— Is it really that serious? You seemed to be moving around yesterday. — Suraye asked, straightening her backpack and placing a cellophane bag of apples on the table in front of the bed. Alish was sitting on the bed and chewing on the tip of a pencil. His one leg was tightly bandaged at the ankle. There was a yellowed notebook on the blanket in front of him, in which he was going to write down his guesses and theories about mysterious movements on the swing, but he did not write anything. The gentle and warm wind that blew the curtain by the open window did not in any way foreshadow the coming of autumn. The birds' chirping was still cheerful and carefree. Looking through the window at the carefree schoolchildren walking home and having fun talking, Alish felt the gap between himself and them, those who were so far from these difficulties. And it began to dawn on him that he and his friends were involved in a big secret that placed a huge responsibility for what was happening on their shoulders. A friend brought him out of his reverie.
— Why are you chewing on a pencil if you're hungry, or else there are some apples." — Yusuf said, smiling in anticipation, reached into the bag and rustled, pulled out a red apple. The headman, frowning, growled sternly:
— Actually, apples are not for you, Yusufchik. I brought them for the patient. My grandfather specially gave them to Alisha.
Yusuf looked at the girl resentfully and the apple that had already been put into his mouth returned to the table. Alish got up from the bed, intending to put a notebook with a pencil on the table and said:
— Let's better discuss yesterday, take chairs, sit down, and stop boring each other with eyes.
He took a small knife, cut one large apple into several pieces, put the pieces on a clean plate and diplomatically pushed them towards his friends.
Last night, Uncle Anwar tied the swing to the trunk and forbade anyone to touch it until further notice. Alish, Yusuf, and partly Suraye, asked Share's parents not to inform the authorities, represented by Uncle Uchkun, the district inspector, about what was happening here.
— Uncle Anwar, do you know what will happen here if all sorts of scientists and men in black come here? We have to save Shar and Nazir's grandfather. And I know exactly how. And then you can at least cut, at least saw this swing! — Alish pleaded with the head of the family and Aunt Fazilat with fervor. But Aunt Fazilat decided to gather the parents of all the participants in these events for an emergency meeting. That was settled. Suraye helped put Shirya to bed. A little later, Aunt Fazilat, along with Uncle Anwar and the boys, dragged Alisha home. The wound on Alisha's leg turned out to be a trivial sprain. Fazilat bandaged his leg herself, forbidding him to go to school tomorrow. Shara and Alisha's parents whispered about something behind closed doors until late at night. The result of these conversations was the appointment of a meeting of adults on the territory of the Share house for the evening of the next day. The pain in his leg went away overnight and, in fact, gave Alish a chance to calmly reflect on what had happened. The quiet town was buzzing, preparing for the first day of school and the first day of autumn. All decent bouquets were swept away from local markets, bows, bags and backpacks were bought from shops and supermarkets. The first bell rang at school and Alisha's friends went to their first lessons that day, without him. Having agreed on the way to be silent and not to reveal a common secret, a chubby boy and a girl with mouse pigtails said goodbye in a noisy schoolyard, which was full of white bows, balloons, bouquets and screaming first–graders. Yusuf and Suraye tried to behave in a familiar and ordinary way, although the headman did not do well and she took out her mood on everyone about and without. To which Yusuf, at recess, noticed the girl in her favorite pose with her fists on her side and making remarks to classmates, whispered in her ear about her breakdowns that it could be monkey rabies, for which he received an iron ruler in a soft spot. After spending the first day somehow, the friends agreed to go to a sick friend after school. Suraya, who did not have time to run home, was met by grandfather Mahmud and thrust a bag of apples into his granddaughter's hands and gave strict instructions to give the gifts to the wounded man. Grandfather Mahmoud, who had personally attended the evening gathering instead of the girl's parents and was partially aware of the events, looked rather calm and even winked conspiratorially at Suraya. Telling his granddaughter that they would meet at Sher's house in the evening, Grandfather Mahmud left for Tashkent, assuring her that he was on business. Despite his age, Grandfather Mahmud was still strong, and after yesterday's news, a youthful enthusiasm appeared in him.
Alish walked around the table, sat down on the bed again and began his reasoning aloud:
— I realized something while I was lying here. Are you wondering why I ended up in a fairy-tale world? Not to another planet or, for example, to a fantastic future. Namely, in a world where there were palaces, dragons and fabulous mountains, so reminiscent of Middle-earth. — He paused and continued:
— And you, Yusuf, why did you end up in Victorian London? And Suraye, in general, ended up in the jungle. Have you figured it out? Any thoughts?
— I have a theory. — said Yusuf. Looking at the headman and seeing no signs of a threat, he added,
— But I may be wrong. I think it's all because of Alikhan.
— By the way, about Alikhan, my grandfather seems to know about him. When I started telling him yesterday, he was surprised to hear his name. And it seemed to me that he knew him. — Suraye said, it was obvious that she was preparing for a conversation and she had her own thoughts about what had happened. Alish got out of bed and walked around the room quite boldly, limping slightly, the pain in his leg gradually receding.
