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Prologue
The dark waters of the Baltic Sea hid it for decades. The ship lay frozen in time, covered in shells and mud. Its name was erased from history, but not from the memory of those who knew the truth.
When divers found the ship, they didn't expect it to be inside.
Something that will change everything.

Chapter 1
Saint Petersburg, present day
Artem Volkov, a historian and archivist, received a strange call in the middle of the night.
“You have to see this,” the voice on the other end of the line sounded tense.
Three hours later, he stood in a dilapidated hangar on the outskirts of town, looking at a rusty safe that had been pulled from the seabed. Inside was a folder marked "SECRET. NOT TO BE DISCLOSED. 1945."
The first document was handwritten:
"If you're reading this, it means Project Preservation has failed. They're coming for us. Destroy everything..."
Artem felt a chill run down his spine. He had no idea that this discovery would drag him into a deadly game where the truth was worth his life.

Chapter 2
Shadow of the Past
1945. The Soviet Union celebrates victory, but in the shadow of triumph another war lurks - a war for the secrets of the Third Reich. A special NKVD group codenamed "Preservation" is sent to Germany with one goal: to find and close what the Nazis tried to take out in the last days of the war.
But what they discovered in a secret laboratory near Berlin was not supposed to fall into anyone's hands.
Not then. Not now.

Chapter 3
The hunt has begun
Artem didn't believe that old documents could be of interest to anyone until unknown people burst into his apartment. They didn't ask questions, didn't threaten - they just shot.
He escaped miraculously.
Now he had only two options: hide or get to the bottom of the truth.
But the truth, as it turned out, was more dangerous than the bullet.

Chapter 4
The key to the riddle
Hidden pages of the diary of one of the participants of "Preservation" led him to a small town near Arkhangelsk. There, in an abandoned church, the very thing was kept - the device that the Nazis called "Die Bewahrung" ("Preservation").
But what did it do?
And why are they still hunting him?

Chapter 5
Last warning
"You don't understand what you've gotten yourself into," whispered the woman who met him in the dark alley. "This isn't just an archive. It's a weapon. A weapon that can erase the memories of entire nations."
Artem wanted to laugh, but her eyes said: she was not joking.
And then he realized: if he didn’t stop this, history would be rewritten.

Epilogue
Somewhere in the depths of the Siberian forests a fire was dying down. A folder with documents lay nearby.
Artem looked at the flame burning the truth.
Sometimes, to preserve peace, knowledge must be destroyed.
But he already knew too much.
And they followed him.

Preservation. Book Two: Memory of Fire
Prologue
He ran.
The forest around was thick, impenetrable, as if the taiga itself was trying to hide him from his pursuers. But they were on his heels. Artyom heard their steps, heavy breathing, the barking of dogs.
There was a burning sensation in his pocket - a small metal disk stolen from that very church. Three letters were engraved on it: "DB"
The conversation.
The last legacy of Nazi madness. The last key.
And they are ready to kill for it.

Chapter 1
Escape
Arkhangelsk greeted him with freezing rain.
Artem knew he had no more than a day before he was found. He had to figure out what to do with the disk. But how? Who could he trust?
The only clue is a name briefly mentioned in the diary: "Larionov."
An old scientist, one of the silent witnesses of the project. If he is still alive…

Chapter 2
Larionov
House No. 14 on Gagarin Street. A wreck with slanted shutters.

“Who are you?” the old man in the doorway squinted, as if trying to see a ghost in Artem.
— I was sent... from the past.
Silence.
Then Larionov took a sharp breath and whispered:
- So, they found "Preservation"?

Chapter 3
The True Purpose
Larionov showed him the notes.
1945. Nazi scientists have created more than just a weapon. They have found a way to erase memory. Not just a person's memory, but entire cities'.
- Did you see what happened in Chelyabinsk-40? - the old man poured the moonshine with shaking hands. - The whole district forgot who they were. They started speaking some strange language...
Artem went cold.
- And what, does it... work?
Larionov nodded wearily.
- They have improved it. Now you can erase not memory, but history. Entire nations will forget who they are. Or believe what they are told.

