- Oh, there you are! - I smiled victoriously when I finally cornered my favorite creature in the world - a Pomeranian spitz nicknamed Rex. I began to slowly climb up to the prankster as he moved from paw to paw, choosing his escape route. But I'm a sparrow, and as soon as Rex moved on, I caught him with a clever move and pressed him to the chest with a victorious scream.
- And if he keeps running away like that? Maybe it's better to leave him on Earth? - I heard a voice from behind my back. The voice belonged to Arnold Jung, a genius mathematician from Germany. For a fucking mathematician, he looked fucking good. Pretty athletic, with a nice face and dimples on his cheeks, he also had a pure Aryan appearance.
- I can't do this, I smiled sourly. - And I can't explain it rationally and logically how much you love it, Jung just smiled. - I just can't leave Rex on Earth thinking I'd never see him again.
- You and your family aren't so much trouble. Okay, let's go. We're starting soon. - Arnold gestured to me to follow him.
Soon we saw four more people looking through a huge window at six small spaceships like Cassiopeia 4.
There were six of us and we were chosen to fly to Alpha-1 station. What is Alpha-1? A place where all the color of science was gathered to solve the global problems of mankind. Monthly reports came from the station, but it is well known that those who left never returned to Earth.
The unofficial leader of our gathering was Vitovt Brzezinski, an anesthesiologist-resuscitator, and on the occasion of his fate - the head of the department in my own hospital, and thus, my boss. So I'm not used to it! He was a real genius, a universal physician, in love with medicine as much as possible. I saw with my own eyes how, during the operation, he took the place of a confused surgeon while the second one was passing and saved the patient's life. He looked more like an artist (I don't know why artists look like that in my head!) than a doctor - black, saddle-haired, shoulder-to-shoulder, for which he had been scolded many times in the past, light-blue eyes, the right facial features. I had a deep respect for him, but I had no sympathy for him. I can't love my bosses far from my employees, and Vitovt was just like that - always with himself.
But I could not respect his unforgettable passion. Victoria Shekhovtsova was a bad and stupid man, and, unforgivably, a bad and stupid doctor. She was a children's surgeon, and if you are a parent, thank our legislation - always operate on at least two surgeons. I do not want to chew what is wrong with her and why, and in time you will understand it and draw your own conclusions.
Then there was Jung, a mathematical genius. He was a few years younger than me, but we got along well. Apart from another crew member, Jessica Irons, an African-American woman from Washington and just an outstanding virologist, I spoke only to him.
Jessica was a little over thirty, and I thought she was an incredibly beautiful woman. In the three days we spent at the station, waiting for the ships to prepare, we were called back-to-back girlfriends. She had a son in America, Ethan, but she wasn't allowed to take him with her. Jess missed him insanely, telling me stories from their lives. I was still wondering if she knew she'd never see him again. But I never dared to ask.
The last one was Butch Clifford, whom I didn't talk to at all. He was from England, maybe not, but one thing's for sure - he was a rare bastard. And what's most disgusting about rare bastards is that they were all just loved. The man in the board, Jessica and Victoria giggled at his rudeness, and little Arnold almost looked in his mouth. Butch behaved uninhibited and uninhibited, joked indecently and behaved like a bastard, and those who did not like it, "just did not understand the joke. I also didn't know who he was by profession, and I didn't know who he was. I guess it was just Vitovt and I kept my distance from him.
I didn't know why I was going to Alpha 1. Again, I was an anesthesiologist, and... well... I'm not saying I'm a bad specialist, but it's a long way from the sunset of medicine. Besides, I was just a resident, and therefore lost in guesswork - why would I go to Alpha-1? Looking at our group, it was clear that we needed doctors at the station, and I chose pediatricians as more versatile doctors. But what the hell are they doing with two anesthesiologists (plus a dog, but for Rex, I negotiated separately) and a shitty surgeon? No one knows.
I was taken away from thinking by the call that came in. Red spots on the walls danced alarm system.
It was time.