– What you on it will tell? – Mr. Carlson asked, having ended a statement of the project.

The large coalman Gilbert answered nothing. It was in the nastiest mood. Before the arrival of Carlson the executive director told him that the situation on coal mines is worse than ever. Export falls. The Soviet oil more and more forces out competitors on Asian and even on European the markets. Banks refuse the credit. The government finds impossible further subsidizing of the large-scale coal industry. Workers worry, defiantly impose impracticable requirements, threaten to flood mines. It is necessary to find – which exit.

And at this moment as though derisively, the destiny sends some Carlson with his mad project.

Gilbert frowned the red eyebrows and rumpled long yellowish teeth an aromatic sigarette. On his shaved worried look expression of boredom stiffened. He was silent.

But Carlson not from those who are discouraged by silence. An uncertain profession and an unknown origin, the little, fussy man with the Irish accent, a short nose, black hair standing as at a hedgehog, Carlson stuck the sharp eyes into the tired, faded Gilbert’s eyes and drilled them the persistent uneasy thought.

– What you on it will tell? – he repeated the question.

– It is the devil’s work, some frozen human flesh – at last Gilbert apathetically answered and with a fastidious mine put a sigarette.

– Allow! Allow! – jumped, as on a spring, Carlson. – You, obviously, acquired to yourself my idea insufficiently?.

– I admit, I have no special desire and to acquire. It is nonsense or madness.

– Not madness, not nonsense, but the greatest invention which in skillful hands will bring to the person millions! And if you doubt, then allow you to remind history of this invention.

And Carlson began to chatter as though he answered the learned lesson:

– Anabiosis is incidentally opened by the Russian scientist Bakhmetyev. Studying temperature of insects, this scientist noticed that at gradual cooling the body temperature of an insect falls, then, reaching temperature minus nine and three tenth degrees Celsius, rise almost to zero at once, and then again falls already to ambient temperature, approximately by twenty two degrees below zero. And then the insect falls into a strange state – neither a dream, nor death: all vital processes stop, and the insect can lie, the okochenely and frozen, vaguely long time. But rather carefully and gradually to warm up an insect, and it comes to life and continues to live indifferently. From insects Bakhmetyev passed to fishes. It froze, for example, a crucian who lay in an okocheneniye, or anabiosis as Bakhmetyev called this state, several months. Warmed up, it returned to life and floated, as always.

The death of the scientist interrupted these interesting experiments, and forgot about them soon. And, as it often happens, Russians invent, and others use fruits of their inventions.

Remember Yablochkov, remember the inventor of radio telegraph Popov, remember, at last, Tsiolkovsky… So was and this time. German Shteyngauz for practical purposes used Bakhmetyev’s invention: transportations and storages of live fish. As you know, he acquired millions!

Gilbert became interested and listened to Carlson already with some attention.

– I thank you for a lecture – he told. – I receive to a table the fresh fish hooked in the remote seas. But, to admit, I was not interested in way of its freezing. This or that whether everything is equal? If only fish was absolutely fresh. And, you speak, Shteyngauz earned millions from this business?