Echoes of terrible experiments

However, back to the present, now my Siheyun looked like it probably did when it was first built. The yard was clean, nothing hung down, did not interfere with the passage and did not offend the eye. From the story of my grandmother, I remember that in the late sixties, for special services to the country, grandfather was offered an apartment in a new comfortable house. However, he refused to move from the hutong. He considered that in Beijing there are still many people who are more deserving and in need of better living conditions. However, I seem to have already talked about this.
But back to the present. After wandering around the yard, I entered my house. It was sad, but not so painful anymore.
Saying goodbye once again to the expensive walls, I went to the exit, when suddenly the door swung open and I was thrown back into the corridor! But that was not all, after a little hesitation, the wind suddenly changed its direction and I was literally sucked out of the house to be immediately shoved into a neighboring house! The door to the third house was closed. However, the invisible force was not at a loss, in a moment and the glass in the window shattered into small crumbs. When the elements pushed me into the fourth house, I lost consciousness.
I woke up because I was sick. Somehow I got to my house, I lay down right on the floor in my grandparents' room and passed out. The sun hit my eyes through the windows, which had lost their curtains, someone pounded on the door so that the floor trembled. When I opened my eyes, I immediately remembered everything and tried to stand up abruptly. My body ached after a night spent on the floor. As soon as I got to the door, the knocking stopped. After a moment's pause, I opened the door and looked around. Postman, Aunt Zi had almost reached the hutong gate when I tried to call out to her. There was no voice, instead of words, some sort of sip flew out of his mouth. Wincing in pain, I ran after my aunt. She was already on her bike when I ran out the gate.
- What is it with you? Aunt Zi was surprised, “Where did you come from and why didn’t you open it for a long time?”
- I ... I was sleeping.
- Slept at twelve o'clock in the morning? - Auntie touched my forehead, - Oh, you're on fire! You need to go to the hospital, not stay at home! Get on my bike and I'll walk beside you!
- Not. I... I have some things to do, and I... Auntie, - seeing that the woman was sitting in the saddle of a bicycle, I got worried, - why did you come?
- You spoke to me. I forgot everything! The letter is here for you! I went several times and no one was home. And I couldn't get through to my neighbors. I went yesterday, the day before yesterday.
- We moved, ordered to vacate the houses within a week.
"Ah, that's the point!" And I keep knocking, knocking ... Well, it means you are lucky that I passed by today. Today is not a working day yet, but I think ... And what address will you have now? Where should mail be sent?
The address on the letter was written in familiar handwriting. I flew into the house, sat leaning against the wall, and tore the envelope
The very first lines of the letter made me sob. I read and wiped my tears.
“Dear Lin, dear granddaughter! If you are reading these lines, then I am no longer alive. The faithful man promised to forward this letter to you if I do not show up or send him a message within three months! It would be cruel to leave you alone with the questions that I am sure you have accumulated by this time. I will tell you everything, and you will be my final judge. I hope you don't judge me harshly.
Our family, or rather, the family of your grandmother, dates back to Emperor Huangdi. The blood of emperors also flows in my veins, but this is another branch. From childhood, she and I knew we were meant for each other. Unlike other married couples, who sometimes did not see each other before the wedding, we were lucky. You must have heard about the seal of Emperor Huangdi? This seal was supposed to be kept in your grandmother's family, but the winds of history created such turbulence many times that the trace of the seal was lost. In 1937 the Japanese occupied China. A puppet state of Manzhou-go was created. Our last emperor, Pu-yi, was forced to take the lead in this farce. I do not know what methods were applied to Pu-yi so that he would give the seal. The cruelty of these people has no limits, and I do not condemn Pu Yi, I only mourn. You must have heard of Pingfan, that citadel of evil? If you have not heard, then put the letter aside and find out everything you can about that time. I'm sorry, but I just can't tell you about it. I still have nightmares at night, and memories do not leave me for a single day. In 1945, just before the arrival of the Russians, we were brought first to Harbin and then to Pingfang. In laboratory number nine, experiments were carried out on the descendants of emperors. There were nine of us. There was only one married couple - it was your grandmother and I, the other six were strangers to each other. The ninth, the last to be brought in, was a boy of five.
