Western Ukraine, 2022

"Volodymyr, what's happening with our equipment?" General Shumov asked the president.

"What do you mean?"

"Since yesterday, I've received about twenty reports that short and long-range radars, as well as practically all other detectors, are starting to behave strangely."

"They don't recognize the Ruskies?"

"That's the strange part. They do recognize them, but too well. It's as if someone suddenly cranked up and improved all of them. The accuracy of missiles and all other systems has practically risen to one hundred percent."

"What are you talking about, Dmytro?"

"Just see for yourself..."

Suddenly, a soldier burst into the room, saluted, and with a look that foretold unusual excitement, yelled:

"Mr. President, please look out the window! Quickly!"

Everyone, including the cook making dinner, rushed to the only armored window facing west.

"I don't see anything special. What is it, sergeant..."

"The sky! Look up!"

As if on command, everyone raised their heads. In the sky full of pink clouds, a large, black object was moving. To call it "large" was an understatement. It emerged from the western horizon and stretched from the northern to the southern edge of the sky, and its end was still not visible.

"We're finished," Shumov concluded. "The Ruskies finally showed their latest war machine. At this point, we can only play checkers."

"It's not the Russians!" The delighted sergeant exclaimed. "It's the Poles! Look at the symbols. The white and red checkerboard is the emblem of the Polish armed forces."

 

I stopped reading because I saw the door opening. In the doorway stood a familiar cybernetic creature with a metallic face. It was wearing a kitchen apron and holding a frying pan with scrambled eggs, which it was constantly heating up and stirring. I must have had a discouraging look on my face because it hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to enter.

"Well?" I encouraged.

"Breg, I just received a message from the Central Agency of the highest..."

At that moment, it had to duck, because otherwise, the solid metal statue of an athletically built man throwing a discus would have undoubtedly smashed its head. Unfortunately, flying past, it only made an impressive hole in the wall and continued on.

I wasn't particularly worried about the hole, as I was planning to call a reconstruction crew anyway. I was just surprised that I still had so much strength after yesterday's party.

What a whiz with that reflex! I knew robots reacted quickly, but it still impressed me. I knew it wouldn't have been hurt. Still, I felt a little embarrassed for throwing that sculpture at it.

Regretfully, I glanced at the novel "Ukraine - Alternative Histories" in my hand. In theory, I was on vacation, but I knew it was time to get going. Duty calls. Maybe just a few more pages...

 

"Did I understand correctly?" Zelensky made sure. "You came here to help us?"

"Yes, Mr. President," replied Alexander, a blond man who appeared at the military base just as unexpectedly as the spaceship itself. It wasn't actually a ship but a kind of gigantic planetoid that, by covering almost the entire sky, suddenly plunged the world into darkness.

"He's so handsome," Irina from the communications corps admired.

"Don't get your hopes up," Marlena, dealing with paperwork, remarked. "Don't you see who he came with?"

Indeed, next to Alexander stood a young, maybe twenty-year-old girl. And there wouldn't have been anything strange about it, as both men and women fought in the Ukrainian army, and there were even couples, if it weren't for the fact that the figure the soldiers were staring at was out of this world. A delicately beautiful being that irresistibly drew their gaze, she arrived at the base dressed in a light, flowing floral dress. It was as if she had come straight out of a fairy tale.

"It's my wife, Calatea, who convinced me to make this visit," Alexander tenderly looked at the fairy-like girl. "Because, truth be told, I had slightly different plans. Especially since, when I left Earth, I adopted a non-interference policy in human affairs. Wars are still breaking out on your planet. That's how it has been, is, and will be until the suns burn out. Humans are quite an aggressive species..."

"However, we decided to help you," Calatea finished. "And not just because the West kicked you in the backside. Here's what we'll do..."

* * *

Poland, Warsaw, 2009

Maja was reading a book she had found under the wardrobe while cleaning yesterday. She was both fascinated and astonished by it. Looking at the last passage, which read: "In the doorway stood a familiar cybernetic creature with a metallic face...", she wondered where it came from. Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Maja, are you there? It's Breg."

"I'm sorry, who?"

"Don Breg, you don't know me. We don't have much time, the connection will be cut off soon. It takes a tremendous amount of energy. A portal will appear shortly. Please go through it."

"What portal?"

"Interdimensional doors. Please, trust me and go through them. Otherwise, your world and mine will disappear. And you will too. Along with your friends, school, Warsaw, and everything else."

"I... Is this some kind of joke? Who are you?"

"Later. Time is running out; I couldn't connect earlier, it was very difficult. Remember, you have 20 seconds left. Please, Maja, do it. If you don't go through these doors, we'll all vanish as if we were never born..."

"We'll vanish? What... Hello? Don, can you hear me?"

Silence.

Suddenly, she had a revelation. Breg was... It's impossible!

Maja saw the hairs on her arms stand up with fear. The protagonist of the novel she was holding in her hands had called her!

Just then, on her left side, a yard away from her, she noticed some movement, so she turned her head. In the wall, there appeared to be a frame woven from crawling light, which became clearer and clearer until it took the shape of medium-sized, glowing doors.

What did he say? "Go through the portal, or we'll all vanish. Please, trust me." And also, "You have 20 seconds." Oh God, what do I do? I don't even have time to call my friends. What's going on?

She glanced at the second hand of the watch on the shelf. The hand ticked calmly as if nothing was happening. It became quiet. The wind stopped blowing. The urban noises disappeared as if the world outside the window had ceased to exist. Maja felt a cold shiver on her skin.

Suddenly, something strange happened: the second hand began to blur, becoming indistinct.

At the same moment, Maja made up her mind and jumped towards the light.

 

* * *

June 4, 2023 Update: Exciting news!

The complete first volume is available on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6W48D77

And the eagerly awaited second volume will be hitting Amazon.com in just one week.

PS. The revised and extended Volume I has been published on Amazon, but I will still be posting subsequent chapters here. Now you can read my novel here, in episodes, but you can also buy the whole thing on Amazon to support my work :-).

Thanks to your financial help, I will be able to create more beautiful and valuable novels for children and young adults, which strive to make our world a better place to live. And you will have all my books at home. You will be able to revisit them in moments of sadness and doubt because I always strive to make them optimistic and not only teach new things but also uplift the mood of my readers. Additionally, you can buy the book as a gift for a friend. See you in the next novel!