Forward to Marvel Cinematic Universe

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***

The lunar base hospital was quiet. The droids moved almost silently, the equipment was working too. Although it wasn't completely silent - there was some light music playing. It was a common situation for all space objects - most intelligent people in the galaxy feel uncomfortable in complete silence, so the ships, as a rule, during the car park noise generators are working, which create a light, unobtrusive noise.

It didn't smell like a hospital - it smelled like flowers and oranges. Stephen opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. The ceiling was unfamiliar to him. He stood up on the bed, shaking his head and examined himself. He was wearing a tracksuit.

He looked around the room - a hospital room, windowless, with one sliding door. Stephen was a disciplined man and pondered two things - whether he could leave the room and where he was. There were no answers or clues to either question. Not even hints. Steve looked around the place of his awakening, deciding, for starters, to figure out where he was. The soft bed and large ward didn't look very hostile, which meant - most likely, he thought - he was in an Allied hospital*. Rogers, instead of calling for someone on staff, began to survey the surroundings. For starters, he examined the bed. The bed was warm, slightly warmer than his body. There was definitely a heating element inside. The bed was made of a material unknown to Rogers, but definitely not metal or wood. And it had sides with several buttons on them. Rogers pressed one, rightly assuming that nothing important would be on the bed. The bed became even warmer. Switching off the heater, Steve walked round the ward. There was a bouquet of wildflowers in a vase against the wall, and a wooden nightstand next to the bed, inside of which were trainers and a leather jacket, similar to Rogers' size. He tried them on, they fit. The label said S. Rogers-that finally convinced him he wasn't in an Allied hospital. They didn't treat Uncle Sam's soldiers with such reverence, though he could certainly get a special welcome. The floor of the ward was warm, too, so it was pleasant to walk barefoot. Rogers laced up his sneakers and went to the door.

- Where's the handle? - he asked himself.

The door opened in response, sliding aside. Stephen stepped out into the corridor - but there was more confusion. Muttering to himself "this is getting weirder and weirder" he walked down the corridor. He came across signs in English. Having visited the toilet thanks to these signs and having washed up, the captain went to explore the place of his confinement. The interior was like a large office centre. But Stephen met no one - only doors and signposts that moved away when he appeared. On the wall he found a plan of the building, which made him realise he was on the first floor. The third floor had a room labelled 'Residential'. Steve couldn't see any windows after all, which made him think he was underground - there was no other rational explanation.

Walking down a large corridor, he emerged into an obviously furnished section. There were rugs on the floor, sofas, floor lamps, and a television on the wall. Stephen didn't know what it was, though - there were no TVs in his day, and the one on the wall was a metre and a half diagonal. The TV was showing a news item - something was exploding and burning somewhere, people were running in fear.

Rogers sat down on the sofa and watched the news for about ten minutes. He didn't find anything remarkable - it was the same as it had been. It seems that the invention of large televisions had not greatly affected human nature. Next, Steve came across some spare parts that stood in the middle of the huge living room. In these parts he recognised the hulk of a car - The frame, the axles, some boxes bolted to the frame and a welding spot near the sofas**. He walked around the strange structure, then headed off to find someone who could explain to him what was going on here.

- Hello? - Steven asked loudly.

- I'm listening to you," came a baritone from somewhere in the ceiling. Steve raised his head:

- Show yourself.

- Unfortunately, I can't, Mr Rogers. I am an artificial intelligence and do not have a physical body.

Steven was taken aback. Artificial intelligence? That's something out of the ordinary. However, the captain immediately asked a question:

- Where am I? And who else is here besides me?

- In order of priority, you are on the Alpha site. So far you are the only person on the base, the captain left the Alpha base a week ago as bringing you out of your coma took longer than we had hoped and he had business to attend to. Don't worry, he'll be here soon:

- He will. Okay," the cap shrugged, "who even is this owner?

- Hyarty. I think his story will be even more interesting than yours, so I'll leave it to you to meet him in person. Mr Rogers, how are you feeling?

Stephen looked at his hands, listened to himself:

- I'm fine. I just need to have lunch... And by the way, where is this base located? In what country?

