "Oh, my gosh", she said.
  A piece or rotten watermelon had fallen on her head like a hap.
  So, it was the beginning of Sunday. Sashka directed to the "Culttovari" shop and saw Maslakov buying a telephone.
  "Hello, Liosha", he said very politely as if they were friends.
  "Privet," said Maslakov drawling.
  "Lioshka. Why are you buying telephone again?"
  "What? Hmm... I like phones. I am the phone-fun."
  Sashka stretched his head.
  "OK," Maslakov concluded, "It seems that you use phones also. Tell me please, why do you need a telephone?"
  "Me? To make calls."
  "Where?"
  "To Papa Sasha, Papa Kolya, Papa Kolya, Dyadya Kolya, Dyadj Seriozha, Dyadj Vadya, Dyadj Andrusha, Dyadj..."
  "Oh, tremendous! You know all of them".
  "Them?"
  "Yes. Your fathers and uncles. You are watching the cameras again?"
  "No. I watching cassette recorders."
  "Oh, great. Do you want to buy one?"
  "Not no. Papa Aram promised me."
  "Oh, he"s reach, isn"t he?"
  "Yes. He produces cotton candy."
  "Good occupation."
  
  Maslakov bought a telephone, radio lamps, one transistor receiver, china ink, soldering-iron, radio set and came out and for a while they walked together rather friendly. All of a sudden Maslakov took a stone and threw it into the air, but a stranger thing happened soon. A boy ran past and Maslakov"s bag appeared to be empty. As Sashka understood nothing, he remained silent.
  Then, they entered "The Children World." Maslakov bought radio sets, kits and even children telephones. He glowed seeing Sashka"s bewilderment.
  "Never look like this! I am wealthy, ha-ha!"
  Having no money at all, Sashka had stolen a little toy car. For a temporary chase, it was rather good.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  9. Music
  
  
  In the street, scandals happened very often. Sometimes neighbors even fought, and some battles were cruel. Sashka"s mother was fashionable, and Lenka"s mother was big, and, having a nickname "Hippo-mother", she often said that Love Sazanskaya earn a living by her body. It was not all. That time, one could hear swearing about Vovka's father, and the case concerned the garbage that was thrown into the ravine. Also, Tiotya Masha mentioned Sashka as a son of a bitch.
  "And you!" Sashka cried out sitting on the fence.
  "What?"
  "You like wrong places, Tiotya Masha".
  "I don"t do that, Sashka. Where did you see?"
  "Yesterday. And your Lebonchunchanchaperdaperchatnic".
  "What? Who?"
  "Lencnatnic! The fool!"
  "Who is fool?"
  "Everybody!"
  "Whom do you mean?"
  "You!"
  "What?"
  "What you heard!"
  Tiotya Masha gripped a stick.
  "What have you said?"
  "Over the shoulder! Is it hot? Throw on the other shoulder!"
  "I will deck you!"
  "Miss it!"
  When Sashka jumped off his fence, Tiotya Masha started to pursue Sashka. In his ability to run from Aunt Masha, Sashka was always fast as lightning. But one circumstance spoiled the whole idea. Sashka was afraid of his own dog. Rex was very angry, and when he broke off the chain, he grabbed everything that came in his way. Now, it happened again. Rex ran out of the yard and, first of all, bit a little tree with fullness of his fury.
  "Oh, oh!" Sashka shouted.
  Aunt Masha ran the same course. She promised to lather Sasha's neck. "To lather the neck" meant all kinds of punishment. Rex got in her way, but Aunt Masha grabbed him by the tail, spun over her head and threw him into the ravine. In flight, the dog howled plaintively.
  No matter how Mary tried to catch Sasha, the idea turned out to be useless.
  Sashka came home. Being in the kitchen he told Babushka about the incident. Babushka told "yak, tse" and cursed all the neighbors for throwing litter to the ravine.
  "Yes, Babushka" Sashka said.
  "Tse garniy detina ," she said in Ukrainian.
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  When all scandals were over, when all the adults were busy with their daily grind, the "Awesad" had gathered again, and it was at 4 p.m. Lenka fetched her cassette recorder. All the musicians were in her yard, among little dogs and even Tobic. Preparing well, Lenka even had a microphone. Being very advanced, Lenka was sure that she danced and played like C.C. Catch or Sandra or even better. As for instruments, they had a lot of children stuff such as a wooden piano or micro royal, different drums and so on.
   Little plastic synthesizer was in Lenka"s hands. Sashka took a micro trommel. Vovka brought the piano of another kind. Slavka took two drums. Lioshka played the harmonica. Sergey took big Slavka"s concertina. Kepeese Sisters came to do vocalize.
  Sashka banged the drums so they started to play melody of "Brother Lui". Sashka commenced to play.
  
  
  I have
  I Have
  Oh, I have
  As many dogs as
  Nobody else
  
  Lenka sang:
  
  They are in my yard.
  Leska
  Bobka
  Tobka
  
  Vovka sang:
  
  They ate in my yard.
  Leska, Bobka, Tobka.
  
  Lenka:
  
  Leska. Bobka. Tobka.
  And he.
  He!
  He!
  Toobic! Toobic!
  Toobic! Toobic!
  
  They are lovely puppies.
  My cute ones.
  
  Chorus:
  
  Toobic! Toobic!
  Toobic! Toobic!
  Toobic! Toobic!
  All my cute ones!
  
  Lenka:
  
  Tubka, Lubka, Bulka.
  They eat
  Only sausage.
  Only them!
  
  Sashka:
  
  Three minutes and the watch!
  It"s a kind
  It"s kind
  Of the sausage!
  
  Lenka:
  
  And fish!
  And fish!
  
  Sashka:
  
  Salt, sugar and phosphorus
  Are the kinds
  Of the fish
  Fish.
  
  Lenka:
  
  They eat
  Only bread.
  
  Sashka:
  
  You and me.
  Me and you
  It"s a kind
  Of the bread.
  
  Slavka banged the drums. Lenka continues to sing:
  
  Toobic, Toobic.
  Toobic, Toobic.
  Toobic, Toobic.
  Toobic, Toobic.
  
  He eats
  Only the sausage.
  Only it.
  Only it.
  
  There was a musical arrangement. Kepeese yelled in chorus.
  
  A-a-a-a-a-a.
  A-a-a-a-a-a.
  U-u-u-u-u-u.
  U-u-u-u-u-u.
  
  Sashka began to speak in recitative.
  
  If you want
  Many, many things.
  Oh, yeah.
  O, yeah.
  
  If you want
  Many, many things.
  Oh, yeah.
  O, yeah.
  
  If you want a lot
  Or maybe two lots
  It"s a kind of Lekhosha
  Lekhosha. And all!
  
  And drumbeats. And chorus:
  
  Toobic, Leska, Bobka
  Tobka, Toobic, Bobka.
  Tobka, Lopka
  All sleeps in the beds
  
  They eat only meat.
  Only fish.
  Only meat.
  Only meat.
  
  They drink lemonade.
  They drink lemonade.
  They drink lemonade.
  They drink lemonade.
  
  However, the song was recorded on a cassette. Lenka brought a kit named "Woo" and used it as an amplifier. Sashka played his instrument. Slavka did percussion. Lenka started to sing together with Sergey and Kepeese.
  
  Through the magic crystal
  Lehosha wade through
  Wade through
  And stuck there
  
  He lost his riding boots.
  He lost his riding boots.
  He lost his riding boots.
  He lost his riding boots.
  
  Oooo, ye
  Oooo, ye.
  
  The refrain was singing in chorus.
  
  If you want a lot
  Or maybe two lots
  It"s a kind of Lekhosha
  Lekhosha. And all!
  
  You ate Lekhosha!
  Ooo. Ye.
  Oooo. Ye
  Oooo. Ye.
  
  Sashka banged harder. Sashka continued to sing.
  
  Through the magic crystal
  Lekhosha wade through
  He broke his legs
  He tore his jeans
  
  And another refrain. All except Lenka did it in chorus. But she sang her own words.
  
  If you want a lot.
  You are a Scott.
  If you want a lot.
  You are a sort of Scott.
  
  Lioshka knew that this song was dedicated to him as he was Lekhosha. So he was singing:
  
  Through the magic crystal
  Lenka was going
  Lenka torn off her leg.
  Her very curved leg;
  
  Lenka:
  
  Lioshka"s stout is....
  Lioshka"s stout was....
  
  Sashka:
  
  Lenka struck her head.
  
  Lenka began to shout:
  "I don"t want like this! Stop it! Stop it!"
  Nobody took notice of her so that she came off. But everybody who remained felt excited. They had a very good time. Sashka felt like having a time of his life. Thus, he composed a very long song gathered from different proverbs of his own.
  
  If it"s three o"clock
  There are three hairs.
  It"s a kind of fish.
  It"s a kind of fish.
  
  Three sticks of sausage.
  It"s Lenka and watches.
  She"s cracked her skull.
  She"s broken her head.
  
  It"s a kind of fish.
  It"s a kind of meat.
  It"s a kind of fish.
  It"s a kind of meat.
  
  Lenka"s broken her leg
  And ran to the hospital
  But she jumped right into
  Vonuchka lake.
  
  She"s been shouting
  And her tail was pulled.
  And she"s been swimming
  She"s been swimming.
  
  And the dead fish
  Was met by her.
  She"s caught it
  And said:
  
  This is me
  The kind of
  Lebanchugvozdyatnic!
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  What"s for now? In the evening, square windows cast the light here and there. If too look through vegetable gardens in the distance, the picture of yellow and sometimes red windows evoked funny feelings. Dogs barked. The beams of the headlights of distant cars came from across the river.
  Sitting on the sofa, Vovka mulled. Here, he was like a real investigator. The whole list of evidence was before him.
  1. Kerosene. Who bought it in big amounts?
  2. All red photo lamps were sold out in the moment
  3. Dry fuel, there is nothing in stock. Patsans, again.
  4. No colors, no turpentine, no powder
  5. Yes. Powder, it"s too complicated!
  6. No radio sets, no feature electronic kits in shops. Resistors, transistors, capacitors, different coils, soldering irons, wires.
  
  What happened on this Earth in one moment? Has our whole town gone mad? Who is Snowrubber? Could Maslakov do a good make-up to act like this? The noise "Yuiss" was heard in the distance. A very good amplifier needs for it.
  Vovka has never been an intellectual, but he inherited an inquiring mindset from his father. He loved bolts, nuts and grease. From a young age, he fiddled with bicycles. He even knew a thing or two about engines.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  10. Chapter 10
  
  
  
  Evening of October 5 Lioshka has eaten some fish, washed down with milk and everything was well done. He started towards the restroom, accompanied by Sashka"s giggling.
  Then, Sashka went to Sergeon. Sergey lived in the place where Vorobiovs lived before. Vorobiovs moved, Sergeon lived with his mother "My Head Is Aching" Luba. Father had left. In the loft of the shed there was equipped a laboratory to watch the sky, and having no telescope, boys did it with the help of binoculars. Aside of that, they listened to radio interference with the help of portable radio set "Vega". Sashka even envied Sergeon because this gadget was new. It was orange. All the radio knobs were spinning merrily.
  "Listen."
  "What?"
  "A strange noise."
  "Yes. Very strange."
  "Can it be a flying source?"
  "It can be!"
  "Listen now!"
  "Yes. Sounds like extraterrestrial voice."
  "Did you hear this?"
  "Yes!"
  Next day was the Constitution day, but Sashka should go to the school for the Solemn meeting. Having no desire to stand up, he yawned and rolled over. He enquired Lioshka about previous day incident with milk and fish, but Lioshka acted like there was nothing serious.
  Vovka, knowing about Surgeon"s loft, decided to build his own observatory. Thank god he had his own attic. Now, he needed some equipment, though, he wasn"t sure that he was doing right. How to construct radio bugs? There was one way, but rather difficult. It is known that a subscriber loudspeaker can receive something other than only programs. For example, sometimes it can receive voices from a neighbor house, but how to tune it properly? However, Vovka ran wires to the roof and featured an old radio to do his attempts. Whom he could overhear? The opposite house, for example, where Hatcheck and Victor lived.
  "This is no accident," Vovka thought, "Lamps. It"s a question. What can you do without lamps? Nothing. They missed it but I"ve caught. May be they didn"t afraid of any investigation. But the sound. How it can be heard from across the river? But accumulators for lamps? They are very heavy. You can hardly lift them with balloons. But what else? To ask about balloons? No. No. Well. I will spoil you all the operation."
  Vovka met Peuza, they went to The Hozmage shop and bought all the wires. They spent all their money.
  "They can"t do without wires," Vovka said.
  "Who?"
  "You."
  "Why me?"
  "Don"t be a stupid baby. I mean the command which want to organize the end of the world."
  "Oh, no."
  "Hold on, buddy. We"ll win."
  
  
  Another chapter in Lioshka"s the notebook
  
  Cosmic fart Mos
  
  Life once stretched across the seas. There was not even ground at the time. The entire land was occupied by a huge ocean. The life forms that lived in that ocean at that time were incredible. Some of the shells were about the size of a house. If there were people at that time, then they would be eaten by lizards. If a man entered the waters of a prehistoric sea, he would be swallowed up by trilobites.
  At that time, the space fart Mos came down to earth. Of what appearance he was? Nobody knows that. Some scholars believe that there was nothing human in his form. But Professor Zaneki believes that Mos looked like a human.
  Mos walked along the coastal sand. Suddenly, an ichthyosaur stuck its teeth out of the water and tried to grab Mos by his leg. Ichthyosaurus was very naive. In the following seconds, Mos emitted a cloud of gas. The ichthyosaurus convulsed. Finally, it died.
  "Ho!" Mos exclaimed.
  The gas was his power! He could kill!
  How many dinosaurs died during that time? Was space fart Mos the killer of all life on earth?
  They scientist claim that there is a sphere deeply undeground, and, going down there, Mos found his home. Its gases go up. Thus, gas fields are formed.
  What else? Knowing the essence of the space fart Mos is very difficult. Perhaps humanity is not yet ready for such discoveries.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  Vovka had some results. Wheeling and dealing, he"s found a way how to use water. Using grounding properly, he could have radio translations quit but creaks and voices appeared instead. Wet wires worked better.
  From his very childhood, Vovka learned to smoke but he was afraid of his father. Periodically, he smokeed dried dill which many boys did. Feeling some exaltation, he lit up a stick of dried dill and made a puff.
  "Good," he said.
  An hour before he managed to overhear a conversation in Kovalchenko house. He was proud of his achievement.
  "Where is the borsh?" a man"s voice.
  "Which borsch?" a woman"s voice.
  "It was there."
  "No."
  "I saw it."
  "It was three days before."
  "Where is it now?"
  "It turned sour."
  "But it was good!"
  "You are mistaken!"
  "Why am I always mistaken! I want to eat!"
  "Here is your soup."
  "OK. Is this a meat?"
  "Nope, it"s chicken."
  "Oh. Is it the same chicken which we stole from Abramov?"
  "Yes."
  "Oh, thanks you, darling. You did a right thing."
  "Do you want to steal one more chicken?"
  "God knows. He may suspect us."
  "There are too many hens he has. He hardly counts them."
  "OK. Do you want I do this?"
  "It"s simple. One of his hen goes in our yard."
  "Oh. Let"s catch it."
  "Let"s."
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Sashka considered the electricity the basis of life. But Lioshka thought the otherwise. So Sashka decided to avail himself of laws of physics. The idea was to catch flies the way like other crazy boys did. Lioshka took a shirr. Sashka took a battery with a little bulb. So they started. Lioshka came in to the kitchen where he pulled his gum and fired. Several flies fell off from a wall, right into a plate of borsh which Babushka was eating. Oh, there were three very green exemplars. Babushka kicked the nephews out.
  "Oookh, tukh, tukh", she said, "go to indulge in the yard. Otherwise I will punish you."
  
  Lioshka was well-educated in the matter of different torture, and there was nothing special as Babushka descended from the ancient Ukrainian family where adults had always beat children. The more severe the punishment was, the better it was for the education. Beating children with a knout or a strap considered to be a treatment and the expression "I will treat you" meant "I will beat you with a strap."
  Lioshka found an apple and ate it. Too much fruit acid was in it, but Lioshka was adamant. Then, he came to Sergeon to discuss the matter of killing flies.
  "You have to seek harder," said Sergeon.
  "I know".
  "You don"t know. A lot of flies live in the ravine."
  "Oh, it"s far".
  "You haven"t known it for sure".
  "No. I"ve know it"
  "Huh"
  "What do you eat?"
  "Sugar. Clear sugar. Do you want to help yourself with sugar?"
  "Granulated?"
  "Yes. Give me your hands".
  Sergeon poured a handful of sugar on Lioshka palms.
  "Eat. It"s delicious".
  Lioshka started to crackle with his teeth. He met Slavka and asked him about his life.
  "I"m fine" said Slavka.
  "Well. Jolly good time?"
  "Yes. But what do you eat?"
  "The sugar. Gourmet sugar".
  Slavka"s parents, as many other adults, weren"t wealthy. The main proud of them was their old rare green motorcycle. Also, his grandmother was somewhat legendary because of her ability to steal hens. Very often, making her way into someone else's yard, she got stuck in the fence and groaned loudly. People often felt sorry for her. She was very old. Slavka"s cousin Vassya Derevyanko was a very popular dude, firstly, for his "Riga-13" moped which was bought in the shop "Sport Good". Vasya was remarkable for his ability to draw water into a large pump and start a jet. For street boys Vassya was the coolest.
  After a little break the "Awesad" had gathered again. The musicians decided to change the name of the group.
  "Then, we"ll be popular," Lenka said.
  "Why?" Sashka asked.
  "Because Hacheek and Victor came and joined us".
  "Well" Sashka said "No it will be Aveshadv".
  "Well. Only now it sounds the HSV".
  
  
  
  
  
  So the time of the concert had come. The musicians prepared hard. Within two repetitions they rehearsed new songs which were composed by joint efforts. Hacheek and Victor kept two glockenspiels so they were called glockenspielists. Sashka used a plywood box as drums. So he was a drummer. Lenka was with electric piano. Lenka Kepeese got a special keyboard from her relatives in Germany so she tried to play it. Slavka issued his accordion. Lioshka was with balalaika. So, the fast melody started to play. Everybody sang in chorus.
  
  
  The sausage in the shop.
  Op.
  The sausage in the shop.
  Op.
  
  Who is eating it?
  He nothing did.
  If you want to eye
  Eat it, guy.
  
  Sausage of three sticks
  It"s a better than the cheese.
  30 sticks are you.
  This is you, oo, oo.
  
  It was the great song. But Lioshka claimed:
  
  "Lenka"s only food is sausage. She eats nothing except it. She is a snag-girl. Kolbasnitsa".
  "No gaps," Lenka answered "Only 5 sticks".
  "A-ha-ha-ha-ha," Sashka laughed as a steed.
  "Lenka! What"s that?" exclaimed her mother, Marii.
  "This is Sashka!"
  "Sashka! I will get you!"
  "Horseradish on it!"
  "Right now. I"ll get you!"
  "Ha!"
  "I"ll serve you!"
  "Your arms are short!"
  "But legs are long!"
  "Ha! The mare!"
  At the moment Sashka"s mother appeared. She was ready to beat him just for a change. For her, it was only a prophylactic.
  "Sashka! Go home!"
  "No!"
  "Quickly. I will give you a lesson!"
  
  Lioshka went on reading his secret copybook.
  
