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[Alexandr Korol]

I didn’t read anything, I didn’t know anything, but when I started hearing from readers that it’s very similar to what is mentioned in Buddhism, I was very surprised. Naturally, I read at least on Wikipedia what this Buddhism is, who it is, what it is, how it happened, and of course, I was very interested in visiting Buddhist temples. In fact, my whole life has somehow intersected with Buddhism, starting from 2011.

Question: The Mystic-Old-Man, in a conversation with your employee, mentions that you have support. And then you, reflecting on this, say that you perceived it as the higher powers boosting your faith. So, is this situation related to the theme of motivation (illusions), through which the system regulates your state (as you often describe in conversations with Big Alexander)? Or is there something deeper here that may unfold later in “Alternative History”?

Both. I mean, yes, people tend to take everything literally. But I wouldn’t say it’s naivety on my part. I would probably say it’s connected to egoism, as I don’t have the same egoism as others. You know, it’s the same as if someone told me, “Alexandr, we’ve prepared a golden car as a gift for you,” I would just say, “Okay, thank you,” but I wouldn’t ask who, when, or how much it costs. I don’t seem to have those kinds of human, consumer-oriented thoughts. I simply take everything more as a fact, and I truly understand how the system works, and it actually operates in 99% of cases, managing people through illusions. It may seem like someone is chasing you, and because of that, you’re cautious your whole life, but in reality, the system just wanted you to be cautious, and no one is actually chasing you or even knows about you. But you thought it, and that thought is controlling you. It may seem like you’re super-beautiful, although in reality, you’re not. But the system can also, you know, introduce people to you who will constantly tell you that you are beautiful. And then, you start to believe it, and that makes you go out more often or look into people’s eyes more, but in reality, you’re not a beautiful person. So, what is the philosophical conclusion here? This whole novel is actually a hidden, subtle, deep philosophy. You shouldn’t take the character of the boy Alexandr Korol (me) or some Big Alexander as just a literal Alexandr “Big.” What difference does it make where he lives or where I live? The point is how he joked somewhere and how