— About Alikhan. We'll get back to it soon. And now, I'll say this: — having said that, Alish leaned on the back of the chair and, as if trying not to miss the thought, quickly added:
— I've always been fascinated by fantasies about dragons, about elves, and you all know how sick I am of the world of hobbits and orcs. Of course, the moment I got on the board, I didn't even think about getting there, but subconsciously, I always wanted to be there. As always, I wanted to, and now I wouldn't mind. And when, if you remember, I went the second time, but with you, Yusuf, did your subconscious mind and thoughts turn out to be stronger than my subconscious desires at that moment, and where did we go? — Alish, like a magician who was about to pull a rabbit out of a hat, showed the guys his finger, as if demanding a hint. Mesmerized by looking at the finger, the guys froze, peering into each other's eyes. And the pressure of the moment broke through in Yusuf's face, and he blurted out, just like Alish, putting his finger forward:
— Victorian London! That's...! Yusuf seemed like he was going to explode, and he found the explanation he was looking for and blurted it out.:
— This is the materialization of thoughts! This is a transformation into a physical object, an ideological and mental subject! — judging by his tone and screams, a nerd has woken up in Yusuf. His abstruse nature began to boil over, and if it hadn't been for the prefect's phrase that got across in time, the "great Anglomaniac" would not have shut up in any way:
— What about the jungle I've been in? And the monkeys that almost tore me apart. Do you think I dreamed about monkeys and searched for their habitats?! I hate monkeys! — The headman's intensity began to break out and she restrained herself under the meaningful gaze of Alish, who calmly said:
— Suraye, I think I know what the matter is. Do you remember what you said after biology class, at recess, when we had lunch in the cafeteria, you, me, and Share, last year?
What was I talking about? Suraye was furiously trying to remember last year's biology lesson and the conversation in the school cafeteria.
— About the primitive habitat of the first mammalian primates, about Darwin's theory, about how you would like to be present at the birth of the social environment. Have you remembered? — it seemed that Alish was trying to bring the girl's thought in the right direction:
— You said that you really want to become... — Suraye did not let her friend finish, and expressed herself:
— A paleoarchaeologist! I want to be present at the birth of life myself! And what do you want to say? At that moment, I was absolutely not thinking about my idea. I was thinking about Yusufchik and the evening city from which he had to be rescued...
— But subconsciously, you always wanted to be in the Paleocene epoch and visit the primeval rainforest. Right?! — Alish wanted the headman to catch his thought.
— Yes, I wanted to visit the primeval rainforest, not the Amazon jungle or the Indian Bandla Reserve! — Suraye could not understand why an ardent Anglomaniac was in the right place, namely in London, and even during the reign of Queen Victoria. Even Alish got into the mountain and cloud ranges of Numenor, which John Tolkien described in his books.
— It can't be, Ziyaeva. Something doesn't fit here. I'm sure there's a connection, and we need to find that thread. If we find her, we'll find Shara and Grandpa.
Meanwhile, the phone rang on the desk of district inspector Uchkun Berdyev, tearing the quiet corridors of the citizens' meeting of the makhalla committee with its noise, where an office was allocated for the prevention inspector. Uchkun, who was talking on the street at that moment and listening to the complaints of an elderly veteran, from whom several chickens were stolen, quickly ran into the office and managed to make the last calls. Recently, something was wrong in the territory entrusted to him. In the late afternoon, the lights suddenly went out everywhere. The same jump occurred last night. The light blinked hard and went off for a while. The RES workers were unable to explain this anomaly occurring with the light. The master electrician, who came to the call with a team and found the electricity disappearing, expressed the opinion, collecting his devices after measurements, that the energy was being sucked in by a strong source that could not be determined. The power surge was such that it knocked out streetlights on some streets and disabled many residents' household and household appliances. The complaints reached the prosecutor. These days, Uchkun couldn't keep up with the lightning-fast events taking place on his property. The resident of nizhnyaya Street who came to him was the third in a row, whose roosters and chickens began to disappear. Someone started stealing poultry intensively. One of the victims, Uncle Rahim, confidently claimed that he saw silhouettes of large primates in the dark. Uchkun did not know what to do or where he got the monkeys in the mahalla. The devil will break my leg from these incomprehensible events. And now this call is from a senior. The call was not made to a mobile phone, as usual, but was made to a linear landline phone, which did not bode well. The police officer who picked up the phone heard the colonel's voice:
— What's going on in there, Berdyev!? The prosecutor ate up my bald spot. How did you get the monkeys there? Organize a search. Maybe someone is involved in the underground sale of exotic animals? I received a call from a respected pensioner, veteran, Salimov Rahimjan Aka. He says he saw monkeys stealing his chickens. We also saw primates on Gulshan Street, which is also your area. Margarita Stepanovna, who lives there, also suffered from monkeys. One of them got into her backyard, managed to ruin all the cucumber beds and almost brought the woman to a heart attack. And also these surges of electricity! Some kind of crazy horse race!