  Mo-brooker Donovan
  
  Mo-brooker Donovan was the first to invent a way to observe correctly. His apparatus "Yak-Schmitt" was built on 28 lamps. A very large apparatus.
  This was not a simple observation of the Mosbrook world.
  He saw everything: Cosmos-Mos, the World of Mozbrook muzzles, and even the ascent of distant Orthobrün was available to him.
  Space
  Stars.
  The stars are like peas.
  You think that the stars shine just like that, meanwhile someone feeds on them, and it's just that the person is very small, and as a result, he has no chance to understand his insignificance. Of course, many people understand that the stars are huge, and the planets are small, and a person is just biological objects of microscopic magnitude. But some of the people love peas.
  Likewise, in space, someone finds pea pods, opens them and crunches them.
  "Ho-ho-ho," it says as it eats these peas.
  That night, Mo-brooker Donovan turned on his Yak-Schmitt apparatus. The radio tubes glowed with a cheerful orange light. He went to the eyepiece and looked inside: what kind of world was it? Space of greatness. Macro space. Micro universe?
  The huge Mosbrook snout glowed in the middle of the galaxy cluster.
  "Mos!" Donovan exclaimed.
  It was the most stunning picture he had seen in recent years. Muzzle, bigger than galaxies!
  This angle of vision made it possible to understand the size of the Muzzle. Yes, if gaseous nebulae were being eaten, then it was impossible to prevent this, because the square root of infinity cannot be calculated. Man is too small to join the triumph of gigantism even in his imagination.
  Hurrah!
  Since then, Mo-Broker Donovan has not slept at night. How could you waste time sleeping, realizing that the huge Mosbrook muzzle glows in the darkness!
  
  
  Mosbroker Mosgaz
  
  An appeal to humanity looked like this:
  Do you know Moscow, man? Every day you are shown Moscow on TV! Moscow is the food of your spirit. Moscow is the food of your mind. If you love Moscow very much, name yourself: Moscow.
  If you have a cat, rename it and let it be called Moscow.
  Do you eat Moscow for lunch?
  Mass of Moscow
  Oil from Moscow.
  The whole difficulty of things lies in the fact that if you only see Moscow on TV, you do not know how to invite Mosgaz to visit you.
  The mental sphere is arranged in such a way that, perhaps, guests will come to you, and one of the guests will be Mosbroker Mosgaz.
  Once Mosbroker Mosgaz measured its jet with a ruler.
  It was a very large jet.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  11. Life without hits
  
  
  Sashka went to the Photokruzhoc. It was already 4 p.m. Sashka came into the laboratory where boys were sweating, trying to do their best of the art of photography.
  Lunushkin, a fat and pimply dude, was extremely keen on take pictures of the nature. He liked fences and roofs and cats sitting on the roofs. There was Kosulya, the fourth grader. His skill was little, by he tried hard. His face was strong and severe as if he was a hero of a cowboy movie.
  Sashka said:
  "Let me to do it."
  "I can"t."
  "Not ssy! I will do!"
  "And how?"
  "Hmm... Somehow... First, chick and all. Wash it and all. And fix and all."
  "Fixate. By fixing agent."
  "To agent. Yes. I"ve known it before. What"s the difference?"
  "You aren"t able to do it."
  "Oh. Now. Not ssy !"
  "Why? Nobody ssys ".
  They turned the light off. Sashka snatched a tank from Lunushkin"s hands, pulled the film in, poured a liquid from a bottle and turned on the light."
  "Look! I am not afraid!" he exclaimed.
  "And what else?"
  "Many else!"
  The boys were angry with him. Sashka spoilt his film and, trying to get out of trouble, went to walk in the corridors of The DK.
  You should know that that time The DK was running high, and you can find some entertainment all the time. In the big hall different fold musicians and theater actors were performing. There were many sections and cabinets. Nevertheless, all the corridors were empty. Only by nights, when discos were held, they were full of idle youth.
  Having his mouth open, Sashka visited different corners where he met a dark void. Then, he walked downstairs and on the first floor reached the doors of the library. Sashka was not much of a reader so that he walked back and met a strange boy with photo camera "Smena-8M".
  "What you want?" Sashka asked.
  "Nothing. Go to hell or else paikoo srezhoo !"
  "Tutichki !" Sashka rebelled.
  "Well. Come here."
  The boy rolled his sleeves. Sashka gave Strecacha which means "to run away very quickly." Sashka crossed all the third floor and dropped to the laboratory. Lunushkin was red as beetroot.
  "Mozbruker, "he said without optimism, "what are you doing? Why are you doing?"
  "What do you want, buddy?"
  "I"m not your buddy. You poured a fixative instead of developer."
  "Don"t ssy! It"s Okey!"
  "Go away. You will never be a good photographer. It"s not yours."
  "Tu-tu-tu."
  "GO!"
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  For a time, Sasha have forgotten about the extraterrestrial, but next day the members of the expedition walked down the street, and it was the awful view. Carrying their broken equipment, they sadly waddled past the yard. They were all torn off and burned. This dull picture frightened Sashka. It was like they suffered a sort of nuclear explosion or something like this.
  Yuri Snow Rubber approached Mozbruker"s yard and called Sashka. Sashka jumped like a scalded cat.
  "Hello," the voice of Yuri Snow Rubber sounded with anguish.
  "What happened?"
  "We lost, as you see, and our defeat was the hard one. We penetrated deep into the terrain and met a real Super Yuiss. It was the day of the evil. Shwartskopf remained there."
  "How did it happen? Is he not coming back again?"
  "Never."
  "Never?"
  "Yes. Never."
  Snow Rubber looked very strange. However, he always looked strange and always resembled someone. But who did he look like? His face was like a frozen mask.
  "What do you know about the kingdom come?" he asked.
   "What? Who come?"
  "But you know."
  Sashka pondered it over but found nothing and said after a break:
  "I"ve thought Super Yuiss is a safe being."
  "It"s not a being, "Yuri (Joe) Snow Rubber said, "but there were many other strangest things which looked even more frightful. From a forester I"ve heard about a "Infernal Cemetery". It"s somewhere there.
   "What"s the cemetery?"
  "That is not the ordinary graveyard, Sasha," Yuri Snow Rubber uttered with a voice of a maniac, "But I"ve got to give you a task. Learn something about the Kingdom come. It will be very useful information".
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Vovka did not share Sashka's optimism. Of course, there were many blank spots in his version. On the one hand, he was convinced that the effects were done with the help of improvised means. It all came together here. The cybercriminals used electronic devices assembled by themselves. All the gunpowder was bought in the shop to create the explosions.
  Some of the things looked obvious, but some were foggy. Everything looked too realistic. Also, who was Yuri Snow Rubber? Maslakov? But how did he make up so skillfully?
  Vovka really wanted to solve this riddle. He was sure that no natural phenomenon existed.
  His experiments with eavesdropping on neighbors were going well. So, he learned that Kovalchenko had stolen another chicken from his neighbors. His target was the Maslakovs' house. Geographically, it was located not so far from the Vorobyovs' house, but so far Vovka did not know a reliable way to eavesdrop.
  Vovka's father loved to make a variety of home-made devices. He bought another moped engine for a bottle of vodka. He made all the models without drawings. The new home-made car had four wheels and could accelerate to 30 kilometers per hour. It was the prototype of a go-kart car. Since the speed did not suit Vitya, he planned to put the engine from the Minsk motorcycle on the car.
  
  
  
  
  
  12. Dreams, conflicts, advantages
  
  New things started when someone fixed a board to the gates of Mozbrukers. It was the ads which said:
  
  House the Museum.
  Works from 7 a.m. till 19 p.m.
  Rest from 12 to 13.
  Countess Dashkova once lived here.
  Admission is free
  
  People were coming to the yard irritating Rex. Sashka"s mother, Love Stepanovna, was angry and shouted as hell. She tried to disperse people but all in vain as other groups arrived. A crowd of unknown tourists hurried up to Mozbruker"s place with cameras. They were eager to autograph Love Stepanovna but she was cussing them out. All attempts to remove the billboard failed as it was fixed very well. It seemed that intruders were very skillful and ingenious. Babushka said "ookh-tukh-tukh."
  "God sees our suffering", she added.
  
   Very soon there came the crows of foreigners, and many of them were with modern and expansive cameras. Love Sazanskaya tried to solve the problems having phoned to Papa Aram, but he was busy. Papa Artur was also busy.
  Tiotya Masha came out to clarify the situation. She approached a queue which stood in a rather long row.
  "What are you doing here?" she made a request.
  "I am from Japan," answered a little man, "I"m keenly interested in Russian culture. I came to see Love Sazanskaya."
  "Why?"
  "To touch Russian roots."
  Being shocked, Marii went home.
  In order not to meet the crowd, Sashka climbed over the fence and went to Danilovs there Luba Danilova was carrying her daughter, little Lidochka. It was a sort of unbelievable, and for Sashka something spiritual was there. He drew Lidochka to himself and claimed:
  "I will be carrying Lidochka!"
  But mother Luba didn"t like this, she had no desire to give away Lidochka for sacral carrying. Sashka tried to escape but dropped Lidochka to the mud.
  "Oh, damn!" cried Lubochka"s mother, Luba Danilova.
  As Sashka was a good runner, he made a circle around the block and returned to his yard. A brouhaha swept over. Some journalists held cameras and voice recorders. Firstly, Sashka joined the procession with some proud on his face, acting like he was a real tourist, but all of the sudden he was noticed by Lidochka"s mother.
  "You!" she yelled.
  She started her running, came to the crowd, pushing people aside. Sashka was very nimble. Moving by circle, he made all the people rotate their heads, and when he made an acceleration, some tourists instinctively followed him. It was truth, that the onlookers did not understand anything, but they ran in a group, believing that something important was happening.
  Oh, there were newcomers who, seeing the things, rushed to help, so that Sashka was the key figure. No one of them knew that everything was simple, that Luba tried to catch Sashka. In the slang it would sound "to rub his ears." Also, there were such expressions as "to salt and throw away", "to tear one"s ears off", "to tear off one"s head".
  Sashka made his way to a bus stop, and the chase wasn"t far behind. But there was a chance to take, and Sashka used it, mingled with crowd which came to the stop. A mixture of voices, of different language, was heard.
  "What"s going on?"
  "Who is that boy?"
  "Whom do we catch?"
  "Is he a knee Dashkov?"
  However, Sashka kept on running and then, he reached the railway where a accidental mopedist kicked him, so that Sashka almost got hit by a train.
  "Fool!" yelled the boy. "Ship-ship! Ass!"
  Returning back, Sashka could see that the crowds continued to besiege the yard. He took a hammer and chisel and tore off the billboard. That was the end of it.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  In the evening Grandma returned and said:
  "I was meeting my girls-friends. They said that The Lord will soon return and the spirin rain started out".
  "Aspirin," Sashka corrected her.
  "Ne pidhotj ?"
  "Oh. And when?"
  "May be right now."
  So Babushka came out to the yard with buckets. She hoped to gather all the aspirin into them.
  Mother gone to the discotheque. Lioshka was sitting, waiting for the rain. Sashka had a piece of issue ready to pick up all the aspirin. Grandpa was standing near a trough. But there was neither aspirin rain nor an ordinary one. Sashka went off to sleep. And an odd dream visited him.
  The tanks arrived and a dust was swarming in the air, and people in military uniforms ran and tied Sashka to the tree. Dressed in panties and singlet, Tiotya Masha appeared. Boxing gloves were on her hands. She was very sporty but heavy weight.
  "Are you ready to get him," asked a Gen.
  "Yes. I"m always ready to act!"
  "Do it right now!"
  "Oooo. I will get you!"
  He jumped, turned around and kicked him like a karate, and Sashka woke up.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  Still, no one knew about Lioshka magic copybook. The next chapter was....
  
  Americans on Mars
  
  This information is still classified, because the technology of flight to other planets does not allow you to fly further than the Moon. This is all very, very secret. The space flight took place back in 1974. The spacecraft was called the Silver Jack, and there were four astronauts on board. The flight took place in complete secrecy, so until now nothing is known about it. Crew members:
  
  John Johnson
  Mark Marks
  Peter Peterson
  George Reagan-middle
  
  Having reached Mars, the astronauts saw a huge Super Yuiss there and decided that this was their chance to return....
  .... The chapter is not finished
  
  
  South Mozbrura
  
  If you seriously consider the issue of parallel worlds, then you need to have a map. Parallel worlds follow each other as if the plates were stacked on top of each other. That is, you cannot just take and jump over one layer. But, since it is very often necessary to jump over everything, we will talk about South Mozbrura.
  South Mozbrura is an island in an ocean of fog. This is a very limited parallel world. However, this island is large, almost the size of Australia.
  List of devices suitable for entering South Mozbrura:
  
  1.Ectomo-1
  2. Round MC-Mos
  3. Ten-lamp Ju handpiece
  4. Horse riding
  5. Flying on a flock of mosquitoes. Gondola - the classic leather. The presence of an oxygen cylinder. The presence of a radio station. The number of draft mosquitoes is 2 million 500 thousand. The number of correcting mosquitoes is 800 thousand. The number of mosquitoes is 300 thousand.
  6. Underground creeping boat with EDDD diamond drill.
  7. Sports running.
  8. Alcohol.
  As strange as it may sound, some alcoholics enter South Mozbrura through alcohol fumes, and there they are greeted with honors.
  13. New information about the Infernal cemetery
  
  
  A few days left till the beginning of the autumn vocation. Lioshka acted like an agent of no one knows what, but the case was strong as he was the only keeper of the hidden knowledge. Now, he perfectly knew that Americans had no chances for returning from Mars, but one guy found an ancient Soviet spacecraft, and it was the apparatus of some prehistorical USSR. Lioshka regret that Americans had so advanced rocketry. Sometimes boiling dreams ran over him. Lioshka wanted to be an astronaut.
  The "Awesad-HSV" was ready to prepare a new program, and it should have been a real rock-opera. Sashka went out to the ravine where he did an attempt to compose a libretto.
  Three stick.... No
  Three cans of scad
  And Iwashi the herring.
  And capelin....
  Thoughts galloped in his head like horses.
  Vovka has improved the technique of listening to the subscriber network. To do this, he started assembling his own audio amplifier. Now at his disposal was a 3-watt radio-electronic device. Vovka liked the amplifier. The sound was very loud, very noisy. The hope of listening to the Maslakovs' house did not leave him, but, as before, he only managed to listen to Kovalchenko. So, he found out that they stole another neighbor's chicken and made soup out of it.
  Lenka Kepeese went out into the yard and saw a sparrow.
  "Babrak!" She screamed.
  The sparrow moved its tail happily. Lenka was illuminated by light.
  "Babrak! Babrak!"
  "Chick-chirp!" answered the sparrow.
  "Babrak! It's you."
  At this time, a cat jumped from the roof and grabbed Babrak. It was all over. Lenka was hysterical.
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Sometimes Sashka was forgetting about his mission, sometimes, remembering the matter, he tried to work harder. Arriving at school, he said to Peuza.
  "You, Peuza, must come to me today. We will be doing research."
  "Ah. I really love research."
  "I have a plan."
  "I love plans! What exactly did you come up with?"
  "I'll tell you later."
  Vovka was more specific. Of course, he supported Sasha, but believed that he was playing a useless game. And, then, Sasha himself could have been involved in everything. Could Vovka trust him?
  After lessons Vovka Vorobiov went to the Department Store. He climbed to the second floor and approached a cashbox. He could trace that one cashier has gone and another came.
  "Oh, tiotenka", Vovka said "Don"t you know Liosha. Such a guy. He may be often visit the shop of issue?"
  "Yes. Why do you need him?"
  "Yes. Could you tell me his last name?"
  "Last name? Well. Borisov. Liosha Borisov."
  "Good. Thank you."
  Nothing is good, he thought. Borisov. Borisov. I know no Liosha Borisov. Who is he? I should talk to Sashka.
  Very soon he came.
  "As you may see, I am very doubtful about this matter. There"s nothing extraterrestrial. Patsans. They are involved in this, " he said.
  "But how?"
  "Try to find a brain in your head! Use the logic!"
  "I see no links."
  "OK. OK."
  Vovka decided not to argue with Sashka. He came to Sergeon to have some talk.
  "Seems, I"ve found something," said Sergey, "Let"s go to the Department Store."
  "What for?"
  "We should re-ask all the sellers."
  The boys went to the Department Store and got to know that no one of sellers aware of Liosha Borisov existence. Deception? Likely. But what to do?
  A new thing came to Vovka"s head. There was a very high tree, acacia, in the yard of Hacheek. One could watch Maslakov"s yard from there using binoculars. Vovka assumed that all actions linked with expositions were fake. But how to prove this?
  In the evening another expedition was passing Sashka"s yard, and Yuri Snow Rubber came up to the gates.
  "Hail to thee, Sasha" he said solemnly.
  Sashka was embarrassed. Minutes ago he thought about how not to be knouted due to mother"s bad moods. Possibly, Snow Rubber"s visit now had some sense to him.
  "Hello. Why have you returned so early? Did something happen? Did you learn something new about Mozbroorrey the Phenomenon?"
  "Yes. We have some progress".
  "Could you tell me about the first expedition?"
  "Do really want it?"
  "Certainly".
  "Well. At four we went across the river. For about 4 hours we walked. Only in the evening, at ten, we made a break. We had eight people. We made a campfire.
  I switched on a special mini TV set with the super antenna to catch special waves which cosmic beings emit. For a time, the gadget worked properly. Then, Willy Shwartskopf configured the device. Now, we could use it as a bio locator. Our signals went through the terrain, so that we hoped to fixate alien impulses. Where was nothing, as ever, and we cooked on the fire getting ready for the night. John, it was John Korzhov from Minnesota, made an assurance that we could search for something for endless hours. No one wanted to spent all the time in vain. Nevertheless, Willy contrived to find something. He put on headphones and listened alone. Seeing this, our guys prepared their cameras.
   At 11 pm we started to receive foreign programs. Willy stopped to listen to the terrain and went somewhere without saying us a word. At this moment a group of Super Yuisses appeared. Forming the red structure, they spread big balls around, and it looked intimidating.
  The forest was full of unbelievable light. All TV sets (we had two) blinked in a very strange way saying "Yuiss". The strangest mist appeared.
  Our special emitter could be used as a weapon. Yes, it"s rather powerful. It was the only hope to survive. Shwartskopf used it, obviously. All the Super Yuisses flew away. Being in a sort of panic, we couldn"t control the situation, and he was the only one who kept his composure. Maybe, it was a new type of Super. It bade its time. Willy had no chances."
  "What about now?" Sashka asked.
  "Nothing. The forest is collapsed. Willy is off. We"ve known something about the Infernal Cemetery. But did you learn something about the Kingdome come?"
  "Which kingdom?"
  "I"ve just thought like this. Yeah".
  Yuri Snowrubber had left."
  "Yuri Sergeevich! I recalled it!"
  "What did you..."
  "Alexandrite! The spirit of Alexandrite! Kingdom of Alexandrite!"
  
  
  
  
  14. Trading
  
  
  There was a times when children launched a trade using candy wrappers instead of money. It was funny. Sashka"s Aunt, Vera, fetched some soap wraps. The green ones were the millions. Little banknotes were made of notebook sheets cut into pieces. Big banknotes had stripes of foil on them which meant that it was gold or silver. Flattened covers of bottles ran as coins. So, there was a lot of money, and Sashka went to Sergeon.
  "Hello!"
  "Hello. What do you have to sell?" Sergeon asked.
  "I want you to sell candies."
  "Where did you get them?"
  "It"s self-made candies. Papa Aram produced them from sugar and vinegar essence."
  "OK. How much are they?"
  "100 rubles for a piece."
  "OK."
  Sergeon bought two big candies.
  "Now it"s my turn to sell you things," Sergey said," I have jet-liners."
  Sergeon shows Sashka paper planes with different signs and labels on wings.
  "This is war plane. It"s fast. But this is a bomber. They are expensive. I have a special military factory where thousands of people work."
  "OK."
  Sashka bought planes though they were very, very expensive. One plane cost one million roubles. Then, was his turn. Aside from candies, he had green matches.
  "Oh, great," Sergeon said, "I like it. How much is it?"
  "One million."
  "Oh, they are too expensive."
  "They are special."
  "OK."
  Also, Sashka had sold mother"s leather purse, and it was the most expensive things.
  "It"s the bargain," Sashka said.
  "OK. OK."
  
