The Outcast

On the morning of December 31, 2003, two hours after my report to Colonel Ryabov, I was arrested by representatives of that very hostile Structure (see the novella "Attack from the Looking Glass"), injected with sodium pentothal, questioned about the Computer Expert, about Captain Samohin's diskette, about the reasons for the failure of their "Smoke Screen" plan, and pressured to cooperate. Above all, they were desperate to capture Konovalov alive, but had no way of reaching him without my active assistance… To achieve this stated goal, I was subjected to harsh psychophysical treatment. However, over ten days of unceasing torment, neither the "specialists" nor the psychologist managed to achieve the desired result. And during the final "procedure" I nearly died from pain shock…