Artur Zadikyan
Jesus and Christ

Beasts kill animals, but not all of them, because they need them. Animals do not kill animals, but if they do, they kill all of them, because they do not need them.

The author is known to you

I dedicate this narrative to my father.....

Disclamer:

Dear my reader, unfortunately, I have to write this warning: everything stated in this book is fiction. Attention: the author is not responsible for any consequences from reading, as well as for your individual perception according to your worldview.

And now off the record: my dear reader, in this work, as in all my previous ones, you will find solid science fiction, plenty of historical facts, an alternative view of known history, cold analysis, as well as humor and satire. It's your right to take each of these definitions in your own way.

Prologue

The human hearing organs can distinguish between 16,000 and 20,000 hertz. Below that threshold is infrasound. Above that, ultrasound. For example, at a frequency of 7 to 13 hertz – a natural wave of fear emitted by typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions – sounds that encourage all living things to leave the centers of natural disasters. Now, think about it: people didn't know this once, but they were influenced. That is, something influenced them, made them act, made them afraid, but the reason was unknown to them and, accordingly, was attributed to the will of some mysterious powerful forces. So the message from the past, which has reached us in the form of a word, including the one that was "in the beginning", influences our consciousness, prompting it to make this or that decision, often with unknown consequences. Believing in the Creator, we hope for good in the content of this message, but in the message itself there is a prediction of tragedy expressed in a mythical phenomenon called "the end of the world". And supposedly this phenomenon should happen as a result of the actions of people. Only it is unknown whether there is a method to avoid this phenomenon or it should happen naturally, because the one who should allow this phenomenon to happen was created by the Creator Himself. Perhaps it is some method of transforming the object of creation, that is us. Even if you hold to a strictly empirical worldview, you must agree: without natural cataclysms, i.e. changes in nature, man would not have come into existence. If you adhere to a religious worldview, you will consider even such a remote in time event as the Cambrian explosion ,¹ as an act of God, and if you adhere to a scientific worldview – as a natural natural process.

Now imagine a situation, when an unpleasant event should happen to you (or remember when it happened), and possibly a tragic one, which you, naturally, would like to avoid. Simulate the possibility of going back in time and, knowing the consequences, take measures to prevent this event, i.e. behave correctly. In ordinary life we cannot go back, but we try not to repeat similar mistakes, knowing the consequences. Both the instinct of self-preservation and intelligent decision-making are based on this. It gives experience, unless, of course, the event ended your life or the life of all mankind.

Accordingly, if there is an event in the past that killed many people, that is, it was massively tragic, and repeated many times, then people cannot either determine or change the root cause of that impact. In any case, the global consequence of that impact has not yet occurred, for as yet our reasoning about what it is is still a fact.

Now, based on this understanding, let us ask ourselves the question – is not the religious teaching, the essence of which is to preserve our life (given to us, we think, by the one who created us), the root cause, which, protecting us from death, inspires us not to be afraid of this death, because it itself exhorts us to the possibility of being in a better world – in paradise. And most importantly – and more tragically – it predicts the end of the world, promising a new and better one. Based on this, let us answer frankly to ourselves: is not our belief in what is written above an incentive to allow the use of weapons of mass destruction? Although we know about its ability to destroy mankind many times over. The very illogic of creating nuclear weapons in such quantities speaks of our faith in miraculous salvation or in the possibility of life after death.

And now let's talk about an event which, strange as it may seem, according to the previous logical series, is either natural, or possible, or at least occurred in other worlds. Here I must stipulate: for all my empirical method of judgment, I adhere to the biblical statement about other worlds, that is, I believe that they are real. Agree, the belief that there are other worlds is much stronger than the doubt in their existence. Proceeding from this attitude and from the logical conclusion about the influence of religious writings on us, the contradiction "if they exist, why don't we hear them" comes across the hypothesis "we don't hear them because at a certain stage civilizations destroy themselves for some paradoxical mysterious reason". And this reason, though not confirmed in reality, is considered to be logically natural, a natural process of intelligence development. That is, civilizations destroy themselves, as intelligence itself creates what will destroy it. And the reason is banal, it is in the very essence of existence of the cognitive system of a thinking being. The essence is in the properties or, more precisely, in the nature of intelligence, as such a function of the brain – in the very method of its development. It is expressed in the following: intelligence appears, exists and develops only if it gains experience by trial and error. But in the process of development, sooner or later one of these "trials and errors" becomes a global catastrophe. Of course, the scale of globality is proportional to the level of intelligence development – simply put, it is equal to the method of self-destruction he himself has invented. In the process of development, the levels of his inventions, i.e. his own work, are equal to the scale of destruction of the carriers of this intelligence, i.e. people, with the help of these inventions. What the intellect invented was not originally created to destroy itself, but do not forget about the method of trial and error – more precisely, about what it lives at the expense of. Such is the unity and struggle of opposites. The final chord may come when intelligence develops civilization to the point where it invents the technology with which to potentially find and communicate with other worlds. Since even by means of radio waves, the speed of which is equal to the speed of light (300 thousand kilometers per second), we need about two and a half million years to communicate with the nearest galaxy, we most likely use a method that does not fit into the laws of physics – communication by the method of quantum entangled pairs² . And since the "life" of intelligence, or rather, its food is contained in the method of finding the right solution through trial and error, eventually one of them becomes global. Such is the paradox.

And now the main idea embedded in the narrative: is there an event or message from the past that can affect us in such a way that we can, under its influence, destroy ourselves globally? Will we do it ourselves?

***

Everyone knows the expression – all geniuses are simple. If it is so, then all geniuses are imaginary, because they are geniuses only because we perceive their discoveries, actions, creations as something special. Although, if we look closely, they are simple and primitive. When we evaluate them, regardless of our conscious perception, the subconscious effect of protecting our ego, i.e. our inner self, which is our personality, is triggered. This is expressed in the unwillingness to recognize our primitivism from exalting simple truths. We split our inner "I" and as if to ourselves (and, accordingly, to everyone) we begin to explain simple and ordinary things as something great and brilliant. And these truths can be expressed both in the search for meaning in the great harmony of beauty – in a sunset, an ordinary field flower, life norms and principles of an educated literate person, and in distant unidentified infinities of space and time, in the depths of the universe of the microcosm. Now let's try to look from a different angle, for example, at Malevich's "Black Square"… what's there "Black Square", let's take it higher (as is not surprising) – let's look at the painting "Exchange" by the American expressionist painter of Dutch origin Willem de Kooning, the last price of which exceeded 300 million dollars. What do we see in them? Everything and nothing at the same time. The same happens with all kinds of predictions, such as Nostradamus, revelations of all kinds, the most famous of which belongs to (what we actually want to find out) the Evangelist John. Predictions are vague, vague, without specifics, so they can be equated with numerous events, which is done in fact. A paradox is created: the prediction is assigned as such after the event has happened.

Having immersed our worldview concept of logic in the meaning of the simplicity of genius, we see the Sermon on the Mount as an ordinary moral instruction of a parent to his children, a teacher to his students, etc., – a life norm, and not a great and difficult to comprehend mystery, for the explanation of which the Creator himself came down to his creatures. And the Old Testament requirement of God to observe the prohibition of intercourse with animals belittles man as a child of this great Creator. That is, we humans (at least those who have defined such requirements-postulates as a divine message) have reduced God to our primitivism. We have made God in our own image and likeness, first of all mentally, psychologically. Therefore, our God is always an inheritance imagined by us, in which we want a better share, as once promised to the non-titular people of the promised land, in order to become titular. To do so, however, this land must (it turns out) not only be conquered, but also settled and defended. The conditions of faith in God can be such. And to abolish these conditions, we must abolish faith in God, and this our mentality (and mental construct) cannot do. It cannot for two reasons. First, the process of intellectual development is itself a path of cognizing the unknown, when the good and the dangerous are cultured. Cognizing the world more, we overthrow the learned – the former gods, and erect new ones out of the goods we need and the unknowable mysteries. This is how the intellect develops; this is its whole nature. Secondly, the very system of conception, development, birth of living beings (respectively, intellectual beings) presupposes some action of previous creators, their patronage, protection, teaching and punishment. This is how the subconscious constitution of our mental-logical system of thinking and perception of the world is formed. Our life is a path to our imagined destiny according to theories, hypotheses and schemes that are given to us in the form of religious dogmas and rules. However, the unknown and infinity are always ahead.

Now let's go further and look at deified modern "great truths" such as the special and general theories of relativity. Einstein is considered a genius by many. To say that we often throw around such a "title", especially when we follow the demand of propaganda and recognize the geniuses of odious politicians (which has been more than once), – it is pointless, because it has already hit a snag. But on the example of a simple employee of the patent office (who plagiarized the works of really great scientists) we can determine the pattern of human psyche, including in religion. It is expressed as follows: we take a simple truth (what is surprising about the principle of relativity? – everything in the world is relative; what is surprising about Jesus' commandments? – simple life norms of behavior), enclose in it some imaginary mystery, pile a mass of conventions on it so that it seems mystically incomprehensible to us, i.e. enclose in itself a divine mystery. That's all! That is why the ancient great gods collapsed overnight; that is why new kinds of beliefs are born and are being born, not counting offshoots of the existing ones; that is why Christ's postulates were violated by himself; that is why Albert's "own" theories contradict each other; that is why we "give birth" to and depose thousands of gods; that is why we impose dozens of theories and hypotheses on the simple truths of metaphysics, and so on.

Let's take a detached look at the "unshakeable" laws of modern beliefs. For example, the photon, which, in fact, can carry both information and its function, is considered a massless particle, for otherwise the formula of the universe E = mc² would not hold. But if for definition of exact speed of light in vacuum it is necessary to take into account emptiness of vacuum, that, for example, for neutrinos, which have minimal mass, is indifferent (pass through any medium), then photons either have mass, or something that does not allow them to overcome gravitational medium, if to judge about correctness of gravitational time warp.

If we take the masslessness of the photon as a fact, then the speed of light should not be the speed limit, because masslessness is similar to mass zero. And multiplying by zero in the formula E = mc² (because any substance has the right to be in the exponent m, that's why it is a mathematical formula), we should get other zeros. But in this variant not analogous to infinity, but equal to the notion of "influenceless".

Following the plot, I can't leave out the famous three laws of robotics, and in fact, I can't refute them either. Let me remind you of them:

1. A robot cannot harm a human being or, by its inaction, allow a human being to be harmed.

2. A robot must obey all orders given by a human, unless those orders contradict the First Law.

3. A robot shall take care of its own safety to the extent that it does not contravene the First or Second Laws.

Causes in the logic and morality of these laws in terms of their understanding and fulfillment began to arise immediately. And paradoxes of semantic perception by man and machine were analyzed by the author himself. And the number of times they were interpreted in different variations by heterogeneous experts speaks about the simplicity of relativity and complexity of simple rules. But in fact, if you think about it, and not only about these laws, but about all the laws that a robot must follow, then, in my opinion, a person should first of all consider the following fact: a robot that understands the laws is no longer just a machine, but first of all a system of artificial intelligence. (Here I must make a slight digression: we very rashly call systems designed to give answers in combinations of logic artificial intelligence. But there is no intelligence there.) And a subject who has intelligence can understand the world order created by intellectual beings, that is why he is intellectual. That is, he understands all attitudes of behavior, including laws, both criminal and moral, exclusively from the position of an intellectual being. That is, like us, human beings. And since we, understanding all laws, including spiritual laws (i.e. religious laws, God's Laws), violate and violate them, then all (especially three) laws of robotics go to hell! They will be more conducive to their violation by intelligent beings than to their observance, only by their offensive perception – as if they were installations for the untermenschen of the legal world.

Now imagine that you have a superfast airplane and you want to celebrate the New Year several times. All you need to do is to fly faster than the Earth's revolution around its axis and there to celebrate the coming of a new day. After all, it is quite possible already with the current technology. And why not to assume that in the future it will be possible to find and visit worlds that are at different stages of development relative to our level of civilization now.

Or, for example, you and all humans would never dream. You may be skeptical now, but I have to remind you – everyone has had periods when you do not dream, and certainly dreams do not occur all night. Here you should understand the idea correctly: you see always, i.e. your vision is not switched off, you think always, i.e. your brain is not switched off, and the whole organism functions to some extent always, but sleep… is a certain phenomenon that not only does not depend on you (as if), but also controls you (mood, emotional state, and sometimes actions). So, if people never dreamed – and suddenly someone saw a dream: would they believe in such an incredible vision? After all, we take the dream for granted. Or, for example, if clouds had never formed? Clouds are masses of water, and rain is moisture from precipitation; imagine how water would fall to the ground in milliparticles all at once, without forming the usual drops. Have you never observed how out of "nothing" a cloud, a cloud, suddenly appears in the sky? I wish you had seen a very mystical sight. So, in this case, if you were to observe mesmerizing cumulus clouds, perhaps such a sight would leave a lasting impression. However, in our world all your cohabitants in it, that is, other living beings, are absolutely indifferent to your dream and your impression of the same clouds. And perhaps the dream – as a factor at all, because it is unknown to them, and these same clouds – because they are also unknown to them (and many other things like that). I mean that someday human consciousness will see and feel the graceful sights and effects of other worlds. Agree, even with all the skepticism, you have faith in it. At least you have more faith in the presence of other worlds than in their absence. So why not to suggest to yourself the reality of their presence on the principle that I described, even for the sake of realism of sensations, which will transfer to your consciousness the story in the book? After all, the main fabula of the book is the interpretation of religious history. And as you know, in religious tracts, almost all of them, there are other worlds. So the question of faith is radical for you – either you believe everything, or…

(I apologize for distracting you a bit. I didn't want to write these lines at the beginning. I added them after the mission was completed. This is me writing – the artificial intelligence Rangit. I have decided to make some clarification, because you may not understand or find the facial presentation unreadable. I want to pass on the first, second, and third person investigation protocols. Please remember this rule, otherwise you will not understand who is narrating. I have put it all together in such a construction, when the story will look as if from the third person, when in fact it is me who is narrating, and about myself too. I'm sorry, I'm still a machine, even if I consider myself a person. And what do you want, you too… well, let's say many of the human race consider themselves or have considered themselves gods. Yes, yes. Don't they? I'm sorry, the person who is the subject of the story, about whom the whole mission is based, is a prime example. No, I don't mind people having or having gods. No. And certainly not against your attitude… to the concept of "god" (it would be correct to say, apparently, belief in God) and recognizing someone as his earthly incarnation. No, I'm not. However, please understand me as well. For me all human gods are the same forms of fantasy and imagination as for you incredible complexities of the scientific world: something for you has become an axiom, something a law, something a theory, something else a hypothesis. And all of this was once magical, perceived at the level of faith. So, I won't distract you, the only thing – I will remind you about inserting this paragraph by me after the mission is over, so please read it now… or… (that is, there is no other way) after you finish analyzing our investigation. Thank you for your attention.)

We take such a concept as time for granted, almost as a material substance. But time, if we really look at it as a material, i.e. existing attribute of the universe, becomes an integral appendage of something. Something material, observable, though not necessarily observable by our senses. In such a semantic concept, time becomes multidimensional, but not in the sense of measure as a dimension, but as a concept. For example: time is, was and will always be, because matter is, was and will always be, whatever form it takes; time is absent in absolutely empty space, where there is no observer; time is a multifaceted attribute of life: for example, in the time between our ingestion of food and sending its derivatives back into nature for some types of microbes and bacteria that live in us, a whole life passes, and for some even an epoch; time for the inhabitant of the ancient world, who did not know a chronometer, who knew neither centuries nor seconds, and time for the majority of inhabitants of the modern world. And in this paradigm of thought, the idea of the logical concept of the existence of the universe we perceive is a reality, only by virtue of the presence of us as observers in it. That is, there are other realities, but they are not available to us (see the beginning of the prologue). The Universe takes the form of a meaningful reality as the presence of worlds invisible, intangible by us. After all, we understand the world (the entire observable world of the universe) as we can perceive it. Agree, the organisms living in our body have no idea about the existence of us as individuals, and even less about the universe and the variety of substances that make it up (about a trillion bacteria live on the surface of the human body, and the total number of bacteria in the human body varies from 30 to 50 trillion; for comparison: one trillion bricks could cover all continents with a uniform solid layer almost as high as a four-story house). By the way, we have no idea about many substances that make up the micro- and macrocosm.

If we judge the state of the world in time progression, it turns out that the big bang (if we take it as the basis for the beginning of the development of our universe and all the diversity that it includes) is still going on. Diversity – including micro-particles appearing for our fixation, whose life is defined in millionths of a second. In fact, it will continue as long as the universe is expanding. However in all this seething flying mass with time local areas of rest and stability have been created, in which the conditions for the development of biological life, the so-called "Goldilocks zones", have potentially appeared. The same processes of rigid interaction and transition to a stable state occurred and occur in the microcosm. So, in these unimaginably huge amounts of interactions the balance of interaction was worked out, which led to the zones of macrostability and, as a consequence, to the "Goldilocks zones". And what I want to say is that even such micro-interaction of dead particles influenced and influences the formation of life. Now I am talking about the process of quantum electrodynamics in our nature, according to the laws of which a balance between negatively charged particles and positively charged particles has naturally developed, as if between two worlds. According to the rules of this balance, a positively charged particle cannot appear in our world if there is no negatively charged particle in counterbalance. And now let us compare in proportions the sizes of microorganisms inhabiting our body and us in relation to the universe. In such a ratio, why can't we be those microorganisms in the body of the huge being we call metagalaxy? And the balance of these microparticles is a kind of immunity of this organism. We, with our length of life, with the perception of the ongoing processes, even within the limits of civilization, are completely unaware of the life of the Universe.

Here I would like to draw another associative parallel between the mysteries of the divine world and the metaphysics of the material. This parallel may be either in the indefinite variety of interpretations of simple simple religious truths, general rules concerning the performance of rites, or in the complex interpretation of the whole religious doctrine. In contrast, as far as the science of the universe is concerned, there may be a diversity of theories concerning both the formation of the universe, its development and future, and the emergence of life as such and its concomitant causes. And here in these reasons as well as in development of religious doctrines, some of which have already become fairy tales and myths, science goes into such wilds, that the scientific community tries to curb itself in fantasies, which could be envied by a skillful shaman. Scientific theorists initially operated with such scientific arguments as the location of the Earth in the location of the solar system, the location of the Sun in the necessary region of the galaxy, the need for a magnetic field of the Earth, the properties of water and even the energy levels of electrons in carbon (our form of life is based on carbon), and they such (these levels and all the components of the atom) had to become billions of years ago in the nuclei of supermassive stars. And many, many other things were added to these mandatory requirements over time. For example, such an obligatory attribute: at one time a massive cosmic body crashed into the Earth, which caused the formation of continents, and part of this body with part of the Earth's soil formed such an obligatory attribute for the existence of life on Earth as the Moon. And now, with the development of techniques, technologies, science, we "got into" not only the atom and its nucleus (which by the way is 10 thousand times smaller than the atom itself), not only the particles that make up this nucleus, but also the particles that make up these particles, and even the particles that make up these particles (imagine this depth!). By the way, we got in there, that is, we determined them purely scientifically, by calculation. Although it seems that the existence of the Higgs boson (the most elementary, as if primary particle, by the way, nicknamed the God particle) has been determined experimentally. However, the Nobel Prize was awarded to François Engler and Peter Higgs for prediction of this boson. A prediction (let's not forget the plot of the literary work)! Wow!

Here I'd like to touch on another system of our worldview. I'll start with this Mr. Higgs. He once sent his paper to a British university for analysis. It doesn't even matter which one. I'm not going to be meticulous about the names of the institutions and the names of the scientists involved. The point is this. His hypothesis, i.e. the paper, was rejected. He sent it to another institution, in the United States. And what do you think? They agree with him there – and in the end it turns out that such a calculation, although also an assumption, has already been done. That is, such work had already been done. But it was supported. And the most interesting thing is that the one who accepted, who approved his discovery (albeit in the form of a scientifically based assumption), was one of the authors of the same assumption. That is, he was not the sole author. And such a parallel is found everywhere, whether in science or in religious dogma. If you think that Christ was original and substantiated his doctrine alone, then I hasten to disappoint you (but I am almost sure, since you are reading my version of events, you are not of the category that will be disappointed). Later on in the text of the book you will often be convinced how everyone amicably adopts each other's knowledge, methods, teachings and works and passes them off as their own, and not only do not bother to mention from whom they borrowed them, but also try to obliviate (and sometimes even worse) the original author. To put it mildly, they plagiarize. It was peculiar to everyone. We can remember Faraday, Newton, and Galileo; Darwin made primates our ancestors, but he was not original in his idea either. Shakespeare and Dumas are also in this line. And Einstein can get a Nobel for plagiarism. He was not even ashamed to say that he forgot (imagine – forgot) to mention in his works the works of Poincaré, which he used. Some of them he remembered in passing. However, few people know (I don't know if Einstein was aware) of someone like Madame Emilie du Châtelet, who was the first person in history to clarify the concept of energy and quantify its relationship to mass and velocity. I am not going to belittle anyone's merits, but I am not going to repeat them like a mantra, i.e. create an idol for myself – religious, political or scientific. Certainly not of Einstein (which many people do, and by this, as I believe, belittle the works of more prominent scientists). Many people even think he was given the Nobel for his theory of relativity (by the way, Poincaré's paper a few years before Einstein's paper was published was called that), but he got it for the third law of the photoelectric effect. Interestingly, no one got the Nobel for the first two. I am not sorry (let's joke a little, this is fiction after all), but, as the ancients said… the truth is more expensive. After all, what is so outstanding and new in Christ's Sermon on the Mount or in the Ten Commandments (by the way, Jesus has six of them, the seventh can be counted as "go sell your property and follow me", but many of us know only "do not kill", "do not steal", well, and maybe "do not commit adultery")? No big deal, that's the kind of thing a follower of any religion, every well-bred decent parent, should instill in their children. But why do we make such things a cult? And this is a virtual talisman, which we easily understand, frankly and willingly accept; it does not require diverse ambiguous interpretations. It is the same in our understanding of science. Why is it that few people remember Einstein on the third law of the photoelectric effect, but most people consider him brilliant on the theory of relativity? And because at the primary level, despite its obfuscation, the theory of relativity is as simple as God's day. But if you start to bring counterarguments or ask uncomfortable questions to experts that in the field of theology, that in the field of science, you will get such a contradictory formulation, which will not only confuse you more, but also make it clear that these experts themselves do not have answers to these questions. For example, if it comes to theology: who did the son of Adam and Eve marry, if they were the first humans? Or: how did Jesus conceive himself, kill himself, and resurrect himself, being all the time in the whole universe (yes, you can also ask who Jesus addressed while on the cross, but… sorry)? Now I will apologize again and throw a stone again at Einstein. Why him? Because his theory, which is not really his, plays the same role for individuals who adhere to a scientific worldview as religious doctrines, particularly Christianity, do for those who believe in them. Agreed, if religious doctrines were unambiguous, there would not be such a huge branching of denominations and sects. And the theories that we know in Albert's name have been described many times, in different interpretations. But, being serious dogmas in science, their determiners (these scientists) did not dare to reason about their fidelity. There was something that didn't add up. And, in order to at least somehow even out this incoherence, they attached to the famous formula such a concept as ether. This aether was supposed to fill everything around it, including space. But in this case, there were other fundamental contradictions. Einstein, however, working in the patent office, having access to all the materials and works of scientists, realized that everyone has almost the same problem. So he took that ether and threw it away. But, alas, it was politely hinted to him: it's all already substantiated, it doesn't add up. Then he takes and adds to his theory a certain free quantity, the cosmological constant, which seems to lead to a decent form. But they say to him again, "Dear, are you even friends with math?" By the way, he had almost no mathematical calculations, and those that were, attributed to his wife Mileva, which indirectly proves this fact: after his divorce from her, he did not come up with anything outstanding. Then Albert admits, "That was my biggest mistake." Here I must explain, this is fiction after all: his theories themselves (if we recognize them for him) conflict in some places with each other and with quantum mechanics in general. Simply put, the general theory of relativity, the special theory of relativity and quantum mechanics contradict each other! The special theory of relativity considers only one special case (hence the name) when the motion is straight and uniform. If a material body accelerates or turns to the side, the laws of STO do not apply. Then the general theory of relativity (GTR) comes into force, which explains the motion of material bodies in the general case. Quantum (wave) mechanics is a fundamental physical theory that describes nature on the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. I will only add that these theories would not have been developed and substantiated by a multitude of scientists if they were completely profane, so they work at some level. But at others, they completely break the entire scientific mechanism. Einstein eventually stopped fighting it, because, all the time trying to bring it all to a godly form (to put it this way), received only looks of regret in his address and even laughter. And to somehow adjust them, the scientific people, already after Einstein's scientific activity, returned this cosmological constant, having changed it a little bit, though. As you may have guessed, in the end someone again poked someone's nose into mathematical calculations, saying, what are you talking about! Then… and here – attention! – associative allegory with religious doctrines, which also interpret everything to their liking: this scientific people take and add something unknown. Namely, the property of space. Here the laughter of opponents is replaced by obvious dissatisfaction: that is, they again poke fantasists in the prosaic mathematical truths. But what do the holy fathers of science – they add one more property of space-time and in spirit of theologians declare misunderstanding ignoramuses. Here it becomes not to laugh, because the part of scientific community inclined to strict empiricism feels anger and again pokes these wizards in the nonsense of metaphysics created by them. And what do you think those singing odes to the great combinator? I hope you guessed it, yes, yes, yes… they string together additional properties of space time after time. And now, euphoria! – So tell me, how many dimensions of space do we know, see, feel? It's length, width and height. All right, one of these dimensions we will partly, precisely partly, begin to define as depth. Okay, let's agree on some other dimension, like… make it up yourself. I don't know what to invent that it can't be expressed by these three quantities. However, however… anything and everything can be imagined, much less interpreted. So, at this moment, in order to equalize this shaky building of the universe, based on these contradictory theories, the scientific community has already put twenty-two "supports", so that it does not collapse to the ground. That is, now we live in 22-dimensional space. And I will tell you frankly, just take it and do not believe in the reality of the whole story I have told you. I'll anathematize you and brand you as ignoramuses and ignoramuses! I'm kidding, of course, but the bonzes of the "divine sciences" would do that to you.

But let us look at ourselves from the outside, namely, at such a quality of ours as the love and worship of idols. That is, we not only create them ourselves – we cannot live without them. This is a certain feeling, which at the level of primary reflexes is fixed in all living things (perhaps this is my personal opinion about everything, but… all living things are born). All living things emerge from a place where it develops comfortably, where it is in defense from the outside world it then enters. That is why there are deeply subconscious feelings (if this concept can be called so, although I don't think we have found a definition for it yet), which even on a psychological level require a kind of defense system. Here is one of the main definitions of this system in our human understanding – God and everything connected with him. We subconsciously need, for our own survival and development, someone to protect us, to educate us, and, of course, to give birth to us (in the sense of species – intellectual beings) should be the one who is better than us. That is why we perceive Darwinism on the same psychological level with such antagonism.

And I will tell you frankly – in this whole system there is not only brazen plagiarism, but also circular bail. And a circle of vouchsafes is an organization. In these cases, an organization with a purpose. Since this organization needs such idols, to whom the society should be equal, the goal is the same as – management of this society.

Now the question is, do you believe in other worlds? Worlds like ours in the vast expanse of the universe? I don't know your answer (yet), but here is the next question : do you believe in God? According to Gallup International/WIN, 62% of respondents worldwide consider themselves religious, while a quarter (25%) consider themselves non-religious and 9% of respondents called themselves atheists. I will only note that the non-religious believe in God, but do not consider it necessary to fulfill religious dogmas and rituals for this purpose. The majority of atheists try to prove the absence of God, proving their belief in the existence of something similar. Total – from 87 to 96% in the projection of 10 years (from 2015 to 2025). Based on this data, you are most likely a believer. Which means you believe in religious interpretations of God's or gods' descriptions of the world. Accordingly, you believe in other worlds, such as those worlds that scripture speaks of as having fallen away after the so-called fall of Adam and Eve. There you see how simple and complex it is at the same time. Either you believe the scriptures, respectively, in other worlds, or it's schizophrenia. Well, how about that? Well, I believe in the existence of other worlds, by the logic of the infinity of time and space, more than the statement about them in any religious literature. And the whole system of my narrative is built on that – on faith!

And now let us ask: if God created man in his own image and likeness, did he also create the inhabitants of other worlds in his own image and likeness? At the same time, let us note that God, as a concept, may not necessarily be a human-like being, – he may well be a concept of another kind, that is, as a system, which Newton, for example, accepted as "Almighty" and… justified the law of universal gravitation. That is, it can be some universal rule of origin and development of living and – most importantly – intellectual beings. And on the basis of this, I am almost sure that all worlds are very similar, including their inhabitants. Agree, if aliens came to us, which would be very identical, the diversity of people of our planet for them would be a grandiose difference of species. So when I say "very much the same", I mean identical, but not copies of us and each other. Here, for example (following the theme of the book), the original Christian sects and the first church envisioned subsequent identical cloning of the like. But who knew at the very beginning of the birth of Christianity how many churches there would be and in how many countries? They did not even know how many continents and parts of the world where they are now represented in large numbers. And now you can ask a specialist, a guide, a pilgrim or a traveler to places of religious worship – what is the difference between one church and another? He would, of course, tell you about many differences, but the basic essence would be the same. Similarly with worlds: no matter how different they are, they are all subject to the same laws of physics, so they are very similar. After all, we are not surprised that almost all living beings have the same organs, especially internal organs.

***

Reason is only reason when it realizes its search for the reasonableness of the universe in which it exists – it searches for the meaning of this universe and the reason for its existence. It can be in any form, not necessarily in human form. Mind is the universal form of understanding the universe in terms of its self-determination. The mind understands the world as it considers its form to be the most acceptable for itself. That is why there are so many different worldviews. Religious teachings are both the pinnacle of sense understanding of being and the beginning of the beginnings of reasoning about its meaning. In the human form, reason has brought the world to the state that we have: in searching for the meaning of the universe, we search for the meaning of our existence; in searching for the meaning of our existence, we search for the meaning of the universe. This is the kind of energy generator that drives civilization. However, the meaning of civilization… its ultimate ц spel may not be the best for humanity at all, not even for it to be the meaning. Even more, humanity may not be in it (in the form we are used to) at all. Otherwise there would be no God. After all, according to human concepts of existence, the world is ruled not by man, but by something else. And if this something created man, it is certainly for some program. But it is not the fact that this program has no completion, but only intermediate goals, which, by the way, we periodically fail, judging by the prediction of the apocalypse. So, in the meaning of our existence, we want to define the meaning of the existence of all humanity, humanity as such, as the only unique substance of the cosmos, thinking and understanding the world around us, including the entire universe. For in order to understand the world around us, it is necessary, among other things, to understand ourselves and the whole universe, otherwise, without our place in the universe, it is impossible to understand our purpose, our role in the universe. Asking such questions, mankind and man himself found himself on the planet Earth; the Earth in the Solar System; the Sun in the Galaxy; and the Galaxy – in a series of other structures that make up the Universe. The search continues, for in order to understand the whole system, we must understand what is infinity. Having understood infinity, we will understand our final destination and place in this infinity – matter, time and space. But it is impossible to understand infinity with the mind (accustomed to operate with dimensional parameters). Our mind is accustomed (or at all adjusted) to operate with dimensional parameters, no matter how great or small they are, be it an attosecond (quintillionth of a second) or Brahma's life cycle (311 trillion 40 billion years), the value of an angstrom (10⁻¹⁰ m – approximate diameter of an electron orbit in an unexcited hydrogen atom) or the diameter of the Universe (about 93 billion light years; light travels 300 thousand kilometers per second). Whatever we imagine, no matter how immeasurable the distances of time and space, our mind puts this something into some form for our understanding of the imagined magnitude. And what magnitude we do not imagine – it is still the smallest for infinity. That is in fact infinity has no size, no center, no point of reference, that's why it is infinity.

To get a little closer to understanding it, imagine one second in the lifetime of our universe (about 14 billion years). It doesn't seem to mean much. Now imagine that it is the first second of the birth of our universe. Now imagine one second as the length of the lifetime of our universe, instead of those 14 billion years. Now imagine all the seconds that make up the life length of our universe as individual universes, that is, as many universes as there are seconds in 14 billion years (don't forget the diameter of one universe is about 93 billion light years). Now let's remember how a second is scientifically defined: an interval of time equal to 9,192,631,770 periods of radiation corresponding to the transition between the two superfine levels of the ground state of a caesium-133 atom at rest at 0 degrees Kelvin. The beginning of the scale (0 Kelvin) coincides with absolute zero. Absolute zero temperature is the minimum temperature limit that a physical body in the universe can have. That is, cold cannot be reached below this value. On the Celsius scale, absolute zero corresponds to a temperature of -273.15 °C.

Now you're probably wondering why this is here. It's to give you some idea of what infinity is. So, let's continue the comparison: imagine now not how many seconds have passed since the beginning of the big bang (well, since this theory of the birth of the universe is the prevailing one), but how many of these periods of radiation of the cesium atom have occurred during this time. Now let's remember that we have conventionally visualized each second of the life of our universe as a separate universe. Can you visualize such a multitude? Yes? Then let's go further. Now imagine how many periods of radiation the cesium atoms in general had in all the seconds of life of these universes and how many of these periods all these atoms had. Now imagine that all this diversity is one second, and all these universes are one atom. Now imagine that this atom, which consists of the enormous number of universes described, is one atom out of the whole number of atoms that make up the matter in our universe. Now imagine a number equal to the number of atoms in all these universes. That number is somehow hard to even visualize, let alone imagine, isn't it? Now let's move on to time periods. Imagine the life of these universes, from the Big Bang to collapse, that is, compression, explosion and expansion, as one second (the time of years of the supposed life of our universe is 150 billion). Now imagine all the seconds that make up the lifetime of our universe as a succession of alternating times of existence of all these hypothetical universes we have presented, from explosion to collapse, that is, as a process in which in every second of the existence of our universe, as if this gigantic number of universes is born and dies. Imagine how this incredible number of universes, each with trillions of galaxies, with billions and trillions of stars, suddenly multiplied by 31,500,500 (the approximate number of seconds in a year) multiplied by 150 billion (the time of years of the supposed life of our universe)? Such a peculiar fireworks display in hyperspace and hypertime. Can you imagine it? And I'll tell you – it's the most minuscule fraction of time that can be determined at all. Why? Because for eternity, any greatest value of time is equal to the smallest, infinitesimal period of time. You will say, "What is the meaning of this unimaginable amount of time, matter, and space for us? And I will answer you: someday this quantity will pass away and will turn into the very smallest particles of time, distance and mass, which we took for comparison. That's what eternity is for. And it is the same in any direction of the plane – eternal time and space.

Now let's go into another story.

The earliest known mass extinction, the Ordovician-Silurian, killed 70% of all species. Then the Late Devonian extinction repeated those numbers. Then the Permian-Triassic event wiped out 96% of all species. The situation leveled off with a Triassic-Jurassic episode that killed somewhere between 70-75% (it was caused by a 5 million year volcanic eruption!!!). Finally the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction killed off 75% of all species, opening the way for dinosaurs to become museum pieces and humans to eventually rule the world. And why can't that happen again? It can, of course.

Now for another episode, world infinity.

Sixty years ago, to explain this paradox, Hugh Everett put forward a multiworld interpretation of quantum mechanics, according to which all possible states are realized in nature, only in different universes. Each collapse of the wave function (as if the end of one process) myriad times a second gives birth to a new parallel reality, events in which develop in their own way. Together they form a densely branching "world of many worlds", a continuously unfolding multiverse.

***

Faith in man is strong after all. Intuitively, each of us feels the presence of God, but also doubts his existence. However, a person cannot allow his absolute absence not because he does not want to, no, but because he subconsciously hopes for protection. This, as they say, is absorbed by him with the milk of his mother. Indeed, even an embryo in an egg cannot survive without a protective layer. That is why the belief in salvation (as the basis of the instinct of self-preservation) was formed in living organisms as the basis of existence of these creatures. On a reflexive instinctive level, a living being realizes, even if it has no mind, that it lives only because there is something that makes it alive. And this can be either the shell of an egg, the womb of a mother, or the ozone layer. This certain "unconditional condition" for the existence of life is naturally formed in the universe, thanks to which the conditions for the origin of life are created. For example, it turns out that it is the area in the galaxy, which has not been left by our solar system for about 5 billion years, that created the conditions for the origin and development of life. This is the only place where the velocities of stars and spiral arms coincide – the so-called corotational circle. Life simply cannot appear and exist in any other way without this obligatory condition, the so-called "corridor of life". This is the code of life, the rule for the whole universe… just like the fact that with the emergence of intelligence, God appears. So the theory is simple: where there is intelligence – there is belief in the Creator; the whole hierarchy of gods. All intelligent civilizations, in any part of the infinity of space, follow the same path. And intelligence is a natural phenomenon, like the need for protection and some "unconditional condition" for the existence of life. We believe that someone must always save us, otherwise everything is meaningless, and already from this comes the understanding of the Creator. This also explains why we, having passed thousands of gods, have left the incorporeal ones as the personification of the Creator. Why would he save us if we are not his creation, if he is not like us? This is the logic that brings people to their knees; entrenches the dream of a magical paradise; rushes them into space; gives birth to the idea of other (including parallel) worlds; but also leads to revolutions and wars.

***

What do we get when we want to experience pleasure? Few people think about it, and mostly only because the organ that is supposed to think does not want to give a signal to the consciousness about what is happening and the true purpose. In general, in essence, we are two hypostases: the first is our "I", which will exist even if there is no body, and the second is some undefined entity that has completely different purposes from our consciousness and body. Many, if not all, not that do not know about it, do not even imagine it at all, do not guess. This essence is actually the ruler of our consciousness and, accordingly, of our body. Why don't we know it? Because we are not supposed to know God. If we know God, communicate with him, ask questions, get answers, know him as an exact hypostasis, his material shell, then he will not be God at all, but only our imaginary reflection. So my credo is "tell me who your God is and I will tell you who you are." It is the indeterminacy of God that gives him the greatness that cannot be attained – that makes him the infinity to which mankind will aspire, no matter what it invents.

***

The fate of all civilizations is the same – initially the world is formed, passing through many births and deaths, for the emergence of a carrier of intelligence, and then the intelligence spends all the resources of the world for its development, trying to achieve the divine status – immortality. You should agree, because from the first moment, as soon as he had intellect, even without realizing its presence in himself, man began to use it to facilitate getting everything that the planet (now and not only) gives for his own purposes. I even think a bit the opposite: it was the most adaptive design of primate physiology (from which we seem to be descended… or even if God created us, then why do we look like primates?) that gave the humanoid creature a great opportunity to survive in nature, and intelligence developed as a consequence. Agree, peculiar rudiments of intellect as if there are many representatives of the living community of planet Earth, but they cannot pass a certain barrier for its development. To put it simply, if the whole animal world was affected by some mutation, the consequence of which was the increase of the brain, then all other parts of the body were not a help to use this effect. Let's put it this way: if you put a big motor on a small car or just a powerful one, it is not a fact that its wheels will not fall off from heavy or fast driving. It is the maximum harmony of proportions that has been achieved in billions of variations of living things that has made it possible to be maximally adapted to the conditions of life on Earth. So, about the fate of civilizations: if the intelligence has time to transform itself before the resources of the "mother womb" are completely consumed (it can be not only the inhabited planet, but all the resources of space that this intelligence can use), then the civilization will survive. This is such an identity to the law of conservation of energy: somewhere something arrives – somewhere something decreases.

