Elemoont/Chapter 32

tells how a strange metamorphosis happened with the Elemoont but the all affairs went well.

So, the Elemoont turned round and…'Again "and",' discontentedly said the Elemoont. But he had no time to say anything else. Something bright and oblong flying from the depth of the cosmos banged of his forehead with electric cracking and many Elemoonts appeared instead of one Elemoont. There were so many Elemoonts that the Computer decided to count them. "One Elemoont," muttered the Computer, "two Elemoonts, three Elemoonts, four Elemoonts five Elemoonts…" and so on. When he counted to sixty-four, he wanted to sleep and soon he loudly snored. The Cat hit him by his pad.

"Ah? What?" gave a start the Computer, "I have fallen asleep! Oh, I'm old iron! It's from monotony: all these Elemoonts are alike."

The Cat cast a glance at a huge amount of Elemoonts and said, "It's the very surprise that we wait long time ago!"

The Elemoonts nodded simultaneously.

"A strange metamorphosis," continued the Cat, "had happened with you, my friend."

"What is the ‘metamorphosis?’ asked the Elemoonts all together and besides in quite the same voices.

"Mm…I can’t precisely define it," said the Cat, "If something happened with somebody unexpectedly, people said that a metamorphosis had happened with that ‘somebody’. Mr. Red had a big box packed with diverse metamorphosis but he never opened it in the presence of others."

"The word ‘metamorphosis’ seems as prickly and unpleasant one," added the computer, "It's possible that it's a cosmic cactus–fire–ball."

"A cactus–fire–ball?" fell to thinking the Cat, "It's unlikely. However…do you fell you are pricked?"

"No!" answered the Elemoonts again all together, "I, that's to say, we…We fell that we are down in the dumps!"

"Can you express yourselves more precisely?" asked the Cat, "Describe your sensations, please."

"There are many sensations," willingly answered the Elemoonts, "There are as many sensations as us."

"Really, how many Elemoonts do I see?' asked himself the Cat and appealed to the Computer, "Had you counted them?"

"No," answered the Computer guiltily, "Counting absolutely identical Elemoonts made me sleepy. They themselves have to fall asleep looking against one another."

"We?" Exclaimed the Elemoonts, "Never! You fell asleep yourself! It's very strange thing for any Computer."

"Nothing strange!" answered the Computer, "You must not forget that I served on the pirates' spaceship. There was an iron pirates' discipline there. It means that when a sound the retreat was heard nobody went to bed, and when a signal of rising was heard everybody fell asleep and I also do it."

"Oh!" said the Cat, "You have confused me. We, cats, also like to sleep, but computers…However, it is not important. It's important, what must we do?"

"We must analyze the situation," said the Computer, "In all cases anybody must think a little before doing something. Usually, in the most cases, it will turn out that it is better doing nothing."

"Stop!" interrupted him the Cat, "I don't understand what is not worth to do?"

"Well, for example, to take spacecraft's by storm, to take away gruntler–scooter from Cosmic Gruntresses, to have yourselves fill of ice–cream…Isn't that enough?

"It isn't very little. Those acts don't improve cosmic pirates," rigorously remarked the cat, "And I'm glad that you repent your misdeeds. The Elemoont and I never did things like those, and we do not get ready for doing it. Incidentally, we must steal Mr. Red's high silk hat in which he plots his awful intentions."

"I'm afraid you can't do it," skeptically muttered the Computer.

"Why?"

"There are too many Elemoonts to stealthily approach the high silk hat up."

"Well. It's more like the analysis of the situation," approvingly said the Cat. "So, what have we had?"

"We have a multitude of Elemoonts," answered the Computer. "Let's name it as multitude ‘A’. We have also another multitude of Elemoonts, which we'll designate as a multitude ‘B’ even if it consists of one or zero Elemoonts. The Elemoonts of multitude ‘A’ do not identical with Elemoonts of multitude ‘B’…"

"I don't understand anything," sincerely said the Cat, "I have seen simply a multitude of Elemoonts and that is all. But you say that they are don't ide…iden…?"

"Any correct numerical equality and also alphabetical equality, which is correct for all numerical equivalents of its letters, is called as an identity," moralizingly said the Computer.

"Stop that nonsense!" exclaimed the Cat (all tiger–cats fell into a rage when they heard about numerical or alphabetical equalities), "Explain it in human language!"

"Pirates also didn't want to hear anything about the mathematics," took offence the Computer, "And where are they now?"

"Well, well," said the Cat, "I only want to say that we, cats, don't understand anything in the set theory"

"And I want to say that there is only one real Elemoont among all those ones," said the Computer.

"I know it myself!" grumbled the Cat, "But how can we distinguish the real Elemoont from others? Who of you is the real Elemoont?" addressed the cat to elemoonts.

"I'm!" answered they all together.

"You see, they are and liars also," said the Cat.

"They are liars but not all," answered the Computer. "One of them don't tell lies, it's undoubtedly."

"But which of them?"

"That one who hold a magic wand in his trunk."

"The magic wand?"

"Yes. It had flown from the depth of cosmos, bang against the Elemoont's forehead, and because of it, the elemoont had metamorphosis, as you said. There was no any metamorphosis; there was a usual wizardry without any mathematics."

"Why did you not say about it at once?"

"You don't ask me."

"Oh!" said the Cat, "Elemoont…That's to say, Elemoonts! Wave your trunks!"

All Elemoonts waved their trunks and because one of them held the magic wand that made miracles when somebody struck it, the miracle happened! The Elemoont was left alone!

"Phew!" said he. "I need a rest!"

Probably the reader also needs a rest, and I finish this chapter.