Chapter 4
Shadows of the Present
They came at night.
Black SUVs without license plates. People in masks.
Larionov managed to give Artem the coordinates before he was overpowered.
"Run! Find her!" he croaked.
Artem jumped out the window, hearing a shot behind him.
Now he had no choice.
He had to find Elena Sokolova - the only one who knew where the Preservation machine was hidden.

Chapter 5
Elena
She lived in a remote village near Vologda. A former employee of the FSB archives who disappeared ten years ago.
When Artem broke into her house, she met him with a sawed-off shotgun.
“Who are you?” Her eyes burned with rage and fear.
- Larionov sent me.
She lowered the gun, but did not relax.
- So, it has begun.

Chapter 6
Cache
The coordinates led to Karelia. To an old bunker built back in the 50s.
"It's not just the car there," Elena said. "They are there."
- Who?
— Those who were erased.
Artem didn't understand. Until he saw it.

Chapter 7
Awakening
The bunker was huge. There were capsules along the walls.
Like cryochambers.
There are people in them.
Hundreds.
- This…
"The test subjects," Elena whispered. "The ones who went through the Preservation. They forgot everything. Even their names."
One of the monitors suddenly came to life. A date flashed on the screen:
"ACTIVATION: 06/24/2025"
- Oh no... - Elena turned pale. - They're starting it again.

Chapter 8
Race
"Who are they?" Artem shouted as they sped along the highway to Petrozavodsk.
— The Palimpsest group. People who believe that history needs to be corrected.
- For what?!
— To create a new world. Without mistakes. Without wars. Without… us.
At that moment, a truck crashed into their car.

Chapter 9
Last choice
Artem woke up in the basement.
A man in black stood in front of him.
"You could be part of something great," he said. "The new world needs people like you."
There was a disk on the table in front of them.
DB
“What is he doing?” Artem wheezed.
- Something that should have happened long ago. Erasing mistakes.
The man pressed the button.
The screen flashed:
"LAUNCH: 3… 2… 1…"
Artem closed his eyes.
And I remembered.

Epilogue
Morning.
Artem walked through the deserted city.
The people around him looked at him with empty eyes.
Nobody knew who he was.
Nobody remembered what happened yesterday.
There was only a burning sensation in my pocket - a small piece of metal.
DB
The conversation.
Preservation.
But what is there to save if the world has already forgotten?

Preservation. Book Three: Awakening Shadows
Prologue
The city was asleep.
But this was no ordinary sleep - this was oblivion.
Artem walked along the deserted streets, peering into the faces of the rare passers-by. Empty eyes, torn memories. They didn't know who they were. They didn't remember yesterday.
The Preservation Machine worked.
But why did he still remember?
In his pocket, the DB disk burned his fingers, as if trying to say something.

Chapter 1
The last one who remembers
He was found near the old library.
“You… you’re not infected,” the hoarse voice belonged to a thin man in a tattered cloak. His eyes darted around, as if he were expecting a blow from the darkness.
- Infected? - Artem clenched his fists.
— Forgetting. They call it "Purification." But some… resist.
The man grabbed his arm sharply.
- If you remember, it means they need you.
- To whom?!
In response, there was only a whisper:
- Follow me if you want to see the awakened ones.

Chapter 2
Underground
A passage into the sewers. A labyrinth of tunnels. And finally – them.
Dozens of people hiding underground. They were called "The Defiant".
"We haven't forgotten," said the girl with the scar on her cheek. "Because we weren't in town when it happened."
— What "it"?
— Impulse. The machine sends a wave. Erases memory. But it doesn't work on everyone...
She looked at the disk in his hands.
- You carry the key. That means you can stop it.

Chapter 3
The Truth About DB
The disk turned out to be more than just a part of the machine.
It was a cancellation protocol.
"The Nazis were afraid that their creation would get out of control," explained an old man named Gleb, a former engineer at a secret institute. "So they created an emergency stop. But Palimpsest didn't know that."
- How to activate it?
- It needs to be inserted into the main terminal. But it's in their headquarters.
Artem nodded slowly.
- So I need to get there.
Suddenly there was laughter in the corner of the room.
- Alone? You'll die in the first five minutes.
The voice belonged to a tall guy with a pistol on his belt.
- If you want to survive, you will need our help.