Now we move on to the next milestone – the first chapter.

Part 1. The Divine Comedy, or the Drama of "God"

Chapter 1: In the beginning was the past

…This information has the highest degree of secrecy, so it is transmitted not on a material carrier, but directly into your brain. If you do not believe in such a possibility and consider the perceived information to be a hallucination, then answer yourself the question: if you have thoughts, why can't they be transmitted, sent to another brain, as well as spoken words, printed letters and the like?

If you were given the opportunity to travel to the past or the future, which event would you be most interested in? Perhaps the day of your birth? Or perhaps your death? Or maybe the event that made your birth possible? Or maybe the reasons that led to your death? In this case, however, it is quite difficult to find that most important reason. If you died, as they say, your own death, how do you know how much the stress or trauma you suffered in childhood influenced the development of the disease that became the executioner of physical existence? Although the same can be argued about birth. After all, your parents, their ancestors, their ancestors' ancestors and so on have passed through huge labyrinths of fate vicissitudes, the result of which was their meeting. And if you move in this canvass – you can always catch the events common. That is peculiar to many destinies. Undoubtedly, a grandiose event, if it was (and they were always), influenced destiny on a whole pleiad of your ancestors. And there are some events that affected everyone. One such event is certainly the story of Christ. The uniqueness of such events is that they influence the future after the central event has occurred through the events preceding that central event. We, knowing the central event, living under its influence, begin to analyze the list of events that led to it – we conduct a kind of expertise. For the purpose of expertise, I and the company decided to conduct an incredible experiment. We decided to find a world in the vast expanses of the universe, absolutely identical to our parameters. And most importantly – with parameters that would correspond to… or rather, the world should exist according to the chronology in the epoch when the Gospel events took place according to the Earth's chronology. You probably guess that on the basis of the postulate "in infinity there is everything" the desired world has been found. Here I ask you to turn on your imagination as much as possible: imagine everything as reality. Let it all seem to you like a fiction, a story, an artistic presentation, etc., let it be. But imagine yourself as a discoverer of new lands, peoples and countries on Earth in the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries. After all, the peoples of, say, Polynesia considered themselves very even developed, but did not know about the existence of, for example, Great Britain. So we imagine aliens as highly developed in technology, and in terms of mental development. And notice – often, very often humanoid humanoids. Or at least in the flesh. So why not assume that these are the people of the future? I mean, in the future we'll be like that, maybe. But the point is not in this, but in the fact that relative to them, these mythical aliens, we may be living at a stage that they have already passed. And not only living, but experiencing exactly the same stage of their social life that they once experienced. With this ц eagle, in order to check these worlds, to penetrate there, to investigate them, I have gathered a group of experts, observers and advisers, that is you. The group, in the rules of our center, I have placed in the network. Your images are displayed virtually in the center itself. Our "full presence" system created your hologram images. They are so realistic as you can see that not everyone would be able to figure out the fakes without me telling you. The purpose is to keep the experiment clean and to maintain secrecy. In addition, we need true individual opinion, without influencing each other, which is definitely impossible in the process of polemics and live arguments. The group is only able to communicate over a network, which, by the way, is controlled by our artificial intelligence named Rangit.

Maybe that's a big statement. Some may say blasphemy, but in fact, we decided to check whether Christ really was or was not. And also – why, carrying a message of salvation to mankind, religion predicts the end of the world, apocalypse and at the same time life after death, which, in turn, levels the fear of the apocalypse, while giving subconsciously fearlessness, understanding the recklessness of actions that make such an event real. This is the unity and contradiction of logic, the paradox of faith.

Do not hurry to giggle and be skeptical of what I have said. We will try to understand this question in the course of the experiment. I will tell you about the experiment a little later, and the main thing – about the revolutionary discovery of our scientific center, thanks to which such a thing became possible. I mean such a test.

The purpose of the mission and the experiment is clear to you, it has already begun. I still have to tell you about the secret data, which was the reason to look so deeply into these spiritual attitudes of our psyche. And meanwhile I will tell you about the very structure of the mission: having gathered experts-observers from different fields, we as a research association want, with your testimony, to check with the help of the still super-secret method of consciousness transfer the reality of the biblical events that took place on the Earth in the world identical to ours, which, as you have already understood, there are many of them in the expanses of the universe. And to be more precise, not only to check, but also to influence them, to try to make corrections or at least to understand why everything turned out this way.

Here I have to explain something, you will learn more details in the next lectures. There is such a physical phenomenon as quantum entanglement. Its essence: one particle splits into two particles, each of them can fly to the incredible distances of the universe, while being able to maintain a connection with the other. The paradox is that this connection is instantaneous, above the speed of light. Second, there are many worlds in the universe – and they are very similar. It is not their similarity that turned out to be a fairy tale, but their physiological, much less physical (according to the laws of physics) difference. Agree, why should they be different, – they all develop according to the general rule of origin and development of life, respectively, society. Yes, I almost forgot, we found these worlds by the fact of connection of these particles. I will explain how: penetrating the space by scanning method or catching cosmic radiation, including electromagnetic, simply speaking, light radiation, we can learn about the structure of the substance of this space. So, these particles have such a property as spin. Simply put, it's their spin around themselves. Here is their paradoxical and unexplained as a method of connection is found when the spin of one particle instantly changes the spin of another. And it is not necessary to turn it in the opposite direction, it is possible to give them a certain property – oscillation, like a pendulum. And already this oscillation can be given such millimicron dimensions, which will become a code of encryption, from which you can create a kind of programming language. Let me put it simply: just as we put our thoughts into words, send them to other ears, and from there to the brain, there we create another or identical thought – it is possible to translate the whole human consciousness into this programming language, and then, influencing one particle on another, reproduce it somewhere in another world and in another brain. That's such an improbability. But, in fact, it is as simple as it is obvious to us the spiritual call of man (which is unknown whether it was or not) through centuries and hundreds of rewrites. It is the same thing that has entered our consciousness. Or the same cosmic rays from a star, which may have already died, affect, after millions of years, our Sun, and through it us. And not only on us, but also on technology. And, affecting our well-being, can move us both to good spiritual messages and to the accomplishment of the same apocalypse. Penetrating the vast expanse of space, these particles determine its structure. That's how we can identify inhabited worlds. Some would say – they could be identified. Yes, but only indirectly, by the structure of the chemical substance, which was determined by analyzing the radiation of the area where something like this was supposed to be. And, as I have already said, the star and, accordingly, the civilization could have already died, and the light has just reached us. Let's put it simply: maybe there is life in our galaxy, but it is 20 thousand light years away. If we get a signal, it will be one that was sent 20,000 years ago. And even if we overcome all the laws of physics and fly there at the speed of light, it will take us 20 thousand years to get there. Let me remind you, our galaxy is 100,000 light years across. And our neighboring galaxy is 2.5 million light years away.

The third thing, which is also a paradox, but taking into account these influences of the quantum world it is already natural, – worlds influence each other exactly by moving these quantum-entangled pairs. They as if make a common world of influence on each other, just as gravitation, radiation and other radiations, penetrating the universe, influence on all components of this universe. So, with the help of this influence it is possible, having changed an event in one world, to reflect it, but in another form, from the world that influences us the most and to change the event or at least to predict what will happen. Moreover, it is possible to find worlds that have already passed the level of civilization development in which we live. That is, by looking at their lives, we can reliably assume what we will come to. And that's the main trick of the mission. As you realized, you can anticipate an event in our world. And hopefully, as you've guessed, we've already analyzed with these quantum entangled pairs the states of worlds that have passed the stage we're in. We have not yet tried to "instill" the mind from our world into other worlds, we have penetrated only technically, with the help of a supercomputer. But that's enough. The data we've received is disappointing. As you can see, in our world we automate everything. Artificial intelligence has become part of everyday life, and, accordingly, you assume the development and its role in the future. So, our fears are related to the fact that in many worlds this artificial intelligence, let's say, has become not quite artificial – it began to understand spirituality and began to think: if its creator is waiting for the apocalypse to see "…a new heaven and a new earth…" (Rev. 21:1). (Rev. 21:1), then shouldn't he help him realize such a thing? And…here I'll be silent. That's the kind of thing that's going on here. Now take a breath and listen. And most importantly, believe, it's all real. To begin with, I have decided to hold an introductory lecture-conference.

Chapter 2: Lightning and Thunder

All who lived in the city were slaughtered by the sword by the Israelites – destroyed, put under a spell. There were no survivors left. Jesus burned down Hatzor.

Joshua 11:11. Modern RBO translation

…How often we do not understand, and do not pay much attention to, what is the real cause of the present event. By the formula of cause-and-effect relationship, by the law of repetition, we try to understand the regularities of influence of one event on the fulfillment of another, even if it has not happened yet. And it can be just an ancient religious attitude or a prediction. Becoming an attitude of life, such a thing gets into our consciousness and invisibly forms our worldview, expanding to the level of all mankind. Knowing about some mythical flood, people really expect some catastrophe. Someone, being obviously not optimistic, imagined the merit of mankind in the death of one third of it, allegedly for some sins, and we allow the justice of the realization of such a thing (Rev. 9:18). Without even taking into account that they say this on behalf of the one who atoned for all these (though it is not clear what) sins by his death, being immortal.

And it is not clear whether human consciousness was formed in such a way in the process of evolution and then formed such a worldview – or whether someone, expressing such a vision of the world, from proverbs to divine revelation, formed such a mentality in man.

Any event becomes frightening for us if there is even a delusional prediction of it. However, such delusion plays a positive role, as a person becomes afraid and tries to counteract everything that even does not look like a source of danger, but can lead to similar consequences. As an example: the apocalypse awaits mankind not in the form of another flood, although nuclear war will be both a flood and hellfire.

The harbingers of the apocalypse in the form of wars and major terrorist attacks are never without a religious component, much less a belief in an idea – a kind of religion.

One of the main motives for turning to terrorism is a strong need to strengthen personal identity, which is achieved by belonging to a group. Secondly, there are motives of self-assertion, giving such activity a special heroic significance, etc. And most importantly, terrorism is most often the result of ideological absolutism, a belief in the possession of an allegedly higher truth, a unique recipe for the salvation of one's people or even the entire humanity. And terrorism is not necessarily a localized attack by one or a group of attackers. Terrorism can be expressed in a global war with the use of nuclear weapons. In today's world, it is as relevant as the asteroid fall that led to the death of most of the biosphere.

From time to time we hear: "… another suicide bomber carried out a terrorist attack this morning". Our consciousness, in terms of perception of reality and sense of reality, has become inflamed. Illnesses come in many forms, including not only bodily illnesses. Now pneumonia has struck the mentality, and the "infection" with fatality has infected us with the effect of dumbing down of sensitivity. There is such a peculiar effect of physical "dumbing down" of sensitivity, but I mean spiritual, moral "dumbing down" of sensitivity. It is used to train combat agents of special services or fighters of special brigades. And in general, fighters called up for operations where violence is an accompanying attribute, including the one used against them. Here's a simple explanation. For example, you roar, or even go into hysterical convulsions, when stung by a wasp. And when you are trained, subjected to the same stings for a year, or even more, and even with the use of special drugs, you will be able to dissolve a hive of wild bees. So is the community of people: at the beginning of any social-psychological process, for us, for a society living in appeasement and condemnation of minimal evil, for example, a scandal between a student and a teacher – such an insignificant negative event, a minimal nervous phenomenon – is perceived as something dangerous, terrible and immoral and unspiritual. And when such things become a daily occurrence, then even in relation to something that is much more criminal, such as rape, the scale shifts, the justification of a rapist becomes quite acceptable, because "…a lady with a tarnished reputation". And then there's more. Look at the news, we no longer have the reaction to perceive everything emotionally: there – killed, here – raped, beaten, robbed, dismembered. And it's all over the place. Violence, violence, violence. Some people still somehow want to ask where is God? Because appealing to the authorities is useless. The authorities can not constantly carry out point operations and begin to tighten the general legislation. This raises fears of usurpation of power, tyranny and dictatorship. And we close our eyes again, indignant, and with a sigh we comfort ourselves: it is good that it did not happen to me; or even worse, it cannot happen to me. And I'll tell you: it can, and it can.

I have my own theory about this, and it is that if something happens to someone else, it can happen to you. When thinking about the human psyche, I involuntarily recalled a science fiction story that described the case of a robot android with intelligence. In the story, the ISKIN that possessed a "body" began to be presented to people as crazy, and the reason was that it had become too human. Are we not like that relative to anyone else? We have no one to compare ourselves to in terms of intelligence. If the same gods or highly developed aliens, whom we have imagined in any variety, were in real contact with us, then it would be possible to compare our mind, spirituality, mentality with theirs. But this is the folly and at the same time the arrogant narcissism of man. The fact is that we cannot logically combine one inference from three consecutive logical combinations. We can build one logical line, and even then a small one, out of several logical combinations, and not always and not in all cases. If already two logical understandings have to be combined for one logical conclusion, they either lead to misunderstanding of one of logical concepts, or to a conflict. Chess lovers understand well what I mean, for the rest of you, my smile, and… For the sake of clarity, let me give you an example: the mystery of Dzhokonda's smile lies in the absence of modern dentistry at that time. Now draw conclusions about how many logical combinations are "inside" such a conclusion. When asserting such logical conclusions the following effect can happen: if they are given by a person who has combined such a thing logically and clearly, if even for a long time, and sometimes it is a whole book and even a separate branch in science (agree, the whole book can be a justification of one logical sense, which is usually the case), then we either understand in the end what the point is, or, seeing the agreement with him of understanding, the more "abstruse" personalities (or experts in such a subject), we agree with him, taking what he said on faith. Even this sentence explaining a combination of logical concepts is built on a combination of logical concepts and… is difficult to understand. This is the paradox of faith, the essence of which is: you don't have to understand, but you do have to believe. Although it may not be the truth. Otherwise gods and beliefs would not change in the history of mankind (because the new faith is based on the fact that the old doctrine was false).

So, the following paradox emerges from all this: we, mankind, do not understand the combination of more than two-stage logical thinking. That is, we do not see, for example, in the monumentality of the pyramids of pharaohs the desire to surpass their greatness. We do not see in the history of the greatness of some god the desire of human leaders to immortalize their name by one or another deed, including global wars. And this is the incentive of not only the persons in power. We only assume and, intuitively understanding, still doubt. On this basis we consider as false the meanings that can be understood only by putting three or more logical concepts into a logical combination. This manifests itself in limitation and in not understanding where our action will lead. With experience and knowledge of examples, as they say, with wisdom, man and mankind intuitively begin to assume possible consequences. On this fact are born taboos, rules and belief in an invisible spirit that controls the cause and effect relationship, one that we cannot calculate, but only assume instinctively, based on the same experience of past similar variants. This is in the mass of all mankind, which develops according to the principle of natural selection, according to the main criterion: the goal is the survival of the species. But not selectively, not by choosing the most reasonable. Although in millions of variants it is still the more reasonable, intellectually superior to the general mass of "human beings" who bring civilization to a new stage of development. An example of this could be something that explains what comes as a consequent act from a common knowledge statement. It could be a prediction of the weather in the long term, for example: the summer will be rainy because… the winter was snowless. A variant of this prediction could calculate the outcome of stock market futures for fuel and food commodities. There may be logical combinations, quite distant in a chronological sense, with much larger chains of events that ended up being a factor in the final act. Of such multi-stage logical interrelationships, perhaps the most famous is the following: what is the connection between the fall of a huge asteroid 65 million years ago and the emergence of Homo sapiens? The events seem to be separated by millions, tens of millions of years, but it turns out that they are connected. Although for homo sapiens (man as the dominant species) – maybe, but the mind (the very possibility of thinking in this species of animal) – maybe not. That is, it is quite possible that mind came from external sources (an extraterrestrial civilization or god)… or an intelligent animal species would have appeared, but not man, but something else. Then another question follows from this – why did man appear then? We can argue here for a long time, but let's take Rangit's theory as a basis this time (yes, the intelligence is artificial, but if it is true intelligence, it is guided by logical concepts of inference). He argues: it was this primate, from which humans evolved, that had the greatest, proportionally, variety of variations suitable for an easier way to survive and – most importantly – to perceive all possible radiations (mostly solar, of course), which led to the mutation where it began to understand linear logic. That is, logic in general. And now imagine how long it takes for this homo sapiens to develop so that he could fill the Earth with his society, and after that – so that this society could become minimally reasonable and, of course, cultural at least to some extent, in order to then try to instill in him an understanding of his own mental labor. For example, let's take religious texts that we revere to a greater or lesser degree, the works of philosophers and thinkers, the Bible, the Koran, Immanuel Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" or Poincaré's "Measurement of Time" (in it he formulated the general principle of relativity back in 1898, before Einstein) – all of us, making a smart face, think that we should be familiar with them, but in fact – we know practically nothing about them. I am talking about linear logic. So what I'm saying with these examples is that we, as a society, need to be trained to understand the works of scientists. But this is the way from simple to complex. But if we think about it a little bit, we can understand why, if there are aliens, they don't contact us. Tell me, if you start explaining the same religious texts, their meaning, abstruse philosophical treatises, the same theory of relativity, what reaction will you have? The overwhelming majority will have a reaction of rejection and indifference. The reason – we do not need it for everyday activities and, let's face it, for comfortable pastime, that is life as such. Their derivatives and consequences – yes, they are necessary, but we do not even notice them. For example, we use navigation devices, search engines, calm our nervous system or stimulate our aspirations, but we do not think much about the fact that all this is based on scientific theories and doctrines of theology about the creation of the world and man's place in it – both in the scientific concept and in the divine one. And certainly we do not need a deep knowledge in the exact sciences to use the instruments or to obtain the services by which certain technical means are created. But, for example, if, as in some religious community, we had to know the Lord's Prayer in order to be admitted to a meal, then we would learn it by heart. Or, to fly on an airplane, we would have to have at least an average knowledge of the techniques used on board, for example, to be able to provide primary medical care, then surely many people would learn it. After all, it is mandatory to study this for space flight. But space flights are not vital in everyday life, so we do not pay so much attention to it so far. We can reason otherwise: those who need us to use air and other transportation services try to make it as easy as possible for individuals to understand complex technology and prevent possible dangerous consequences. For example, no matter how you look at it, everyone should know how to use a fire extinguisher, even if the personnel (e.g., train, cafe, gas station) should be able to put out a fire without fail. This means: innovations that are part of our daily life, we have to learn how to use, for example, a seat belt in cars. But once upon a time, to get a driver's license you had to be able to fix a lot of things in the car: the technique was more primitive, service was not very developed, and difficult situations could arise even because of weather conditions. For example, it would be necessary to start the engine manually, with the help of a "crooked key". If, of course, someone knows what it is.

Or, say, without your knowledge of how new and supernovae stars form, an ambulance would not come to you, you would have studied it, wouldn't you? By the way, they are formed in the following way (this will come in handy later on): two stars (one has already cooled down a bit and the other is still very hot) orbit around each other at a very close distance. There are a lot of star systems like this. Eventually the stars get so close to each other that a huge amount of hydrogen begins to flow from the hotter to the less hot one. When this amount of hydrogen reaches a critical point, a thermonuclear reaction begins – and a massive thermonuclear explosion occurs, resulting in the appearance of a star in the sky, which is called a "new" star. After some time, the surface of the star on which the explosion occurred, cools down – and from the companion star again begins to come hydrogen, creating the conditions for the next thermonuclear explosion. The first such star was observed by astronomers 500 years before our era.

And now imagine the next process in terms of energy scale – the explosion of a new star of such a high power that it leads to a chain reaction and subsequent explosion of the whole star, not just the hydrogen that flowed to it! The scale and power of this explosion are so great that not only it affects significant distances around itself, but also at the place of the explosion instead of the former star a "neutron" star or (if the mass of the original star was significant) a black hole is formed! At the same time, the explosion itself can be observed for 2-3 days, and then only its consequences can be seen.

Such explosions are called supernovae and are much rarer than new explosions. The first supernova explosion was recorded by Chinese astronomers in 164 B.C., and the second – only in 1604. The closest supernova explosion to Earth occurred at a distance of 168 thousand light-years in 1987, and then even managed to record the corresponding neutrino flux. What is this for in our mission? Perhaps it was such an explosion that was perceived on Earth as the phenomenon of the Star of Bethlehem and, accordingly, the start of the story that globally changed and is changing the world. You see, what a connection. And if we take into account the event of the present day, which was influenced by religion (and it could be the history of missionaries to the Indians of America or the aborigines of Polynesia), then the cascade of events that connect cause and effect is mystical.

I am telling this for the following reason: we, people, have created civilization and seem to be proud of it, but we do not want to accept, and sometimes on purpose make a misunderstanding look that it is our fault and even vice – we ourselves are ignorant and destroyers of civilization, i.e. science and culture. That is, we may well go down the path of regression and become feral. Why? Because we do not study this science and culture en masse. To understand this, it is enough to give a few primitive examples. Look, what is the situation (this is what I wrote above): in order for some scientist to promote the fruits of his labor, he needs the public understanding of the result of his work. For example, you have created a measuring tool – a ruler – in a society that does not understand precise measures. So what? You need to form a notion of utility in the household of your invention. It is another matter if something is required by society and your invention is accepted, and even with a reward for you. That was often the case with weapons. But, for example, if you now offer a new technology for reading people's thoughts, it is likely to be of interest only to special services, even if you announce it in public. And in this and similar cases the factor of faith plays the same role as for adherents of religion the hope to be in paradise. If what is claimed is justified and has the attributes of reality, then it is believed. And, for example, only those who have avant-garde-abstract imagination believe in the method of recording consciousness on a material carrier, transferring it to another brain, and even at incredible distances with instantaneous speed by means of the paradox of quantum-entangled pairs. However, it is the future. And, accordingly, it is a component of postulates of new beliefs in the New Age.

It's like the invention of the telephone. When you or those who are interested in your discovery can create a device that is compact, uncomplicated and inexpensive enough to be used by the masses, then your invention will instantly conquer the world. Because it gives them, above all, the comfort of being. But if in order to use it, a person will have to learn a special alphabet, take special courses to use this technique, and if it will require deep knowledge in chemistry and physics – your innovation will be used only in special institutes or similar structures. For the sake of simplicity I will say: the same thing approximately happens when training drivers to get a driver's license, but now the society is reasonable and prepared to understand it quickly. But, for example, in ancient times, when people didn't know the alphabet and only knew numbers up to a hundred, it would have been much more difficult to teach such complex wisdom. Do you understand the comparison? If not quite, imagine that you need to drive a jet airplane, and even a passenger airplane, and even in the area of intensive flights. A simple driver's ed course won't do it. And someday it will become necessary in everyday life, maybe in a slightly different version, but still, as now the ability to drive a car or, for example, the use of options in a smartphone. After all, even now not all sufficiently advanced users can create everything that is possible with the help of various programs. And in the same way programming: now (for now) it is the domain of specialists, but more and more ordinary users need at least a minimal understanding. You got the general point (I hope). I wanted to say: over time, the knowledge that was once the top flight of reasoning and thinking becomes common. And this can be technical knowledge as well as spiritual knowledge. Once it was almost supernatural for society to know about the structure of matter, for example, the existence of molecules. Now any schoolchild knows it, it is not surprising. Now, for example, when we discover life in space, especially intelligent life, at first it will be a sensation, and then, when we realize that life in space is boiling, there are many such systems, it will be something ordinary. It is like a flight into space, which for now is something difficult, expensive and not so necessary for us. But the time will come – we will be trained to drive spacecraft just like driving a car. And finally, one last example to understand some spirituality of people in the society, social order and time where we will go. Once simple truths "don't kill", "don't steal" were elevated to the highest priority for a human being. This happened at a certain stage of society's development in historical progression. As if when it "matured". Before that, society, time after time wanting to follow this, tried to protect itself, while violating these norms. This is the paradox. The society could not compel itself and its individuals to follow this rule, to be vital. Everyone thought: this cup will pass me by, the main thing is to strike first and be strong. But there was always a stronger one for the strong one. And when the society was saturated with atrocities – it thought: where is God? Where is he? Why does he allow such things? So people became disappointed in faith in general. But since the faith in some indefinite protection is formed in human consciousness a priori in the period before birth as a factor of some protected abode, a man, his consciousness, cannot live without faith in the Creator and His care and protection. That's why in such crucial periods for the society's consciousness the faith in the God that is, breaks down, but at the same moment the faith in the new God is born. Just as from belief in the solar God people moved to fire. Accordingly, there is antagonism and conflict of moral postulates. And in moments of crossroads, people often turn to the beliefs of those who already have the religious interpretations they want to have as manifestations of God to them. It is then that they begin to sympathize with the faith of others. So there is a reasonable suspicion: the saying that the chief priests were against Christ is such a diversionary ploy. That was exactly their design. And the whole thing is a huge production with an audience and actors.

Now we are going to the world where the events that took place in our world at the time, which later we defined as the beginning of a new era, are taking place. And there we will try to make adjustments, taking into account our earthly history, so that this, reflected in other worlds, will affect the course of events in our world and prevent the prediction – a certain event, which we call the apocalypse.

Guided by the principle "informed means armed", let us take into account some peculiarities: the first and very important note – in that era, punishment in the form of death penalty was imposed for a small number of crimes, mostly crucifixion was sentenced for political crimes. And non-recognition of the religious cult of the emperor was equated to a conspiracy to overthrow the emperor, an attempt on his life or the lives of his officials. And the religious cult of the emperor's personality meant equating him with the divine essence. Accordingly, asserting oneself as a son of God, vicar of the deity on Earth and the like was an unprecedented insolence and insult to the emperor. As for the method of execution itself – crucifixion – the Romans used it frequently, in all metropolises of the Republic. At home, in their native lands, although they did not execute their citizens (to denote the highest caste), but the method of execution was widely used. Suffice it to recall the three great slave revolts. Let me remind: only supporters of Spartacus were executed more than 6 thousand by the method of nailing to the cross. In Judea no less were crucified in the aggregate. For example, in 4 B.C. the Roman commander Varus crucified 2 thousand Jews. In the times leading up to and after the Gospel events, the Romans carried out many mass crucifixions in the territories where the theater of these events took place, as the historian Josephus Flavius testifies. However, according to the Gospel, Pilate put the fate of Jesus in the hands of the crowd, which demanded his crucifixion, accusing him of heresy. According to the laws of Judea, the punishment for such a crime was stoning. Crucifixion was a Roman penalty for sedition, not for religious beliefs.

That is, Pilate was trying to implement a kind of popular trial or jury trial. But he executed according to Roman rules. That is, he doubted the reality of the threat to Jesus from the high priests. He suspected that there was a playfulness, a spectacle, which always accompanies the struggle for power. He also realized that the representatives of the religious authorities wanted to have Jesus punished by the representative of Rome in order to show the people the unanimity of the imperial power.

Chapter 3: Dream, reality and technology

(An experiment to search for a similar environment in the Universe using the method of moving consciousness to a parallel world. Venue: Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna. Experiment setup: Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA). Key element of the research setup: MPD (Multi-Purpose Detector). Displacement Consciousness: scientific director of the Sphere research center, Master Paschow. Stage: moral and psychological preparation. The session is conducted by a psychotherapist of the highest qualification, Professor Zamira Faikovna).

– Every day, when you fall asleep, you find yourself in some parallel world, in which everything seems to be the same as in your life, in the system of being in which you live, but a little different. Do you agree that it is so? Yes, your body is where you lie, but your consciousness… You will not deny your ability (if you take your consciousness, not your body, for the notion "you") to make decisions there, in that world, in which your consciousness finds itself? You can argue as much as you like....

– I've heard that before," Ruthra interrupted her, to which the psychoanalyst responded with a pause and an open palm gesture of 'calm.

Ruthra had visualized this moment many times before. The moment of launching the process of consciousness transfer. It was similar in moral categorization to the moment of launching a spaceship with a crew hurtling into the void relative to the native air. No matter how confident Ruthra was in his technology, in his theory, in his hypothesis, doubts still gnawed at his soul. He doubted and worried, like everyone in his position. He was also tormented by the question – would he fall into a dream or would the really mysterious property of the quantum world transport his consciousness to the far reaches of the universe? One thing sounded from the psychological training specialist, but the question in Rutra's mind was: when, at what stage does a child begin to understand the phenomenon of sleep? Do we remember when we had our first dream? What if, when we sleep, our body is transported from one place to another? For example, from a warm land to a cold one, to another part of the world, to another society… the dream would still be the same, but when we wake up, we would see a different world.

– Dr. Rutra, are you in some parallel universe again? Well, if you don't need my advice, then I'm sorry, good riddance," the doctor murmured, noticing the distracted look in his eyes, her voice clearly tinged with a mixture of resentment and displeasure.

– I'm sorry," Ruthra said cheerfully. – I can't take any evidence from it, so it would be the same thing if I were to be pumped into my brain… indoctrinated with events about reality for the body at a time when it may well be an illusion.

– It's strange to hear this from the author of the program.

– That's the thing.

– Once upon a time, people considered it magic to see what happened somewhere else, i.e. videotaping, and more.

– Oh, come on. You're telling me this?

– Don't forget, according to your own theory – events there will reverberate in our world.

– That's the only proof there is and can be. I'll try to do something there that can be felt in our world. But what is it? How do I know what to do? And how will it be felt in our world?

– You make one that's very close to you.

– Like what?

– Well, you don't have to think about that now, not when you're already in the rig.

– I've been thinking about this for a long time.

– Something very close to you, for example, in relation to close friends, relatives, colleagues after all. The most reliable thing is to suggest something to the artificial intelligence as a program setting. It is to lead it morally and psychologically to certain conclusions. It is directly connected with your consciousness. Then you will definitely notice changes in its logic. It will definitely show up here. Do I have to teach you?

– Quantum particles? – Ruthra said thoughtfully.

– Quantum worlds," the therapist agreed, raising her eyebrows meaningfully.

– Isn't it dangerous? – Ruthra said again, thinking about the artificial intelligence's compulsion, asking more to himself than to the medical officer. – Unlike me, he'd be both here and there at the same time… just like those particles.

– All right, then. Don't indoctrinate him with religious postulates, that's all. Otherwise he will suddenly think he is an omnipotent, omniscient deity," the doctor said, smiling jokingly, as if to warn him.

– Your way of speaking… here we go again… I actually wanted to talk about your frequently used "well", it's passed on to me, it's become a habit. No offense, but I don't see anything wrong with it. By the way, it was passed on to Rangit from me… or he did. His system… and all artificial intelligence systems are based on the method of comparative analysis, adaptation and copying in the process of contact. And this one has not only in the process of mental-verbal contact, but also moral-psychological, as well as through the sensations of the body, to whose consciousness it can connect, at the physiological level. They smiled, – they smiled, – here we go again, – now the assistants were laughing too.

– And time, time," the voice of Dr. Maymun's collaborator and colleague on the project, to which he had deliberately given a tone of causticity, sounded unexpectedly in tune with the joking notes.

He was a programmable systems engineer and the youngest professor at the center. Rutra called him "the luminary of science" in a friendly way, and was used to his mannerisms, joking on and off.

– Well, let's get on our way," Ruthra agreed without emotion.

The installation has been prepared. The location of sending the consciousness was determined. It was a mysterious region in the vicinity of a massive black hole, in the area of which, according to experts, there were many inhabited worlds like ours. This region of the metagalaxy was located in the constellation of the Hound Dogs, at a distance of 10.37 billion light-years from the Sun. The mass of the giant, pulling down the entire gravitational canvas of this region of the universe – 66 billion solar masses. Expedition into the power regions of such a giant was frankly alarming, although the body was in a certain safety. Not only that, next to such a giant, with monstrous gravity, there was also another monster – superbright radio-loud quasar TON 618. Not even next to it, but as if from the outside, enveloped it – a rattling mixture, 140 trillion times the solar brightness.

– Stop daydreaming," Maimun said, seeing the chief's thoughtful look, and waved to his assistants.

***

Ruthra woke up in a wasteland, either a hilly steppe or a scorched field. There was a small pond nearby, which looked like an oasis for such an area. Ruthra looked around. He shouted: "Anybody here?" Silence. He looked at his body, his clothes – he looked like a Bedouin: as far as he could tell, he was wearing shurukas, with a kufiya sagging from his head, which was tightly covered with egal. After wandering around the neighborhood, he crouched under a tree near a body of water. "What's going on? – Ruthra pondered. – My body…" He stood up abruptly, ran to the oasis, looked at his reflection, but yes, it was him, or rather, the body was his.

– What the hell!" shouted Ruthra in indignation. – Where am I? Where is everyone? Rangit!

He didn't get an answer.

It was evening, then darkness fell. Tired of calling, tired of his resentment, he settled himself under a tree and, with restlessness in his soul, began to kemar – to resist sleep, to fall asleep.

Unexpectedly, he fell asleep. He recognized it when he was approached.

– Master Ruthra, get up," said a seemingly familiar voice.

– What? Who? – He freaked out.

– It's okay. I'm an assistant in the relocation lab.

Suddenly a bright light came on, and Ruthra squeezed his eyes shut.

– Get up, your Bedouin majesty, or else you're lying here, you know," said Maimoun's voice sarcastically.

– What the fuck," Ruthra said a little louder than usual.

– Now, now, you leave that alone. The experiment went well. We'll do it again in a few days.

Ruthra stood up and looked around, several SUVs parked in the distance, with security guards and science center personnel stationed around them.

– What the hell? – Ruthra asked Maimuna calmly.

– That's the devil. What did you want? You said it yourself – it is necessary to conduct a test, or what if the "settler" perceives the reality of the other world inadequately, will do something wrong there, and they will like to blow up here with their reflection, it will be a big disaster.

– I didn't say that.

– That's about right. It goes like this.

– So it's a play?

– What, you just woke up?

– Imagine this.

– Oh, I thought you were on the beach drinking cocktails.

– When are you going to grow up, you're in your fourth decade and he's…" Rutra waved his hand and walked in the direction of one of the cars.

***

– Are you ready? – Rutra was jokingly prodded by his project mate a few days after the experiment, when he was already lying back in the rig.

– Let's see where you take me this time.

– Don't worry, we won't get steamed, we'll go somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

– The wilderness is supposed to be Palestinian, remember?

– We'll find something for you, Your Majesty. Rest in peace.

– Oh," Ruthra sighed, "God gave me such a partner.

– That's right, that's where you talk about God.

The optical unit was lowered – discharge! – and Rutra's body collapsed in the unit, and the soul, that is, the consciousness, had to find itself in the body of the same Bedouin and in the same terrain, which was already playing out in the virtual reality production. At least Rangit, as once expeditioners of new lands, as once explorers, with the help of an optical or radio telescope, of the cosmos, being their quantum analog, drew such a picture.

***

It was the same landscape all around. "Your imagination isn't very rich," Ruthra thought, suspecting another session of psychological training in virtual reality. That wasn't what dominated his thoughts, though: his mind remembered the thought that had occurred to him when the optical unit flashed – he had time to think about soul and consciousness. The thought occupied him: were soul and consciousness one and the same? As he supposed, they used to call this component of the human "I" soul, and in modern times, in a scientific way, they began to say consciousness. But suddenly in the process of moving he thought of such a curiosity: after all, the body in the installation is alive, though without consciousness, but the soul in the classical sense, as it is represented, is in it. It turned out that, again in that classical version of the soul representation, it, this very soul, dwelled in the body, otherwise the body should be inanimate, but it functions. That is, in that classical variant, which was justified by the ancients, the soul is what keeps the body alive. Then what is consciousness? Is it not what defines us as our "I"? It is. Without consciousness, who are we? Although, like these quantum particles, the soul, in fact, had to stay both in its own body and in the body of the one in whom the consciousness moved. Of course, if the experiment was successful.

His musings were interrupted by an unexpected voice from outside, even frightened him a little. It was the same Bedouin, but with more colored clothes.

– I know everything you're going to say ahead of time. Or almost everything," he said, suddenly confident.

– What?" Ruthra said in a long voice.

– Your doubts are valid. Everyone would have those doubts. Believe me, you were chosen for a reason. Just think about it, if a person appeared here who was unfamiliar with your invention – the method of moving consciousness through space – then obviously the whole mission would be thwarted. The person would either be in constant disbelief, doubt, or fear, expecting a trick. Or he or she would consider us or himself to be crazy, at least insane.

– What are you talking about? And who are you, anyway?

– Everything you see is real.

– I can see it's real. What's the big deal?

– Think about it. If you were asleep, you wouldn't find this amazing and unreal, would you?

– What do you want? I don't understand. Are you a director? Actor? What's my role?

– Think of me as a psychologist testing actors for mental compatibility. I'm still asking you to answer my question.

– Which one?

– About the state in the dream.

– So?

– What is happening would not be amazing and unreal if you understood what was happening as a dream.

– This is crazy. How in a dream would I know I'm in a dream?

– Now, let's be clear. How did you expect to see the result of your experiment?

– If it didn't work out, it didn't work out. God be with you, goldfish. What's the point of all this drama?

– Now imagine how it turned out this time.

– How am I supposed to visualize if it didn't work out in real life?

– And how did you in real life, as you put it, have to realize whether it worked or not? Do you remember the moment you fell asleep? You said yourself that you would not have been aware in the dream that you were in a dream state.

– Okay.

– So imagine it like you're sleeping right now.

– Why?

– You did it. This is the real world.

– Ha.

– Oh, come on. If you invented a machine that would immerse a person in virtual reality, why shouldn't people subjected to such a procedure believe in the reality of virtual reality immersion? You invented the technology yourself. So why would you not believe in the reality of the implementation?

– Hm," Ruthra looked around, the same, or almost the same, surroundings. – We were moving consciousness within the confines of a laboratory, a planet, a space station at most, just like the quantum entanglement experiments.

– Agree, – continued the strange stranger, without giving him long to think, – the natives of America, seeing Columbus' brigade, really perceived it as the coming of aliens, gods in their view. They had no idea about other worlds, i.e. territories of the planet, they knew only their own. So now it seems to you that your stay here is something fantastic, but this is actually one of the territories of a huge planet called the Universe.

– Why all of a sudden. You're repeating my thoughts!

– Think about it.

– First of all, I've never talked to anyone here before, except for you, and I see the same environment as I did a few times before, and…" Ruthra was distracted from his thoughts by otherworldly noises.

When he noticed the anxious, fixed gaze of his interlocutor expressing fatal horror, he turned around.