Huang Di's seal was shattered into nine pieces. I will not tell you what kind of torment those who turned out to be a direct descendant of Huangdi experienced. After the jade was crushed, it was roughly ground to the size of beads and implanted into us. Operations Lab 9 still remembers our cries of pain. OThe operation was performed without anesthesia. I… I'm sorry, I just can't keep my emotions in check. It's scary to think about it. There were three women among us. But they did not receive relief either. Jade peas were also implanted in them. And also without any anesthesia. After that, all sorts of experiments were carried out on us. We were electrocuted, irradiated with X-rays, frozen and heated those parts of the body where jade was implanted!
On one of the days they were not allowed to sit down for a minute, on the other, they were chained to beds and not allowed to move. Forgive me, my little one, that I dedicate these details to you, but I have no choice. Your grandmother, then naturally a young woman, 20 years old, was pregnant. The gynecologist was supposed to examine all three women on the very day when the soldiers of the Red Army entered Pingfan. We were saved and, unlike the rest of the "logs", as the Japanese called the prisoners, we are alive and relatively healthy. Of course, this could not be said about our mental state, but then who looked at such trifles?! However, all nine were placed in hospitals and hospitals. Unfortunately, in different Fortunately, I managed to find out the addresses of five. The boy was placed with us in the same hospital. Only the address of one of the nine remained unknown. The man after the experiments was in an unconscious state ... "
As I immersed myself in the letter, I completely lost track of time and was terribly frightened when I heard a knock at the door. Zhang Li was very offended by me and was not going to hide it anymore. Having somehow explained myself, I showed him the letter, but he did not listen to anything, but asked me to get up from the floor. Reminding me that I had suffered terrible stress and a high temperature, he advised me to finish reading the letter in a normal environment. Where you can sit in a chair or even lie down. After carefully closing the door of the house, I left with Zhang Li.
I was impatient to read the letter to the end, but Zhang Li made me eat first, drink the medicine prescribed by the doctor, and only then, after making me comfortable, he left. And I stayed overnight in my new house.
I read and reread the letter. I have never experienced such a feeling of hatred for anyone in my life. It was unbearable. But after all, grandfather did not write this letter so that I would spend all my strength on tears and emotions?
 Of course not.
Gathering myself, I unfolded the letter and began to read on.
“…your father was born with red hair like a maple leaf. What happened to him in childhood is very reminiscent of your childhood horrors. Only ten times worse. He could set fire to plastic cubes if he didn't get a pyramid. He could be transported in the blink of an eye to another room if he did not want to eat the food that his mother fed him. If he liked another child's toy in the yard, in the blink of an eye it disappeared from the baby's hands and ended up in the hands of my son. These abilities, thank God, were not transferred to you, but you got something worse. You could not fight the horrors, and once was enough for him to deal with an invisible offender. Once, when your father was very young (he was about four years old), the walls of our house were deformed. This happened after midnight. We slept peacefully, and suddenly dust and pieces of plaster fell on us. I turned on the light and couldn't believe my eyes. The walls of our house are bulging. Bursting into the son's room, which later became your nursery, we saw that the baby was crying, standing in the crib. The walls in his room were particularly arched, and excited voices could be heard outside the window. From the outside, our house must have looked like it had been swindled.
When morning came, everything fell into place.
This story has never been repeated. When your father grew up, he learned to control his abilities. My wife and I also developed some abilities over time, but I won’t tell you about them. Suffice it to say that any waves, radio, electric, and so on, caused us feelings similar to a seizure and made us suffer greatly.
 Your birth story is also unusual.
When you were born, the midwife delighted your mother by announcing that a boy had been born. Your umbilical cord has been cut. After placing you in the tray, the nurse reached for the solution to treat your navel. That is, she looked away for exactly a few seconds. When she looked at you again, she screamed wildly, frightening your mother, who was resting after giving birth. The nurse squealed, the child screamed, your mother screamed in fear, unable to get up and see what happened to her child, all the medical staff came running. The nurse poked her finger at you and couldn't say anything. No wonder, because in the tray, where a few seconds ago there was a boy, now there was a girl. But by this time, all the data of the newborn had already been entered in the book. After learning what happened, your mother raised a cry, claiming that her boy had been switched. But, on that day, only she gave birth, and there was no one to replace the child.
