The sun-drenched avenue was flooded with more cars than usual. The vehicles seemed to be barely squeezing between each other. A red warning light came on the onboard navigator in the cockpit of Mikhail's single-seater electric car, indicating a ten-point traffic jam ahead. Taking advantage of his microscopic size, he was able to squeeze forward another fifty meters, and then he came to a stop too, bumping into the rear bumper of a huge truck.
Something was clearly wrong, and the robotics engineer understood this. He got out of the car and, without even closing the fiberglass door, walked forward on foot between the frozen vehicles. Tired taxi passengers, nervous private car drivers, and unmanned trucks humming imperturbably — all of them, for some incomprehensible reason, found themselves stuck in this sun-baked asphalt river.
Soon the reason for the traffic jam became clear: two driverless trucks had been deliberately turned almost across the road. The processor activity indicators under the radiator grille were not lit, which meant that after performing their strange maneuver, both vehicles had been programmatically shut down. It was very strange.
Through the roar of unmuffled engines and the periodic nervous signals of horns, Mikhail suddenly heard a growing buzzing sound, as if coming from a swarm of angry bees. Trying to find the source of the sound, he looked around and finally raised his head. There, almost directly above where he was standing, dozens, perhaps hundreds, drones of various sizes and purposes were moving through the air. The drones had indeed gathered into a swarm of sorts, forming something like a giant ring rotating above the road. From all sides, new devices flew into this circle, joining the ominous dance, which was becoming more and more rapid.
Suddenly, the dance broke apart into separate parts, and the drones began to literally fall down at full speed. Mikhail fell onto the asphalt and, rolling under the body of the truck closest to him, watched the nightmare unfolding around him from there. With a terrible crash, the drones crashed into the cars stuck on the road: they smashed windows, broke carbon fiber panels, dented and bent metal roofs and hoods. The sound of blows and crashes could be heard everywhere. Small parts from the broken drones rained down onto the asphalt next to the crouching robotics engineer.
It all lasted no more than a couple of minutes, but to Mikhail it seemed like at least a quarter of an hour. Finally, everything quieted down, and he was able to carefully crawl out of his hiding place. The scene around him was depressing. It looked as if a real hurricane had swept across the avenue, smashing everything to smithereens, grinding and mixing everything that was possible. Shocked passengers, trapped in wrecked taxis and their private cars, feverishly tapped on their smartphones or made calls.
Mikhail, no less confused than everyone else, slowly walked back to his microscopic electric car. Of course, it had also been damaged. The light fiberglass door covering the front of the vehicle had been broken almost completely through. A quadcopter was stuck forever in a huge crack. If Mikhail had been in the cabin at that moment, the consequences for him would probably have been dire. The robotics engineer sighed heavily, then opened the trunk and took out his gyroscooter. His habit of always carrying this device with him had saved him more than once. Now he carefully transferred everything valuable from the glove compartment to his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and began to slowly navigate around the site of the giant accident through narrow alleys, courtyards, and driveways.
Mikhail hadn't yet reached home when a call popped up on his smartwatch...
"Are you okay?" Alexei asked immediately, instead of saying hello.
"Yes... It was some kind of meat grinder..." Mikhail replied.
"I saw the recordings. The internet is already buzzing. Videos are spreading across social media like hotcakes. The press service has already announced the largest hacker attack in the last five years. The version about a control system failure was immediately rejected..."
"Huh, what a failure? I was there just now, damn it! It was a planned attack. The only thing missing was playing "Ride of the Valkyries" to complete the picture..."
"Doesn't it remind you of anything?" the programmer asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Your idea with the drones..."
"You don't think I blabbed to someone, do you?"
"No," Alexei replied seriously. "I think it's no longer safe to talk even in the woods on a tree stump. Change the firmware on your smartphone. Just in case..."
"Damn... If these guys can hack into our internal security protocols, then they're fucking awesome..."
"Still don't believe in the White Queen?" asked the programmer.
"I don't care who it is or what they call themselves... But when I get to the security terminal, I'll find out, damn it..." Mikhail said angrily and hung up the phone, then added quietly, as if thinking aloud, "Unless, of course, Voland gets to them first..."