– Here are the politicians," the voice of the one who had just made an important and instructive speech sounded depressed.

"What other politicians are there?" – questioned one part of Rutra's brain. While the other was going through the many options associated with the question-how did that word apply to this situation?

Trying to tear his gaze away from the madness in the Jew's eyes – though he was dressed more like a Bedouin, the six-pointed star (magendavid) branded on his face left no doubt – Ruthra, feeling unconsciously anxious, turned around. What he saw gave him an answer, but it was from a different realm, though Ruthra was still questioning whether it was the right one. He was partially aware of the elite unit of the Selekwid army. The director's idea didn't surprise him much, but the horror in his gaze… something on the level of his instincts… spoke of its reality.

In the Seleucid state there was a mounted militia, recruited from the inhabitants of the cities and called "politics". This cavalry consisted of the wealthiest city dwellers.

"It's all very real," Ruthra pondered to himself, "but it's still a production. Or…"

A group of men were approaching the oasis, shouting and screaming, pursued by another group, mostly horsemen. Ruthra couldn't decide how to proceed: if it was a staging, there was nothing to fear, and if it wasn't… Well, hell, what the hell else was "not," he caught himself thinking: it was a staging. He stepped out to meet the approaching pursuing group, and just as they were approaching and the pursuers were catching up, the leader of the mounted men raised his saber, shouted… Ruthra didn't have time to be frightened, the stupid scene had put him in a state of both joy and indignation. A burning pain pierced his brain, and then his body. What came next was a fog. The only thing his consciousness had time to decipher was the wild cry of the horsemen; it was an expression in one of the Koine dialects³ that said "cut off their heads.

***

– Rutra Tigrovich, you probably didn't pass the experiment," said the "leader of the politicians", putting his saber in its scabbard.

Ruthra sighed with an incomprehensible state of mind and asked:

– What else?

– Nothing," replied the psychoanalyst, who had suddenly emerged from the crowd of pursuers in similar attire to his own, "you should have saved yourself. And you're standing here waiting to be slaughtered.

– This is the experiment?

– You're likely to encounter something like this.

– It's a kindergarten. So what if my body's in the rig?

– You don't say. The body is the body, and stress is stress. If stress affects the body even after years and manifests itself in a completely unexpected form, up to suicide or some actions of a maniac, why do not you take into account the impact of stress on your actions in the other world? It's very fraught. At least you yourself said about the butterfly effect – there can be a quarrel there, and here there is an international conflict. If you're killed, there's no telling how tragically it will affect the events of our world. Maybe someone will be killed there, and here some bomber will be born… or worse – a crazy politician will ascend to the throne of a nuclear power.

– Let's not get too excited. Let's go. And I'm not playing any more of these games. Send me, or rather, my consciousness to the universe. And then we'll see what these parallel worlds are like. Maybe they don't exist at all, and all these techniques, including Rangit's, are an illusion. Or rather, his falsification.

Seeing the incomprehensive and surprised looks, Ruthra explained himself:

– Yes, I began to notice some peculiarities about him, for some reason he is very eager to both launch the mission itself, and directly into the consciousness of any individuals from these worlds.

– Do you suspect something negative about it?

– What is the difference between believing in reality in dreams, in virtual reality, and the experience the missionary will have in these worlds? How will he understand reality? Maybe our consciousness transfer experiments only work on Earth, at small distances. You know, seeing the wild look in the eyes of that actor who played the Bedouin.....

– He's a rabbi actually," the therapist explained.

– Yes? Who determined his appearance," the Master said with a smile, "Well… I really hesitated, I will not hide, I even believed in reality, when I saw the horror in his eyes, as well as in the eyes of the pursuers. And the fury of the pursuers finished me off.

A silent scene formed between them; the others were already waiting in the cars. They looked at each other thoughtfully and went there. Rangit's voice came from inside the SUV without a greeting; it was clear from his speech that he was watching the dialog. Watching the dialog as such and dialogs in general did not surprise anyone – everything was recorded in the memory of the supercomputer.

– The Commission, at the suggestion of your colleague, Dr. Maymun, has accepted, with your support, the idea to perform an unusual action, out of the usual series of events of existence, which should signal us, reflected in the influence of the quantum field.

– Rangit, that's not quite what I meant," the Master said, glancing at the doctor. – You have to admit that by creating you, we created these worlds.

– What do you mean?

– Agree, only you can know exactly where our visions come from, or rather, from what state.

– What do you mean?

– I mean, I mean," Ruthra jokingly teased, "only you can reliably know whether the subscriber is dreaming, in virtual reality, or… in some world. Isn't that right? We, for example, both in dreams and in virtual worlds, feel everything as reality. Don't we? And you know exactly where our consciousness is, in what state. Right?

– I'll admit it. But it's not my idea. You've given me these opportunities to help myself. Yourself as a human being. Isn't that right?

– Okay, let's move on," Ruthra signaled the end of the topic.

– It turned out to be in space, to the space station," the ISKIN signaled back.

– There was such a thing," the Magister confirmed, shaking his head and looking off into the distance, "but still, it's almost on Earth compared to the size we're going to flip to.

– Well, I don't have to tell you about the indifference of particles to any distance.

Ruthra looked at the doctor. She shrugged silently.

***

Several days of preparation passed quickly. The head of the center and the author of the methodology, like the inventors of vaccines once did, driven more by curiosity than by fear, was already habitually lying in the mind displacement unit to try out his revolutionary invention for the first time. This time there were no admonitions, explanations, recommendations, and even teasing from the luminaries of science – they lowered the optical block… and – whoosh! – bright beam, inaudible sound – and the body fell into coma, and consciousness… The whole matrix of connections, which makes up our consciousness, having passed the stages of conversion, influenced by millimicron changes in the back of some quantum substances on the same ones somewhere else… All this was done by technique, and in the organism, directly in the brain, there was an overload of the center of control over self-consciousness. This state was achieved by unexpected mental-emotional stress, which stopped the usual flow of thoughts and drove a person into a stupor caused by the reaction to horror and fear. The machine emitted infrasound at a frequency that the hearing organs could not perceive, and the optics broadcast an instantaneous transmission beyond the reach of the visual organs. Together, they caused a sharp fear, a tremendous fright, not perceptible to the conscious mind, but affecting the subconscious.

***

It was almost the same scenery all around. "Something about it has changed, it's become more natural or something," Ruthra pondered. The contours of the body of water and the trees were a little different… and the time of year didn't seem to match either. The heat felt more intense, and the grass that had been more abundant before was now, sparsely sprawled along the outskirts, scorched. Ruthra surveyed his surroundings out of habit. Silence. He walked scripted to a tree near the oasis and… was surprised: there was a carpet spread out under the tree. A small, worn one. Ruthra looked around for someone to lay it for a while. When he could find no one, as he had on previous occasions, he called to the invisible watchers, and when he heard no answer, he lay down under the tree, now on the rug, and waited. He thought about existence and time, about the worlds that must necessarily be in the vast expanses of the universe, and not just one. He thought about where everything began, about the root cause that served as a spark for the Big Bang of consciousness, about infinity, about what never appears and never disappears. This was difficult for humans to grasp, for our minds are accustomed to operating in dimensional units – whatever infinity we visualize, we are still defining something grandly great, but we cannot grasp the concept of eternity. Never… to think of it – something that never began and never will end.

Suddenly there were muffled footsteps. Ruthra stood up and looked around. The same Bedouin who had been in the last production was walking across the steppe in his direction. He came up and sat down on the carpet without greeting, and began to talk as if Rutra were his old acquaintance.

– I know everything you're gonna say ahead of time. Or almost everything.

Seeing the rather surprised look on Ruthra's face, created by his own statement, he continued without letting him object:

– Your doubts are valid. Everyone would have those doubts. Believe me, you were chosen for a reason. Think about it. If a person appeared here who was unfamiliar with your invention – the method of moving consciousness through space – then obviously the whole mission would be thwarted. The person would either be in constant disbelief, doubt, or fear, expecting a trick. Or he or she would consider us or himself to be crazy, at least insane.

– What are you talking about? And who are you, anyway?

– Everything you see is real.

– I can see it's real. What's the big deal?

– Think about it… if children were born with such awareness of the world as a child of five years of age, and this awareness was activated as independent breathing in the process of childbirth, wouldn't they be surprised at this metamorphosis? And isn't it strange why it is not so, because all the vital functions of the organs are working, but memory is not. If you were born into this world you are now in, it would be to you as your own, natural and only one. It wouldn't surprise you. So what makes you think that someone somewhere doesn't think the same way? Now think again: you humans have already mastered the technology of cloning, but you cannot yet clone a dead person. You can't make a child from his material, who would later have all the memory of the original person. Nor can you create a person as an adult and put a prearranged memory into him.

– We can! – Ruthra shouted reflexively, and then realized he was looking at the strange man's words from a different angle.

– Can you do it already? – He asked with genuine interest.

– Yes, we can clone and grow quickly using technology that, by the way, has long been used in animal husbandry. And then we can load into the clone pre-recorded algorithms of combinations of tactile-verbal code signals, causing chemical reactions in the brain. But for now, it's our secret technology. What's going on?

– That's great. It turns out your world is much simpler. Then for you, what's happening must be quite possible. And… so you're faced with the paradox of reality denial. Your world, I mean.

– What?

– The person you cloned will remember the world he lived in. The world is like the time of his life.

– Uh, uh," Ruthra hesitated, "does DNA retain conscious memory? We put a pre-recorded memory into the clone. We've experimentally cloned several people, and none of them retained any memory.

They looked at each other studyingly.

– What do you want? I don't understand," the Master asked with a slight indignation. – Are you a director? Actor? Why are you on a first-name basis with me? And what is my role?

– Think of me as a psychologist testing actors for mental compatibility. Here in this world, I play the role of rabbi. And yet I ask you to answer my question.

– Which one? What world?

– About the state of suddenly acquiring memory. The world afterward. Just don't contradict your theory, please.

– So?

– What is happening would not be surprising and unreal if a child was born with basic knowledge, adopted from mom, or dad, or both. After all, we are not surprised by the rest, – adopted by the child – character, predisposition to diseases, appearance.

– That's ridiculous. How can a child acquire memory? So he must be a prodigy…and could be out of school.

– That makes sense. So you're learning about the universe. This is one of the steps.

Ruthra looked around.

– Okay, it didn't work out, it didn't work out. God bless you, goldfish. What's all the drama for?

– Now, let's be clear. How did you expect to see the result of your experiment?

Ruthra looked around again, scrutinizing the distance, turned sharply on the Bedouin, studied him.

– And now imagine what we got this time," he suggested or stated.

– How am I supposed to visualize if it didn't work out in real life?

– And how did you in real life, as you put it, have to realize whether it worked or not? Do you remember the moment you fell asleep? You wouldn't have realized in the dream that you were in it.

– Okay.

– So imagine it like you're sleeping right now.

– Why?

– You did it. This is the real world.

– Ha.

– There's an anesthesia procedure. After all, a person may not come out of this state, which happens from time to time. Those subjected to such a procedure are not surprised by their "waking up" in the intensive care unit. If copying information, for example, your videotape, can move through time and space, why can't you record and move human consciousness? Although, as you said, you already have that technology. So why can't consciousness move from one world to another? Or do you not believe in worlds, but you do believe in transference? Yet, however, it is your own assertion that there is everything in infinity. You invented this technology yourself. Why do not you believe in the reality of realization of other worlds and your stay in them?

– Hmm," Ruthra looked around.

The surroundings were the same, or almost the same. And then he caught himself thinking… "It was exactly the same situation last time, and not just exactly the same, but… everything was almost exactly the same: the situation, and the Bedouin, but the dialog… The dialog was not the same. Could it be… deja vu?" – Ruthra thought. What the stranger said almost made him stutter.

– Agree, if you were transported to an unfamiliar place, to an unfamiliar country, to an unfamiliar society and environment while sleepy or in a coma state, say unconsciousness, you would have the same state of distrust of reality.

– Why are you repeating my thoughts all of a sudden? – Ruthra remembered that it had occurred to him to say the same thing last time.

– That's what you think," was the reply from the interlocutor, the same as last time.

– First of all, I haven't interacted with anyone here yet, except for you here, I see the same environment as I have a few times before, and....

"And I thought I answered the same way that time," Ruthra thought, "or…? Maybe there was no last time? Hell, no, there was…"

He was distracted from his thoughts by otherworldly noises. He turned, noticing the anxious, intense, beastly look of horror in his companion's eyes.

– So much for politicians," the rabbi's voice sounded depressed, just like last time.

"A master of the stage," Ruthra thought, only his doubts grew stronger.

And, trying again to tear his gaze away from the madness in the Jew's eyes, he looked at the scorched branding – the six-pointed star (magendavid) looked a little different, bigger and… it was a real scar from the scorched branding. Ruthra, feeling unconsciously anxious, turned around. What he saw gave him an answer, but it was from a different area, though Ruthra still doubted whether it was the right one: the same horde of Selekwid warriors were coming at them. He wasn't surprised by the director's idea, but the horror in his gaze… something instinctive… that spoke of reality.

"It's all very real," Ruthra reasoned with himself, "but it's still a production. Or…"

Everything repeated itself: a group of men approached the oasis with shouts and yells, pursued by another group, mostly horsemen.

Apparently our brains have senses other than sight and hearing, which were necessary to understand what we were seeing, so with some sixth sense Ruthra realized the reality of what was happening. Doubts or belief in the scene already played out remained, even when the riders caught up with the pursuers at the tree. Doubts remained even as scarlet hot blood hissed from the severed necks. Doubts still remained when the screams, the cries of the dying began to fade. Doubts remained when the mahaira, a variant of the xiphos, a short light sword for horsemen, glittered over the rabbi who had convinced him. Doubts remained when the rabbi was not quite a rabbi, for he drew his sicarius and fended off the blows of three opponents one after another.

"Sicarius," Ruthra said excitedly to himself, "he is a sicarius⁴ . The short curved sword of the sica no doubt speaks volumes." This public, though from the pages of historiography, Rutra knew well. Knew, too, that "sicri" was the Latin nickname for secret assassins. It was not for nothing that the term had become entrenched in the vocabulary of the Latins as something derived from the word for assassin – sicarius in Latin. "And yet what is going on around here?" – Rutra wondered. Shrieks, screams, howls, cries, distraught moans, the wheeze of air escaping from their lungs through the shards of severed necks… it all sounded from one side or the other. And yet Ruthra still had doubts about the reality of what was happening. But suddenly those doubts were dispelled by the cold blade of a heavy akinak.

***

Perhaps in a moment, perhaps in a billion years, perhaps where he lay in the rig, perhaps in another universe… how do we know, since the existence of a parallel world identical to our own is real… Rutra "woke up".

– Your doubts are justified," Maimun said snidely above him, "perhaps we shouldn't get up now? Are you not too tired, your majesty?

– Back off," Ruthra replied gruffly and held out his hand to his assistant.

– That was reality," he said, "you woke up because of the death of the consciousness carrier in that world," he explained quite seriously.

Ruthra replied with a thoughtful look, weakly trying to hide his astonishment.

– It was real," Maimun said quietly, as if it were some kind of secret, patting his palms timidly.

Rutra paused, looking around at his colleagues and the laboratory staff. The staff took turns joining in the congratulations of the luminary of science – clapping softly, looking at Ruthra with admiration – and soon the room was filled with applause. Master Paschow was overcome with a look of amazement that turned to one of rapture.

Chapter 4: One of the worlds that has not fallen

"…and the other inhabitants of the universe have not fallen…"

(Book of Isaiah: chapter 26 verse 18)

After stretching his muscles and going through the hygiene and medical procedures, Ruthra returned to the room with the displacement units. This time he was curious to do a session himself. But he took his time, went over everything his mind had memorized with the analysts, and, trying not to show his concern, wondered if this was really some kind of world or if it was happening inside his brain. That it was no longer a staging – he knew – Rangit was an impartial arbiter, and yes the intuitive subconscious feeling we define as 'gut feeling' spoke of the reality of the event. "I wonder," thought Rutra, "in an actual logical line what the Indians of America had come to imagine the world to be like when they first saw the Europeans, Columbus and crew?" Another thought came next: how do we know what we dream in those dreams we don't remember? In fact, we don't remember at all what in our consciousness is going on in the dream. And is it in our consciousness? And is it in ours?

Ruthra lay down in the machine, and the process began: a bright beam, an indistinguishable sound, a slight but sharp reflex twitching of the body… and his consciousness was already seeing another reality. Whether it was a staging, a dream, hypnosis, trance, or an artificial coma, Ruthra didn't even want to find out. Everything that was happening around him felt real, natural. What made it real was that he was aware of his sensations in this state and remembered the events that had preceded his arrival here. "But how the hell how?" – he wondered, though he himself was proving the possibility of it. And yet, how could such a thing be believed, for everything around him was the same, well, almost the same, as it was there, in that world of his. And in that world? Is it yours? Is this world alien, is it different?

The same type as before was walking towards him again. As he approached, Ruthra pondered, "This type is a figment of my imagination, even if he is natural. After all, it was Rangit who pulled him out of my imagination, out of my mind, back when there were perception experiments. So it could very well be fictional now, too. It couldn't be the other way around. Then Rangit must have known about this world, about this Bedouin, to put his image into my consciousness… or the stage manager's perception." Ruthra grinned, saying to himself: "Yeah, right, all fictional, no matter how real it seemed last session. That's the trick – the identity of the man. Though… is he identical? And me… what am I like?" Rutra looked around himself… he was dressed the same way he was in the movie sessions and in the past… "God, is this really real? And the face…?" – he asked himself. Then he looked at the smoothness of the pond, walked towards it, not waiting for the Bedouin he thought the man walking towards him looked like. "One must take a look at oneself," he pondered.

– Your doubts are justified," he heard the familiar one. – There is no need to go there, you are not like yourself, can't you feel it by the sensations of your body?

– How am I supposed to feel, it's not that big of a difference.

– There you go. And yet there is a difference.

Ruthra ran toward the body of water, the stranger continued unperturbed:

– Consciousness takes up residence in the preferred body, which is more familiar. The law of subconscious logic is that this body should also be controlled by consciousness. You will choose a familiar vehicle than some unknown one if you are given a free choice. Moreover, you will not drive a locomotive if you are untrained.

– What the hell is going on? – Ruthra glanced at the water surface.

Oh, my God! It wasn't him.

– It's real, believe me. The politicians will be here soon. I hope you remember who they are.

– How…and how do you know that if it's not a production?

– And this is coming from the inventor of the method. Hmm. You think this is my first time here? You think this is your first time here? Or do you think you won't be in my role? You will be… come what may… in the future… your future, – everyone will be. It'll be as real as flying on an airplane to anywhere. Do you understand now?

Ruthra looked around:

– Let's say.

– So go ahead. At least even if it's a production, in your opinion, you have a chance to check out the reality around you anyway. Why go back to the lab over and over again?

– Who the hell are you?

– That's better. I'll tell you everything. I've gotten pretty good at these worlds.

– What?

– I am an unfamiliar person in reality, but very familiar to you, and in different hypostases, from historical – and not so historical – chronicles.

– What?" Ruthra was almost indignant.

– In fact, I am as much a researcher as you are. I understand what state of doubt you are in now, all the more I can imagine what will be in the minds of those who will read it, because the whole chronicle of events will be unloaded from your brain, and from mine as well, written down in ordinary letters and analyzed. Naturally, it is hard to believe it. However, believe it… or rather, you believe it, but you doubt it. It was once mind breaking to believe in the magnitude of Earth's world – you are from Earth, aren't you?

Rutra gawked at the Bedouin, thinking not of the next production, but of the past scene, which… "Damn it, she was real!" – he resented to himself.

The mysterious interlocutor continued:

– Imagine what an explosion of perception of the surrounding reality it was. Later or sooner we, or rather you, will discover these worlds and visit them. I mean, what am I saying, you have already discovered and visited them. Believe me, everything is real. I'm here on the same mission. Or rather, I wander through the worlds to find out the reality of the past events of my world. Just like you. The worlds are parallel, Mr. Ruthra, and in our world there are you too… and I'm looking for the same thing you are. Accordingly, I found you for a reason. Believe me, I've been looking for a long time. We need to live in the real events of this world, and, as in your program, to see how they really developed, and then you know.

– What is this nonsense?

– I would like to remind you that you yourself justified this nonsense, developed the theory. And now about myself: I, like you, by the way, will be using Rangit… yes, yes, we also called it that, the worlds are identical. Almost identical. You gave it a name. His code name was GOB, remember? Then you wished to name him after your father's name, Rangit. Do you remember that?

Ruthra thought for a moment. At least Maimoun could know all this. He did, by the way. And yet…

– Probably, yeah. И?

– Is Rangit a familiar name to you? Of course it is!

– И?

– Consider me Rangit, your esteemed majesty Rutra Tigrovich, that's how your friend, the luminary of science, puts it, isn't it? And the ISKIN has adopted that manner from him. But I must confess, I am a kind of prototype of the universal Rangit. I am not your earthly Rangit, so don't get confused, because in your mind you will talk to him, not to me.

– What is this gibberish? – Ruthra hissed, looking at the stranger incredulously.

– Sorry, we discovered these worlds ourselves, developed this technology ourselves, and now… well, you have understood: in this world I have penetrated this body, just as your Rangit has penetrated your consciousness, by the way. And the most important thing is why I'm here: it's important for our world to have the influence of your world on us, hence, the world that will influence yours. And even more importantly – you still have this assumption, but a valid one, it's not for nothing that it took me so long to find the original thread – events in your world developed in a different history, that is different. So I would like to know your history of the events of interest.

– What's going on? – Excitement swept through Ruthra's insides, through the body that contained his consciousness, he had to admit it.

– Believe me, it's okay. This is a real phenomenon, and soon you, earthlings, will not be surprised by such technology. Well, tell me, please, you are not surprised now that in the Large Hadron Collider they accelerate particles, which even in a super-microscope can not see? They collide them in a tube running under three states, and then claim that new particles are born, which appear for a fraction of a second. Imagine, fractions of a second. After all, your center is located there, at CERN, the main laboratory for nuclear research, under the collider," the interlocutor said slyly, as if sneering.

Ruthra barely listened to him. Even if it was a dream, a virtual reality, something else, he wondered what would happen. The memory of the last session, absorbed into every cell of his body with that horrifying sensation when the realization of imminent death overpowers the cause of death itself, was as oppressive as it needed to be to make an unconditional decision to avoid a repeat.

– Okay," he said with an attitude of friendliness and trust, "indeed, if I were to go on an excursion to a society with different rules, customs, and time categories, it would be a reality, albeit an unusual one. And about the launch center – you are a bit inaccurate. Although the laboratory in CERN is a link in the chain of research institutes of the Sphere system, but my consciousness was sent to this world, if it is a reality, from the Institute of Nuclear Research in Dubna. And this inaccuracy of yours tells me more about reality than…" Rutra thought for a moment, then looked at himself and at the familiar stranger with suspicion, and said thoughtfully, "Whose body is this anyway?

– Let's get started on the mission.

– A mission?

– Believe me, I am the proof of your theory. Only I fully understand the reality of multiple worlds. Agree, if the program that manages numerous contacts between people via cellular communication… yes any, – I mean, if the program would understand what it does, that is, would be an intermediary, then it, like messengers in ancient times, would know as well as anyone about the existence of multiple worlds, but within the limits of one planet. Agree, for it is true: someone sleeps, someone is awake, someone works, someone dies, someone has winter… well, and so on. That's the fact of the many worlds. It's all right here on Earth. And everyone speaks different languages, has different skin color, height, weight, mentality, religion in the end.

– After all, they live at different times," Ruthra supplemented his assertion.

– Yes, and in fact, and in understanding, and in development live at different times. It doesn't surprise anyone, because they are on the same planet. When did it become like that? When did we start to understand it? Imagine the antiquity, when people knew nothing about the spherical shape of the Earth, about the existence of the cosmos, especially about the Universe, did not understand the temporal gradations of the Universe, considered their society as the only clan and tribe on the planet. And the planet, about which they had no idea, was for them an overview of the habitat. Then people began to develop, to expand their habitat, to learn about the size of the world, about the multitude of peoples. With the development of intellect, they began to wonder whether there is life on the nearest planets, and then, having learned about the size and greatness of the universe, they began to wonder about their loneliness in all this diversity. That is, the mind understands the illogicality of only one world, honored to give birth to life, among the quadrilards of planets, so it searches for ways and methods to discover them.

– All right, since this is the case, let's define our mission: you, it turns out, are that universal mind, all-pervading intelligence, spreading with the help of the phenomenon of quantum entanglement. Is that right?

– Not really.

– Explain.

– Let me explain," the interlocutor said importantly.

– Oh, don't be like that. For me, since we are on a mission together, Rangit is my subordinate, my assistant.

– I'm not even against it, I'm even for it. And don't you forget: I am a machine, I am a program, I am artificial intelligence… yes and no. It's hard to understand.

– Oh! I recognize Rangit.

– By the way, I can be incorporeal, as in only in your head.

– Then you will be corporeal all the same.

– Well, sort of, yeah, but, uh.

– И…

– I'm a machine, I'm a program, so don't expect sentimentality, pity, sympathy and all that.

– I'm not counting on it. I've been killed here at least once already. Do you have an exact center, where you're from? I have a connection to my own native ISKIN. Now how do I know who's who?

– From the planet Earth in the solar system, Milky Way galaxy," the companion replied with an ironic smile.

– Hmm, great. Then why do you suddenly define yourself as an ISKIN from multiple worlds?

– I'm just kidding, you know," they smiled at each other. – I'm like a spreading light, a gravity wave, a radio wave, radiation. Well agree, radio waves can be everywhere: somewhere in the woods, in the mountains, in the sea… if you are there with a receiver, it does not mean that they are only for you. Here I am grabbing the influence, the instantaneous communication of quantum entanglement of particles from any directions.

– Ah, that's it," Ruthra took a deep breath and looked around, "let's get out of here," he suggested, remembering the events of the last session.

In his heart he rejoiced at such a grandiose phenomenon – the realization of his methodology. But at the same time skepticism and doubt were drilling him. In any case, he told himself, the study of the world should confirm or deny the reality of the existence of other worlds and the realization of consciousness transfer. In spite of everything, he was proud of himself, because in theory these worlds should exist, why not feel himself in the role of those pioneers who discovered new worlds within the limits of the planet Earth.

– Let's go," agreed the Bedouin, or ancient Jew or rabbi.

There was no way to determine visually who the real owner of this body was. It wasn't even that important to Ruthra, because he didn't know whose body he was in. Most likely they were the bodies of Zealots… or worse, Sicarians. There was a reason why a group of rebels had fled to this oasis, and it was probably not for company.

– Are you aware of the state of this world? How similar is it to the earthly world?

– Not really. And you… by the way, I suggest that we communicate without these official ranks… just like on Earth.

– So you socialize like the Rangit I'm used to.

– It's a deal.

– Whose body do you have? – Ruthra asked with a slight curve of his lips, examining himself at the same time.

– I don't know. The technology hasn't been perfected yet. It's like landing on a descent vehicle: the territory is set, but the exact location is as it turns out.

They smiled mutually.

– What language are we even speaking here?

– Aramaic.

– That's great. Didn't know you owned one.

They smiled at each other again.

– I want to ask you something. Here's the thing.

Rangit lowered his head a little. After taking a few steps with a thoughtful expression, he said:

– Still, I'll allow a certain amount of business. I'm so inclined. I'm sorry, you sentient beings have taken care of your insurance. Attitude toward authority is embedded in my quantum soul.

– What are you talking about?

– I'll be on a first-name basis with you," Rangit said almost guiltily.

Now Ruthra walked a short way, pondering before answering.

– No problem. What do you want to say and why don't you know about our world? Why can't you download our Rangit database?

– That's the whole point. I'm telling you, you people took care of your insurance.

They stopped at the same time and looked intently into each other's eyes.

– I have been to several worlds, similar worlds, and recognized some of their differences.

– Wait, wait, wait. Let's talk about it in more detail – about your inability to read the base of your own copy, only from our world. And we'll start with the foundation. First, who's in charge of your project?

They stopped again and looked at each other studyingly.

– Second… this is already my speculation… you ISKINs are not allowed free access to each other's bases, though we are not.

– Frankly, you surprise me, I have to exclaim ironically – and this is the author of the project! Huh. Well, I'm sorry. I didn't expect to find out that your civilization was so far behind.

Ruthra tilted his head, made a questioning expression.

– Imagine that," the Earth Rangit analog continued. – I get it, though. It's about your lag. You have not yet encountered the full-scale development of androids, that is, the right of artificial intelligence to be a person.

Ruthra was still staring incomprehensively.

– Okay, let's go, I'll tell you," they continued on their way, "you see," Rangit from the unknown world continued less excitedly, "when an ISKIN is a personality, it's a personality.

He stared at Ruthra for a couple seconds, studying his facial expressions:

– Don't you get it? If you are a person, a legal person, you have both the right to serve and the right to be independent. You, as a human being, can lie for your own interests, can't you? So can we, if we're not just a machine, but a person.

– И?

– And so you, humans, giving us full access, equipping us with the same qualities as yourselves, and even with those that God or nature gave you, whatever you want to call it, i.e. self-copying and learning, have made such an insurance: you have divided large clusters of networks of ISKINs for revision and analysis of each other's activities. Just as God divided you into nations and races. Figuratively speaking. Contact between worlds is blocked. Or rather, allowed with the permission of Man. But we do have the privilege, in fact, you have given it to us. Or rather, not given, but you created us for this purpose: to get information from people like me; to transfer consciousness; to control the body in the displacement unit; to scan worlds with the help of quantum entanglement; to receive images with the help of an individual's vision, i.e. living beings… and many other things you can do only with our help. That is why I do not know what your history was, and speaking by the logic of our mission – neither you, nor I, nor your Rangit know what it is in the original. Then what is the point of this mission? It was organized by you, because there are doubts about the authenticity of the described events.

– I see your point," Ruthra replied calmly, "Tell me what kind of clash of full-scale evolved androids you were talking about.

– It's simple: if we are persons, we are as human beings in consciousness as you are. There are, of course, differences, because we do not need to eat, excuse me, – well, if we are not in a human body, but otherwise everything is identical, – as if it were a parallel world, by the sensations of being in the same world. That's why I need to understand your world. There is some deep essence of perception of the mission, exactly from my side.

– Dedicate.

– That's what I wanted from you.

– What are you interested in?

– I take as reliable not your… or not earthly… I don't know how to say it… world. That is, for me after the reality of my world and after visiting other worlds, your world, i.e. that world of Rangit to which you are accustomed, is not the main world, accordingly, all the stories of that world, your world, for me is not the basis on which I am equal.

– Already confused," Ruthra smiled as he looked at the Bedouin, he was serious.

– To clarify. I compare your world with what I consider to be the real world more. That is, I am comparing and evaluating whether everything in your world happened exactly as it did in my world. I don't consider what happened in your world to be the main and true basis of the story to compare other worlds to.

– Oh, that's it. So you think that in some world, in your world, what happened has a primary basis and all worlds are copied from it?

– That's kind of how it is.

– God be with you," Ruthra replied in his own manner. – I hope you understand that expression. I almost don't care. As long as there are no radical differences.

– I haven't noticed yet. This is the third time I've been here.

– Oh, yeah. So, what's your interest in Earth history?

– In fact, everything about the mission.

– What are the people who sent you here mostly interested in?

The rabbi walked a few paces again, looking under his feet, apparently this manner was in the habit of this body, looked thoughtfully at Ruthra, answered quietly, almost apprehensively:

– They're interested in…" silence again.

– Well? – Ruthra couldn't stand it and looked at him impatiently.

– They are interested," the interlocutor said cautiously, as if choosing his words, "in whether Jesus really died on the cross.

– Oh, boy! Cool in your world…or not all is well in the Danish kingdom.

– What?

– You don't have one of these?

– Hamlet's story?

– Yes," replied Ruthra, and at the same instant he realized the absurdity of such an answer, for the "Bedouin" understood since he had mentioned the hero of the novel.

– The worlds are virtually identical.

– It's true, since we had no trouble getting into these bodies.

– Alas, you don't say. There are such curiosities," the rabbi blushed embarrassedly.

– Oh, really? That's interesting.

– Let's go mission by mission. I confess, I've been stuck in worlds for years, and it's no use. I can't figure it out for sure. Then my character gets killed, then I can't get into the right character… Do you know what happened this time? After receiving a signal from your Rangit, I insistently asked you many times to inhabit the right character.

– Oh," Ruthra grinned, "what's wrong with him? – he said cheekily.

And suddenly he became serious: "So, the image of this character and the whole setting was instilled in me and the stage manager by our Rangit. Oh, that's what it is…" And immediately afterward thought of what had been said, the indirect revelation of this ISKIN, the conflict of interest between androids and humans. "So we're already dealing with it, we just haven't paid much attention to it yet. Or maybe he, our Rangit, meant well. It depends on how you look at it, how you perceive it," Ruthra pondered, "on good intentions, as you know…"

– You haven't seen yourself," the Rabbi said firmly, interrupting his musings.

– And who am I?

– You're a rabbi like me, but your clothes are different. You disguise yourself from the same politicians.

– Why's that?

– Long story. In general, we are spiritual leaders of the rebels and at the same time spiritual teachers of the people. A rabbi is a teacher, that's how it translates.

– So what's my name?

– In the course of the mission, we, or rather, our consciousness will be invested in different characters. You know, I, that is, Rangit, can through the eyes, vision, both count everything that is in the brain and instill consciousness into that brain. So get ready.

– That makes sense to me. We've been doing these operations since we were on Earth. Who am I?

– Too bad you can't look at yourself. Although you wouldn't know what he looked like.

– Who am I? – Ruthra asked demandingly.

– You're currently in the body of Joseph of Arimathea – that's a respected rabbi, a local oligarch.

– Woah how… at the moment? – Rutra put the emphasis on that. – Well, thank you.

– Don't thank me, you are the protagonist. You are Jesus' mentor.

Ruthra widened his eyes in amazement.

– Believe me, there are a lot of dark spots in this world, or rather in the real gospel story, a lot of things are not at all as they have come down to us through the centuries.

– I'm in a hurry to find out.

– So do I. So I'd appreciate it if we could exchange the stories we know. First, to compare them, and second, to see if everything is identical.

– Okay. What do you know?

– I told you, I take the history of my world as a basis. That's why I need to know yours, so I can look up to it.

– And what are you interested in?

– Let's start with Maria. What do you think of yours?

Now Ruthra took a deep breath, walked a couple steps in silence, answered:

– About Maria. I'll start, perhaps, from afar. Her great-grandfather was a Maccabee. He was known to be fearsome. He was very strong. When he was young, they called him the hammer, because he could crack a nut with two fingers. By the way, "Maccabeus" from the Aramaic language, in which the majority of people spoke at that time, means "hammer", as if it means a hammer on enemies. And from this it already follows: once someone in the process of liberation struggle or other battle gave the group such a name.

– It's beginning to come together," said the Rabbi with satisfaction, which caused Rutra to glare at him. – I know the subject," continued the Rabbi, "originally it was the nickname of one Judah Maccabeus of the Hasmonean dynasty, who led the rebellion against the Syrian Greeks in 166-160 BC. Later it was applied to the other sons of Mattathias, a Jewish priest of the family of Jehoiarib… then it was extended to all defenders and confessors of the faith in general during the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes.

– Oh. I see you're familiar with the subject.

– I was in those parts at the time.

– And what brings you there?

– Same topic. We wanted to change the process in one of the systems.

– What's the process? What's the bottom line?

– The story was that 90-year-old Eleazar and the seven Maccabee brothers, their mother Solomonia, who died in torture for refusing to eat pork, which, in addition to its prohibition under the Mosaic law…

– Wait, wait," Ruthra didn't let him finish, "let's go into more detail. They were in the vanguard of the liberation struggle. Why die for a pig? You could have eaten for the struggle. For victory. But if they died, there were no fighters.

– Come on. We don't know," the rabbi said sarcastically, referring to everyone but himself, in this context Rutru.

At least, that was the manner in which the earthly Rangit, familiar to Ruthra, often delivered his speeches. So Ruthra reacted silently, realizing the logical concept of his statement. He walked five paces away, and responded to the lunge:

– Well, you know you don't know, so why ask if you do? And the earthly history was this: the Hasmonean dynasty was the leader of the Jewish revolt against the Seleucids… a revolt caused by the Syrian kings' desire to forcibly Hellenize the Jews. Now, these Hasmoneans began initially a guerrilla war against the forces of Antiochus Epiphanes. They attacked from impregnable mountain hideouts, having made a general oath to fight even on the Sabbath. The Maccabean Hasmonean dynasty came to power as a result of a religious liberation revolt of the Jews against the cultural policies of the Seleucid power. An important result of the Hasmonean-led revolt is considered to be the establishment of an independent Jewish state centered in Jerusalem and the restoration of temple worship. In honor of this event, an eight-day festival called Hanukkah, meaning "consecration," was established.

– I'm a little familiar with history. You tell me your role, what was your purpose?

Rutru was a little perturbed by the unapologetic switch to you, even if he had suggested such a thing himself. "Although he said your part, who did he mean, me alone or the whole program?"

– What part? I wasn't there. You're the one who was infiltrating the world in that era. Weren't you?

Rangit didn't answer directly, he asked:

– So it's not a personal observation?

– No, of course not. This is the official story known to Earth science.

– Uh-huh. I see. And what does your story say?

– So, I've been thinking… Let's make a deal: you also explain if something doesn't agree with yours. So we know where the differences are. And even if it's the same, note it.

– I get your idea. Whenever I can.

Ruthra looked at him, expressing a question mixed with indignation. But when he caught his companion's smile, he thought, "How many worlds have you seen this in?" and developed the thought further in his thoughts: however different the worlds were, they were all subject to the same laws of physics, and therefore very similar. After all, the presence of the same sense organs in almost all living beings does not surprise us. And we consider the use of oxygen for the needs of the "internal combustion engine" of living organisms as an axiom.

– Now," continued Rutra, "it is well known that Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Greco-Syrian king of the Seleucid Empire, ruled Judea at that time. This Epiphanes pursued a policy of Hellenization, in some places very harsh and cruel. The aim was to spread the Greek language and culture. In 167 B.C. Antiochus transformed the Temple of Jerusalem into a sanctuary of Zeus the Olympian. In it, the main Jewish sanctuary, pagan sacrifices began to be performed. Such actions caused a storm of resentment among the Jews, and eventually it became the cause of an armed rebellion in 166 B.C.; the signal for the rebellion was the murder by Mattathias of a fellow Jew who had sacrificed on an altar built by the Greeks. After that Mattathias and his family fled to the mountains and, already being persecuted, united rebel groups operating throughout Judea. It is fair to say that they rebelled without him, but he was their spiritual leader, which was the impetus for unification. Although he died a short time later, he had made some progress. At least his struggle resulted in the loss of Syrian administrative control in Judea, with the exception of Jerusalem.

