"The Wanderer On The Facets"

"THE WANDERER IN THE FACETS"

Part I THE WAY TO THE PALACE

C H A P T E R 1
Closer to evening, a wind blew from the Northern Airless Mountains. Here, away from the ocean, the wind was rough and piercing. It didn’t favor Noble Fox. He rode in the cold wind over the rugged forest and thick bush of the Second Plateau.
As Fox estimated, his pursuers were about 8 or 10 miles behind him. Taking the topography of the country into account, he had a considerable advantage. A small rocky ridge, stretching 500 yards ahead of him could offer good shelter for the night. It might be possible to find a small grotto or even a cave. A cave would be the best because he needed a fire without fear of being seen from faraway. Of course, the cave could be occupied by a marble ?? ounce, or much worse, by a cave bear, that sometimes roamed these desert lands.
Fox grinned and turn the horse towards the rocks on which twisted pines were growing. He couldn’t be seen here, so he could use something more reliable than poisoned arrows. Fox rolled up the sleeve of his leather jacket and revealed a wide, very plain gray bracelet. In reality, it was a devastating device, which could destroy the nerve cells of any species. Fox had no intention of fighting with any beast, but now he was tired and could not waste time seeking shelter elsewhere.
Fox slowly directed the horse along the boulders that littered the bottom of the ridge. For a long time there was nothing that suited his needs and he was lucky not to meet any big beasts.
At last, when the light of the sky had dimmed, Fox got his chance. He discovered a considerable crevice in the rocks. It had a narrow opening but seemed to be wide enough inside. Just what he was looking for, what good luck. Noble Fox stopped the horse, got down and keeping his bracelet ready approached the stone fissure. The crevice revealed that it was not as deep as it seemed but there were dry leaves and pine needles on its bottom.
Fox wound the horse reins on a small pine bough growing near the crevice’s entrance and untied a bag of oats. Having provided his four-legged friend the possibility of the food and rest needed to regain its strength. Fox then began to make a place for him to rest.
There were plenty of dry branches around and very soon the fire was flaming inside the crevice. From his bag, Fox retrieved chunks of fresh deer meat he had obtained from the morning’s hunt. The meat was wrapped in big burdock leaves to prevent them from drying and spoiling. Having threaded the meat on wooden sticks, which he had previously prepared from green branches, Fox leaned back to wait while the meat roasted.
The moon appeared in the sky having floated from behind the Airless Mountains. Following the example of the ancient Greeks, the moon on this facet was called Selena. Greenish Selena was rising just above the central mountain peak where Fox staying.
Having eaten the last piece of appetizing meat along with rice and bread, he washed this simple supper down with _____??? Fox took out his pipe and tobacco pouch. He dared not add more branches to the fire, so he made himself more comfortable near a boulder that had been warmed by the sun during the day. He smoked with pleasure looking at Selena.
He hoped that he would be able to get to the big trading town of Omax, which was situated almost at the end of the Second Plateau on the big river Trapkhor. From there he would be able to easily cover up his trail. He had friends in Omax who would help him to escape the chase. After all, his pursuers didn’t know he was making his way to the Central Peak. Once he had eluded them in Omax, he would calmly continue on his way to the nearest transition point.
The nearest transition point he sought was situated in the vicinity of the Vishtu Tribe’s camp, from where he had once escaped. He didn’t expect to be back here, except now there were not as many transition point variants left for his escape. The most preferable transition point was closed off to him because between it and Fox were the Vishtu Tribal warriors. The next transition point he remembered with certainty was situated much farther away beyond the Vishtu.
Fox never thought things would turn out this way. That he would have to escape to the Airless Mountains or to the Palace and search for loopholes to other facets. To travel through the facets of this world, there were plenty of transition points everyplace, but Fox couldn’t remember all their locations. He once had a special coded map but lost it during his travels. Now, it was too difficult to return to the Palace for a new one.
The situation with his forced escape and the chase made things impossibly difficult. He was known as a good warrior in the Vishtu Tribe. This tribe adopted Fox. With out a doubt he could have quickly risen above the ranks to become chief, but two things interfered. First, to become a chief during the life of the now ruling Shotshek it was necessary that this chief pass on his reign. It was easy to achieve this by marrying the chief’s daughter, Melshoat. Shotshek himself had hinted to Fox many times that he had nothing against seeing Melshoat as senior wife in Fox’s hut, but by that time Fox had already been living with two wives. The tribal customs were rather simple because warriors were killed sometimes in wars and during hunting raids. There was no lack of available women. Fox didn’t feel a burning desire to posses the chief’s daughter. She wasn’t a beauty by any means. However the main reason Fox did not want to be chief was it meant he’d have to bear all the responsibility for the tribe’s problems. He’d have to solve all the stupid domestic quarrels.