  
  
  15. Another operation
  
  
  First of all, you need to tell the story of the Alexandrite stone. Exactly a year ago, Sashka was standing on the edge of the ravine. It was dark. Suddenly, a mysterious green light appeared in the bushes. Sashka went downstairs and heard a voice:
  Whoa. Wow eu. Alexandrite!
  At the same moment, the glow changed its color to red.
  It soon became clear that Alexandrite is a mysterious stone with magical powers. It was one more evening, and Sashka saw the glow of Alexandrite in the darkness of the ravine. He went down and was hit in the eye.
  "By! Uh! BUT! Ash!" there was a cry.
  For several days a lantern shone under Sasha's eye. Vovka, for his part, also believed that Alexandrite was the greatest mystery of the 20th century.
  Up to a moment, Vovka was a master of espionage. He worked out some theory and acted on that. Now, he decided to make a control call to Snow Rubber. He was confident that someone real was involved here, and he was on the right track. He took a stick of dill, lighted it and made a several puffs like a real smoker. Then, he was ready for action.
  "Hello, Vova is calling."
   "Whom do you want, Vova?"
  "But who are you?"
  "Who is calling. Go away! Let me....."
  And the voice of Snow Rubber joined the conversation:
  "Who is calling?"
  "Vova"
  "Vorobiov?"
  "Yes"
  "Oh. It is quite a wrong time. What do you want?"
  "I can tell you about Alexandrite Spirit. But.... You can know something about it. Really. As a fact, in the beginning was a red spot in the ravine."
  Vovka told a story in details.
  "And now I want to know many things. What do you know of Maslakov? He"s the guy who visits my school. He"s very arrogant and self-possessive. Maybe you know something about him."
  "I can try to clear it out."
  Nothing came out from here, but Vovka was enthusiastic. In that moment, Victor entered the room, and they had a conversation.
  "Do you have ideas?" Vovka asked.
  "Nope."
  "How do you think, if Snow Rubber is Maslakov, how he contrived to camouflage himself so well."
  "Are you sure?"
  "I'm not sure of anything. Listen, everything says that Snow Rubber is Maslakov. But It can't be. What if he's an alien?"
  "You think so?"
  "That would explain everything. He periodically changes his appearance. Do not you see? It can't be regular makeup. He really changes his appearance."
  "But this cannot be!"
  "I think so too. Aliens don"t exist."
  "But you said about it."
  "Yes."
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  Hacheek, Victor"s brother, was ready. Sitting in the bushes near Maslakov"s house, he watched people and even photographed them. A woman, apparently Maslakov"s mother, came out of the yard.
  Hacheek was waiting stubbornly. But here came voices. Maslakov and Crapko appeared.
  "Liokha," Crapko said to Maslakov, "When are we going across the river?"
  "Who knows? Here a lot of matters and questions. May be, tomorrow. You can go with me. I will go tomorrow at 9."
  Hacheek hotfooted to Sashka where Vovka was. He had to make a report about this news.
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  It was early morning. Maslakov and Crapko were going downhill. Sashka, Hacheek and Sergey traced them.
  "Get down!" Sashka said. "Be ready."
  So, hid behind bushes, boys were ready to spy. Maslakov carried a bit bag with him, and, apparently, something heavy was in it. They made their trip to the bridge and crossed the river. The boys had to follow them under the bridge, using the thin technological ladder which was used by workers to do repairs. Making their way to the opposite side, they found bushed to hide again. Sashka was afraid that Maslakov and Crapko could bash them so that they were silent.
  "What do you want to do?" Crapko asked.
  "I have intentions."
  "And?"
  "I want to call."
  "Whom?"
  
  
  
  
  
  "Spirits. But not only them".
  He took out of his bag a heavy gadget with buttons and toggles. A big antenna was on the top of it. After this he took out a large parcel and elongated apparatus with two serial handles. At the front side was a barrel with shining lens.
  Maslakov was tuning the gadget. So he pulled out a box of matches and struck one. He fired a parcel so it became to fume. Maslakov put it on the ground and picked up the automate.
  A bright ray flew from the barrel in the direction of a hillock. It touched the ground and a hips of dry grass fired, and black smoke appeared and a deafening clap came. Sparks which flew out from that place were bright like phosphors burning in the pure oxygen. Maslakov chunked his parcel to that place, lied down and order Crapko to do the same.
  There was explosion accompanied with a smoke which was dense as running milk. Sparks were brighter than before. A whistle was heard. Black hurricane whizzed, twisted and rushed up to the sky carrying moss and dirt.
  Maslakov put on headphones and began to configure the device.
  "No" he concluded suddenly "here is someone"s presence".
  "Whose?"
  "I don"t know?"
  "How did you know that?" answered Crapko.
  "It displays. We have to go or else we will be revealed".
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  Sashka told all the story to Vovka.
  "Well," he concluded, "It seems that they noticed you".
  "But how? It"s impossible! We were well camouflaged! May be his patsans are everywhere? Sitting on branches as cuckoos. On all trees? How can you explain it?"
  Vovka phoned Lunushkin and, coming with his camera, he started conversing with Sashka.
  "But who is Maslakov?"
  "Mediator."
  "Which mediator?"
  "Between Alexandrite and this world."
  "It"s cool. But there are the facts? We can"t confirm it!"
  "I feel like there is no need in facts. If you want, you can seek them."
  Then, they decided to go to the Department Store together. The weather was fine and slick clouds moved in the sky, full of hopes. A slight wind made dust running on the street. On their way they met Sophronov Andrey who was walking with black eye. He was rather sad.
  "Who got you?" asked him Vovka.
  "What you want? It was a true fray. Don"t you see?"
  "Whom with?"
  "With Maslakov who is a boxer, though."
  "Oh, wow! Listen! What do you know about Maslakov? What does he do and all?"
  "Raises spirits. And very successfully, you know."
  "Oh..."
  "I"m telling you!"
  The boys came to the Department Store and came up to a cashier girl.
  "Hi! Do you know Liosha?"
  "Yes," she answered gladly, "Liosha Borisov. He"s bought all the silk!"
  "But why he bought it?"
  "For dresses!"
  "Which dresses?"
  "Extraordinary ones."
  "He likes dresses?"
  "Yes. He is training to be a stylist"
  "Well"
  "OK."
  "Thank you".
  Lunushkin photographed the cashier. All this looked very suspicious, not to mention the money that had to be spent on the purchase of silk. Who was this Lyosha Borisov? What school did he go to? At some point, it began to seem that that Lyosha was some kind of demon. Indeed, what a normal person would buy so much silk!
  Lunushkin was ready to make photos as he had a good skill. He used self-made developer. Soon, a very strange fact was revealed - there was not such cashier in the Department Store. From where she appeared? The ghost? Could it be that all the store employees were in cahoots? What if it was about unseen or even aliens?
  
  
  
  16. The AWESAD-HSV
  
  
  Next day the "Awesad" band gathered for a new musical session. The new instruments were taken. The new words. The new unelaborate tune. Sashka was with an import key kit "Laura" which was made in DDR. Lenka hoped to play the electronic piano. Lioshka was with a labial harmony. Sergey was with two drums bottles. Slavka had a glockenspiel. Victor had a little bell. Hacheek hold a toot. An amplifier was taken from electrophone "Leader".
  The bell started to sound. The following whistles were as a little train was passing along. Sergey took up a percussion session. Playing "Laura" Sashka commenced to perform.
  
  Bom, Bom, Bom.
  A Moon man is here.
  It"s clear
  Here are you, Lioshka, my dear?
  
  He wants to do it.
  His shovel is ready.
  He"s doing bit by bit
  He will do it gladly.
  
  A pallet with oil
  Will go for a boy.
  It will be coil
  Of cheese, like toy.
  
  No needless of marmalade.
  No needless of chocolate.
  
  Everybody began to sing in chorus, in a very thin voice.
  
  I need no
  I need no
  I need no
  I need no.
  
  No marmalade.
  No marmalade.
  No marmalade.
  No marmalade.
  
  I don"t like oil.
  I don"t like sugar coil.
  
  La-la-la-la-la-la.
  La-la-la-la-la-la.
  La-la-la-la-la-la.
  La-la-la-la-la-la.
  
  La-la-la-la-la-la.
  La-la-la-la-la-la.
  La-la-la-la-la-la.
  La-la-la-la-la-la.
  
  Sashka was wheezing in microphone:
  
  Bom, Bom, Bom.
  This Moon man
  Bom, Bom, Bom
  He wants to bang.
  
  He has a baton.
  It"s good to for Lioshka-beating.
  There will be no pardon
  But only the Lioshka-eating.
  
  Oh, I want nothing.
  And I don"t need something.
  But I want a brick
  On my head like a siege.
  
  Cha-cha-cha.
  Cha-cha-cha.
  Cha-cha-cha.
  Cha-cha-cha.
  
  Mishka sang:
  
  There is trap
  In the yard of Tiotya Masha
  A-ha-ha-ha.
  Toothy trap.
  
  Bom, Bom, Bom.
  A man got to the trap.
  Lioshka had stolen a map.
  From school, Bom, Bom.
  
  So Lioshka started to sing about himself with hoarse voice:
  
  Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.
  Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.
  Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.
  Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.
  
  In chorus:
  
  O-o-o-o-o-o-o.
  O-o-o-o-o-o-o.
  
  Sashka:
  "Lioshka! Shut up, Scot !"
  "Santiorina! I want to sing about myself!"
  
  Sashka sang in retort:
  
  As if in the Moon Hall
  They were killing Lioshka.
  Ooooooooooooooo
  Ooooooooooooooo
  
  
  "This was very uncultured and rude song," concluded Tiotya Masha coming out of the house.
  "Never listen it!" Sashka screamed.
  "Who?"
  "Daddy Boo!"
  "Sashka! I will call your mother!"
  "You"d better get me!"
  "I get you!"
  "Ha! You are the boxer!"
  "Who?"
  "Daddy Boo!"
  Anyway, nothing could redeem Sashka from problems arrived. Sashka"s mother darted like a shadow. It was the bad sing. First, chances to get away were good, but Sashka was too light-minded continuing to carry away. Encouraged by his talent, he felt loud and proud, but everything was changing fast. Love Sazanskaya stormed through the street holding a broom in her hands. She was very fond of hitting their children in the face.
  Lioshka's cry was heart-rending and doomed. He thought correctly, although he was not to blame. It was necessary to hide so as not to get in the face with a broom.
  The pop concert was ending. Sashka ran fast, he was faster than an ostrich, no one was able to catch him. Mother grabbed Lioshka by the ear and took him home. Her grip was so strong that Lioshka's ear burned with a red light.
  "Mom, no!" he yelled.
  "Yes. Yes."
  "Not! Not!"
  "Yes! Yes!"
  There was the sound of loud slaps.
  "Ui!" yelled Lioshka.
  "Do not shout, bastard!"
  "Ui!"
  In the evening, the mother went to a disco, so that she"s soon forgotten about Sashka's guilt.
  Next day, on Sunday, there was the last day of autumn vacations and Victor came to Sashka.
  "Hello, Sashka."
  "Privet! Why did you come?"
  "I"ve went fishing yesterday, to Sivushinka. It was in the evening. But it was still light, and a strange thing was met by us. All of a sudden, the grass began to sway, and it was like a hurricane started. It happened very fast, and we feel intimidated. We saw a small tornado that passed along the shore and entered the water. Surely, somewhere nearby was the Devil's Cemetery.
   "That takes the cake! I will tell everything to Peuza tomorrow!"
  
  Lioshka"s reading.
  
  Mozbruricus UE
  
  Mozbruricus was discovered at a depth of 2 meters by Black Sea divers, but it was not the sea, but a river bottom, near the sea. At first, they had no ideas and decided that it was a statue. When Mozbruricus opened his eyes, it turned out that he knew very well the football clubs of the DDR.
  
  VICTORIA (Frankfurt Oder)
  ENERGY (Cottbus)
  ZAXEN
  DYNAMO (Berlin)
  MAGDEBURG
  STAHL (Eisenhüttenstadt)
  STAHL (Brandenburg)
  LOCOMOTIVE (Leipzig)
  CARL Zeiss
  KEMNITZER
  GALLESCHER
  ROT-WEISS
  DYNAMO (Dresden)
  HANZA (Sprout)
  
  Since none of the scientists was familiar with the clubs of the DDR, we had to make inquiries. Indeed, it all looked more than extraordinary. Nevertheless, it is reliably clear that Mozbruricus spent many years on the river bed. Perhaps centuries. In no way could he have known which teams were playing in the GDR Championship.
  
  
  17. The autumn, Toobic, and other things
  
  
  When the vacations ended, going to the school, students were full of energy. Nobody wanted to study, but all the other things looked very interesting to them, and there was a whole list. Clicks on the ears, kicks for comrades, launching paper airplanes, playing patches, artistic farting. There was a Lab in botany where students brought some vegetables with them. One of the task was to define what is tomato? A berry or a drupe? Sashka push a tomato with his finger and it squirted to a wall. Sokolov laughed.
  "Don"t laugh!" the teacher said.
  "It was not me!"
  "But who?"
  "Not me!"
  "Tell me the truth, Sokolov!"
  "It was Chiba!"
  "Who is Chiba?"
  "Not him, dude," said Steblyanko.
  "Steblyanko!" the teacher yelled "Shut up!"
  "Boo-boo-boo-boo-boo" he monkeyed in response.
  "I will punish you"
  "Yo-hoo!" said someone.
  "Who said this?"
  "Yo-hoo!"
  The name of the teacher was Maria Ivanovna. She took a wooden pointer as she always did, she felt more confident and important with it. The children continued to fool around, making constant convulsive movements. Schukin said:
  "Ee- tssss".
  Katya Mukhina:
  "Don"t pinch me! Don"t pinch me!"
  "Who is pinching, Katya?" Maria Ivanovna asked furiously.
  "Baranov!"
  The patience of an educated woman rаn out, and now she was ready for anything. With all her might Maria Ivanovna conked Baranov, and a wooden debris flew away like flies or micro planes. The pointer was crashed. Baranov whinnied like a horse.
  "He has no gray matter," Steblyanko commented.
  "Gi-gi-gi-gi-gi" Baranov giggled commented.
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  That day Vovka had four lessons. Going home, he was thinking about Maslakov.
  "He moved to the ninth grade, where there are a lot of subjects. How does he manage everywhere? But Snow Rubber looks much more mature. How old is he? However, there is a connection here. What if everything is really overcomplicated? But how can this matter be resolved? Are there really aliens involved?"
  Vovka"s father invented a new car. This model based on a moped but had three wheels. As it was not fast, he disassembled it having many ideas about something other. The flying thing? He lit a cigarette and made a puff. Of course, moped engine couldn"t lift the plane into the air, where needed something more powerful. Vitya wanted to come up with a turbocharging and an engine acceleration system using nitrous oxide.
  Sashka and Vovka went to Severnoe, to the kerosene stall.
  "Greetings!"
  "Greetings, children. Do you want kerosene? Huh. As a matter of fact, we don"t give it to children."
  "We don"t need the kerosene."
  "What? Go away".
  "No. We won"t go. Tell us please if anybody tried to buy all the kerosene?"
  "Yes. There was a case. Oh, it was one of you!"
  She pointed at Sashka.
  "No, no," Sashka protested.
  "Yes, yes. People gossiped that your grandfather was Hitler, right? You are a son of a son of Hitler. Your mother is bitch."
  "Ship-ship!" Sashka screamed with indignation. "You are..."
  "Go away, Hitler"s nephew. And you!" she pointed at Vovka. "You are a Jew, right?"
  Despite the outrageous behavior of the saleswoman, Vovka became even more suspicious of Sashka.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  On alternate days Vovka was at Sashka"s. Here were also Hacheek, Victor, Sergey. The boys were ready to find something new in their attempt to investigate the deed. Vovka made a conclusion that all the phenomena take place on weekends. For some time already Vovka was busy listening to neighbors. Kovalchenko was no longer interesting in him. He managed to find the key to the subscriber loudspeaker of the Glazovs. It turned out that the Glazovs were constantly cursing. Very often farting was the topic of their conflict. So, last time Vovka heard the following dialogue:
  "Did you fart?"
  "Not. it's you."
  "Why are you lying?"
  "No, you're lying."
  "Why did you eat peas?"
  "I love peas."
  You can't eat peas.
  "I love peas."
  Lioshka were present as well. He recently read another chapter in his secret notebook. He was not going to share with anyone, realizing that perhaps he is a real Ufologist.
  
  
  Mozbreishie
  
  The Mozbreishie (the plural, one item is Mozbreishiy) always move in a crowd. This is not to say: Mozbreishie. In fact, you can say so. Many of them are Mozbreishie, the one is Mozbreishiy. One Mozbreishiy is the representative of the group. So, here you can draw some initial conclusions.
  The Mozbreishie are a group of Mozbroids. A Mozbroid is not a humanoid at all, it is a completely different creature. Mozbroids most often travel on flying saucers. These flying saucers are not crafts. Mozbroid devices are technocratic saucers of natural origin.
  Since the Mozbreishie are also Mozbroids, they also have flying saucers. All Mozbreishie usually fly inside a saucer. Other Mozbroids often fly alone.
  The main goal of the Mozbreishie is to make conceptual noise. Like other Mozbroids, the Mozbreishie do not actively communicate with people, however, sometimes they look through telescopes.
  Viktor Kozlov, an astronomer, was looking through the eyepiece of a telescope when he heard a strange sound. He looked around: there was no one around. He decided he was just dreaming. He looked through the eyepiece again, and then, the eye appeared again.
  "Ho-ho-ho," there was a sound.
  Viktor Kozlov jumped up.
  "Who's here?" He screamed.
  "This is us!"
  "Who!"
  "We are the Mozbreishie."
  "Who you are?"
  "We can mosbrue!"
  Of course, no one believed Viktor Kozlov. However, some competent scientists are well aware of this issue.
  
  Describing this phenomenon, we must compose a short glossary of terms.
  
  Verbs:
  
  To Mozbru
  
  To Otmozbru
  
  To mos
  
  Nouns:
  
  Mossigat
  Sugarfly
  Alyyafa
  Elephantus-us
  Elefantus-En
  Baldak the common
  Baldak gentle
  Free catcher
  Pea sound maker
  Pea gas producer
  Mozvru-Oil
  Mozvru-Grasshoper
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  The surveillance of Maslakov"s yards was carrying out by Vovka Vorobiov. By Fridays. By Saturdays. Still, things remained changed, and the strangest one was that no one came out from their yard. Previously, it was Hacheek who conducted his watch, but he got nothing. Having some real experience, Vovka was ready to do his best. All his efforts were dashed against the facts. There was some activity in the house. Sometimes someone walked around the yard. However, no one left the yard. Soon Vovka was in despair.
  Maslakov....
  
  Maslakov = Snow Rubber?
  
  But how?
  
