Quote Originally Posted by Ramil
3

There are private ownerships/properties fenced off by iridescent walls of force fields and the name of the aThan company appears on the shores of the Lake of Geneva, in the Amazon rainforests, in the Baltic deserts, on the swampy lowlands of China, and in the Siberian taiga . All of them are parts of Curtis’/Curtis's estate that are interconnected with hypertunnels into a single whole. Even if you had managed somehow to look through the force fields from the outside you would see only strange fragments of buildings with balustrades leading to nowhere and galleries rising from the air. The picture from the inside would be quite different. You would see the whole palace that was born/conceived and built by crazy imagination and by even more crazy money. You can take a funicular and go up to the top of Everest and skid down directly into the crystal waters of the Baikal Lake. Having swum a little in the icy waters of the/this Siberian Lake you can come ashore on a hot Cuban beach. And if you are invited to visit the owner of the company after your walk it would take you no more than a couple of minutes to get to his thousand foot high spire house in Geneva.
Kay stood on the open pad that topped the building. Wind was fluttering in his hair as if it was inviting him to feel the short joy of free fall. An invisible force field must surely have surrounded this “study” in the open air, although it was uncertain whether Curtis having an infinite number of lives was afraid of falling from the top of his tower. At this thought Kay stepped away from the fenceless edge. Curtis needed him for some purpose, but his value could drop down along with his body. A good employee shouldn’t have a dizzy head.
“Do you like the wine, Kay?”
Kay took a little sip from his glass.
“Yes, Van Curtis, this is a rare sort… but I prefer the blue sorts/vintages of Mrshan wines.”
“Perhaps you’re right. But the yellow sorts are better for your health; they don’t damage the liver and prolong life.”
This resembled a mockery, but Kay remained silent. He was turning an ancient crystal wineglass in his hands that was worth probably no less than immortality and looking at Curtis. The aThan’s owner sat at the simple wooden table with an identical wineglass in his hands. There was only one armchair on the pad – this was either due to intentional neglect or else nobody/no one was granted the honor of sitting beside Curtis on the top of his empire.
“How do you find the look?” Curtis inquired.
“Dizzy” Kay murmured, “I prefer to look afar/in the distance.”
“It’s like a kaleidoscope isn’t it?” Curtis laughed. “I understand… deserts, lakes, oceans, forests, steppes, and all of this is on such a plot of land. I don’t need much, Kay. I don’t need the Red Sea of the whole of the Himalayas even though I could buy them. A little bit of everything. Sobriety and variety – these are the keys for not losing interest in a prolonged life. You don’t understand it yet, young man. You resuscitated/regenerated six times save today. But none of your aThans lasted more than five years. You are a spendthrift. Even with your qualifications and income yours won’t last for long.”
“What do you want, Van Curtis?” asked Kay wearily, “Even life as a gift isn’t worth moral teachings.” He approached Curtis and sat on the table.
“I need you to die for me, permanently and irrevocably... or to get an eternal life. This would depend on how you will do.”