Sometimes it's good to talk to strangers, especially if you have nothing left to lose in this life. Therefore, Stepan Ladynin easily accepted the appearance of two aliens on Gogolevsky Boulevard, whatever this meeting was: the last smile of fate or the first sign of manic-depressive psychosis. And if the second determined Stepan’s only path - the roof ledge and then a few seconds of delightful flight, then in the first case some options were visible. Which is exactly what happened. He was simply and gracefully recruited into the Galactic Rescue Service, where there was plenty of work for voluntary suicide bombers. And they paid well for it. For example... immortality.