Chapter 4
Plan
The Palimpsest headquarters was located in the former FSB building.
"They guard him day and night," said the girl with the scar (her name was Katya). "But we have a way to distract them."
- Which?
- We'll hit the transformer. The city will go dark. You'll have ten minutes.
Artem looked at the disk.
— What if I don’t make it in time?
- Then "Palimpsest" will start the second wave. And even we... will forget.

Chapter 5
Darkness
The blow was accurate.
The city plunged into darkness. Screams. Sirens.
Artem made his way along the black corridor, clinging to the walls.
5 minutes.
The guards were running around with flashlights.
3 minutes.
He found a room with a terminal.
1 minute.
The disc entered the groove with a quiet click.
The screen flashed:
"CANCEL. YES/NO"
Artem clicked "YES".
And at that moment the door behind him swung open.

Chapter 6
Face of the enemy
The Man in Black.
The same one who started the car.
“Did you think it would be that easy?” His voice sounded almost regretful.
The gun was aimed at the forehead.
Artem closed his eyes.
Shot.
But the pain did not come.
Instead, there was a scream.
He opened his eyes.
The man in black writhed on the floor, clutching his head.
— What… what’s wrong with me?!
Katya stood in the doorway with a smoking gun.
- He remembered.

Chapter 7
Return
The wave went back.
All over the city people were waking up.
Some cried. Some screamed. Some couldn't believe they'd forgotten their own children.
The Preservation Machine was destroyed.
But Artem knew that this was not the end.
There were still other terminals somewhere.
Other discs.
And others who want to rewrite history.

Epilogue
They stood on the roof, looking at the city coming to life.
“What now?” Katya asked.
Artem took a new disk out of his pocket.
The one he found in the terminal.
There was an inscription burning on it:
"BERLIN. 1945"
- Now we are searching.

Preservation. Book Four: The Berlin Key
Prologue. Berlin, 1945
The last days of the war. The roar of artillery, collapsing buildings. A group of SS men are loading boxes into a truck in a panic. Among them is a tall, bespectacled officer clutching a metal case.
"If this falls into the hands of the Russians or the Americans, all is lost. Pass it on only to the Chief Archivist."
Shot into the ceiling. The order is not discussed.
The truck drives away into the night.

An hour later, Red Army soldiers burst into the bunker.
But the case is no longer there.

Chapter 1. The Shadow of the Archivist
Moscow, present day
Artem unfolded the disk on his palm. The inscription "BERLIN. 1945" shimmered in dull silver.
“Who is the Chief Archivist?” he asked Katya.
She silently took a tattered folder out of her backpack.
— The only mention is here. NKVD report, 1946. "Leader of the secret order of the Keepers of Memory." Nothing else.
- An order? - Artem raised an eyebrow.
- Yes. And if you believe this... - Katya poked her finger at the line, - they still exist.
A door slammed outside the window. Both of them flinched.
Someone knew they were here.

Chapter 2. Hunting the Hunters
The chase began unexpectedly.
The black Mercedes followed them through narrow alleys until Katya turned into the arch of an old factory.
— Where did they find us?!
“A disk,” Artem wheezed, squeezing it in his fist. “It’s a transmitter.”
It was too late to throw it away.
The solution came instantly.
“Give me the phone,” he said.
Five minutes later, an encrypted message was sent to the network:
"I know where Von Lans is. The meeting is tomorrow. Just you and me."
Katya was dumbfounded:
- Are you crazy? This is...
— The only way to get to the Archivist.

Chapter 3. The Trap
Berlin. Abandoned metro station
They waited for him in the dark.
Three. In black cloaks. The eldest had a cane, on the knob of which was an emblem: a book and a sword.
“Where is Frau Lance?” the voice sounded like the creaking of parchment.
Artem stepped forward:
- Dead. Like your order. Only rats remain.
The three looked at each other.
- You carry the key. Where are the others?
— First tell me, why do you need Preservation?
The cane hit the floor.
Ten more people emerged from the shadows.
The trap worked. But not as planned.

