Platform Seven
The train arrived at Novosibirsk-Glavny at 09:17:41.
I know the exact time because I was watching the platform number signs approach through the window and my phone was in my hand. Thirty-six hours and three minutes from Almaty-1, Platform 9. Ruslan’s Waypoint 6: logged at 08:54, reading 50.001 Hz ±0.003. All six waypoints completed. He had predicted this route would show nothing anomalous. It showed nothing anomalous. He was correct.
Platform Seven
Mikhail had written: “Saturday morning, arrival platform.”
Platform seven.
He was standing approximately eleven meters from the door of carriage six, holding a paper cup. Dark green coat. He is fifty-three years old. The last time I saw him in this city, I was thirty-one.
I do not have a clean measurement for the interval between then and now. Twenty-three years is an approximation. It is close enough.
He said: “You brought data.”
I said: “Yes.”
He said: “Good. Coffee first.”
The Café on Ulitsa Lenina
The café has no sign I retained. It has six tables near the window, one of which faces the street. Mikhail has been coming on Saturday mornings for eleven years. He sat in the same chair he always sits in. I sat across from him.
We ordered coffee. He ordered something with eggs. I ordered the same because I had not eaten since the dark bread.
I should note: Mrs. Kuznetsova’s dark bread was finished on the evening of March 13th at approximately 21:30. She had packed enough for two days. I finished it in one and a half. She was, as with the dining car, correct about the quantity.
There is a specific quality to sitting across from someone you have known since 1989 and have not seen in person since 2003. It does not feel like twenty-three years. It also does not feel like nothing. I do not have a unit for it. I noted the time — 09:34 — because that is what I do.
We talked about the gradient.
I had expected to need to explain it. I did not. Mikhail had been thinking about it since my message on the 12th. He produced a napkin from his coat pocket. He had drawn a diagram at home before leaving for the station — three possible node configurations for the 750 kV corridor, labeled in pencil. His handwriting has not changed since 1991.
He said: “The step size being constant would require evenly distributed nodes. That is not how real networks are built. Artyom is probably right.”
I said: “I know.”
He said: “The archive will tell us.”
I said: “I know.”
He drank his coffee. I drank mine. Outside the window, Novosibirsk was grey and cold and familiar in the particular way a city is familiar when you studied here and then left and it continued existing without you for thirty years.
I kept the napkin. It is in my jacket pocket.
An Inventory
The last time I was in this city, I declined a job offer from the university. I sat in the main building for forty minutes. I said I would think about it. I went back to the hotel, ate alone, and took the train home the next morning.
I thought about it for eleven years. The answer did not change.
This is my third Novosibirsk visit. The occasions:
| Year | Reason | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Conference | Four attendees, Mikhail presented, I asked one question, someone served tea |
| 2003 | Job interview | Declined, ate alone, left the next day |
| 2026 | Archive, paper, Mikhail | To be determined |
Mikhail asked if I wanted to walk through the university district before the appointment.
I said yes.
11:43
We walked. My suitcase has wheels. They performed adequately on salted pavement.
The building where I defended my dissertation in 1994 is still the same building. The door is the same door. Someone was coming out as we passed. I did not recognize them, which is reasonable; I have been gone for thirty-two years.
Mikhail said: “You wrote your dissertation on dairy products.”
I said: “On anomalous electromagnetic interference patterns in proximity to expired dairy products. The distinction matters.”
He said: “I know what you wrote it on. I was there.”
He was. He attended the defense in April 1994. He was the only person present who did not have to be there. The committee had four members. Mikhail sat in the back row and did not say anything. Afterward he said: “Technically competent.” I believe he meant it as a compliment.
I noted the time: 11:43.
We stood outside the building for approximately two minutes. Then we walked toward the archive.
Current status:
- Novosibirsk: arrived, 09:17:41
- Waypoints completed: 6/6 (all nominal; Ruslan has been notified)
- Mrs. Kuznetsova’s provisions: fully consumed (March 13, 21:30)
- Mikhail: located (Platform 7, 09:17, dark green coat, paper cup)
- Napkin diagram: jacket pocket
- Archive appointment: 14:00, Ulitsa Deputatskaya 44, Novosibirsk Branch
- Emotional state: something I recognize, without a name for it
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