The two people at the intersection of fate do not know that they are approaching a turning point in history. Of course, even if they knew, it would be meaningless, because any encounter between any person is a coincidence that is bound to happen.
For Vasily, who is facing the curtain wall of the museum hall, his mood should be high-spirited. After all, there is nothing more gratifying than seeing the future forty years from now with his own eyes.
He had made some achievements in these years. After celebrating his 60th birthday and finding that he would not die in the short term, he once again had the idea of crossing the forest and reaching the other side of the continent.
The journey took two years in total, including packing and saying goodbye to his family, but excluding the preparations, he spent most of those two years in the guesthouse – in fact, he was caught by a border patrol drone just as he emerged from the forest.
He still remembers the dozen or so "stowaways" who shared the plane with him. Most of them were dressed in rags, spoke a strange, shouty language, and were always ready to incite a foolish riot. Fortunately, they ultimately failed to escape, suffering greatly from the precise and merciless non-lethal bullets fired from the cabin. The chaos in the crowd had nothing to do with Vasily; the hidden guns were certainly not pointed at him.
Life in the guesthouse was not too bad, at least it did not deprive him of his personal freedom like the prison in the settlement. Three meals a day and enough time for rest and entertainment were provided. Apart from a few hours of compulsory labor, all that was required was a virtual space literacy course of less than half an hour.
As a rare and well-educated "refugee", Vasily still misses the days he lived there. It was like returning to his childhood, where every day was fulfilling and carefree.
After he got used to all this, he realized that he must have been misunderstood by the managers of the guesthouse. Those people dealt with a huge number of illegal immigration cases every day, so it was not uncommon for them to confuse him, a "civilized person", with the savages. After all, even mentally ill people, when they were quiet, looked no different from ordinary people.
So he remained calm and meticulous as usual, ate and slept on time, and did not cause trouble to those busy people.
Perhaps because he performed too well, one day in winter, after work, he was taken to the office by a man who looked like his superior. Then, amid the congratulations of a group of people in uniform, he received a small card symbolizing his status as a Class C citizen of the community.
Vasily knew about the technology of integrating personal information into chips. He originally had his own passport, but after "that", he had never had the chance to update the passport version. He was not sure whether his information was still recorded in the server. Perhaps in the eyes of those high-ranking masters of the large settlement, he had been included in the death list a long time ago?
Of course, most importantly, it's best not to carry identification when traveling. Different settlements have different views on passports, and no traveler can be sure that the authorities at their next stop will even treat those two pieces of paper with the least bit of respect. When you claim to be civilized, those who do will delve into your origins, appearance, wealth, status, thoughts, and even your soul. But when you're just a refugee, they see you as a potential burden or free labor. Therefore, to avoid trouble, being an undocumented refugee is the safest identity. Even if you have identity, you have to pretend you don't.
However, returning to civilization was still a happy thing, but he was initially a little prejudiced against the levels on the cards. In his opinion, this might be a new type of grading system that would artificially divide the people, thus creating obvious classes and exploitation. Even in his hometown, there was no such historical regression.
This made him more cautious and curious about "empires" like the Community.
How can such a "country" exist?
How can such a "nation" adapt to oppression?
Why are people here smiling?
Why didn’t the things I learned about in history happen here?
Vasily felt that he should be more pragmatic. Rather than making unrealistic guesses, integrating with them would help him better understand the current situation. So he finally decided to use this place as a new starting point.
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