Chapter 4. The Truth Game
They were tied up and dragged deeper into the tunnel.
A room with an arched ceiling. On the wall is a world map with markings:
Washington. Beijing. London. Moscow.
- You wanted to know the goal? - the elder took off his gloves. - Not erasure. Control. Whoever owns the memory, owns the future.
There is a second disk on the table.
Artem recognized the engraving: W. 1953".
— What did you do in '53?!
The old man smiled:
- Ask your American friends. They are looking for us too. But you have the key now.
The door swung open.
The man who entered whispered something in the elder's ear.
He turned pale:
- You brought them here?!
Somewhere in the darkness shots rang out.

Chapter 5. A Stranger Among His Own
— CIA. On the ground!
Agents in body armor filled the room.
Katya shouted:
- Artem! Give me the disk!
He didn't have time to react.
A stab in the back.
Katya snatched up BERLIN. 1945 and rushed towards the Americans.
"The deal is done," she said coldly. "Now it's your turn."
The eldest of the Guardians laughed:
- Betrayal. Like a textbook.
Artyom was restrained.
The last thing he saw was Katya walking into the darkness with the strangers.

Epilogue. The game has begun.
Unknown location. 72 hours later
I woke up in a cell.
Opposite is Gesell's mirror.
She is behind him.
In a white coat. With a disk in his hands.
“I’m sorry,” she moved her lips silently. “It’s more than you think.”
The door opened.
The American who entered smiled:
- Mr. Volkov? We've been waiting for you since 1945.
There was a third terminal hanging on the wall behind it.
With a burning inscription:
"GLOBAL RESET. CODE: 7-4-1"

Preservation Book Six: The Vanished War
Prologue. Alternate Present
Moscow, Kremlin
An unfamiliar flag fluttered over the city – red, with golden stars and a blue stripe at the flagpole.
Artyom clutched his phone, looking at the news feed:
"Soviet-American space project Soyuz-Apollo 2 starts next month"
"UN Secretary General congratulates the USSR and the USA on 50 years of peaceful cooperation"
The Cold War didn't just end.
She never existed.

Chapter 1. The New Old World
The first thing he checked was historical sites.
- 1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis is resolved in 24 hours. Kennedy and Khrushchev sign a treaty on board a cruiser.
- 1979 – Joint Soviet-American mission in Afghanistan against terrorists.
- 1991 – the USSR did not collapse. The "Democratic Reformation" was carried out.
But the most frightening thing is:
- Nobody remembered nuclear arsenals.
Katya answered the third call:
— Do you see what they did? — Her voice trembled. — They didn’t just erase the conflict. They rewrote technological progress. Without the arms race, there is no Internet as we know it. No modern processors. Not even normal smartphones!
A retro-futuristic car, similar to a 70s concept, drove past the window.
“Where are you?” Artem asked.
- In Area 51. There should be an archive here...
Click. The connection was interrupted.

Chapter 2. Archivist
The old man found it himself.
He came at night, in a khaki cloak - not the one with the cane. Different.
"You activated the Rollback Protocol," he whispered. "This is a mistake. The Machine does not erase memory. It replaces it.
He laid out three photographs on the table:
1. 1945 – Yalta Conference. Roosevelt, Stalin and... a third man.
2. 1963 – Kennedy lives after the assassination attempt. The same shadow is nearby.
3. 1991 – Signing of a new union treaty. And again he.
- Who is this?
— The archivist. The one who pulls the strings. But now... — the old man coughed — ...now he's stuck in this version of reality. Just like us.
Shot outside the window.
The old man collapsed, covered in blood.
Mark stood in the doorway, but in a Soviet military uniform.
- Comrade Volkov? The General Secretary wants to talk to you.

Chapter 3. Meeting at Lubyanka
The office was striking in its retro-future: holographic maps, but with tube screens.
At the table is an elderly but strong man.
“Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev,” he introduced himself.
Artyom was dumbfounded.
- You... were supposed to die in '91.
- In another reality - yes. Here I combined two systems.
Gorbachev (if it was him) took out the fourth disc:
"M. 1985"
"That's my version. With it, we created a stable world. But now..." he sighed, "...the Order wants to erase even that."
Sirens.
On the screens there is an attack on the Kremlin.
- Who?!
“Your American friends,” Gorbachev chuckled. “Or rather, those who remember the old world.”

