CHAPTER 24. THE TRIPLE BARREL.

February 24, 2022.

Observing every atom, every grain of sand of our Universe in a profound and holistic way, the omnipresent and all-seeing Creator of all that exists suddenly turned His gaze, in one of His countless hypostases, to those of His creations who were at that very moment carelessly living out their relatively young lives.

"The card was flashed!" a twenty-year-old youth said with great displeasure as a six of clubs, now dressed in a light-blue shirt, unexpectedly showed its face. Then, moderating his tone slightly, he slowly continued, "The words you just spoke reminded me, for some reason, of a slightly different, but quite similar, argument that I recently heard from a truly well-known modern scientist: ‘The tragedy of Notre-Dame de Paris was nothing more than the most direct harbinger of the greatest and most devastating upheavals, a small part of which has already befallen Europe, and the majority of which are yet to come!’"

"I apologize! Take another card instead!" said the dealer with indescribable composure. He was one of the four Texas Hold'em players who was currently sitting to the right of the aforementioned twenty-year-old youth. Despite the rivalry present at that moment, he was his most sincere and faithful friend. Thus, having consciously abstracted themselves from the events now taking place in our world, they, the aforementioned Texas Hold'em players, intentionally created a separate world, a separate Universe, in the corresponding room, endowing it at that moment with everything that was now in no way inherent in our world: calm, tranquility, reflection. "How does that, of course, significant, but natural and explainable event, in the creation of which only people are to blame, affect the fate of Europe, and accordingly, humanity? You are trying to give a certain mysticism to those events that contain a natural and very explainable hue! Do not try to look for signs and symbols where there are none! The cause of the Notre-Dame de Paris tragedy is human carelessness, and accordingly, in this case, the only culprit of what happened is the human factor! Even if lightning had struck the Cathedral, it would still be the fault of people. Are people not aware of the nature of lightning, and do they not realize the need for safety from its effects?! People! Time and epochs do not change them! They always look for an excuse for their ignorance, powerlessness, and stupidity in an unnatural explanation of very natural events, actions, and… inaction! But enough about world events—there has been too much talk about them lately! I came here to spend time with you, my loyal friends, and not to talk about what we cannot… yes, cannot, not unable to!… influence! Today we have warmth, we have light, food, alcohol, and, most importantly, money for everything I just mentioned. What else do we need to enjoy the present moment and the present life?! Let's leave these platitudes, these reflections and arguments for those who believe that a small ant, working hard on the soil of the Teutoburg Forest, can change the climate of the infamous Sahara Desert…"

With a natural carelessness, the aforementioned light-blue cards were placed on the green-faced table and obediently waited for the very hour when their temporary rulers would quickly rinse their abdominal cavities with atoms and molecules of truly expensive Scottish whiskey. Clashing their glass cups like ancient warriors in a sword fight, which now involuntarily made a corresponding sound, these young people, who had recently rested on the uncrowded shores of the English spa town of Tunbridge Wells, desperately wanted to immediately plunge into the depths of the very game that, in turn, was the culmination of the very celebration, the birthday of one of the players, for which they had gathered in this place and in this company today.

"Well, you know, my friend, the most important truth of our world and our Universe, a kind of Da Vinci code, is contained in the platitudes of these people, but this truth is by no means on the surface: it is much easier to take a cracked nut from the dish than to… make a certain effort yourself to clean it from the hard protective shell…"

"The minimum bet is $50, the ceiling is $200. Does everyone agree?" said the one next to whom the dealer's chip was now located.

After a few silent nods, each of the players put their minimum bet on the middle of the green-faced table. The first player put in $25, which was the small blind; the second player put in $50, the big blind. The players took the cards in their hands.

"Call!" said the third player, after which $50 immediately landed on the green-faced table. He very languidly, but extremely sincerely, raised a toast to the health of one of his gambling opponents, to the health of the one who, by chance, was born on this very day and not on another, and quickly brought a glass vessel with a brick-brown liquid to his mouth, thereby depriving his being of good health for a certain moment. "You say this only because our time has been relatively peaceful and calm… and you argue this way now only because you have not known any other times except moderately good ones. In your being, due to ignorance of it, there is no fear of the impending danger: like a person who has never seen a storm, the dark leaden clouds are unable to frighten you… Listen to the speeches of our ancestors—they, having experienced a considerable number of misfortunes, perfectly realize and feel that dark times have come again in this world, where, albeit temporarily, but still, it will be not virtue that will rule, but a pitiful and base vice!"

A similar procedure, which my pen mentioned a little earlier, was repeated by the fourth player, who, in turn, was none other than the dealer.