- The alpha base is in a territory far away from all countries. We're on the moon.

That was enough for the captain to ask nothing for another ten minutes, just digesting the information he had received and the lunch that had been brought very quickly. The lunch turned out to be quite tasty - it was served with American and Italian dishes. Having eaten to his heart's content, Stephen decided to ask the seeker:

- Sorry to interrupt...

- My computing capabilities allow seventy-two thousand simultaneous conversations. So you're not distracting me at all. What can I do for you?

Stephen hesitated. He thought about what question to ask. He started with a simple one:

- What year is it?

- Two thousand five. The ninth of March. Seventeen hours and eleven minutes GMT.

Stephen counted:

- Seventy years? I've been gone seventy years? Wow..." he stared at the TV on the wall, "and people live on the moon.....

- Let me correct you, Mr Rogers, humans are not yet advanced enough to colonise the moon. Although they did land once in the seventies, but it ate up twenty-five billion dollars out of the American budget. There have been no further attempts to land on the moon. Also, humans are not yet advanced enough to create artificial intelligence like me.

A confused Rogers sat down on the couch:

- Where's the logic in that?

- Hyarty came from the planet Xandar.

- You mean he's an alien? - Rogers' eyes went to his forehead.

- No, he's an earthling. And Earthlings don't know that there are other intelligent races in the galaxy besides them. It's a confusing question. It's best if Hjarti tells you himself. He is a unique case of an Earthman who by chance went to a space civilisation and came back.

* * *

Rogers talked for another half an hour, listening to the information from the seeker. In the meantime, the seeker gave Rogers exhaustive information on the current political situation, technological advances and so on. Stephen, like a diligent student, listened to the lecture from the ISKIN, which introduced itself by the name of Bersi, and asked:

- Are there any artificial intelligences besides you?

- At the moment there are five Iskins active. The first is me, Hyarti's personal assistant. The second is the Director - he manages Hyarti's commercial ventures on Earth, and there's LC-310, a large combat and research spaceship, and the Blind Maiden, a small reconnaissance ship.

- You named four...

- The fifth, the Ares, is military. The information is classified. I'm sorry.

* * *

Hyarty received Steven's wake-up call right in the middle of negotiations for an international gadget expo. Bringing a range of smartphones to market had proved to be a very lucrative business - the first, pilot sales had shown the great potential of the new product. However, at the same time he was selling copies of applications for his smartphones via the Internet. The applications were very different from those that were developed in the bowels of the world-famous corporation, and the smartphones themselves, which could withstand a hammer blow and immersion in water, aroused legitimate interest from the public. Of course, the original plan was to bring to the market a smartphone of high price segment. Apple made sure that there were no phones on the market that were significantly superior to the iPhone. However, the only country where Apple's power was very meagre was Russia. And, after negotiations at the highest level, the smartphone received a name-its own "Ural". Before the start of sales was still far away, but demo samples have already caused an unhealthy stir. First of all - because of the battery capacity. A smartphone that works for a week without charging was a nonsense. And in the call mode - and up to a month could live.

Naturally, all this caused a storm of indignation on the part of the apple corporation - they have already managed to pour dirt on the novelty through all possible media - first of all, BBC, CNN, FoxNews. The activity of anti-Ural propaganda was more than strong, however, the fact remains that iPhones did not reach the characteristics of the Urals. And they were very badly underperforming. Running even through the emulator applications of Apple were much faster on the Ural, and in general, the fairy - the smartphone had a built-in micro-projector, which allowed to unfold the screen, the size of the usual monitor. The clarity and brightness was sufficient for watching films in good quality.

The first thousand units were sold to the world's largest gadget and technology publications. Bearing in mind the possibility of a trial, most of the out-of-control media preferred to either be reserved about the novelty or to tell it like it is. The trio of BBC, FOX, CNN, was immediately sued for libel. There was litigation - the inevitable companion of any business - perpetual litigation. It was good that Abstergo worked in America and obeyed American laws - thanks to Bersi Hjarti's help, he lit up in such a way that lawyers could die of envy - it seemed that he knew all the laws by heart and did not miss the slightest chance to accuse his interlocutor of lying, falsifying and twisting facts. This forced the channels to backtrack even before the court session started.