  If aliens were involved in this case, then why was all the kerosene bought up?
  On Sunday Lenka went to her vegetable garden to play with her doggies. Here were Leska, Tobka (Bobka was kicked out, Tubka was given away), Rapka, Tchapka and Toobic.
  "Toobic, Toobic," Lenka called.
  The white choppy approached her wagging its tail.
  "Toobic! Toobic! Come here!"
  Toobic jumped with joy, but all of a sudden it started barking and rushed to bushes of strawberry. Lenka put off her hap and followed him. Toobic penetrated to the strawberry and barked excitedly, growling as if it found a hedgehog or something like this. Lenka climbed to the bushes stretching her face and found Toobic. He was dead.
   "O-o-o-o-o!" she screamed.
  Soon, she came out from her yard to make a statement:
   "Ooo, UUU, Oh, yeah. Okay. The funeral starts tomorrow. Everybody have to go. Oh, yeah."
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  The funeral was starting. Near Bakulins house logs were piled by stockpile. A large piece of wadding was lying there, Toobic was on it. Another pile of logs was intended for cremation. A pyramid of dry fuel girdled it. The neighbors were gathering willing to participate. Tiotya Masha brought a pan with a petrol. Lenka held a torch. Squealing, she shoved it right into the pan. There was a grandiose blow. Lenka ran away, frightened and black.
  A terrible steam went from the pile. A smell of fried Toobic came. Baba Motya and Tiotya Luba stood with their arms akimbo. The clouds of smoke hid Sashka and other people in funeral procession. When Sashka returned to the street he was black. Lenka tried to put out her smoking hair.
  "This is not the water!" Tiotya Masha screamed crabbing a bottle of campaign. A jet of Champaign extinguished the hair that broke out under the influence of gasoline.
  A pile flushed and collapsed. Particles flew right into Bakulins" garden. Having seen no better means of extinguishing Tiotya Masha sat on aphids. Her coat soon was smoking. Antonovna"s fence was engulfed with flames. Antonovna, herself, popped with a bucket of diesel fuel and poured it into fire. Fire broke out with renewed vigor. So, this hellish event unfolded with renewed strength, and there was a direct threat of a large fire.
  Sashka didn"t hear a motor of coming fire truck and was nearly run down, with his mouth open. Firemen did their work very quickly. They launched a big spurt which put off all the fire at once. Both Antonovna and Tiotya Masha were doused by water. Lenka was wet worse than anyone else. The house of Mozbruker"s was doused as well. Lioshka popped, burnt a box of matches and left.
  "Stop!" shouted a fireman.
  Lioshka disobeyed. The fireman doused him so he was wet as a fish. A spurt of foam enveloped Sashka.
  "Svoloch !" he squalled.
  This means scum, crude, asshole, etc. May be riffraff. But Svoloch is a more appropriate word.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  In the evening Snow Rubber came to see Sashka.
  "Hello, Sasha" he said sadly as a poor harlequin.
  He was pale. Like a poet. Like Byron.
  "What"s new, Alexander?"
  "Ya. Ya. Khe," strange sounds were heard now.
  "What is it?" Joe (Yuri) enquired.
  The smell of smoke.
  Pshh....
  Sashka rushed to the kitchen.
  "Yu!"
  Lioshka wept.
  "My pancakes!"
  The smoke was terrifying and dense. Fried pieces of something were on the floor. Everything was smeared with white substance which in fact was the dough. All the gas cooker was sprinkled with a starch. Babushka ran up and led Lioshka away, for torturing.
  Sashka went to his room where he told Snow Rubber about The Spirit of Alexandrite.
  "Where do you sleep?" asked Snow Rubber.
  "Here"
  "Why not in the house?"
  "Mama doesn"t allow it."
  "Why"
  "Mmm.... Hmmm..."
  "Well, OK. So you live in a cardboard extension."
  "There was Dyadya Seriozha, and Mom forbid us to visit chambers. But this door leads right to the kitchen. But it is locked. But if to move the bed aside, one can open the door with screwdriver, get in and all. But then, Papa Kolya. Now it"s nobody but Papa Andrey came to us to do something. For example, he repaired our recorder."
  "Well, well. Where are you have a breakfast?"
  "In the kitchen".
  "Well. But where is a toilet?"
  "Outside. Near the chicken coop. But there is one in the kitchen but it"s forbidden for me to go there".
  "Why?"
  "Mama said."
  "Well. May I go to the one which is outside."
  "Where are you? That way is nearer."
  "All right. All right."
  Sashka was sitting on his bed as if meditating. Some rustle was heard in the yard, but it must have been Lioshka who loved to run to and fro. Someone whistled in the street. Babushka went to find out what it was. A crisp was heard in the kitchen. Snow Rubber soon returned having something at his bosom.
  
  
  "This is a spectrograph," he explained, "we are fixing it in your yard. This yard is well situated for explorations. We can monitor Mozbroorrey the Phenomenon better from here."
  Snow Rubber went off. At the moment Vorobiov burst to the room.
  "I was behind the door!"
  "Why. You"ve eavesdropped?"
  "Yes. Let"s go to the kitchen."
  "For what?"
  "You will see!"
  Vovka pointed at the radio.
  "What do you see, Santior?"
  "This is the radio".
  "See closer. Better. Take it"
  "What"s this? It"s new! May be mother washed it!"
  "They replaced it".
  "But why?"
   "You will see. I can listen the program myself, but you"ll do it at your kitchen and we compare the programs. I think you will hear a fake program! But Listen. Snow Rubber come out to the kitchen, and some guys whistled in the street. Babka came out. He had a time to replace the radio! All converge!"
  "But why should they done it?"
  "This is you who have a breakfast here. And don"t be surprised if Rex dies tomorrow".
  And Rex died. Vovka appeared to be a good predictor. But it wasn"t a coincidence as Rex died in a day after Toobic"s doom.
  Sashka went to the vegetable garden carrying out a really epoch idea to erect a Haloboodah. As you know, among children such sort of little house, or a dugout, or a special basement, or a plywood kiosk was very popular. It was a form of self-expression. Sometimes Haloboodah was building for sports idleness, sometimes, sometimes for various games.
  Sashka started to dig a pit. In this, he was a sort of master of shovel, the true specialist. Mother has been teaching him an excavation from very childhood. The fact was that during the summer period they often had to bury the corpses of chickens and kittens. Lioshka came up:
  "Oh, you are digging, Santior!"
  "Yes. This is the pit"
  "I see. Ha! Ha! Santior! Ha!"
  "Gnida!"
  "Santiorina!"
  "Lehosha! Lehonder! Help! Help me to work right now!"
  So they got calm and worked together. The pit was covered by roofing felt, and, at this stage, everything was accomplished.
  Sashka kindled a fire in the dugout. Lioshka took mother"s wooden abacus, sat on it and got rolling giggling through the tickling. The wooden bones flew off one by one, but the speed was growing.
  "Oh, yeah!" Lioshka laughed with joy.
  Sashka felt like something wrong was happening outside, but he had no moral strength to climb out of there. Babushka was the first who went to the mountain to contemplate a shouting quartet consisted of a babka, a biker without his bike, a girl and Lioshka who was at the head of this group. Baba Motya ran downhill to help but slipped on the wooden bone and sat on a wheel of bicycle. So she started to drive down as by a mono cycle or unicycle. It led her to the Kozia Dorozhka, very narrow path that only goats could walk. Sashka didn"t went to help his granny as he tried to extinguish a fire in the Haloboodah. There, in the dense smoke, he was like in a fascist gas camera.
  Babushka stuck head down in the bushes. Hearing the hell noise, Tiotya Masha came and pulled Babushka not without difficulty.
  
  
  
  18. It"s getting colder
  
  
  It was becoming colder and colder every day. A snowfall broke out and Lioshka came home with his boots full of snow. He entered the house grunting as he always loved to do.
  "What to do next?" it was his first thought.
  "May be.... Let"s go and get sledging!"
  Lioshka took his sledge, prepared it and rushed downhill. All the lane was covered with snow. Without reaching The Pit (it was very famous place which all the children were afraid of) he fell off and was ready to climb but...
  Running, skippering down, jumping sometimes, nearly falling at each step, Maslakov raced at a full sail. His reddish face was full of a strange passion. Lioshka opened his mouth. Maslakov approached like a weird blue shadow because both his jacket and jeans were extremely blue. Even his eyes were blue, and something badly extravagant was in them. Even his fashioned sneakers were as skis. What was this? A shrewd individual would defined it right then - he was the maniac. Ice and snow maniac.
  Maslakov ran up to Lioshka, knocked him down and began to rub with snow. Lioshka raised a howl. As a fact it was no such a great howl as did a boy who was rolling on a glass jar. But Maslakov rubbed Lioshka with passionate laughing as if he wanted to have Lioshka"s face well cooked with snow.
   "UI! UI!"
  Lioshka tried to draw somebody"s attention but it was all in vain.
  
  * * *
  
  The other day, Sashka came home and went to complete his Haloboodah. He picked the ground with a shovel.
  "Sashka! What are you doing, such a kurvets !" Babushka cried.
  "I am.... Cellar".
  "Let me see!"
  Baba Motya came to inspect what her nephew was doing, slipped badly and fell into the pit, and there was a great noise. Geese began to cackle. Some gander shouted as if it was big commanders. The roosters crowed indignantly. However, it turned out that the cause of the commotion in the poultry yard was not at all the fall of the grandmother. A big red cat ran here and there, scaring the birds away. Here, it was like a little snow leopard.
   "Oh, you bastard!" Sashka cried.
  Being not punished, Sashka entered the house and saw another red cat sitting on the table. It was Cesar. Sashka set on a sofa. Cesar jumped from the table and got away leaving nibble piece of meat.
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  In the evening Vorobiov penetrated into vegetable garden of Maslakovs from the side which bordered the lawn near the DK. There were many broken bottles covered by snow so as it was a rather dangerous trip. Vovka found a wicket in the fence and opened it. It had been snowing in large flakes and Vovka was confident that his traces will be hidden. He laid and crept until met something like a poll. A dog barked. A door slammed.
  "Signalization," he thought and crept away.
  Next day snow melted a bit. Lioshka decided to make a Scolzochka. It had to be a self-made rink. He tried to ski on his foot without any adjustments. Maria Nikolaevna (Marii) was going uphill when Lioshka with joy shouts joy set off to meet her.
  "Little nobody!" exclaimed Marii with anger. "Who taught you to do it? Your mother was at the disco! Such a shame! Go away, you worm!"
  Sashka was going home when slipped on the Scolzochka but didn"t fell and fetched some salt to pour on it.
  "It became colder," said Lioshka returning after ramming Tiotya Masha.
  The salt helped the snow to disappear at all.
  "You are the infant moron" said Tiotya Masha, "stop it. You'd better teach your lessons."
  "Not me! Not me!" Lioshka replied.
  "But who?"
  "I am Sazansky!"
  "What it means?"
  "I don"t even know!"
  "Why do you speak as an idiot?"
  "I don"t know".
  "I"ve been aware! I"ve been aware!"
  Tiotya Masha disappeared behind her wicket.
  
  
  
  
  19. The Jet Engine
  
  
  Vovka was sitting in the attic. Although the weather was cold and there was no heating in the attic, he used his ingenuity, namely - he connected the wires to the electric meter and could now use a device called a goat. It was a homemade electrical appliance. In fact, his father, being even more inventive, knew how to properly conserve electricity. Here, Vovka has not invented anything new. He was the son of his father.
  The "goat" did not heat very well. Vovka decided to use a fan. The attic was now much warmer. He turned on his eavesdropping device. There was a lot of noise in the headphones. He turned the tuning knob and heard Hacheek and Viktor talking at home.
  "What is it?"
  "Ball pen. Are you blind?"
  "No, I'm not blind. Why did you bite a ballpoint pen?"
  "What do you care?"
  "You've already bitten two pens."
  "These are my pens. I do what I want."
  "You're a fool?"
  "You yourself are a fool."
  As mentioned earlier, Vovka's target was the Maslakovs' house. In a straight line, through the gardens, it was no more than five hundred meters to it, but the wires of the radio network went along a different route. He had to admit that all his efforts were in vain.
  
  Vovka"s plan was as follows:
  
  1. Come up with a new eavesdropping device
  2. Find a telephone switchboard and wiretap phones
  3. What if I use a tape recorder?
  4. There is a directional microphone. But how do you do it?
  
  
  
  
  Flakes of snow were circling in the air. A wind sang its song. Neither shouts nor strikes were heard. A blizzard absorbed all. But a very load voice came. It resembled a pig"s squeal.
  "UI!"
  "Aliosha! Why did you buy a slide rule?"
  "Ma! It"s needles of!"
  "Damnable mathematician! Helluva Archimedes!"
  "I will not be doing it again!"
  "Who permitted you to do that! Go and give it back!"
  "But how?"
  "Liosha is small," Babushka interrupted.
  "Be silent, mother!"
  Mother turned and the middle part of rule hit in the Babushka"s eye.
  "Ow! Scot! "
  Mother threw out the rule which hit on something and "Oi!" was heard.
  "Lioshka! Where is the guidance?" mother cried.
  "Sashka had it!"
  "Sashka!"
  Tatters were lying around him and a big piece was stuck to his forehead.
  "Have you eaten it?"
  "No"
  "You need to get it right!"
  "By you can"t beat him!" Babushka asked.
  "Khe, khe," Lioshka said and started to read from Sashka"s head "Clean it with acetone, ether, acetic acid, dichloromethane end etc."
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  Being at home, Sashka was idealess. He"s never been the greatest loafer, but the true toil wasn"t his strong point. The New Year day was rather close, and he dreamt about confetti and candies. Also, he liked oranges but they always were in short stock. He mulled.
   "We have no New Year tree. But the New Year eve is within few days. Six or seven days. I will go to the DK".
  The DK. He, himself, didn"t know why he went there, but, bit by bit, some understanding was raising within him. For a time, he was hoping, that his Aunt Tonya will bring a new year tree, but one day he"d heard a loud outcry of his mother.
  "Yolochka ? Never!"
  It seemed that the hopes were not destined to come true. In evening, something took place near the DK. A watchman, armed with a hunting gun, noticed something unfamiliar and began to shout.
   "Hey! Look there! The fur-tree is shaking!"
  "God damn!" answered another watchman.
  "It runs! Stop it! They steal!"
  "Shoot! Shoot!"
  A shot rang out. Sashka paused. A watchman approached.
  "Who is here? Nobody. Maybe it"s only seemed to me."
  "Look. There is no one here. Calm down."
  The watchman went off, but soon the voices were heard again:
  "Look. It"s creeping!"
  "Catch it!"
  "Grab it."
  "But here is my salt!"
  "Shoot! Shoot!"
  "Boom! Babah!"
  Dogs started to bark everywhere around.
  "Mama!" the piteous voice came "Mama!"
  "Oh. Don"t you listen? Is it fur-tree?"
  "Bastard!"
  "Who? Shoot again!"
  "Svo-o-o-loch!"
  "Hmm. Look! What a speed! A speaking tree. Well. Shoot! Oh. It"s late. It"s too late".
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  Lessons had finished. In the yard, on a tripod, some magic kits were set.
  "Lehosha! What is this?"
  "Rrr.... Reaction!"
  "What"s the reaction?"
  "Reactive!"
  "Speak normally!"
  "Reactive engine!"
  "Yes. You are the great Gnida! The brain!"
  "Hha! I am the brain!"
  "Well. Don"t nicker. Why do you do it?"
  "I want to fly"
  "Where?"
  "To the infernal cemetery."
  "Where-where?"
  "The infernal cemetery!"
  "You"re crazy! Gnida!"
  "No".
  "Well. It"s Okay, Liosha. But why do you tell me about this?"
  "In jest."
  "Well. Let"s go to Vorobiov to do a project?"
  "The what?"
  "That.... Them... Project, as I see it."
  "Nice. Let"s go".
  So they started. A lot of paper was in use. A lot of ink. Pencils. Rubbers. Colors. Ball pens. They did all their job good though in the school they all were very bad pupils. Sashka was a best among losers. Vovka was a troechnik . But Lioshka had some success in reading out loud.
  Lioshka had a bad habit and no one knew the source of it: he sucked his finger. Sometimes it looked like he used his finger as a nipple, but things were more complicated. Grandmother used to hunt him with big needle. Seeing him sucking finger she took aim and make a reposte. If her attempt succeeded, Lioshka yelled like a fresh pink piggy. Now, all the boys were busy with their science activity.
   "Lehosha! We need a magnet!"
  "If you"re not believing me.... Wait a second. Only a second."
  There took place a process of soldering of a pipe to do a gasoline pipe, full of bad smell and smoke.
  "He is absent for ten minutes already," Sashka said.
  This moment talks were heard from the yard.
  "Alioshka? Who"s ruined the viron?"
  "Iron?"
  "Yes. Viron!"
  "It"s Sashka!"
  "One need to flog him!"
  "Gnida!" said Sashka, getting red with anger.
  So he flew into the house where he observed disassembled iron and a spiral, electric, which hang right on a bulb.
  "Oh, hell!" Sashka exclaimed "Gnida! Who did it?"
  "You!"
  "Gnida!"
  "You! Babushka said I am a small baby! I couldn"t do it! It"s your guilt!"
  "I will show you a baby! Damnable phony! I wil.... Oh, yes. I will tell Mom about it. Huh!"
  "No!"
  "Here is she!"
  Lioshka rushed out to the yard as an arrow. Vovka and Sashka continued to play roles of great inventors. Their new engine needed a good gasoline. They set out to pump out some gas from a stray car. Soon, they met a tech service truck. Sashka hold a hose. Vovka worked with a canister. There were no troubles. Everything was alright.
  It was snowing. Frost pinched noses.
  "OK, they"ll explode" Maria Nikolaevna (Marii) said standing in the center of the street.
  "Nobody"ll explode," Lioshka replied, "It is the project".
  "Project? Are you normal, boy?"
  "Yes I are."
  "Do you learn at school?"
  "Yes I are."
  "I see. I see. How"s mother?"
  "Best of all!"
  "Yes. They"ll explode themselves. I have a feeling."
  "No"
  "Yes!"
  "No!"
  "Yeah!"
  "No!"
  "I will get you!"
  "No! No!"
  "Don"t you believe me?"
  "Ya-ya."
  "I will have hung you on...."
  "Well. They do. They will...."
  "Well, here".
  
  A big metal tube was standing in the middle of the street on its four legs. A note whited being written in Latin.
  
  "Readvi. Modernis. Superdvigatel"
  
  "Oh, really!" Lenka cried "This is it! Modernis !"
  "Lena! Don"t move!" her mother yelled as a siren.
  "I will move!"
  "Lena!"
  "Mama!"
  "I will get you!"
  "Well. Yes"
  "Watch out!"
  From the yard Sashka, Baba Motya, Love Stepanovna were going out. They went with greatness and self-importance. Sashka advanced for a bit and began his speech. Here he was like a TV announcer.
  "Comrades! Now you will see a launch of super mega engine!"
  Lioshka brought a match to the narrow tube that was specially made for ignition. All the neighbors drifted apart. The engine started roaring.
  "Now the automatics will throw the probe "Rapka-D" right to the Infernal Cemetery," Sashka informed.
  There was a greatest blow after this. All the viewers fell on the ground. Part of the "Modernis" set right into Bakulins" yard. Tiotya Masha couldn"t resist and attacked Sashka, but he made the legs.
  That was all.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  December the 30th, Vovka was at home. It was a good evening. Groups of boys and girls were running in the street with shouts and one boy played a role of a conductor. Sashka, Lenka, Sergeon, Hacheek, Victor and their friend, so called Owl, the brother of Vovka, Valerka and all Kepeese. They played the ghost trying to frighten the passers. Sashka was a commander of the crowd.
  Vovka speculated.
  "There was a fine weather last weekends. Why the phenomenon didn"t appear? Oh, the weather. The most proper of all the days! But we know. It was spirit of Alexandrite. That"s all the evidence. Two years ago we tried to prove that it was Maslakov! All the facts were here. But we started from scratch. What"s the use? He leads us by the nose. I should have looked at the telephone book before. 212-55, it"s his number for sure. But.... Here are no lists of "M". Pulled!
  "Mama! Who tore sheets?"
  "Ah.... It may be Andrey!"
  "Malya!" shouted Vovka.
  "This is not me!"
  Malya was Vovka's younger brother. He was a rather lazy young man. His main advantage was that he smoked from the young age. His father never scolded him for smoking. The father believed that if a person smokes, it means that he becomes smarter.
  
  
  
  20. In search of the infernal cemetery
  
  
  February was ending. The snow melted, and many of the streets were like an impenetrable swamp. The breath of spring was expressed an unerring movement of first flies. The last patches of snow were dying under trees. New types of passenger aircraft began to fly over the town. As always, it rumbled very loudly. Aeronautics enthusiasts looked up to find out what was flying there. One boy walked with his head up and hit a post. Boom! His nose was imprinted on the post.
  
