Chapter III.XV

Suddenly two people stopped next to them. Of course, these were also Japanese, but this time they did not limit themselves to just comments in their language, but bowed to Galbraith and extended their hands to him.

- Hello, - the younger one said in fairly good English.

- Greetings, - his senior companion said in a cheerful tone.

Apparently they are brothers, the inspector thought, shaking hands first with one, then with the other.

- These are our new employees, - the specialist told him.

- I hope their names will not be a secret to me? - the policeman remarked sarcastically.

- Of course not, - the silver-haired man seemed not to understand the hint. - Get acquainted with Okamura brothers, Shinoda and Ichinose.

At these words, the older one chuckled displeasedly, and his younger brother smiled sadly, which somewhat embarrassed Galbraith.

- I'm glad that there was finally a volunteer willing to test our supercomputer, - said Ichinose.

- I hope the guest will appreciate the fruits of our labours, - Shinoda chimed in to his brother.

The inspector sighed - he was not satisfied with the fact that these guys talked about him as if for them he was not a person, but some kind of guinea pig. It was not the words themselves - the false wall of feelings - but the intonations of these two. Galbraith prepared for the worst.

- What do you call this project among yourselves? - he asked the brothers.

He asked the question not so much out of curiosity, but in order to observe the reaction of these two and assess whether irritation from the excessive importunity of the guest would appear on their faces.

- We call it D.O.O.R, - Shinoda replied.

- Can you tell me how this is deciphered? - the inspector did not let up.

From the way the Japanese minted the letters, Galbraith guessed that this was an abbreviation. The older brother frowned and, tilting his head to the side, thought for several seconds, as if deciding whether to answer the policeman’s question or not. Then his face brightened.

- D.O.O.R. is Digital Oriented Objective Replica, - he began to answer.

The eldest son of the Okamura family pulled out the vowels so much that it seemed to enhance the effect of these words, but in fact only convinced his interlocutor that Shinoda’s English was not perfect.

- Don’t listen to him, - Ichinose suddenly intervened in the conversation. - He is too pedantic and does not see the hidden meaning in the name of our project!

Shinoda gave his younger brother a stern look, but he did not notice the reproach. Galbraith couldn't help but admire Ichinose. Still, these Asian brothers were not exact copies of each other - each had their own characteristic feature, which he, a Europoid, was able to discern in each. Shinoda had a decisive fold above his upper lip, which had something masculine about him, while Ichinose, on the contrary, had a kind of childish roundness in his face, not without a peculiar beauty and charm. What they had in common was that they were both almost the same age, and that they both had dark eyes and short hair.

- And what meaning do you see in this thunderous word? - the inspector asked the younger brother.

- D.O.O.R. is The Door to The Future! - Ichinose exclaimed with sincere delight.

After that, Shinoda leaned over to his brother and began to whisper something angrily in his ear - apparently, he was reprimanding him for being shockingly inappropriate within the walls of the institute. But Galbraith was much more satisfied with Ichinose's answer - he thought it made much more sense than the cumbersome and abstruse sequence of words that the eldest Okamura brother insisted on. Then the silver-haired man suddenly spoke up, having previously quietly observed the conversation between the guest and the two new employees.
 
- Now excuse me, I have to go, things to do, - he said calmly.

The specialist nodded slightly to the inspector and quickly walked towards the fork in the corridors. A few steps short of the turn, he turned around and waved to Manabu, then disappeared down the left corridor. The Japanese followed the example of his foreign companion and set off after him. Galbraith looked after him for several minutes - the combination of a strict white robe and bare heels looked a little funny.

When Manabu disappeared around the bend in the corridor, the inspector again turned his gaze to the brothers and only now noticed that they were also wearing flip-flops. "Nothing can be done", he thought, "In this underground institute everything is not like normal people". He asked himself an essentially stupid question - do employees change their shoes upon arriving at work, or do they wear slippers in public? Galbraith looked at the eldest of the brothers - he was standing against the wall on which the logo was written, three huge red letters "M.C.I". Apparently it was the emblem of the institute. Shinoda moved his lips in concentration and seemed to have forgotten about the guest.

- Sorry, but what should I do now? - The inspector turned to Ichinose, who was twirling a ballpoint pen in his hands out of boredom.. - Where is your supercomputer, or whatever it's called, D.O.O.R.?

These words brought the older brother out of his trance and he, stopping moving his lips, looked at the inspector.

- We will now take you where you need to go, - the Japanese said somewhat thoughtfully.

- If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us, - his younger brother interjected.

- In this case, - Galbraith involuntarily felt inspired. - Before you take me to the machine, could you arrange an audience for me with professor Makoto Shugarami?

The policeman put all his self-esteem into these words, because he believed that he should not allow others to push him around like a weak-willed animal. After some silence, Shinoda grinned wryly and Galbraith involuntarily felt as if he had exposed himself to ridicule with these words. But it was still better than if the inspector behaved like a weak-willed and naive idiot.