Chapter 4. War of Memories
The streets of Moscow were ablaze.
Soviet soldiers were shooting at American soldiers – but their uniforms were hybrid, like something out of a science fiction movie.
Katya found him near the Okhotny Ryad metro station:
- They are waking up! People are starting to remember two realities at once!
- What's happening?!
— The machine malfunctioned. When you pressed "Cancel", it didn't bring back the old world - it mixed the two!
A fighter jet of strange design exploded in the sky.
Somewhere in this chaos was the Archivist.
And the fifth disc.

Epilogue. Shadow over the Kremlin
Roof of the CMEA building
Artyom stood over the burning city.
In your hands are all four disks:
- BERLIN. 1945
- W. 1953
- B. 1989
- M. 1985
But the fifth one – the one that the Archivist had – was missing.
Katya sent the last message:
"It's called R. 1991. Find it or this world will be torn apart."
Somewhere below, in the flames, someone was laughing.

Preservation Book Seven: The Archivist's Game
Prologue. Moscow, 1991
August 19. 06:17 am
A man in a grey coat stood at the window of the Moscow Hotel, watching as tanks entered the square.
“They’ve started,” he whispered into the radio transmitter.
"So the plan is in action?" asked the voice on the phone.
- Yes. In three days the USSR will be gone. And we will receive the key to the new world.
He took a disk out of his pocket and ran his finger over the engraving:
"R. 1991"
— The last piece of the mosaic.
The first shot rang out outside the window.

Chapter 1. Two Truths
Moscow. Alternative present
The city was torn apart.
In some areas, people remembered the Soviet Union, in others, the new reality. The streets changed before our eyes: now old Khrushchev-era buildings, now glass skyscrapers of the 2020s.
Artyom ran along Kuznetsky Most, clutching four discs in his hand.
"Where can I find "R. 1991"?" he shouted to Katya, who was following him.
“Where it all began,” she said. “The White House. Only it’s not White anymore. It’s…”
They turned the corner and saw it.
The Parliament building. But not the one destroyed in 1993, but whole. The inscription on the pediment:
"The Supreme Council of the Union Republics"
“Here,” said Katya. “Here the Archivist hid it.”

Chapter 2. The Face Without a Past
Underground archive of the Supreme Council
The elevator descended to the minus eighth floor.
The room resembled a laboratory: old computers, world maps with marks, a fifth terminal - larger and more complex than the previous ones.
And he.
The man in grey.
“Archivist,” Artyom whispered.
He turned around.
There was no face.
More precisely, it changed every second: sometimes young, sometimes old, sometimes male, sometimes female.
"You're late," he said. His voice sounded like dozens of people superimposing. "I've already started the final re-recording."
The terminal screen flashed:
"ACTIVATION: R. 1991 ; GLOBAL RESET"
Katya stepped forward:
- You can't just erase history!
The archivist grinned (if it could be called a grin):
— I don't erase. I fix. Over and over again. But people still ruin everything.

Chapter 3. Who is he?
Artyom inserted the first four disks into the terminal.
The screen exploded with a kaleidoscope of images:
- 1945. An archivist in Yalta whispers something to Stalin.
- 1963. He's in Dallas, moving the barrel of his rifle half a centimeter to the side.
- 1991. He bursts into Gorbachev's office with a gun.
- You... you interfered in all the key moments!
“Of course. I’m a proofreader,” the Archivist replied. “I create history. But this time…”
He looked at the fifth disc.
- ...I'm tired.
R. 1991 is not a date.
This is Reset.
Complete reset.

Chapter 4. Choice
The terminal came to life.
“What is he doing?!” Katya screamed.
"It erases the very principle of history," said the Archivist. "No more wars. No more revolutions. Only... order."
Artyom looked at the screen:
"NEW PARADIGM LOADING: 87%"
10 seconds left.
Katya grabbed his hand:
- Decide! Rewrite or destroy?!
The archivist laughed - if it was laughter.
- Choice? Ha. You've already lost.
Artyom took the gun.
Shot.
Not to the Archivist.
To the terminal.