  
  * * *
  
  Vovka dials the number 212-55 and tries to ring. Silence. No toots.
  "It"s strange."
  He thinks:
  "The number of Maslakovs is 225-17. But where is the 212-55? Home come? Here can be some connection, but I don"t know the truth. Still, something rotten is involved here. OK. Let"s try again."
  He tries his best. No results. No one number is answering as if all people are dead.
  "Strange. Very strange."
  
  
  * * *
  
  Meanwhile, Sashka made a call to Snow Rubber:
  "Hello."
  "Greetings, Sasha Mozbroorrey. How are you?"
  "Not bad. Not good. Lehosha lightened 3 films of mine. And one more film was stretched."
  "But why?"
  "I promised to take revenge on him."
  "How?"
  "I add some Purgenum to the food he was going to eat."
  Snow Rubber laughed.
  "But now I want to tell you about the main thing," said Sashka, "Do you have something new?"
  "Nope."
  "Why don"t we go there by ourselves?"
  "I wouldn"t advise you. Well. You can phone me tonight. I will tell you all".
  "Awesome!"
  "But listen.
  You should be aware of vibrations. The fact is that the whole world is saturated with them. There are simple vibrations, but there are very striped vibrations. This means the stripes are alternating. When there is one streak, a person is able to think very productively. But if there is a black streak, the individual"s thinking abilities deteriorate. I say in order you to know that not everything is given at once. I called Paris. I spoke to Harry Cott. Harry Cott told me that several large observatories have detected a flight of unidentified objects at high altitude. I must say that such spans are recorded quite often, and this is not surprising. But we are talking about foggy ovals. Perhaps there is something very strange ahead of us. Therefore, I must tell you to always watch the vibrations. Remember them."
  Sashka come out the house and heard a voice:
  "Aliosha! What"s with you?"
  "Ba-a-a-a! Ba-a-a-a!"
  "What? What"s with you?"
  "I am.... I want.... I now!"
  "Go!"
  "But.... I am already!"
  "Diarrhea??"
  "Ba! Yes. I did it to my trousers!"
  "Ugh! Stervets!"
  Satisfied with his deed, Sashka laughed and went to his room. There was a big copybook named by "Mozbroorrey the Phenomenon" where about 60 pages were written. But here you should understand that Sashka wrote this work himself. He did not know anything about Lioshka"s secret notebook. Yes, it was strange, but he did not even suspect that his brother was a great Ufologist.
  "OK," he said, "now, I will try to compose the scheme of the phenomenon. OK."
   At this moment Vovka Vorobiov called him:
  "Hello, Barashka."
  "Hello."
  "How are you?"
  "Quite good."
  "I am too."
  "I prepare the expedition to the Forest of Alexandrite. Do you join us?"
  "Tomorrow, certainly."
  "Why tomorrow? I can"t wait!"
  "Why?"
  "For what is to wait?"
  "Is it so unbearable?"
  "Yah you!"
  "Well. You may go by yourself."
  Vovka got off. In the evening Sashka called to Snow Rubber.
  "Hello again."
  "Greetings, Sasha Mozbroorrey. Do you prepare the expedition?"
  "Yes".
  "Then, I will help you. It some determined time I will call you. But now I will tell you one thing. You have to watch out for the green light. You probably don't know what green light is. If you wake up in the middle of the night and see it, then something very strange has happened. In this case, you need to lie still, without any moving. Perhaps a flying saucer abducted you not long ago, but you do not know about it. But if you did not see the green light, then everything is fine with you. However, be vigilant. Try not to look at the world through green glass."
  In the evening Sashka and Vovka were making surveillance over the forest. Somewhere at 11 p.m. there was a high-powered explosion in the deep of it. There were no doubts that the strangest affairs were happening there. What could explode there in the dark? Who could go there? Possibly, no one. Aliens? Night forest is not a good place to check one"s courage. Sashka was so scared that he almost pissed in his pants. The boys decided that they needed to run wherever they looked.
  On Sunday, in the morning, the group consisted of Vovka, Lenka, Lehosha, Hacheek and Victor set out for searching of the Infernal Cemetery. Sashka told Snow Rubber nothing as he was afraid he might have asked him to wait a little. Before nightfall they went behind Severnoe and were near a small hill, and it was before 9 a.m. A low forest grew there. There were neither crows nor rooks. All of the sudden they observed a gap where were a lot of felled and charred trees. Vovka felt a smell of propane.
  "Gas was burning," he concluded.
  Climbing between collapsed trees they saw dead hens and corpse of a hare. There came a horrible scream of Lenka, from aside. She shriveled and goggled. A charred human skull laid beside her. Everybody stuck in the moment, but Vovka kept his head. He took the skull and put it in his bag.
  "The toy of Maslakov," he said joyfully.
  "Throw it," squealed Lenka, "let it fly!"
  "Don"t be afraid. Nothing serous".
  Lenka trembled. The way was going on. The deeper they walked into the forest the less trees were everywhere and more charred wood and ashes appeared. No corpses of birds were discovered. At once they came to the glade, completely empty, covered with smoldering charcoal. A crater was in the middle and hot spurts of air were going up.
  "The explosion was here, yesterday, not long ago," Sashka said, "In may be the cemetery, obviously".
  "No, Sashka," Vovka replied, "It was the Super Yuiss. May be."
  "It"s true," said Lenka "Okay".
  "But where is the infernal cemetery?" Vovka thought "The explosion was rather strong. How to imitate it? Gas? Powder? A bomb?"
  "Super Yuiss is a cosmic creature," Sashka said.
  "What it means?" Hacheek asked.
  "But it doesn"t go from space outright. In the past epochs it got into Earth"s core. Through the centuries it morphed into form like this."
  "How did you know it?" Lenka asked.
  "From specialists."
  "Oh."
  "This is true."
  "I am afraid," Hacheek said, "It"s dangerous here. What if it appears again? What we do then?"
  "On the other hand," Sashka said, "It may be a greatest discovery?"
  "Oh, may be a sort of it," pronounced Vovka ironically.
  Throughout the entire expedition, Lenka made sketches in a notebook. The thing was that Sasha did not have a film for a camera. Not so long ago, Lioshka ruined three films, and Sasha did not have the money to buy a new one.
  
  
  21. Many strange events
  
  
  Vovka came to a reading-room.
  "I need something.... A sort of chemistry."
  "Well."
  They brought him a thick volume. Vovka started reading.
  "Distillation of wood. Well. Nice thing. Charcoal. Gases. Obviously.... Gases. Distillation of coal. Well. Not it. Distillation.... For what is to distillate it? Explosion? But how it comes? Trinitrate toluene. Tol in short. This is the real thing for the action...."
  This moment a frightening roaring came from the street. A strange body appeared in the sky over roofs. It resembled a big ellipse, whitish and heavy.
  Obviously, it was a dirigible. Propelled by screw motors, which was fixed by each sides, glistening in the sun, it slowly moved towards the center of the town. Undoubtedly, this was the most unusual sight that has been observed here since the founding of the town. Three red spots glowed atop of the machine resembling sort of signal lamps. Several similar objects, less in the sizes, followed it like a procession being connected to the main object by a long cable. With close observation, many interesting details could be seen. Smaller objects played roles of barges. They carried it! A whole wagon of the coal was hanging under the things fixed by the cables. A long antenna stretched from the cabin of the first body. Several militia cars passed the street with sirens. Suddenly the tires of one car flashed. Militioners whipped out with shouts.
  Vovka stood completely surprised. The second car turned around and stopped.
  "Here is our coal," Vovka said "Trinitrate toluene!"
  The link of flying machines lowered and went along the river. Vovka ran to see this picture from the hill. Baba Motya stood crossing herself.
  Vovka returned to the reading-room and commenced to list magazines. Among a whole row of them he"s found "Technics for the Youth" and there was a beautiful aircraft pictured on the cover.
  "Hubba-Bubba!" exclaimed Vovka. "We could have pursued Super Yuisses guiding this! Oh, yeah. I will go to father. May be he knows how to do it."
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  Sashka phoned Snow Rubber. A woman voice answered:
  "Hello!"
  "Hello! Does Yuri Sergeevich at home?"
  "No. He"s left."
  "But where?"
  "On business".
  "Well. What"s the business?"
  "He works in the state office, as you may see. But who are you, boy?"
  "I am...."
  "What do you want?"
  "Sorry. Sorry."
  Then, scratching his head, he thought:
  "Hmm. These are the times! Where does he work? He"s scientist! OK. It"s strange."
  Borzenj, the black self-contained dog, came to the streets again. One, who knew him considered him the dangerous one. Now, he ran lifted his tale as antenna. That time, Kepeese girls were busy with their games. As Babrak, the sparrow, was lost, they found a group of sparrows where each individual bird should get its name. The girls did the same: where were The Grey, The Fat, Adam and Adolf. Also, they supposed where could be Eric. Doing this, the girls felt pretty good. Borzenj"s coming to the street spoilt everything. There was a song (Awesad"s, maybe):
  
  
  Very valiant
  Bolder and more courageous
  In the whole world
  Only him!
  Borzeng!
  
  Kepeese girls fled aside in terror. Borzenj stood still looking around. This moment he saw Shooric. It was a dog, as low as Borzenj but less bold. Borzenj started. There could have been a duel, but Shooric got scared and ran away. OK, Borzenj was content with that.
   Borzenj accelerated and approached a fence where a she-shepherd Stella was tied behind. But the date didn"t take place. The hostess, middle-ages Armenian woman, tried to teach Stella to give her hand (if successful she"d gave her a barbariska ). But if not she "would torn her mouth".
  "Stella! Give me your hand! Stella! I will give you a barbariska. Stella! I"ll tear your mouth!"
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Sashka ran towards the school. His former friends bore a grudge on him and decided to catch him. There was a statement:
  "Paikoo srezhoo!"
  Sashka sped by the schoolyard.
  "Peuza! Footstep!"
  Zhigailov made Sashka a footstep. Sashka flew right in the fireman corner. A fray was overshadowed. Pasha pulled an extinguisher from the wall to beat Sashka but Sashka crept behind a fire stand and took a second extinguisher. Pasha swung but Sashka framed his weapon so both extinguishers opened. A foam spurted right to the pictured shovel. This moment Sashka pushed Pasha and directed him under the stand. He made a shot by the foam.
  "OK!" sounded somewhere.
  Having the name "mahatchka", fights have always been popular at school. Once, an outcry "hey, mahatchka, mahatchka" was heard, student ran from everywhere being crazy of it. Ordinarily, the big crowds of spectator gathered to support fighters. But this case wasn"t as before. When it came that Sashka had win, he ran away. Pueza and his friends were wet with the foam.
  
  
  * * *
  
  People talked a lot about recent incident with flying objects, and no one knew what it was. Someone said that some military training was held, the other consider it was the real evidence of UFO flight. The truth remained unrevealed.
  After the lessons Vovka Vorobiov went to the reading-room again where he asked the magazines. He got "Technics for the Youth" and found a lot of information about the Infernal Cemetery.
  It was the old and famous story among lovers of strange things. But there were many doubts and impossible things. The real possible infernal cemetery was in Siberia where it was documented by some researches. In fact, it was told about a certain place that was in Siberia, and therefore, it could not be related to the outskirts of the town. Vovka was ready to accept any truth.
  In the evening he was in Sashka"s room.
  "I can"t understand," Vovka said, "This cemetery. How it migrated from Taiga to our region? There"s something irregular. Something...."
  "All right," Lioshka groaned, "A piece had torn from Tunguska meteorite. It got here. Khe-khe".
  "Dullard!" Sashka cried "This is the spirit of Alexandrite!"
  "It doesn"t exist, indeed," Vovka pronounced.
  "Exists!" Sashka shouted.
  "Exists!" Lioshka repeated him.
  "Well, damn you," Vovka said, "You may think what you want. But we"ve found nothing there during winter holidays. No cemetery is there. It could have been only there. But nothing. It"s obvious thing, Sanya."
  "There is. There is, you know. It is must. All the dust was flowing by wind. We had to go farther."
  "Fool. As ever," Vovka said, "As you have always been, for years. A simp!"
  "Sasha is clever!" Lioshka shouted.
  "Don"t fatter".
   "Everything is clear with you all," said Vovka.
  
  
  
  
  22. At the infernal cemetery
  
  
  Vovka"s thoughts were tight and strong. He quit listening to the neighbors because it had sense no more. Now, it was time to check some predictions. If the infernal cemetery really existed, it could become a big discovery, and in this case one should to send materials to the magazines. To the "Technics of the youth". But what had they found if reality? Traces of alcoholics" visits, bottles, corks, butts, etc. Dead hens. Is it the Infernal cemetery?
  However, Sashka was the client. Real client. He was Snow Rubber"s guy. Thus, Maslakov and Co were out on this show, and other oxheads were with them. Hacheek? Victor? Sergeon?
  "I can"t consider Kepeese girls as they are too stupid. But... The main "but" is the appearance of Snow Rubber, and also, he"s coming as if from nowhere. It"s too complicated for the ordinary make-up."
  Vovka"s father brought an automobile engine. It was intended for the copter, the machine for flights. He connected two engines and got the eight-cylinder device, big a very powerful.
  Although Vitya invented various mechanisms, the new apparatus was supposed to symbolize the beginning of a new era. To provide the necessary power, Vovka's father planned to add a device that provided the supply of nitrous oxide. Resilient flight required each engine to develop at least 120 horsepower.
  "It will be very powerful," he said.
  "Isn"t it too heavy, pa?" asked Vovka.
  "Yes. But no. It will be alright."
  "How will the rudders work?"
  "I will supply hydraulics."
  "This will make the apparatus heavier."
  "It is made of aluminum. It's lightweight. But the main thing is to make the right screws."
  "Where do you get the blades?"
  "I don"t know yet. I am calculating the formula. I need a special metal."
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  Vovka decided to phone Snow Rubber.
  "Hello. This is Vova Vorobiov!"
  "Greetings, Vova Vorobiov. What do you want?"
  "Yuri Sergeevich. We prepare the expedition. We need aluminum lists."
  "How much?"
  "Very many. A lot. And we need transmission for cross-country. It is very serious."
  "Well. I will help you."
  It could be good if Snow Rubber would get aluminum lists, but as for blades, there needed special aircraft metal. As for the other ideas, he was ready to continue. He phoned Sashka. He phoned Peuza. All of a sudden a news struck him: all the kerosene, again, was bought by patsans.
  He made out a heavy sign.
  "Again!"
  Meanwhile, Sashka was running and jumping by a roof.
  "Lehosha! Catch it up!"
  Patsan jumped from the roof of shed and disappeared in a greenhouse. Making it very fast, Lehosha followed, fell down near the greenhouse and rolled into it like a paratrooper. Sashka was silent.
  "Ha!" exclaimed Lioshka "Santior is off! Ha! Santiorina! Let"s go for a beach!"
  Lioshka was gone. Sashka was in the greenhouse for ten or fifteen minutes and went to the kitchen.
  "Sashka!" Babushka said all of a sudden. "Who ate the pie?"
  "Which pie?"
  "This is Santior!" Lioshka claimed.
  "Gnida!"
  "Santior! Ha! Ha!"
  "Gnida!"
  "Aliosha is so small," Babushka pronounced firmly, "He can"t lie!"
  "Bastard!" Sashka cried.
  "I will punish you! I am a hero!" Lioshka bawled "Santior is Scott ! I am small! I am little! I am...."
  "Gnida you are."
  "Khe!"
  Lioshka threw a loaf of bread to Sashka and cried:
  "I am a wee!"
  Sashka didn"t say a word when mother came, grabbed Lioshka, led him into the yard where he was knouted severely. His wail was heard from a distance.
  "UI!"
  "Get it!"
  "UI! Mama! Do not! UI-i-i-i-i-i!"
  "It turns out!"
  "UI!".
  Sashka was delighted by this act of violence. This sound enjoyed his hearing. He has a thought to compose some song for the "Awesad". It would be something like:
  
  Punishment
  Punishment
  Merry whip
  Punishment
  Punishment
  Merry whip
  The belt walks up the ass
  The belt walks up the ass
  Serves you right!
  You deserved it!
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Vovka appeared. He had a claim.
  "Listen, everybody! Listen to me! I have all the evidence that all Mozbroorrey the Phenomenon is made by patsans. As they bought all the kerosene!"
  "Yes?" Lenka said. "When?"
  "Yesterday!"
  "No!" cried Sashka.
  "From where do you know it?"
  "I feel it."
  "Well".
  Vovka understood that there was no consistency in his actions. After all, he knew for sure that Sashka took part in the action of buying kerosene, so that he constantly acted like a spy. Vorobiov perfectly understood that Sashka was not to blame, and Maslakov was simply fooling him.
  The thought of aliens came to him again.
  Maslakov or aliens? How to find out?
  March came. There was an extreme heat weave, so Sashka charged his camera with a film and went out to have excellent shots. He walked here and there and noticed Lenka Bakulina going from the school. He approached and photographed her.
  "Drongo!" she said tearfully.
  Hearing this, Maria Nikolaevna got out from her yard.
  "Lena! What have he done?"
  "Made a shot!"
  "Shot? Sashka, I will get you! I will get your box!"
  "It"s not the box," Sashka replied, "It"s camera!"
  "If I said box it means box!"
  "No!"
  "Yes"
  "Box is your head!"
  "The what?"
  "Marii! The nowt!"
  "What? Who?"
  "You head like a box! You!"
  "What you said?"
  "Marii! The nowt! The cabbagehead!"
  "Who?"
  "You!"
  "I?"
  "Yeah!"
  "Come here. Come here, you, sun of a bitch!"
  "I don"t want!"
  "Come! Come here!"
  "No!"
  "Or else I will make a cake out of you!"
  "What do you want to give me? A candy?"
  "You"ve just got me! I will get you!"
  "Getting what? How? I will never list you!"
  "Lenka. Hold my bucket!"
  "Mama! What are you doing?"
  "I will get him!"
  "Ha! I am speedy! I will get away! I am the best runner!"
  Hearing this skirmish, neighbors started to appear from there yards. Baba Motya came out. Nadisees came out too. Tiotya Luba open a wicket to see what was happening.
  In the beginning of this brouhaha people gathered trying to understand the reason of. Sashka hid behind Tiotya Luba. Maria Nikolaevna tried to catch him running around. But it was all in vain. Sashka was too fast and agile. On the contrary, Tiotya Masha was big and fat. Children called her hippopotamus.
  Sashka speeded. Maria Nikolaevna stretched out on the ground.
  "She"ll cut a water pipe," notice the old man Nadeece.
  "What have you said?" she inquired.
  Nadeece shivered and tried to disappear, but luck turned away from him. He fell off resembling a hare.
  "Well! Who"s with me?" cried Tiotya Masha.
  "This is me!"
  Sashka"s mother popped. She was rapid and dangerous as a bruiser. If a competition of woman boxing existed, she"d have taken place there. A good fray teethed. All people awaited. As we know, the current last name of Love Stepanovna was Sazanskaya. Her past husband was Dyadya Petya Sazansky (Papa Petya).
  The fight started. Tiotya Masha made very heavy blow but Love Stepanovna dodged. Several times she bushed a fence so that boards broke. Sashka"s mother was very mobile, but apparently both ladies were from different weight categories.
  That moment a "Volga" car arrived. There was an admirer of Love Stepanovna, Boris.
  She made a lunge and with one shot movement threw Tiotya Masha on the ground. A falling of Tiotya Masha was very heavy.
  "She"ll cut down water pipes!" exclaimed Nadeece.
  "Bravo!" said Boris "It"s a coup de grace!"
  "Oh! Borya! Let"s go to Tonechka! Come on!"
  
