Vladimir Torin’s "Tantamaresque," a summary Automatic translate

Vladimir Torin’s novel was published in 2017. It’s a mystical detective story that connects the work of modern intelligence agencies with biblical motifs and the secrets of vanished civilizations. The plot is built on the idea that human dreams serve as a refuge for disembodied Hyperboreans, who secretly direct the course of world history. The work is part of the "Amalgama" series. This book is the second in the cycle. It follows the first installment, titled "Amalgama," and the third publication, "Farewell to Hyperborea," continues the fantastic story.

The story begins on a sun-drenched Italian highway. For ten centuries, the secret Venetian Council has guarded the secret of ancient Murano mirrors, which contain the mysterious Amalgam. The Council’s finest warrior, young Glafira, clad in black leather, kidnaps a valuable prisoner in the city of Gaeta. She deftly evades pursuit by aggressive, armed monks wearing inverted Petrine crosses on their cloaks.

Having delivered the prisoner to the Doge’s Palace, Glafira faces a harsh trial. The Council of Ten interrogates the warrior using ancient magical mirrors. Glafira’s mentor, the wise master Giuseppe Borsoloni, explains the true state of affairs in detail. A terrifying truth emerges: intelligence agencies from various countries, including the US CIA and the Russian FSB, have learned to penetrate people’s dreams. Such crude interference destroys the fragile balance between our physical world and the invisible astral dimension.

In Russia, a secret facility called "Sosny" conducts similar dream research. The classified military project is led by FSB General Valery Verkhoturov and Professor of Clinical Psychology Ivan Sidorchuk. They recruit a gifted young programmer, Alexei Krestnikov, to work on the project. The red-haired young man is tasked with creating an innovative computer algorithm for pinpointing the subconscious of sleeping people through remote analysis of their brain frequencies. Scientists sincerely believe that the sleeping brain functions like a computer in standby mode. The remote access program is capable of downloading any scenario directly into the cerebral cortex. Until now, researchers have been operating blindly, relying solely on ancient hypnosis practices.

Secrets of the Hyperboreans and the Threat to Peace

Marginalized test subjects are kept under heavy guard in the laboratory. One of them is former military intelligence officer Mikhail Rudik. He suffers severely from the effects of a severe concussion sustained in the Chechen war and regularly communicates in dreams with a Hyperborean entity named Eo. Rudik secretly enters Alexei’s room and warns the programmer of the impending apocalypse.

It turns out that the mysterious Hyperboreans survived the Ice Age, losing their physical bodies forever. They live constantly in dreams, penetrating people only through mirror reflections. They believe that every human being is merely a stand-in, a cardboard decoration for true astral life. Eo tells Rudik how the Hyperboreans spent centuries unsuccessfully trying to regain physical bodies. One failed experiment led to the creation of the bloodthirsty Beast of Gévaudan in France. Other attempts involved the incarnation of prophets, whose peaceful teachings were quickly perverted for political gain and the outbreak of religious wars.

The Hyperboreans feed on dopamine, the hormone of happiness and love. They are vitally interested in peace, compassion, and a complete cessation of bloodshed. Adrenaline production deprives them of spiritual sustenance. These ancient beings gave birth to many dogmas, appearing to prophets in the guise of radiant angels and wise saints. The invasion of electronic machines is destroying their habitat, provoking the imminent destruction of both civilizations. The electronic watch on Rudik’s wrist begins an inexorable countdown to the end of the world. The former soldier tragically dies during an astral battle with the seven-headed dragon from the biblical texts of St. John the Theologian, struggling to save the fragile peace.

The Council of Ten urgently dispatches Glafira to Moscow. She is actively assisted by Rainald von Dassel, an immortal Teutonic knight and former Archbishop of Cologne, who has lived through many brutal eras and is deprived of the power of speech. In the capital’s Gorky Park, Glafira masterfully rescues Alexei from elite FSB agents, easily neutralizing the renowned professional fighters. The fugitives safely hide in a smoke-filled thieves’ apartment on the outskirts of the capital. The stern crime bosses Shilo, Kudryavy, and Makhno, having learned of the impending apocalypse, decide to sincerely assist the fugitives in attacking the impregnable "Sosny" facility.

The Battle for the Future of Humanity

Glafira travels to Italy through lucid dreams. In the sinister crypt of a Capuchin church in Rome, adorned with human bones, and in the Bolognese anatomical theater, she encounters an ancient Hyperborean named Qualcuno. He shows the warrior vivid, terrifying visions of the past. The girl personally witnesses the death of the Roman emperor Nero, who is saved from the horror of an enraged mob by the devoted castrato Sporus, and the brutal crucifixion of the Apostle Peter. Historical chronicles clearly confirm that the Hyperboreans always sought to instill in humanity the humanistic ideals of love and the unconditional rejection of any violence.

During her astral travels, Glafira uncovers another profound secret. Russian Emperor Alexander I faked his own death in southern Taganrog, under the strong influence of the Hyperboreans and his encounters with the elder Seraphim of Sarov. The emperor repented of his past bloody sins and became the wandering monk Fyodor Kuzmich. Later, the monk secretly entered the dreams of the young Italian smuggler Giuseppe Garibaldi, inspiring him to wage a political liberation struggle against the hated Austrian yoke. All these events had been orchestrated for centuries by the invisible hand of a vanished race.

During a desperate armed attack on the Sosny special facility, crime bosses heroically perish in an unequal firefight with armored FSB mercenaries. Criminal Shilo sacrifices himself, deliberately leading Alexei away from the dangerous pursuit. The programmer and von Dassel miraculously penetrate the secure base, but are immediately captured by General Verkhoturov. After lengthy discussions with colleagues, FSB scientists already suspect the reality of the impending astral threat. General Verkhoturov promptly recalls his prophetic dream, in which he conversed with a holy elder and an ancient emperor on the seashore.

Professor Sergei Platonov explains a linguistic paradox to the security services: the ancient concept of all-encompassing love has been severely distorted by modern society. It is precisely the lack of true spiritual love that fuels the destructive political ideologies that daily destroy humanity. Researchers understand: the computer hacking of the human subconscious has triggered a deadly chain reaction. Only minutes remain until the absolute end of the world.

An antique mirror belonging to Joseph Stalin, covered in dark Murano amalgam and confiscated by the secret services, is carefully stored at a secret base. Glafira instantly travels to Moscow through this mystical portal, defeating a giant serpent and her longtime enemy, Atul, in an astral battle. The invisible force of sincere love between her and the stern German knight von Dassel completely restores the shattered energy balance.

The timer of inexorable apocalypse stops and begins its saving reverse. The American military laboratory in the port city of Gaeta also hastily ceases its secret work on orders from its highest command. Russian scientists permanently shut down their combat computers, broadcasting classical music by Tchaikovsky into the dreams of sleeping test subjects.

Alexei leaves the FSB base forever, signing a strict non-disclosure agreement and keeping his experiences secret. In the ancient St. Basil’s Cathedral on Red Square, he unexpectedly sees an ancient icon of the Archangel Michael with the piercing gaze of the late Rudik. Glafira races through evening Moscow on a black motorcycle, genuinely enjoying the speed. She feels endless love for every random passerby, realizing that it is this bright feeling that daily saves this cruel world from inevitable destruction.