Project Ouroboros Read Free Page B

be more involved in your research.
    — And your parents can really help? Who are they?
    — I think they can. They work in a government agency for revival of Elam.
    Ami thought. She had not heard of this organization before, but there were no other options.
    — When can you do it? — She looked at the laboratory assistant, who was rhythmically rocking in a chair near his desk suffering from idleness.
    — As soon as you let me go.
    — Then you can go — Tekhina shrugged and went to the cooler to pour a little hot water to make another cup of coffee.
    — Excellent, thank you! See you tomorrow, Dr. Ami.
    — Have a nice day, Dingir.
    The laboratory assistant went to change in the laundry room, which for some reason was called staffroom. He took off and hung his smock in the closet and replaced a T-shirt with a shirt.
    Tekhina put the cup on the table and looked at the monitor. It seemed that an error crept into the calculations of neural connections, but which one? She sighed. She had to redo everything again until late at night. Peering into the equation, Tekhina was thinking and therefore startled when the lab door slammed loudly and she was left there alone.
     
    Having left the university building, Dingir immediately headed towards one of the ziggurats. The route ran along the main city street, but the student was not interested in local buildings. He was totally absorbed by his thoughts about the upcoming conversation with his parents. After a few blocks, he heard a familiar melody which charmed with strange sounds. He was curious and decided to see what was happening and who was playing: if it was a regular guitar, Dingir most likely just wouldn’t pay attention to it.
    Squeezing through the suddenly arisen in his way the crowd and complaining about his short stature, Dingir looked over woman’s shoulder and his interest was replaced by anxiety. Something in the flautist was wrong. Dingir felt an unpleasant chill creeping back. He wanted to see the face of the musician quickly, but people more people came by and the crowd grew. It was necessary to advance to the first row...
    Flutist stopped playing and stood up to bow. He was quite tall and thin. Golden hair framed his face, transparent like glass blue eyes shone with an extraordinary light. Almost emotionless narrow face, clear white skin, thin nose and small plump lips made him look like a porcelain doll. Cold image was completed by light, almost invisible eyebrows and eyelashes. Sleek street minstrel’s face contrasted sharply with his old stretched T-shirt and dirty jeans. And something inexplicable coming from a musician increased Dingir’s anxiety, which gradually developed into panic. Is it really time? Now?
    Looking at the musician for the last time, the student pulled himself together, left the crowd and headed to his parents.
    Shining blue plastic Gekko-4 was much smaller than the others and differed by humble appearance. Few people knew, but in fact there were lower floors that went deep underground. It was the Ministry for revival of Elam. However, half of the main building and all underground levels were occupied by other organizations — Research Centre "Enki", which you could enter only if you had a special biometric pass.
    A huge banner reading "Revival of Elam" in the central hall indicated that the Ministry was in the right part of Hekkoy. Entrance to the closed part of the building was designated by a small gilded plate on the checkpoint “Enki. Science. Reason. Achievements".
    At first glance the room that housed the organization was no different from hundreds of other offices and administrations: large glazed spaces, which were divided into the uncomfortable box-offices, accounting, technical support divisions, and simple computing laboratories. Heads of departments and senior managers offices were more spacious and could be found on the upper floors, the last of them fully occupied by Mr Director-General and his personal