The calm course of a working morning in laboratory No. 2 was disrupted by the sudden arrival of the chief of correspondent member A. N. He made a breakdown to the employees, and then in a gruff voice ordered Sergey Krylov to apply for the position of chief. There was silence. It was believed that Agatov was to take the vacancy. He had a reputation as a mediocre scientist, but not a bad organizer. That morning, an institute friend came to Krylov this morning - the brilliant Oleg Tulin, a cheerful, sociable handsome and talented scientist. He came to Moscow to seek permission to research from an airplane, which was very risky. General Yuzhin resolved with a great creak, but all the same, Tulin had the feeling that it could not have happened otherwise - luck always accompanied him. But Krylov - was not accompanied. While Tulin was with the general, the ambitious Agatov had a little intrigue, and as a result, Krylov left the institute. This crash in Sergei was far from the first. Having completed the calculation, he went to the place where he carried out research work in the winter. Natasha worked with him on the lake. Then Sergei wanted everything that happened between them to remain just a pleasant occasion. Now he knew that without Natasha he could not. But on the spot I found out that Natasha Romanova, having taken her son, left her husband, a rather famous artist. No one had her address. Krylov, in contrast to Tulin, always everything went through a stump deck. In the first year, he barely pulled in all subjects, and the excellent student of Tulin was attached to him. Sergey admired Oleg’s abilities, Oleg was happy to take care of his new friend. Sergei woke up interest in science. By the end of the third year, Krylov was expelled (he had a fight with one associate professor), despite the defense of Tulin, who was then a Komsomol leader. The elder sister of the same Tulin arranged for Krylov to visit the factory as an OTC controller. Here his head was free, and he considered several global physical problems. His work and dormitory comrades considered him a weirdo. But they stopped when the chief designer of the plant, Gathenyan, took him to his bureau. Krylov began to be published in a technical journal, they began to talk about him at the factory, predicted a quick and brilliant career. Gathenyan organized a report to Krylov at a seminar at the Institute of Physics. After that, the guy applied for resignation. There, at the institute, he first understood what real scientists are. They seemed to him a host of gods. Riding on ordinary chairs, smoking ordinary cigarettes, they exchanged phrases, the meaning of which he could only understand after hours of intense thought. Jupiter among these gods was Dankevich. Over time, Krylov became a senior laboratory assistant at Dankevich, then a research fellow, and he was given an independent topic. He sat surrounded by devices, turned on, turned off, tuned - he worked continuously. To be happy, he needed nothing more.

But gradually Krylov began to think that his boss was aiming for something more, something that he was able to achieve, that the work was at an impasse and they would never achieve results. I tried to explain. He said that he would like to deal with atmospheric electricity. “I didn’t know that you were interested in quick success,” Dan said, and signed to Krylov a description for the annual round-the-world expedition on a geophysical ship. When Sergey returned, he found out that his girlfriend Lena was getting married and that Dankevich had died, and Dan’s hypotheses were brilliantly justified, opening up great opportunities. In this new situation, the Institute’s deputy director Lagunov began to carry Krylov from one important meeting to another. To present respectable people as a student of Dankevich ... Ahead again came the opportunity to make a career ... But when Golitsyn, a luminary in the field of atmospheric electricity, who arrived from Moscow, informed him that shortly before his death Dan asked him to hire Krylov, saying that he left an approved and begun dissertation. They worked gloriously with Golitsyn - until the moment when the old man offered him the position of chief and followed the move from Agatov. Parting with Golitsyn - and Krylov was again out of work. Tulin helped again: he called to work for himself, in a newly approved thunderstorm control experiment. Krylov hesitated: much in Oleg’s work seemed raw and unproven to him. But it was still worth the risk. And they flew south with a group of employees.

A thundercloud is compared to an electric machine, a conventional generator. But the cloud has no wires, and it is not clear how it “turns on” and why it stops. Agatov, who supervised the work, interfered with work - he categorically forbade entering a thundercloud. Formally, he was right, but it was difficult to get decisive results outside the cloud. At some point, Tulin needed to go on a business date. Krylov was supposed to lead the flight. Tulin left with Zhenya, and Richard, a member of their group, who was in love with the girl, sat indifferent, with fixed eyes. Then Krylov clearly remembered that, contrary to the instructions, the guy’s parachute was lying on the chair.

The summary was completely safe. During the flight, Agatov noticed that the batteries with which he was working had run out of batteries and switched them to power from lightning batteries. The pointer could not be needed. After all, they did not have the right to enter a thunderstorm. Thunderstorm suddenly flew from the west and closed. The pointer did not work, the pilot could not navigate. People began to throw themselves with parachutes. Richard rushed to pull out the tapes with the recordings of instruments and noticed the unscrewed power connector of the pointer ... Only he and Agatov remained in the cabin. Agatov kicked the graduate student and felt how Richard's hand, holding on to the straps of his parachute, unclenched. Then he pulled himself up to the hatch and crossed over the edge. The day after Richard’s funeral, a commission of inquiry flew in. Krylov, according to many, was stupid - he argued that the pointer should have worked, sought to continue work. Tulin refused the topic. Universal sympathy was on his side - so talented, worried, but this Krylov ... They began to sympathize with Tulin even more when it became known that Krylov went against him. By the way, many believed that there would have been no accident, flying that day Tulin, lucky and lucky.

Lagunov demanded to bring Krylov to justice. Yuzhin was offended that Tulin, in whom he believed so, became limp. This Tulin should have held steady, and not this simpleton Krylov. Topic closed. Lucky Tulin was taken to work on satellites. And Krylov, oddly enough, continued to work on a closed topic. In parting, his lucky friend tried to explain to him: the authorities would not allow the experiment to continue. Ah, Krylova is only interested in science? But in the best case, everything will have to start from scratch. Well, he, Tulin, will later pull him out of another puddle. Krylov now clearly understood that his former friend made a compromise because he needed success, recognition, fame, as if a scientific result was not enough for a scientist. Every day, Krylov sat down to work. It was hopeless at times, but soon a lot became clear. Then he showed the results to Golitsyn. It soon became known that Academician Likhov, Golitsyn, and some others still required the restoration of the experiment. And then permission was given, signed, approved and certified. Krylov learned that he would meet with Natasha on the expedition. And then he accidentally met Golitsyn. He asked: how are you? “It's wonderful,” said Krylov, “an excellent group is being selected.” - Who? “- Golitsyn asked.“ I, I alone. But a strong, welded team. ”“ And Richard, ”he thought.