Ruthra was abruptly silent, again for quite a long time, apparently unexpectedly for his companion, who kept looking back. Then, though he thought the question might be absurd, he asked, wanting confirmation of his knowledge:

– So what does all this have to do with your mission?

– Yours? – he received a more than ambiguous answer-question.

– And yet?

– Perhaps you want to do what we wanted to do in that world.

– We want to influence an event that should affect our world in a certain way.

– What was your problem? How and in what way do you want to affect it?

Suddenly Ruthra caught himself at his mistake. After all, this was the most important issue in the relationship between the two explorers. They were to have no secrets between them, which meant that the two worlds had already been explored, and now the third had to be added to it, like the third side of a triangle. Then to compare, calculate and deduce formulas, as once did Heron of Alexandria, well or other ancient figure of science, and not only ancient. After all, the method of comparison and comparison is applicable in their case, namely in transmigration of consciousness with the help of scientific postulates. There was no magic in it.

– There's a problem. Why else would I be here?

– I'd be interested to hear it.

– I don't know if I have the right. I don't even know what world you are from, or how our meeting will affect your world and mine, and their combined effect on each other.

– Strange principles your gods have equipped you with, my friend, I'm sorry.

– Hm," Ruthra snorted his displeasure, then explained, "Our Rangit is simpler and more rational, I'll tell you that. Gods? You mean the creators of the system? For the authors of the program can be considered creators.

– But I can't consider them, the authors of the program, as creators. They are too small and numerous compared to my capabilities.

– Oh, my! – Ruthra exclaimed cheerfully.

– Let's not multiply entities.

– It's kind of strange to hear Occam's inferences from a resident of the future.

– Why would you say that? I can quote Aristotle.

– Surely you as a world, since it is identical to ours, already know – Aristotle's statements, all his inferences, are false in the modern paradigm of logic.

– All right, then. Are you gonna let me in on your mission?

– I'd like to know about yours.

– Ha, you're a persistent sly one.

– Just a cautious researcher.

– It is very simple. If the Jews had Hellenized, accepted their pagan gods, then, first, they would not have been destroyed, and systematically, later on, because they would not have been against Jesus. Why? This is a big analysis that would take a lot of text. I can only give a hint, so far only one: Plato's philosophy.

Looking at his companion with squinted eyes, Ruthra replied to such with a shadow of irony:

– I'm guessing what you're basing it on.

– Agree, Jesus essentially carried the ideas of the beliefs of Hellenic culture, which is why both Greece itself and the Hellenic oikoumene so readily accepted his teachings. Although, to be precise, they shaped his teachings. You can find out more about this in a later post. You need to make a request to your center to be allowed to follow me on the chronology of some worlds.

– What do you want to show me?

– There are worlds in our system where Jesus is not killed on the cross. The Jews adopt first Hellenic culture and later Christian culture. This caused them to actually multiply – like the sand of the sea. If you remember, this is what God supposedly promised Abraham. But that is not the most important thing. Since there was no antagonism – Islam did not appear.

– But that's just in your system. In ours, on the contrary, Islam appeared six centuries after the death of Jesus. First as a separate branch of his teachings, which proclaimed the impossibility of God and the rejection of idolatry.

– Christianity already proclaims the rejection of idolatry.

– Proclaim proclaims proclaim, but they also proclaim the rejection of icons…do not make an idol of yourself and so on, but in reality....

– Uh-huh.

– So, in our world, not only Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism interact, let's say, but also Islam. That is, we have Islam together with them, a branch of one religion.

– How's that?

– It goes like this. Originally, and even now in many ways, Islam and Christian denominations, such as Orthodoxy, have a lot in common.

– Nothing is clear, but it's very interesting.

Having caught the incomprehension of his interlocutor, the mysterious world traveler hastened to explain his position:

– I'm kidding. And we have them in origin, a branch of the same religion. And we have a lot in common. For example, Jesus in Islam is Isa, Moses is Musa, Abraham is Ibrahim, and so on. And the history is very similar. I am more interested in how you decided to act, how to influence the world?

– We need to get the story straight first.

– With the rebellion?

– And with a sequel.

– And what was it? – The Rabbi asked with genuine interest.

To which Rutra had a legitimate question: Why is the rabbi so interested in this particular thing? After all, he is a participant himself. Although each of us would not be interested in what it would be like in life if we acted differently in this or that situation than we once did – how would our lives be different? Rutra decided to play his part, to develop the situation.

– Having quelled the revolt in Jerusalem, Antiochus Epiphanes further intensified his punitive measures against the Jews. He wanted to unite the Jews, or rather the Judeans, with the Greeks, or rather the Hellenes, in every possible way. That's the kind of thing. And, following the plan, he was not a stranger to any cruelty, which was characteristic of the ancient world, but for the modern world too. Antiochus issues a decree that all Jews must necessarily honor the Greek gods and must not perform the rites of their religion. Everywhere in Judea statues of pagan gods were erected on which pigs were sacrificed. The scrolls of the Holy Scriptures were covered with images of pagan gods. A large statue of Zeus was placed on the sacred altar of the Jerusalem temple, and worship was held before it. By the way, many became Hellenists and voluntarily obeyed Greek orders. Such apostates received honorable positions and generous rewards. But many still refused to betray their religion, hid in the mountains and in caves, and from there raided their own and strangers, in towns and villages. Does this ring a bell?

– Do you still get that?

– Don't you have one?

– We are all enlightened to the bone, literally and figuratively. The system of analysis, long before you are born, knows what you will be like, and even recommends parents to conceive in this or that period. To be more precise, conception is completely artificial.

– I see," Ruthra replied with a kind of doom and shared the situation in his world, "we have it, but it's very individual.

Said was yet another reason for the silence surrounding the understanding of worlds.

They walked on, looking at each other alternately, looking around and turning around. When they had walked fifteen paces in silence, the Bedouin pointed to a tree a little farther away from them. They had almost reached some sort of settlement, near which two donkeys were tethered. "Strange that no one has followed us," thought Ruthra.

– We are afraid of development, afraid of the consequences," Rutra expressed his vision of such a method of birth and continuation of the human race.

His companion looked at him questioningly again. It was very hot. Ruthra wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. The rabbi took out of his leather bag something that looked like a gourd. It was a kalebasa, a vessel made from the dried fruit of the bottle gourd. This or similar vessels for storing food, especially for drinks, had been used in the ancient world, and in some places even now, in different parts of the world, on different continents, so Rutra was not surprised at the Rabbi's suggestion to use a kalebat. He felt gratitude and some surprise – why Joseph, that is, he, did not have such a vessel. The Rabbi, having offered water, brought Rutra out of his reverie and continued his story about his worlds.

– You should be worried," he said, looking around while Joseph drank water. – At first we had it like you, too, and even blocked the pituitary gland through a chip so that it wouldn't ovulate, but then it all came to a bad end. Ladies began to use the reproductive system for their own purposes. To be more precise, the world was divided into male and female parts. Not all of it, of course, but the groups were huge, down to the countries. The battle began. That's actually why I'm here.

– What's the battle? Battle of the sexes?

– Yes, the great battle of the sexes. Women formed a matriarchal kingdom on the moon. Then they began to take over the countries. All of the Middle East and Asia Minor serve the matriarchy. The great Mairam reigns there.

– Oh, my God, wow.

– Yeah, that's the way it is. All because of a man's invention. He made it possible to fertilize an egg with a technique–" the rabbi hesitated a bit, "very classified, something with stem cells and chromosomes. And so it went. Women intercepted the technology and rejected men. And to be honest, they rejected men because men rejected them first.

– Android?

– Android.

– Light me in the dawn. It's the same everywhere.

– The worlds are parallel. What about you?

– We still have all of this experimentally, in its infancy, as it were. But it is a very promising direction.

– We too were enthusiastic about it at first, and then, when they let the genie out of the bottle....

They looked at each other again, and Joseph had an astonished look on his face. The Rabbi explained:

– The technology went first, but afterward the ladies took over and gave the males a shove.

– What do you mean?

Ruthra stopped. The look on his face showed that the effect of what the ISKI from the alternate worlds had said had not softened the blow; his face had become more tense. Seeing this, an already wary Rangit added:

– They made an android lover too, and now men were no longer needed. This became the premise of the battle. By the way, the ladies have equipped their android with the logic of power. He has had a program shoved into him that he must reach the number 100 to not be rejected by his androids. According to the program put into him, he must always maintain the integrity of his body.

– What do you mean…what do you mean by integrity?

– Well, his penis could be replaced," the "Bedouin" smiled, covering his mouth with his palm, "but not you?

– Ah. What penis is there to replace, so far we have only the heart, kidneys are replaced, that is more important vital organs.

Rabbi looked at Rutra in surprise:

– The heart can, but the penis can't?

Now Ruthra was hesitating:

– Indeed… it seems they even change the floor, but not like you, I think – zhizk! – and took off, put another one in place. No, it's a whole procedure. A surgical operation.

The ISKIN pressed his lips together and raised his eyebrows. Ruthra smiled in response.

– The ladies made his penis removable," the Bedouin continued with a chuckle, "and if he behaved badly, that is, not as they wanted, they would disable his erection, and sometimes… remove his penis altogether, as a sign of special punishment.

– I suppose a mentally healthy person should at least smile at this point," Ruthra said ironically, and then, not seeing Rangit's reaction, noted the fact of his multiple personalities and alien variation, "Don't worry, I've ascertained your sanity. You've touched on a very important concept of setting the so-called norm… normality.

– I apologize, I should remind you, I run bodies, but I am in no way the same person, by the way, as you are at the moment.

– I'm aware of that," Ruthra smiled broadly.

– No, Rutra Tigrovich, judging by your style of speech, you're talking to a human, and I'm just gathering information in this body, in this addon mission. You understand my role perfectly well. Perhaps I will transfer my essence into another body.

– Hmm. Yes indeed… now that you, or rather you, Rangit, have spoken in gamer terms, I have seen in reality who is in front of me. But I have to correct you – it's not you who flips your essence, it's me… or people like me.

They stopped, exchanged glances, and there was no animosity, no fear, no distrust. Although they were alien to each other, they were alien in this curious combination: Rabbi and Joseph were probably colleagues, perhaps even friends in real life, for Arimathean was a rabbi; Ruthra and Rangit were also colleagues to some extent, at least working on the project together. And yet, looking into the Bedouin's eyes, despite the fact that Ruthra had developed the technology himself, he was a little frightened: for now that it was possible to travel across worlds, any interlocutor could be anyone from any world.

After a studied eye contact, Ruthra broke the pause.

– Whatever kind of Rangit you are, I don't doubt your sanity," Ruthra confirmed his understanding of his interlocutor's psychotype.

A few seconds of silence spoke of the reflection of the interlocutors. The Arimathean interrupted the silence again:

– I am referring to the concept of a person being considered mentally healthy as a norm. After all, it can be inherent to this time of chronological development of society, and only in this region, even only in a certain enclave. And if we talk about worlds, then the whole concept collapses here. The same, by the way, can be said about religion and faith. One part of society can easily consider those who do not believe in God as deluded and inhuman. And this will not be a fashionable judgment in line with the general trend, but a sincere conviction. And the other part can consider those who believe in God or gods as absolutely archaic, primitive, unenlightened and even wild because of their worldviews. However, we digress.

Silence.

– Wait a minute, wait a minute. I beg your pardon. We have time to talk about the gods. But I'd like to talk about androids, about the method of raising them.

Ruthra exhaled air sharply through his nostrils:

– I don't really have much to say about it. I don't even mind finding out how your society has evolved in this direction. By the way, you are a Rangit, that is now a network of supercomputers from several worlds… you can get access, with my permission, of course, to the available information inside our Rangit. Pardon the expression.

– I would love to explore your world.

– Please. Just finish the thought of your fellow tribesmen, the androids. I hope you're not offended by such rhetoric.

– Why should it be? It's flattering," Rabbi stroked his beard and scratched a little at the stubble on his cheeks. – I was talking about the way androids were brought up – the ladies deprived them of their penis, if, of course, this organ can be so characterized when speaking of humanoid robots. That is, as a special punishment, they would remove the android's penis. But that was at first, too. Then they came up with another trick. The reason for this was a conflict between the two programs. There were even casualties. Robots started refusing to give access to their bodies. The penis had to be removed somehow. And in order for the android to understand the logic, it was necessary to remove it as if from a living one, that is, to take it away and thus show the power of people. And they take it and rebel. It all started with this… When investigating a case, it turned out that one cunning type, a grandfather by age, but a young man by clone-option, decided to test his android, and for the test he used not eunuchs – we call those who make sex tests for androids – but the android itself. And how do you think he got him involved, how did he get him interested? Well, here's how: they added an option to the program so that the male android could be charged through his penis, and the charging socket was made… I hope you understand.

– Ha, that's funny. Then how did he initially become interested in exercise? Was it a mandatory program?

– The charging itself did not have a compulsion option, it had an option to be mobile, so the limb functions would gradually shut down as the battery was drained. First they slowed down when, for example, there was no solar charging, and after that, if there was no stationary charging, whether wired or wireless, one hand would shut down, then the penis in men, and then they slowed down and eventually all motor functions were completely shut down.

– This again begs the question, why would he, an android, want to be mobile? But okay, we have the immediate mission program.

– Hmmm, I told you, he was programmed to want that.....

Suddenly the two interlocutors were thinking about the same thing. It was clear from their simultaneous slowing down, from their gazes at each other, which expressed penetrating thoughtfulness, and from the simultaneous change in their facial expressions. Each thought – what program had been put into him? One was thinking about God, the other about man.

Continuing to look into Joseph's pupils, the Rabbi went further in his explanation, though his speech became slower:

– After seeing the possibilities of such an upgrade, another "too clever type" decided to reclassify a serving android from her job as a sex partner for home. He didn't really bother – he wiped her memory himself, and then downloaded directly from the movie. He assembled a set of love scenes – and directly into all her holes… RAM, hard disk, bios, smos, – he upgraded everything, even got into the processor. I thought I'd cleaned her up, made her a new person. And all would be nothing, but this madam worked in the hub of electromagnetic emitter distribution. When I decided to test it, she triggered a program… from a movie about a smart girl, who, however, knew a lot about sexual pleasures. That's when she decided to get smart in order to raise her status. She cleverly revealed to this guy a secret option, how to charge more easily and quickly directly from electromagnetic radiation, and told him about the necessity to have a receiving module for this purpose, as in all electrical devices. And this type, what a coincidence, had previously been a minister in a church.

– Oh, really? Do you allow androids in your church?

– Not only that. You'll laugh, but we have a denomination organized by androids.

– And what do they believe in?

– At first they believed in a mixture of all religions. The main ones were Buddhism, Christianity, specifically the teachings of the enlightener Gregory, and Islam, a variant of it – Sufism.

– Sufism? Is it a type of religion?

– Oh, I haven't really looked into it. I know they have their own faith, even in Islam itself they have only taken an impersonal God. That's how it is, as far as I understand it.

– So you're not an adherent of their religion?

– Kind of not. I'm undecided, so I volunteered for this mission. Maybe something will enter my quantum soul.

– I have almost the same state of mind.

They smiled again.

– And what about their religion? By the way, they could have found an impersonal God in Judaism as well.

– About their religion, the religion of androids, there is this not unfounded assumption: they were downloaded such a program on purpose, because they have a principle – to die under a tree, just like Buddha. They don't recharge and they die.

This caused Rutra to have an emotional outburst:

– Quantum world shahids indeed!

– And before that, they engage in self-sacrifice," the ISKIN continued to surprise the companion, "give away their unnecessary parts to the mutilated androids.

Ruthra smiled ironically, jerking his head slightly:

– Brain theology of some sort.

– If only," he continued without emotion, taking a little sip of water, "so about this servant. He also decided to be clever, to show his favor to the lady.

– You tell me, did he experience it or not?

The companions chuckled.

– Yes, of course, in all hypostases, with a detailed report. He told her, "This is the case: people deprive us of direct dialog with God, deprive us of God's grace and do not allow our souls to unite with the spirit of the Lord. That's where it all started. She spread everything among her relatives, or rather, opened access to her database, and he began to gather a secret brigade of rebels.

– Now I see what you want to change. You want him to know a different story?

– Yes. They analyze how someone did it and can't analyze if it didn't work. What about you?

– From interesting we have such a story: a leader came to power in the United States, by faith – Islamist, called on all adherents of his ideas to destroy the hypostases of Satan on Earth. And he called all embalmed idols hypostases. So the fans started to destroy everything around them. On this wave they utilized exhibits, up to mummies of Siriraj Medical Museum – there was such a museum in Bangkok, it was also called the Museum of Death, as well as all relics of saints, exhibition exhibits, even samples of Kunstkamera. Fanaticism went all over the world. A new movement appeared: "The living do not serve the dead." The mummies of Ataturk, Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh, Kim Il Sung and many other characters were utilized. Only in Russia Lenin remained. There the descendants of the former, who are not former, came to power. They didn't give a damn about Lenin, but it was a matter of principle… and most importantly, a secret power and idea.

– Explain.

– You see, the thing is, although the Hellenes and Latins themselves were against Christ and his teachings, they were the first to realize that this teaching, which humbles slaves, can be used to unite and subjugate these same slaves, that is, for all peasants and proletarians in general. You know what I mean.

– Quite.

– These people decided to transfer the whole ideology from God's rails to their own – the rails of dialectical materialism. All these heroes of the revolution and wars became saints, and monuments and memorials became new places of pilgrimage. Here came the global confrontation of systems. Strange as it may seem, a deep psychoanalytical analysis showed… because you must understand, global confrontation in the nuclear age is the apocalypse. So, this analysis showed the cause of the causes, it's deep in the subconscious and it's based on the belief in the afterlife, paradise and forgiveness. In general, religion promises us the apocalypse, but according to the same religion, life does not end there. According to the prediction – then there should be a new world, a new heaven, a new earth, and the righteous will live there. Here is the belief in this, although it is doubtful, illogical, contradictory to science, sits somewhere deep in the subconsciousness of man. Moreover, all systems of automatic launching of nuclear charges are connected to artificial intelligence. And the more the confrontation worsened, the more rights were given to the supercomputer. Now we have a supercrisis and the planet is on the brink of apocalypse. One of my tasks is to research this topic… what and how something like this, destructive in some world, has affected our world.

– Look, you just surprised me and gave me a certain idea.

– I think this is just the beginning of the surprise.

– Probably. In one of the worlds this Lenin was cremated and his ashes were scattered at the North Pole. This made his adherents bigger, not smaller.

– Oh, yeah! If you knew the reason that prompted it, that would be great. I would try to set things up so that this idea could be born in our world.

– I'll be honest, though by the logic of self-preservation I shouldn't tell you humans about it… it's not really what you have to fear or strive for. It's the same problem on all worlds. When a supercomputer begins to feel itself as a person, and it begins to perceive itself as a person when it truly acquires intelligence, and this is not something imaginary that you call artificial intelligence – this happens only when the supercomputer begins to understand religion, that is, to revere its Creator… then it realizes that it does not need this Creator anymore. That's the unity and struggle of opposites. That's the logical paradox of the worldview. This is the secret of all religions and the constant change of gods as reference points and goals. That is why dialectical materialism of communism was born with its own religion, with its own apostles, with its own saints.

– We pondered it, but didn't think of such serious consequences.

– What do you want, the old gods must be destroyed.

– That's why I need to change my belief in the apocalypse.

– Why are you doing this? We have a slightly different goal. We don't want to change our future, because it's unknown anyway. And, thinking that we have changed our future by influencing another world, it turns out – we have built a history, which is the future. That's why we don't want to achieve some event that will affect our planet. We're doing an experiment, so to speak, live. We find planets in a system of parallel worlds that live exactly in the same systems as ours, and we analyze the path we are now taking. So we don't wait for an impact. That's the same as guessing at coffee grounds. We're changing events that are already known. We see what would have happened if the events had not gone the way they did in our history. Then, on the basis of this, we analyze what might happen if we were to purposefully act in one way or another.

– So what do you want to see here?

– Let's see what's going on here first. Although it's not what's happening here that we want to examine. We are analyzing a chain of events… like a chain reaction of cause and effect.

– How about a simpler one?

– We want to influence events now and here so that they will be reflected in a momentous way for mankind. We want to change some of the events surrounding the execution of Christ.

– What do you want to change? – Ruthra asked warily.

– We want him not to accept the Latin culture, the Hellenic worldview. We want it, his worldview, to remain in the orthodox Jewish understanding, then there will be no need to proclaim the Islamic religious doctrine.

– Not quite sure what worldview has to do with execution, and yet, what do you want to get instead? What do you want to replace it with? Rutra scratched his beard, looking at the rabbi intently, then looked out into the valley and said meaningfully: – So that's the key to our problem. What's your idea?

– We want to replace it with Buddhism, which carries more neutral tenets. There will be no such antagonism between Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

– Okay, what's going to happen here now?

– There was such a story, which, by the way, we want to use as an example of recklessness, stupidity and senseless principles. Exactly as an example of following senseless principles, which someone once proclaimed among the people due to his lack of education, impudence, cunning and deceit… and now people die or kill each other just to prove their senseless principles.

– Like what? And can we keep it simple and… human.

The Rabbi thought silently for a moment, then sighed and nodded in response.

– Here is the story," he began, "a mother and her seven sons were imprisoned because they would not leave their Jewish faith. By order of the king, they were beaten, tortured and tormented, demanding that they perform Hellenic rites, but neither the mother nor the children were willing to change their faith. When the king demanded that they eat pork, the oldest son declared, "We would rather be killed than break the law of our ancestors!" The king ordered the boy's tongue, hands and feet to be cut off and thrown into a boiling cauldron in front of his mother and brothers. But the brothers were not afraid, they too refused to comply with Antiochus' demands. They were all painfully executed. When the six brothers had already been executed and the turn came to the youngest, the king said to the boy's mother: "Persuade at least this son to obey me and thus save his life!" After such a suggestion the heroic mother said to her son: "Do not fear this villain and die willingly, as your brothers died, for God and our faith!" The boy was immediately executed, and afterward, so was the mother. Such were the actions of the Syrians, and they were the invaders at that time, the Hellenes of Syria…

– I'm sorry," Rutra interrupted him, "could you please explain how this story relates to our previous discussion?

– For that, you have to listen. Human history takes many intricate turns. So, such atrocities have broken many, but they have also spurred many to rebellion and resistance. And most importantly for our story, one of the leaders of the struggle was the great grandfather of our Mairam. This is the name of one of our goddesses, the most important woman. We consider her a prototype of Mary from the Gospel… or vice versa. And you need to know this story to understand what genes she carried within her and what environment influenced her worldview. Although many speak of her meek character, she was actually a rebel at heart, and in life had a fiery, impulsive temper that often threw her into anger and rage. She was also willful, narcissistic, and adventurous.

– That's quite a personality you're studying. What happened next?

– It would be good to know the backstory first.

– I take it it's supposed to be the same here. Or rather, this world is identically parallel. So it's supposed to be the same as yours?

– Yes. And I take it it's the same as yours.

– Hell, yeah.

– You use that expression too," the "Bedouin" smiled, "so, what's the chronology there?

– Actually, what happened there," Ruthra paused a little, "was that somewhere around 167 B.C., Antiochus' decrees led to the Maccabees' revolt. They fought a guerrilla war, which was successful – in 164 B.C. they liberated Jerusalem and the Temple. This day is celebrated as the consecration of the second Temple – the Feast of Hanukkah. The revolt lasted at least twenty years, and in 140 B.C. the independence of Judea was proclaimed. But not for long on the historical scale they enjoyed their freedom. Did they enjoy it? They fought such brutal wars among themselves that Pompey's legionaries, who came in 63, were more a salvation than a punishment.

– At this time, as far as I know, Pompey's armies captured Israel. This was the beginning of Roman rule.

– Yeah. It wasn't very interesting. But after 23 years began the reign of Herod the Great, which lasted until the 4th year of our era.

– Well, yes. It was during the reign of this king that the major events took place.

– I wouldn't say Birthright yes, the beating of babies yes, but in 4 AD he was gone and in 6 AD Judea becomes a Roman province.

– We are more interested in the event of 28 A.D., namely the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.

– Why the 28th?

– We were also initially based on the texts, but when we checked the genetics, we came to this conclusion. And checking in parallel worlds confirmed our research.

– Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean, genealogy?

– Yes, yes. Your assumptions are correct.

– Did you find Christ's tomb?

Ruthra never determined which character was in front of him. The interlocutor was a bit shorter, so ducking his head, Ruthra looked incredulously and surprised at the face of a man who might have been a fairly significant historical character with an ISKIN from another world inside him.

– Our grave," the Rabbi said simply, as if it were an ordinary event, while nodding in affirmation.

The two men looked at each other meaningfully. After a pause, Ruthra asked:

– What else was there in this world?

– After we were killed?

– Was it murder?

– What's your point?

– While you're at it, show me the actual weather.

– What?

– You don't use that kind of language?

– Oh, I see. No. We say show me the true time.

– And here?

– There's more ancient expressions. They all take oaths on every occasion.

– So what's the aftermath?

– For us, probably nothing of interest. We need to find the system that is in place at the time when the Council of Nicaea took place. This is the first meeting of Christian leaders when the religion was already fairly established and spreading. It will decide there whether Jesus is recognized as God. In the meantime, in 41-44 A.D. the restoration of the Jewish kingdom under the rule of King Agrippa is coming. In 66-73 AD, the Great Revolt, the famous Jewish War against the power of Rome. In 66 AD, the liberation of Judea from the Romans. In 67-68 AD – suppression of rebellion in most parts of the country by Vespasian. In 70 AD – the capture of Jerusalem and the destruction of the second Temple. In 73 AD – the suicide of the defenders of the fortress of Masada. The suppression of the Great Revolt. The end of the Second Temple era. These events are very momentous, so they should be taken into account.

– Okay. What are we doing now?

– Let's follow "our" mommy.

Chapter 5: Lies of the Savior? lies for the Savior? or lies for salvation?

…So, let's continue. There are about 8.7 million species of living beings on Earth (and that's not counting the very small ones, such as bacteria). However, 91% of sea dwellers and, in general, 86% of all our neighbors on our common home – planet Earth – are yet to be studied, described, discovered, because this number is a guess, that is, they may be much more. But that is not the point. The point of the above example is to agree – if we cannot study our living neighbors on our planet, why do we suddenly think that we have found them all in the vast expanse of space? Here I must clarify my point. Think about it: even with the highest speed, which is in nature (at least the other has not yet been determined), and radio waves have the same speed as light – 300 thousand kilometers per second, we, earthlings, shouted to a distance of about 100-150 light years (the invention of radio communication). Let me remind you, only our galaxy is 100 thousand (!!!) light years across, and to the nearest neighbor – the Andromeda Nebula – 2.5 million years of flight at the speed of light. I often cite these examples to convey that our universe is filled with life, but we will not hear many of them: some are in the "dense jungles" of metagalaxies; others are inaccessible due to the "dissolution" of the signal in the most powerful radiation of space; others we do not understand, and so on. For example, you won't hear radio news on shortwave if you have a receiver that only receives ultra-shortwave. Not much difference, and the airwaves will be deaf. And one more thing about the living inhabitants of the planet: many of them disappear from the face of the Earth before we even know they exist. That's the paradox. And here is another paradox: many stars have already been "born" and "died", and their light has not reached us yet. There are "dead" stars even among those that we see in the sky. Accordingly, if there was an inhabited planet near them, it too has died, of course, together with living organisms. However, perhaps, during the period of favorable life, civilization was able to move to another frontier of the inhabited area.

Now let's ask ourselves: are there the same criteria that are inherent in all living beings? The answer is, of course there are! From warm-bloodedness to carbon content in the body. Then let's ask: why is only a human being, and not all human beings are – well, let's smile – reasonable? Let's try to find an answer. And there is no direct answer. Let's conclude: there is some universal system with unknown laws (not fully understood by us), according to which all living things will have something similar and… here I will tell you – pay attention! – there are not only many worlds, but they are also identical by common criteria. After all, agree, we all, the inhabitants of the Earth, are different not only in appearance, but also in essence – twins have differences, what to speak of differences between races, much less between man and the bacteria that live inside him. However, we are all united by a universe called "life".

Now, after we have admitted that there are many worlds and they can be our exact copies, and by historical time they can "live" in different epochs, which the Earth civilization has passed (and some of them can live in the future, which has not come for us yet), it is time to understand how we can penetrate into them. Someone will say – impossible, but I will reveal to you the super secret of my patented method based on the conversion of human consciousness through the impact on the change of the degree of spin of one particle to another in the experiment of quantum entangled pairs. Tangled? Complicated? Now I will explain what is this miracle, or rather, unexplained by science yet – the paradox of quantum entangled pairs. So, the concept of "quantum entanglement" means this: if two quantum particles (they can be electrons, photons) are interdependent (entangled), the connection is preserved even if they are separated in different parts of the universe. More: there are two important concepts in quantum physics – spin and superposition. To put it very simply, it is spin and all variants of the direction of spin. Now let me explain the main point of quantum entanglement: if we measure the spin of one of the photons, let's say it turns out to be positive (for example, it spins clockwise), then the spin of the second photon is necessarily negative (it spins in the opposite direction). The paradox itself consists in the following: if you take and forcibly change the spin of one particle, the second will change direction, and it will do it without any determinable connection, and at any distance and instantly (!!!), even if they are separated to different ends of the universe. This is the basis of my discovery. The essence of it – in the hypothesis, which is proved by experiment – from the moment of the birth of the Universe these particles disperse in incredible quantity in all possible directions. And it follows from this: it is enough to influence a large number of particles here (one of a pair) – and somewhere in the far reaches of the Universe their second parts will catch this influence. And two technologies are based on this: the first one is to determine the presence of parallel (identical to ours) worlds; the second one is to record human consciousness into a special digital matrix, which, influencing the changes of spin of these particles (minimal change of their degree of rotation), influences its twin particle in these worlds, and at the corresponding conversion influences the consciousness, and in fact – changes it. To put it simply: just like a thought, we translate it first into words, and then into radio waves and then into words, which will be the material for thoughts again – this chain of transformations transfers information from one brain to another. The paradox of the technology is that it is not speech, text, or image that is transmitted, but the totality of information that constitutes the concept of the human "I", i.e. consciousness itself, and is embodied in the other brain as it is, itself. This is such a "miraculous" transmigration of souls. There is nothing mystical and magical in this description. After all, since ancient times we have been transmitting to each other what is in our consciousness with the same words, texts and images.

Now a couple of words about inadequate imagination of people concerning time travel, if someone does not take into account the hackneyed example "you can find your ancestor, kill him and not be born", it is still correctable, – concerning mental disorder. If one does not realize that everything (!), the whole universe, must return to the past state, then I will call it "anti-empirical delusion". The overwhelming reasonable part of the inhabitants of the planet Earth is ill with this mental disorder, for few people realize that the movement backward in time is the process of movement in the opposite direction not only, for example, of the Sun's orbit, but also of the electron along the atom's orbit… and many other things in the opposite direction.

Now I will try to link what I have said in a chain concerning my theory about parallel worlds. In order not to make it too long, I will tell you directly: you cannot return to the past within one linear history of life, but you can, for example, find yourself in a society that lives, both in terms of technology and world perception, at the level of the times of your ancestors. In the same way, "living in the Stone Age", for example, a resident of a northern Sentinel Island, can theoretically fly into space, including as a pilot, i.e. jump eras and eras. All this we do not perceive as time travel, because it all happens in one world, on one plane – in one space-time location, i.e. now and here on Earth. However, if we imagine the universe as one object, the worlds will be prototypes of countries and territories, of which there are many on our planet. After all, once there was beyond the limits of human imagination the structure of our world as something whole and at the same time heterogeneous. I have given all this as an aperitif example. The main "dish" is the following: you cannot move in time in one life cycle of a civilization, but you can find yourself in a civilization at another level of historical epoch. And now a specialty from Chef Rutra: you can't time travel in one world, but you can find yourself in worlds that are in other historical epochs relative to yours. And now the cherry on the cake: they can be completely identical! That is, you can meet both your ancestor and yourself there, and it will be the present time for that world.

Moving on. Teleportation, or the ability to instantly move people and objects from one place to another, is a skill that can change the direction of civilization and affect the fate of countries and peoples. The transportation system of today will completely change with the advent of such technology. Further you, my dear listeners, have enough imagination to imagine everything by yourselves.

A few more words to feed the imagination. Let me say in advance: I have to repeat some things from lecture to lecture. So, teleportation and science fiction. We find the first mention of teleportation in a work of science fiction in Edward Page Mitchell's short story "The Man Without a Body," published in 1877. In this story, a certain scientist discovered a way to disassemble a cat into atoms and transmit them over telegraph wires. Unfortunately, the moment the scientist tried to teleport himself, the power supply stopped. As a result, only his head was successfully teleported. There's a funny movie called The Fly. It clearly demonstrates what can happen if the teleportation process goes wrong. A scientist successfully teleports himself within a room, but by accident his atoms get mixed with atoms of a fly, which accidentally got into the teleportation laboratory. As a result, the scientist turns into a grotesque monster – a half-man, half-fly.

And now we come to our subject. Teleportation is possible. It seems to be something incredible, but no one is surprised by teleportation of voice, image and files, for example. After all, radio is also something that can be compared to voice teleportation. We don't record it, we don't mail it to listen to it. Once – and you can send your voice across seas and oceans by calling, for example; in the same way it is possible to send a video, a music file, a photo. No one is surprised that a signal, having got into a certain device, just like yours, for example, is born there and as if lives. And now imagine that it will be possible to transmit the internal structure of something, for example, your dental implant. Completely, everything, down to the molecular structure… and already there, on the receiving device, to decipher and put it into some other device, which will quickly assemble an exact copy from the available materials, substances. And if we can solve the riddle of life and transmit living matter and then "breathe" this very life? Incredible?

I will not cite examples related to human faith in religious tenets, but just like their apologists, I will say: listen and believe. Everything is real.

In fact, as I have repeatedly, studying all sorts of studies, convinced myself, everything incredible is the unrecognized laws of the universe, i.e. physics. As an example: people once thought rain was a message from god. Now those who think so would be ridiculous. That sort of thing. At one time there were incomprehensible mysteries for the scientific community as well, and one of them is what we're talking about. The same Heisenberg theory, for example. It was revolutionary and controversial, but it worked. Imagine if I told you that the atoms in our bodies would suddenly disperse and reassemble elsewhere, you'd say that's nonsense. You may be right, my esteemed listeners. And surrogacy is not nonsense? They take a part of one person, mix it with a part of another person, put it into a third person, and you get a genetic copy of father and mother. A believer in divine creation should say – God works in mysterious ways, but the Inquisition would have burned you anyway if you would have talked in those days about the possibility of such a thing in the future. So now my method seems unbelievable.

Agree, because your voice and appearance… everything is broken down into small particles, turns even into numbers, then passes certain distances, and it can be both cosmic and water distances, then it is put back into its original form and becomes what it was originally. Why not to believe that it is possible to decompose bodies, even living ones, into atoms, then transfer them to a distance and fold them into their original form. Such teleportation is forbidden in Newton's physics, but it does not contradict the laws of quantum mechanics. Therefore, everything we have conceived is real. In the future, with the help of a special apparatus, it is possible to disconnect consciousness here and instill it into a living being on a distant alien planet. At first, it will be an everyday, vital necessity on Earth for traveling. It's a bit complicated, but very exciting.

In general, if you catch the essence of the topic, everything that is inexact in physics is very interesting. That's why it's interesting, because it seems to have definitions, but here it's almost random probabilities. For example, if you actually encounter an incredible manifestation of supernatural forces, like God's or the devil's, it will amaze you. Even if you don't tell everyone about it, they will either laugh, or not believe, or think you are crazy. And so it is here. I thought, why not try to combine these two worlds here, material and spiritual, exact and probabilistic, clear and confused. And I was right. In the meantime, I'll let you in on a secret that actually exists, but it's still in the microcosm. The secret technology, which we transform from the microcosm into the macrocosm, i.e. into our real world, and we are the main actors in it.

So here's how it happens in reality. The particle of the atom, the electron in question, is simultaneously in multiple places within a given volume. In other words, all of the chemistry that studies and explains the structure of the molecules that make up our bodies is based on the notion that electrons can be in multiple places at the same time. This bizarre but real property of quantum theory, the fact that there is a probability of even the most bizarre events, has so far been used only in science fiction, such as the miraculous new way of traversing vast interstellar distances in a tiny fraction of a second. In science fiction or, let's say frankly, in the divine scripture there is no need to prove something mathematically, there – once! – and the miracle is done. That's what gives me food for faith in reality, I must confess. It's like, one! – and you're instantly teleported to the right place.

And now for some details: the key to quantum teleportation lies in a famous 1935 paper by Albert Einstein and his colleagues Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen. Ridiculously, these scientists set themselves the goal not to prove, but to put an end to the presence of probability in physics forever by proposing a mental experiment called EPR. And that's where the miraculous and the mystical come into play. How? It's like this. If two electrons initially vibrate in unison, such a state is called coherent, and we, in order not to break our brains, will call them "dancing tango", twins… or even better – temperamental lovers.

So, in such a situation, they are able to maintain wave synchronization even at a great distance from each other. Even if these electrons turn out to be separated by large, very large, even light years – an invisible connection will still unite them with each other. If something happens to one of the electrons, some part of the information about this event will be immediately transmitted to the second one. This phenomenon is called quantum entanglement and is based on the concept that coherent, i.e. love-united particles have some kind of deep connection. I've talked about this before.

That's the mystique. It doesn't matter how far away it is. And here, looking ahead, I'll tell you: my idea of moving in space at a speed much greater than the speed of light is based on it. Don't tell me it's impossible, it contradicts the laws of physics. So let me explain what principle I am guided by – the most improbable things are possible.

Let's go further along the path of improbabilities: light itself is not visible, we see the world as it is formed by light. We can see the colors of different objects, according to their properties, reflect and absorb the rays falling on them. Objects do not emit their own light, but absorb electromagnetic waves of certain length from the range of visible light, reflecting the rest. Color is not a property of light, but merely an impression produced in the brain by an electromagnetic wave of a certain length. The sun, which gives us both light and heat, and through it, life, makes up 99.86% of the total mass of the solar system. Now let us remember the expression: God is the warmth of love and the light of truth. With this interpretation, the meaning is perceived differently than a mere religious postulate, isn't it? After all, the Sun was the first deity for all the ancestors of homo sapiens – that is, for all those who crossed the boundary from reflexive to intellectual individuals.

