""Ludens" is a term introduced by a science fiction writer Arkady Strugatsky (co-authored with his brother Boris) in their fantastic universe, especially in the novel "The Kid" and other works of the cycle about the world Half.

Ludens are a hypothetical, higher stage of evolution Person. They possess colossal intellectual and mental opportunities, moral maturity and almost complete misunderstanding of ordinary people, which they leave behind.

Easier Speaking of it, these are superhumans, so gone forward in their development, that cease to be part of humanity in the usual Sense. They no longer interfere in human affairs and observe from a position of almost godlike tranquility.

Who are the Ludens:

1. Evolutionarily the advanced people
   of Ludens are the next stage in the development of Homo sapiens. They are called superhumans or future people.
2. Superintelligent and morally
   mature They have developed intelligence, empathy, morality and consciousness at a level inaccessible to an ordinary person.
3. Mentally stable and self-sufficient,
   Ludens do not need society or support. Them comfortable with yourself.
4. They do not interfere in human affairs
   They adhere to the principle of non-interference. It is believed that humanity should develop on its own.
5. Rare and mysterious
   In the world of the Strugatsky Ludens, almost no one Met. They appear only in hints - as something mysterious and almost Mythical.
6. Free from biological constraints
   Ludens may possess telepathy, superintuition, or other unusual abilities, Although this is not always clearly indicated.
7. They consider themselves different,
   They do not identify themselves with humanity. Even the word "people" for is no longer about them.

How it is the ludens that appear in the works of the Strugatskys and what kind of qualities. Most of them are mentioned indirectly, but there are Characters who can be considered potential Ludens.

Where ludens are mentioned:

Most vividly in the novel "The Kid" (1971), also indirectly in "A Billion Years to the End" light", "Beetle in the anthill", "Waves extinguish wind" and other works from the cycle about the world of Noon.

Qualities of Ludens

1. The Ludens' superintelligence
   thinks at a level that is inaccessible to ordinary People.
   Example: Kammerer (from "The Beetle in the Anthill") talks about ludens as people who are able to operate with abstractions, ideas and meanings much more deeper than ordinary people.
2. Moral purity
   They do not succumb to evil, aggression, greed - they act strictly according to the high moral code.
   Example: in the Strugatskys' works, humanity in the future is moving towards a "moral maturity", but the Ludens are already the pinnacle of this Way.
3. Ludena's loneliness and separation
   do not find a place for themselves among people — they as if from another reality.
   Example: in "The Kid", the researcher Leonid Gomez suspects that he himself may be a luden, because that he feels alienated from the rest of humanity.
4. Telepathy/ Psi-ability
   Eis not the main feature, but it can be present. Ludens feel others without words, "read" the essence.
   Example: In "The Waves Extinguish the Wind", people with unusual mental abilities — and their possible belonging to the Ludens.
5. Non-interference
   Ludens can allegedly control, interfere, but consciously do not do this.
   Example: In "Baby" it is said that they they watch, but do not interfere — "gods who have gone into the shadows."
6. Purpose of existence – knowledge and development
   They do not seek power, wealth or fame. They are driven by the search for truth, understanding, harmony.
   Example: A hypothetical luden is someone who has been doing things all his life science, art, philosophy — and he does it not for the sake of recognition, but therefore that it cannot be otherwise.

Then there is an analysis of the work "Waves extinguishing the wind"

What happened in Malaya Pesha (according to the text):

This is an episode from the second half of the novel "The Waves Extinguish the Wind", when inspector Toivo Glumov conducts another investigation within the framework of the topic "Visit of the Old Lady" related to the manifestations activity of the Wanderers and the beginning of the Great Revelation.

A brief analysis of the scene (Malaya Pesha, May 6, 99):

Time and place:

• Date: 6 May 99 (i.e. 2199)
• Location: The village of Malaya Pesha is a real-life northern settlement moved to the world of Noon for the needs of artistic narration.
• Setting: early morning, sleepy, silent, foggy village.