  
  
  23. The spring goes on
  
  
  Although it was the first half of the spring, the weather was good, and being at the yard, Sashka played football with himself. Fly were going around. Young beetles were awakening after winter. On the street a voice of Tiotya Luba was heard as she"s always complained about her headache. One could listen:
  "Oh, my head!"
  Having done his lessons, hit or miss, Sashka continued his photographing. In the evening he sat at the table.
  "Lehosha!" he cried "Go to eat!"
  "He is a master," Babushka objected.
  "Oh! Nifiga sebe !"
  "He"s doing a gasoline!"
  "O, chert!"
  Sashka was eating. The radio turned on by itself and a voice informed:
  
  "Greeting, our young listeners! We go on our story about Mozbroorrey the Phenomenon! American expedition arrived to do observation. On this stage, they plan to use a plane, and it is "Duglas-8". A vast stretch of abnormal radiation was discovered not long ago. Also, another earlier unknown thing was uncovered. The info structure of Mozbroorrey is very complicated and sophisticated. It contains a proto material of the black and white universe. Follow our new programs. Bye."
   "Infernal cemetery!" Sashka exclaimed. "This is it!"
  He jumped over. It was time to call Vovka.
  "Vovka! Privet!"
  "Privet! Is it you?"
  "Yes!"
  "I"ve just heard a program on the radio! There was the news! About the Mozbroorrey! They"ve found the infernal cemetery!"
  "Well. I listen to the folk music on the radio. If you don"t believe, this is so."
  "What? You are lying!"
  "No. You"ve been to self-esteem. So here is the result."
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  Vovka came from school. A new radio set caught his eyes. Vovka was delighted. It was a pretty beautiful one. Then, he saw his mother.
  "Ma! What is that?"
  "It"s radio! Can"t you see?"
  "How much is it?"
  "Petrofan ."
  "Oh. It"s not cheap. But where is the old radio?"
  "It shattered. Your friend was coming not long ago."
  "Why? What"s the friend?"
  "Long."
  "Long? You mean tall?"
  "Not. But taller than you."
  "Hmm. Ma, what he was speaking?"
  "He said that he is Shtukert."
  "Ma! When it broke?"
  "Hmm. When he came it was on the floor. It fell off by itself."
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Lioshka sat on a teeterboard deciding to entertain himself as he always was able to do. It was fixed to the tree in the yard. Lioshka swayed and giggled. The teeterboard rose at the angle of 90 degrees, up and down, up and down. He laughed as if something like nails were set between his ribs. Moreover, his shouts were connected with unbelievable fear which tickled the secret areas of his mind. But the rope wasn"t very durable. One sway after another. And another one. And it tore and Lioshka met a fence like a missile.
  "Boom!"
  The fence had fallen with a cloud of dust around. Lioshka was rolling downhill crying and here he was like an empty barrel which was set to movement. That moment Maria Nikolaevna was throwing garbage to the yar. She stopped Lioshka"s rolling.
  In the evening the whole delegation of Dyadyas came to Mozbrukers. They were Dyadya Kolya, Dyadya Yurah, Dyadya Vadim, and the last was the most unknown of them. Also, Lubotchka, very ancient friend of Love Sazanskya was by herself, and Dyadyas were especially interested in her. Actually, she was mother of Edic, Sashka"s chummy. Two young fellows, Vitya and Sergey were present, and the boys felt alright having a good chance to play together.
  "Have you ever drunk vodka?" Sergey enquired.
  "Cuz many times," Sashka lied.
  "OK. We can steal a bottle, there some vodka left in the bottle."
  "Do you really get it?"
  "Yes."
  In the yard, the booze was in a full swing. Sashka climbed on the roof to have a good time together with friends and Lioshka. Aside of almost empty bottle of vodka, Sergey had stolen a big slice of a ham from the table and a bottle of kefir. Lehosha said "Iaaa" and poured the bottle out.
  "Gnida!" said Sashka indignantly and kicked Lioshka.
  Lioshka rolled down the slope but in the end he was caught by his trousers so he was hanging on a hook, and crying.
  Hearing the heart-rending cry, Dyadyas came to save Lioshka. They all were with cigarettes, and Lioshka contrived to steal a butt which was on the ground. Had it been the other case, Lioshka was harshly punished, but mother was in good moods.
  Meanwhile, Vovka made a suggestion that Hacheek was Maslakov"s spy.
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  In the morning, on Sunday, Vovka listened to a program on the radio there was told about Mozbroorrey the Phenomenon. The same thing heard Sashka, Lenka and Sergeon.
  
  In 1972, a strange motion was detected on the Moon. American astronauts were surprised a lot: there is no life on the moon, which means that there can be no movement. As we know, this is a completely silent world. However, the strange thing was noticed. Astronaut John Young could not believe his eyes: a man was walking on the moon. John was terrified: the man was walking in the direction of their ship. Young should have turn on the alarm, but he had no words to do so.
  The man was getting closer and closer. Dark shadow on the dust of the bright moon. The man was without a spacesuit.
  "Who are you?" Young asked on the Radio.
  "I am Mozbrurri. I am the chief among the Mozbrurries. I am King Mozbrio."
  "Oh," that's all Young could say.
  "Ho, ho, ho," said King Mozbrio, "why did you come? Ship-ship? Don't fly to the moon anymore. You have nothing to do here."
  The Americans were very much perplexed by this incident. Thus, we see that this problem is more complex, and Mozbrurrey is not exclusively the earthly phenomenon. But who is King Mozbrio? Is he human? In the next program, we will interview Hugh Patsev, a leading expert in the Mozbroorrey area.
  Also, we managed to get in touch with Michael Zavoloko.
  "Tell me Michael, do you think something is threatening the earth?"
  "Sure."
  "But does this mean that the end of the world can take place?"
  "Yes. This is true."
  "But what will happen?"
  "Unfortunately, people are not be able to evacuate. It remains to hide underground."
  "But are there a large number of shelters?"
  "People can use ordinary bomb shelters. There are quite a few of them. I don"t think it"s that bad. Scientists must find a way out of this situation."
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Vovka had many assumptions and conclusions:
  "Maslakov isn"t an idiot. He"d never open his assistant. He"s good aware of our surveillance. If Hacheek is his real agent, it would be good to send some false information with him. What would Maslakov bought? How to catch him red-handed?"
  Still, people were talking about strange flights, but gradually the hype died down. Oddly enough, none of the acquaintances heard the radio program about Mozbroorrey the Phenomenon. However, Vovka was not very interested in this question because he was confident that Maslakov was the only resident of that.
  The Monday was warm. Sashka came out from school being elated as he had a few tasks to do. He considered they were not worth doing at all. All the tasks were verbal. But if there were some difficult subjects Sashka had no desire to learn them. Lioshka visited library where he read books about heroes. Someone could have been surprised, but Love Sazanskya, the mother, also attended the library, but she was interested in knitting and sewing magazines. Then, she came back and phoned Dyadya Seriozha:
  "Seriozha!"
  "What?"
  "Ah?"
  "Well"
  "No."
  "When we are meeting? Oh, yes".
  She got off the phone but there was another call. A patsan"s voice informed:
  "Tell Sasha that Victor is..."
  "Hello! Who is it?" mother asked.
  But the call was interrupted. She went out and reported it to her son.
  "Sasha! They say that Victor!"
  "What Victor?"
  "I don"t know. You are to know if they call you."
  "Oh. Okay, mama."
  Sashka came to his den. At the moment another call reported that "Hacheek is U turkey!" Mother was rather angry with it.
  "Go and wait for another call yourself!" she said. "I have no desire to speak with your friends."
  Sashka sipped a tea. However, it happened for the third time.
  "Hello," Sashka said.
  "This is you?"
  "What?"
  "Compot !"
  Sashka was agitated so he made a call to Vovka.
  "Vovka! Is it you? What do you want?"
  "The line is bad. Yes. This is me. I just wanted to that Victor is a spy of Maslakov. Don"t you see!"
  "Hmm... First, you are calling and telling me that it is Hacheek. But now you tell me about Victor. Who of them?"
  "You fell from the Moon? I"ve called one time. And I said it to your mother."
  "You yourself fell off the Moon! You called three times!"
  "Well. And who received all calls?"
  "Mother. And me. What"s the difference?"
  "There is the difference. Firstly, it was I. But in other occasions it was someone from Maslakov"s company. Can"t you see? Be smart! Well. Bye!"
  Sashka dined. He could hear Babushka telling with someone, maybe with herself, words "yak" and "tse" having some claims about stealing of lump sugar and about her shoes which "want to eat" and about upcoming religious holidays.
  "There is no God," Sashka said loudly.
  "The what? Why do you say so?"
  "We know!"
  "Yak tse?"
  "Lenin!" Sashka exclaimed.
  "Ooh tuhe-tuhe. God save!"
  
  * * *
  
  It was time for new session of "Awesad-HSV" gathering. All the old offences were gone, and now the band was ready to perform something new. Sashka called Kepeese girls. Victor, Sergeon, Slavka came to participate the action. Now, they wanted to sing a song by Alla Pougachiova "Million scarlet roses".
  Lenka started to play childish electric synthesizer. Sashka snatched a guitar from Victor having something in mind. Victor rushed to try to take it away but Sashka whacked him by guitar and it sounded like drums. Lenka was delighted seeing such a heroic movement of Sashka. Then, Victor withdrawn the guitar and went home dragging it along the ground.
  It was obvious that the repetition failed. But it wasn"t over with Victor. Sashka grabbed Victor's guitar and started jumping up and down, resembling a grasshopper. At first, no one understood anything. Everyone thought he was crazy. Kepeese girls tried to calm him down, and Valka poured some water om his head. Then, Sashka put the guitar on the ground and started to make shorts with his feature camera. No one could understand what was he doing.
  "OK," Sashka say.
  "Hey! Hey!" Lenka started producing artistic sounds. "Hey! Hey! Hey!"
  "It seems that I came to the madhouse," Sergeon said.
  Suddenly Victor decided to stand on his head. No one could understand why he did it. At the same moment, a large flock of turkeys appeared on the street. Stopping in front of the members of the ensemble, the turkeys began to make their classic sounds. Lioshka began to grimace, showing signs to the turkeys. The turkeys had fun with him. This finished the rehearsal of the "Awesad-HSV" ensemble.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Several days had passed. Sashka was walking doing his photographs. Returning home, he developed the films and Lioshka was spoiling them trying to use them as toys. Periodically, he sang the songs depicting a sort of great musician. Maybe he was better than Lenka in vocals. It seemed that things went beyond all conceivable limits. Was Lioshka really mad? Why did he spoil films? Although the grandmother was agitated, she believed that Lioshka was doing everything right.
  Sashka was sitting by his table doing lessons. There was a multitude of things to resolve. It was hard to focus on something as various thoughts were swarming in his head. So he"d heard a whoop of Babushka:
  "Here is Alioshka. He is a master!"
  "Oh, no! He ruins something again," Sashka thought.
  He went to the hall. The view was unbelievable and beyond the scope. Babushka was knitting but Lioshka tried to invent a loom using camera, photo tank and films.
  "Gnida," said Sashka not kindly, "I"m going to tell everything mother. Let she know. She will be glad!"
  "Hha! She isn"t at home".
  "Nothing special. She will return."
  Sashka barely hold back tears.
  "Who is Gnida, anyway?" Babushka inquired.
  "This is me!" Lioshka claimed proudly. "I am also Lehosha. And Legosha. And Molecula. And Gniss! And Gnidariuss. And Lehandross! I am everything. Even the Mozbroorrey is for me! For me!"
  "Oh, you. Ohh tuhe-tuhe!"
  
  * * *
  
  It started raining. It was cold outside. Sashka and Vovka played football.
  "Sashka! Pass!"
  "Na!"
  "No!"
  "Goal!"
  They tried to score a goal into expanse between two polls there a bucket played the role of a goalkeeper. Sashka forgot to tell mother about the loop of Lioshka. But she observed it herself and a terrible voice came through the snowstorm:
  "Mama! No! UI!"
  She promised Sashka a new camera and photo enlarger including all other accessories.
  
  
  * * *
  
  Going from school Vovka asked Sashka:
  "Sashka? Have you a 212-55 number in your telephone book?"
   "Certainly".
  "But whose is that number?"
  "I"ve never checked it."
  "Let"s get to know. Yes?"
  "Well."
  They came to Sashka"s and started to seek the telephone book.
  "It was here," Sashka said pointing at a nightstand.
  "Stolen!"
  "But why?"
  Mother came.
  "Is there no telephone book?" Sashka asked.
  "Yes".
  "But there it can be?"
  "I don"t know. By the way, Oleg was coming."
  "Oleg!!! When?"
  "Right now. Ten minutes ago. He waited for a bit and gone."
  "What a pity! Oleg! Oleg!"
  "He said he"d like to see your records."
  "But he"s seen them yesterday!"
  "I don"t know. May be he wanted to borrow something from you."
  It was Oleg Mamedov whom Sashka idolized. Oleg was two years older than Sashka. Sashka considered Oleg almost the smartest person in the world. Oleg knew how to sit down and spit in front of him. Also, Oleg had a cassette recorder and very fresh albums.
  Vovka came away. Soon, shouts of a different nature were heard in the street. It turned out that Sashka went to the Bakulins to ask for a phone book and met Tiotya Masha.
  "Sashka! God damn! I won"t give you the telephone book!"
  "But give it to me!"
  "I"ll never give!"
  "But give it!"
  "No! But I will get you!"
  "No!"
  "Yes!"
  "No!"
  "Da!"
  "Balda!"
  "The what?"
  "What you heard!"
  "What?"
  "Compot!"
  A stone whistled over the ear. Another one. A brick flew.
  "Oh, yes," Tiotya Masha guessed, "I will kill you with bricks!"
  "No! I will tell my mother!"
  "I will get her!"
  "Really? Well! Ma!"
  "Okay. I promise you."
  Sashka laughed and went home with contented smile.
  
  
  
  24. A lot of mysterious
  
  
  In the evening Tiotya Masha, Baba Motya, Lenka"s granny were sitting on the bench. Sashka"s mother had a conversation with her admirer, and he was Dyadya Rezo, a hairy fellow. Half a day before Sashka started to produce a smoke bomb, and it was a thing which school boys appreciate a lot. In general, the schoolchildren were very fond of chemistry, and it was the street chemistry. Among the main points were throwing sodium into the toilet hole, making chlorine, making hydrogen and explosives. Sashka also considered himself a born chemist.
  Now, Sashka continued to make the smoke bomb. Tiotya Masha told a story about her strength, and it was coming as she shifted a concrete slab with one touch of her hand and that before a group of men couldn"t move that slab.
  At a moment, a roaring came, and first it was like some distant background, but gradually it grew. A shivering of land came. The sound that spread through the air segmented into individual clicks. Also, something had whistled clearly. There was a low hum and all the neighbors were very frightened. On the other side of the river, the sky flashed with green light and accompanied with incoming fog, a fissure appeared on the ground. It lasted for a time, and then a row of red globes began to rise, pumping.
  Super Yuisses!
  The phenomenon looked mesmerizing. People could not budge, as if they were hypnotized. One could see that flying bodies which hadn"t have ideally round form but were like sort of ovals with rear elongation, and there was something like small wings.
  The buzz strengthened. Super Yuisses approached the yards, descending all the time. Seeing the impending threat, people panicked. Many of them realized that they had to evacuate.
  Tiotya Masha, grabbing Lenka, ran to hide in the basement. The dogs, including Tobka, Mobka and Khavka, squealed loudly. The geese cackled desperately. The turkeys commented on the passage of the strange objects with loud jubilance. Having swooped down like an airplane, one of the Super Yuisses fell on Misha Moskal's yard, turned over and exploded in the garden. Glass flew out of windows all over the neighborhood. The rest of the Super Yuisses began to fall on the side of the mountain, and also on the adjacent vegetable gardens and exploded. But one body blown on the roof on the cinema theater rendering a great hurly-burly. The glowing was shrinking. It settled down but all of the sudden the air flashed and a fire resembled to subside. It disappeared in the moment.
  On the opposite site of the river, in the place of the fissure, the glow was opaquely green. It quit completely after half an hour. In the end, there was a real gleaming hurricane, soundless, though.
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  Sashka came to school. Everyone around, young and old, talked about yesterday's events. If earlier many treated the Phenomenon of Mozbroorrey lightly, now no one had any doubts that something grandiose was happening. Almost no one knew the name of this catastrophe. Since many of the guys in Sashka's class participated in the investigation of the incident, they knew what Mozbroorrey was.
  "Militia was coming," Sashka said to Vovka during the break.
  "It"s tough. Something big involved. We"ll hardly know anything if militia or KGB comes. It is Maslakov, he did his best and he will be hiding after that. He will be wanted. This is him. But for us to resolve it we have to know the role, for instance, of Sophronov or Patsev, or maybe Chekrizov. They are in one team."
  "What do you mean?"
  "Listen. We should get the information from Lenka of her mother. We have to know the day when a new radio was set in their kitchen."
   "We can"t do that right now. We should wait."
  Sashka entered a class. A boy was standing near a blackboard telling about the body which exploded on the roof of his house. It was Liosha, nicknamed Kosulya.
  "Yes. I saw an oval. It glowed by spots. And winglets. Such small. Such.... And humming. Terrified sound! And lower, and lower, and boom! It sat on the roof and blown. The roof is gone. It was good the parents were at cinema. I was flung. Here.... I"ve found it".
  The patsan pull out from his pocket a piece of melted plastic with a tube set into it.
  "It hit me in my head."
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Meanwhile, Lioshka"s dreams about carrier of composer was strong. He came to the "Culttovari" shop and stared at the row of TV sets. There were black and white and color models. Many of them worked, and only one program displayed. A big reel to reel tape recorder spun its reels smoothly. A very popular song was playing. Not long ago, the boys sang this song, walking through the streets. Without knowing the words, they just sang: Comanchero, Ooh.
  
  Comanchero, comanchero, comanchero, comanchero-o.
  Comanchero, comanchero, comanchero, comanchero-o.
  Comanchero, comanchero, comanchero, comanchero-o.
  
  Comanchero, comanchero, comanchero, comanchero-o.
  Comanchero, comanchero, comanchero, comanchero-o.
  Comanchero, comanchero, comanchero, comanchero-o.
  
  Oh, can you see, he is the one,
  day after day, he is riding in the sun,
  he's travelling through deserts all alone.
  
  I will bring the comanchero his tomahawk.2
  His lonesome walk, his lonesome walk.
  Who's in mind of comanchero, a man of law?
  A pretty squaw, a pretty squaw.
  
  Comanchero, comanchero, comanchero, comanchero-o.
  Comanchero, comanchero, comanchero, comanchero-o.
  
  Lioshka has long known the power of inspiration. He came home, took a bucket and began to knock on it, pretending to be a musician. He composed a song and sang it right there.
  
  I am a hero
  I have red pants
  I am marching
  I am marching on
  
  I am sophisticated boy
  And Lenka loves me
  She loves me forever
  And we are here together
  
  I am a pilot
  I am who I am
  I can fly
  I am stronger than flies
  
  Lioshka was lucky as no one heard him sing.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  After lessons Vovka came to Lenka.
  "Listen to me! Just..."
  "What?"
  "Your radio?"
  "What about my radio?"
  "When have it been set?"
  At first she wagged her finger to her temple. But after that she pronounced:
  "From where do you know it?"
  "Your girls said it to me".
  "Fools. Gossips. Why it needed them to talk? But who told this?"
  "Mmm. Like... Sort of..."
  "Oh. Julka! Such a skirda !"
  "But how it happened?"
  "I"ve just shattered it myself. Oh. I said we"d buy a new one. But one.... She... I don"t know her. Some gal. She"ve been coming with Julka. Such a light girl. She told that she did it and apologized for... So she told that she"d buy it as she broke the radio. Logically. So did she. Yeah. She"s been so independent but goat. But she wasn"t guilty as to the soap which was poured to the floor. May be Julka did it deliberately. "
  "Do you mean..."
  "No. I just told you. The gal. She"s bought me the new radio. I"m even glad that..."
  Vovka saw a postcard in the window where a winter forest was displayed.
  "Not bad," he assessed.
  "Czech," Lenka said, "I stole it from the gal. Nefig ! Ha-ha."
  "Does it sound normally?"
  "It"s okay. Come to me on Saturday. It will be my birthday. Take Sanya with you."
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  Vovka went home. It started raining which increased each moment. Vovka entered the shed where his father was busy covering the apparatus by lists of aluminum. Watching the son, he pulled the cord and started the engine.
  "Privet!" said Vovka.
  "Privet. Nice sound, eh? But I"ve nearly spoilt it by launching from seventh gear. I have to check starter and controller. There in the table is the scheme of emergency relay. Would you fetch it to me?"
  "What"s the relay?"
  "When approaching the surface, it has to defend whether to stay or to catapult out. I"ve brought the tin. You should help me with soldering."
  "Well. Show me how to do."
  "Look".
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  Lenka didn"t go to school. Maria Nikolaevna, so called Marii, alleged that it"s nothing for her to get a medical certificate which proved that Lenka was ill. But it was the truth as she called to the hospital there she had one old girl who could help with it. She, herself, began to serve the table. They dined five together. One relative arrived with a friend. Maria Nikolaevna had eaten three-quarters of a big sausage, her relative did the same.
  Vovka came to Sashka. Sashka wasn"t at school at all though he wasn"t ill. As a fact, he was busy with science activity. He"s given Vovka a task:
  
  Question....
  
