London 4019. On the Britain
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“Thanks, Olaf.”
“Good luck, sir!”
Kmykh specially took advantage of the emergency exit from Olaf's cafe to avoid meeting the drone and not wasting time on giving evidence. Metro-Underground named by Churchill was at a depth of seventeenth level. The exit from the elevator was in the blind zone of the cells, and a marble slab-door opened inside. Without causing any suspicion, Kmykh ended up in the subway. He was in this subway for the first time. Previously, when the capsule was under repair, he used the free municipal metro named after Fidel Castro, which was at the twelfth level. These two subways differed not only in their level of comfort, but also in their visitors. The poor, unemployed, or Karl Marx fans, as well as hooligans and criminals of all stripes, liked to use the free underground. Kmykh did not have time to look at the beauty of the Churchill Metro. The metro capsule following the metro tunnels towards the factory should have appeared in half a minute. Kmykh realized that, at best, he would be two minutes late to the factory entrance. For this, they were usually dismissed under article 33, the planet’s labor code. After Kmykh settled down in a convenient capsule seat, the passenger safety drone on duty asked Kmykh to fasten his seat belt. Having passed two blocks of the underground part of the city, Kmykh left a comfortable nine-seater capsule and headed for a high-speed elevator, also designed for nine people. Having paid for the entrance to the elevator, he comfortably sat on the couch and fastened his seat belt. As soon as the castle clicked, a hologram appeared opposite the face with the image of level numbers and a list of institutions and entertainment facilities for each level and its underground floors. Kmykh chose the zero level, since it was on the surface that the entrance to the underground factory of Zyu Corporation was located. Having come to the surface, he had to overcome two hundred meters along the sidewalk. He covered this distance with a light run. There was only 20 meters to the checkpoint, and Kmykh had 30 seconds left to not be late for work. Suddenly, the Royal Guard drone appeared overhead. He, like all drones, was in the shape of an egg. It was an intelligent drone Ostap. If an intelligent drone was given a female name, then a small decorative propeller was attached to the top of the egg. This was a tribute to antiquity, when at the dawn of the development of drones they moved with the help of propellers. Drones with real propellers could only be seen in the Yurievo – Maiden Museum of Drones. Now a drone with a token blocked Kmykh’s pathway, hovered in front of his face and then introduced himself – “the Royal Guard drone, name Ostap, token 35-218. You are a victim of an offense. Do you need the protection of the Royal Guard, change of identification number and change of appearance?”
“No. Thank. I think that everything will be okay. Can i go?”
“No. You are also in suspect in excess of self-defense. You must answer a few questions. Whatever you will say may be used against you.”
“OK. I understood.”
“Why didn't you run away from the robbers?” You could was avoid the necessity to cause bodily harm to the robber.
– I have a sore leg. I damaged her during the war in Antarctica. You can verify this.
“Well, a second … Yes, indeed, you had a laser wound and a tissue rupture by microwaves. But you also underwent a course of treatment, and I just saw you running. So you had the opportunity to run away.”
“No, it doesn't. When running, I experience severe pain. When I leaving the subway, I accidentally found an anesthesia pill in my pocket and swallowed it. It was the last. I thought they were over. I ran so as not to be late for work. But it is already late.”
“The answer is accepted. You may go with recognizance not to leave the borders of London or wait 2 minutes for a court decision. After a court decision, you can be detained and arrested.”
“Yes. So I'm already late. Two minutes will not solve anything. I'll wait.”
During these minutes of waiting, Kmykh looked around and noticed a hovering drone of the Astacher and Sons law firm twenty meters away. Kmykh knew that this Company was popular with the poor, because it offers her protection and services on credit.
“The charge has been dropped,” said the Royal Guard drone two minutes later, “the court has taken your side. You may go. Within 90 days, you have the right to seek protection from harassment. Have a nice day, sir,” – said the drone, and disappeared as silently as he had appeared. The drone of the law firm also rose on a couple of meters higher and began to move slowly along the sidewalk towards the entrance to the Churchill Metro.
"What the damn day!" Kmykh thought and went into the factory building. Going through the identification frame, Kmykh met the Company's security drone.
“Hi,” – the drone said, – “you are 7 minutes late and your contract with the Company is terminated. You're fired. You should now go to cabinet 1080 in the Takeover Department. You are recorded for a conversation with the head of the department.”
Concilium
The conference ended in the conference room of the soil manufacturing factory. It was the third floor of the factory. Buildings above 10 meters in this part of London were prohibited by law. The hall had large sliding windows, a high ceiling and parquet floor. A portrait of the queen hung on the wall and below under the portrait stood a large model of the Tower Bridge. Along a long table made of real wood, department heads sat and glanced at their watches. They smoked cigarettes and drank coffee. The owner of the factory, Willy Zyuganis, a 128-year-old young man was sitting at the base of the table.
“Everyone may go, but you, Boris, stay,” said Willie and waited for everyone to leave.
“Boris,” he turned to the head of the department for the takeover of small and medium-sized enterprises, “report on how we are doing this week.”
“We managed to buy 12 preferred shares of Obninsk NPP. Yesterday, by the decision court of Uryupinsk, it was possible to squeeze into our property berth number 18 in Havana, and today on the Moon were bought two hotels near the Apollo crater and the Trump hotel with spacecraft parking at the Gagarin crater.”
“Well! What our expenses of the berth?”
“800 Britcoins – legal costs, 30 Sterling cash – remuneration to the judge.”
“Did you pay with Sterling?”
“No sir.” In equivalent. I gave him 30,000 British people.
“That's right, Sterling can be traced and they are suitable only for pure transactions. Have you appointed a new berth director?”
“Yes, sir, he has already taken up his duties.”
“Were there problems with the old leadership?”
“No. Her Majesty’s Royal Guard officer was present, so no one dared challenge the ruling of the Uryupinsk’s court.”
“Will the judge be silent?”
“Later I will take care of this. His last case mustn't be connected with us. On the territory of Uryupinsk County, by decision of the lower house of parliament, some archaic laws were preserved. There is still a law in force allowing judges to move while in a capsule while intoxicated. It will be an accident. In a couple of months.”
“Good. What do you have with the staff?”
“We lost two. They were detained by a local officer on Piccadilly Street with ten grams of explosive, and we had to activate their intramuscular capsules with poison.”
“Who was that?”
“It was Anton Schweller and Smith Gribovsky.”
“You have few employees left. Last week you lost three. And if memory serves me right, you have only fourteen employees left. Isn't it?”
“Yes, sir. Fourteen on staff and eight freelance. I'm working on it.”
“Good. You did a good job this week. Keep working. You are the only one of all our employees who holds shares in our Company. You have one percent of the stock, and that makes you a rich enough person. Therefore, I hope that you are interested in the prosperity of the Company and make every effort for this.”
“Thank you sir. May i go?”
“Yes, Boris. Of course. Good luck. By the way, I’m interested in the shares of the Lenin State Farm. They acquired the Champs Elysees for sowing rice. You know, the Champs Elysees is the only remaining place on the planet with natural uncontaminated soil. And you probably know that we produce 10 tons of modified soil from one kilogram of natural uninfected soil. Use every opportunity, but I need a few preferred shares to take over this Company. ”
“Sir, but Mr. Marcello Grudini is not selling his shares.”