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[Alexandr Korol]

about it. Naturally, all my relatives, all my friends, and all my acquaintances were shocked and said, “Alex, you’ve gone mad. Why are you doing this?” I said, “Why should I?” Just imagine, let’s say an alien arrived and wants to... I don’t know... He’s present at my book presentation that will happen, say, on December 25, and I write: “Guys, I want to speak for an hour on December 25. I know it’s a holiday, but whoever can come. It’s free, just to chat.” Naturally, there would be ten times fewer people. And then those who came to the presentation saw that I was with an alien and were shocked. And others later bite their elbows in regret. And I think that’s fair — I believe such people need that kind of lesson. I’m not mean, I’m honest. That’s a big difference. Being mean is something else. Mean is when you come to a presentation, you get interested in the first 30 minutes, and then they say, “The rest is paid.” That’s mean, that’s wrong, you see? And on my part — it’s not being mean. It’s more like modesty, maybe that’s what it is, I don’t know. And every time there was some book and a lecture about it, I’d write that this lecture is super interesting, please come, it’s about virtues, and I’ll also talk about my plan for the year, and I’ll answer questions too. Well, that means there really wasn’t anything major, and I described it just as it was going to be. But sometimes I just write “meeting.” And when I write just “meeting,” it means it’s something more serious than a meeting where I’m just answering questions, you see? But people — they’re used to the kind of thing where only if I wear a golden suit and write everywhere that this is a sensation, that this alien has never been anywhere before, that this alien has traveled to a hundred countries, this alien has a million followers. Only now! Special guest! An alien! If I write it like that, and also say seats are limited, that the price will go up, that it’s the last and first-ever presentation with an alien — then, of course, people will come. But, well, I’m just not that kind of person. No, when I’m genuinely amazed by something — take the first volume of “Alternative History” for example, the one published by me, not by a publishing house like before, but where I registered it myself, ordered it myself with my team, had it printed, created all the illustrations myself, came up with everything myself, made it exactly how I wanted it to look, as they say, made it with soul. They’re really hard to produce because they’re made in Europe, and the quantity really is limited — only three thousand copies. And naturally, I write honestly, as it is: “Guys, this is a rare opportunity.” But here I actually even try to help people understand — I know they might think,