  But instead of letters there were only points. One word was absent at all.
  "The length of sentence is 23 centimeters. The length of words is consistently.... 4 and 6 and 1 and 3 and 5 centimeters. The height of a letter is 7 millimeters. A factor of brekhnya is 3 joules. The quantity of brekhnya is 1 mole. The percentage of 1 word is 35%. The last is 40%. The power of the sentence is 2 amperes. The power of the fourth word is 5-kilogram frown from the height of 20 meters right in the chakan . The ending of the fourth is e. Find the mass and the degree of brekhnya, the level of use of the sentence, a factor of sense of the words and define what part of speech is it and percentage of stunning and, at last, the common sense."
  Vovka scratched his head.
  "And so," Sashka continued showing Vovka all the calculations which occupied as much as four pages.
  "The mass of brekhnya is 500 grams. The factor of brekhnya is cube root from two strikes on skull, the degree of sense if the kilometers per hour. "
  "Listen to me, Sashka. Finish this rigmarole. Today it"s a birthday of Bakulina."
  
  
  
  
  Another entry from the secret notebook
  
  Mozbruro
  
  Some secret laboratories are busy receiving signals on rare frequencies. Conventional radios are unable to tune in to these waves. In the Soviet Union, the "Ocean" radio receiver is produced, with the help of which it is possible to listen to narrow short-wave channels. However, the simple way of listening to the Mozbruro's voice just won't work. Even the "Ocean" radio receiver is not capable of receiving such signals.
  Evgeny Vorobei from the city of Maikop came up with a way to solder out the radio channel of this radio receiver, so he began to receive the voice of Mozbruro.
  Mozbruro speaks his own language. It is absolutely impossible to know what he wants to convey to us. Sometimes he switches to Russian, however, it is increasingly reminiscent of slang. Obviously, Mozbruro has radio listeners, but who are they? Until now, no one knows who they are?
  Recording of the last broadcast:
  
  Oh-pa
  Spike?
  Get in the ditch! Get in the ditch!
  Ass!
  Ass! Ass! Ass!
  Uh!
  BUT!
  Egegegege!
  
  Ufologist Konstantin Shpak believes that Mozbruro wants to establish contact with earthlings, but so far nothing has worked out in this field. But how to come to this? Obviously, you need to send signals at the same frequencies.
  
  Maria Nikolaevna wasn"t at home so all the boys and girls felt free. There were Kepeese girls, Lenka, Sashka, Lioshka and Vovka. Lenka was telling a story about sleepwalker Robcheek but Sashka was calculating something with micro calculator.
  "He was not Robcheek," Lioshka added to Lenka"s story.
  "But how?"
  "Hha. Hha. Ya! He as... Robcheck was his name. IU!"
  Lioshka fell off the chair.
  "I"ve told out 5 kilograms of brekhnya!" Sasha noticed.
  "Aren"t you fell off the Moon to oak and from the oak to cactus?" asked Lenka and wriggled her finger.
  "Hha! Oaken Robcheek!"
  "Gnida!"
  "He wasn"t Robcheek?"
  "No!"
  "But how?"
  "Robchik."
  Sashka took a postcard from a windowsill and started reading:
  "Oh, yea! About love!"
  "Sashka! Put it back!" Lenka cried.
  "Oh, no! Never! I will burn it!"
  Sashka ran to the kitchen.
  "Sashka! Avast!"
  "Ha!"
  Sashka burnt a gas cooker and led the postcard over the flame. Lenka began to whimper. The postcard smoked.
  "UI!"
  Lioshka slipped and rammed the oven. Sashka fell off. Lioshka took the postcard and read out loud:
  "The return address. Krasnaya street."
  "Stop!" Lenka shouted "Crazy! The other street is there.... Give it to me... Oh, the terror!"
  Sashka took the postcard. The new letters appeared because of calefaction.
  "The radio was broken not in vain," he said.
  The entry said: "Mira,5, 5 of corbovanets, the object near the white, it is upside down over the wooden. Underneath. Near the roots. Down the branch. Krasnaya st., 49/15. Red and blue and a blue jacket. Battery "Corundum". 1-61, 3-15-83, 7-35".
  "It may obviously be the phones," Sashka considered.
  "It seems like that. We ought to go to Sergeon to check in the telephone book of town of Bobrovo."
  "I have the one!" Lenka exclaimed and climbed into a cabinet."
  "Don"t seek it! It isn"t there," Vovka said.
  "Why? No. It is here. The new one. Of that year."
  Lenka looked through the book and found nothing interesting.
  "These are not the numbers."
  "Look better. May be some sheet are torn out."
  "No. All are here. No. These numbers don"t exist."
  "His name wasn"t Robcheek," said Lioshka.
  "Gnida! Leave me alone!" Sashka cried.
  "So," Vovka concluded, "listen to me, Smeda. We have to get a blue jacket, battery "Corundum" and some 1-05-61, 3-15-83, 7-45. And it is clear that it somewhere there. I mean, the address. It must be encrypted in cyphers. Let me think. The first one may be the distance. The second is too. The third... No... I understand nothing."
  "Complicated pressmark," Sashka said, "some treasures, I think."
  "You are a fool, Smeda! But..."
  "Sanya is clever," Lioshka objected and jumped on the table.
  Valya Kepeese began to cry and fell off a chair.
  "Oh! Mama!" Lenka squealed.
  "What?" everybody winced.
  "Mama!"
  "Speak to the point!"
  "But I"ve just told. Mama returned."
  "Oh. Where to go to hide?" asked Sashka.
  "Go out, to the yard, and go fast!"
  Sashka came out to the yard.
  "Oh, Sashka! Why did you call names?"
  "This is not me! I"ll never!"
  "Well. See me! Or else I will get you!"
  "But!"
  "No buts! Go before I got you."
  
  
  
  25. The flying machine
  
  Time went quickly. Vocations came. Vovka learnt to fly. As a fact, the apparatus didn"t fly so far, and it should have been tested. Vovka read through the guidance and checked all the buttons and pedals and levers.
  On the eve of the important moment, it was necessary to check all the mechanisms. Both of the Wasp's engines worked steadily. Vitya took measurements using special equipment. First of all, he was interested in the oil level. Finally, he increased the thrust, straightened the rudders, and the Wasp began to rise slowly into the air. Since both engines worked without a muffler, the roar from the launch of the apparatus could be heard from several kilometers away. Dogs barked all around.
  The machine rose into the air vertically, like a helicopter. The two side propellers worked confidently. Yes, it was impossible to approach the thing, in this aspect it was more dangerous than a helicopter. Vitya slowed down the gas and the machine sank to the ground.
  Vitya was a calm and self-confident man, he was not afraid of anything. He believed in his main assistant, the vodka. Vitya was sure: one who knows the power of vodka is an expert in everything. That is why he was absolutely sure that his son would succeed.
  So the day came. Vovka was ready to became a pilot.
  "Yes," he said.
  Clear morning. No lessons. No worries. Only the high sky.
  "Try to start," father said.
  The apparatus rumbled and released a large cloud of black smoke. Yes, this early morning the roar of the evil engines was reaching its limit. Vovka had headphones on his head. For communication, a self-made radio station with P-203 transistors was used. Vovka climbed higher and looked at the altimeter: thirty meters. Okay. From this height, all the surrounding gardens could be seen. Now, the gas pedal, the transition to level flight, acceleration, fine.
   The "Wasp" speeded very quickly. Vovka groped for a smoke bomb in his pocket to throw it on somebody"s vegetable garden. Father connected him:
  "How are you, son?"
  "Very good!"
  "Do you feel fear?"
  "A bit. It"s nice! I like it!"
  "Be careful."
  "Yes. I will."
  "Watch indicators!"
  "I see!"
  "Don"t pull the red gear!"
  "I remember, father!"
  "Don"t throw thing to the yards!"
  "Yes, certainly!"
  Now, Vovka was flying rather fast. The most fascinating picture was the river streaked with green islands. The clinic"s windows vibrated, taking on the roar. Chickens jumped out of the chicken coops and scurried back and forth.
  Because of his feelings, Vovka was ready to yell. A turn. Another one. Such a beautiful flying machine! It"s very easy to handle it.
  Making a big circle around vicinities, Vovka could see a black pole of the oil factory tube. Wonderful. After another turn he saw a processing which passed the sky in the same direction, and there was a group of strange dirigibles, apparently, the same which scared all the town not long ago. They had a cargo. It was a freight car with coal which was fastened with cables
   "How are you?" father required.
  "Very good. I see something."
  "What is it?"
  "It flies."
  "Militia?"
  "No".
  "Slow down. Land to the yar."
  Vovka did what his father said. The awful roaring covered all around.
  Producing truly satanic sound, the machines kept on moving. The boy recalled the previous incident when the tires of militia"s car were set on fire. There was the chance that the same thing could have occurred to the "Wasp". But he had no desire to retreat as his machine was equipped with special rockets. They were made by the old patsans technology where magnesium and permanganic acid were used. This mixture was destined for the engine, but the charge was even severer. Vovka turned out in his pilot chair cabin to prepare the rocket. Another maneuver. Climb. Swooping down. Going down, the "Wasp" was like a real big insect.
  "Ha-ha!" he shouted.
  The speed of the "Wasp" was much greater than the link of flying machines so Vovka rounded it and appeared from the rear. He pushed the button. The first rocket was launched. Within the seconds it reached the rear part of the last dirigible, made a hole and got inside the body. There came a flash but nothing else happened after that. Then, through a hole which opened on the side, Vovka could see several rockets directed at him. Vovka confused. But the second rocket started and collided with hostile one which was starting at the same moment. Vovka hit the gas so the "Wasp"
   accelerated and appeared in front of the first apparatus. But serious of explosions flashed. Vovka looked around. The one of middle bodies was caught flames. One cable had torn off and all the wagon started to fall down. Then, over the vegetable gardens, began the coal rain.
  The first machine unhooked and was safe, but the others were pulled down by the fallen freight car. A power explosion blew and a lot of cabbage were risen into the air. There were also cucumbers, carrots and potatoes as well.
  "It"s time to cut bait," Vovka said.
  
  
  
  
  26. The infernal cemetery
  
  It was mist. Two mopeds were going down the Kuban Mountain Road. One guy was riding one moped, two were sitting on the other.
  "At first we are to go towards the craters." Vovka shouted easing off the gas. "We can find something there."
  The fog has not lifted fully as they arrived to fields. The funnels of greatest sizes were full of liquid dirt, and steaming, they were like something unreal.
  "Let"s run down," Vovka offered.
  "We can check them," Shtukert said.
  "Yah. But nothing serious I see. You can tie me by a rope and to pull out if it"s necessary."
  Vovka tied the rope to himself and started to go down working with a sapper shovel. Excrements of cows and sheep were everywhere, but Vovka remained adamant. There, on the bottom of the crater, he started digging. The soil was wet. Then, he contrived to find something. He took it and began to cleanse it. it looked like a piece of some pipe with smell of oil products.
  "Drag me out!" Vovka commanded.
  Shtukert helped him to be up and helped him to get free of the rope.
  "It is the pipe for the injection of a fuel," Vovka said, "It smells like this not for nothing. Let"s go to the infernal cemetery."
  The mopeds started its movement by a gravel road along the river. The blocks which were seen by the other side of the river disappeared. Some kilometers were before.
  "Sashka! Show us the way," Vovka said.
  The mopeds turned to the side lane toward the river. A coastal forest was ahead. There came a roar and tiny helicopter which soared over the terrain was seen. It flew over the forest and disappeared behind trees.
  "There is nothing like the real forest as Snow Robber told us," Vovka said, "It"s a lie, brekhnya. However, let"s have a turn and go along the river. There we"ll be less visible."
  So they did it.
  The road was rather plain but not appropriate for driving at full speed. Sashka was the first who"s seen the strange deed. The fog was going from the river bank and part of it covered the opposite shore. It was rather dense. The smell of ammonia revealed itself.
  "It stinks ammonia," Shtukert said.
  They approached the fog and penetrated it but they had to drive out as the smell of ammonia was strong.
  "Vitalik," Vovka said, "Be here unless we return. We"ll go together."
  "Why me?"
  "But who?"
  "But Sanya..."
  "Sanya will be at wheel."
  "But I want too..."
  "Someone has to be left here for check. I have to find something. "
  "Okay, then."
  Vovka put on the inhaler. It was stolen from Babka Dorohova who used it for spraying flowers with poison and producing moonshine.
  Sashka walked after Vovka. They went in a single file. Finding a descending to the river, they could see nothing in the dense fog.
   "Sashka. Turn on the lamp."
  "Yes."
  It was rather strong but couldn"t lighten much through the white density. Sashka bent down and touched something, and watching it closer, he could see a metal tube from which a steam was evaporating.
   "Vovka, come here," he called.
  A water was condensing on respirators so they could make the conclusion that the substance was consisted mainly of water.
  "Go back. Come on," Vovka said.
  They were edging by touch. The fog was becoming weaker and weaker so that the contours of trees soon appeared again. The boys found themselves at an unknown place.
  "Where the hell are we?" Vovka pronounced.
  They advanced along the foggy forest and after a while came to a large loan. They put off their masks. Long slick furrow went spirally having a 30 meters" radius. They descended to a pit to begin their way to the bottom.
  "Sanya! Watch out!"
  A running fire started from the center of the spiral. They rushed and the flame tried to overtake them sparkling and fuzzing. They jumped out from the furrow.
  "Arrived! "Vovka exclaimed "We are at the infernal cemetery. Look at that stone! It a sort of being before. Right. We dined sitting on it. All right. "
  "Why not to do it again?"
  "Well."
  They sat on the stone and helped themselves with boiled eggs, bread and spring onion. They had some tea, as well. After this procedure they went on.
  "Be quite!"
  The land trembled beneath the feet and they saw a bulging surface on which they had stopped. It swayed a bit. Another portion of fog was seen near the forest. The boys came to the loan covered by water.
  "The river is near by," Vovka said.
  "Yes."
  "Come on, well. We can find something."
  They continued to walk through the forest and the fog. The grass became higher and the dirt appeared beneath the feet.
  "Swamp," Sashka murmured, "A mud."
  "Likely..."
  They came to the place where the island was on the river near the shore. Here they rested. The mist became harder and whiter. The grass was higher. Vovka found out that the hillock on which they were sitting was the beginning of something else. They went up to the hill and Sashka yelped:
  "Ow! Look! A dome!"
  Vovka looked around and saw an edge of a tetrahedron which was peeking from the fog.
  "We made it," he said.
  A wind blew coming from the ground and breathed a cold. It came near the legs, raised, becoming warmer. A little hurricane circled on the top. A steam came from the ground.
  The boys laid down. The hurricane strengthened. There came a roaring. A pillow of black smoked formed and suddenly flashed with fire. Sparks flew in all directions. The grass flushed and the hurricane started to move as the crow flies.
  "Go!" Vovka cried.
  They ran.
  The hurricane was burning while going down from the hill. The flame impaired. The hurricane enlightened getting weaker and weaker. With it, the roaring came to nothing. Vovka and Sashka started to run and their movement was the same as that of hares. Sashka had almost beat all his old records. They flew into the fog again, put on their masks and went on running.
  "Now, we obviously near the tetrahedron," Sashka said and came out from the fog.
  He came from the fog and appeared close to Shtukert who was sitting near recumbent mopeds. So they saddled their mopeds and drove in the direction of the bridge.
  "Sashka, I saw one thing," Shtukert said, "It flew out.... With wings.... Oooo! It glowed. With spots. And buzzed. The wind was blowing and..."
  "Super Yuiss!"
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  It was becoming warmer and warmer. Young flies awakened and visited rooms where Babushka began to hunt them with minimized newspaper. Early butterflies flattered over last year"s grass. Lioshka stripped to his underpants. He carried a trough, poured water and started to swim.
  "Oookh tukh-tukh," Babushka said.
  "Ha, ha" Lioshka was laughing.
  It was spring. It was good.
  
  
  
  27. The spirit of Alexandrite
  
  
  
  
  
   A blood appeared on a paw. A being was trying to escape but others overtook it. Spurred by instincts they attacked it. The blood made them mad. A blow came. Another one. It was something like bombardment.
  Boom!
  What it was?
  Chickens rushed in all directions. The brick arrived and shook the cage. The jar with water tumbled out. And - another brick.
  "Ya! Hya!"
  The chickens went on running shouting "ia", and Lioshka tried to resemble them pronouncing the same sounds.
  "Ya! Ya!"
  Lioshka threw another brick.
  "Ha! It"s bomber! Furer! Ha!"
  The chickens were frightened. Lioshka continued to play displaying some hostilities.
  "Gazzes! Gazzes!"
  It was his special name for chickens. One chicken was Gazz. Many chickens are Gazzes. So it was.
  "Hhh! Hha! Gazzes! Yes! Gazzes! Babah!"
  Another stone. Crash. Smash. Dim.
  "Aliosha! What is it?" Babushka exclaimed.
  "I don"t know! Ba!"
  "Come here, please!"
  "But Ba!"
  "Who is tumbled drinking bowl? Okkh, tukh, tukh! It will be flogging, yeah!"
  "This is Sashka!"
  "Oh! Bastard! Come here?"
  "What"s wrong?" Sashka didn"t know anything.
  "It will be nice flogging, my darling!"
  "For what?"
  "What-what-what-what-what-what-what-what? Bastard! He doesn"t know!"
  "Ha," Lioshka delighted, "Santior will be beaten. I will punish him! I am tiny!"
  "Gnida! Ba! I"ve just came from shop!"
  "And no! Hha! Hha! You, Santior, was willing to slaughter all the chickens! Take it!"
  He took a stone and threw it to Sashka. The boy howled.
  "Oh! You howl! Ha! I"ve just punished you! Ha! If you howl, you ask for more. Take it!"
  Another stone flew towards Sashka"s head.
  "Ha! Yes! Take more!"
  Sashka writhed. When he quit weeping he"d heard a howling of Lekhosha.
  "Well, gniss!" he said "I"ll make you!"
  Sashka poured on his bed a handful of pushpins.
  "Ba!" Lioshka said "I will rest, ha!"
  "Go to the street. Or else it will be flogging!"
  Lioshka ran out. After a while Sashka heard shout of Babushka.
  "Ooo! Oh! Uh tukh-tukh! Punishment!"
  She rushed from the house having a lot of pushpins on her back.
  "Liosha! Sashka! How is it! Litovkas!"
  As she mentioned so-called litovkas. I should said that Sashka had heard this word from his grandmother before, but he did not know exactly what it meant. One litovka, two litovkas, many litovkas. Now he realized that the pushpins were also litovkas.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  The weather was getting colder. It was cloudy. Sashka took one coin of 5 kopecks and three of 15 kopecks and started to play "Choo" with himself. Perhaps the modern reader has either forgotten or did not know what Choo is. This is a coin game. You need to put a coin on the ground and hit it on top with another. If the coin flips, then you won.
  "Yes!"
  "Get it!"
  "Step two! Oh, nice! Nice!"
  He conversed with himself.
  White puppy Govnisty had his name through his ability. It barked having no possibility to stop, and sometimes it looked like he was ready to be exhausted by barking.
   Then, Sashka flowered:
  "Oleg!"
  As we know, Sashka considered Oleg as a real friend. As a fact, Oleg"s been coming only to smoke and strictly for nothing else. Oleg was older two years and taller.
  "Hi! What are you doing?"
  "Oleg! Oleg!" Sashka squealed like an enchanted puppy.
  "You play choo? Oh. With yourself?"
  "Yes! Oleg!"
  "Do you want to play together?" asked Oleg.
  "Yes. I"d like. Oleg. Ole-eg."
  "What?"
  "Are we friends?"
  "Yes. Yes. Five. Six. Oh, yes. 83."
  "Why 83?"
  "Shine like 83 percent."
  "83"s year."
  "Not the point. It needs to be 83 percent. Give it to me."
  "Well. But where are you?"
  "Home!"
  It was not clear why Oleg was interested in the coin, and he took it for himself. Nothing special. Just a coin. What did Oleg mean? They continued to play, and Sashka asked Oleg about new groups. Oleg told a famous story that a group "Modern Talking" allegedly came to the pioneer camp. It was a famous hit, and it was not clear who came up with it. It was also said that the "Europe" group came to the pioneer camp "Our Sun" in the summer. They also said that there is a second group "Europe", and they sing in Russian.
  