In this world Fox experienced for the first time the freedom he craved. He had no intention of giving this up even for the post of Senior Duke on the European Facet or to be Shah on the Asian Facet. Freedom, for the time being, was the only way he could have time to investigate the main secret, what is this world and where are those who built the Palace?
When it finally came time to make a decision, Fox chose freedom and returned the chief’s headdress. The public refusal of Shotshek’s official proposal produced an unanticipated reaction. Shotshek announced that Fox’s refusal to become Melshoat’s husband and a new chief, made him an outlaw. Now he was forced to leave the tribe. “All right”, said Fox, “let it be so. I’ll go away”. Moreover, at this moment Fox had finally decided that it was impossible to continue to live without the proper map of the transition points, therefore the time to visit the Palace had finally come.
But as it turned out, Shotshek’s sentence was simply an attempt to pressure Fox and make him change his mind. In any case, the chief understood Fox intended leave anyway. Many tribes would have invited him without hesitation. Fox’s glory as a warrior and as a person with valuable advice was widely known in this part of the facets. Besides, Fox could take care of himself pretty well on almost all facets, except for the Prehistoric or the Dinosaur facets. However, Shotshek had no intention of allowing Fox to go to four sides???. He plotted to keep Fox by any means, even if it meant Fox’s death. But that last price was too high by Fox’s estimation. Fox was a very tricky person and it was for this reason he received his nickname among the Indians. He pretended to act obedient, but in spite of this, Shotshek had assigned two warriors to him as spies. They played the role of best friends.
But Fox escaped. He knocked out both guards and tied them up leaving them in a safe place but where they would not be found too soon. He tried not to kill anyone unless absolutely necessary. Not only fellow tribesmen but enemies too. It was why he received the nickname “Noble”.
Fox went on the run and felt he had better odds of surviving the wilderness than in surviving Shotshek’s warriors. When Shotsek found out Fox had escaped, he vowed to erect three poles in front of his hut. One with the betrayer’s scalped head, the second with the scalp itself and the third with his genitals. The word genitals was unknown, not only to the tribe but also on the entire facet. Therefore, Shotshek had simply announced he would soon display the cock and the balls of the betrayer. Fox couldn’t agree with that or with the other two display poles on which Shotshek was going to hang such valuable things for Fox. Fox also didn’t agree he was a betrayer, he had never betrayed anyone.
Fox emersed himself into this new world as if it were a mystery and the greatest adventure that could befall any ordinary person. Besides being granted the gift of a long life, he also received special powers in this world, although somewhat restricted, but great nevertheless. In spite of his gifts, he personally struggled with an enigma. Who, when, how and for what purpose was this world created? And, who created this planet with such fantastic forms and with the variety of people inhabiting its facets? And the most important questions, where are these Creators now and why is there an obvious relationship between them and the Earth? Why does the Computer in the Palace work in the Earth’s languages even though, as Fox could barely recall, there was already an authentic language of the Creators? Why the emphasis on Earth when there were doors to many other universes, none the less interesting?
During his wanderings over the facets Fox used all the technical possibilities that he learned in the Palace and only he knew. However, he didn’t want to act as a newly enlightened God and wonder-worker for these people. From the very beginning he understood that all existing religions on the planet's facets reflect elements of the Gods who created this world. It was obvious from the information in the Computer, that behind these Gods was the representatives of the race who had built the Palace and the giant cylinder shaped planet itself.
However, in this world Fox didn't want to complicate things so he preferred to travel relying mainly on his reactions and sharpness. Not that he had originally chosen to travel this way, but it's how it turned out.
Within a few days of his arrival at the Palace he found himself falling out through a one-way transition point to the opposite end of the planet. Somehow he managed to survive there. Here he recognized the delight in survival, by winning in mortal combat in what seemed to be a hopeless situation. He had felt the taste of real life and known dangers that chilled the blood. He hadn't been given these gifts on Earth. On earth he was mired in a boring, dull life. Where he wore holes in his trousers simply by sitting at work he found uninteresting. Life in this part of the country required that you never speak your mind and to be satisfied with that. Forced to be content with ideologies the society permitted to the "menial" people not required of the CPSU members.
On Earth Fox was called Bogdan Alexandrovitch Domratchev. He lived in the country called the USSR in a big city of Sverdlovsk near the Ural Mountains. When Bogdan got to the World of the Facets, it was 1983 on Earth. Two years prior to that Bogdan graduated from the polytechnic institute and since then worked in a scientific research institute of black metallurgy. He was alone in this world since his parents had perished in an auto crash three years ago and he had no close relatives.
By Soviet standards he appeared to be living the life of a rich heir, a perfect flat, spacious and grand, and an automobile. However, the inheritance he obtained through his parent’s death did not bring pleasure to Bogdan, even though many friends his own age envied him. Their jealousy made him feel uncomfortable.