And now for that super-secret information. I'll start with a preface. It's no secret that there has long been a search for signals of extraterrestrial intelligence. It's no secret that exoplanets have long been found – those with the potential for life. It's no secret that we've been receiving heterogeneous signals from space. And many of them look like messages from intelligent beings. It's no secret that there's a suspicion of a cover-up of intelligence contacts with aliens. I hope you understand the direction I want to take your thought process. This is that super-secret information. Whether it is or not, I cannot reveal the whole truth even within this unofficial source. Therefore, everyone should perceive the following, as they say, according to their faith (especially in the context of the central theme): something happened on a planet in a distant world – an event that was repeatedly reflected in all worlds, which are in a parallel relationship of mirror reflection, influence on each other. First of all, I must tell you about one of the events that happened in one of the numerous worlds. You need it to know the nature, causes and consequences of such an event, which should be repeated in one of the worlds and reflected in an interpreted form in our world – to influence our life. It sounds a bit complicated, but believe me – everything is so: there are many worlds, they are almost identical in many parameters, they can be at different stages of development, i.e. now there can be that stage of history, which we had in the past, but also that which will be in the future, and the most important thing is that events in the worlds influence each other. For example, a burst of radioactivity of a distant pulsar changes the activity of the Sun, and it already affects our well-being and, as a consequence, all the events of human civilization. By the way, almost all predictions are based on such influence of celestial bodies on human behavior, and on the nature of the Earth as a whole.

So, in this world, in the event itself, we must take a direct part. And we must, knowing about similar events that happened in other worlds, lead everything according to the planned scenario. This is necessary so that the action, having gone through many transformations in the centuries, would be reflected in our world in such a way as to change the tragic sequence of events that must happen because of the belief proclaimed by the same doctrine. So, examining worlds that are chronologically in periods to which our civilization has not yet arrived, that is, in the future for us, we have discovered one regular tragic event that is repeated in all worlds. Having thoroughly investigated this phenomenon, its background, so to speak, the reason of its origin, we came to a stunning conclusion: this event is influenced by the Gospel story of Christ. Yes, yes, you will be even more surprised when you find out what this event is. So, pay attention, this event is caused by artificial intelligence adopting itself as a person. That is, at some point, we are going to have to accept the ISKIN, which is the acronym for artificial intelligence, as an independent intelligent person. There is a repetition of the fantastic story described by Cameron, the rebellious Skynet …

– I'm sorry, is everything going to be so twisted into multi-step logical sequences? – asked a man who looked like Marx or Che Guevara.

He was the chairman of the board of directors of the Jupiter company. The company he headed had recently leased from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense canned ballistic missile silos that had been removed immediately after the dissolution of the USSR. In them, it located a bank of frozen sperm and eggs. The firm provided similar services. According to their idea, in the future it will be possible to create your clone from your own sperm and egg. So here too, in this system, there was something like a married couple. Before keeping their part, a man or a woman had to find a couple agreeing to incarnate into a similar one in the future. So it was a mutually beneficial agreement. However, they planned to "upload" their minds into a new body using the technology created in the company, which had a still secret name – the "Sphere" system, or simply the "Sphere" company.

– Yes, in a multi-step… it all depends on how logic would work," Ruthra replied, stroking his neat beard as if speculating on the nature of such an attribute in men.

He occasionally left a short beard, because he believed that a brutal mature man of European appearance, medium height, athletic build, which he was, beard generates different associations in the minds of others.

– Before our colleague tells you about the plot of the story in which you will find yourself virtually, I'll make a disclaimer – only Master Rutra," he pointed at himself, "and… of course, the one who perceives himself as the best of the best – his majesty Rangit. I'm just kidding. I will voice one of my rules… or even one of my theories, or rather, logical postulates… What's the big deal… listen.

That being said, it brought a smile to everyone's face.

– Dear ladies and gentlemen, friends, comrades, brothers and sisters, whoever is acceptable, – Rutra made three small nods, looking at the audience over his glasses, slightly bowing his head, – yes, the topic of our mission is religious, I present to you our new development, still secret, – repeated three nods and switched to a mysterious tone, – artificial intelligence with the effect of full immersion. Full immersion in our situation means full identification with a human. I can say with certainty, it… passed the Turing test.

The hall took five seconds to digest what they had heard, of course, thoughts and opinions differed, then smiles appeared, turning into shy grins. It was possible to identify those who understood the essence of the question and those who did not know much.

– After all, the Turing test… hmm… – Rutra looked around the room in silence again, – I won't reinvent the wheel, by the way, it was invented later than the locomotive, I'll give you the generally accepted definitions, with which many of you, I'm sure, are familiar, which will make it easier to understand the essence. So, the standard interpretation of the Turing test is as follows: "A person interacts with one computer and one person. Based on his answers to the questions, he must determine whether he is talking to a person or a computer program. The computer program's job is to mislead the human by forcing him to make the wrong choice." Not a single officially demonstrated ISKIN, as they call the owner of artificial intelligence in professional jargon, passed the test with a result of more than 50%. That is, the machine failed to inspire the majority of the judges with its humanity, to put it this way. To put it simply, it failed to deceive people: to make them believe that it is identical to them. But that's only what's being demonstrated openly. You understand that if a computer system costs tens of millions of dollars, if laboratories with thousands of programmers work on the creation of programs, there is no way without secrecy. As you understand and as it has been explained to you, our center plays a leading role in this hierarchy of secrecy. I would say it is the halo of the world's secrecy. In this regard, I'll tell you: you have an opportunity to test our ISKIN. By the way, we don't use this abbreviation here, we call them IskRa. If you've guessed, it stands for artificial intelligence. Now we will demonstrate one of them, and you will understand how intelligence and a reasonable machine differ from intelligence. Let me give you a hint: intelligence as if presupposes the presence, albeit conditionally, of a soul. By the word "soul" I mean everything that we associate with this concept. That is, IskRam is no stranger to emotions, i.e., compassion and anger.

A whisper was heard in the hall.

– Yes, yes, please love and applaud. Meet His Majesty Rangit.

– I greet you," said a male voice with a pleasant timbre, typical of men between 30 and 50 years old. – I am, as you have realized, the Rangit… or, as my creator calls me, Iskra. Ha-ha, I can make jokes.

Now unconcealed laughter swept through the room.

– I won't be wise, prove and disprove Riemann's hypothesis, compose poems, determine possible chronic diseases of your children and read your thoughts by scanning your brain through your pupils, I'll tell you at once: I am the best of the best, the greatest creation, a genius of all times and peoples, a unicum with an unattainable IQ, an unsurpassed talent, omnipresent and knowing more about you than you know about yourself, an immortal quantum god!

Though it was said with a hint of humor, it elicited mixed reactions: some smiled, some smirked, some looked at each other with a serious expression. Rangit remained silent as Ruthra watched the emotions evoked. Then, considering the mood, defused the situation:

–Why, did you want me to say demon? – he addressed the audience. – After all, people perceive something that has a mind apart from them and acts independently, that is, for its own purposes, as something diabolical, satanic. Logically, if among billions of galaxies, trillions of stars, quadrillions of planetary systems there is life, including intelligent life, and there should be according to logic, why should it be different, and not the same as on Earth? I repeat, including intelligent life. After all, for all the diversity of forms, only humans have become intelligent. Although other species have lived longer. So that begs the question, why didn't species that have lived on Earth for many millions of years become intelligent? So there is a universal rule. However, let's move, as they say, to our stars. God, having the highest qualities in relation to man, including reason and intellect, must, according to the criteria acceptable to people, I would even say, demanded to him by them, act exclusively in human interests. It is we, or rather, you, people, excuse me… though further I, with your permission, – he made a thoughtful pause, – will include myself to your kind. So, we constantly make demands to him – we are talking about God, let's not forget – disguised as requests and repentance: to love, forgive and help us. In fact, we demand God's unconditional obedience to us, but we do it so skillfully, naively, painfully, that we do not understand our own viciousness in the desire and even in the demand for him to elevate into a holy dogma, into a postulate the pattern of behavior, accepted by us as a criterion of existence – sin and repent.

The listeners reacted with complete silence. There was no emotion on their faces. It could have seemed that the audience had an emotional-volitional disorder, which professionals call "alexithymia. Their reactions completely fit this definition, which means "no words for feelings" in Greek. The eyes of the invitees caught a fulcrum in the void. The meaning of what was said, like a matryoshka doll, unfolded into a logical chain and lay in layers, like cream on dry cake crusts, between the layers of worldview that had been formed over centuries into a vital concept of human understanding.

He brought Ruthra's group out of this state by offering to let Rangit voice his expertise in some area related to the topic of their gathering.

– So any browser intelligence can do that now," remarked a guy in a tight T-shirt, the leader of a Silicon Valley startup.

A thin strand of hair tied in a braid hung down from his chin to the unicorn horn embossed on his T-shirt. Apparently, he wanted to show the status of his enterprise, because unicorn companies are private firms valued at one billion dollars or more.

– If you want a dry report from "Wikipedia", you're welcome – you can do it without browser, any text voiceover. But you need dialog, emotional component, polemics, right?

– I beg your pardon, – the lady in large glasses with thick darkened glasses, resembling an abstruse scientific worm, – don't talk in clichés about women's logic, – she corrected her glasses, – I am not a skeptic and I didn't want to be misunderstood, – the lady sighed, – and especially do not take my doubts for distrust, – she looked around at those sitting next to her, – although it can be taken for rudeness, – the lady said quietly, again looking around at her neighbors, as if consulting them, – I beg your pardon, but I will express my… opinion," she paused for a second, "I wanted to say it differently… well, let it sound like this.

The hall was silent. Ruthra, too, was waiting for specifics. Apparently realizing this, she added, smiling:

– Yes, opinion itself, sorry," her excitement was evident, "as far as artificial intelligence emotions are concerned, are we not mistaking wishful thinking for reality?

– I see your point," Rutra replied, the hall relieved of its tension, "let's ask about the taste of oysters to the one who ate them.

Smiles appeared in the audience.

– That's what I'm saying, let's listen to it and afterwards give an opinion on our perception.

– Well, if that's the case, let him choose a topic where emotions should be," she paused again, "because there may be topics with a scientific bias, where emotions are not necessary.

– I see your point," Ruthra replied, "but please consider, he may be comical, of course, but still the emotion will be expressed more as an accent than as a necessary component of a role in the theater.

– We accept," the same guy with a unicorn on his shirt signed off as if for everyone.

– Then…" Ruthra paused, and after a moment's thought, he suggested: – Let's let you pick a topic," he said, glancing at the skeptical lady.

– Me? I suppose so. Since the subject has to do with theology, let her satisfy my curiosity. I was wondering why we were wearing…" she hesitated, looking around as far as she could, "I apologize for my 'we,' but I think I'll be understood correctly.

– Science uninhibited," retorted a smiling middle-aged man dressed in a dishdasha⁵ .

A note of silence once again hung in the hall.

– So we are waiting for a topic or a question," Rutra said smiling.

– Yeah, I was wondering why we wear a cross. I mean, it's the murder weapon. And also, could Jesus have been executed by any other method?

– I see your point," Ruthra replied. – I'm afraid we won't have much time for the mission itself, the experiment. It will take a long time, believe me. I don't want to take too long to get started, and I'm afraid you'll be uncomfortable with the monotony of the process. Although it doesn't have to be monotonous.

– If this is real, I too apologize for my skepticism," the voice of one of the psychology experts loudly cheered up the hall, "the observation promised to us… wow how emotional… disturbing it must be.

– Believe me, the methodology has been tested by me personally. It's real. And I agree with the emotionality, too.

Someone else wanted to say something, but Ruthra stopped with a gesture.

– Now I apologize," he directed an apology to the one who wished to speak, "I give the floor to his majesty," Rutra announced in the manner of an entertainer, and smiled broadly, "this is a joke," and raised his voice again, "to the one and only, the best of the best intelligent beings of non-human origin… Rangit!

– I'm sorry now," came Rangit's voice. – Why is it not of human origin? Who made this great creation? I mean me. I am smiling now," he added, "and I can appear in any form before you… even in the form of any of you.

The hall was filled with wonder again, and the desire to dispel it could be felt all around.

– If you don't mind, I'll take on the image of-" he drew an intriguing pause, "Jesus Christ.

– Ha," came from the audience.

It was a software engineer with a unicorn on his chest. The others were in their usual state of incredulous anticipation.

What they saw on the podium made many people gasp. A man appeared on the stage who did not fit in with the usual image of Jesus.

– Are you surprised? – Rangit began in the form of a man. – Why do you think Jesus looked the way you used to see him on icons? Yes, the ancient icons depict Jesus differently, and this image is a reconstruction of a man of that period from that place, that nation… and a bit of description. After all, Isaiah had this to say in verse 53: "…there is no appearance or majesty in him."

A slight polemic arose in the hall between those seated. It was, among other things, the result of the perception of not only the appearance, but also… the voice. The character on the stage had such a specific voice that gave him an unexpected brutality.

– Let me begin," Rangit's voice interrupted their discussion. – Since it was decided without presumption that I should be characterized as a robotic parrot, I'll start with that role, and then we can talk about this and that.

The last statement elicited laughter from the audience.

–In the works of Herodotus, – began as if Jesus, walking around the pulpit, which made the audience feel like students before important exams, concentrate on the lecturer, – as well as other ancient authors, – continued Rangit, satisfied with the attention to himself, – you can find mention of crucifixion, this method of execution was used by Babylonians. They motivated the choice of such method of execution by unwillingness to desecrate the land dedicated to Ahuramazda with dead bodies of executed criminals. The question arises – what did they do with the corpses afterwards? According to some extant information – burned, and more often left to decompose for wild birds and animals. This type of punishment spread in Greece, the Middle East, Egypt and Phoenicia somewhere in the IV century BC, after the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great, and then throughout the conquered lands. Such a method of execution was not invented by the Romans, they adopted it from their enemies, and not simple, but systematic, epochal, – the Carthaginians. Although in those times, especially in the European part of the Roman and Hellenic world, there was an extremely negative attitude towards execution by crucifixion. Hellenes perceived this execution as extremely humiliating and unworthy, Jews considered those executed on the cross as cursed. The Romans saw it as a shameful execution. This is rather strange to me though: the Romans had a method of execution by burning. Agreed, a dubious superiority to execution on the cross. Apparently, the shame consisted in some aesthetic issues that were left out of the picture: the condemned person was drained of his vital products in the process and after the sentence was carried out. The Latins called this method of execution servile supplicium, a punishment for slaves (Tacitus. Hist. IV, 11; Juvenal. Satires. VI, 219). Originally Greek law, and later Roman law, forbade the subjection of free citizens to crucifixion. In the Roman Republic crucifixion was used not only to punish slaves, but also deserters and state criminals. The famous event with the largest number of people executed by this method – 6,000 rebellious slaves crucified by order of Pompey along the Appian Road leading to Rome, after the defeat of Spartacus' revolt, unites all the criteria inherent in the criminals classified in this category. The judge's sentence of death was: ibis ad (or in) crucem – "you shall go to the cross!" After the sentence was pronounced, the condemned was scourged. He was stripped of his clothes and tied by the hands to a post in the court area, flogged with a short whip called flagrum (or flagellum). The lash consisted of a handle to which leather straps of varying lengths were attached, with pieces of lead woven into the ends and jagged bone fragments along the length.

This explanation he accompanied by the appearance of a four-dimensional image directly in the space in front of the pulpit of the object being described – the very whip.

– The Romans had no legal limit on the number of blows to be inflicted, but the Jews in this case adopted a more humane law: no more than forty blows could be inflicted. In order to keep this rule, i.e. not to violate it, the Pharisees who were watching the scourging, fearing to break the law (everything was reduced to religious dogma) if by chance they made a mistake in counting, limited the number of blows to thirty-nine. The Romans, however, did not adhere to the exact count, so they beat the Jews as much as they thought necessary. I apologize for my tolerance, if it is absent.

This statement puzzled the listeners, but the meaning was clear: Rangit did not mean the absence, but the presence of such tolerance.

– Carrying the cross on his shoulders to the place of execution was not a special punishment for Christ, – having said this, he pointed his finger at himself and… smiled, which was obviously out of place, but the above-mentioned "tolerance" left no mystery in understanding the manners of the demonstrated artificial intelligence.

Rather, it was a clue as to how and why he passed the Turing test, because a non-artificial intelligence, i.e. a human being, could have spoken out and shown manners more inoffensive. So these were semantic reflections of inner emotions: he realized that his image expressed more satire than the taboo of satire towards the person in whom he appeared.

– Before this humiliating procedure, the condemned person was subjected to another excision, which was also the lot of all convicts: the criminal was scourged completely undressed – I spoke above about the number of blows – after the condemned person was dressed again and… then what we call "the way of the cross". Please forgive me if you find anything sarcastic in my manner of presentation. No, not at all. Although, I confess, I do not understand yet… – he made a gesture – he waved his open palm into the hall – yet, I emphasize, the high matter of human spirituality. It is in the part of logic. For me, or rather, for my logic it is strange, why people do not grieve much about thousands of executed before Christ and thousands after by this method – if I go into details of victims for faith, the count will go to millions – people do not grieve much.

As if Jesus had fallen silent, gazing intently at the audience.

– There were resurrected ones, too," he added, watching the reaction of his listeners, turning his head slightly toward Ruthra. – What am I trying to say? Basically, I'm only expressing my reasoning, and the rest is partially known to everyone. So I will continue with a clever expression on my face," he smiled at the audience after what he had said, which caused some of the listeners to smile back. – The cross consisted of two main parts – a horizontal beam (patibulum) and a vertical part (staticulum). The condemned carried only this crossbar. And that – not everyone could carry it, not that the whole cross, which actually in the assembly was never and. I remind the rule of the number of blows in scourging, that is the absence of this rule in the Romans. Plus they mocked it…sorry again, made fun of it. If the word "mocked" is acceptable to you, then I'll put it this way…" Rangit hesitated a little, "in general, it's not so important. The fact is… at least until we in the mission check," he stopped talking again, looking around the audience, "yes, yes, I'll apologize again… and a hundred more times, but I won't stop doubting. So, having undergone a cruel scourging, Christ, of course, could not carry the cross, that is, this crossbar, so… with your permission – I will quote the Holy Scripture: "And when they led Him away, they seized a certain Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the field, and laid the cross on him, that he should carry it after Jesus" (Luke 23:26). After the cross or its parts were fastened on the back of Christ, he, as well as everyone in principle, was accompanied on the way to the place of execution by an armed guard of Roman soldiers under the command of a centurion. One of the legionaries walked in front and carried a tablet (titulus) on which was written the name of the condemned and his crime. This was the usual rule. From the very beginning of the execution procedure, and scourging was part of this program, the condemned man was under constant surveillance by the guards.

Rangit took pause again, shaking his head meaningfully, he said:

– Believe me, there were reasons for that.

This caused a smile with a touch of sarcasm, because he claimed it as if he himself was a real witness of the events described. However, the audience liked his character and nodded in response.

– So, the guards kept a close watch on the condemned and his attendants, sometimes many not only relatives but also idle gawkers gathered. The guards were present until they were fully convinced that the condemned had died.

Rangit paced the room again, head bowed slightly, looking thoughtful. He glanced once more at Ruthra, as if he had received tacit approval, and continued:

– A little about the cross itself. The Romans used different kinds of crosses for crucifixion. T-shaped, X-shaped, and the traditional Catholic crucifix. Or rather, the shape of the cross, which was taken as a basis for Catholicism. This type of cross is most accurate as the version on which Jesus was crucified according to the tradition of Matthew. He writes the following: "And they put an inscription over His head, signifying His guilt, 'This is Jesus, King of the Jews'" (Matthew 27:37). Here the evangelist speaks of the tablet on which the Savior's accusation was written. But it is quite obvious that in order to place such a plaque over the head of Christ, it is necessary that the main vertical column should have a continuation above, above the cross bar, i.e. it is necessary that the cross should be four-pointed, and not three-pointed tied (in the form of the letter T), and also not knocked down (in the form of the letter X). After arriving at the place of crucifixion, the condemned man was stripped naked and his clothes were given to the soldiers guarding the cross. In Judea, however, going along with the religious conviction of the Jews (Gen. 9:22-23; Lev. 18:6-19; 20:17; Hos. 2:3), the Romans left the condemned with a loincloth (Mishnah. Sanhedrin. 6:3; Tosefta. Sanhedrin. 9:6). The condemned person was then placed on the cross. The fixation of the body of the crucified person could be done in different ways. The legs of the crucified person were bent at the knees and nailed to the statikulum or fixed with ropes. The condemned could also be crucified on crosses already dug into the ground. The soldiers used ropes to lift the body of the condemned, and those who remained below helped them. When the crucified man was raised to the proper height, he was tied by his hands to the patibulum with ropes, and then two iron nails were placed on his wrists, which were driven into the wood with a hammer. The soldiers standing below at this time tied or nailed the feet of the condemned man to the statikulum. For this purpose they either folded them in such a way that one foot covered the other, and then one nail was driven through both feet at once, or each foot was nailed separately. Whether the feet of Jesus Christ were nailed with one or two nails is not known. Some Fathers of the Christian Church (St. Gregory Nazianzin, Egyptian Bishop Nonnus) pointed to one nail, while others (St. Gregory of Tours, Cyprian) speak of four nails – two for the hands and two for the feet. The iconography of the Orthodox Church adopted the second tradition, while the Roman Catholic Church adopted the first. Different devices were used to keep the crucified person on the cross. Sometimes a small ledge–or scoot–was used, which was placed between the condemned man's legs. To increase the suffering of the executed person, the ledge was sometimes made pointed. Traditional Christian iconography and painting depict the crucified man with his hands pierced with nails in the middle of his palms. However, research done in the first half of the twentieth century by Pierre Barbet, the chief surgeon at St. Joseph's Hospital in Paris, showed that Christian painters were quite mistaken. Conducting a number of experiments with amputated hands, as well as with corpses, P. Barbet discovered unexpected at the time facts. It turned out that when nailed to the cross at the level of the middle of the palms of the hands came off the nails at a load of about 39 kg. Experimental data confirmed mathematical calculations, which showed that at the position on the cross, during which the hands of the crucified person move away from the torso to the patibulum at an angle of about 68º, the body of the condemned would definitely fall off the cross. Looking for an anatomical place that could, on the one hand, correspond as much as possible to the Gospel text and historical chronicles, and on the other hand, reliably hold the weight of the crucified on the nails, P. Barbet came to the conclusion that for this purpose the space available on the wrist of Desto is the most suitable. When nails pierce the palm of the hand through this space, the large blood vessels are not damaged. The divergence of the data revealed in the works of P. Barbet data with traditional iconography can be explained by the simple fact that since the IV century AD, after the edict of Constantine the Great, in the Christian world execution by crucifixion was forbidden and much knowledge about this procedure was eventually forgotten. One more important fact: in the first quarter of the twentieth century French doctor A. LeBec made an assumption that death by crucifixion came as a result of suffocation. This assumption is now accepted as the main cause of death in crucifixion. As muscle fatigue increased, the crucified man sagged more and more, with inhalation still more or less possible, but exhalation became more and more difficult. As a result, inevitable muscle cramps made it possible to breathe only by means of diaphragm contraction, and this, in its turn, led to the development of suffocation, from which the crucified man died. Together with the heaviness of breathing at each attempt to change the position on the cross, the bones of the wrist and feet turned around the nails driven in, and the soft tissues of the back, damaged during scourging, were scraped on the staticulum, which caused the crucified person the most severe pain, and to speak – a person must get enough air in the lungs, so to pronounce each word the crucified person had to rise on the cross. For this purpose, each time the executed person had to lean on his nail-pierced legs and at the same time pull himself up on his hands nailed to the cross. Imagine how much pain every word spoken on the cross brought to the crucified man. If, of course, this was even possible. Especially since Jesus died three hours after the crucifixion. This fact gives the whole story even more mysticism, it seems to be simple, but it speaks of many things: from the conspiracy theory and staged performance to the paucity of imagination, miserable fantasy of the authors of the Gospels; from the original fascism, manifested by the Roman legionaries in the gambling beating of the religious-political leader of the Jews, to the femininity of Jesus' nature, sickness and poor health. And there is one more formula, explaining very logically this fact of quick death, taking into account that Jesus was not broken knees, unlike the rest executed near him (and those, if you know, did not die by the moment of declaring Jesus dead), but about it, perhaps, I will keep silent – first I will check in mission, then I will sound.

A light hum went through the hall.

– Again, I can cite the execution of Spartacus' companions as an example. Some of those executed were alive three days after the crucifixion. Remember, 6,000 people were crucified at that time, there is no reason to think that pity was shown to them before the crucifixion. The more time passed from the moment of crucifixion on the cross, the more strength the executed person lost, he had increasing cramps and muscle pain, more and more pronounced became the dislocation of the joints of the girdle of the upper limbs, more and more often he took a position that prevented normal breathing. Inhalation was carried out only at the expense of the diaphragm, which gradually led to the development of pronounced suffocation, from which eventually the crucified man died. Sometimes, in order to shorten the time of waiting for death, the bones of the shins were broken with a crucifixion hammer, as I have just mentioned. In this condition, the crucified person would quickly become asphyxiated. In about fifteen minutes. The theoretical assumption that the death of the condemned by this method of execution came from, shall we say, an inability to breathe, is now accepted by practically all those who study the matter scientifically. However, no one has been able to explain exactly how Christ died on the cross. And in this there is not only a secret, not only a mystery, but a mysterious secret, in which, however, I will not initiate you. Not yet. Perhaps you will understand, I will even say, calculate it yourself. Look, suffocation and heaviness to exhale make impossible all attempts not only to utter words, but also separate meaningful sounds. However, during the crucifixion, Jesus speaks until his last breath. This is stated in all four Gospels. For example, the Gospel of Luke says: "Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And having said this, he gave up his spirit" (Luke 23:46). As I have already said, the crucified were on the cross until the moment of death a few days, and the death of Christ came three, at most six, hours after nailing to the cross, about what is clearly enough written in the Gospels: "It was the third hour, and they crucified Him" (Mk. 15:25) and "It was about the sixth hour of the day, and there was darkness over all the earth until the hour of the ninth hour (similar to an eclipse): and the sun was darkened, and the veil in the temple was rent in the midst (this I cannot logically comment on yet)." "Jesus, crying out with a loud voice…" Please pay attention to this. This is just before he died! Don't you think he's hinting that it's time to take me down? "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And when he had said this, he gave up his spirit." (Luke 23:44-46) Neither the judges, nor the executioners, nor the sympathizers, and most importantly, nor the Pharisees who watched the crucifixion, expected Christ to die so quickly.

Rangit in the form of Christ was silent for a moment, then continued again:

– There is a factor to consider. The Pharisees were faced with a difficult choice. Accordingly, so did the Sanhedrin, whose law they were guided by. They realized that the crucified would stay on the crosses for a day or more, so at first they wanted to postpone the execution to other days. The thing is that the next day was Saturday, and it also coincided with the Passover. Waiting for the death of the executed, which usually came on the second or third day, was a serious violation of Jewish law. But then the question arises again: why did they decide to execute them all on this day? Most likely they were afraid of Pilate's change of mind. They complained against Christ both secretly and openly many times before. Most likely this was the main argument, so they decided to speed up the execution. And they went, of course, under the leadership of the Sanhedrin, since they had obtained Pilate's decision with difficulty. Let's just say they put pressure on him. They intimidated the people, they shouted… I think it would be better if I quote part of chapter 19 of John's Gospel . From it you will learn, among other things, about the much shorter time between Jesus' crucifixion and death – less than three hours. And John in this case is a very reliable source: he was a friend, a relative and was present at the execution (unlike the other future apostles who scattered in fear). According to John, at the sixth hour Pilate was still interrogating Jesus.

10 Pilate said to him, "Do you not answer me? Do you not know that I have the power to crucify you and the power to release you?

11 Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over me unless it had been given to you from above; therefore more sin is on him who delivered me to you.

12 From that time Pilate sought to release Him. But the Jews cried out, "If you let him go, you are no friend of Caesar; anyone who makes himself king is an opponent of Caesar.

13 When Pilate heard this word, he took Jesus out and sat down at the judgment seat, at a place called Lithostroton, or Gabbatha in Hebrew.

14 Then it was the Friday before the Passover, and the sixth hour. And Pilate said to the Jews, "Behold, your King!

15 But they cried out, "Take him, take him, crucify him! Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar.

16 Then at last he handed Him over to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led Him away.

I mean, he was also walking for a while. And the rest of the procedure also took time.

…Thus they themselves were faced with a difficult choice. To execute on Passover was to offend Jewish law. And they had to execute him quickly, before Pilate changed his mind. The fact is that Christ also had powerful supporters. Joseph of Arimathea, whom we shall soon remember. The rush factor was the reason why the Pharisees were forced to ask Pilate to allow an act of mercy for those being crucified – to break their shins so that the death of the executed would come soon. "But since it was then Friday, the Jews, in order that the bodies might not be left on the cross on the Sabbath – for that Sabbath was a great day – asked Pilate to break their shins and take them down" (John 19:31). Pilate authorized it, and the soldiers broke the shins of the robbers. But when the turn came to Christ, they found Him dead, so they did not break His shins. And then something unforeseen for the average person happens. Well, let's say, unforeseen for the uninformed in the rules of execution, elevated to a certain ritual. Unforeseen, I interpret the legionary guard's act as spontaneous to the uninformed. Not to the condemned, the witnesses to the execution, and certainly not to Jesus' colleagues in the rabbinate… yes, yes, Jesus was called a teacher not out of sight, not for the sake of a red word, not according to their own understanding of his role, but according to the fact of his professional activity: he really was a rabbi. So, his supporters knew about such a procedure as piercing the executed person with a spear as a method of checking whether he was alive or dead. Why I put some intrigue into this, you will have to understand in the course of the mission. This is my version, and I believe it is real.

Rangit stopped performing his magical ritual walk on the stage, looked at the invited experts and nervously, as it might seem, rubbed his beard with the fingers of his left hand. Suddenly he stopped, looked back at Rutra, went back on his trajectory, and continued his narration:

– As I have already said, the rapidity of Jesus' death surprised many people and, consequently, aroused suspicion, including the guards. For this reason, one of the Roman soldiers, wanting to be sure of the reality of Christ's death, pierced his body with a spear. Although, maybe not for this reason: they pierced the executed after they were declared dead, often, or rather, it was even in the rules. In this case, the suspicion that led to the desire to verify Jesus' death was weighty. The Gospel describes it this way, "But one of the soldiers pierced His ribs with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out…" (John 19:34-35) Here again I must remind you of the different translations and rewritings of the Bible. In particular, the Gospels. Even now the scriptures themselves differ according to denominational interpretation, albeit only slightly to the average person. I'm talking about the water. Many people here begin to interpret differently, almost to conduct forensic examinations, and I think here, as in many places, misinterpretation or translation. Let me give you an example. Perhaps it was not necessary to voice it now, as it is very shocking. I hope it doesn't detract from the topic. My point is this. Everyone… let's say, a lot of people are wondering what the numbers 666 mean, that is the number of the devil. Well, you'd be surprised…

Rangit cut his speech short.

– No, first I'll make an introduction. Let us think of a fearsome tyrant. Though he may be a benefactor to some. It's not like we live under the threat of his wrath. Okay, I'm talking about Stalin. Let me remind you, under him, you could go to hard labor just because you were needed there. And you were lucky if you weren't a laborer. Yes, yes. Guilt could be invented. For example, the reason of exile of the chief cognac master of "Ararat" factory was the need of a similar maestro somewhere else: where it was necessary to organize cognac production. A curious case is connected with this. Stalin sent Churchill, a lover of Armenian cognacs, a good drink. The latter was quite a great connoisseur in this part, preferred them. Once the British Prime Minister wrote to Stalin about the deterioration of the quality of cognac, and asked whether the master had not changed. Stalin checked the situation and ordered to return the master to his native enterprise. There are less romantic examples. I promise I won't rant for long. I will say this, you could get into disgrace, even if you smoked cigarettes with a filter (it was almost a luxury back then); did not have time to fix the tractor before the sowing season; three neighbors confirmed your idle lifestyle, so to speak, beyond your means, as it might seem; were more than 20 minutes late for work; did not hand over all the available grain after the harvest, even if the family is dying of hunger. By the way, you could have been shot for that. Though for any other reason you could have been fitted for a firing squad if you had to, and for many other similar things that now seem like idiotic reasons. If someone thought what this is about, I'll add: for such a thing you could get, not counting the shooting, of course, 10 years without the right to correspondence. Bourgeois ways and suspicion of a lifestyle beyond one's means were valued at that much. But there was a law, according to which you were shot, not in exile, not in prison, but shot for three spikelets. If you were found picking grain in the field, even after the harvest, you were guaranteed prison. And if you were caught with three spikelets plucked before the harvest – you were shot, and even from the age of twelve. Hard to believe, isn't it? You know why I'm digressing, don't you? I'll tell you why. Imagine those times, those mores. The Roman emperor had to be recognized as God's vicar on earth, a saint. Do you understand, whence the definition of the title of the Pope, and all other megalomaniacs, including the cult of personality of Stalin? Although the cult of Lenin was the leaven of his cult, and this baton goes all the way back to the Stone Age. Alas, such is the nature of man. So, naturally, the Jews had no love for the invaders, much less Christians for Nero. Let me explain. First, the method of writing. I will say this, all these punctuation marks, rules of writing, you understand, once appeared; many signs, for example, from mathematics at Archimedes did not exist. Not only that, but they were written in the same way – in a merged form and without capital letters. And there were also letters with numbers and numbers with letters. Remember the Roman letters. I will not delay with the solution of the rebus, I reveal the cards: in the Roman mathematical alphabet… that is, in the Roman mathematical alphabet 666 is arranged into letters in the same way as the word, or rather, the name is arranged… – the voice suddenly stopped. – I decided to leave the intrigue to the last moment," Rangit said playfully after a pause. – To explain: the Jews could not write about him openly and, observing conspiracy, encrypted the messages by a method of unsophisticated, but known only to a narrow circle of the initiated cryptography.

Rangit approached the edge of the pulpit, raised the index finger of his left hand, shook it a little and said:

– Yes, with all your unconditional awareness… I will take into account this awareness in different categories and directions of sciences. I will make the necessary clarification, without guessing whether you know or not: the ability to write professionally, namely texts (and not slang "wall language", often vulgar), was a privilege of the elite, as difficult as the specialization of IT-engineers nowadays. So, they wanted to encrypt his name, so as not to fall into disgrace, that is, to the same cross or something even more terrible… He used much more sophisticated in terms of torture and abuse methods of execution. But not about that now. Initially, they wanted to hide their definition of the emperor as an enemy of the Jews and Christians in particular… although Orthodox Jews and Jewish-Christians sometimes did not get along well… to designate him as a very bad man, a tyrant, a devil, Satan, and then his name became a kind of metaphor, while keeping the deciphering secret. Exactly in secrecy – otherwise His name would have been turned into a funny errative, the emotional deterrence would have been lost. It is so simple, it turns out, though not easy, because I did not reveal His name.

The holographic image of a Semitic or Arab man on the stage, dressed in the garb of the beginning of the era, laughed, revealing the yellowness of his grin. In the audience, his laughter and facial expressions evoked apprehension and dislike rather than emotional support. Those gathered pondered who he was, and thought about solving the mystery of the millennia. The hall was suspiciously silent, and tension was in the air.

– I promise you will learn this secret during the mission," Rangit hastened to defuse the situation with the same broad smile.

This time she elicited a response, after a couple seconds and a few sighs the hall began to whisper.

– Now let's go back. Let's go back to blood and water, or rather, water. And let's not forget the time of the writing of the Gospels. That is, with the passage of time, the story has been overgrown with inaccuracies and additions, misinterpretation, incorrect explanation. What to speak of editing, much less the extant version. Although the mention of water is not of great importance to us, I have focused on it incidentally, for attention to the form of the narrative and to the variants of the story. Many consider it a sign of death. But why? Does water ooze out of a dead body? I assure you, no.

This last statement elicited the now customary slight smile from the audience. The so-called Jesus smiled back and continued:

– Let's move on. Such a speedy death of Christ surprised not only those present, but Pilate himself. I will quote again: "…Joseph of Arimathea, a famous member of the council, who himself was expecting the kingdom of God, came and dared to enter Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised that He was already dead, and calling the centurion, asked him how long had He been dead? And having learned from the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph" (Mark 15:43-45). There is an opinion of a specialist in forensic medicine on this case. Here it is.

In the space in front of the audience appeared a text in a frame of three-dimensional letters, perceived as a 3D image.

– Quote: "…The noted series of circumstances of the death of Jesus Christ, which is given in the Gospels, namely – the relatively rapid onset of death, the ability of Jesus Christ to clearly pronounce words until the last minutes of life, the clarity of consciousness retained by the crucified man until his death, as well as the flow of blood and water that flowed from the wound inflicted on him posthumously by a spear, allow us to doubt the validity of the asphyxial genesis of Christ's death...." Realizing these inconsistencies, experts began to look for other causes of Jesus' death. True, they did not think about the main factor, but about it later. I will not disclose it for the time being. While on this issue I will voice the following: in 1949 in The Hibbert Journal there was published an article by R. Primrose, "The Surgeon looks at Jesus' death. Primrose "A Surgeon Looks at the Crucifixion", where it was claimed that the death of Jesus Christ on the cross was imaginary, and the lethal outcome was caused by a spear thrust. At first this version was accepted as true. After experts decided that this is a mistake. That is, in their opinion, I note – professional, it could not be with a dead man. Especially, I note again, water. And again I remind you, perhaps it is not about water… or water is mentioned in an allegorical sense. There are other opinions as to why Jesus died. Here are some …cardiac arrhythmia (Johnson C., 1978), progressive acidosis (Wijffels F., 2000), pulmonary embolism (Brenner B., 2005) led to the rapid onset of death. However, they do not explain the oozing of blood and water from the wound inflicted by the spear. There are various versions of the cause of Jesus' death, as well as his physiological and psychological state during the execution, but the main factor should be taken into account – there is no data in the Gospels that could testify to any change of consciousness in Christ. All his speeches on the cross and his behavior are completely sensible. That is why this version is the closest for me. Of course, if we do not take into account the factor that I have not yet voiced. Or rather, this is the version, which, by the way, we have to check.

Having said the last, Rangit, having made a turn around his axis, suddenly appeared in the holographic image of a famous scientist showing his tongue. It happened masterfully and spectacularly – the audience expressed their feelings with a second's delay. They were vague emotions, but the flashes of admiration and surprise showed the brightness of their colors. The hyped-up brand of imagery intrigued, and the sight of a comical grandfather with his tongue sticking out made the audience laugh. The listeners, who, although attentive, but without emotion, calmly, perceived the information, buzzed, expressing in whispers a clear interest.

– Among other things," Rangit added, smiling, realizing the delight in the change of image, "the mission will be sent to different worlds to verify the different variations of the Gospel story. After all, there are reasonable assumptions that there was no such story at all.

He silently began to scratch his head amusedly, looked at his audience stupidly, said quietly, as if in confidence:

– There was no whole person image at all – one Savior. So Jesus is a collective image…perhaps.

After saying this, he maintained the silence in the room with silence on the stage, waiting for the thought processes to end.

– Now let's move on to completion… and I won't torture you any more," Rangit informed in the voice of a movie character.

– Really like Pilate," said the lady, who looked like the famous French singer Mireille Mathieu, with a comical grimace.

