John

John was unbound from time at gunpoint—the choice was simple: die or become timeless. He witnessed Oketra and Jodah being killed, but a piece of Lololoshka remained with him, becoming an invisible companion, unnoticed by anyone but John. After his unbinding, he was plagued by pain, vomiting, and the most common of the four thousand side effects—delusions of grandeur.

The Syndicate where John found himself is a vast organization within a timeless train, where everything is measured in meters and kilometers. It has numerous departments: from stormtroopers, who eliminate survivors in dead branches, to researchers and maintenance workers. John started keeping a diary to remember what time was, but gradually began to lose track of it himself.

Two cycles passed. During the second cycle, John felt ill, as if he'd been unleashed. Rumors swirled around the departments about a guy living outside of time in a bunker. John, selfish and narcissistic, became head of the research department—he was hated, but respected for his intelligence.

One day in the dining room, he saw a back, hair, headphones—and recognized Lololoshka. The joy of the meeting mingled with questions: how did he end up here? The newcomer, living outside of time in the bunker—it was definitely him! John decided to find his bunk and surprise him, because this meeting had become a real event for him in a timeless world.