This once had led to his circle of friends narrowing considerably, though currently his number of friends was beginning to grow in a geometrical progression. It was good to have pals and be living in a spacious flat. It was possible to go for drinks at any moment, and to bring along a woman to spend the night.
Often, women visited Bogdan; he was very successful with women. Bogdan made sure none stayed too long although many would liked the arrangement. Considering his grand living style and being a very decent guy, what else could they ask for? But Bogdan hadn't even thought about married life. It seemed from his observations that after a while marriage suddenly became boring and dull.
In 1983 the events of the higher echelons of Soviet power reached its peak. The information program "Time" of Central Television began. The program consisted mainly of the weakling rulers’ demonstrating different kinds of their party's Sabbath rituals. Savory greetings along with kisses for the General Secretaries almost continuously sounded in speakers of radio and TV-sets.
It was boring to Bogdan, it was melancholy and boring. He decided to escape to the West. However, it was impossible to travel as a tourist to the capitalist countries. Where would he ask to seek political asylum? Under the secret laws of the Soviet Union, visas and permits weren't given to persons who had not visited the countries of the socialist camp first. Bogdan could go to a socialist country only after he completed one full year of work in one place. Without this work experience he had no opportunity to receive the necessary references.
So Bogdan completed one year of work, received the necessary reference and visited Bulgaria. It was only then that he discovered a new problem previously unknown to him. He already obtained a visa from a girl friend he had at the "Sputnik" travel agency for a cruise around Europe. This was the usual way of escape to the West. However, for Bogdan the institute’s local trade-union committee stopped him at his work. They explained that there was yet another requirement, usually kept secret, which did not allowed visas to be issued to Soviet people for two years in succession. Bogdan gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do. It was necessary to wait one more year. "Good, I’ve waited before and I can wait a little more," he has said to himself.
Later, recalling this moment of irritation, he was pleased that the Soviet bureaucrats from the trade unions and the party’s agencies had held him back. If he had been released at that time, things that happened would have never gone the way they did. He probably would have been working as a waiter in Chicago. Instead, Bogdan continued on with his work.

On one of his business trips to a small metal processing plant, he passed by piles of metal in the factory's scrap yard. There among the rusty metal he discovered an interesting object. It was a half circle, approximately 45 centimeters in diameter. But this object, arriving from god knows where, would not normally have attracted his attention, if not for one thing. It was absolutely rust free and very smooth, as though just polished, however, the half-disk did not shine. It was matte gray and in general, very ordinary looking except when contrasted with the surrounding crumpled, dirty metal. Its cleanliness was striking neither ???___mote, nor scratched.
Bogdan stopped and looked more closely. The half-disk was rather thick, almost 4 centimeters, and it appeared proportionally heavy. However, this impression was deceptive, because when Bogdan flipped it over with the toe of his shoe, the half-disk turned over unexpectedly easily. On its reverse side there was a groove of 10 centimeters radius. At the center of the circle formed by this notch, there was what appeared to be an engraved drawing. As the object was only a half-disk the drawing was half missing but it was possible to guess, that the complete image showed a cylinder. At the place where the disk was connected to the other side, there was a lug and a recess, which at one time joined both parts.
Bogdan lifted the half-disk. It weighed not more than 200-300 grams and by its appearance it was not metal. But Bogdan had seen for himself that the scrap metal was loaded by means of the electromagnetic crane. Obeying his curiosity, Bogdan took the half-disk and put it in his brief case. The same day he had time to show the object to Sasha, his old friend who had graduated from the same department at the institute one-year earlier and now worked at this factory. However, Sasha had looked at the object very inattentively because it was her father’s birthday. Sahsa’s father was the chief metallurgist at the factory. That day nobody was interesting in working much less looking at Bogdan’s strange object, they were throwing the chief a big party.
Bogdan was invited to the party too. As customary in Russia the celebration began in the factory's office and then proceeded to the Chief’s country house. The next morning Bogdan suffered with a hangover. That day he completed his business through sheer force of will. He forgot entirely about the half-disk in his hotel room and only remembered it while getting ready for the train. "Okay, I'll check it at home," he decided.
When he arrived home he took out the forgotten half-disk and looked at it intently. He really only knew one thing about the material of the half-disk, it was a ferromagnetic. However, after measuring the specific gravity of the product's material, Bogdan could not find any alloy with similar parameters in the reference books. His attempts to make a chemical analysis were unsuccessful since it was impossible to break any quantity of material away, or to grind off any with a file. Bogdan continued his analysis but the half-disk had not yielded to anything, acids, even to a gas burner. While heating the half-disk, he found something even more strange. When touching it after heating its temperature remained at a stationary value, at least to the touch. But the energy from the heat had to dissipate somewhere!
Bogdan was planning to visit his contacts in the Ural Affiliate of the Academy of Sciences (UFAN) of the USSR, but events made an unexpected turn after he received a call from Sasha saying that a man had appeared, at the factory, searching for the half-disk. This man asked each employee if they had found an unusual object, eventually he came across Sasha. Before giving out any information Sasha called Bogdan to find out if he was against giving this man Bogdan's whereabouts, in particular, his telephone number.
