The Price of Knowledge

After leaving the forest, we decided to head straight for my ship. "First of all, let's fix your vehicle,” Simon said. "You never know what can happen."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Absolutely. I learned a lot, but now I need to cool off so I don't do anything foolish."

"Then let's spend the night at the man's house. I just paid him a week in advance, so I think he won't be against you staying."

"Well, if you think so."

We reached the house. The man was sitting on a bench right in front of the house, smoking a pipe. "Who are you with?"

"He helped me with parts for my vehicle. You don't mind if we stay in my room for the night, do you? You can charge me double the fee I already gave you."

"Oh, you petty swindler!" shouted the man. "Get out of here! What you paid was your gratitude for the previous days! Now take your hermit friend and go!"

"What? Man, you're crazy!" said Simon.

"Who are you calling crazy?"

Other men from neighboring houses came running to the sounds. "What's going on here?" one of them said.

"Has this wanderer really decided to think of himself as a lord?" said the second.

"Yeah, and he even clung to that madman from 4th Street," said the third.

"Why are you backing away? Come closer, boys. We can discuss the situation," said another with a grin.

"Get him!" shouted the man who had sheltered me. "So that there's not a living place left on them!"

Five men pounced on us and threw us into the snow. Due to the weakness in my body from the leg wound, I immediately fell. I don’t really remember anything, except being hit hard in the stomach, then someone stepping on my injured leg, and passing out from the painful shock. Simon fought them off for the first minute, but after quickly dealing with me, the five of them attacked and beat him.

"Garbage! Garbage!" were the last words I heard.

When I woke up, I realized that I was lying in my ship. I started looking for Simon, afraid that he had been killed or thrown into a pond. But he was lying on the ground nearby.

"Please forgive me,” I said to Simon. He didn't answer. "If I hadn't started all this, then this wouldn't have happened to us."

"Boy, tell me," said Simon at last, as if not hearing my words. "What did you figure out, there, in the abandoned factory?"

"Ahhh, that is…."

"And indeed, I promised to tell him everything."

"There is another supercomputer. One that rules everything. It's the admin's computer. And if you input the right settings, you can turn off the giants. And they definitely won't turn on anymore."

"Where do you think he is?"