In the morning, Vladimir Mikhailovich was awakened by something strange. He sat up in bed, stretched with a groan, scratched his protruding belly in his camouflage T-shirt, slipped his feet into his slippers, and walked to the kitchen. Pressing...

Anna stood in the center of a small clearing at the very top of the hill. The night chill made her shiver occasionally. Just like back then, on the roof of the house, when she was talking to the...

The veranda was quiet and peaceful. The roof of the house provided comfortable shade, and the sun-drenched pine forest filled the air with the scent of pine needles and the occasional soft chirping of forest birds. The scientist sat down...

The girl looked around. The platform was surrounded only by pine forest. There were so many of these useless stations, built by construction robots every twenty kilometers. Perhaps, in time, a small town with parks and shops would appear...