“Basically, I'm not against it,” Bogdan said, thoughtfully scratching his chin, “and who is this man, KGB?” “I don’t think so. No,” growled out Sasha in the receiver, “probably a Balt, employee of the Latvian Academy of Science. He showed me his identification papers; they are all in order. Besides, he looks like a Balt and speaks with a light accent. But look, if you want, I will say that I can not find your number, or something like that.”
“It's nothing to me,” Bogdan said with a slight regret that he would now have to part with his newly found object. “Give him my number, but don't give him my address for the time being. I really don’t want him to show up unannounced at an inappropriate moment. Got it? And, thanks.”
Within a half an hour the man who was interested in the half-disk called him. With a slight accent the man introduced himself as Ingvar Yanovitch and politely thanked Bogdan for saving the half-disk. The man promised a good reward for its return.
“It's very valuable to us, Bogdan, very valuable,” he reiterated. “Our laboratory was engaged in researching it for many years, yes many years. As it always happens, its loss was caused by the trouble created by one employee. He lost the constituent of the composite installation. And, our laboratory is moving to another location. Do you understand? And somehow this half-disk was thrown into the scrap pile, yes.”
Bogdan wanted to pose the question as to why the scrap metal would have been transported from Latvia to the Urals for remelting, but Ingvar Yanovitch did not stop. “I'll pay you rather considerably for this Bogdan,” said Ingvar Yanovitch. “Of course, don't give it a second thought, this is all by permission of my chiefs, yes. When can we meet and where, for you to return the device? I shall come tomorrow by train. Is it convenient if I come to your place? Or, if not, please say where you'd like to meet me.” “But what is this material?” Bogdan asked, “That is if it isn't a secret. I've been very fascinated by this object.” “Well, well,” muttered the Latvian, “I shall explain it all to you when we meet. I understand your curosity, you're an engineer so it's interesting to you too. I shall tell you when we meet but once more let me stress that I'll pay to you for your find. Do you understand? You have shown yourself as an inquisitive man, it is necessary to encourage this.”
Bogdan thanked Ingvar Yanovitch and asked, whether he knew the city of Sverdlovsk. It seemed to Bogdan that in the Latvian’s tone of voice an alarm had gone off. “Oh, there is nothing wrong but if you don’t know the city, I could meet you at the station. I live not far from there,” offered Bogdan. “No, no trouble, do not trouble yourself, Bogdan. Tell to me the address and I'll find the address myself.” “As you wish,” said Bogdan. “Let's arrange it this way. The train comes about six in the evening. I shall just come from work and wait for you. I'll drop pick up a bottle and we shall toast the event. Shall we”?
“No doubt, we shall toast, we should do this. But do not trouble yourself, I'll take care of the drinks myself. It's me who owes it to you.”
“Well, as you wish,” sighed Bogdan.
He gave his address to the Latvian and they arranged to meet tomorrow at Bogdan's flat no later than half past six.
Ingvar Yanovitch said goodbye and Bogdan settled back and began thinking. By his nature he was cautious, as his father had trained him to be. Something in Ingvar Yanovitch’s behavior bothered him. What was it? He couldn’t quite understand what it was. Something did not match up.
First, it seemed very improbable, that metal scraps from Baltic would be sent to Sverdlovsk. There were enough melting factories from Latvia up to the Urals not to transport scrap this far. Though, this type of nonsense could happen in our country?
Secondly, even if this scrap would have been taken to the Urals, how could Ingvar Yanovitch and his laboratories, or the institute, possibly trace where this half-disk was transported?

It could be that they are such an important research laboratory (and, by the properties of the half-disk, the research must be confidential), that the loss of this valuable object caused those in command to order all the scrapheaps in the country to have been checked so thoroughly, that even a needle would be found. It was absolutely impossible to believe that an employee of the Latvian Academy of Science searched for the lost confidential object on dumps three thousand kilometers away from his institute.
Thirdly, even if so, it seemed rather doubtfully to Bogdan, that someone offered money for the find. It was not a hidden treasure, nor an important property of the state. And the state never hurries to pay for what it, in all cases, would consider as its property, even if the property was lost, and was then found.
Most likely, it is the private initiative of Ingvar Yanovitch or someone together with him. But if they are the scientists, instead of trades-men, then where was their money from? Not from their salary were they are going to pay the fee?
And, lastly: behind all the softness of Ingvar Yanoviych's voice there was some nervousness, vigilance and at the same time, strangely enough, toughness.
Later, Bogdan recollected many times his vigilance before and during his meeting with Ingvar Yanovitch. It's quite possible, that it was his intuition or the basic cautiousness in his character that had saved his life and started him on his improbable adventures and opportunities.