Yes, and physically it was simply impossible. No one saw strangers in the delivery room. No one carried or carried a child. Next to the delivery room on the villagethere sat a sister who would raise the alarm if a stranger entered. All these arguments on your mother did not work. She demanded her son and refused to put you to her breast. The next day, your father came to deal with the situation. However, neither threats nor pleas, of course, led to nothing. The medical staff was confused and demoralized. A few days later your mother was discharged from the hospital. She didn't take you with her. I missed all these tragic events, as I was on a business trip in a distant province, and returned only the day after my daughter-in-law was discharged. My wife insisted on picking up the baby, my son and daughter-in-law were categorically against it. My word was decisive. I offered to go to the hospital and at least look at you. When you were brought to us, it seemed to me that the past had returned. It seemed that my wife and I were young again, and in front of us was our baby son. You were very much like your father. Your head was decorated with the same reddish, October maple-colored hairs. You smiled at Grandma and me and we couldn't resist. We were ready to educate you ourselves, but this was not needed. Your father's heart trembled, he, of course, could not remember what he was like in infancy (or maybe he did, we never knew all his possibilities), but your mother could not fully come to terms with the secret of your birth.
Picking you up from the hospital, I brought expensive gifts that I prepared for the hospital staff
However, the old nurse refused the gifts. She asked me to give her your diaper. Confused, I asked why she needed it, to which the old woman, smiling lovingly, declared that she would keep this diaper all her life. Because this is the diaper of the newly appeared bodhisattva Guanyin.
Of course, you know the story of this bodhisattva, but I will still remind you of this legend so that the old midwife's statement will become more understandable to you. The Bodhisattva was already on the path to eternal bliss. To nirvana. That is, there was only a step left before her reincarnation into the Buddha would take place. But this step was never taken. The Bodhisattva heard the cries and pleas of the world she was about to leave behind her. From now on, the bodhisattva bears the name of Guanyin and all the suffering, desperate, and simply believing in the justice of the world, pray to Guanyin for help. However, before making a decision, the bodhisattva was a man. As soon as the decision was made, the bodhisattva turned into Guanyin, and she is now worshiped as a woman, a goddess. Doesn't this remind you of anything? I would never have come up with such an analogy, if not for the words of the old midwife. But back to the story of your childhood. Until the age of five, peace and quiet reigned in our family. Until your supernatural powers kicked in and scared your father. I know you forgave him long ago for his coldness and distrust, now you know the reason for the alienation. Until the age of five, there was no girl more sympathetic than you, you tried to help everyone, console everyone. After the fateful incident in the nursery, you have changed.
 Jade is considered the stone of the gods, and the jade from which the seal of the emperor was made also has unheard-of power. This jade was brought from the Kunlun Mountains, and we still carry peas from this jade in ourselves. However, his power has transformed the life of your father, reflected in you and, probably, will dictate its will to your children. I did not understand the meaning of the monstrous experiment that the executioners in white coats performed on us, did not understand until last week. Oddly enough, your father helped me in this. You were at work at that time and, thank God, you were not present at the scandal that broke out between me and your father. Your grandmother became an absent-minded person in her old age, you probably noticed this more than once, and then one day, while sorting through the archive, she got distracted and as a result one of the most valuable documents that should not have left our room ended up on the floor in the corridor. Your father picked up this document. In general terms, he knew about Detachment 731, about our capture, but the details were a state secret. I signed a non-disclosure agreement when I returned from the laboratory where I was sent ten years after the war. Your father shook the document and shouted that he had the right to know everything! Many bitter and unfair words were said. Things were already moving towards reconciliation, when suddenly your father turned terribly pale and lost consciousness. After putting him to bed, my grandmother and I began to think about what to do next. After calling your mother from work, we asked her to talk to her husband. He woke up a long time ago, but was silent. Turning to the wall, he lay and stared at one point until evening came. Desperate to get any answer, we began to think if we should call a doctor, but your father suddenly entered the room and threw himself on his knees in front of me. It turns out that, having received a shock, he suddenly stirred up the abilities in himself that he had been suppressing for so many years and suddenly saw the past. Everything that your grandmother and I experienced in Pingfan, he, then a two-month-old fetus, absorbed into himself, and now the terrible chronicle has surfaced in his memory. Moreover, your father suddenly had the gift of notonly to return to the past, but also to see the future. Before your father had an epiphany, I never attached importance to the cataclysms shaking the various provinces of our great country. I mourned with all the people of China, but did not suspect that the sources of the frequent cataclysms in the jade seal. In the shattered seal of Emperor Huangdi. It's time for your mother's next vacation. Your father, by the nature of his work, could go on vacation at any time, especially since he had not been on vacation for several years. And my grandmother and I, as you know, were retired and could dispose of ourselves. We decided not to explain anything to you, you were simply confronted with the fact that we were leaving. The purpose of the trip was a tour of the cities of China. There was some truth in this explanation, but its main purpose, as you probably already guessed, was to collect nine (including our two) beads and put them back together into the seal of the emperor.