  
  * * *
  
  Sashka came to promenade near the DK where he met Vovka Vorobiov.
  "Hello, VV," Sashka said.
  "Hi. Smeda. Smeda the Hill SD."
  "Why SD?"
  "It"s counterintelligence."
  "Oh, yes! "
  "I am joking. SD means Smeda-Durak."
  "Vovyanina!"
  "Ha! Smeda! How is Lekhosha?"
  "I don"t know."
  "Let"s go to play partisans!"
  "O, wow!"
  They came to the steps of the DK. The was the inner greenhouse which placed under the ladder, and many exotic plants were there. Vovka climbed up a pipal and said:
  "Sanya! I will trace the street. And you watch the DK. We can"t miss anybody."
  "Yes."
  Sashka leaned on the railing and looked to the foyer. Vovka settled back and observed a black thing laying under the pipal.
  "Camera!" he thought.
  He saw a man going on the street and started to estimate how to jump from the pipal, grab the camera and leap to the side to free landing space for Sashka.
  "Pakhi !" Vovka whispered and did all his steps.
  Sashka flew behind him braking leaves and branches. Through his unlucky flight Sashka landed on his back. Sashka spat a piece of pipal from his mouth and said:
  "It is necessary to cut bait."
  On their way home Sashka told about Oleg"s strange behavior linked with coins.
  "How did you say? 1-5, 3-15? Oh! It is the cipher we need! What a fool you are!"
  "Vovyanina!"
  "Why didn"t you tell me before? Let"s run home! Or else the cipher may be stolen! You are to take postcard from Lenka. Call me then!"
  Vovka was searching his notebook and couldn"t find it.
  "Ma!" he enquired. "Is anybody was coming?"
  "No!"
  "But where is the notebook?"
  "I threw it to the oven!"
  "Oh, no! What have you made!"
  The ring. Vovka came up to the telephone and took the receiver.
  "Hello! Sashka? What"s up?"
  "Vovka! That paper is gone. I called Oleg. He said that he wrapped the coins by it!"
  "It"s strange. But I couldn"t recognize the numbers."
  "Oh. I"ve just recalled it. 1-05-61. 3-15-83. 7-45. If to multiply it by 5, three by 15, plus 50, 61 and 83 are years, I checked it when Oleg was coming out taking the coins. He fooled me of it. So, I got the address. Town of Ogurtsovo, Krasnaya st., 49, 15."
  "How do you got it?"
  "It needs 50 kopecks to get to Ogurtsovo and 7-45 it"s a time of the route. Thus, you need to pay 50 kopecks when getting this flight."
   "Tremendously."
  "Why?"
  "Sanya. Listen to me. Tomorrow you have to take one coin of 5 kopecks of 1961 year and three of 15 kopecks of 1983 year and come to me by 7 o"clock. Well. Somebody"s whistling outside."
  "Tutenky !" Sashka objected but short toots were going already.
  
  
  28. The operation
  
  Sashka woke up too late and crying "I am to Vorobiov" ran out and rushed forward. So he was riding himself towards the bus station. This sort of running is often called "peshkaroos". It"s a sort of transport (bus, taxi, etc.) when you transport yourself with your own feet. So, he arrived and Vorobiov said:
  "Quickly! Quickly, Smeda! The bus is coming out. I"ve just thought you"ll never come and didn"t took a ticket for you. Go without. Go near me so that conductor hasn"t notice you. But people, it"s all the same to them if anybody goes without ticket. The crowd is there. Go."
  Vovka got to the bus, it was packed to overflowing, as they say "people crammed into the bus like a herring". The weather outside was warm but wet. The autobus wound up and started to move, but all of the sudden there came a hard braking. People floated ahead. Vovka flew on the back of a woman, standing in front of her, and she cursed without knowing who touched her. Another woman tried to gather eggs fallen on the floor.
   People around were swearing. As a fact, that route has always been a hellish one because it wasn"t simple to outlive in the overcrowded autobus.
  The bus went on moving. It was a city model "Laz-695". The engine ran smoothly and very loudly, humming like the singing of a large beetle. Such buses were popularly called "sheds". As always, this shed was full of cursing babkas who went to the market to sell or buy something. People very often went to the city for sour cream. Schoolchildren went to Ogurtsovo to buy aquarium fish. The bus braked very sharply, and some people even ended up on the floor. Such vicissitudes of fate awaited all passengers on the flight.
   "Sashka obviously couldn"t get here," Vovka thought.
  All the way Vovka had to stand having no chance to sit somewhere. But it was very common thing. On general, he had no chances to make himself comfortable at all.
  So, the bus was approaching the bus station in Ogurtsovo. People were tired and angry. Vovka jumped out and saw other bus with entry "Kazanka." When it stopped Sashka came out.
  "Oh, Smeda! How did you get where?"
  "But... One babka..."
  Sashka told his story.
  "At first.... I climbed to the rear where was a lot of babkas. There they were one another worse. Terrible. And the one.... The red faced. She pushed me so the door opened and I appeared outside, with three muzhiks."
  "Let"s go on Kraznaya, 49." Vovka said. "You say that you"re my friend. But who is you? No. You may tell my actual personalities but don"t tell yours. But.... No.... We"ll see. We"ll play on circumstances."
  So they arrived to that place. They were climbing upstairs, as far as fourth floor.
  "There can be someone whom we need."
  "Yes."
  "Don"t do foolish things."
  "Yes."
  A boy with morbid face opened the door. He examined Vovka from head to toe.
  "Red?" he asked.
  Vovka mulled.
  "Well. No. Blue!"
  "Corundum?"
  "Yes."
  Vovka pulled out the battery "Corundum" from his pocket and passed to the boy. Also, he took him money, 1 coin of 5-61, three coins of 15-83.
  "Well," said the boy, "But who is this?"
  "Hm. It"s the yellow." Have they called you about him?"
  "How is his name?"
  "Petya Surabokov."
  "Oh. Dear me. From there is he?"
  "From Kazanka."
  "Really. Yes?"
  "Yes," Sashka said.
  "Whom you know there?"
  "Many boys."
  "And girls."
  "Certainly. Girls. Yes."
  "Do you know Valya Pavlova?"
  "No."
  "Well. Do you know Gena Suribakov?"
  "It is impossible."
  "Why you speak like this?"
  "Foolish name."
  "Well. Do you know Vitya Shtanga?"
  "Yes. But a bit. But I know one boy named Vitya Shtanga who lives in Losevo."
  "Okay. Well. Come in."
  They entered the flat and sat on a sofa in a little room.
  On the one hand, there was nothing special about this room. There were many posters on the walls. There were two posters of Samantha Fox. There was Schwarzenegger. There were many photographs of the Nautilus-Pompilius group. There was also a poster of the "Aria" group. In the closet there was a large cassette recorder "Electronics", it was a so-called stationary apparatus, which was considered very cool. Sasha could not even dream of such thing.
  "Why did you go?" asked the patsan.
  "Snow Rubber-Mos passed you the photo box with the Body," Vovka said and passed the boy a camera.
  "The Body is in the objective," Vovka added.
  The patsan came up to the door and went into another room. Sashka started to search the cabinets.
  "Sashka!" Vovka said "You are the fool! Don"t do that! He can catch you! He goes."
  "Leave me alone!"
  Sashka took out a folder and shoved it at his bosom. Then, he sat back.
  The patsan returned and said:
  "Take your camera, the Red. Pass it to Snow Rubber."
  "Well."
  "Be careful."
  "Okay."
  "Watch the hand."
  "Certainly."
  "Watch out for shadowing."
  "I see."
  So they left the flat and came out to the street. There was nothing to do so they went to the bus station.
  "The scheme is too complex", said Vovka, "although I still do not believe in anomalous phenomena, I cannot understand anything. Yes, Smeda? Do you think there are aliens present here?"
  "O, sure."
  "And I think that there are no aliens. On the other hand, the hardest thing is Snow Rubber's appearance. If this is Maslakov, then he knows how to change his form. But this is too difficult. Maybe he is a biorobot? I didn't think about it."
  "I thought."
  Vovka rarely visited Ogurtsovo. He had an idea to fly to Ogurtsovo by the "Wasp". That would be a commotion! His father said that the "Wasp's" fuel supply was enough for a thirty-minute flight, which meant that he could easily fly back and forth. A serious drawback of the apparatus was the difficulty with ejection. Until now, Vitya has not foreseen any parachute.
  There was information that after the the air incident, some kind of commission arrived in the city, but no one knew anything for sure. Among the neighbors, it was not customary to write statements, therefore, no outsider knew about the aircraft that was in the Vorobiovs' garden.
  Sashka also rarely visited Ogurtsovo. Yes, it was good here. They've always sold ice cream here. That was good. Here, the boys came to the bus station.
  "Look," Sashka said, "A few people. It"s good."
  "Not bad."
  They took tickets. Sashka passed it to a controller.
  "Pioneers?" she asked.
  "Obligatory."
  "Do you like hymns!"
  "Obviously."
  "Nice."
  At the moment they saw a vast group of babkas which was moving towards the bus, and it was the most terrible view of all. They all were yelling like awful birds.
  "Luba! Get in!"
  "Faster!"
  "Move! Move!"
  Sashka was thrown to the street. A pile of babkas crowded around bus trying to get in so that the machine swayed. They cried obscenities. One babka step up to Vovka and claimed:
  "You are too young! Get out! I am too old! There is no one older than me!"
  The behavior of old women getting on the bus was always terrifying. Many have long been accustomed to this. In general, all the people who got on the bus had bags full of all sorts of things.
  Vovka opened the folder and saw several drafts. There were some schemes and lists of entries. One copybook was full of drawings of an unknowing aircraft.
  "I"ve seen it somewhere before", Vovka said "Oh, I recalled. It"s a scheme of catapult system. Here is a wire which is going towards the charge. Oh. Don"t you see that! It"s Super Yuiss!"
  "From where you know it was Maslakov," Sashka asked.
  "It"s not too hard. Do you remember the history of Alexandrite? I flew out from the tetrahedron and saw all the procession without masks. And Maslakov was there with his friends."
  "You should know..." Sashka confessed. "It was me who bought all the kerosene as Snow Rubber asked me for that. I"ve been calling him several times and somebody in his place broke the telephone. And I met him buying the telephone in the shop."
  "Okay. But how does he change his appearance?"
  "Nobody knows that."
  
  
  
  29. The fly to Mozbroorrey Country
  
  
  
  
  Lioshka"s voice came all of a sudden:
  "Santior is fool!"
  But nobody took notice of him. After a while it repeated again. Sashka couldn"t resist so he came outside, to the yard where he"d heard sounds of steps which led to Gorka. Sashka decided to find out everything. He started to go down and soon he saw Lioshka, being on the low hill where he twisted his finger to his temple and shouted:
  "Santior is fool! I am hero! Ya! Ya! I am hero!"
  "Vengeance is mine, my dear brother!"
  Sashka climbed up to the hill. Lioshka cried:
  "You never do! You never conquer this peak! The hero will never be gotten! You"ll never intimidate the hero!"
  He took a stone and throw it at him. Sashka lunged. Another shoot. All in vain. Sashka was ready to struggle and advanced up.
  "Gnida! I will slaughter you.... As... as a piglet..."
  "I will salt you and throw away!"
  Another piece of dry clay whizzed over his ear. But this thrust was the last. Sashka was on top. The moment of reckoning was approaching. Realizing the inevitability of being, Lioshka began to yell:
   "Mama! Mamay! Mamay! Mamay!" Lioshka whined and Sashka put his leg on his face.
  "It"s a payback, Gnida!"
  "Ui!" Liosha shouted, grabbed Sashka"s leg and pushed him.
  Sashka rolled head over his heels, but soon he stopped, risen and started to catch Lioshka. Lioshka was running towards home. It was not far to the saving wicket when Sashka overtook him and knocked him down, but by the law in inertia, he fell on his stomach.
   "Aaaaa."
  There was a little blood on his finger. But Lioshka was very afraid of blood so now his vocal cords went into peak mode, and he screamed like a siren. Yes, such were the vicissitudes of fate - no one heard him.
  Coming home next day Sashka acted like a boss. He took "The Krestianka" from the table where he"s found a crossword.
  "Okay," he said firmly, "Cookware. Five letters. Ladle. Yes? Or no?"
  "That"s not right," Vovka said.
  "Why, Vovyanina?"
  "Go ahead, Smeda!"
  "Well. The pilot. The hero of the Soviet Union. Was involved in salvation of "Cheluskin" ship.
  "I know," said Lioshka, coming.
  "Who is it?"
  "Chapaev!"
  "Douchebag! Lehosha!"
  "And who? You?"
  "I was knowing that. But I"ve forgotten. Well. Come on. What is Keldish?"
  "May be pine nuts!" Vovka suggested.
  "What is Maevka?"
  "It"s when you feel bad. When you toil and can"t fall asleep. In the summer."
  "Going, what does that mean?"
  "It"s a goose, when saying "go-go", "go-go".
  "Well. You clever."
  "Yes. Very."
  "You are moron," pronounced Lioshka.
  "Be quite" Vovka said "Don"t quarrel. Santior, let"s go to go for a drive?"
  "What?"
  "I mean the "Wasp".
  "Oh. Yes! Let"s go!"
  
  They came out. Going down the street they met Yuri (Joe) Snow Rubber,
  "Boys," he said "greetings, boys."
  His voice was sad, as always. Peering into his face, Vovka tried to see Maslakov's features. Yes, indeed, there was a clear similarity here, but still, it was not him.
  "Hello."
  "Where do you go?"
  "We are going for a drive," said Sashka proudly.
  Vovka pushed him to the side.
  "We are flying to search for Mozbroorrey!"
  "Flying? How is it?"
  "Oh, don"t you know?" Vovka said. "I know that before. But... Let"s go with us! You"ve made..."
  "What I"ve made..."
  "Hm. Threw a stone!"
  "I don"t remember this."
  "May be I"m mistaken."
  They loaded to the "Wasp". Snow Rubber seemed to be surprised seeing the apparatus for the first time. Vovka pulled a striped handle and engine started. The machine twitched, jerked, two big side propellers rolled forming white circles. The "Wasp" began to rise into the air.
  "Good! Good!" Sashka shouted.
  
  The buzz was the greatest. Vovka being at the helm switch position for abrupt raise. They speeded. Yuri Snow Rubber was silent and polite.
  A narrow arc of a road ran beneath. In one place in forked forming two of ones. The first onewas the Kuban Road. And the second directed towards the bridge in order to go far behind the river, to the distant villages. All houses were as little bricks, vegetable gardens like little pieces of multi-colored paper. They could see big or small objects, pets, tractors, etc. Kuban river carried its muddy waters underneath the bottom of the "Wasp". Vovka turned the machine away directing it to the Infernal Cemetery and began descending.
  "The fig ," he said to the microphone, "Ammonia. This is Maslakov who"s doing all this stuff. But not him. Who else? But he is here, in the cabin. Yes?"
  Snow Rubber twitched moving forth. He pushed Sashka making him hit the door. The door opened but Sashka jumped off, sat beside Vovka and fastened seat belts. Vovka gave the heeling. Snow Rubber grabbed a metal cornice in order not to fly away, but his saving stick cracked and he flew right into the opened door. He held the edge but all in vain. He set off to his private flight.
  "This was his aluminum," Sashka said ironically, "of not good quality."
  It appeared that Snow Rubber didn"t unhook at once. He went on holding the edge of the door.
  Vovka heeled the apparatus. That moment the "Wasp" went not far from the ground and Snow Rubber, having landed in the grass, was already on his feet. A stripe of green river reed was ahead. Starting running, Snow Rubber hid himself in in the thickets.
  The "Wasp" ascended, Vovka started to do a big turn. The link of quarries were seen underneath, and a whole crowd of patsans was there, being busy with something. If to look closer, one could distinguish that they pulled the network of polyethylene fixing big mirrors.
   "Here they are!" Vovka said.
  "Yes. Can"t you see! It"s the Mozbroorrey installation!"
  "Yes."
  They passed over. The "Wasp" climbed higher and higher trying to reach the sun. All the land was like a big beautiful plate. After making a big ascend Vovka took a course home. The dog of the streets seeing the apparatus barked but after a little while they were hiding in their kennels.
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  The nights were getting shorter, as if someone was controlling the sun with a remote control. The stars in the sky were having a good time. It seemed to many people that the stars could talk. There were many astronomy lovers at school. So, Petya Lavochkin made a homemade telescope and studied the stars. He, Petya, thought a lot about the essence of the Phenomenon of Mozbroorrey. Some said that this was a conspiracy of the Americans, while others thought of the arrival of aliens. However, time passed, but the phenomenon did not repeat itself. Lunushkin dreamed of taking photographs of this mysterious phenomenon. For a long time, he had two cameras ready. Going out into the street every evening, he looked with excitement at the horizon glowing with lights. In vain! Only Vovka and Sashka knew for sure that the Phenomenon of Mozbroorrey would not happen again. As for the identification of Snow Rubber, they could not prove anything. After he disappeared into the thickets of reeds, no one else saw him.
  Lioshka, meanwhile, was reading the last chapter in a secret notebook.
  
  
  
  
  Ectosbrew and Zipper
  
  Perhaps you have friends. If two people meet, they do not have thoughts about their own nature, because no one thinks about it at all. You need to have a pervert mindset to constantly reflect on the topic of human origins. But if you are not human, many things look much simpler.
  Ectosbrew and Zipper belong to the so-called Mozbrook entities. It is known to certainty that they can be often met on the moon. Unfortunately, the media continue to hide from us the facts of the meeting with the Mozbruk creatures on the moon. But it is the reason wny the United States stopped flying. The fact is that during the last flight someone knocked on the body of the descent vehicle.
  "Oh my God!" exclaimed the astronaut
  "This is me, this is me," was the answer.
  It was Ectosbrew that the astronauts met. He had a screwdriver in his hands.
  "What do you want?" Astronauts asked
  "I want to make a hole!"
  "What for!"
  "I love holes!"
  The astronauts got scared and flew away. Zipper was standing at a distance at that moment. He was a short humanoid, in his hands was a large metal letter K. He constantly thrust it into his mouth.
  Now this data is classified. Only US President Reagan has the right to declassify materials.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  02.02.1988 original text
  23. 12. 2014 the first special edition
  08.05.2021 the second edition
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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