- //-

"THE WANDERER IN THE FACETS"

Part I THE WAY TO THE PALACE

C H A P T E R 1
Closer to evening, a wind blew from the Northern Airless Mountains. Here, away from the ocean, the wind was rough and piercing. It didn’t favor Noble Fox. He rode in the cold wind over the rugged forest and thick bush of the Second Plateau.
As Fox estimated, his pursuers were about 8 or 10 miles behind him. Taking the topography of the country into account, he had a considerable advantage. A small rocky ridge, stretching 500 yards ahead of him could offer good shelter for the night. It might be possible to find a small grotto or even a cave. A cave would be the best because he needed a fire without fear of being seen from faraway. Of course, the cave could be occupied by a marble ?? ounce, or much worse, by a cave bear, that sometimes roamed these desert lands.
Fox grinned and turn the horse towards the rocks on which twisted pines were growing. He couldn’t be seen here, so he could use something more reliable than poisoned arrows. Fox rolled up the sleeve of his leather jacket and revealed a wide, very plain gray bracelet. In reality, it was a devastating device, which could destroy the nerve cells of any species. Fox had no intention of fighting with any beast, but now he was tired and could not waste time seeking shelter elsewhere.
Fox slowly directed the horse along the boulders that littered the bottom of the ridge. For a long time there was nothing that suited his needs and he was lucky not to meet any big beasts.
At last, when the light of the sky had dimmed, Fox got his chance. He discovered a considerable crevice in the rocks. It had a narrow opening but seemed to be wide enough inside. Just what he was looking for, what good luck. Noble Fox stopped the horse, got down and keeping his bracelet ready approached the stone fissure. The crevice revealed that it was not as deep as it seemed but there were dry leaves and pine needles on its bottom.
Fox wound the horse reins on a small pine bough growing near the crevice’s entrance and untied a bag of oats. Having provided his four-legged friend the possibility of the food and rest needed to regain its strength. Fox then began to make a place for him to rest.
There were plenty of dry branches around and very soon the fire was flaming inside the crevice. From his bag, Fox retrieved chunks of fresh deer meat he had obtained from the morning’s hunt. The meat was wrapped in big burdock leaves to prevent them from drying and spoiling. Having threaded the meat on wooden sticks, which he had previously prepared from green branches, Fox leaned back to wait while the meat roasted.
The moon appeared in the sky having floated from behind the Airless Mountains. Following the example of the ancient Greeks, the moon on this facet was called Selena. Greenish Selena was rising just above the central mountain peak where Fox staying.
Having eaten the last piece of appetizing meat along with rice and bread, he washed this simple supper down with _____??? Fox took out his pipe and tobacco pouch. He dared not add more branches to the fire, so he made himself more comfortable near a boulder that had been warmed by the sun during the day. He smoked with pleasure looking at Selena.
He hoped that he would be able to get to the big trading town of Omax, which was situated almost at the end of the Second Plateau on the big river Trapkhor. From there he would be able to easily cover up his trail. He had friends in Omax who would help him to escape the chase. After all, his pursuers didn’t know he was making his way to the Central Peak. Once he had eluded them in Omax, he would calmly continue on his way to the nearest transition point.
The nearest transition point he sought was situated in the vicinity of the Vishtu Tribe’s camp, from where he had once escaped. He didn’t expect to be back here, except now there were not as many transition point variants left for his escape. The most preferable transition point was closed off to him because between it and Fox were the Vishtu Tribal warriors. The next transition point he remembered with certainty was situated much farther away beyond the Vishtu.
Fox never thought things would turn out this way. That he would have to escape to the Airless Mountains or to the Palace and search for loopholes to other facets. To travel through the facets of this world, there were plenty of transition points everyplace, but Fox couldn’t remember all their locations. He once had a special coded map but lost it during his travels. Now, it was too difficult to return to the Palace for a new one.
The situation with his forced escape and the chase made things impossibly difficult. He was known as a good warrior in the Vishtu Tribe. This tribe adopted Fox. With out a doubt he could have quickly risen above the ranks to become chief, but two things interfered. First, to become a chief during the life of the now ruling Shotshek it was necessary that this chief pass on his reign. It was easy to achieve this by marrying the chief’s daughter, Melshoat. Shotshek himself had hinted to Fox many times that he had nothing against seeing Melshoat as senior wife in Fox’s hut, but by that time Fox had already been living with two wives. The tribal customs were rather simple because warriors were killed sometimes in wars and during hunting raids. There was no lack of available women. Fox didn’t feel a burning desire to posses the chief’s daughter. She wasn’t a beauty by any means. However the main reason Fox did not want to be chief was it meant he’d have to bear all the responsibility for the tribe’s problems. He’d have to solve all the stupid domestic quarrels.
