Последние тайны СССР – Проект Марс 88 - [17]

The evidence of the correctness of his thoughts was the fact that he found the crew already gathered in the central compartment and understood by their faces that they had been waiting for him and guessed what he had to tell them.

Hello to the crew!

On the whole, the matter stands as follows: the Coordinator said that we had fulfilled the program a long time ago, many times, and we know it ourselves better than he does. The political component of the project was conceived in the times of the USSR and in the conditions of another country will look, to put it mildly, different…

Sergey frowned even more and continued: we don’t care a fig about politicians and, the more so, their games, and if you wish, we can land our spaceship right on the Kremlin or better on the lawn near the White House – we’ll show their President a fig, swear at him in Russian and fly back. But what matters is this…

Many space programs have been wound up, and there are a lot of impostors and swindlers in the branch itself. The number of launches has decreased by more than ten times. But the main thing – our people have become different. They are better in some respects, worse in others, and it will be the biggest stress when we return. We flew away from one country and will return into another…

Well, our stress is our problem, and I think we would deal with it somehow, but I cannot say exactly about the whole population as the consequences may be quite unexpected.

In Russia they don't launch more than a couple of satellites to the Earth orbit, and here you are – USSR missionaries have returned from Mars! They also face another presidential election, and the main candidate may have a flop.

On the whole, the Coordinator leaves the decision about the termination of MS 88 project with the crew! – ended Sergey.

So we can decide not to return to Earth? Sveta asked, a little surprised.

Right, said Sergey. We can stay on Mars until we get bored, return to Earth later, we can even leave the Solar System… We are absolutely free to choose.

Andrey raised his hand and said foolishly: and now Cheburashka will make a speech.

We received this absolute freedom as soon as we started… We were only bound by a sense of duty and gratitude towards thousands of scientists, engineers, workers, servicemen and guys from the launch site that worked hard for our rocket in the taiga.

We felt the same towards other people from our country who could live a little better and be a little wealthier if it weren’t for this project… We also had this freedom on Earth before the flight, but not absolute… Even here it’s not absolute, it’s just different, probably like many other things and notions. Well, the rocket should be returned to Earth, and we will stay here…

Marina took her sad and thoughtful look from the side port: in principle, the spaceship is not needed on Earth, probably just like many other things that we’ve done… We transferred the most precious thing – the results of our research, a part of Mars soil specimens should be received by now, and a part is on its way. They have the drawings, the project and the production technology. If they wish, they can construct and launch a dozen of them. Moreover, many years have passed, so they can make something better. So we’d better fly as far as we can…

Sveta was tumbling in zero-gravity, then took a posture as if she was lying on an airbed in water, put her hands behind her head and communicated her opinion, looking in the ceiling: on Earth, we lived at least 25 years each, now we have been on Mars for a few years… Well, let’s fly to the nearest, possibly inhabitable planet, and if there is nobody there, we will make its population! And we will launch a probe to Earth from Mars orbit with specimens of everything we have collected, and it will fly in a few years.

And it’s high time Marina and I had children! Nobody knows what will turn out of this idea here. So, boys, choose a planet, as close as possible, and let’s fly to colonize it… I wish we would fly faster! If we get lost, “Peter” will help.

Sergey sat at the operating panel, the girls – at the on-board table.

Andrey flew to the service compartment to look at the monitoring unit, cast a glance in the side port and started all the engines…

The last shard of the Soviet Union disappeared in the endless Universe, taking away not only ordinary secrets, mysteries, developments… It took away something much larger, a mystery which would take humankind just a little to solve…

P.S. Well, and Andrey left an indecent greeting for NASA on the Mars surface.

It’s strange they still have not found it!

Русский

Посвящается: Всем прошедшим полигон

Много было в СССР полигонов: Плесецк и Сары-Шаган, Байконур и Капустин Яр Cемипалатинск и Новая Земля. Всех и не перечислишь. По большому счету: вся огромная страна под названием СССР была одним единым – ПОЛИГОНОМ.

Полигон – это почти всегда создание, освоение и испытание чего-то нового, движение вперед.

Вместо предисловия

В СССР было много секретов, засекречивали даже то, что на первый взгляд и не нужно было…