Flabberghasted, Gromov raised from the chair and got himself a glass of water.

"Can I even believe it?" he asked aloud. "If she was a special agent of some secret murderous organization, shouldn't I be able to find out?"

"You shouldn't, my dearest father," Doll chimed in. "This is the point of being an undercover agent, I presume."

"Thank you, Doll. Now I know how poor Andrey felt when the backups clouded his judgment. You are right, of course. But still, I had no idea. Is there any chance she made things up? What if her diary is fiction, an alternative history of her unsatisfied self? What if she wants to be an unbeatable heroine?"

Doll smiled gently.

"What is it now?" Gromov barked. "Don't be so smug. Alright, I get it. Pretend you're a well-raised Victorian lady and spare me the dew of subtle robot superiority."

"As you wish, my dearest father."

"Great! Let's continue reading, shall we?"

SIMONE'S DIARY CONTINUES

...

'I'm a real-life student again. The nightmare is over. The organization pays my bills. It is funny. I am an official employee of the non-governmental organization Children of Democracy. I don't even know where they have the office here, but they keep sending decent salaries my way. I checked the contract, and I am their consultant. Funny, so funny.

...

The lady in the office had all paperwork ready. One would expect someone eerier at The University that teaches metaphysics, but sadly enough, the personnel here is recruited from ordinary people. Still, there was a slogan above her head.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

REALITY IS A MERE DISTRACTION

I wish Mastodontus could see that.

...

Got my first paycheck. No need to look for a part-time job, I guess.

I called to Children of Democracy. Very decent people. They looked me up in their database and confirmed my paycheck was no mistake. As for my assignment, I should consult my superior. Who the hell is my superior? Nobody knows. But money landed on my account. Thirty thousand! Not bad for doing nothing. As the instructor promised, my living expenses got covered.

...

Found myself an apartment. Too huge for my need, but I'm supposed to socialize with other students. And perhaps, I should pay a visit to GoD to show my face there.

...

Longus No.3 broke up with me. The reason? I am not emotionally attached. No idea what he was talking about. Our relationship lasted for three months, and I've been treating him like no other girl before. Still, he said to me that he felt like I was just pretending. Right he is! But this is not the point.

The point is how he has figured me out? Are my acting skills lacking? Sure, I am emotionally detached. Who wouldn't be a bit freakish if taken into account what I had undergone in that training camp? But he shouldn't have found me out. I was such a sweet loving girl. Longus No.1 and No.2 did not complain. Ever!

I think he's a pussy. Would a normal guy care about my deeper soul? Would not a normal guy be happy if I told him he was the best? I took care of him in every possible aspect. Watching TV? Fine with me. Leaving with friends? No big deal. All my efforts into the drain.

Have to call Besties No. 1 and No.2 and make a scene or something. This is what I am supposed to do, right? To wash my sorrow with gin and yell there are no good men anymore. The last time we did it, we went to watch a striptease and enjoy male dancers.

...

My diploma work done and turned in. My conclusion? Object of my study, He Himself, was a latent homosexual. Afraid my work doesn't prove my claim at all, but who cares? My sources are doubtful, to say the least, but my supervisor waved that off. "Your heart provides you the guidance." In fact, she considers my work rigorous. I'm the only student who bothered with references. The others just submitted something that can be called an baseless essay at best.

...

No idea if They pulled the strings, but my diploma work got an award. Seriously? For what?

...

Besties No.1 got a job. She's gonna be an official at the Ministry of Agriculture. She has no qualifications. Her only concern? The color of her suit for the first day at the office. Besties No.2 is jealous.

...

A mission for me out of the blue. The order? Become a Ph.D. student of a certain professor. I expected more, to be honest.

...

Professor Dwarfus is so happy with me. After getting acquainted with the other students, I can guess why he doesn't complain about me. All are females, and frankly, they are more like a harem. None is taller than him.

...

Dwarfus managed to get me another well-paid job. Now I'm his assistant in research. Why? It seems I'm the only one who can extract and evaluate data, no matter how I suck at the task. The other students' function? Ornamental? Warming the bed? Whatever.

Thanks to that, I got access to sources I'd never seen before. I thought the University was subsided by Them, but this is not the case. Dwarfus finds my curiosity and cautiousness related to Them laughable. "DOZOR doesn't exist! This is only a superstition."

...

Surprise for Dwarfus. I'm reporting his research to the organization he thinks that doesn't exist. I like my assignment. Trying constantly to downplay what we have stumbled upon. Otherwise, my next goal would be to bury Dwarfus six feet under. The stuff is heavy. And he talks and writes too much. He is so proud of his name in Brown's book. I guess Brown got out of Their hook just because his book is complete jibberish.

...

Huge discovery! It's too massive! I believe I calculated the position of one forgotten Space Station. Perhaps the main one with the Gift. How to proceed? Should I report it?

...

It took days before Dwarfus understood the hidden hints I left in my presentation. Thankfully, he thinks he made it himself. No ned to get me involved directly. The mindless moron kept bragging about his cleverness the whole afternoon. I had to cue him to stay silent. Otherwise, someone may steal "his achievement." Good grief! What a talkative puppet. He is off to borrow a ship from the University. Girls are thrilled. Another field trip in Space. Hurray!

...

The organization seems to suspect something. I got very clear instructions. If the base belongs to Him, report findings and take care of the crew. They sent a bag full of explosives. My safe return? Probably useless to ask about it. We have to sacrifice for our Thing. Like I care! Too late to cry over spilled milk.

...

Whinies, Pities, and Talkies are absolutely useless. Nothing new, actually, but they keep me distracted. I cannot make them shut up. Even Dwarfus is nervous around them.

...

The base at sight! It has been long abandoned. No signals whatsoever.

...

We broke in. Like burglars. Talkies and Whinies too dumb to wear spacesuits. Otherwise, they'd get themselves killed. The whole work done by Dwarfus and me. After thirty minutes, Pities too tired to help us any longer. Even Dwarfus seems dissatisfied. Cursing under his breath.

...

The loot is fascinating. Everyone's happy. I wrote as much a vague report as possible and sent it. Probably a huge mistake. But what can I do? I cannot afford to lie openly. The egg was among the retrieved items. Hard to conceal the truth anyway.

...

The report discovered. Dwarfus is more cautious than expected. But his technical skills suck, so he has no idea who had sent it. It's almost funny how he is inspecting the computer. He asked several "not-so-conspicuous" questions. When he saw me "alarmed," he stopped. "No biggie, Simone. Just being careful." The more I questioned him, the more he regretted having started talking with me. I mentioned the DOZOR and he laughed it off again. Probably thinks I'm unnecessarily paranoid.

...

The celebration's over. Everyone's asleep. The explosives are placed in the store. The organization knows where the base is, but as soon as I blow up our ship, the egg stays drifting in Space forever. Hopefully, someone will find it and fulfill His will. The organization will think the mission is completed. The trick is to damage the ship but keep His artifacts intact. There'll be no tomorrow for us.

...

I messed up. Whinies, Pities, and Talkies dead, Dwarfus and I alive. The ship was more robust than anticipated. Rest of my rotten life staying in Dwarfus' company. What a lonely and miserable death. Now I understand why the Elves kept praying so much. I don't want to die like this. My grand finale should've been quick and painless. Help me!'