Page 298

[Alexandr Korol]

something is going to happen.” And I thought, for heaven’s sake, you
suddenly start asking me questions... I thought, could it be Woland himself
sitting down next to me to have me answer such questions? These are such
nuances that... They are clear to me — what connects to what, where it’s
from, why, and for what purpose. But I am trying to reveal this only from
the side where it is interdependent, and nothing more.
Alexandr: You know, it is so interesting that for more than a decade that we
have been communicating, for some reason your association with me is
always about “The Master and Margarita” and Woland, but never with Jesus,
or Buddha, or anyone else. Does that mean I am closer to some dark persona
than a light one?
Mystic-Old-Man: You know, I probably can’t say one way or the other. It’s
not like that. There is no such thing as being “closer” to this side or that
side. I wouldn’t put it that way. But you know what? The thing is, I constantly
find myself in situations where I might end up in the role of Koroviev.
I’ve said this many times before.
Alexandr: But does this happen to you with different people? Or is it only
with me that you immediately have such close associations?
Mystic-Old-Man: You know, I have many such people who tried to...
Well, now in the month of December, one of my... I won’t name him.
He became “canonized”; he declared himself God’s chosen one. I won’t
talk about him, because it’s... But it’s like this... I encountered another
phenomenon when, strangely enough, an Egyptian priestess was discovered.
And she began trying to take me under her control, and at a certain moment,
I slipped away. She thought I couldn’t manage without her. These entities
— this essential manifestation — it does take place. For example, in the 70s
in America, more than 30,000 Jesus Christs were registered. Today, that
statistic doesn’t exist. And do you know why? Because there are several
million of them. And as innocent infants are born — oh, they will take
everyone by the throat. There will be Mohammeds and Jesuses there.
There will be... Oh, Alex. It’s...
Alexandr: Well, fine. But let’s look at it this way. Previously, Mohammed or
Jesus was over the people. But now, if there are to be Mohammeds and Jesuses,
then someone must be over them. Also a pastor of some kind, a shepherd?