We almost haven’t seen each other for the whole month, and meanwhile so many curious things had happened in the world, – carefully I tried again to start conversation, – and, by the way, today’s Saturday and I have nothing to do at the editorial office.

Oh, Watson, why do you like so much to beat around the bush? You’d better to ask straight, you know, – answered Holmes, a little bit irritated, like having guessed about my thoughts.

The beginning turned out to be rather discouraging, but it was too late to retreat.

You’ve caught it right, as usual, Sherlock, I’m greatly interested in your opinion about the latest terrorist acts in the USA. This is a crime of the century, isn’t it?! Thousands of victims, unheard-of destructions, tremendous insolence and coordination of criminal actions in plain view of the whole world, and at the same time – complete confusion of the government, lack of any clear trails that could facilitate the catch and indictment of the culprits. I’m sure it’s a hard nut to crack for the FBI gentlemen! It looks like this riddle was created for you, dear Holmes. Who else but you might be able to unravel this mysterious conspiracy! – I was trying to flatter my friend, and thus make him eager to talk. His answer, however, stunned me.

You’re wrong, Watson, – every schoolboy or apprentice is equal to the revealing of this crime; I have nothing to investigate in it. The FBI gentlemen, I have no doubts, are very well informed about the authors of this outrage.

Well, I beg your pardon, Holmes, why don’t they arrest the criminals then?

Let’s only wait, and they certainly will do it ... and almost for sure the arrested ones will have no connection with the events on the September 11.

My bewilderment hung heavily in absolute silence of the living room furnished humbly with antique items. One could not hear but the hollow ticking of Miller’s clock; the clock showed nine past ten already. Holmes has found it necessary to explain himself.

I hope, Watson, you don’t take seriously the version about the involvement of Muslims in that act of aggression?

To tell you the truth, I don’t know what to think. All newspapers and TV channels are trumpeting about Osama (Usamah) Bin Ladin and terrorists directed by him. They blow up anti-Arab hysteria with all their might. On the other side, so many people still remember very well, that in 1995, after the explosion of the FBI building in Oklahoma, in spite of the similar hysterical reaction of American mass media, the complete non-involvement of “persons of Arab nationality” in that tragedy was finally proven. And add to this that since 1979 and up to now, the CIA itself has been “cultivating” the talibs and Bin Ladin, who could be used in these events by someone secretly, to my mind. Therefore, I find it difficult to make a clear version of the events.

So let me congratulate you, old fellow. The Independence of mind, caution and ability not to draw hasty conclusions based on guesswork and information from unverified sources – these are wonderful qualities of a remarkable analyst. And it’s a pity that they’ve gone out of style so much time yet, at least in political and journalistic circles.

But what’s your version, Holmes? Wouldn’t you state it seriously, that American intelligent services themselves organized those abductions and explosions?

Who knows, who knows... – said my friend and became silent again, absorbed in his own profound speculations.

I knew Holmes for many years, and have learnt to respect his keen analytical mind, decisive, strong-willed character, and irreproachable decency. Moreover, my admiration of this man was so great that I didn’t even try to hide it away under a cold mask of conventional neighbourliness or slightly coarse camaraderie. Gradually, he had also become imbued with real sympathy for me, managing to estimate properly my tact and warm friendliness, and so paid me back with his complete frankness. I can’t remember him trying to conceal anything from me, whatever it was, save being compelled by requirements of professional ethics or punctiliousness with respect to private secrets of his clients, who trusted him. However, that was certainly not the case of this kind, and Holmes’s hesitations surprised me a great deal. I was patiently waiting for some explanation from him, but he remained silent.

My dear Watson, – he said at last, – don’t you think, that certain things in life are not worth learning? Was not it you, who once quoted for me some astonishing saying of the Great Russian poet Pushkin: «A fiction that elevates my soul is dearer to me than a host of base and despicable truths”.

Of course, this remark of my friend only warmed up my curiosity even more, and I hurried up to assure him that though certain circumstances, under which an element of intellectual chastity, verbal restraint and mystery could contribute to smoother relations within society and help avoid unnecessary friction, probably existed indeed, – this case was definitely not of that kind. After all, in national culture of Russians the concepts of truth, right, justice and fairness are intertwined so closely, that they all have the same root and have become the basis of Russian world outlook, under the name of Orthodoxy[8]. Some time ago, it was all the same for us, Englishmen, the heirs of freedom-loving Celts. Unfortunately then the words have gradually lost their original sense, and the phonetics of such professional term as «jurist» started to remind suspiciously that of «journalist» and «jeweller» carrying an obviously negative cultural reference, if not something worse. I dared to remind Holmes of an old adage that “the truth alone could set one free”[9] and expressed confidence that even a bitter truth was still better than a sweet lie. And all the more in regard to the events of such outstanding importance, as the events of September 11, which had stirred up all the mankind and perhaps were threatening it with an even more terrifying tragedy. I also reminded him of the spilled blood of innocent victims crying, so to say, for retaliation.

It seemed like my arguments have persuaded Holmes, because he appealed to me again, as if having shaken off the remains of his doubts, with his confident and nice smile inherent only in people, whose sense of their own rightness is based not on their conceit or impudence, but on the profound knowledge of the subject and absolute sincerity:

That’s good, Watson. Then let’s make an attempt to get closer to the circumstances of this case together, trying not to hurry, or get excited, or become flustered facing possible obstacles to it. Only logic can help us here, and impartial analysis, based upon the methodology I’ve learnt recently from my friends from Russia.

Of course! – I answered, paying little attention to the last words of Holmes, what wasn’t right, as it appeared soon. – Let this analysis be one more proof of the effectiveness of your great-grandfather’s almighty deductive method, the legend of Scotland-Yard!

That’s good that you remember about it. My great-grandfather was really an outstanding thinker for his time, and it is due to him that I am what I am now. Our family archives contain not only his personal notes, but also the memoirs of his closest friend Dr. Watson. And I can assure you that reading them is still a very instructive study today. But, nevertheless, it should be noticed, that a century ago Sherlock Holmes has made one great mistake, which cost us all too dearly: while he was chasing small criminal fishes of East-End in London suburbs, the real criminals of City managed to weave the huge web entangling almost the whole world by now.

Unfortunately, those years even that people who were aware of this problem, couldn’t see how serious it was, and treated it with carefree humour. Examples aren’t hard to find. My great-grandfather’s friend and biographer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in a mood of playing a joke, has chosen twelve addresses of the most prominent London bankers with a reputation of honest and law-abiding people and sent to each of them such a telegram: “Everything is revealed. Hide away”. The other day all of them left London. Having done this, all of them admitted criminal and anti-social character of their activity, but really the matter was much more serious...