Ruthra tried to contact Rangit. There was no reply. All other communication was also absent. It was a poorly furnished and colored room. Gray and beige with incomprehensible trappings. Parmen didn't think much of it. And yet what was his purpose? He, or those who helped him, made a few mistakes. The first thing that caught Ruthra's eye was the holographic numbers "hanging" in space, a calendar. He couldn't understand why the year 2050 was marked on it, since it was 2022. He couldn't understand why he had chosen that date.

Ruthra tried to stand up, wanting to see what was going on. The special bed was massaging his body. He couldn't find the clasps he was fastened to it. The shaking made it hard to concentrate.

Ruthra shouted:

– How do you unhook them?

Suddenly he heard a voice directly in his head. The technology was familiar to him, but the voice was not.

A man spoke:

– Please don't yell Rutra Tigrovich, I'll explain it to you.

– Who's talking to me?

– I am an automated intelligent control system. One of my tasks is to manage the city of Moscow. In your memory, Moscow is still a city.

– What city? You mean it's not supposed to be a town?

– Moscow is a separate state, a protected zone observing neutrality. Among other things, it is in the status of an offshore zone, where the governing functions of the world government and the UN are concentrated.

– Enough, I don't believe it. The experiment didn't work.

– Please listen. Everyone doesn't believe it at first. Please listen.

– Rangit, is that you?

– No. Listen to me. I understand you don't believe it, but you're not the first. According to my records, you've been in a coma for 28 years.

– What the hell are you talking about? System glitch? Or is someone trying to play a joke on me?

– Please – evaluate the situations ts ию adequately. I have to inform you the following: there was a system failure during your experiment. The body you are in now, the body you consider to be yours, is not the real body of scientist Paskhov.

– You're out of your mind. Who's talking to me anyway? What's the big joke?

– I asked you to be reasonable. I'm an intelligent machine, I can't lie to you.

– What are you saying, you can't lie? That's very surprising.

– You did the experiments yourself. You made your own cloned body. You wanted to embed a digital copy of yourself in it. Didn't you?

– So… so what?

– There was a system failure during the experiment, your real body is stored in another facility. This body is a copy of yours. You can even feel it now. You've made it younger and uploaded your mind into it. To ensure your adequacy, I must conduct a test. I must question you. So, who are you?

– That's crazy. Who were you just talking to?

– Please answer the question adequately. Until you answer the question, I can't let you go.

Ruthra tried to stand up. He couldn't. Something invisible kept him chained to the cot.

– Release me at once!

– I told you, you have to take a test. It's not that hard, just answer the questions.

– What the hell kind of questions?

– Who are you?

– You know exactly who I am.

Ruthra was becoming increasingly irritated, angry.

– Please answer in the logic you yourself put into the thinking of an artificial intelligence. Who are you?

– What the hell. I'm sick of these Parmenides pranks. Who the hell are you?

– Please answer the question. Who are you?

– Fuck you.

Ruthra tried to stand up again. Again he failed. He cursed irritably, but nothing helped. The machine was inexorable.

– Please answer, who do you feel you are? Who are you?