Finally, the acclimatisation was successful and the first batch was to be exhibited in Shanghai.

Hjarti flew back to the base as happy as a cat that had eaten a lot of sour cream. He preferred to quietly present also a tablet, and much more powerful than all the analogues.

The shuttle landed in the hangar of the base. The shuttle was small - about the size of a car. It was easy to control, almost like a fighter, had aerodynamic forms - it flew well in the atmosphere. There were a dozen such shuttles in the hangar, and a few larger ones, up to a cargo container ship.

Hjarti got out of the shuttle and looked around - the hangar was at the level of the moon's surface. The flaps at the top had already closed. It was cool.

Stephen, having learnt that the base master had arrived, stopped tormenting Bersie with questions, and began to prepare to meet his hosts. He was a little afraid to meet a man with such a strange biography. However, to his surprise, a guy even younger than himself walked into the living area.

- Hi! - Hjarti waved his hand, - you're awake now. Great.

- Hi," Steve was a little confused, "you're Hyarty, right?

- Yeah. Has Bersih told you everything yet?

- Not everything, but a lot.

Hyarty took a closer look. Stephen didn't look like the typical Americans of his time - he was a little more open and honest. Didn't smile for no reason, trying to appear better than he was. Steve felt uncomfortable. Noticing this, Hyarty invited him to the negotiating table. Or rather, to the negotiating couch. Hyarty threw off his expensive jacket, a very trivial item of clothing for Rogers, and sat down in the chair with pleasure.

- Well..." Hearthy thought for a moment, "happy waking up. How are you feeling? What does Bersih say?

- He's fine. You wouldn't say you've been on an ice floe for seventy years. I see my labours have not gone to waste, have they?

- Yes, the story of that one ended well for us and very badly for the Germans and Hydra, - Hjarti drew a bottle of beer to himself, offering Stephen a Guinness. Steve didn't refuse and they chugged the bottles.

The questions that plagued Stephen he wanted to ask all at once, but he began in order:

- Hyarty, I've been thinking, why exactly did you find me? I'd understand if it was the Shield, or something like that...

- I have more options for finding me. Plus, I was wondering how Erskine was able to create that serum. You have no idea how atypical that is for a planet at this stage of development.

Steve nodded:

- And how?

- Learned. Although Bersi helped me with this, I understood the professor's basic idea. Tried it on mice, chimpanzees, rabbits... it works.

Rogers looked at Hjarti in surprise:

- And... What are you going to do with it?

- Put it on the shelf and never touch it again. For no particular reason. You see, man is not prepared to wield such power. You're the exception to the rule, but in general... now, seventy years later, people are even angrier, more aggressive, and far more deceitful than in your time. That's why I'm keeping the serum.

Rogers exhaled relaxed as he held his breath:

- I'm glad. And if... in general - what now?

- What?

- Well, yes - Rogers didn't understand Hyarty's thought and vice versa - what are you going to do now? And what am I going to do? I've probably been buried a long time ago, haven't I?

- Not without that. By the way, I made enquiries, your old friend, that what's-her-name Carter, is still alive. Although she's in a nursing home on bed rest. Do you want to visit?

Steve was confused and embarrassed at the same time. He was a little late for his date with Peggy. Yep. Seventy years...that's no small amount of time. However, he didn't let it get away from him:

- Hyarty, I'll be sure to visit her, but still.

Hjarti, taking a sip of beer, put the bottle on the table.

- You know... I came to earth a while ago. Very recently. I served in the Space Corps, I was a saboteur. During the war, I really pissed off the Kree emperor, so now Thanos will pay a lot of money for any information about me. Now I'm trying to settle down in a new world, but at the same time dear to me. I've taken up electronics - smartphones," Hjarti pulled out his smartphone with the Abstergo logo from his pocket, "devices like this.

- Pocket PC," Rogers nodded, taking the device from Hjarti's hands, "Bersi told me about them.