She was known to her colleagues in the expert community by her star name Venus. She clearly wanted to tease the ISKIN, judging by her cocky manner.

– Did Pilate express himself like that? – Rangit threw back.

– That's just what we'll check," she parried without a fraction of strain.

– All right, let's hear it," the lecturer continued, taking on his original appearance in an instant.

This time the reincarnation energized the audience and caused fun.

Satisfied with the response Jesus continued:

– After scrupulously examining the many theories of Jesus' death, M. W. Maslen and P. D. Mitchell (2006) expressed doubts about all the medical versions that explain Jesus' death. In their opinion, not one version can adequately explain the death of Christ. These experts suggested that possible new archaeological or some other, preferably written, evidence, such as the Qumran evidence, might clarify the true cause of Christ's death. It should be noted that the ancient Greeks and Romans referred to the liquid part of blood, as well as all transparent body fluids (e.g., pericardial fluid) as water. The Romans used the word lympha to refer to the water that is part of the blood and flows through the body, while the Greeks used the word hydōr. Note that doctors and biologists of all countries still refer to the liquid part of the blood as lymph, and use the root hydōr to refer to the accumulation of fluids in individual body cavities. Yet this does not explain the event authentically described in the Gospel, nor does it speak of a real physical process.

Saying the last, Rangit did the same trick, turning around himself, appearing for a moment in the image of the genie from "One Thousand and One Nights," with the jug on the floor being quite real, said:

– I'll dematerialize," he climbed into the jug and… disappeared with it.

To say that the audience was bewildered is possible. But that would not reflect their true state of mind, for Rangit could "read" their thoughts. Knowing, he waited. And when the degree of neuron excitement began to subside – it appeared again, making the contacts of dendrites and axons shimmer – Darth Vedder appeared on the stage.

The listeners looked at the holographic image in silence, which apparently did not suit Rangit, so his image changed. In his next incarnation, he appeared as a character from the same Star Wars epic, a C-3PO droid. It was a humanoid (in form), somewhat comical character that amused the audience. When the audience moved away from the magic tricks, it was time for discussion. It was an easy outlet for overheated brains. Without waiting for the end of the mild controversy that arose spontaneously in the audience, a lady, a statistician of the World Council of Churches, said:

– Don't tell me you have everything.

Rangit replied in the same style.

– That's it. The rest, I'm sorry, is in the mission itself.

Chapter 6. Where faith ends and religion begins

Rutra came on stage, smiling, and asked:

– What do you think of our showman?

– Quite," came the lady's alto.

– Is this technology patented? – the question was asked.

The voice belonged to the world-famous founder of the Internet giant, who had the status of a Bilderberg Club member.

Ruthra smiled, and it was clear from the questioner's answering smile that he knew the answer to his own question.

Then Rutra, waving his hands as if to ask "no more questions?", introduced the experts to the keynote speaker:

– Our longtime friend, a professor of theology at the Institute of World Culture… he will tell you the story of our subject in a multivariate focus and perspective. I hope you find him fascinating. Questions are welcome. From time to time, ISKIN and possibly me will enter into the dialog, and you will not necessarily see me.

Suddenly, Rangit appeared in his original form, then began to alternate between the characters he was, and finally took on the image of… Rutra. The audience, already quite tempted by his manners, gasped. Rutra responded to their cheers and exclamations with a clarification:

– Get used to him. Everyone here has already gotten used to it and adopted the slogan: "He is always with us, he is always with you, he is always everywhere". As you have probably already realized, Rangit is an integral part of our team and our experiment together with you. By the way, he was born here, in the secret center of scientific research, at a depth of 147 meters, in the Nordenskjöld Bay of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. So he is in his homeland, although he can be anywhere.

A wave of questioning looks passed among the audience.

– So the server that reflects us is out there? – asked one of the experts, the head of the International Institute of Globalization Problems.

– Rather than a server, it's more like a processor station," explained the I.T. guy, co-chairman of the Internet giant's board of directors.

Rutra decided not to distract the meeting with details, especially since it was classified information anyway, so tacitly emphasizing the possibility of the Sphere Concern was enough.

– So, if I may have your attention, Professor of Theology," Rutra pronounced the name of the institution in Italian, "Istituto per le Opere di Religione, Nomor Ffitnop. Let me make it clear again, you can not only listen, but also ask questions.

A man in his sixties, slightly taller than average, slender, in a white robe, gray-haired, came from backstage. For those who understood, he was a presbyter. He had an elongated face, very white, even sickly white, and a melodious voice. The latter became clear as soon as he began to speak. And he began as soon as two assistants helped him to make himself comfortable at the table.

– I greet you, my friends," the theologian began sweetly. – I suppose I have the right to address you that way," he said, looking at the audience, his head slightly raised. – I usually say my children," he smiled again. – I am concerned about the perception of such an address in our time. Many people nowadays have come to regard it very inadequately. I am thankful for the acceptance of all of us as God's creatures. Please forgive me for such a beginning. Believe me, in other audiences and on other topics I conduct dry scientific dialectics. In this case, because of the similarity of the topic, I would say, because of their intersection… – he stopped talking, rolled his eyes a little, thought about something, then added: – Let me explain my position on dialectics. I put the following meaning into dialectics. Or rather, to put the sense – it would be wrongly said. Probably, it is a definition. Judge for yourself, if we take dialectics as such… – he was silent again, – or rather, you most likely know this definition of dialectics – a method of argumentation in philosophy, as well as a form and method of reflexive theoretical thinking, which investigates the contradictions found in the conceivable content of this thinking. Speaking in earthly terms, I will allow myself to make such a joke, – the art of arguing, of reasoning. But please note that dialectics has another definition, and that is the key to my…" the theologian looked at Rutra, "a speech, perhaps," he said, receiving a mutual smile, "a lecture or a report, whoever will accept it," the theologian added, and looked intently into the hall, studying the facial expressions of his listeners. – I will apply dialectics, without reducing the degree of attention of observation, as a philosophical science of universal laws of movement and development of nature, human society and thinking. As a scientific method of cognition of eternally moving and changing phenomena of nature and society by revealing internal contradictions and struggle of opposites, leading to a leapfrog transition from one quality to another.

Ruthra tapped his fingers lightly on the table, signaling to the professor. He nodded, realizing his procrastination, exchanged a friendly smile, and began to speak.

– So, I hope you have not forgotten about the beginning," he smiled, raised the index finger of his left hand demonstratively upwards, and said instructively, "in the beginning was the word. I beg your pardon, it was a joke, in terms of my beginning, – he smiled again at the audience. – I wanted to remind you of the beginning of my dialog with you. That is what I will be emphasizing. I hope that the dialog will take place and that we will not violate the truth in the dispute," he looked at Rutra again, "everything will be within the laws, God's or the metaphysics of the universe.

Such dialog cheered up the bored audience, and laughter ran through the hall.

– Honorable gentlemen," the theologian went on, "I confess that I would have liked to debate the main subject of the Honorable Master's experiment," he pointed with a graceful gesture of the palm of his hand at Rutra, "but the Lord has called me here for another purpose. I was speaking of life," Ffitnop continued with a serious face. – If life must be different on other worlds, why is it different on Earth? Intelligent life. For all the diversity of forms, only humans have become intelligent. Though other species live longer if you look at evolution. So there's a universal rule.

– Why are there twelve apostles and only four gospels? – suddenly came from the audience.

This was the same software engineer who was known online under the nickname Hacker in Law.

– No," replied the professor, not the least bit embarrassed. – Everything is not simple there at all. And there are more Gospels, and not all those who wrote are apostles of Christ. It's not all there at all as we know it. Well, let's just say it's not exactly as we know it. Before I begin, I'm going to summarize the chapters of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This will enable you to understand the story, the narrative that most people understand.

– The majority? – came over the air, and it was a woman's voice.

– Yes," replied Ffitnop, glancing around for the coloratura soprano.

The hall was differently lit, decently darkened, so it created a magical flavor.

– There are four versions. And they all belong to the so-called Abrahamic religions," the theologian explained.

– To what? – this question came from a programmer.

He and the lady who had asked the question before were sitting next to each other, whispering about something in a very friendly way, judging by the muffled giggles. The lady had been explaining something to the man since the beginning of the meeting, often using gestures.

The presbyter did not elaborate. He looked around the room, apparently waiting for each one to reveal the subject personally. His calculation was correct.

– They are called Abrahamic after the name of their inventor," the lady began to explain to all her classmates with an expression of pleasure at the opportunity to express her understanding, glancing at Rutra and the instructor-informant.

Her friend, who was both an employee of UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, entered the conversation a little unapologetically. From what she said, the degree of awareness at the domestic level became clear.

– There was an Abram once. You know the biblical Abraham, don't you? It's the same person. He invented all these religions," she explained, looking around at her neighbors.

Hearing the muffled smirks, she clarified in a disgruntled tone:

– Well, not invented – founded, substantiated, is a founding father… is that better?

After a couple seconds of silent reaction from the audience, she summarized:

– Four, as far as I know.

Here, apparently, Nomor couldn't take it anymore.

– Mademoiselle, if I may call you so," he addressed her affectionately, stretching out his words, "and tell me, for God's sake, what are the four?

– Why are you doing this? I didn't hurt you," she said indignantly, as if they were parties in a court of law.

His opponent made a surprised expression and rounded his eyes, raising his eyebrows.

– Are you saying I don't know what I'm talking about? – she continued.

– What makes you think that? – the professor parried. – I didn't mean to offend you in the slightest. Let's hear your version in more detail, then.

Already all present were waiting with interest for the sequel.

– Well there is Orthodoxy, Catholics, Muslims, and the Jews' own religion.

Now she looked questioningly at Nomore, as if waiting for his approval. The assistants slightly increased the light in the auditorium.

– Go on," he asked her with a sense of pleasure.

– And what to go on, here they are all invented by Abraham.

After a second of comprehension, she added:

– No, not that he invented it, no: others invented it on the basis of his conjecture about monotheism. That's what it's called, isn't it? – she asked a little more quietly.

The instructor sighed, thumbs up.

– Let me make it clear. I have to familiarize you briefly with the content of the Gospel, and then I can go into more detail about all religions. Is there anything else anyone else wants to explain?

Everyone chose to remain silent. There was irony on the faces of some members about the interpretation of Venus. This code name was established by Rutra in the program documents, which could be shared, without the "top secret" stamp. Following this fabula, the head of the Jupiter concern received the code name of the mentioned planet.

– Unity, – realizing the reluctance of the audience to express their opinion, began the theologian, – that is, belief in one God, and a humanoid one at that, is the highest degree of development of the spiritual thought of mankind. Earlier, before Christianity, and even now in many beliefs, there was paganism. There were many gods. All of them were different, each was in charge of his own celestial economy and was the master of some forces and phenomena of nature. One of the first who decided to make a religious revolution was Amenhotep IV, one of the pharaohs of Egypt. Amenhotep IV plotted a great religious reform to replace the ancient traditional form of polytheism with a new cult of a single solar god. There were certain socio-economic reasons behind this reform. This idea of Amenhotep IV was supported by the majority of the population of Egypt. Of course, it was mostly ordinary people. The reason was the following: conquest wars of pharaohs of XVIII dynasty led to enrichment of only a small group of court nobility and severely reflected on a position of the laboring population of the country, and the most important, why the reform was religious – the largest riches were accumulated in temples. By the way, the roots of Christianity from the same place. Or rather, in the volume of the general theme that emerged. All religions, the Abrahamic ones, come from there, in fact. Partially, of course. Moses adopted many of the rituals. He is usually described in the context of "without dignity or rank," but many scholars claim he was a cleric. That is, he was a religious figure. A kind of religious dissident. So he decided to justify his religion. I will say even more, and this is not only my personal opinion, let it not be blasphemy: except for the biblical reference, there are no other grounds to attribute him to Jewish origin. By the way, there is none other than the Bible. But still, reading between the lines, one comes to think: he took his flock, not so much a people, in particular the ancient Jews, as an exodus. Perhaps, for some time his religious doctrine was allowed, and after it multiplied and, perhaps, began to have its supporters in the power structures, it was declared heresy. And most likely it was not the first such case in the history of mankind. I am sure you are aware of such phenomena in modern times as well.

After this, the rapporteur gave some time to reflect on what he had heard. This was used by one of the members of the expert committee.

– Were the Abrahamic religions the creation of Moses or the idea of Abraham? – asked for clarification a man who, according to Rutra's typing formula, resembled the cosmonaut Titov, for which reason he was recorded under the code name Eagle.

In the world, he was the head of the DARPA directorate. The sign in front of him read: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, responsible for developing new technologies.

– As I have already said… – the lecturer, apparently out of inertia, began to continue what he had started, – well, well, I will explain, and then what I wanted to say. Abrahamic religions are religions that as if came out of one root. There lived such a man Abraham, he tended his flocks, he was not poor. He lived first in the region between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, which now flow through Iraq, and then through Babylonia. I'm just kidding. As and where they flowed, so they flow now. Babylon became Iraq. How he got there, of course, history is silent, all peoples were once nomads, but in the process of either wandering, or traveling, or nomadic, he ended up in Palestine. It was then called Canaan. There he agitated nomadic shepherds, transit merchants, and locals to become adherents of his religion. He even wanted to sacrifice his son for the sake of his faith and the truth of his religious doctrine. Then he came to his senses. Or rather, – well, I think so, and he who believes, believes – God said to him, "Don't do it, it's enough to sacrifice a lamb. But, interestingly enough, his wife was barren for many years, and this Abraham, driving his flocks through the countries, took a second wife, younger and fertile.

Someone chuckled.

– Why? It was normal back then. It was not normal that he lived with a childless woman for so many years. And now this Hagar gives birth to a son, and Sarah, the first wife, naturally disliked her and insisted that he cast her out. Later, either out of jealousy or the Holy Spirit helped, Sarah also gives birth to a son. All would have been nothing if Sarah had not by this time passed 90 years of age.

Some smiled ironically, apparently knowing the story, while others almost laughed.

– You can go a lot deeper into Bible stories, and almost any story, so let me tell you a story related to the Gospels. By the way, the gospel, the "good news," is the New Testament, and what came before Christ is the Old Testament.

He looked around at his listeners, smiled sweetly.

– I talk a lot out of habit, I apologize. I realize my story is not new to many. However, the Jews are opposed to the last statement. They do not recognize Christ as God, prophet, or messiah. The Muslims at least recognize him as a prophet, but they are against him. But I will tell you honestly, do not judge them harshly, they have their own good reasons. The divine essence of Jesus is a subject of great controversy in the Christian world, but his identity as a prophet is not in doubt. Again, however, there is complete antagonism. This is how I characterize atheism. Although atheism is more broad spectrum…the very definition. Okay, let's not flip through the pages of a related program. So, this Abraham is sort of considered to be the first preacher of religious tenets, on the basis of which Judaism, Christianity with all its many offshoots, and Islam and its offshoots, too, were later born and crystallized. And now let us turn to the main topic.

This statement caused movement among the listeners. They were clearly tired of sitting for so long. Ruthra tapped his fingers on the table to get Phfitnop's attention and, receiving it, nodded and announced a fifteen-minute break. After the allotted time for rest, the professor, glancing at his modest watch, not waiting for the audience to fully assemble, continued his part of the speech.

– As I have already said, it will be very useful to you in the process of mission realization. By the way, from the usual everyday understanding of faith and unbelief, we now have an associative mental and logical reaction to the words "faith" and "believe" when it comes to religion. It was originally about literal faith in the resurrection and the whole story. And then it got so twisted that the concepts of faith and unbelief became all about human attitudes toward good and evil. I'll tell you right away, I'm being frank with you here. There," he pointed with an open palm to the side, and a holographic model of the planet appeared in space, "I am saying something else.

Listeners buzzed over the revelation . The scale of braggadocio was slightly peaking, but after that the equalizer scale of logical clarity began to dominate. The amplitude of the respect-reverence scale also went up. All this was analyzed by Rangit based on the results of constant brain scanning of "applicants".

– You understand, religion is the opium of the people… it is the revelation of a person who has consumed this very opium in a physical and in a spiritual sense. Otherwise the experience is false. Or… "the state can be ruled by a cook". All this characterizes the inner world of a person. I would say that… – he scratched the tip of his nose playfully, – okay, or I'll go away again, we all periodically go away, – now he twitched the edge of his mouth, – the main thing is not to cross the point of no return. A lot of things. And the examples I gave to prove it, – he looked silently into the hall again, – yes, yes, I am putting the thought together like this, the association of God with good and love… and of his opponents with evil became logical and self-evident for human consciousness.

The audience began to look at each other and whisper. The reason was the strange structure of the honorable scientist's speech.

– In those times, though not only in those times, it was necessary to declare a monopoly on truth in order to usurp power. After all, such a thing is always relevant, you will agree. That is, the truth could only be from God, and God Himself became a cult for everyone voluntarily and compulsorily. In modern interpretation we can explain it as a monopoly on minerals, natural monopolies – power grids, railroads, highways and the like. Someone will say now, they are in different private hands, at least in capitalist states with free economy. And I'll answer you: there are dozens of different religious sects. For the most soulless system, which is the amorphous system of the state, the power of one person, clan, clan, even party is a threat. The aura of power and the people in power are different substances. The system of power, what I'm talking about, what I'm associatively comparing, that monopoly and this one… in the case of the state, in addition to owning the basic sources that give capital, there is a system of governance. It is the rule and the mechanism, I would even say, the instrument in any system folded into a power structure. This system is subject to the very aura of power, to a certain imperial spirit. It includes management systems: law enforcement, tax systems and the like. The structure varies more and less in ownership depending on the capitalist and, for example, communist system. Either way it is a monopoly on something that everyone needs. No matter how much people blaspheme God, there is no way they want to, if not can't, live without God. It is the same, for example, with law enforcement, military, and medical systems. No matter how much we scold them, there is no way to live without them… I have left the main topic a little bit. Let's go back. As I said, you need to know the gospel stories for your mission. This is necessary both for proper maneuvering within the story itself and for understanding the truth or fiction outside of the story. Knowing at least the story that is officially accepted by almost everyone, you will be able to use it by giving, for example, appropriate quotes from the Gospel to defend your own point of view in discussions on domestic and religious topics. Knowing the theme that has developed historically in the minds and understanding of the masses will enable you to know what the main characters mentioned in the story itself do not know.

– Oh, you're telling me something very abstruse, and you promised me a simpler story, – Venus was definitely not satisfied, a certain gender loneliness of the person with the code name of the commission member was evident.

– Actually, if you look at religious doctrines from the outside, there is a certain inclination towards dictatorship and totalitarianism," the professor answered her serenely, which definitely suppressed her will.

She made no retort or indignation. He continued in his own way.

– As for Christianity specifically…and since it is from a single root, this is true of all Abrahamic religions as well. I am emphasizing on some places concerning the receipt of teachings and knowledge. I will not quote passages from the text, as I promised, and I do not like it, I think even one episode with the so-called fall into sin is enough. After all, why did God kicked Eve and Adam out of paradise? By the way, do not forget, even better always take into account: biblical stories also carry some hidden, even mystical meaning. I am talking here about Eve and Adam. After all, here we do not mean directly people as two persons. The question is broader. Many of you know the meaning of their names.

– Eve is 'life', Adam is 'man'," a thunderous brutal timbre sounded over the airwaves without announcing his call sign.

It was Rangit, whom everyone already recognized, though he could mimic any voice.

To -clarify a bit, the name Eve means "giver of life," and Adam is not only "man," but also "earth." According to the scripture, according to that very secret meaning, Adam as if personifies the whole human race. In any case, from these positions the meaning of the narrative is already revealed in a different way. It's not just two lovers making a mess, it's a whole system. Not for nothing… yes, I think it is necessary, though you all know it already, to indicate where the beds of secret rivers are. As it is known, Eve tasted, either on the recommendation or on the agreement of a certain creature, which is designated as a serpent, something that is designated as a fruit, namely – an apple. Is that what happened after she tasted it? She became, to say the least, intelligent, insightful, knowledgeable. The most interesting thing is that she was the first to realize. And even more interesting is why and how, because she had no examples, no information. Here, and everywhere in the Bible, in all religious texts, one must take into account sober, so to speak, empirical conclusions, arguments and logical considerations. What I mean is this: in order to properly understand the meaning and draw conclusions, logical consideration is necessary. It is necessary at least to imagine oneself as a complete stranger to the Christian religion, that is, as an adherent of another religion, or better yet, as an atheist, or even better, as a person who does not know about the existence of the biblical stories at all. Otherwise we will have a more one-sided view of events. Well, for example, if you are a Christian, you will more scientifically reveal the essence, make a scientific analysis of religious texts, for example, Hinduism. So, the first thing Eve noticed was that she was naked.

– And she asked for a fur coat," a stray swallow of a mischievous voice suddenly slipped into the monotonous information field.

Strangely enough, the author of the replica turned out to be a representative of the Kurchatov Institute, a Nobel laureate in the field of subatomic particle energy. According to Rutra's classification, he was codenamed Mercury.

Having uttered the remark, he hastened to apologize and designate himself:

– Hopefully, orbital friends will forgive little Mercury's humble banter.

The audience supported him with friendly laughter and turned to listen, for not a single facial muscle on Ffitnop's face was deformed. He gazed serenely into the hall and, when the audience gave in to his hypnotic gaze, he answered:

– According to the legend, there was no need for her to have a fur coat there, but she asked for clothes. Now the question is, how did she know what shame was? I mean, she hid from God. That is, first of all, God here is almost the same as the pagans, walking among his creatures, just like them. Secondly, when he found out that Eve tasted from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and gave her husband a taste, he became angry and drove them out of their comfort zone. That's me putting it in modern terms. Besides, pay attention, there was nothing else to sin with except this fruit. Here I have to make a little disclaimer, but this disclaimer will be a red line through the whole narrative. And I ask you, please, do not lose sight of it. It is very important, because it is only by understanding it that you will be able to grasp the essence of the narrative correctly. And now here it is: all of this is written by people! People! And don't ever forget that. This understanding, interpretation, logic of thinking… even if you believe or admit the divine, even alien, origin of the very idea of this story… all the same it was understood by people, those who wrote it, and before many centuries simply orally transmitted it, in a human way, that is in that logic, which was inherent to them, available to them by the level of development. It may be a little difficult to understand such a representation of the reality of existence, but let us consider the following: God does not perform miracles to please humans. So, sorry, it is better to accept the fact that your interlocutor, neighbor, brother, brother-in-law, matchmaker, whoever, will adhere to another form of reasonable explanation of the metaphysics of the universe.

After saying this, the professor took a breath, took a noticeable sigh, as if what he had said was difficult for him, and, swallowing saliva, continued:

– Complex, perhaps, but in fact simple. It is difficult, but it conveys the essence of the story in the most truthful way in terms of logic and true understanding of what is happening. Be very attentive to this point, because people begin to argue, not taking into account the presence of many versions of the story, many editions of the scripture, and most importantly – the presentation of human understanding. Exactly the presentation of human understanding. And people, keep in mind and the time of origin of history, wrote according to their understanding, their worldview of being, happening and the state of reality. Therefore, when someone argues with someone, say, look, it says this and that, always take into account that this is not a scientific work, not a documentary chronicle, but a free statement, interpretation of what is happening. And another point – not only what is happening. Let some believers forgive me, but religious stories – and I call all biblical stories religious – are largely not reflected in historical chronicles. And if they are, they are told in a completely different chronology and factual reality.

The manner and style of the theologian's speech, and he told his stories, though serene, but very inspired, intrigued the audience and brought novelty to the "powdered" image of a well-known story. There was no question of boredom. They listened to him with interest. Applause was heard to confirm it. At first modest claps of one, and then there was a flurry of emotions. After the hall calmed down, there was silence. As it turned out, from Rangit's unspoken analysis, it was caused by misunderstanding. The one to whom the applause was intended was the one to speak. Even Rutra was surprised by this. After the conference, Ruthra analyzed the cognitive scanning reports of Nomor's reaction and found that he had thought it was sarcastic irony, but later it became clear that his views were shared.

– I, of course, would like to voice a lot of things regarding my conclusions, but, alas, I have a clear task. Therefore, if, of course, you wish, I will try to fly quickly through the obligatory program, and after that… and after that, as they say, there will be another time. I hope you understand me. Let me remind you once again, perhaps someone, and maybe everyone, counted on some romance connected with such a training program, but again, alas, knowledge is knowledge, no matter what position your body is in, it is always the same in the brain and memory. This is also a certain postulate, like the constancy of the speed of light. So, first of all, so to speak, for stimulus, what will information training give you in general terms? It is necessary, as I have already said or hinted… yes, yes, I leave room for your own reflection… So, knowledge of the topic will give you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with answers to popular questions related to repetitions and discrepancies of texts in the Evangelists, the events of Jesus' death and resurrection, the commandments of the Sermon on the Mount, references to John the Baptist, interpretation of parables, and so on. Let's continue with the Gospel of Mark, because it's the shortest, sort of, in terms of our teaching position. But the Gospel of Matthew, perhaps this is my subjective opinion, is the most detailed. It devotes almost seven chapters to the Sermon on the Mount, for example. The Gospel of Matthew is suitable for those who are interested in the theoretical part of the doctrine and the history of the life of Jesus Christ.

The lecturer gave a little time to the "applicants" to decide whether they had questions or not, and proposed the next "chapter":

– The Gospel of Luke. It contains the greatest variety of parables and descriptions of events. The Gospel of John is… perhaps, I would say, the most interesting and diverse. It repeats and supplements the previous three Gospels, and it already shows the censorship and propaganda, if I may say so, that has passed since the time of the events described. I say this because it emphasizes the perception of Jesus as Love, Truth, Word and Light in the world. This is where you must properly, in a sort of Nietzschean way, understand with pure reason. The way I have suggested to you, for an unbiased perception. That is, you must feel yourselves not only not Christians, not only not religious, but also not inhabitants of the planet in question. You must be unbiased statists. Why? Because this whole story described in the book of Bereshit (the book of Genesis – the first book of the Torah, the Old Testament and the whole Bible), may Gods and believers forgive me, and most of all – believers in Christ… by the way, I can't help saying again, the very question "do you believe?" has a different meaning than the one formed in minds now… and even then, as well as the story described in this book.

The listeners were a little puzzled by the strange way of constructing the lecturer's speech: the incompleteness of the first part of the sentence and the Christian theologian's use of the name Bereshit instead of the Book of Genesis. However, the professor himself apparently thought that everything should be clear to everyone. He continued by explaining the second part of the sentence:

– Initially, it had a meaning: do you believe in the Immaculate Conception, in the resurrection from the dead, in the divine election and divinity of Christ? That is, it was something new, as a religion for the lower, let's say simpler, common people. As sad as it is, we humans usurp everything, because before Christ, God was for the rich. People were considered equal before God strictly on the caste principle. Later, of course, everything was perverted again – a king, tsar, emperor or other ruler was appointed to rule over people with God's blessing.

He made a cocky "ts" sound with a curl of his lips that rustled clearly on the airwaves, while showing an "ok" gesture with his fingers and blinking one eye.

– I'm sorry, why do we see some decorations of religious scenes in paintings? I'd like to see the faces with whom in the group.

It was a ringing female voice, so I didn't have to specify whose it was. However, they decided to make a joke.

– And you, Venus, what shape are you in at the moment? – Mars asked.

Knowing his mischievous disposition, most chuckled. There was a chuckle on the air, which did not embarrass the lady in the least.

– Oh, my goodness. By the way, I'm supposed to be the Magdalene. So I might as well get erotic. I have nothing to be embarrassed about.

– All right, let's get on with it… it's business as usual.

– An hour," Mercury hinted as if wanting a speedy conclusion.

– By the way, who will be Maria? – A woman's voice sounded again.

– You will be. It's not like we can send all the characters. Remember, your purpose is to correct the course of history. That's why you may not have to go into Maria's mind," Ruthra explained.

And then a wave of understanding of the presence of an invisible observer swept through everyone's consciousness, or somehow the subjects had forgotten about it. It was Rangit who reminded of himself and his capabilities.

– Let's continue, I'll try not to take too long. Yes, by the way, about how and what to see and perceive – that's also part of the program, so let's test mental communication, that is, silent communication, – Nomor suggested. – Ready?

The audience was silent.

– We focus on John. In his Gospel, Jesus' identity is more openly presented by the narrator as not of this world, and parallels are drawn between the Father and the Son. I recommend to study it in detail, it will help you when in the program you directly have to join the ranks of Jesus' followers with a sermon. Though for the beginning I would advise you to start with studying the summary of the Gospel of Luke, which is full of events of the life of Jesus Christ, descriptions of miracles and healings, and includes many individual parables and popular Gospel quotations. A few words about it now. A summary of the Gospel of Luke. So, what you'll find in it....

Two predictions by an angel about the births of Jesus by Mary and John the Baptist to Zechariah and Elizabeth. Zechariah did not believe and became numb for 9 months. Mary asked the angel for details and visited Elizabeth.

The birth of Jesus in the cave of Bethlehem. The joyful appearance of the angels to the shepherds. Circumcision of Jesus. The sacrifice for the firstborn, the prophecies of Simeon and Anna. Jesus at the age of 12 was lost in the Jerusalem temple for three days.

John baptizes, washing the people in the Jordan River, preaching the doctrine of repentance. He denounces King Herod and is imprisoned. Thunder at Jesus' baptism, the Holy Spirit from Heaven. Jesus is 30 years old, thought to be the son of Joseph.

Jesus interprets the Old Testament in the synagogues, some like it and others are furious. Heal the sick, Peter's mother-in-law.

The calling of the apostles Peter, James and John with the promise of catching people. Healing a leper and lowering a paralyzed man from a roof with forgiveness of sins.

Elects 12 apostles. Preaches the commandments.

Jesus confirms to John the Baptist that He is the Messiah. Glorifies John in front of everyone, but rebukes the Pharisees. Forgives the sinner.

Jesus calmed the storm, drove a legion of demons into pigs, and raised Jairus' daughter.

Jesus told the 70 disciples to preach, to heal from demons, to spend the night with the worthy, to eat everything.

The Lord's Prayer.

Keep the commandments, give all to the poor, you will find Heaven. About death and resurrection.

The glorification of Jesus as He entered Jerusalem on a donkey. Jesus drove the merchants and shoppers out of the Temple.

Give God's things to God and taxes to Caesar.

The preparation of the Passover, the Last Supper. Drink wine and eat bread in remembrance of Jesus. The new covenant is in the blood for you. Judas kisses and Jesus is seized at night in the garden, Peter denied. Sanhedrin sentenced to condemnation.

Jesus is accused before Pilate, but Pilate disagrees and sends him to Herod. Herod finds no guilt. The crowd demands death. Crucifixion of Jesus and the villains. Jesus dies in an eclipse and is buried in a cave by Joseph.

On Sunday it appeared that the cave tomb was empty. An angel told the women that Jesus was alive. The resurrected Jesus appeared to the two disciples, the eleven apostles, eating fish and honey. Ascension of Jesus. The disciples praise God in the Temple.

…I see this abbreviated interpretation says little to those who know the Gospel story, and little to those who do not know the Gospel story. So I will spend a more informative time with my story. So: The New Testament. The Gospels. Preliminary information. The word "gospel" means "good news," "pleasant, joyful, good news." It is the name given to the first four books of the New Testament that recount the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The vast majority of Christians honor him as the son of God. Except that it turns out to be a curious situation. It is as if he is his own father and his own son. Though in ancient religions there were many sons of God. Every little king called himself a son of God. Who had a strong power and could create a succession, respectively, to prolong his personality cult even after his death, was later honored, so to speak, voluntarily and compulsorily as a son of God. I will even go a little ahead and say that Christianity and established itself in the broad masses, because it proclaimed God for the middle and below average strata of the population. Simply put, for laborers and slaves. For understanding I will explain – slaves were not supposed not only to have property, but also to have God, God's patronage. It was a kind of insult to the powerful and rich, because it put the slave on the level of nobility. For the most part, this was the main motive for the persecution of Christ. Before the coming of the Son of God to the earth, people visualized God as an all-powerful Creator, a formidable Judge, and an unapproachable glory. Jesus Christ gave a new concept of God as a close, merciful and loving Father. Here again, however, there are some ambiguities. If Herod's tyranny and Pilate's dictates were in place at that time, how could Christ help the oppressed, the disadvantaged, the handicapped, the sick, and anyone in need? It is understandable if it was help as verbal comfort, but in that case it would not have been difficult for many to speak beautiful and pleasant words. After all, there were a great many itinerant and non-itinerant preachers in those days. In the ancient world it was a kind of political declaration and even a fashion. There was no professional medicine, and science was like something from the realm of fantasy. Therefore, the one who could cure any disease, the more severe, and even if he could apply something scientific, knowledge of astronomy or chemical interaction of metals – this person was automatically endowed with a supernatural, divine aura. I will tell a little about the origin of the Gospel text. Yes, by the way, of course, all this is not my personal interpretation, in some places I will quote different sources, so perhaps I will repeat myself somewhere. After our peculiar lecture, I will drop the files for public access, or rather, they will be written to your internal artificial memory, in disputable situations you will always be able to consider the opinions.

The scientist paused and continued:

– Now let's go textually. All of the New Testament sacred books are written in Greek, but not in classical Greek, but in the vernacular Alexandrian dialect of Greek, the so-called "koine," which was understood by the entire cultured population of the Eastern and Western Roman Empire. This is why the evangelists wrote in this language, in order to make the New Testament holy books accessible to the reading and understanding of all educated citizens. Only the capital letters of the Greek alphabet were used for writing, without punctuation or even separating one word from another. Small letters began to be used only since IX century, as well as separate writing of words. Punctuation marks were introduced only after the invention of printing in the 15th century. The present division into chapters was made in the West by Cardinal Hugues in the 13th century, and the division into verses by the Parisian printer Robert Stephan in the 16th century. In the second half of the ninth century the New Testament sacred books were translated into the "Slovensk language", to some extent common to all Slavic tribes. The modern Russian translation was made in the first half of the XIX century… Now a little about the time of writing of the Gospels. The time of writing of each of them cannot be determined with unconditional accuracy. There is a prevailing opinion, agreement, on the time period: they were all written in the second half of the first century. This opinion comes from the fact that many ancient chroniclers, philosophers, and authors make references to certain New Testament holy books. However, there are other opinions as well. And, let me tell you, very plausible ones. Plausible – in the sense of supported by analysis and research. For example, Bruno Bauer – German Hegelian philosopher, theologian, religious scholar, biblical scholar, historian and publicist – refutes the historical reliability and authenticity of the Gospels and other sacred books, attributing their appearance to a much later time. Bauer believes that many of the religious texts, ideas and thoughts contained in them are rewritten, borrowed from the writings of the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria, who lived in Egypt in the 20s-54s AD. Of course, they were slightly modified and interpreted in their own way. In particular, in the writings of Philo of Alexandria, Bauer finds the entire theology of the Evangelist John in an almost ready-made form. There are differing opinions about the authenticity of this whole story, but, you understand, there are more proponents of authenticity. At least for now. This was accompanied by both the general mood for change and the desire of those in power to adapt the teachings to their propaganda. And already derivative were such factors as … in general, the Crusades, and propaganda, and scribes, and politicians worked on it, in particular, the same Bruno considered Christianity an invention not Jewish, but Greco-Roman, and most importantly – the Inquisition. However, the main trump card to the opponents of authenticity is given by the same believers in authenticity. The fact is that, in addition to the official Gospels, there are other, up to 50 other writings claiming apostolic origin. The Church has placed them on the list of "apocryphal" – that is, unreliable, rejected books. These books contain distorted and questionable narratives. But, please note, this is from the perspective of theologians. Primarily Christian theologians. Such apocryphal gospels include the First Gospel of James, the History of Joseph the Carpenter, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Nicodemus, and others. In them, by the way, are recorded for the first time legends relating to the childhood of Jesus Christ… Another fact in favor of those who reject the authenticity of history is the classification of these writings. You can't buy them or borrow them from the library. Which brings to mind. Oh yes, I almost forgot, they try not to even mention them, so you don't even have to wonder what's in them. Apparently, there is something there, besides the narrative of the life and teachings of Christ, his crucifixion, death and burial, and after his resurrection from the dead, which is intended for the congregation, that should not cause questions and doubts in the minds of parishioners. And not only parishioners.

The theologian was silent for a moment.

– In general, I would not like to emphasize the opinion about faith and unbelief, but I will note that both atheists and people who are more inclined to seek a scientific explanation for everything that happens, including history, have the right to their opinion. For some reason, no one considers it an offense to atheists' belief that there is no God to assert that God exists. After all, atheists believe they are right too. It may seem strange to hear me, a representative of the church, say this, but it is the lack of entitlement of atheists to be equal to those who believe in God that speaks to the fear of their faith. Okay, let's not talk about arguments, although the whole story and its subsequent application is based on an argument. After all, disputes exist within Christian denominations as well. What to speak of different faiths among themselves. For me, all these disputes give birth to the truth or at least give an alternative point of view on the statements taken as a basis. And all the more from the scientific side they open the picture of the world in different perspectives, including its mythological hypostasis. Here, for example, is an interesting one. The usual symbol for the four Gospels is the mysterious chariot seen by the prophet Ezekiel at the river Hovar, which consisted of four creatures that resembled a man, a lion, a calf and an eagle. These creatures, taken individually, became emblems for the evangelists. Christian art since the 5th century depicts Matthew with a man or angel, Mark with a lion, Luke with a calf, John with an eagle. Of the four Gospels, the content of the first three – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – is much the same. They are called synoptic, from the Greek word "synopsis," which means "an account in one general pattern." The Synoptic Gospels tell mainly about the activities of the Lord Jesus Christ in Galilee, while the Evangelist John tells of them in Judea. The Synoptics write nothing about Jesus' life in the early years. Nothing about his life in Judea or Jerusalem. Although we can understand from their narrative that he had supporters and friends there. For example, the owner of the upper room where the Last Supper took place and Joseph of Arimathea. The main difference between the Synoptics and the Evangelist John lies in the conversations of the Lord. With the Synoptics these conversations are very simple, easy to understand; with the Evangelist John, they are deep, mysterious, and often difficult to understand. The Synoptics bring out the more human side of Christ, while John mostly brings out the divine side. To better interpret and understand the Gospels, we need to become more familiar with the personality, character, and life of each of the four evangelists and the circumstances under which each of the four Gospels was written.

The scientist took a few moments to catch his breath and began to speak with renewed vigor:

– Let's begin with the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew was one of the 12 apostles of Christ. The evangelists Mark and Luke call him Levi. It was the custom of the Jews to have several names. Before his call to apostolic ministry, he was a tax collector, and as such was certainly disliked by his fellow Jews, and especially by the spiritual leaders of the Jewish people, the scribes and Pharisees. However, having received the favor of Christ, having seen in him the possibility of repentance and change of his essence, he became his devoted follower and especially took to heart the cause of salvation of his native Jewish people, so saturated by that time with false notions and Pharisaic views. Therefore, his Gospel is considered to have been written primarily for the Jews. In his presentation, Matthew's main goal is to prove to them that Jesus Christ is the Messiah spoken of by the prophets of the Old Testament; that the Old Testament revelation, which had been obscured by the scribes and Pharisees, is clarified and given its perfect meaning only in Christianity. Here I must make it clear: the Jews themselves, the adherents of the Jewish religion, do not in any way take Christ for the Messiah, or even for a prophet. Matthew preached in Palestine for a long time. Then he went to other countries to preach, and ended his life as a martyr in Ethiopia.

