– What about his personal life? How, for example, did he go to the movies, to the theater? – he asked.

– He didn't go anywhere, it's all here.

– You got everything?

– You're not getting the big picture. There's a city within a city down here. There's even roads with stoplights. It's a huge anthill. This physicist found out he had a son when the kid turned seven.

Ruthra was shocked. He knew a great deal about the lives of the invisible front fighters, of course, but such a thing stunned him. He instantly imagined the full scale of the secrecy. Yuri Vasilyevich continued:

– Soon we'll go with you to check the Cheget system by regulation, then you'll look at the president.

Ruthra remembered being counseled about the structures of secret societies. The Center was something like that. He also remembered the sign at the entrance: "You are seen, you are not. It accurately conveyed the meaning and content of Center Zero's functioning.

– Come on, I'll give you a little tour," Yuri said and pointed to the door at the end of the hall.

They went to the door, Yuri Vasilievich put the fingernail of his thumb to the device, the door opened. It was an elevator. They entered, he pressed the button, the elevator went up. After a while it stopped, they got out.

It was a huge underground railroad station. There were tracks through tunnels in different directions. Everything was painted in yellow and white stripes. Instead of trains, there were short narrow gauge tracks. There were quite a few people in overalls who were busy unloading oddly labeled cylinders. There was an interesting emblem on the cylinders in the form of a scrawled globe with a griffin on it, one paw covering a nuclear mushroom.

– This is Metro-2," said Yuri Vasilyevich. – In the secret department you will take special literature, you must know by heart what and where it is, how it works. How it turns on, how it turns off. Communications, control stations, stockpiles. Right down to which pipe goes where, what's in it, every wire, cable, communication line, every marking. You gotta know everything! That's our law, it's not just a whim. In case of emergencies, every specialist of your level must be able to take over the management of facilities.

Vasilyevich, telling him, gestured him to the platform. They boarded the narrow gauge train and drove off. It was like a regular subway with stations, but a little simpler. There was no pompous beauty or large spaces. At each station Yuri Vasilyevich told what strategic object it was connected with, what it served. It was a city within a city. All strategically important organizations had their duplicate centers in Metro-2. Warehouses, factories, communication centers, military storage facilities were scattered over a huge area upstairs and secretly interlocked through Metro-2 downstairs.

On the wall of one of the stations hung a diagram of both subways, secret and civilian, with their adjacent communications. "Metro-2" was much larger in diameter than the regular subway.

***

On one of the usual working days, Zhidkov came to Rutra's office. It was clear from the expression on his face that Vasilievich was preoccupied with something.

– Hello, Rutra Tigrovic.

– Hello, Yuri Vasilyevich. Is something wrong?

– Almost.

– Nothing momentous, I hope?

– The fateful thing has already happened.

Ruthra didn't answer or ask any questions. He waited for the chief to continue.

– You've probably realized by now that our special treaty with those whom ordinary citizens know as opposing parties looks not like a treaty, but a conspiracy.

– Maybe. How could it be otherwise? This whole scene is played out in the way people are used to historically understand the events.

– What I'm about to say is not for us to talk about. All the more so, it is not campaigning. However, I can, by virtue of my age and record, say it. Whatever treaties are proclaimed, there is a concept of rulers and those over whom the rulers have authority.

– What are you talking about, Yuri Vasilyevich?

– You have already realized, moreover – you have access to information, that many events that have already happened and that will still happen are not a priori what ordinary people think about them.

– Well, that's what we are. People like a show with a good ending, so we make it happen.

– Yes, but who harvests the harvest?

– Reaper.

– You've certainly heard of many narratives, so it won't be news to you much of what the modern world is based on. However, don't forget that we do this sort of thing for society. Just in whose interest?

Ruthra realized that Vasilievich was preparing to resign, or rather, he was being prepared to resign, so he decided to pour his heart out. Although such organizations around the world were strictly clan-based, they recruited only those who, if they were against the system, would be de facto figures against themselves. It was a complex, hidden, shrouded in secrecy hierarchy, the existence of which was strictly concealed. It could not be otherwise. Because those who seized power also created structures inside the main controlling body of the country or countries, so that the real controlling structure was not known to anyone. Naturally, strangers were not taken there. Thus, clans were created that no one saw or heard.