be afraid. I won't hurt you. My name is Lira. And I just want to help.
Of course, you just want to help, flashed through Nia's mind.
Lira… The name sounded like music. But what was hidden behind this beautiful cover? Having no idea where to go in this gray, monotonous place, Nia reluctantly agreed to Lira's help.
They turned around and went, seemingly without a road, straight to the west. Lira walked confidently, turning several times, as if she saw an invisible path and knew where she was going. She was here not for the first time. Who is she? And what does she want? Nia just obediently followed her, trying to keep up, despite the pain in her leg.
They reached Lira's house quickly enough. From the outside, it was a small hut, unremarkable and almost blending in with the gray landscape. It was so well hidden that it was impossible to see it from afar. Nia again felt a surge of suspicion. How can such a girl live in such a miserable place?
But when Lira opened the door, and a soft light lit up inside, Nia was amazed. The hut inside seemed much larger than it was on the outside. It was impossible! What the hell?
Nia involuntarily exclaimed:
– How is this possible?
Lira smiled, as if she had been expecting this question.
– This is an old technology, almost forgotten, – she explained. – In the two thousand nine hundred and thirtieths, due to overpopulation, each person was supposed to have only nine square meters of living space. Many people were uncomfortable with this, so scientists created a device that increases the space inside a room. Something like spatial distortion.
Lira paused for a second, as if thinking something over, and then continued:
– Now there is no problem of overpopulation.
She cut herself off, as if she realized she had said something extra, and said nothing more. A shadow flickered in her eyes.
At that moment, it dawned on Nia: two thousand nine hundred and thirtieths. Spatial distortion. “There is no overpopulation now.” Why is she talking so strangely?
Nia gasped:
– Does that mean I'm in the future?
Lira looked at her silently. Nia felt her heart beginning to pound wildly. Everything fell into place. The futuristic city, the flying cars, the strange technologies. She had ended up in the thirty-first century! But how? And why didn't she remember anything? What was this? A game? Or reality?
– What year is it? – Nia asked, trying to hide the tremor in her voice.
– Three thousand seventy-seven, – Lira replied. Her gaze was scrutinizing.
Three thousand seventy-seven?! More than a thousand years in the future! How was that possible? And what awaited her in this new, incomprehensible world? “I must find out the truth! At any cost,” Nia vowed to herself.
Stopping the conversation about time, Lira approached some strange device, resembling an iridescent cube with many buttons and glowing panels. It certainly wasn't a refrigerator, it was something from another time. To Nia's surprise, Lira took out food, but it wasn't the usual food, but colorful pieces, resembling plasticine, each of which glowed with its own shade.
Nia looked at it with doubt.
– What is this? – she asked, trying not to betray disgust.
– This is nutritious paste, – Lira replied. – With the taste of apple, strawberry, and even steak!
She handed Nia a small green piece, glowing in the twilight. It smelled like apple, but the appearance was not at all appetizing. Nia took it cautiously. What if it was poison?
Nia was even more surprised when Lira took out an ordinary bandage and began to bandage her leg in the old-fashioned way. She treated the wound with some brown ointments, smelling of herbs. It was so primitive. Was she pretending? Or were they all so strange here?
Nia, reluctantly biting off a piece of “apple plasticine,” couldn't resist:
– Lira, why in three thousand seventy-seventh year are you still using such outdated means? I saw in the city: there are so many advanced technologies there!
Lira raised her eyebrows in surprise, like the doctor in the hospital. Again, that surprised look. They were all hiding something.
– Outdated? What do you mean? This is the most modern thing we have. Bandages made of special material, with antibacterial properties, and ointment based on medicinal herbs.
Nia choked on the artificial apple.
– But I saw scanners, lasers, some memory readers. Surely you have nano-robots? Why don't you use them? Shouldn't medicine be more advanced in the future?
Lira paused for a moment, as if recalling something from history.
– At some point, long, long ago, the development of medicine stopped. I don't know exactly when or why. We were told that it was necessary. That it benefited everyone.
Benefited whom? flashed through Nia's mind.
– Stopped? How is that possible? – Nia was shocked. – Why?
Lira shrugged.
– I don't know. I wasn't told the details. They said it was related to some ethical issues. Something like medical technologies went too far and became dangerous.
– Dangerous for whom? – Nia didn't understand.
Lira hesitated again.
– Well, we live here, away from the city, we are engaged in agriculture. We have our own community.
A community? A sect? Nia's suspicions grew with each passing minute.
Something was wrong here. Too many inconsistencies. Too many oddities. Lira was clearly hiding something. “I must be careful,” Nia reminded herself.
After this strange conversation about medicine and history, an awkward silence hung in the air. Nia was digesting what she had heard, trying to put all these inconsistencies together in her head. “The cessation of development,” “ethical problems,” “dangerous technologies”… What does all this mean? And why is Lira so evasive in her answers? “I must find out the truth,” Nia thought.
Lira, as if sensing the tension, smiled softly.
– You must be very tired, Nia, – she said. – You probably haven't slept in a long time. And your leg hurts. Let me make up a bed for you. You need to rest.
To tell the truth, Nia really hadn't slept for a very long time. After escaping from the hospital and wandering through the gray roads, she was exhausted physically and mentally. The opportunity to sleep on a soft and cozy bed, away from danger and uncertainty, seemed incredibly tempting. Who knew when she would have such an opportunity next time?
She looked at Lira, trying to see sincerity in her eyes. Could she be trusted? Or was this just a trick? But fatigue took its toll. Nia felt that if she didn't rest now, she would simply collapse without strength.
– Okay, – Nia said, surrendering. – I'm really very tired. Thank you.
Lira smiled and led Nia to a small room, furnished simply but comfortably. In the center of the room stood a bed, covered with a soft down blanket and pillows. On the walls hung paintings depicting some landscapes that did not look like the gray fields outside the window. The room smelled of herbs and freshness. Too cloying. Too perfect.
– Here, make yourself comfortable, – Lira said. – I'll bring you something to wear for sleep. And then I'll leave you alone.
She left the room, leaving Nia alone. Nia looked around. The room seemed safe and peaceful. She went to the bed and ran her hand over the soft blanket. How she wanted to just fall asleep and forget about everything in the world!
Soon Lira returned with some kind of nightgown made of soft fabric.
– Here,