Epilogue. The World After
Moscow. Our days
Artyom woke up in his apartment.
The TV was showing the news:
— Today marks 30 years since the failure of the 1991 coup...
He remembered everything.
The Cold War happened. The USSR collapsed.
But something has changed.
There was one disk lying on the table.
"R. 1991"
On the back there is a new engraving:
"Thank you. But I'll be back."
A black helicopter flew past the window.

Preservation Book Eight: The Last Guardian
Prologue. Berlin, 1945
Bunker under the Reich Chancellery
A man in a black leather coat raised a lantern, illuminating the face of a dying Nazi officer.
— Where is "Die Bewahrung"?
The officer wheezed, clutching the wound on his stomach:
- You... are not from the NKVD...
“No,” the man leaned closer. “I’m from the future.”
His eyes shimmered as if they reflected all possible times at once.
The officer managed to whisper three words before his death:
- Archivist... it's... you...

Chapter 1. Traces in history
Moscow. Our days
Artyom was sitting in the archive, leafing through old photographs.
All the key shots of the 20th century featured the same person:
- 1917. Winter Palace. In the crowd - a tall figure in black.
- 1945. Signing of the capitulation. The same silhouette behind Zhukov.
- 1961. Gagarin's flight. Someone is standing in the shadow of the rocket.
But the strangest thing is the photo from 1894.
The royal family. And he is in a modern cloak.
"He didn't just interfere," Artem whispered. "He always existed."
The door swung open.
Katya stood in the doorway, but completely different.
Dressed in the style of the late 19th century.
"We need to talk," she said. "Before he comes back."

Chapter 2. Time Machine
An abandoned laboratory somewhere near Moscow
Katya led him along the corridors illuminated by blue lamps.
“You didn’t ask how I found this place,” Artyom became wary.
“Because I knew,” she answered. “I waited for you. For one hundred and twenty years.”
In the center of the room stood a capsule - exactly like the one in the Preservation bunker, but ancient, with copper gears.
"This is not a memory machine," said Katya. "This is a time-transition device. The first version."
She ran her hand over the panel:
— The Archivist is the first tester. He is stuck in a loop, jumping between eras. His consciousness is stratified. He is no longer a man — it is a disease of time.
Artem looked at the disk "R. 1991":
- So, this is...
— The coordinates of his first jump.

Chapter 3. Origins
Petersburg. 1894
White light.
Artyom opened his eyes in a horse-drawn carriage.
Katya sat in front of him - or rather, a woman who looked like her.
"Welcome to the real beginning," she said. "Today is his first time using the machine."
Somewhere ahead there was an explosion.
They ran out onto the embankment - just in time to see:
A young man (his face was not yet “floating”) runs into a burning mansion.
“It’s him,” the woman whispered. “Sergey Lavrov. My husband.”
Artyom was dumbfounded:
- You...
- Elizaveta Lavrova. That very first Katya.

Chapter 4. Last Chance
The mansion was on fire.
Inside, among the ruins of the first time machine, stood Sergei, the future Archivist.
"Stop him!" Elizabeth shouted. "If he jumps, the loop will close!"
Artyom rushed forward, but it was too late.
Sergei pressed the button.
Flash.
AND...
Nothing.
The machine didn't work.
- What... - Sergey shook the device. - Why?!
Artyom understood.
He took out the disc "R. 1991" and smashed it on the floor.
“Because that won’t happen now,” he said.
The world turned white.

Epilogue. The present present

Artyom opened his eyes .
An ordinary Moscow apartment.
The TV showed the usual news.
No anomalies.
On the table lay the only thing from the whole nightmare:
Old photograph.
1894. Young couple - Sergei and Elizaveta Lavrov.
On the back there is an inscription:
"Thank you. Now we are free."
The telephone rang outside the window.
Unknown number.
"Hello," said a female voice. "This is Katya. Would you like some coffee?"

Epilogue after 10 years
In a quiet alley of old St. Petersburg there is a mansion.
On the sign:
"Museum of the History of Science. Founders: S. and E. Lavrov"
The tour guide tells the schoolchildren:
— These drawings are the first designs for quantum computers. They were created in the 1890s!
The children laugh:
- Can't be!
Somewhere in the crowd, an elderly couple is smiling.
They remember everything.
But now it's just history.