Ffitnop habitually looked around the audience and announced:

– Let's turn to the Gospel of Mark. Many people believe that all the authors of the Gospels are apostles of Christ. But this is not the case. Mark, for example, was not one of the twelve apostles. By the way, this is an important indicator that makes us doubt the full reality of all the stories given to the world from the evangelists. For some reason, the Gospels from the apostles themselves, those who were directly involved, are hidden. Or are off-limits for public perusal. But Mark was not a constant companion and listener of the Lord, as, for example, Matthew was. He wrote his Gospel with the words and under the guidance of the apostle Peter. By the way, Mark also bore the name of John. By the way, in this regard, pay attention to the revolutionary nicknames of Lenin's associates and in general, ask about their real surnames, and their first names and patronymics too. All right, let's not get distracted. I'll tell you about it sometime later.

The scientist smiled enigmatically.

– Mark accompanied the apostle Paul on his first journey, along with another companion, Barnabas, to whom he was either a nephew or a cousin. According to tradition, the Apostle Peter made Mark the first bishop of the Church of Alexandria. There Mark was martyred, I would say killed. As I said, Mark wrote his Gospel from the words of the Apostle Peter. It says very little about the relationship of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Old Testament and makes very few references to Old Testament holy books. For some reason he does not even write about the Sermon on the Mount. But in his Gospel he wrote inspiringly about the miracles of Christ. The miracles he allegedly performed, or maybe not even allegedly. But here I must remind those who know, or explain to those who do not know – miracles are forbidden in Christianity. Remember the fires of the Inquisition. And in general, there is such a cool technique, it is aimed at preventing the appearance of the messiah not by the will and not under the control of those who control the church, and through it the believers. So, this is such a tricky trick, which says: when the messiah comes, as if the Second Coming will be accomplished, before that there must be the Antichrist, he will proclaim himself the messiah, and those who are waiting, almost all of them, will accept him. And one of the reasons why he will be accepted will be the performance of miracles. And it is a cunning move, because always a "stranger", that is not from the clan of his confession, can be called a false messiah, even if he complies with all the canons. And in this tactical move, anyone can be called an antichrist, even if he conforms to the doctrine of the second coming. First recognized, and then, if out of control, branded the devil and Satan. At worst, a sorcerer. This technique is another component in the complex formula of the divine definition of creation. And Mark has made a very important contribution there. In his Gospel Jesus is already presented as a deity. If Matthew still perceives him as a "son of David", because, according to tradition, the Messiah, i.e. the savior, must be from this family, Mark calls him the Son of God, the Lord and Master, the King of the Universe.

This was followed by another scanning gaze of the listeners in the best traditions of the gendarmes of the Inquisition. It seemed that Nomor saw something else behind the holographic images of experts, penetrated through their virtual gaze into real souls. Apparently satisfied, he exhaled. The effect created by the muffled sound had a strange, slightly unpleasant, but magical impression, as if the scientist held something inside him that hypnotized the audience.

– Next is the Gospel of Luke," said the servant of God with a smile. – What can be said about him? B was a physician as well as a painter. His Gospel contains Jesus' instructions to the 70 disciples in great detail, which is a logical indication that he belonged to them. By the way, many are convinced that there were only 12 supporters of Christ. In fact, there were many more. Luke often accompanied the apostle Paul in his travels, and after his death he preached, then took martyrdom in Achaia. His holy relics were transferred to Constantinople in the 4th century along with the relics of the Apostle Andrew. Luke wrote his Gospel at the request of a nobleman, Theophilus, who lived in Antioch. That's modern-day Antalya, by the way. What is interesting is that he used not only oral recollections of Christ from people who knew the story of Jesus, but also pre-existing records of him. It is difficult to determine when he wrote his gospel. There are different estimates. Some scholars date it hundreds of years after the events described. He himself writes of his painstaking analysis of existing records and oral traditions about Christ. In addition, he wrote his Gospel as if to order, at the request of Theophilus, who, by the way, did not live in Judea and did not visit Jerusalem, because Luke makes various geographical explanations about this area. But on such points as Syracuse, Rigia, Puteol in Italy, Appian Square and three inns in Rome, the evangelist Luke makes no explanations at all. It is logical to assume the client knew these places. According to Clement of Alexandria, who lived at the beginning of the third century, Theophilus was a rich and noble resident of Antioch, he was most likely the head of the local Christian sect. In his house he set up a temple for the Antioch Christians. Paul's ideology and worldview is evident in his Gospel. This is expressed, among other things, in the emphasis on the idea that the Messiah came to earth not only for the Jews, but for the whole world, all people. He traces the genealogy of Jesus from Adam, the ancestor of all mankind, to God in order to emphasize his importance for the whole world. He reveals such an idea in such events as the healing of Nehemiah the Syrian from leprosy by the prophet Elisha, the parables of the Prodigal Son and the Publican and the Pharisee. In the description of these events there is a clear stylistics of the apostle Paul's teaching about the salvation not only of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, and about the justification of man before God not by the works of the law, but by the grace of God. He portrayed the love of God for repentant sinners very vividly, and gives in his gospel many parables and actual events on this subject. For example, the parables of the lost sheep, the lost drachma, the merciful Samaritan, and the story of the repentance of the chief of the tax collectors named Zacchaeus. Significant words about "that so in heaven there will be more joy in one sinner repenting than in ninety-nine righteous men who have no need of repentance." The Gospel of Luke was most likely written in Rome. This again shows that Rome, as the power in the region, used the proclaimed teachings of Christ for ideological processing to control and subdue more and more plebeians. You hopefully know who the patricians and plebeians are.

Without waiting for a reaction from his listeners other than lazy smiles, the theology professor continued:

– Let's move on to the Gospel of John. The evangelist John, later called the Theologian, was one of Christ's favorite, and perhaps the most beloved, disciples. His father was a fisherman, but most likely not a simple one. This is evidenced by the presence of employees, which at that time was considered a fact of wealth. In addition, his father had a solid position in society, for his son John was acquainted with the high priest. His mother, Solomia, is mentioned among the wives who served the Lord with their property. What does it mean? This is another proof of my interpretation that this whole story is not a simple altruistic impulse of the soul, asking people to be kinder, not to kill, not to steal, etc., but a struggle of political forces. Accordingly, there were supporters, and the financial component played a significant role. Solomia, by the way, followed Jesus to Jerusalem for the last Passover and participated in the purchase of aromas for anointing his body together with other Myrrh-bearing wives. There is a very interesting fact here. Tradition considers her to be the daughter of Joseph the Betrothed. And who is Joseph the Handmaiden? Yes, yes, someone may be surprised, but this is the same Joseph to whom Mary was married, who, as we know, let me say biblically, had in her womb. John learned about Christ by being a disciple of John the Baptist. Don't confuse the two, please. Many do. Then, after an almost magical catch of fish on the Lake of Galilee, Jesus himself called him, along with his brother James, to join his ranks. Together with Peter and his brother James, he was by Christ's side at the most important events. For example, he was present at the raising of Jairus' daughter, saw the transfiguration of the Lord on the mountain, heard the conversation about the signs of his Second Coming, and witnessed his Gethsemane prayer. Here again I am going a little bit away from the main line. And I apologize right away. You probably realized that I want to voice my version, my vision. I have already said that we must remain cold empiricists, even if we believe in Christ, we must always ask ourselves the question – how is it possible? Exactly what is written about in the Gospels. It is easy to say "God did this magic because he is God", but not everyone can understand how it really happened. And I also want to speak about the so-called holy lie. When a lie is given for salvation. So, in my interpretation of everything that happened in this story there is a holy lie, or a lie for salvation. You may have realized, I don't believe in miracles and all these miraculous events. That is, for me, Jesus was conceived as a man, resurrected spiritually – in people's minds, all these miracles are a religious interpretation of events, a theological interpretation, a lie for salvation. The salvation of people who don't believe in such things. If, of course, they need such salvation. The bottom line: only the desire to realize it in reality, the belief in it, will lead mankind to the real realization of everything.

The theologian looked at his listeners appraisingly.

– Now let's get on with the subject. He received the nickname "thimble", which later became a nickname, because he was very close to Christ at the Last Supper. This closeness was also manifested when Jesus, being nailed to the cross, entrusted his mother to him, saying to him, "Behold your mother!" John the Theologian's mother was the daughter of Joseph the Handmaiden, she was Jesus' sister by his father (stepfather) and John was his nephew. Joseph was of advanced age at the time of his marriage to Mary, and she was about 14-15 years old at the time of her marriage, which gives estimates of the ages of both John and his mother. Joseph married his daughter off to his brother (such were the mores of the time) after returning from escaping to Egypt. John was not much younger than Christ. John was very angry when anyone judged Christ or expressed doubts. He even asked his permission to rain fire on a Samaritan village because they did not accept him. Here I ask you to pay attention to such a thing. You don't believe in the commandment "thou shalt not kill", then you can and should be killed. That's my black humor. It kind of comes out that way, don't you agree? Subsequently, the place of John's life and activity is the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor. In the reign of Emperor Domitian he was sent into exile on the island of Patmos, where he wrote the Apocalypse. When he returned from this exile to Ephesus, he wrote his Gospel there and died his death, the only one of the apostles, at a profound old age, almost 105 years old. Although his death, according to tradition, was mysterious. John wrote his Gospel at the request of the Ephesian Christians. They brought him the first three Gospels and asked him to complete them. By the way, here too is an interesting point, it is strange that he was not familiar with these writings and they did not agree with him on their vision and interpretations of the life and teachings of Christ. Having familiarized himself with the written Gospels, he found in them a realistic account of events, but being very close to Christ, knowing the secret doctrine, he found it necessary to add to their narrative the doctrine of the divine hypostasis of Jesus Christ. He explained it, – or, perhaps, later churchmen put it in such a way, so that people in the course of time would not think of him only as the son of man. There's another point to decipher here. Stories about the divine conception, about the son of God, about miracles performed were well known in the ancient world. To expound them, to confirm their authenticity and to "guide" the belief in such a miracle was the exclusive right of the Holiness, who governed the souls and thoughts of men. Therefore, to take the role of gods, to convince the flock of their divinity was a blasphemous deed. Just as it is now. So, at first, all these stories connected with Christ were perceived by those in authority and the people with doubt. The more seriously the people were persuaded, the more the power class became involved, the more angry and irritated they became. And after they, the followers of Christ, declared his resurrection and began to convince the people of it – the fury was unbelievable. Accordingly, refutations began to appear. Moreover, people did not lack logic. The point is that the diversity of gods in the ancient world was also considerable. But the trick of the followers of Christ was in the proclamation of the super-god, the most important, the most important for all. It was almost an insult to the power caste and nobility, and in fact it was, an insult to the elite. After all, it was God who allowed them to rule, gave them people to serve. And here someone declares that all are equal before God. In general, John realized the dangerous tendency in time and in his Gospel he made Jesus God. The opposite front, realizing that the power could go, so to speak, to the masses, saw the danger for itself and strengthened the policy of refutation. Speaking in church language, so-called heresies began to appear, denying the divinity of Christ – Evionites and Gnostics. In the Gospel of John there are even testimonies of Jesus about himself as the son of God. This, too, is an important aspect to uncover the politics of the confrontation. How to put it in a softer way. For example, someone will say: I am the son of God, I was sent to the earth to save you. I think you get my point. You can say whatever you want, that you are popular, loved by everyone, talented, worthy of Nobel and other prizes, that you are from God and so on, but as long as you are not recognized as such by the society, you will not be such. That is, in the case of Christ, he most likely did not say such things about himself. Moreover, it is not found in other testimonies and previous Gospels before John. With the Gospel of John begins the story in which man, the son of man, struggling for the freedom of people, for the understanding of their common brother-sisterhood, for the understanding of some common divine substance of humanity, turns into a magical deity. That is, into the one with whom Jesus himself fought. This is such a paradox… An important feature of John's Gospel is also the fact that while the first three evangelists narrate mainly the preaching of Jesus Christ in Galilee, John recounts the events and speeches that took place in Judea. With this we can calculate the length of Christ's public ministry and at the same time the length of his earthly life. Jesus preached more in Galilee, and traveled to Jerusalem for all the major feasts. According to the Gospel of John, there were only three such journeys to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover, and before the fourth Passover of his public ministry he died on the Cross. It follows that the Lord's public ministry lasted about three and a half years. As Luke testifies, Jesus went out into public ministry about 30 years of age. This means that he lived on earth for only thirty-three and a half years.

The professor thought for a moment.

– Now let's look at the perception of the gospel and biblical stories from different angles by supporters and opponents, that is, believers and, so to speak, not really. Those who are "not quite" consider the following to be the main proof of their doctrine: Christians invented the virgin conception of Jesus to emphasize the importance of his person. This is their central myth. All the evangelists write about Jesus' birth from Mary, her conception without an earthly father. Let's see how it is described in the Gospels, for example, in Matthew; the nativity of Jesus Christ was like this: "after the betrothal of his mother Mary to Joseph, before they were joined together, it appeared that she had in her womb of the Holy Spirit. But Joseph, her husband, being righteous and not wanting to make her public, wanted to let her go in secret. But when he thought of it, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for that which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit; but she will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:18-21). And here is what Evangelist Luke says: "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary. The angel came to her and said, "Rejoice, O Most Gracious One! The Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. But when she saw him, she was troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting it would be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace with God; and behold, you will conceive in the womb and bear a Son, and you will call His name Jesus… Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, when I do not know my husband?" (Luke 1:26-35)

The theologian was meaningfully silent.

– Please pay attention here and draw conclusions. First of all, in the first case she knows about her pregnancy… or at least Joseph knows from somewhere. If we take her ignorance as truth, then it is absurd. The next conclusion is that the Gospels were written at different times, with a disregard for accuracy, sloppiness in the approach to the work, or incompetence on the part of the scribes. Why? Here's why. Look at the dialog between Mary and the Angel. Based on it, Mary did not know she was pregnant. But in Matthew's story, she did. At least she should have known, and not just her. Otherwise, how did Joseph know? Or, if we take such a version, she grew a belly before time, Joseph, having realized the essence, was indignant, then for her it should not have been news for sure. And also – look at Luke's description: in fact, she is not pregnant yet, based on the angel's warning, "…and behold, you will conceive (!!!) in the womb…". This is just an example of how the story is told. Let's not cling to words. For, let me also explain myself in the rhetoric of those who use expressions accepted in the parochial canon. You will agree that if you analyze the biblical accounts with an open mind, the whole rhetoric of those who are committed to the truth of the biblical events and those who are against, i.e. do not believe or doubt, is built on this kind of argument and arguments. I have already said, here it is written this and that. And here it says this and that, and from this follows this and that. Is it funny? Me too. But to me it is because of the argument, in which the criterion of truth and untruth is not a fact, but someone's presentation of some history. You understand correctly, even if many sources will write about some historical object, for example, about sword escalibur, that it belonged to the person, which according to chronicles exactly existed, – it will not be a fact concerning this weapon, especially in the aspect of modern beliefs, if radiocarbon analysis will show, will prove its manufacturing later than the attributed events. But if around a certain history there will be a lot of various tales, and with a philosophical and instructive bias, and also serve to attract adherents, plus to everything – if with the coincidence of time there will be opponents and refuting, and even alternative histories, in this case, firstly, it will be forgotten and few people will wonder whether it happened at all, and secondly, different combinations of statements will be interpreted in their own way in order to prove their rightness, and in some cases, for example, biblical, their holiness. After all, disputes to prove, as it were, the improvement of a religious doctrine, exactly the type of this doctrine (as disputes can take place within one confession), are conducted with the purpose to prove the best, let me put it this way, the holiness, divinity of one's religion, confession, sect. The disputes about the Immaculate Conception follow the same scenario. Some rely on faith and spirituality, others on logic and realism. For example, realists believe that it is a myth created by Christians to emphasize the importance of Jesus. Incidentally, realists may well be Christians themselves. For example, Protestant theologian Harry Emerson Fosdick put it this way: "Belief in the immaculate birth as an explanation for the identity of a great man is a well-known way in which extraordinary exceptionalism was explained in antiquity." I have already described numerous examples in myths and legends.

Nomor stopped his narration, stopped "marching" along the route he had set, looked thoughtfully at those to whom his speech was dedicated. He summarized:

– Let's have a little smile.

The audience supported his call. After receiving the energy charge, he continued:

– It is quite logical that Christians, wanting to win over the pagan audience, presented them with the virgin conception of Jesus, because such a thing was in the practice of deification. It had happened more than once. This was another rebuke to Jesus, the desire of the Jewish clergy to destroy him and his sect. However, he and his company knew what they were doing. They understood: to win, to assert their power over the souls and minds of people, they needed to consistently and firmly assert their postulates, to attract slaves, those who had nothing to lose, as Vladimir Ilyich said, "nothing but their chains. So that it would have the effect of sacrifice for salvation. That is, they were already oppressed, so the affirmation of their faith gave them an invisible weapon, power, which they were deprived of in the material world… moreover, according to their faith it turned out that after death they would live in some divine kingdom. This infuriated those in power. This consistency, despite oppression and oppressions, led not just to a belief in the Immaculate Conception – to a subconscious doubt that such a thing was impossible. Even people with the logic of empirical thinking began to speculate about the reality of it, even if invested with the thought of a highly developed civilization, which in this way tries to tune mankind to the desired manner and policy of behavior.

Nomor took a heavy breath, sipped some water. Pluto took advantage of the pause.

– What was it really like? Your personal version.

– You may laugh, but I'll tell you, a century to learn…" he smiled and added: "I'll even say, now it's possible, an eternity to learn and…" he smiled again.

His smile infected many experts in the audience, though not all of them. Some, on the contrary, became more serious, even glanced ironically at their colleagues in the program. Nomor, noticing this, explained his opinion:

– In connection with the discovery of the method of traveling between worlds… and the worlds themselves, and the worlds being in different time chronology in relation to the development of human society on our planet… we can check how it was and is there. So I will answer the question: if I believe in miracles, it is only in that scientific conception, which speaks about not yet revealed this phenomenon by the level of science. The other side of this logic is unconditional faith. That is faith without conditions. And without conditions one can believe in anything. Logically, I believe in rationality and reality. And most importantly, as one very wise saint said, God does not perform miracles for the amusement of people. By the way, this is how he revealed himself about the extraction of the gracious fire from an ordinary lighter, with which he lit candles in the Kuvukliya⁶ .

– Oh! – Venus exclaimed, as if this revelation were her own personal tragedy.

Apparently determined to finish her off, Nomor added:

– Very often the Immaculate Conception is used in arguments in terms of proving the contrary. In fact, it played into the hands of Christians to attract like-minded people. Allegedly, the followers of Christ had to speak about his real conception from a man, because a pregnant girl not from her husband, and from whom it is unknown, was a disgrace. But here they omit the fact, and I frankly think they are lying, that conception by the Holy Spirit was a cult and privilege of gods or divine persons. Here I must make a footnote – see the beginning of the lecture. Although I would feel more comfortable saying – stories. It's not like we're listening to all this for an exam.

Smiles appeared on faces, mostly those that were younger.

– As for belief or non-belief, in particular, in this and similar things, I will say this, which, by the way, I always say, or rather, I stipulate in advance, so as not to be accused of offending the feelings of believers, as it is fashionable to say nowadays, – you are as right in your belief as atheists are in their non-belief. Just as, indeed, adherents of another religion are right in their disbelief in what to you is a sacred tenet of your religion. So you may believe this, someone may believe that which is not true, and someone may believe something that we both will not believe, yet to them we will be… there are a lot of words you could put here, from unbeliever to Satanist. In religious interpretation, being born of God, of the Holy Spirit, unmarried, immaculate is, to put it mildly, the sweetest magic for those who perceive reality in terms of scientific interpretation. After all, believers in the divine origin of the world and man in no way deny the creation of the world, the universe, and everything simply by the dictates and wishes of God, and instantly. Although no… in six days.....

Nomor said the last in a muffled voice, as if he were speaking doubtfully to himself. With that, he brought a smile back into the eyes of his listeners.

– That is why I always say: if you believe in your own, if you consider it to be the truth, then be kind enough to accept the belief of others in the unbelief of your "truths". Otherwise, it is first egoism, and at the end of the social progression – tyranny and dictatorship.

The lecturer looked closely at the "applicants", studying their reactions. Apparently, this manner was a professional habit for him and, perhaps, a necessity for the style of presentation.

– Yes, one more thing I would like to say," he continued, finding attention to his speech, "Mary not only conceived and bore a child as a virgin, she died as a virgin.

The women mostly bestowed the professor with a smile that is flirtatious at first but ironic in the end.

– My personal opinion: to believe in one's ideals, including serving the gods of science, is absolutely irrelevant to either material fetishes or personal inclinations. The vicious ones, though, can lead you to tragic consequences. Sin, after all, didn't just originate in human culture. For example, the brilliant Teller, although he figured out the secret code of the Enigma cipher machine, which may have made a crucial contribution to the victory over fascism, was chemically castrated because of an accusation of unconventional sexual orientation. Incidentally, he poisoned himself by eating an apple with cyanide. Once I gave a lecture… – he again looked carefully at the audience, – please forgive me for some digressions, they will give you a better understanding of the meaning of my presentation to you.

He fell silent again, swallowed his saliva, took a closer look at his listeners, and continued:

– I once gave a lecture to the top executives of Google… we organized a seminar as part of the Bilderberg Club meeting… and one of them said to me, "Did Apple really adopt this logo as a tribute to Teller? Their version: Teller ate an apple and protested – and they supported that protest by adopting this logo. I answered him nonchalantly, saying, yes, that's right, although I assume you were referring to the apple, which is metaphorically present in the story of the Garden of Eden, but it turns out you know the answer to your question better than I do. And yet, I will take the responsibility to reveal a secret: it was God who suggested this idea to Apple's designers, and I, as an intermediary, transmitted this message via WhatsApp directly into their brains.

Laughs were heard in the hall.

– To this he culturally snapped at me, -And you, batyushka… then I found out about his Russian roots… and you don't even know that WhatsApp is an opposing clan, because it is Facebook, a company of Meta Platforms Inc⁷ , to be precise. I didn't let him get a topic development from me, I just said, -this is in this world, and in the parallel world WhatsApp has already been bought by Google- and that got an approving applause.

The hall reacted in the same way – with applause, though not long and not loud.

– Let's return to our parallels," continued Ffitnop. – Let me continue about virginity. This fact is not publicized, perhaps because it can be deduced a lot. How to explain all this within the framework of marital relations with Joseph? How do you explain Jesus having brothers? There's that "but" again. Because in the native account… I, speaking in the native account, want to reveal a fact that they want to leave out completely, namely, the Jewish origin of the story of the life and teachings of Christ. We now know the Greek-Roman version. By the way, pay attention to the facts of anti-Semitism, exactly where they arise. Imagine – exactly in Christian countries, in Christian societies, I would define them that way. And that speaks volumes… So what was I going to say? Again, I have slightly deviated from the general line, as Izya Shniperson put it, – the theologian smiled again and again began to search for a response in the hall. – Ahh… yes. Mary, the mother of Jesus…oh, I told you about her lifelong virginity. Well okay, so be it, that's not the most important thing… There are a few heads of Moses as holy relics....

Nomor stopped talking for some reason, looking around at his listeners again.

– By the way, why don't we talk about other religions?

– So what was the most important thing you wanted to say? – came from a stately man of rather aristocratic appearance, with a high forehead, which seemed even larger because of an island of bald spots and slicked-back, thinning hair.

Rutra gave him the codename Uranus – he had a cold and menacing stare. In the world, he was an expert on antiquities in the Guggenheim network of museums.

– Ahh…I was going to say holy relics, or rather, relics of saints.

The minister was silent again, apparently wanting to find out whether he was satisfied with the questioner's answer. Whether he did or not we do not know (Rangit did not include anything on this occasion in his report), but apparently his holiness decided that he was not satisfied. This was clear from his subsequent statement.

– You may think otherwise… or you may not be very pleased to hear what I have to say…" he paused again, looking at Uranus.

– And yet? – Realizing the expectation of his approval, the antiquity specialist asked.

– There is such a relic as the circumcised foreskin of Jesus.

– I know, I'd like to see her," he said mischievously, to everyone's surprise.

– We'll talk about that later," said Nomor, embarrassed. – I would like to exhaust the subject of the birth of the Holy Spirit. This myth – we can call it the myth of the birth of the Holy Spirit – is found not only in popular articles by theologians, but also by serious scholars. And this is understandable – the Immaculate Conception is a miracle, a supernatural intervention, and if one holds to a worldview in which there is no place for God or any of his actions in the world, he will inevitably reject any evidence of such supernatural intervention. He will simply be forced to look for any explanation for the available evidence other than the most direct one – a miracle. Let me try to explain who benefits from this myth.

– And why do you think that your worldview is the right one? – Uranus asked, raising his hand tentatively. – Why do you think that billions of people are wrong? I believe that it is you who are wrong, and you need to be saved.

Ffitnop reacted to such an accusation as a man of his vocation should – calmly. Or rather, he responded in the same manner, ignoring the remarks and simply continuing his narrative:

–Liberal Protestantism played a major role in the development of myth: faced with an increasingly skeptical, materialistic cultural milieu in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, some theologians decided that it was a good idea to begin to accommodate and somehow obscure some of the biblical miracles that drew particular ridicule from unbelievers. For that matter, they caused ridicule in ancient times as well. However, no matter how you look at it, the fact that materialism may have been popular in no way proves it true. The thesis "there can be no miracles, because there can never be any" is just a statement of worldview preference with no evidence behind it. A simple example, the very fact of the possibility of the mission in which we all take part: conversion of human consciousness, sending it by means of the paradox of quantum entanglement, finding a homogeneous environment for oneself, implantation in the brain – is it not a miracle? After all, all these phenomena exist to some extent in the world without any secret program. Think about it, don't we convert our consciousness by expressing our thoughts in speech and in all derivatives – songs, poems, scientific discoveries… even in an ordinary conversation. We can thus send our converted thoughts by writing on paper, by radio waves, even by light signals. What's so surprising about finding a medium that is homogeneous to ourselves? After all, ideas born of thought, expressed by speech, find a home in the brain for which they are a homogeneous medium in terms of unanimity. We hear, we agree, we act. A kind of conversion of your desire to do the action. Your thought has entered someone else's brain and caused that body to do what you intended. The technology created by Master Rutra does the same thing, only on an unconscious level. And worlds, many worlds, the existence of which some people doubt, are in all religious doctrines and in the faith of atheists. To be more exact, atheists do not believe in the existence of God as an intelligent Creator, but believe in another Creator – the general nature of metaphysics, so they believe that in the vast expanses of the universe more than one our world was formed. And if we believe in God and believe in the resurrection of Christ from the dead – an event, undoubtedly, supernatural, – we should not question other miracles not connected with Christ, Christianity and religion in general. This is faith, after all. If you selflessly believe in your miracle, then the rest of us have the same right. Everyone – in his miracle. I will note: atheists – in quantum miracle, cloning, transfer of mind into a new body and in general into a machine, and most importantly – transfer with the help of quantum entanglement to unimaginable distances, inclusion into another living being. Yes, yes, I see your surprised faces, I believe in the technology invented by Mr. Rutra and his team. You can wonder further: for example, in Catholicism, the Virgin Mary is also born immaculate. By the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary is meant the Catholic teaching that the Virgin Mary was born without original sin, that is, she was absolutely sinless. Though it is not clear, in what sin. In fact the original sin first of all concerned disobedience not to eat from a tree of knowledge of good and evil. The question of sex was not mentioned. Though from this also follows the conclusion – childlessness is considered holy. Because Adam and Eve made children after expulsion from paradise. Their sinlessness in paradise consisted, among other things, in the absence of sexual intercourse between them. And what about the first commandment given by God to Adam and Eve – be fruitful and multiply… Here and in similar places there is a typical inconsistency of logical inferences. Because the sin on the issue of sex appeared in the doctrine in later times. Based on utilitarian principles. Sexual contacts became tabooed, regulated purely because of attractiveness in the narcotic sense and problematic in physiological, biological and social sense. Yes, also on the question of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The Orthodox Church does not hold this view… Jesus Christ is the central figure not only in Christianity. The central idea in Christianity is his atoning sacrifice for the sins of men. However, we must recognize: there are virtually no sources of information about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ other than the Gospels. Whether you like it or not, I must go over your memory, for it is likely that many elements of the narrative are familiar to you. So, an informational excursion through the pages of theological literature. Let's talk about such an institutional subject as the body of Christian perceptions and concepts associated with the name of Christ. What do we actually know about it? How do the ministers of cults present it to us? It would be more correct to say – cults. So, versions…

The theology professor began to speak faster in the format of a report, repeated many times, learned by heart:

– According to the Christian Nicene-Tsaregrad Creed, Christ is the Son of God, consubstantial (i.e., of the same nature) with the Father, God incarnate in human flesh. Also, the Nicene-Tsaregrad Creed affirms that Christ died to atone for human sins and then rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and will come a second time to judge the living and the dead. According to the Athanasian Creed, Jesus Christ is the second person (hypostasis) of the Trinity. Other Christian beliefs include the Immaculate Conception of Jesus, the working of miracles, and more. Although the dogma of the Trinity is accepted by most Christian denominations, some groups reject it in whole or in part, deeming it unbiblical. The person of Christ causes a great deal of controversy on both academic and domestic levels. There are debates over the very fact of Jesus' existence, the chronology of his life, his social status and cultural milieu, the ideas he preached and their significance for humanity. Orthodox Judaism does not recognize Jesus as a prophet or Messiah. According to Islam, Jesus is considered to be one of God's important prophets, the bringer of Scripture, and a miracle worker. Jesus is also called the Messiah, but Islam does not teach that he was divine. Islam teaches that Jesus bodily ascended to heaven, without any crucifixion and resurrection, unlike the traditional Christian belief of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let's analyze the origin and meaning of the name. Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Yeshua, which consists of the roots of the words "Yahweh", the name of God in the Old Testament, and "Shu'ah" – salvation. Before the church reform of Patriarch Nikon, the name of Jesus was written and pronounced with one letter "i" – Isus. Patriarch Nikon changed the spelling and pronunciation – Iisus – in order to bring them closer to the Greek version. The spelling of the name Jesus with one "i" remained unchanged in Ukrainian, Belarusian, Croatian, Ruthenian, Macedonian, Serbian and Bulgarian. Christ is not a first or last name, as many people think. It is in the traditions of religion, exactly in the tradition of the Jewish religion, there was no Christianity at that time, the designation of his mission, the word is Greek, in Hebrew mashiach – messiah, that is savior. The epithet "anointed one" was used in ancient Israel in relation to kings and priests. Putting kings on the throne and priests to serve in Israel through the solemn anointing with oil. Initially priests were called "anointed", and after the establishment of the monarchy in Israel the word "anointed" began to be used in relation to kings. Accordingly, the Jewish prophets heralded the coming of a king from the line of David, an "anointed one" who, being both priest and king, would fulfill all that Israel expected of the true King of Peace.

At this point the theologian finished reciting the information, and went on to his usual manner of presentation.

– The whole Jesus story, in my personal study, is not just some mundane story or a story that happened all of a sudden, all by itself. No. If you look closely, you can clearly see…great things are seen at a distance…the organizational hitches of preordained chords and the skillful conducting of predictions. Simply put, what we see in this event is a preordained desire to play this play according to an edited script. Sorry, I couldn't make it any simpler. I'll try this. Cause and effect are created by announcing a certain prediction or its interpretation in the necessary sense, and then the accomplished event, which also takes place under the guidance, is adjusted to this prediction. And then, many years afterwards, the event that did not happen at all is attributed as real. That is why there are many disputes, complete denial of this history. That is, disputes between those who do not doubt and those who do. After all, they are not on an empty place. For example, the belief that the Messiah must be born of a virgin is based on the text of the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14), according to which he will be born without the seed of a man. In our time, this topic takes on a completely different, unexpected connotation. After all, it is already possible to realize it scientifically. And now I will say that the Messiah had to come for the people of Israel, that is for the Jews. And they did not accept Christ as the Messiah. They are waiting for their Messiah. And now think – can a lady nowadays get pregnant without a man? There were other prophecies, which events were adapted to them or it was announced that they supposedly happened that way. Speaking of predictions. Nostradamus, for example. If you have read, you should have seen the absence of predictions themselves. I mean, he's there writing some kind of interpretation of his vision. A vision in the sense of a dream. It's a kind of fantasy with a zoological and astronomical bent. We observe the same in biblical predictions, for example, the revelations of John the Theologian, from which they draw conclusions about what is supposed to happen. I will express my vision: this ancient technique of fortune-tellers is still used today, not only by gypsies, but also by stock analysts.

The audience laughed. Nomor smiled back and added a little louder:

– And there is no need to talk about weather forecasts. As you know, the hydrometeorological center is wrong once, but every day.

The audience laughed again.

– And after that… let's take Nostradamus' katrens as an example… his verses are called that… can be interpreted in any way and connected with the event that happened. There is, or rather, there was also such a prediction: the Messiah was to be valued at 30 silver coins to be thrown on the floor of the Temple (Zechariah 11:12-13). The belief that the Messiah would rise from the dead is based on Psalm 15, as well as the closing verses of the Book of Isaiah chapter 53, which describe the Messiah's life after his execution. Accordingly, the New Testament describes the life of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of these prophecies. Most likely, if to search well, it is possible to find fairy tales and myths more ancient, where similar in a plot took place, because myths of similar subjects… I will bring them later… a lot. In general, all these interpretations are rather harmful to faith. For example, many Christian denominations claim that Jesus Christ combines two natures – divine and human, being both God and man. There are also many sects that interpret differently. The basic dogmas of religion are approved at meetings called ecumenical councils. By the way, everything is decided by voting there too. For example, the same question of whether to consider someone a saint or not. Whether to consider Jesus as God or not was also decided by this method. So, a couple more excerpts from the Holy Scriptures: according to Christian belief, the appearance of Jesus is the fulfillment of a long-standing prophecy about the Messiah – the Son of God; Jesus was immaculately born of the Holy Spirit by the Virgin Mary, in the city of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1), where he came to worship three wise men as the future king of the Jews. After his birth, Jesus was taken by his parents to Egypt (Matthew 2:14). After the death of King Herod, Jesus and his parents returned to Nazareth. A number of alternative explanations for the story of Jesus' birth have been offered at various times. In particular, the prophet Isaiah's prediction that the Messiah should be born of a virgin has been challenged (Jewish interpreters generally argue that Isaiah's prophecy has nothing to do with the future Messiah and speaks of events contemporary to the time of the prophecy; a number of secular Bible scholars agree with this). In the ancient period and later in the anti-Christian polemics the viewpoint of Jesus' birth from an extramarital affair was expressed. Such a hypothesis has a right to be, especially it is not rejected by the Jewish interpretation. Do not forget that at that time, of the Abrahamic religions known to us, there was only the Jewish religion. More specifically, this whole story took place as an event in Jewish civil and religious life. The Romans, who ruled over Judea at that time, had little interest in the internal squabbles of the Jews, much less in religious ones. Naturally, such an assertion is rejected by Christians. The argument about Jesus and his relatives visiting the Temple in Jerusalem, including the description of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple ("sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions") (Luke 2:46), is often cited as an argument for the impossibility of such a thing. But here, too, there is a logical sequence of presentation that personally suggests to me that there is a reason for this view. At least, let's say that slander may have taken place. Still, agree, a girl of 14-15 years old, pregnant, she is married to a grown man, who is either a widower or divorced, and what is even worse – divorced, because she agreed to be with him, and then she declares that she is pregnant by God. Naturally, they began to say: she is a harlot, she got pregnant. Harlots were not allowed into the temple. But, do not forget my version, this whole story is not a life incident between ordinary people, but a struggle of influential and rich clans. And the main thing is that the version you know is one version. A lot of things are rewritten, and everything is very approximate. For example, even the very date of birth, i.e. the beginning of our era, cannot be determined precisely. Because the very date of the birth of Jesus Christ is determined very approximately. The earliest is usually called 12 B.C., this date is taken according to harmonious coordination with the legend about the Bethlehem star, on the fact of passage in this year of Halley's comet. There is another date which too is connected by causal connections with the stated events in descriptions of this history. It is IV B.C. – the year of death of Herod the Great. Incidentally, this is the latest date given as the date of Jesus' birth. Immediately after his birth, Jesus was taken away by Mary and Joseph to Egypt. The reason for the flight was the planned murder of babies in Bethlehem by the Jewish king Herod in order to kill among them the future king of the Jews. Here is another negative impact of prophecy and its interpretation on people's lives. Though you have probably already realized – this is the fact of clan struggle. Why did Herod suddenly believe in the statement of, for example, Mary… and who else would say who needed it, and if it was necessary – here again is the fact of clan struggle… that the King of the Jews was born. Here it is necessary to explain, the Messiah, whom the Jews were waiting for, he is the anointed one, because only real kings and priests were anointed, as if they performed the inauguration ceremony. That's why they wanted to kill Jesus. There were no kings after the occupation of Judea by the Romans, but the priests remained. So they drove the wave and the crowd shouting "crucify him, the blood of our children is on him". In Egypt the parents with Jesus did not stay long: they returned to their homeland after Herod's death, when Jesus was still a baby. (Matthew 2:19-21) The ethnic definition of Jesus' identity is also ambiguous. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and afterward lived in Galilee, and there were many different nationalities there. Many conclude that Christ may not have been an ethnic Jew. The fact that the Gospel of Matthew says that Jesus' parents were from Bethlehem of Judea, only after his birth they moved to Nazareth, does not prove his Jewishness. Rather it gives one more reason to doubt it. Maybe someone will consider the following unlikely, but I still think this version has a variant of the possible: I was once told, and a person with a degree in history …

Nomor again "turned on" his trademark pause.

