Closed Waters

An old passenger steamboat with an unusual name for the Yenisei—“Thames”—set off on another voyage. Everything went like clockwork. The crew, led by the stern Siberian captain Ilya Samarin, handled their duties. Passengers, including the millionaire German Rostotsky, enjoyed the views. And then, of all things, Galina Ivanovna, who was escorting a group of schoolchildren, persuaded the captain to change the route. Just a little—only to show the children some mysterious place. The captain gave the order. “Thames” headed toward the shore—and… nobody understood what happened. Just moments ago the little steamer was splashing along the harsh waters of the Yenisei, while beyond the railings stretched the taiga—and now it was cutting through murky waters of an unknown river. And on the banks were the real, actual tropical jungles. Neither Captain Samarin nor businessman Rostotsky suspected that these thickets had nothing in common with earthly tropical forests…