Galina Sumina

In the not-so-distant future the computer game industry reaches its fullest flower. Virtual reality is indistinguishable from real life. The government launches Department C to control the game space. Censors secretly delve into games. Their mission is to take sex and violence beyond the forbidden level. A game that would let them do that must be banned. One of the Censors is a good guy who hates his bloody job. The other one is a creep. But even the Censors lose their ability to tell the game from the real world.

After winning a popular TV talent contest, Yar seems set for success. But his joy is short lived as his hopes and dreams collapse around him. Pushed by his friends and family to find ‘a proper job’, Yar refuses to quit. As he drives ahead in pursuit of his dreams, he doesn’t realize that it’s at the cost of his soul. He’s got one last chance to make it, and nothing’s going to stand in his way.

This is a story about the actor Shchiptsov, a man of robust build, who became famous not so much for his stage talent as for his extraordinary physical strength. He had a quarrel with the theater director during the intermission, and in the midst of the quarrel, he suddenly felt as if something had given way in his chest. Shchiptsov feels that he will die soon; he sits in the dressing room and quietly repeats that he wants to go back to his homeland — to Vyazma, but none of the actors fully believes that he is seriously ill; they “jokingly” encourage him. When the second act begins, everyone calmly leaves the stage; he, alone and using his last remaining strength, climbs onto the roof and falls dead.

Tired of looking for housing, a couple rents a one-room apartment near a construction site. But this is a trifle, in comparison with what they have to find in this apartment.

Ambitious operatives investigate murders and learn the intricacies of the profession. A detective story about loyalty, friendship and duty