You were supposed to connect the beads when we get back.
It was already very late, and grandfather's letter occupied an entire student notebook. I only read half of it. I left the remaining half for the next evening, although it was incredibly difficult for me to force myself to close the notebook. But self-discipline is one of the precious qualities that my grandparents instilled in me, and it has long been a part of me.
The next day I was greatly disappointed. Zhang Li did not take me to work in the morning and did not meet me at the gate in the evening. The shock was so great that I even forgot about my grandfather's letter for a while. I didn't know where to go, who to ask, where to look for Zhang Li. We didn't have mutual friends, I didn't even know what room he lived in at the hotel. Although he once mentioned the name of the hotel in front of me. I waited for two days, hoping that Zhang Li would return, but time passed and nothing changed. Having plucked up courage, one day I entered the lobby of the hotel and approached the administrator. What the administrator told me, looking through the book of guests, shocked me. It turns out that Zhang Li really lived in this hotel, but after checking out of the hotel for the first time, he never returned to the hotel. It was quite a long time ago, back in that first failed trip. With burning cheeks, I jumped out of the hotel. Strange, but where did Zhang Li live all this time? Maybe he called me another hotel, and I listened? It seems to be not. Everything that concerned my beloved, I memorized tightly, although he never indulged me with information about himself.
Returning home, I went up to the apartment, but deciding that Zhang Li could write me a letter, I immediately went down to the first floor again, to the mailbox. However, I was disappointed. The new mailbox was bursting with a heap of colorful advertisements, but the desired news was not there.
Returning to the apartment, I pushed my grandfather’s letter closer to me, hoping in this way to distract myself from the resentment and pain that filled my house.
“... Yes, I forgot to tell you. When I returned ten years later to Laboratory 9, I tried to find out anything about the ninth prisoner, who was unconscious at the time of our release. However, I was disappointed. The ninth test subject had only a serial number. Once in Detachment 731, the prisoners became Logs. They were assigned numbers. They became faceless numbers that lost the right to names and surnames. I had to return to Harbin. The archive of the gendarmerie was partially preserved. Many folders were empty. After the arrival of the Red Army, the Japanese destroyed tons of documents. However, the folder labeled "Top Secret" somehow miraculously survived. As you understand, such information does not have a statute of limitations, so I still have no right to talk about what I read there. It will be enough for you to know that I found the name, surname and address of the ninth comrade in misfortune with ease. Having copied the data of all seven people, suddenly my memory fails me at the most inopportune moment, I was about to close the folder, but suddenly I saw the signature of one of those who mocked us with particular cruelty. Takeshi W. That's whose devilish signature was inscribed under one of the documents. This flayer took pleasure in torture. It even went so far that Issiya himself was sometimes forced to stop Takeshi, who had gone into a rage. The experiment report was signed with Takeshi's name. But I digressed and again remembered the things of bygone days. Forgive me, if you are now reading what I wrote, you are experiencing incredible torment. Knowing your character, I would never have let you in on all this horror, but I had no way out. So, I had the addresses of all seven people. Forgive me for another digression, but I am writing this letter at the insistence of your grandmother. Today we were supposed to return home, but we met my nephew. He was returning to Sichuan province and did not want to hear that we would leave and not see his mother. After all, Sichuan is within easy reach. Your grandmother did not challenge my decision, she only asked me to write you a letter and explain everything. Surprised by her unusual request, I firstI hesitated to object, but looking into her eyes, I was forced to agree. When the letter was written, we decided this: I will send the letter to a friend, you know him, this is Mr. Ku. If, after three months, I do not take the letter back, he will forward it to you. But most likely, the letter will only have time to touch the palms of my friend, when I come for him. And you won't know anything. However, the letter must end. All nine jade beads are now in your grandmother's jewelry box. It was not an easy operation. Some of the beads fused with the bodies of the former prisoners of Detachment 731, and the operation delivered rather unpleasant and painful minutes. However, after my son's explanation, no one dared to object. The oldest of the captives, who was forty years old at the time of captivity, is now one hundred and four years old. But you can't give him more than sixty. The youngest, who was then five, is now sixty-nine years old. However, they are all united by great grief. All seven are childless.
