01.23 p.m., 2045, Heidelberg, German Union.

Ivan Sebastiyanov driving his Koenigsegg CCXR trevita to a modern nightclub in Heidelberg, which opened in the Koenigstul tower. In the car playing Kavinsky - Nightcall. The newly-popular synthwave “inspires” music creators with its inspiration, and the DJs of the modern world rush to bring joy to their fans. Just at such a party and goes Ivan. At this party, promises to gather all the golden youth of modern German society, as well as invited influential foreigners. Ivan is one of the VIPs of this party. Besides him, there will be his old friend Karina Mayakovskaya, who will also be the VIP guest of this party. Both of them are the children of their completely unimaginably rich parents. If something happens to them, an international scandal may occur, so the German police secretly set a surveillance mode for them using the latest development - invisible drones.

After three years of the third world war, society changed again. Powerful clans and trade syndicates entered the political scene. In contrast to the slow government, trade syndicates and clans were far more mobile in making important strategic decisions, and they were no longer bound by territorial boundaries, since they actually dictated their will to state power.

The economy of the German Union in 2045 developed in full swing. After the third world war, the world was swept by a wave of scientific discoveries that were previously used by the military and became generally available to the public. Cyber ​​implants that have been working autonomously for a year due to new batteries, virtual reality technologies have crossed all imaginable borders, and now it has been very difficult for an ordinary person to distinguish reality from virtuality. Androids were everywhere, and the old pre-war trading malls were demolished. Now you could only do shopping virtually, the product itself was delivered to you by an android courier. But all this was widely available to middle-class modern youth. For the rich kids, there was a completely different fun: the illegal hunt for people in the old part of Heidelberg; bullet races to death, where you could put huge sums of money on drivers ready to risk everything for profit; secret fashion show in clothes made from animals caught in the Red List of the whole world and so on.

Ivan gradually approached the borders of the Altstad district. The green 400 meter tower Koenigstul was built on the site of the former pre-war park. The tower was built according to a trendy ecological pattern, green trees were on each floor of the tower creating a beautiful image of the buildings of elves from modern fantasy games. Arriving at the tower, Ivan met а valet, to whom Ivan silently handed over the keys of the car without paying any attention to him. Karina met him in the white hall of the tower. She arrived 5 minutes earlier than Ivan. Ivan kissed her on the cheek, exchanged a couple of regular phrases, and then they began to climb the high-speed elevator to the roof of the skyscraper where music was already playing.

When the couple got out of the elevator, they hit the lounge bar, where relaxation music was muffled. Here, the rich sons sat surrounded by elite whores and used a variety of alcohol. Some were content with drugs. Here Ivan saw his other acquaintance - the German Christian, the son of the owner of the conglomerate Schwartz BC . Christian, in contrast to the rest, was fond of cyber-narcotics, popular with young people of low class, but his equipment was much better than those of the unfortunate people who bought cyber-drugs on the street. You can say his drugs were top notch, not addictive, not causing a change in consciousness, but simply completely creating a different reality, as if you were in another world.

Ivan walked over to Christian and easily touched him on the shoulder, awakening him from a virtual dream.

 - Whаt? What time is it now? And this is you Ivan! Oh and Karina is with you, great! I decided to "fly" a little while you were away.

 - Hello Christian - said Ivan

 - Hi Christian. Nice to meet you live - said Karina.

 - Mutually

 - I hope the party won't be boring?

 - Oh, don't doubt Ivan, the fun is assured. - Christian looked at his watch - the battle will start very soon, you are just in time.

 - Okay, how about drinking a couple cups of forty-year-old absinthe?

 - Don't mind

 - So do I.

The three of them went to the VIP Lodge of the club, from which they have a view to the pool, dance floor, and DJ area. At this time, the song "ANDROMEDA" by the band DANCE WITH THE DEAD began to play. Hearing a favorite song, many immediately went to dance, the rest watched from the side.

After the song was played, the DJ turned down the sound, and began announcing the start of the underground battle - another fun of the evening. The "beasts" participated in the battle, called due to errors in the gene code resulting from artificial interference with the human genome. Such people had distinctive external signs resembling animals — elongated ears, powerful muscles, aggressive temper, incredible loyalty to the owner, and also a nose sensitive to the slightest odor. On this day, Igor, nicknamed “Molchun” - a two-meter giant resembling a bear, participated in the battle. He was the property of the VAN Group owner, which was Ivan Sebastianov and Abelard, nicknamed "Phoenix", a German crocodile-like giant from AFRON corp. This fight was in honor of the company, as it tested the latest developments in bioengineering. And both companies have been leaders in this market for 3 years and have been constant competitors for each other.

The host of the show enthusiastically greeted the assembled public, then a fencing of the soldiers from the public got out from under the floor. At this very time, our heroes watched the fighters from the VIP Lodge. The leader announced the beginning of the battle and the fighters, like angry dogs, pounced on each other. Both were masters in their martial art. They beat each other with the power of a truck, evaded attacks, carried out seizures. Soon there were numerous cuts, bites, and bruises on their bodies. In order to raise the degree of tension in the sky, a helicopter was raised, which, with its searchlight, illuminated the fighters, while the local lighting was turned off. Finally, “Molchun” made a series of quick strikes at a gaunt “Phoenix”, knocking him out. Ivan won. With a satisfied face, he approached a representative of AFRON corp., Who was the only person of the company that evening. The remaining guests of this company had already retired when they realized that Phoenix would lose.

 - Congratulations on your victory mr. Sebastianov. It was a great match.

 - I agree, your fighter was not bad either. I will wait for my winnings tonight.

 - Of course, payment will be sent on time.

 - Good

 - Oh, let me give you another gift.

 - What is it?

 - Oh, a light show is organized in your honor. Initially it was for us, but we can leave the losers with our heads held high. When the show starts you can see it at the pool in all its glory.

 - I will drink to your health when I enjoy the show.

 - Mutually mr. Sebastianov

Ivan called his friends to come to the pool. The light show began with the symbols of VAN Group, and then the sky lit up with the light of fireworks. At this time, the doctors brought to life a knocked-out “Phoenix”. When he came to himself, he heard a strong annoying sound coming from the pool. He tried to dismiss it, pressed his hands to his head in the hope that the sound would subside a bit. At this time, DJ played “Looking For Tracy Tzu” - Carpenter Brut and no one paid any attention to “Phoenix”, except Christian. "Phoenix" was distraught and ran with a fierce cry towards the hated noise. For a few moments, he reached the pool and jumped over it, and then once again jumped towards the source - Ivan Sebastianov. Christian saw it as if in slow motion pushed Ivan aside, but unfortunately he himself came under attack. Together with the "Phoenix" they fell from 400 meters in height. A few minutes later the police arrived, witnessed the death of Christian Schwartz and the “beast” Abelard "Phoenix".

07.30 a.m., 2055 Somewhere in the depths of VAN Groups.

 - All is ready? - asked Ivan Sebastianov

 - Yes - replied the engineer technician.

 - Great, we are ready to start a traitor hunt, right Volk?

 - Yes Ivan - Christian answered - no one will hide from me with this body. Not in this life.