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[Alexandr Korol]

And yes, it was something new for all of us — but for me, it was just as new as it was for everyone else. I didn’t have even one percent of fear or worry that something might happen to me or my loved ones, because my faith was so strong that I simply understood — it wasn’t meant to affect me or those close to me. That was my stance. So I immediately told everyone not to panic, though of course, all the safety rules should be followed. But what did truly shake me, what really touched me — and maybe it was somehow interconnected, part of the plan — I don’t know... Actually, no, maybe other circumstances could have led to it... But it felt like, if the pandemic hadn’t happened, maybe “Alternative History” wouldn’t exist now. Of course, it still would have been written eventually, but somehow everything lined up just right. Just imagine — this global pandemic begins, and I, like everyone else, was already starting to feel tempted by social media. So many temptations — to post photos, to engage with others, to become popular. And then — boom — everyone goes into a panic. People are angry, terrified, and from all over the world, they start messaging me in complete hysteria, saying things like “we’re all going to die” or “tell us what to do.” And I’ve always been someone who feels people deeply. I love it when a person is the opposite — truly conscious, wanting to have a heartfelt conversation about higher things. But in that moment, I saw it was like... you know, like a wounded bear thrashing about, lashing out, and then shaking me through social media saying: “Answer me! Give me an answer!” And that’s when I realized — this is it. I need to stop being accessible to that outside social world that bangs on every door through social networks. I need to protect myself, my own world. And because I’m so sensitive, I could feel people’s nerves, their stress, the panic and fear — and I understood that if I didn’t block it out now, I’d go mad too — excuse the word — and then I definitely wouldn’t be able to write. Or if I did write under that influence of shock and fear, my books would come out just as anxious, full of paranoia that we’re all going to die. But I’m supposed to be the one who writes with faith in a bright future — to give people support. At least that’s how I see it. Literature should have a constructive nature. There’s already enough out there that’s rotting people’s minds. I realized that if I didn’t distance myself from all of it right then, I’d fall under its influence. I’d become nervous, angry, irritable — because people were literally attacking each other. Fear had turned them savage. So that was it — I stopped using social media altogether.