Alexander Zubkov - Ascension. Saksaywaman. Shard of eternity

– Your judgment is as good as ever, – declared Linda solemnly. – And, as I said, I like this route.

It made no sense to speak loudly, for there was an extraordinary silence in the house, and only the sound of crackling firewood filling the air.

– Thank you, Matthew, – said Andrew, getting up from the sofa. – Now everything is clear. I suggest we celebrate our forthcoming trip with a glass of champagne.

– You know I don't drink alcohol, – Matthew reminded. – But as every ceremony has its own meaning, I wouldn't refuse a glass of juice. I wonder what the glasses are for?

– Frankly, I haven't given it much thought, – she answered. – But if you think about what happens, it brings to mind the clinking. The clinking of glasses. In every culture there is the ringing of either some object, or the same bell ringing in temples. It is a sound that has a very strong beneficial effect.

– Maybe you're right, – Matthew agreed. – It would be interesting to study the information about the influence of sound on our environment. I will do that when I return home.

– Juice it is, – Andrew brought the tray with the decanter. – What about you, Linda?

– I'll support Matthew, – she answered.

– Then you leave me no choice, – Andrew gave up, pouring the cool drink into the glasses. – Let's complement the crackling of the wood in the fireplace with the clinking of our glasses, and may it bring your expedition success and good luck.

A beautiful sea liner was smoothly crossing the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, carrying more than a thousand passengers on board. The calm waters stretched for miles around, but many were not at all interested. Most of the passengers behaved as if they were in an entertainment establishment on land, depriving themselves of the basic pleasure of watching the mesmerizing water element.

The third day of the voyage was approaching, and many had already ceased to appreciate what Matthew would not trade for any achievements of modern entertainment innovations, which the ship was fully equipped with. But there were those who shared his interests and spent all their free time in comfortable loungers on the upper deck, which had a panoramic view of the expanse of the ocean. The day was nearing its end and a huge disk of fiery red would soon touch the horizon with its edge. Such moments Matthew never missed, because of the opportunity to admire the flight of our home planet.

«During sunrise and sunset, you can truly observe the power of the universe, – Matthew thought. – The planet rushes at tremendous speed around the sun, and we cannot notice it only because there is no proper reference point. How much everything changes when it appears. As the sun approaches the horizon, it is this mesmerizing movement of our planet that we can concentrate on. It's a shame that such moments can be observed only twice a day. And for residents of megalopolises they are practically not available at all. Besides, most people are immersed in illusory problems, which they invented themselves. And if you could just look around, you could admire the world around you. To feel its power. Its power… The masters of the earth… what nonsense they put into our immature minds. Who are we? Just grains of sand. Though some of us are beginning to realize that. I'm not the only one sitting here. And even though it's mostly the elderly, who cares? The main thing is that I am not alone in my thoughts».

Though the sun's rays no longer illuminated the deck, its soft light made it possible to read, and Matthew picked up the dictionary again, which he had set aside for the time of his viewing the sunset. After half an hour it became difficult to look through the book, so he decided to check on Linda. The girl was not in her quarters, so Matthew made his way to the swimming pool, where she liked to spend her evenings. The pool was also on the upper deck, where Matthew had recently come down from, but only at the stern of the ship, and it took him at least fifteen minutes to get there. As he approached, the splashes of water and the enthusiastic cries of the bathers began to be heard. There was no shortage of visitors at this time, just as there was no shortage of other entertainment venues.

Since the pool was on the open deck, and the cool ocean cyclone of the night enveloped the ship with its coolness, many vacationers preferred to soak in the warm water. Matthew didn't immediately find Linda, so he decided to take a seat at the bar nearby. He ordered a glass of orange juice and started to watch the customers, trying to find his friend. Soon he noticed her coming out of the pool. Linda also saw Matthew and threw a towel over herself and went to him.

– Good evening, – he heard a joyful voice. – Who are you looking for?

– Good evening, Linda, – Matthew answered, getting up from his chair. – Who should I be looking for but you? Have a seat. You're in great shape.

– Thanks for the compliment, – Linda smiled, and took the cocktail the barman offered to her. – I keep hoping to see you in the pool without a shirt, but you do not break away from your dictionaries. How about now?

– I don't want to draw attention to myself, – Matthew joked, – besides, I don't really like swimming pools. But I'd dive into the ocean right now, if they gave passengers the opportunity.

– It's true that you attract attention, especially from women, – Linda smiled, raising an eyebrow meaningfully. – Your serene study of dialects on the deck will cease because of the many groupies. Look how many beautiful girls are swimming.

Linda looked around the pool area while sipping her cocktail through a straw.

– If you stay close to me, no one will dare to compete with you, – Matthew supported the verbal game and raised an eyebrow at her friend's example.

– How can you sit all day on the deck when you can rest so well before the serious work. You ought to meet somebody. A good company, a change of scenery is good for the learning process.

– I agree, – said Matthew. – And so I will.

– Really! – exclaimed Linda. – Shall we go swimming then?

– No, I'll pass. But I saw some poker tables in the casino the other day. I guess I could play a little.

– It sounds pretty boring to me, – frustrated Linda. – We'd be better off buying.

– It depends on how you play and what tasks you set, – Matthew objected.

– What kind of tasks is possible? – Linda wondered. – To win and leave the casino with the money.

– Don't tell me, – countered Matthew. – You're not playing with a robot, you're playing with real people. It's easy to win with a good card, but beating your opponent when you have a weak card is another matter. In order to do that, you have to learn to feel your opponent, to anticipate his train of thought. That's where the interesting game comes in.

– Maybe you're right, but it's definitely not for me. Let's sit a little longer, and then I'll go to my room. I want to leaf through some records, too, and enjoy the starry sky on my way back to my cabin.

– You're right, – Matthew agreed. – The light is rather strong here, and you can hardly see the stars, though they're very bright at these latitudes.

– It's not the latitude, but, as you rightly pointed out, the light. In the big cities, even at night, there is too much light, so the stars are not seen as well. But the fact that other constellations are visible here is interesting.

– I agree. It's so nice to watch. At times like this, you start to think about things you would never think about in everyday life.

– Yes, I've noticed that you sometimes dive into some kind of peculiar state. I don't consider myself a big expert on the subject, but I have read that the human brain can operate at different frequencies. According to researchers, there are four: alpha, beta, theta, and delta. The beta frequency, for example, characterizes readiness for conscious thinking, the alpha frequency is a state of easy relaxation, the theta frequency is responsible for creative inspiration and the delta frequency reveals heightened perception.