In this world Fox experienced for the first time the freedom he craved. He had no intention of giving this up even for the post of Senior Duke on the European Facet or to be Shah on the Asian Facet. Freedom, for the time being, was the only way he could have time to investigate the main secret, what is this world and where are those who built the Palace?
When it finally came time to make a decision, Fox chose freedom and returned the chief’s headdress. The public refusal of Shotshek’s official proposal produced an unanticipated reaction. Shotshek announced that Fox’s refusal to become Melshoat’s husband and a new chief, made him an outlaw. Now he was forced to leave the tribe. “All right”, said Fox, “let it be so. I’ll go away”. Moreover, at this moment Fox had finally decided that it was impossible to continue to live without the proper map of the transition points, therefore the time to visit the Palace had finally come.
But as it turned out, Shotshek’s sentence was simply an attempt to pressure Fox and make him change his mind. In any case, the chief understood Fox intended leave anyway. Many tribes would have invited him without hesitation. Fox’s glory as a warrior and as a person with valuable advice was widely known in this part of the facets. Besides, Fox could take care of himself pretty well on almost all facets, except for the Prehistoric or the Dinosaur facets. However, Shotshek had no intention of allowing Fox to go to four sides???. He plotted to keep Fox by any means, even if it meant Fox’s death. But that last price was too high by Fox’s estimation. Fox was a very tricky person and it was for this reason he received his nickname among the Indians. He pretended to act obedient, but in spite of this, Shotshek had assigned two warriors to him as spies. They played the role of best friends.
But Fox escaped. He knocked out both guards and tied them up leaving them in a safe place but where they would not be found too soon. He tried not to kill anyone unless absolutely necessary. Not only fellow tribesmen but enemies too. It was why he received the nickname “Noble”.
Fox went on the run and felt he had better odds of surviving the wilderness than in surviving Shotshek’s warriors. When Shotsek found out Fox had escaped, he vowed to erect three poles in front of his hut. One with the betrayer’s scalped head, the second with the scalp itself and the third with his genitals. The word genitals was unknown, not only to the tribe but also on the entire facet. Therefore, Shotshek had simply announced he would soon display the cock and the balls of the betrayer. Fox couldn’t agree with that or with the other two display poles on which Shotshek was going to hang such valuable things for Fox. Fox also didn’t agree he was a betrayer, he had never betrayed anyone.
Fox emersed himself into this new world as if it were a mystery and the greatest adventure that could befall any ordinary person. Besides being granted the gift of a long life, he also received special powers in this world, although somewhat restricted, but great nevertheless. In spite of his gifts, he personally struggled with an enigma. Who, when, how and for what purpose was this world created? And, who created this planet with such fantastic forms and with the variety of people inhabiting its facets? And the most important questions, where are these Creators now and why is there an obvious relationship between them and the Earth? Why does the Computer in the Palace work in the Earth’s languages even though, as Fox could barely recall, there was already an authentic language of the Creators? Why the emphasis on Earth when there were doors to many other universes, none the less interesting?
During his wanderings over the facets Fox used all the technical possibilities that he learned in the Palace and only he knew. However, he didn’t want to act as a newly enlightened God and wonder-worker for these people. From the very beginning he understood that all existing religions on the planet's facets reflect elements of the Gods who created this world. It was obvious from the information in the Computer, that behind these Gods was the representatives of the race who had built the Palace and the giant cylinder shaped planet itself.
However, in this world Fox didn't want to complicate things so he preferred to travel relying mainly on his reactions and sharpness. Not that he had originally chosen to travel this way, but it's how it turned out.
Within a few days of his arrival at the Palace he found himself falling out through a one-way transition point to the opposite end of the planet. Somehow he managed to survive there. Here he recognized the delight in survival, by winning in mortal combat in what seemed to be a hopeless situation. He had felt the taste of real life and known dangers that chilled the blood. He hadn't been given these gifts on Earth. On earth he was mired in a boring, dull life. Where he wore holes in his trousers simply by sitting at work he found uninteresting. Life in this part of the country required that you never speak your mind and to be satisfied with that. Forced to be content with ideologies the society permitted to the "menial" people not required of the CPSU members.
On Earth Fox was called Bogdan Alexandrovitch Domratchev. He lived in the country called the USSR in a big city of Sverdlovsk near the Ural Mountains. When Bogdan got to the World of the Facets, it was 1983 on Earth. Two years prior to that Bogdan graduated from the polytechnic institute and since then worked in a scientific research institute of black metallurgy. He was alone in this world since his parents had perished in an auto crash three years ago and he had no close relatives.
By Soviet standards he appeared to be living the life of a rich heir, a perfect flat, spacious and grand, and an automobile. However, the inheritance he obtained through his parent’s death did not bring pleasure to Bogdan, even though many friends his own age envied him. Their jealousy made him feel uncomfortable.
This once had led to his circle of friends narrowing considerably, though currently his number of friends was beginning to grow in a geometrical progression. It was good to have pals and be living in a spacious flat. It was possible to go for drinks at any moment, and to bring along a woman to spend the night.