 You know Lin, for some time now I feel like we're being followed. Therefore, I won’t risk taking jade beads to Beijing now.”
I looked around, it seemed to me that there was someone in the room. I distinctly felt that someone was trying to look over my shoulder while I was reading. I quickly hid the letter in an envelope and looked around. However, she immediately sighed in disappointment. None of the rooms were suitable for hiding from an invisible eavesdropper. What if you try to hide in a hutong? However, when I arrived, there was already a pile of bricks in the place of my house, which the workers were diligently pulling away. Tears ran down my face. I stood, and pictures of my childhood and youth floated before my eyes. The workers left, and I timidly approached the place where my house was. Of course, it was not possible to get my bearings exactly, but it seems that I found the place where only recently was the room of my grandparents. After spreading a piece of cardboard, which I found here, I again delved into reading. It quickly got dark, it became chilly, but here I could breathe easily, and I did not feel an extraneous presence. I opened the letter again:
“Take the cape that protects grandma's pillow. Put it on your hand ... After you know the name of the nine cities, hit the road. In each of the nine capitals, you will need to find a Buddhist temple. Only that temple is suitable, where there is a statue you need. According to the custom of our country, they try to decorate each statue as richly as possible. Look for a jade bead among other jewelry. As soon as you find it, go to the abbot of the temple and they will give you a bead. The name of the goddess embodied in the statue, I will not write to you now. The hint is above.
After you reread it, the truth will be revealed to you. The ninth bead is already in Beijing. I sent it to another friend of mine, you don't need to know his name. If you are reading this letter, then the bead is already waiting for you at the appointed place. But I would advise you to start your search with the capital that was the first in a series of great capitals. And although Beijing was not in last place, leave it and go. When you return, the bead will be waiting for you already in Beijing. And again, forgive me for not letting your talent come true. I knew that you dreamed of becoming an artist, you had a serious talent, but I forced you to choose a job in a jade factory after graduation from the university. You will soon understand the significance of this decision of mine. Until then, get on your way. After collecting all nine beads, go to the Kunlun Mountains. At the foot of the mountain, in the town of Turfan, another letter of mine will be waiting for you. May the Buddha help you. Your grandfather."
When I returned home, I was sad. Grandfather's voice, as if alive, sounded in my head. So it seemed that all this was just an unfortunate mistake and my relatives were about to return.
However, I was able to realize my grandfather's idea not earlier than the new year came.
In Chinese families, it is customary to celebrate the New Year with a large family. Only in Beijing itself, I had about two hundred relatives, and only my grandmother knew how many there were throughout the Celestial Empire. And, of course, no one allowed me to celebrate the New Year alone. My mother's sister, aunt Alute, after New Year's Eve, did not want to hear to let me go home. That's who knew our family tree no worse, and maybe even better than my grandmother. While talking with my aunt on various topics, I touched on the topic of my second cousin Van, who lived in a remote province, and was surprised to learn that I don’t have any aunt “how is she there” and brother Van. And never was. It was a blow. So Zhang Li has been deceiving me all this time? The second blow was that so many relatives and close friends of the family have died in different cities of China over the past few months. And I, wrapped in my grief, knew nothing. People died for various reasons, but one thing was the same. There was a cell phone next to the deceased person. Molten and fallen into disrepair.
After the meeting of the new year came the New Year holidays, which lasted about a month. After collecting all my savings, I hit the road. Beijing West StationI had to leave for the city of Xi'an, immediately reminded me of the recent failed farewell of a loved one.
http://proza.ru/2014/07/28/238