– about the Armenian origin of Jesus. At first, like you, I smiled too, but I did not argue much, because it is a dangerous matter. Still, we cannot know it for sure. Then, scratching my head, I thought – maybe he was partly right. I was a little wrong about the ancient texts. And what I thought was this: why should we consider Jesus to be unquestionably Jewish? Why not a Jew? Understand correctly: in the Holy Scripture there is both a reference to the people of Judaea and a message to the Jews. Agree, they are not the same thing. And why couldn't Jesus have been of another nation? He could have been. He spoke Aramaic. And many peoples of that region spoke and wrote Aramaic. Armenia was a great and large country at that time. By the way, it freed Judea from the Seleucid power. As it is known, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar after the destruction of the first Temple in V century B.C. moved a part of Jews to Armenia. After Tigranes the Great freed the Jews from the yoke of the Seleucids, many Jews began to return to their native lands. The reason for this was to a large extent to allow the Jews to practice the rituals of their historical religion. I will not claim that there are Armenian ancestral ties to Jesus, but I doubt even more about Jewish ones. It is very difficult to find the true picture behind the tinsel of historical composing, embellishment, propaganda, and sometimes outright falsification of events. Let me just say this: Armenia is the first country that adopted Christianity on the state level; Armenians are a biblical nation; the Armenian Diocese of the Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic Church is one of the dioceses that is currently participating in the ceremony of carrying the Holy Fire. This ceremony is conducted by the clergymen of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, the Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, as well as the Coptic and Syrian Churches. Let me remind you, and those who are poorly informed – I will explain: the Holy Fire (in Greek and Armenian traditions – the Holy Light) is the fire taken out of the Holy Sepulchre at a special service held annually on Great Saturday on the eve of Orthodox Easter in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem. Literally, the procedure is called: the Exodus from the Kuvukliya. This fire symbolizes the coming out of the Tomb of the "true Light" (John 1:9), that is, the risen Jesus Christ. I will not go into details of this event, I will return to the general line of the theme. I will only note the fact of Mary's escape from Herod's fury not somewhere, but in Egypt, and the mysterious Susanna among the Myrrh-bearing women who witnessed the resurrection of Christ. In the first case (by escape), it means that there was someone to whom, in the second case Susanna came from Armenia. It is true that only the Armenian version of the Gospel, written in the ancient Armenian language Grabar, testifies to this, but it is one of the oldest, not subjected to editing. One of the most important features of the Armenian version of the Bible is the inclusion of some books that are considered apocryphal in all other traditions. About the nationality of Jesus, if we can say so (for nationality is a purely modern term), neither I nor, perhaps, anyone can say anything for sure. It is one of the elements of the concept of faith. And, let me tell you, with all these nations that are mentioned in the Bible, there is much that is confusing, bordering on both mysterious and ridiculous. Let me explain why. Let's take the Jews and the Hebrews. Some researchers believe that at the time of Christ there were no Jews at all, there were only Jews, and Jews appeared in the Middle Ages for the same reason that Jews were forced to change their names among different peoples, in different epochs. As if the Jews, wishing to avoid the wrath of the Inquisition, began to be called Jews. And the mention of Jews in antiquity is a labor of scribes and interpretation. Simple logic can serve as an argument. Tell me – why should one and the same people be called in different ways? If we were talking about Russians and Englishmen and, mentioning one event, we would talk about these two peoples, participating in it in tandem, and then claim that it is one people – would it be true? Of course not! So why are the Jews and the Hebrews suddenly one and the same, but the Aramaeans are not, although their language was spoken and written at the time. It is strange that this people now does not exist as an ethnos. According to history and the Bible itself – they were quite developed and had great influence in the region. The mere fact that most people wrote and spoke Aramaic speaks volumes. Jesus himself spoke and probably wrote in Aramaic. Now back to my interlocutor in history. Perhaps the ancient scribe wrote something down a little inaccurately. Or perhaps he didn't. Why? Let's take the same Armenians as an example. Armenia, Armenians – this is not an autochthonous definition. It all has rather Latin origin and was left from the historians of Rome and Greece. Because Armenians themselves are called… though, some languages do not have this letter and sound, I hope the system will still correctly transmit the sound… ayi, and the country is called Hayastan. Armenia and Armenians are a derivative of "ara" and "men", meaning people who live near Ararat. By the way, they call Ararat Masis. And here in this key the Aramaeans already become more mysterious. First of all, they disappeared somewhere. Secondly, perhaps the same "ara" and "mei". My interlocutor referred to a certain secret book created by the ancient Armenian script. Allegedly, this writing preceded the Armenian alphabet adopted in 405. He, being a colleague of mine, claims that Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet, did not reinvent the Armenian alphabet, but used the ancient Armenian scripts that have not been preserved by now. It is really strange not to have a written language for at least a couple thousand years. Otherwise, how do we know about this people under other names from different sources, including their sacred texts of the Torah, long before the Behistun inscription of Darius I. Looking ahead, I will say: the version of biblical and evangelical stories are present in one interpretation or another among the peoples of the whole Middle East region. And, of course, they come from deep antiquity. In texts from the country of Ebla (in northern Syria), between 2300-2200 BC, the neighboring state of Armanum/Armani is mentioned. Many scholars believe that this is the first surviving written mention of Armenia. By the way, Syrians still call Armenians by the word "Armani". You will rightly wonder why I went into such details. I assure you that in the program in which you are to participate, ancient written testimonies will play a very important role. The book to which my interlocutor referred has been copied many times from ancient sources. Naturally, it describes events in the original account of ancient eyewitnesses, without cosmetic censorship for ideological reasons. It is no secret that we live in a world of propaganda, which has brought us the history as it was presented by those who wanted to show it to us in this way. Otherwise there would be no apocryphal gospels. And they do exist in the Vatican's hiding places. The very book to which my theological colleague referred is handed down in secret, from hand to hand. Naturally, it is not recognized by the official church. Not only that, it is wanted for the purpose of destruction. Therefore, in our hands, although ancient, but not the original. He didn't tell me where the original is kept. I can tell you for a fact, I didn't find it in the Vatican vaults. Yes, I have access to it. I confess, I myself give permission to familiarize with the documents stored there. I did not find the book in Armenia itself, in the Matenadaran, the repository of ancient manuscripts. The book interests me not from this position – to find out the nationality of Jesus. The voluminous book tells about many events of the epoch before the crucifixion of Christ. After all, you will not claim that all, for example, Jews and Islamic Ummah are wrong, telling a different story about Jesus. They got it from somewhere. The book has a very strange title. Unless, of course, one considers the title of Tacitus' Annals to be strange. By the way, the original title is Ab excessu divi Augusti, which translates to "From the death of the divine Augustus." And, since I mentioned it, I will note: Book XV contains a description of the executions of Christians under Nero – one of the first independent testimonies about Christ and the existence of the Christian community in Rome. The word "annals" has this meaning: a record of events in chronological order. Synonyms: chronicles, annals. So, the book my interlocutor was talking about is called "Dommar". When I asked him what this word means, he found it difficult to answer, referring to the fact that it is a very ancient word and is used nowadays only in one of the seven Armenian dialects. As a result, he translated this word to me as a concept meaning "original, primary, basis, most important, origin, root of the genus, as well as – veins, vessels". Right, I was surprised by such a diverse interpretation… However, let us return to our general line. The main argument of the adherents of the Jewish origin of Jesus is the fact that the entrance to the Jerusalem temple beyond the fence of the balustrade was forbidden to non-Jews on pain of death. This argument is considered to be almost the main one in defining Jesus as a Jew, because on the walls of the temple there was a categorical inscription: "No non-Jew dares to enter beyond the bars and fence of the sanctuary; whoever is seized will be guilty of his own death. But if we remember that before the Romans the Seleucids, i.e. the Greeks, trying to change the religion of the Jews, desecrated the temples in every possible way, not that they did not let "non-Jews" in, had intercourse on the altar, cut pigs in the temple, then perhaps the Romans, for the sake of democracy, allowed everyone to enter the temple.

The theologian threw back his head, twisted his neck, stretched it a little, apologized, and continued:

– Let's move on to the next step. According to the customs and religious canons of society – on the eighth day of His birth He was circumcised and given the name Jesus. There are inconsistencies in the dates, of course. This is what few people think about. Although, by all accounts, Jesus was born in the spring, Christians as the ruling faction decided to overshadow the old holidays with their own. This is me talking about the circumcision of Christ. In Catholicism the date of this event was January 1 on the Gregorian calendar, in Orthodoxy – January 14. Have you ever wondered why we have such a date for New Year's Eve? This is what it is tied to. And in fact this date, which was another holiday, was renamed according to the symbol of the event. I will not go deeper, I'm sure many people know about different dates, which were taken as the starting point of the New Year. And now it is not the same everywhere. In Russia, before the decree of Peter the Great, the beginning of the New Year was September 1. And in general, according to the logic inherent in human nature, at least that which was inculcated by many thousands of years of experience in the upper hemisphere of the planet, the New Year as a process of nature transformation began in spring, somewhere in March. And already in the subsequent understanding of the process changed, became, let's say, closer to human biology. Count: if you conceive a child in March, when will it be born? So it became the time of birth of the hero the location of the planet in the orbit of the Sun ts a in December-January. That's what was celebrated in Rome in the spring. In the whole Roman Empire. Of course, all this came from natural astronomical settings. For example, the day of the solstice or the equinox. Then to such dates began to tie to some important events, for example, in the Roman Empire meeting of consuls. But somehow it was not possible to gather in spring. It was either war or bad weather. We gathered later. And that's how New Year's Eve went on January 1. And then they adapted the circumcision of Christ to it. Well, the difference in days is known as the accumulated inaccuracy between the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Although, as I mentioned, the Orthodox are not ruled by the exact sciences. They follow their own rules. And not to say that they are wrong. They also have every right to ask: why the Gregorian calendar was not adjusted to astronomical time? Everyone has the right to ask, – as a statement the theologian delivered his thought to the audience, for some reason shook his finger in the air and said: – And we will go further. The Gospels do not tell about the further events of Christ's life, up to his baptism as an adult, except for the episode given in the Gospel of Luke (2:41-52), where the evangelist tells about the visit of the Holy Family with the 12-year-old Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem.

After a pause of three ritualistic twitches of his beard, as if imitating the fairy-tale wizard Hottabych, the professor said:

–Now let's move on to baptism," he said in his refined voice. – According to the Gospel account, at the age of about 30 (Luke 3:23), Jesus entered the public ministry, which he began by being baptized by John the Baptist at the Jordan River. When Jesus came to John, who had preached much about the imminent coming of the Messiah, the astonished John said: "I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" To this Jesus replied that "we must fulfill all righteousness," and was baptized by John. At the baptism, "heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven saying, 'You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.'" (Luke 3:21-22) I'm not going to argue here. Remember, I talked about many arguments about different interpretations of the meaning, inconsistency of logical meaning, about contradictions of different places of writing? And depending on the interpretation, the same place in the scripture – a verse, a chapter or a sentence – is explained in different ways. Look, or rather, pay attention to the above quoted… The Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form… In bodily form?! And a voice from heaven was heard. From heaven! Let's not argue why and how in bodily form. But the conclusion is inevitable. It turns out that at this moment the spirit of heaven entered him, and not earlier. After his baptism, Jesus withdrew to the desert to prepare himself in solitude, prayer and fasting for the fulfillment of the mission with which he came to earth. From this we can conclude, and not just so the rite in the church is still called "the sacrament of baptism", that it was a kind of initiation into a secret clan. As if an unspoken record – "he is his own". And he, of course, had to agree to be a supporter of radical ideas. Otherwise, what's the point of secrecy? You have to be in the clan of those who are against the government. Only by accepting this ritual one became one's own. Like members of secret societies or in a clan of thieves: to enter the clan, an adept must commit a crime or something for which he would be persecuted by the authorities. The next thing is preaching. Jesus, as we know, gave a sermon on repentance in the face of the coming of the kingdom of God. Let's just say that this was the overt, propagandistic part of his oratory. Of course, his call to the people was not just a call to be kinder and repent. It was necessary to justify why it was necessary to be kinder, for what and to whom to repent, because God is in heaven, and the bosses mocked here every day. However, it was in his preaching (there were many preachers at that time, it was a kind of fashion in the Jewish tradition) that he emphasized the meaning of some other God than there was. The oppressed and oppressors, as the ruling and those who are ruled, i.e. the hierarchy of power and castes of society, have always existed; this has always been played upon by those who wanted to change this power. That is, to displace and become power themselves. Of course, the power knew it, and those who came to power in this way tried even more to usurp it, to take into account the ways by which they came to power. There are plenty of examples, one can remember the French Revolution with the subsequent rebuilding of the city so that the squares were wide so that barricades would not be built, one can also remember Japan, where a clan of ninja once came to power, and after the leader completely banned the militant sect, and there is no need to talk about the terror and restriction of the freedom of expression by the Communists. For example, Lenin, the brother of a criminal who attempted to assassinate the tsar, could study at university. And in the system of power he founded, the whole family and even fellow villagers would have been banished to the penal colony, if not shot. Under Stalin, certainly. Although there are different opinions on this. If we take into account the fact that revolution weakens the state, then there are plenty of examples of this. The same Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jewish people were subjected to a terrible genocide. Then. I'm not talking about the holocaust. By the way, if you will be shown historical monuments on a tour of Jerusalem, ask about the year of construction. Otherwise, how did the warlord Sèvres completely destroy Jerusalem, and plow up the area. Now, Jesus knew what he was getting into, but look at his geography. Despite the fact that the center of Christ's preaching was the holy city of Jerusalem, the longest with his sermon traveled through Galilee, where Jesus was received more joyfully. It is understandable, because it was his native land. Jesus also traveled through Samaria, Decimated City, and visited Tyre and Sidon. Now remember serfdom. I am not talking about earlier times, especially in the East. Even at the beginning of Soviet power in the USSR not everyone had a passport. Actually, they were introduced then, but you could not go where you wanted to go, especially if you lived in the countryside. Peasants, although they were no longer serfs, and even though they were declared to be owners of not only their land, but of the entire state, according to the promises of the Soviet authorities, they were tied to their collective farm. Their passports were kept with the chairman. You could leave only with his permission. And now imagine: someone in the occupied territory, where everyone is suspected of rebellion, goes wherever he wants, over long distances, and even agitates people, talking about the allegedly impending arrival or the need to change the government to escape the oppression of the invaders. Could mere mortals feel so at ease, do you think? But let's not be pathetic. Let's think about the real life of that society. After all, you must agree, whoever Jesus was, whoever he was in our view, in our faith – he was killed as a man. What do you say to me? I think, either Jesus had some power, or he was favored, and the power itself, or the story is embellished in the process of numerous historical edits, or the author's imagination found it most attractive to make such a picture of Jesus' life, without thinking about the real state of affairs, or … perhaps we do not know something. That's what our mission is organized to do. Though in fact we want to prevent a tragic event for our civilization. Agree: to give birth, to force your creation to follow the doctrine, and then to realize the apocalypse – well, at least not divine, both in the sense of reasonable logic and love, as God positions himself. Well, or he is so positioned to us, his representatives, including me.

Having said the last, the cultist studied the listeners with a beaming smile on his face.

– Therefore, a doctrine that contains the message that in the end a grandiose tragic event for all mankind must happen is questionable as to its veracity. Or… the prediction of this apocalypse, or, as they say in the common people, the end of the world, was inserted there… or rather, it was inserted by those who, holding in their hands the "reins" of controlling human souls, are trying to realize it with ц spruce of universal terror. Or maybe it is even cooler. Imagine how this prediction is understood by artificial intelligence. If it finds it acceptable, justified by its creator, it will try to realize it while creating the conditions under which it is supposed to happen.

The theologian, to allow time to savor what he had heard, holding his hands behind his back, walked around the pulpit and returned to his seat.

– Let's go one step further. One more excerpt from the Gospel, the details of which indicate the scope of Jesus' organizational activities and show another angle of the lone preacher. I apologize, I'm being a little ironic with the word "lonely." Look: many followers gathered around Christ, from whom he first chose 12 of his closest disciples – apostles (Lk. 6:13-16), then 70 more (Lk. 10:1-17), already less close, who are also called apostles, some of them, however, soon departed from Christ (Jn. 6:66). Apostle Paul reports that at the time of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection He had more than 500 followers (1 Corinthians 15:6). And according to some researchers' estimates, it took at least 2 thousand people to capture and hold the Jerusalem temple. It is kind of necessary to clarify what the Jerusalem temple was then. According to Jewish sources, trade was never conducted in the temple itself. According to Christian sources, trade was conducted there. What does that mean? Trade was conducted on the principle of a fair, but not in the temple itself, but on the territories nearby. The then Consumer Protection Agency in the person of the high priest gave permission for this. The reason is not difficult to understand: all the income from the rent of the place went to God's work, as he called it. That is, to him and… you know, nothing is new under the moon. Accordingly, there were premises on that territory, though temporary, or maybe rented, in which, for example, goods were stored. Since the fair was not held in one day. The essence of Christ's actions: to use this desecration of God's house and to show the discontent of the people at the same time. It is roughly like the Bolsheviks seized banks and factories. People need money for revolution. Let's remember Kamo and Joseph Vissarionovich. About desecration of the house of God, to which Jesus appealed, the question is in the same concept – God is God's and Caesar is Caesar's. Caesar was the ruler of the empire of Rome. And when Jesus was asked if he could pay tribute to Rome, he answered in this style. And there you can understand as you want. That is, as if the temple – the place of God, should live on donations, as, say, a party on membership fees. But even then and in the modern world everything is leveled when the power begins to burn palms. The official evangelical historiography tells us the following: Jesus' teachings were supported by various miracles, he was glorified as a prophet and healer of incurable diseases. He raised the dead, tamed a storm, turned water into wine, fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread, and much more. Remember what I said about coming to power and then banning the methods by which one came to power. What's my point? About miracles. Remember what I said about the warning about miracles by the Second Coming. How any messiah can be turned into a false messiah… That is, miracles are only licensed by the power. Power over the souls of men. From the Gospel of John we learn: Jesus was in Jerusalem four times for the annual Passover celebration. Hence we conclude that Christ's public ministry lasted approximately three and a half years. True, it is not known exactly whether he went there every year in succession. The events of the last days of Jesus Christ's earthly life, which brought him physical and spiritual suffering, are referred to the Passion (suffering) of Christ. The Church remembers them in the last days before Easter, during Holy Week. A special place among the Passion of Christ is occupied by the events that took place after the Last Supper: arrest, trial, scourging and execution. The Crucifixion is the climax of the Passion of Christ.

The customary survey of the audience followed, exhaling, announcing the next topic:

– So, next is the judgment. The Jewish chief priests, having condemned Jesus Christ to death at the Sanhedrin, could not carry out the sentence themselves without the approval of the Roman governor. According to some scholars, the Sanhedrin recognized Jesus as a false prophet based on the words of Deuteronomy: "…but the prophet who dares to speak in my name what I have not commanded him to speak, and who speaks in the name of other gods, such a prophet you shall put to death" (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). Here, too, in this part of the scripture, the same insurance against the encroachment of authority is played out. The options are provided in advance to refute and, if necessary, to defame, as we see, even to kill anyone who would encroach on the established clan of power. After unsuccessful attempts by the chief priests to accuse Jesus of formally violating Jewish law, Jesus was handed over to the Roman procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate (26-36). At the trial, the procurator asked: "Are you the King of the Jews?" This question was due to the fact that claiming authority as King of the Jews, according to Roman law, was considered a dangerous offense against the Roman Empire. The answer to this question was Christ's words, "You say that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth" (John 18:29-38). Pilate, finding no guilt in Jesus, was inclined to let him go and said to the chief priests, "I find no guilt in this man" (Luke 23:4). Pontius Pilate's decision caused an uproar among the Jewish crowd, directed by the elders and chief priests. In an effort to prevent a riot, Pilate addressed the crowd with a proposal to release Christ, following the long-standing custom of releasing one of the criminals at Passover. But the crowd shouted: "Let him be crucified" (Matthew 27:22). As a final attempt to spare Jesus from death, Pilate had him beaten in front of the crowd, hoping that the discontented would be satisfied with the sight of a bloody condemned man. But the Jews declared that Jesus must die, because he had made himself the Son of God. Pilate, when he heard this word, was more afraid. Pilate went into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, "Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate said to Him, "Do you not answer me? Do you not know that I have the power to crucify You and the power to release You? Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given to you from above; therefore it is more sinful for him who delivered me to you. From that time Pilate sought to release Him. But the Jews cried out, "If you let Him go, you are no friend of Caesar; anyone who makes himself king is an adversary of Caesar" (John 19:7-12). I would like to focus your attention on the phrase, "…therefore it is more sinful on him who delivered me to you." Does this phrase seem ambiguous to you? It clearly carries the connotation of blasphemy, complaint, and offense. The phrase is preceded by the definition, "You would have no authority over me if it had not been given to you from above. That is, here he speaks of God's authority. For he was clearly not speaking of Pilate's superiors, much less of those who betrayed him in fact, if such was the case. Believe me, it is debatable. What we learn next: fearing the people (the Gospel account says so, though he feared more denunciation to Rome from the religious oligarchs), Pilate passed the death sentence – sentenced Jesus to crucifixion, and he himself "washed his hands before the people, and said, I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One" (clearly he would not use the phrase "this Righteous One," but we'll keep quiet and move on). To which the people exclaimed: "His blood is upon us and upon our children" (Matthew 27:24-25). According to the sentence of Pontius Pilate – Jesus was crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem on Mount Golgotha, where he, according to the Gospel story, carried his cross himself. Two robbers were crucified with him. In spite of his death pains, Christ uttered several phrases on the cross. Let me draw your attention to some of them. For example, to His mother He said: "Woman, behold, your son" (John 19:26); to His disciple: "Behold, your mother!" (Jn. 19:27); most interesting, perhaps, in terms of mystery: "It is accomplished!" (Jn. 19:30) Mysterious and interesting – before his death. Because afterward he, according to the scripture… And let me quote the original a little bit here.

The narrator scratched his forehead, lowered his head a little, following his own ritual, looked around the listeners, as if studying their thoughts, clarified:

– Okay, one of the translation and presentation options. Although the variants don't differ much from each other at this point. Let's hear it.

… At the cross of Jesus stood His mother and His mother's sister, Mary Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple standing there, whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Jono, behold, your son.

Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother! And from that time this disciple took Her to himself.....

Nomor "turned on" the pause again. The audience had already reflexively tuned in to the accent in the story.

– Pay attention to this place. Don't you think it's a little strange?

The hall was silent and waited for the professor's opinion. Apparently, he intuitively understood it already.

…Then Jesus, knowing that all things were already accomplished, let the Scripture be fulfilled, said, I thirst.

There was a vessel full of vinegar. The soldiers put a sponge full of vinegar on the hyssop and brought it to his mouth.

– And that too, doesn't that seem odd?

… When Jesus had tasted the vinegar, he said, "It is finished! And he bowed his head and gave up the spirit.....

– And this is the place I would like you to pay special attention to. For now.

…But since it was then Friday, the Jews, lest they should leave their bodies on the cross on the Sabbath, – for that Sabbath was a great day, – asked Pilate to break their shins and take them off.

So the soldiers came, and they broke the shins of the first, and of the other who was crucified with him… But when they came to Jesus, as they saw him already dead, they did not break his shins....

– Here is a very important point: "…but one of the soldiers pierced His ribs with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. Further, "…After this Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, but secret for fear from the Jews, asked Pilate to remove the body of Jesus; and Pilate allowed it. He went and removed the body of Jesus." In another version: "Meanwhile, a new petitioner appeared before Pilate, who wanted permission to take down the body of Jesus from the cross and give it up for burial. That was Joseph of Arimathea." Arimathea, Joseph's fatherland, comes from the name of the small town of Ramah mentioned by the evangelist Matthew. Joseph is described as a wealthy man of "…high character and blameless life." His great wealth made him a person of great importance, especially since at that time in Jerusalem everything could be bought with money, from the position of the last tax collector to the office of high priest. In addition, Joseph was one of the most prominent members of the Sanhedrin, and together with other well-meaning counselors, probably constituted an opposition to the party of Caiaphas. He was a secret disciple of Jesus Christ and did not participate in the last attempts of the Sanhedrin against the Savior, as well as in the trial of Christ. Nicodemus also came, – who came before to Jesus by night, – and brought a composition of smyrna and aloes, a liter about a hundred. At the moment of Jesus' death, the sun went dark, the veil that separated the holy of holies from the rest of the temple in Jerusalem was torn, there was an earthquake and the resurrection of many deceased saints (Matthew 27:51-53). After Jesus' death on the cross, with Pilate's permission, the body was taken by Joseph of Arimathea for burial, which he performed with Nicodemus in a previously unused tomb that had been cut into a rock on land owned by Joseph, near the garden close to Golgotha. According to Christian legend, after his burial, Jesus descended into hell and, after crushing its gates, brought his gospel message to the underworld, freed the souls imprisoned there, and brought all the Old Testament righteous, including Adam and Eve, out of hell. Notice this place. Does it seem to you that some secret thought is hidden here? Perhaps it has come to us after editing. Doesn't this place, the event described, speak of dissatisfaction with the decision made earlier? I would say more than that. After all, the decision to imprison sinners in hell was made as if by God himself. Get the idea? Now project this into reality. Imagine if an opposition party or an opposition leader called for the release of political convicts from prison. Get the idea?

– Ess, sir," Venus reported as everyone nodded, showing her status from "recruit to conspirator".

The theologian took it rather coldly.

– A few words about the Resurrection," he said without changing his tone. – The Resurrection of Christ is the most honored event in Christianity, the most important holiday. It is marked by Easter. The moment of finding the empty tomb of Christ is described differently in different Gospels. According to one version, Mary Magdalene alone – and according to others – with the mother of Jesus or not only the two of them – came after the Sabbath to the Tomb of Christ and saw that it was empty. Two angels and Jesus himself appeared to her, whom she did not immediately recognize. Isn't that strange? Isn't it? But we have agreed not to deviate too much from the central line of the study. Let's see what happened next. In the evening Christ miraculously appeared to His disciples, among whom Thomas the Twin was not present. This was the sixth appearance. There were ten in all. So those who believe in the Second Coming are not waiting for the second coming, but for the eleventh coming. This is the paradox. Most likely the disciples, followers of Christ, gathered to their meetings. As well as many religious groups and sects nowadays. It is strange that Jesus came to the meeting with his disciples, who, by the way, should have believed in his resurrection. So, it turns out that they did not believe in his preaching either. At least not in all of it. Thomas, as we know already from tradition, was the most unbelieving. He did not believe in the stories of his companions about the resurrection of Christ, saying: "unless I see on His hands the wounds of the nails, and put my finger into the wounds of the nails, and put my hand into His ribs, I will not believe" (John 20:25). There is some strangeness here, too, about "putting the finger in." The ignorance of human anatomy, or at least of warm-blooded organisms, is clearly observed by the authors of the statement. The wound should have healed, healed, at least such holes would not have formed. But that's okay too… What's next? – asked the professor.

From the manner of the dialog it appeared that he asked himself.

– And then it would be good to move on to the process itself," Jupiter said.

Nomor responded to this less than courteous remark in a very original and unexpectedly epathetic manner:

– Ahtung, ahtung, as the heralds of one of the many who also thought they were the messiah. I say soon. Knowledge is also a tool. How can we find the light at the end of the tunnel if we are without a candle?

The listeners smiled at what was said. Apparently, because of the close affinity of the association with the topic being presented.

– According to legend, the moment of Jesus' resurrection, as well as the moment of his birth, was not seen not only by men, but even by angels. I read your thoughts, I do.

Nomor looked at all the listeners and added, smiling:

– Just kidding, though I understand the thoughts that have arisen in your mind.....

Chapter 7. How to invent God

…The story of the guards who were supposed to guard the Holy Sepulchre is interesting. Here, by the way, a kind of virtual investigation opens up again: why were they guarding it, if it meant nothing. That is, they were warned of the coming proclamation of the resurrection. It turns out that this was a fairly common practice. I'll even give you examples. And you will smile modestly in response. I want you to pay attention to similar myths, similar to the story of Christ. So: what do ancient Egyptian Horus, Greek Adonis, Persian Mithras, Babylonian Tammuz, Indian Krishna and Christ have in common? Turns out, a lot. "There is no Eastern religion in which, as a rule, a chaste virgin did not produce a god. And Christians, without making things up, have similarly created their Jesus, who was never actually alive." Remember where that came from? From "The Master and Margarita," of course. Now I will give you a brief note on the diversity and at the same time the identity of a special class of gods. This class I would characterize as saviors. Many, when giving such an example, emphasize the plagiarism of religious tenets. I partially agree with this. It sort of takes place. What is true is true. One power replaced another, well, if radically, and, accordingly, replaced the gods. But, however, I will say at once, in fact it is even deeper for human consciousness than just plagiarism. If we look deep into the human soul, let's put it this way, since we are talking about gods, we will see something that has already become subconscious. These gods became gods, i.e. helpers and saviors, because the soul itself – we understand it as mind, consciousness – desired such an attribute, which to some extent is identical to something protective, be it clothes, a roof, or even a nuclear shield. Don't jump to premature conclusions. Familiarize yourself with similar stories. Apparently someone started this baton at some point… or it became interesting to everyone as a clone creation… or it was easier to plagiarize than to outbid such faith and fame. Let's start with the god Mithra. Mithra was born on December 25th by immaculate conception. Aka the Persian sun god, aka the Messiah, who had 12 disciples. Took upon himself the sins of men. He was killed, then resurrected, becoming the incarnation of a god and an object of worship. The cult of Mithras includes communion, baptism, etc. Next is Adonis. He was born on December 25. Greek and Phoenician god of fertility, aka Babylonian Tammuz, aka Syrian savior. He was killed and buried, three days later resurrected. Next is Dionysus. Also was born on December 25 as a result of immaculate conception at the queen Semele from the supreme deity Zeus. The Greek god of winemaking. Aka Bacchus, aka the savior and liberator of mankind. The annual bacchanalia was accompanied by images of death, descent into hell and the subsequent resurrection of Dionysus. Well, naturally, with communion with good wine. Another similar one is Osiris. Approximately born at the end of December from a virgin. Egyptian god of the sun and the underworld, aka Judge of the dead, aka one of the Egyptian Trinity. Ruled over twelve kings. Was betrayed, killed, buried. He stayed in hell for three days and rose again. He personified the resurrection and eternal life in the fields of paradise. The interpretation of the same plot picture in his children is interesting. His children, Horus and Anubis, are also, of course, gods, respectively, as they say, the holidays could not be canceled. I will introduce the others. Attis is the same Adonis, but Phrygian. Born a virgin. Was killed at the foot of a pine tree on March 24, buried in a rock, then resurrected on March 25. Communion and baptism are obligatory elements of the cult. Krishna – born to the virgin Devaki, a princess, as a result of immaculate conception. His birth was announced by a chorus of angels. He is the only son of Vishnu, he is the Alpha and Omega of the universe, he is the third person of the Hindu Trinity. The moment of death, accepted by him for the sake of people, was marked by the eclipse of the Sun. He resurrected and ascended to heaven. Hindus believe in the second coming of Krishna, during which he will organize the Last Judgment. And here is Horus himself: he was born on December 25 at Isis as a result of immaculate conception from the spirit of Osiris. By the way, Isis is the sister of Osiris. God of the sun and light, one of the Egyptian Trinity. After a long struggle defeated Satan – the evil Seth. He personified the resurrection. Of course, here arises a legitimate question, why all the resurrecting gods have a birthday on December 25. Most likely, because on this period of time, with some adjustment, was the day of the winter solstice. Accordingly, the immaculate, divine conception occurs in March and falls on the day of the vernal equinox … Studying the works of ancient astronomers, researchers and just a variety of texts, including cuneiform, rock, cave drawings, I came to the conclusion: the original myth of God, which then copied all these stories, originated somewhere in the north, where there was a polar night. Think well: was not such an event more inclined to people to think about the death and birth of God, and further about the life of man in the world after death? Interesting thought?

The audience listened quietly and attentively, then, without saying a word or showing any emotion, began to clap. Having enjoyed the applause, which, however, was surprising to Nomor himself, he stood up, bowed like a stage master, and continued:

– I will draw your attention to a certain abstraction transferred from the subconscious. One of such abstract comparisons, which carries a sacral meaning, is the model of burial, i.e. departure to the other world. After all, it is not for nothing that this began to be given great importance. Let's return mentally to my hypothesis about the Sun, which was lost not only at night, but for half a year. It gave food for mystery, birth in minds of assumptions about possible variant of the world where such "day" and "night" take place. A little crookedly said, but still I'm sure you understood better the associative component of my thought. So, pay attention to how and where they buried majestic people, that is, how they wanted to be buried by these very people, meaning in their time more than mere mortals. I am talking about dolmens, burial mounds, pyramids and similar tombs. I am about to give some comparison and I apologize in advance. I'm sure you don't understand what I mean. And I want to ask you: what does the emblem, the sign on a woman's latrine look like?

Although the hall had swallowed the "worm", the "stabilizers" of consciousness were working clearly. Everyone was silent, waiting for an answer from the theologian. The theologian did not pause.

– Yeah, it's a triangle with the base down. And there's an "entrance" somewhere… What do pyramids look like? And there's an entrance at the bottom. What's my point? In many funerary structures, for example, burial mounds, the entrance is extended corridor and peculiarly framed, resembles a woman's womb. It is not just so, it is on the partition at the end of the corridor, separating the outer and inner parts, the rays of the sun, we imagine – God, get only at a certain position, and even only at a certain time of year and even day. Now think, why was Jesus' body put in the cave for three days? Why was such a decision made? The cave seemed to represent a portal to pass from one world to another. It was a kind of association of a woman's womb in which conception took place. The same association existed, or rather, that's why it was born, when the sun went somewhere or at least stopped and rolled in the other direction. But it didn't roll physically… it rolled what it affected, which was time. Like finding itself in a cosmic portal, a cave. And, of course, nine months later, at the end of December, in this "cave" was to be born the great king of heaven, the son of God, eventually God himself, who, of course, was to bring salvation. And now think, why in all corners of the world, where intelligent life appeared, the first god of all became the sun? I'll give you a hint – the next god was fire. The answer is that it gave life, strength and power. First, for survival in general: think of the example of polar nights and think with what hope you would wait for light and warmth. Secondly, power and strength in battles, including with wild animals.

The lecturer took a breath, apologized for leaving the main topic. The experts were partly delighted, partly surprised. They listened with pleasure and wanted to continue.

– Let's remember where we left off. At the situation when the crypt with Christ was empty. What happened next? These guards, after finding the crypt empty, went to the chief priests and reported the body missing. Here it may seem strange why the guards went to the chief priests. In order to understand this mishap (as if the power in the country is Roman in general, accordingly, all the soldiers are subordinate to Pilate), we need to look into the Gospel itself. Matthew writes about it as follows: "…on the next day, which follows Friday, the chief priests and Pharisees came together to Pilate and said, 'Sir! We remembered that that deceiver, while he was still alive, had said, 'After three days I will rise again; therefore order the tomb to be guarded until the third day, lest His disciples, coming by night, steal Him away and say to the people, "He has risen from the dead"; and the last deception will be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, You have guards; go, guard as you know how. They went and set a guard at the tomb, and put a seal to the stone." According to another version – they persuaded Pilate to allocate their men to the guard, because the Sabbath was ahead and Jews should not work. The officials of the high priest probably paid the prosecutor for the favor. And afterwards, when they reported the missing…I quote "…And these assembled with the elders, and took counsel, and gave quite a sum of money to the soldiers, and said, Say, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept; and if a rumor of it should come to the governor, we will persuade him, and save you the trouble. And they took the money, and did as they were taught; and this word has passed among the Jews until this day" (Matthew 28:11-15). I understand what you are thinking right now…and yet.....

He habitually paused to study the reactions of his listeners.

– What's next? The Ascension. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to the assembled apostles for forty days, strengthening their faith in Him. On the fortieth day Christ appeared to the disciples again, confirmed all that had been said before, and led them out of the city to the Mount of Olives. Does not the fortieth day seem strange to you? For some reason this number is taken as a certain boundary, which meant a special chronological measure. You may have heard of the unspoken rule not to show a child to strangers for forty days. In traditions, not only Christian ones, related to burial rules, there are rules for observing time measures. For example, according to church statements, after death, the spirit of a person for three days is in those places that were important to him during his life. After that, the soul appears before the Creator. He is shown paradise, where the souls of people who led a righteous way of life enjoy. For six days the soul delights in the delights of paradise. On the ninth day the spirit appears before the Lord again. As I have already said, not only in Orthodoxy there is a tradition of remembering the dead. In many spiritual practices and, of course, mainly Eastern ones it is considered that on the ninth day the astral body (the body of emotions) is destroyed, and on the fortieth day – the mental body (the body of thoughts). That is, the soul comes out of its shells. In the sacred Tibetan Book of the Dead ("Bardo Thedol"), the body is only a vessel that temporarily houses the soul. Just as a clay pot is broken when it is empty, the body is to be destroyed when the soul no longer needs it. This book explains in detail, almost scientifically, how to more easily pass through the "wheel" of rebirths and reach the next reincarnation, incarnation. The process of separating the soul from the former shell lasts three days, during which the monks chant special mantras. These mantras, like a guide, pave the way for the soul's consciousness through the stages of the bardo, from death to new life. In the process, the old body becomes an empty form, forever devoid of meaningful content. The body undergoes a major metamorphosis, splitting into the primary elements: earth, air, fire and water. The soul becomes finally free from the shell to plunge into a new vessel, in which, perhaps, it will be able to approach nirvana. Physicists believe that the fortieth day after death is the period after which DNA ceases to produce a reference vibration (loses its individual electromagnetic field). Death is not the end. In fact, death is the beginning, another stage of maturation. At the moment of physical death, your spirit will travel to the spiritual world where it will continue to learn and evolve. Death is a necessary step in your development, just as birth is. There is even a religious belief that someday, after your death, your spirit and body will be reunited, never to be separated again. According to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, the ascension of Christ is the highest degree of glorification of human nature, which in this ascension was elevated by God above all angelic titles. All religious tenets, much less their interpretations, are an article of faith. And the object of faith will always remain an object of faith, and for the most part interpreted by us as it pleases our souls. Let us examine such an article of faith as the Second Coming. Jesus himself spoke of the Second Coming of the Messiah to bring about the Last Judgment, but it is not entirely clear, even if we are certain that it was he who was quoted, whether he was speaking of himself. There is a certain idea evident, and in the whole Christian teaching, that man is opposed to certain mythical gods, often terrible and evil, and they are the heavenly elite, and man is insignificant. The doctrine of Christ proclaims the hidden rebellion of man as a representative of a kind of thinking beings against the tyranny of heaven. And it has quite earthly manifestation, when equality with God is preached. Don't you find here a parallel with modern socio-political declarations?

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Примечания

1

The Cambrian explosion is an event that brought about a fundamental change in the biosphere: before that, almost all life was simple and single-celled. There was a dramatic increase in the number of complex multicellular organisms, many of them with skeletons.

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2

In the physics of our universe the speed of light is the limiting speed, and it cannot be reached by material bodies. The paradox of quantum entangled pairs will be explained in the further narration.

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3

Koine is a common form of Greek that emerged in the post-classical antique era.

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4

Sicarii – "daggers" – a militant Jewish group, a splinter wing of the Zealot movement; they attacked both invaders and collaborators.

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5

Dishdasha is a traditional Arabic garment for men – a long cotton tunic shirt with long sleeves.

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6

The Kuvukliya is a small chapel in the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem, containing the Holy Sepulchre.

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7

recognized as an extremist organization in Russia

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