*

Having passed through long corridors, lighting the way with a Chinese torch, Michael entered the cabin. Feeling the switch, he turned on the light and looked around his shelter. Maher’s huge library, which he has been lovingly collecting for all his life, was shining with numerous folios. Finally, Michael will be able to embrace isolated human knowledge, which, as if had been cut by someone, probably, with scissors to completely scare a man. In the center there was his favorite huge virtual globe, gleaming with sparks of the war which he started to win. The heart of his silent headquarters was the latest electronic equipment, which could be envied by the Pentagon. The information has been collecting by diverse passive sensors which were extremely difficult to find. If he had to go on the air, it was accompanied by interferences similar to the lightning of Zeus.

In the Maher’s house were robots, mostly Japanese, which he has been collecting everywhere. They were twenty-four-hours cleaning, making coffee, cooking for Michael, feeding his dogs and cats, watering the plants, repairing malfunctions and shining. His big pride was a special room for relax. There were all modern achievements for fitness.

For his fifty years, Maher hadn’t experienced a true love. The angel who was connecting hearts had never flown over the miserable. He hadn’t felt as the beginning of one person looses, continuing in another one. He didn’t see a smile of the Creator’s son forgiving those who has fallen in love and became single inconceivable heaven cloud.

Michael did not admit women close to him, by a specific reason. Chaos of his business, loneliness, incredible plans were waiting patiently: an appropriate impeccable necklace, a woman of dreams, his children, a celestial husband of Gaia double. He was looking for a woman on the ground, in the air and in the Internet cloud. But never in his life his eyes had flashed from a secret happiness, unknown pleasure which is rarely experienced by the ordinary mortals. Suspecting that it happens, he decided to solve this problem in a scientific way.

A forever young emperor who will own the globe for thirty-five thousand five hundred twenty-five days, had to become a part of the eternal world of clockwork, to dare to be a governor, a conductor between the celestials and mortals. In the world revolution Maher will be the beginning and a single master of the new world order. A few severe years later, there will be peace and prosperity all around the globe.

And then, during quiet peaceful years, Michael will travel around the world in search of future Empress, calculate the burning of two beings. And if there will not on the earth the only one, he will go down to his own Hades to his double, an invented ghost.

While he will be satisfied with his harem where he had been waited for by thousands of beautiful women receiving, for a moment, a second life bright like a flash of passion.

*

Maher turned on his virtual ball, which he lovely called "Mom" and stared at the planet. Skull’s money was moving in blue, bright purple, with white lightning colors. It was only a small bluish streaks on the background of a golden money.

The biggest was in deep color there was shining golden calf of the north eastern America. The lesser one was glittering an old-Europe headed with the crown of Great Britain. In the east, with the bends of bright tails were playing southeast dragons. One could clearly guess a big fat belly of China. Not far there was glittering a fantastic swing of the Japanese katana.

However, the gold of the world has been thoroughly surrounded by the Maher’s soldiers, dressed in brown and grey-green khaki.

On-line one could see as there were lightning extinguishing golden stock exchanges, banks and storages of money and gold, as there was a battle of the khaki color and as stubborn opponents surrendered.

Finally, there lit new dazzling blue stars!

Maher smiled and could not stop trembling in his hands. He did it! He turned on the organ and thoughtfully played several scattered musical melodies. He poured tart wine, Chateau Cheval Blanc of 1947 which cost $ 300,000 per bottle, enjoying the bouquet of its taste.

*

Suddenly, Michael felt that someone, having showered chill, was looking at his neck. Having tasted the Chateau he slowly turned and looked a badly lit corner of the large room around. Having turned off all sounds for some time, he stood still, listening to the piercing silence. His big face covered with sweat. For a moment, he calmed down. Having taken out a big Colt, he looked into dark corners of the vast residence. Skull could not get rid of the thought that someone was hiding nearby. He turned back bedspreads, opened doors, looked under the tables, behind the curtains, into closets, open drawers and chests, as if playing hide and seek. His heart was beating like when he was fifteen, in rainy cold night on the corner in the Bronx.

Maher slowly aimed his Colt and looked up. He felt that he would see. Having closed his eyes, he began to shoot. With trembling hands, he changed charges. A dry crack of single shots changed with short automatic bursts.

*

For the first time since his youth, Michael was bitterly crying. He knew that his great mission, his incredible huge work disappears, like morning fog. Having taken away the Colt, he knelt. Something flowing colorful translucent hung over them at a height of three meters. Maher sadly raised his hands then he bowed and touched his feet, as if they didn’t exist. Having clenched his face with force, he looked up. He dropped the gun away. He awkwardly fell down on a warm silicone floor with a crash. Skull could not understand who was in front of him. It seemed to him that it was partially transformed Colonel. Or the ancient Volh? And maybe his father, whom he has not seen? Or, bloody Berik was falling on wet asphalt.

Something was both far and close, and a little higher. Maher felt warm in the whole body which he had never felt. Probably, it was the heavenly mercy? Or, probably, the love which Michael has never experienced?

"You are elected and you can reach the other side. But you have to leave the abyss of time, not to drown in the rapids. Leave only unblemished mercy in the boiler of Chronos ".

Maher knelt. What he felt was irreversible for him.

The angel was leaving far, and then disappeared.

Stupefied he went to the exit. Incredible lightness and rejoicing filled his soul. For the first time he was free, breaking endless shackles on himself. Gears of the world, invented by him, stopped.

Having thought a bit, Maher took off a bracelet with his immortality, chucking him out forever. The bracelet has been spinning on a smooth floor for a long time.

Nearby there was a lifeless Colonel’s body. Michael hoisted Dux on his back and went upstairs.

To the light, breathing, grass, birth.

*

In summer 2018 the War of the Immortals, as it was called ended. Some pockets of conflicts broke out, causing destruction and chaos in some regions of the globe. For the first time the war touched all countries and peoples of the world. Total amount of dead people were hundreds of millions. During the conflicts in 2016-2017, the civilization couldn’t elude multiple nuclear explosions, leaving lifeless infected waste grounds.

The UN building was an area of the continuous human passions battle and desperate shooting. In the end, the former wild mahers of Harlem took the UN building away brick by brick.

In August 2018 in Greenland was opened a new huge international complex of skyscrapers, based on the concepts of the UN, UNESCO and non-government organizations. A new name, TCATC "a tree of creatures and threats of the civilization", was the hope of mankind. The latest generation started a complex solution like the Bill of Human Rights. Modern priests showed ordinary people knowledge of large and small creatures’ hierarchies.