This is not one story. There are several of them. Those in which there is more truth than mysticism. I wouldn't say it's fiction. The author is simply trying to tell what he himself encountered in life and what his friends and acquaintances told him about. The structure of the units where the heroes serve and work, the relationships between employees, the names of positions, and more - the author deliberately changed so that there would be more humanity. The author knows the structure itself very well - several of his close comrades have served there all their lives or are currently serving there.