Circadian rhythms | 2018

The sign on the building: “МИР”
Мир (English: World), IPA:[mʲir] – 1. The combination of all forms of matter on Earth and outer space. 2. Мир (English: Peace) – The absence of war.

“About no seconds later”

The sign on the building: “ДОМ БЫТА”
Дом быта (English: Public amenities and personal services center, or House of consumer services), IPA: [ˈdom ˈbɨtə] – Public building for an integrated business that unites reception centers of various service types and manufacturers.

About no seconds later, there is a field in front of me, overgrown with dense grass, and drowning on the horizon, a building of Soviet modernism, the most beautiful in my city, created using my country’s the most standard design. There is a sign on the building — “ДОМ БЫТА” (HOUSE OF CONSUMER SERVICES). Inside the building there is so much space that the city, surrounding the house, fits into it. And not just the city – the whole country, the whole world fits inside. TheHouse of Consumer Services has everything. Everything necessary for voluntary deprivation. If there is a prolonged change in the perception of time and an absence of natural and social reference points, its miscalculations can amount, not just to minutes, but to months or years. How strange when you count up to 180 to measures 3 minutes, and in fact 5 go by. But your inner clock keeps the conventional concept of 24 hours, as a conventional concept of your world-feeling. This is indefatigable circadian rhythms follow their own march of time, even as it goes gradually out of kilter with real time.

Mr. REBUS once told me: “Until the parrots eat all the butterflies, all you need to remember is that people always exist only potentially (hypothetically), and to think anything else is simply naive.” Then he clapped his hands loudly. I opened my eyes, not knowing the exact time. I felt it must be quite early in the morning, due to the fresh coolness and soft light. My world put its hand on my shoulder, I turned around and there was a field in front of me, overgrown with dense grass, and, drowning on the horizon, a building of Soviet modernism. The most beautiful. About no seconds later, the field parrots flew up.