Often, women visited Bogdan; he was very successful with women. Bogdan made sure none stayed too long although many would liked the arrangement. Considering his grand living style and being a very decent guy, what else could they ask for? But Bogdan hadn't even thought about married life. It seemed from his observations that after a while marriage suddenly became boring and dull.
In 1983 the events of the higher echelons of Soviet power reached its peak. The information program "Time" of Central Television began. The program consisted mainly of the weakling rulers’ demonstrating different kinds of their party's Sabbath rituals. Savory greetings along with kisses for the General Secretaries almost continuously sounded in speakers of radio and TV-sets.
It was boring to Bogdan, it was melancholy and boring. He decided to escape to the West. However, it was impossible to travel as a tourist to the capitalist countries. Where would he ask to seek political asylum? Under the secret laws of the Soviet Union, visas and permits weren't given to persons who had not visited the countries of the socialist camp first. Bogdan could go to a socialist country only after he completed one full year of work in one place. Without this work experience he had no opportunity to receive the necessary references.
So Bogdan completed one year of work, received the necessary reference and visited Bulgaria. It was only then that he discovered a new problem previously unknown to him. He already obtained a visa from a girl friend he had at the "Sputnik" travel agency for a cruise around Europe. This was the usual way of escape to the West. However, for Bogdan the institute’s local trade-union committee stopped him at his work. They explained that there was yet another requirement, usually kept secret, which did not allowed visas to be issued to Soviet people for two years in succession. Bogdan gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do. It was necessary to wait one more year. "Good, I’ve waited before and I can wait a little more," he has said to himself.
Later, recalling this moment of irritation, he was pleased that the Soviet bureaucrats from the trade unions and the party’s agencies had held him back. If he had been released at that time, things that happened would have never gone the way they did. He probably would have been working as a waiter in Chicago. Instead, Bogdan continued on with his work.

On one of his business trips to a small metal processing plant, he passed by piles of metal in the factory's scrap yard. There among the rusty metal he discovered an interesting object. It was a half circle, approximately 45 centimeters in diameter. But this object, arriving from god knows where, would not normally have attracted his attention, if not for one thing. It was absolutely rust free and very smooth, as though just polished, however, the half-disk did not shine. It was matte gray and in general, very ordinary looking except when contrasted with the surrounding crumpled, dirty metal. Its cleanliness was striking neither ???___mote, nor scratched.
Bogdan stopped and looked more closely. The half-disk was rather thick, almost 4 centimeters, and it appeared proportionally heavy. However, this impression was deceptive, because when Bogdan flipped it over with the toe of his shoe, the half-disk turned over unexpectedly easily. On its reverse side there was a groove of 10 centimeters radius. At the center of the circle formed by this notch, there was what appeared to be an engraved drawing. As the object was only a half-disk the drawing was half missing but it was possible to guess, that the complete image showed a cylinder. At the place where the disk was connected to the other side, there was a lug and a recess, which at one time joined both parts.
Bogdan lifted the half-disk. It weighed not more than 200-300 grams and by its appearance it was not metal. But Bogdan had seen for himself that the scrap metal was loaded by means of the electromagnetic crane. Obeying his curiosity, Bogdan took the half-disk and put it in his brief case. The same day he had time to show the object to Sasha, his old friend who had graduated from the same department at the institute one-year earlier and now worked at this factory. However, Sasha had looked at the object very inattentively because it was her father’s birthday. Sahsa’s father was the chief metallurgist at the factory. That day nobody was interesting in working much less looking at Bogdan’s strange object, they were throwing the chief a big party.
Bogdan was invited to the party too. As customary in Russia the celebration began in the factory's office and then proceeded to the Chief’s country house. The next morning Bogdan suffered with a hangover. That day he completed his business through sheer force of will. He forgot entirely about the half-disk in his hotel room and only remembered it while getting ready for the train. "Okay, I'll check it at home," he decided.
When he arrived home he took out the forgotten half-disk and looked at it intently. He really only knew one thing about the material of the half-disk, it was a ferromagnetic. However, after measuring the specific gravity of the product's material, Bogdan could not find any alloy with similar parameters in the reference books. His attempts to make a chemical analysis were unsuccessful since it was impossible to break any quantity of material away, or to grind off any with a file. Bogdan continued his analysis but the half-disk had not yielded to anything, acids, even to a gas burner. While heating the half-disk, he found something even more strange. When touching it after heating its temperature remained at a stationary value, at least to the touch. But the energy from the heat had to dissipate somewhere!
Bogdan was planning to visit his contacts in the Ural Affiliate of the Academy of Sciences (UFAN) of the USSR, but events made an unexpected turn after he received a call from Sasha saying that a man had appeared, at the factory, searching for the half-disk. This man asked each employee if they had found an unusual object, eventually he came across Sasha. Before giving out any information Sasha called Bogdan to find out if he was against giving this man Bogdan's whereabouts, in particular, his telephone number.