— Rustam Sabirovich, I conducted a witness interview. No one can say for sure where they came from. I have established that the electrical failure and the appearance of primates are somehow connected. Everything started happening on the evening of August 30th. I'll find the reasons and the connection, just give me time, Comrade Colonel. — the precinct officer was trying to even out the situation, which seemed to be slipping out of his hands.
— Tell you what, Captain. I asked about zoos and kennels. There were no leaks or missing items. I am sending you a person who will help you find these animals. This is Professor Latypov from Tashkent National University, Faculty of Biology and Paleontology. Just in case, I also warned the Ministry of Emergency Situations. From there, the guys will also come to your aid, if necessary. Just solve this problem Berdyev, catch these primates and find the culprits. — Having said that, Colonel Kambarov summed up his conversation. He did not disclose to the district officer the whole picture of what he might find. Colonel Kambarov himself got into a difficult situation. The fact is that a day ago, people from the special directorate contacted him and clearly made it clear that in the town of Mehrikan, near Tashkent, unexplained energy emissions occurred, which caused short power outages not only in Mehrikan, but also in Tashkent, which led to a major failure in the information databases of the directorate for control over the most important resources in the country. After operational checks and computer monitoring, experts came to the conclusion that hacker attacks are eliminated. It was all about the anomaly of these outliers and surges. The people from the special department only said that the failure was short and the system restored itself in a few seconds. But the outburst happened again the next evening, a day later, and was as short and powerful as it is now. The polite tone of the special people made the colonel feel tense. The people from the special directorate also decided not to go deeper, without saying that the news about the incomprehensible and abnormal situation had even reached the president. Kambarov was informed of further actions, that the special department was concerned about this situation and sent a secret group consisting mainly of scientists to Mehrikan to clarify the circumstances and causes of these phenomena. The colonel was asked to secretly assist and provide assistance to the group in case of need. The group will work conspiratorially, and without attracting attention to itself, until the true causes of these events in Mehrikana are established. Having agreed with the special directorate on further communication, Kambarov, who had not fallen asleep all night, thought about the mess his department had gotten into with the district inspector Berdyev.
Towards noon, a car carrying Latypov, a leading professor of paleontology, and his assistant drove into Mehrikan. When the car pulled up to the mahalla committee building, the Uchkun prevention inspector was at the other end of his mahalla with his assistant and had already found a nesting place for uninvited primates, which turned out to be an abandoned garden on the edge of Gulshan Street. The old abandoned garden was bordered by a shabby and rotten fence with vast fields of a farm where corn was planted. Uncle Ismat, the kindergarten caretaker, accidentally discovered the nest with his dog when he was walking the old Karakuza shepherd dog. The dog smelled blood and began to bark furiously, which attracted the attention of Uncle Ismat. District policeman Berdyev, who was called to the scene, found unusual animal tracks and many remains of poultry in the garden. The primates were clearly predators. Uchkun, trying not to scare off the monkeys, left the garden and made several urgent calls. First of all, he called the guys from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the second call, he asked Professor Latypov to come to the old garden. On the third call, Uchkun called the neighboring prevention department, his colleague, the district police officer, and asked people to help him implement his plan. Berdyev decided to detach the territory of the garden and catch the ill-fated monkeys. The guys from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, who quickly arrived at the old garden, were prepared to capture exotic primates. The professionals had tranquilizer guns, nets, and a couple of cages that could fit even a large wolf. The operation, which began in the afternoon and lasted almost two hours, successfully ended with the capture of two large males, an unknown species of monkeys, who were laid asleep in the cages they had brought. All the participants of this enterprise were tired, but satisfied. Berdyev was especially pleased, who managed to eliminate at least one pressing problem. The staff, who were about to leave for their departments and departments, were stopped by the sudden exclamations of Professor Latypov, who, after capturing the primates, did not leave the cages in order to study unusual animals.:
— This can't be happening! This is nonsense! I couldn't have been mistaken in any way!
— What happened, Professor? What are you talking about? — asked the policeman who ran up, anticipating trouble in advance and fearing the spread of unknown diseases. He knew perfectly well and understood that many epidemics began with exotic animals, and he was very afraid of this.
— These monkeys... they ... — because of the excitement, the professor could not connect the words in any way. The scientist's assistant, who apparently knew his patron's attacks, was much calmer, but he also tried to get at least one word out of the professor. Berdyev, who, in principle, did not really understand the breeds and species of primates, did not understand what all the fuss was about.
— Well, monkeys are like monkeys. I think I saw them at the zoo when I took the children to Tashkent. — said the police officer.
— You couldn't have seen such monkeys in the zoo! This is Perupithecus ucayaliensis! The professor's excitement only grew. Uchkun, not understanding, just shrugged his shoulders. And the professor said in a calmer tone,
— The fact is that this species of primate became extinct more than thirty million years ago.