Light and unfiltered. The tiny eatery "Evil Creator" specialized more in various perversions like nano-kitchen and fitness cocktails, but, probably, due to the owner's old love for foam, they also poured it into beautiful, pot-bellied glasses. I looked around the semi-dark room overlooking the roadway, which had not seen traffic jams for a quarter of a century, a half-empty hall with people timidly clinging to each other. An illustration of restlessness and uselessness.

Something covered me. I don’t know what is the reason for this - either the dark green color of the walls, or the numerous black and white photographs in white plastic frames on the walls.

— Garzon, menu. And while we're picking, bring us a pair of blond ones. Edik winked at me and snapped his fingers.

“Now,” the waiter vanished.

- Haven't been here before.

- Few were. People have become lazy, they prefer home delivery of everything, including highs and interlocutors. And we - so, in the old fashioned way. I can get a little nerdy when drunk, forgive the old man, but your toy woke up something in my memory.

— A toy?.. Ah, "Long Search"?

Edik nodded and took a sip from the glass, which materialized in front of him as if by magic.

- Nectar of the gods! Are you aware that the third episode of "The Search" was originally only in English, only for Western audiences? Like, the Russian market is too small, the cost of localization will not beat off.

— But I played in Russian!

- It's true. The studio listened to the petition of Russian-speaking fans, made a public translation, in the editing of which everyone could take part, and there the text is such that just hold on. He winked. “And guess who was in charge of the process.

- Yah.

— Eduardo Em, at your service. Edik bowed jokingly. - You can look in the credits, my name is there.

- Well well. — I have not found anything smarter than to shut your mouth with a glass. It's always so strange when you disappear into someone's fictional universe, live someone's life - and then suddenly it turns out that your interlocutor had a hand in it.

- I was noted in a lot of toys in my time. But as far as I know, you were also taken to the department for a reason.

- Not easy…

Well, if you don't want to, don't say. I'm sure that, unlike the morons in the general office, you are something. - Edik sipped his beer again and suddenly switched to the old topic - and Poisk has a tragic fate. It became the studio's swan song, although it was supposed to be its salvation from bankruptcy. You see how everything is through the ass? A cult project, but the studio is dead - too long, expensive and confused. The non-linearity alone is worth something.

What about the fourth episode?

Edik grew gloomy, fell silent, looking out the window, as if this topic was wildly unpleasant to him. And I, with some kind of sick curiosity, studied the hitherto unknown side of my noisy, always cheerful boss - twenty years difference, if not more, but still in a sweater and strictly on "you". I have never met such Edik before.

“Sorry if I said something wrong. I choked out as the silence dragged on.

- Yes, everything is fine. It’s just that a lot of time has passed during the translation of the third episode, I got attached to the project with my soul, I became related. He slammed his fist on the table. And those creatures! Those publishers!

- What they?

- When the number of downloads in the store exceeded ten million, they decided to earn some more money. And released the final episode. A fucking nightmare, judging by the wretchedness of the language and the disgusting presentation, it was written almost by the publisher himself. This episode is still in English.

What about the original developers?

- Went to an independent studio, but could no longer repeat their success. And then there was a war, during which their screenwriter died.

- That is, everything? History breaks off? I couldn't hide my disappointment. “But there’s Hyde…”

— Yes, in the most interesting place, on the threshold of answers. The rest was taken over by Aidab, whose product you will have to get acquainted with tomorrow.

But it's like an online game, isn't it? They never have a normal story.

- I dont know. I was advised not to touch this game with a long stick - something related to integration, I have nothing to catch there without an implant.

“But can you go in for an operation?”

— On operation under whose knife? A modern surgeon with an acute addiction to a mobile device? Or, even worse, for auto-implantation? What if something is different from the average human? No, I didn’t swim in the virtual, I don’t care to start.

The menu was never brought to us, instead, they continued to replace the empty glasses. Fortunately, the beer was quite tasty, I was not in a complaint, even though my head was already noisy. Yes, and Edik, judging by the brilliant eyes, was pretty much already under the fly.