“Basically, I'm not against it,” Bogdan said, thoughtfully scratching his chin, “and who is this man, KGB?” “I don’t think so. No,” growled out Sasha in the receiver, “probably a Balt, employee of the Latvian Academy of Science. He showed me his identification papers; they are all in order. Besides, he looks like a Balt and speaks with a light accent. But look, if you want, I will say that I can not find your number, or something like that.”
“It's nothing to me,” Bogdan said with a slight regret that he would now have to part with his newly found object. “Give him my number, but don't give him my address for the time being. I really don’t want him to show up unannounced at an inappropriate moment. Got it? And, thanks.”
Within a half an hour the man who was interested in the half-disk called him. With a slight accent the man introduced himself as Ingvar Yanovitch and politely thanked Bogdan for saving the half-disk. The man promised a good reward for its return.
“It's very valuable to us, Bogdan, very valuable,” he reiterated. “Our laboratory was engaged in researching it for many years, yes many years. As it always happens, its loss was caused by the trouble created by one employee. He lost the constituent of the composite installation. And, our laboratory is moving to another location. Do you understand? And somehow this half-disk was thrown into the scrap pile, yes.”
Bogdan wanted to pose the question as to why the scrap metal would have been transported from Latvia to the Urals for remelting, but Ingvar Yanovitch did not stop. “I'll pay you rather considerably for this Bogdan,” said Ingvar Yanovitch. “Of course, don't give it a second thought, this is all by permission of my chiefs, yes. When can we meet and where, for you to return the device? I shall come tomorrow by train. Is it convenient if I come to your place? Or, if not, please say where you'd like to meet me.” “But what is this material?” Bogdan asked, “That is if it isn't a secret. I've been very fascinated by this object.” “Well, well,” muttered the Latvian, “I shall explain it all to you when we meet. I understand your curosity, you're an engineer so it's interesting to you too. I shall tell you when we meet but once more let me stress that I'll pay to you for your find. Do you understand? You have shown yourself as an inquisitive man, it is necessary to encourage this.”
Bogdan thanked Ingvar Yanovitch and asked, whether he knew the city of Sverdlovsk. It seemed to Bogdan that in the Latvian’s tone of voice an alarm had gone off. “Oh, there is nothing wrong but if you don’t know the city, I could meet you at the station. I live not far from there,” offered Bogdan. “No, no trouble, do not trouble yourself, Bogdan. Tell to me the address and I'll find the address myself.” “As you wish,” said Bogdan. “Let's arrange it this way. The train comes about six in the evening. I shall just come from work and wait for you. I'll drop pick up a bottle and we shall toast the event. Shall we”?
“No doubt, we shall toast, we should do this. But do not trouble yourself, I'll take care of the drinks myself. It's me who owes it to you.”
“Well, as you wish,” sighed Bogdan.
He gave his address to the Latvian and they arranged to meet tomorrow at Bogdan's flat no later than half past six.
Ingvar Yanovitch said goodbye and Bogdan settled back and began thinking. By his nature he was cautious, as his father had trained him to be. Something in Ingvar Yanovitch’s behavior bothered him. What was it? He couldn’t quite understand what it was. Something did not match up.
First, it seemed very improbable, that metal scraps from Baltic would be sent to Sverdlovsk. There were enough melting factories from Latvia up to the Urals not to transport scrap this far. Though, this type of nonsense could happen in our country?
Secondly, even if this scrap would have been taken to the Urals, how could Ingvar Yanovitch and his laboratories, or the institute, possibly trace where this half-disk was transported?

It could be that they are such an important research laboratory (and, by the properties of the half-disk, the research must be confidential), that the loss of this valuable object caused those in command to order all the scrapheaps in the country to have been checked so thoroughly, that even a needle would be found. It was absolutely impossible to believe that an employee of the Latvian Academy of Science searched for the lost confidential object on dumps three thousand kilometers away from his institute.
Thirdly, even if so, it seemed rather doubtfully to Bogdan, that someone offered money for the find. It was not a hidden treasure, nor an important property of the state. And the state never hurries to pay for what it, in all cases, would consider as its property, even if the property was lost, and was then found.
Most likely, it is the private initiative of Ingvar Yanovitch or someone together with him. But if they are the scientists, instead of trades-men, then where was their money from? Not from their salary were they are going to pay the fee?
And, lastly: behind all the softness of Ingvar Yanoviych's voice there was some nervousness, vigilance and at the same time, strangely enough, toughness.
Later, Bogdan recollected many times his vigilance before and during his meeting with Ingvar Yanovitch. It's quite possible, that it was his intuition or the basic cautiousness in his character that had saved his life and started him on his improbable adventures and opportunities.

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