Hjarti only nodded:

- 'The market for these devices is very dynamic right now. So there is an opportunity to break into it and make some money and reputation. And then... then you can get into more serious technologies. Energy. Transport. Medicine. Metallurgy.

Rogers shrugged, handing the smartphone back to Hyarty:

- The plans are Napoleonic. How old are you, anyway?

- Seventeen. Eighteen on the paperwork. But that's okay - I'm tech-savvy, I've been trained and taught since I was seven years old, and then there's work, service... all in all, I'm pretty independent for a seventeen-year-old guy. But I don't know where you're going next. Wherever you want to go," Hjarti shrugged, "I got you out of the ice floe to find out how Erskine was able to successfully modify a human being at such a low level of technological development. I can now say for certain that the serum contained alien material. Most likely. I had no idea you were still alive... So you can go back to America if you want. And if you want - I won't refuse an assistant.

Rogers thought about it:

- To America - that's understandable. The organisation is called Shield now, right?

- That's right. It's run by a dark-skinned man, Nick Fury, and it deals with a very wide range of threats. However, Shield itself is subordinate to American interests, and you... you probably already know how widely the meaning of that phrase varies.

Rogers glared at Hyarty. Hearty didn't look away.

- What do you mean by that? - Steve asked.

- So Bersey didn't tell you? All right, I'll tell you. After the Second World War, in which, including your efforts, the Allies won, the Cold War began. The USSR and the US were at odds. Both sides grew much stronger after the war. True, the USA was in a more favourable position - the USSR destroyed one thousand seven hundred cities and killed twenty-five million people, against zero cities and four hundred thousand people in the USA... The Americans created the atomic bomb, Bersi, show me....

The image on the TV changed to footage of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Steve looked at it with interest.

- This is Japan. Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two cities were destroyed by nuclear weapons. After the war, there was an unprecedented patriotic and economic boom in the states. And there was a crackdown on Communists. There were plans to start a war with the Union and destroy the Russians by occupying territories, but then Stalin built his atomic bomb. For a few years there was rattling of weapons, and then turned to confrontation on the ideological plane.

Bersih actively illustrated Hyarty's words with the image on the television set - anti-communist propaganda, anti-American propaganda, a world map divided into three zones - the first, second and third world.

- И...

- This war is still going on today, although Russia has weakened a lot since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now it's a democracy, a presidential republic.

- Bullshit," Steve shook his head, "was it worth fighting so many wars for? To threaten each other with atomic bombs?

- I agree. Now both sides are actively engaged in propaganda - it is stuffed even in children's cartoons. Bersih, at my request, analysed the reports of the sides - leading news sites and newspapers are actively twisting facts, glossing over facts, shifting accents and often issuing news that has been sucked out of their fingers. Simply put, they actively lie to their citizens and turn them against each other. Don't be surprised if in America you hear about Russians only as mafia and criminals, as well as the main "undemocratic" country in the world.

- Wait," Steve stopped Hjarti, "what does democracy have to do with it? Are there no elections there?

- There are elections, although, as in America, the favourite always wins. After the end of the war, a slow change in mass consciousness began. Freedom fighters, human rights - for example, in America they're going to legalise gay weddings.

- Gay?

- Well, homosexuals," Hjarti smirked, seeing Stephen's dumbfounded face, "I digress from the subject. The meaning of the word 'democracy' on earth roughly means 'submission to America'. Even if it goes against all the canons of democracy. I'm just warning you, believe me, as someone who grew up on Xandar, it seems even more wild to me than it does to you. Although the Russians are no picnic, this global feud is a two-pronged stick.

Steven interjected:

- And this enmity is so visible?

- It depends on where. But yes, it often determines the strategy of behaviour of many states. To understand the processes taking place in the world, you need to understand their cause, then everything falls into place. Right now, I'd like to offer you a choice - you can return to the Shield, or you can stay with me. It's up to you. Any information you want, even inside information from classified sources, is at your disposal. Just ask Bersih, he'll get anything.

Steven nodded and continued to think while sipping a cold beer.