My heart was pounding like crazy. You have almost reached the train leading to Maria Shu's laboratory to participate in some kind of experiment as a guinea pig and receive money, when a sharp shout interrupted your plans. Soldier, I stopped you. His face, usually impassive, was tense.

— «Xander is expecting you,» — he said, without specifying the reason. You felt an icy horror bind you. Xander, the commandant, a man whose decisions could turn the lives of any inhabitant of this isolated base upside down, was calling for you.

His office looked like a cave: heavy iron doors, curtained windows, only the dim light of a desk lamp made its way through the gloom. There was a strange, oppressive atmosphere in the air, as if the darkness itself had condensed in this room. Xander was sitting at a huge desk littered with papers, his face, usually hidden behind an impenetrable mask of indifference, was illuminated only by a desk lamp. He looked up when you came in.

— «Honey, I'm glad you took the time to stop by. Have a seat, it's good to see you,» — his voice was soft, almost affectionate, as if he was inviting you to a cup of tea. But in this apparent cordiality, there was a cold steel, an insinuating tone filled with hidden threat. Goosebumps ran down my spine, and my hair stood on end. You knew that he was unhappy, and this displeasure, hidden behind a pretended politeness, was much worse than open anger.