out in the end. The Inquisition was keeping an eye on things, but there was no reason to intervene. It was all happening with the agreement of both Watches.'

This was interesting. What kind of mission could it have been, if it was approved equally by Dark Ones and Light Ones?

'Arina carried out her mission brilliantly,' Edgar continued. 'She was even awarded special privileges from the Watches. If I'm not mistaken, the Light Ones granted her the right to use second-degree magic.'

This was serious stuff. I nodded and took note of the information.

'But after a while the Inquisition began having doubts about the legality of Arina's actions,' Edgar said drily. 'The suspicion arose that in the course of her work she had fallen under the influence of one of the sides and acted in its interests.'

'And that side was?'

'The Light Ones,' Edgar said sombrely. 'A witch, helping the Light ones – incredible, isn't it? That's why it took so long for them to get round to suspecting her, but the circumstantial evidence of treachery was just too strong . . . The Inquisition summoned Arina . . . for an interview. And then she just disappeared. The search for her went on for some time, but in those days – you know the way things were . . .'

'What was it she did?' I asked, not really expecting an answer.

Edgar sighed and replied:

'Intervened in the minds of human beings . . . Total remoralisation.'

I gulped. What interest could Dark Ones have in that?

'Surprised?' Edgar growled. 'Do you have a clear idea of what remoralisation actually is?'

'I've carried one out. On myself.'

Edgar gaped at me, dumbstruck, for a few seconds and then nodded:

'Ah . . . yes, of course. Then you won't need much explanation. Remoralisation is a relative process, not an absolute one. Whatever you might say, there is no absolute standard of morality in the world. So remoralisation makes a person act absolutely ethically, but only within the limits of his own basic morality. To put it crudely, a cannibal in the jungle who doesn't think eating his enemy is a crime will calmly continue with his dinner. But he won't do anything that his morality forbids.'

'I'm aware of that,' I said.

'Well then, this remoralisation wasn't entirely relative. The communist ideology was implanted in people's minds . . . you've probably heard about many of them, but the names aren't important for purposes of the case.'

'The moral code of the builder of communism,' I said with a wry laugh.

'That hadn't been invented yet,' Edgar replied very seriously. 'But let's say something very similar. These people started to behave entirely in accordance with the idealised model of communist ethics.'

'I can understand the interest of the Night Watch in all this,' I said. 'The principles of communism are certainly attractive . . . But where did the Dark Ones' interest lie?'

'The Dark Ones wished to demonstrate that imposing a nonviable system of ethics would not produce anything good. That the victims of the experiment would either go insane, or be killed, or start acting contrary to their remoralisation.'

I nodded. What an experiment! Never mind those Nazi medics who mutilated people's bodies. It was souls that had gone under the knife here . . .

'Are you outraged by the Light Ones' behaviour?' Edgar asked suggestively.

'No.' I shook my head. 'I'm sure they didn't mean to harm anyone. They hoped the experiment would lead to the building of a new, happy society.'

'Were you ever a member of the Communist Party?' Edgar asked with a grin.

'I was only a Young Pioneer. Look, I get the idea of the experiment. But why did they bring in a witch to do it?'

'In this case it was far more efficient to use witchcraft than magic,' Edgar explained. 'The experiment was aimed at thousands of people of every possible age and social group. Can you imagine the forces that magicians would have needed to assemble? A witch was able to do it all by using potions.'

'Did she put them in the water supply, or what?'

'In bread. They got her a job in a bread-making plant,' Edgar laughed. 'She actually proposed a new, more efficient way of baking bread – with the addition of various herbs. And she even won a special bonus for it.'

'I see. And what was Arina's interest in all this?'

Edgar snorted. He jumped nimbly over a fallen tree and looked into my eyes.

'Do you have to ask, Anton? Who wouldn't like to fool about with magic