 Who participates:

• Glumov and his The group is observing a suspected carrier of unusual abilities (possibly Luden or Mark) Wanderers).
• We are talking about observation for a girl who manifests abnormal mental abilities - telepathy, unusual dreams, contact with "someone from outside".

 What is going on:

• Glumov and his team are watching from the glider behind the house where the The girl.
• During observation, Unusual psi exposure, blackouts occur equipment, emotional leaps in members Group.
• Girl, all over visibility, or enters into contact with representatives "other side", or is already under their influence.
• This episode is one of the most bright moments of the "invasion" of the Great Revelation — the birth of a new type of consciousness, that is, ludens.

What does it mean:

• Scene in Malaya Peshe is the quintessence of how the Strugatskys describe transformation of a person into something new, in the presence of a mysterious external force.
• This is not a tragedy, but a transition, and unlike other episodes in the book (such as the clam on Matuku Island), There is no nightmare here – only silence, anxious anticipation and sensation impending new.

In "The Waves Extinguish the Wind", the theme of ludens is revealed through the gradual accumulation of alarming signs: new qualities in individuals, anomalous events, inexplicable disappearances. People who are suspected of being Ludens or on the verge of doing so are of interest to COMCON-2, especially by Maxim Kammerer and Toivo Glumov.

Who is suspected of being Ludens or Preludens in the novel?

1. Some children and adolescents

They begin to show abnormal abilities:

• telepathy
• hypnotic influence,
• intuitive knowledge,
• a sense of "timelessness",
• contact with some external Force.

Example: a girl in Malaya Pesha
She has the following signs:

• altered perception;
• contact with something "inhuman"»;
• Emotional Removal;
• calmly accepting your State.

This is One of the most striking moments in the book is when people have already arrived, but no one can prove or describe it yet. Kammerer and Glumov observe, but do not interfere - they observe the principle of non-interference.

2. Toivo Glumov

He's not crowded, but... Its development hints at the transition:

• Fanatical concentration;
• moral maximalism;
• psychological maturity;
• Complete absence of fear before loneliness;
• Uncompromising attitude to outside interference.

In finale, he is on the verge. There are hints that he may be "drafted".

3. Missing people ("Rip Van Winkle syndrome")

Some disappear without a trace, and then return changed. Or they do not return at all. This is the most The disturbing part: perhaps the Ludens "leave" just like that, without a trace.

Qualities that distinguish Ludens (according to roman):

№	Quality	Manifestation In the text
1	Detachment from society	Luden is not interested in status, norms, fashion. He lives according to his inner feeling.
2	Moral maturity	He does not accept violence. He does not succumb to selfishness. Acts "Right", but not for the sake of profit.
3	Superintelligence and intuition	He sees connections where others do not. Feels a lie, falsity, manipulation.
4	Mental self-sufficiency	Luden does not seek approval. Can to be alone and to be whole.
5	Connection with something external	Sometimes they "see" or "feel" the Wanderers, another reality. Their perception is non-standard.
6	Calm and clarity	Even in critical situations, people maintain balance. He is not afraid, he understands.
7	The phenomenon of disappearance	Some disappear or go into some other state.

Luden is not a mutant, not a hero, not a god, but a person who stepped on. And the Strugatskys hint that they are already near, But we just can't understand them. Perhaps we don't want them ourselves to understand — because we will have to admit: humanity divided.

Who are the Ludens suspecting in Mała Peša?

1. Babushka Albina Kubotieva

• Age: 96 years old
• Profession: Ballerina in the past
• Behavior: Absolutely calm in a moment of panic. When the whole village is gripped by fear, It requires silence to sleep.
• Toivo Glumov's reaction: he cannot explain it, either psychiatrically or rationally.

This is And there is Luden's behavior — unemotional, confident, detached. Albina seems to be not in a human context, She has her own "inner world" - unattainable and mature.

2. Kir Kostetsky (12 years old, a schoolboy from Petrozavodsk)

• Mentioned as a witness events in Malaya Pesha.
• The Institute of Eccentrics contributes his name in the list of possible objects of metapsychological deviations, along with Albina.
• Behaves confidently, calmly, helps others, leaves in a galley (flying machine) absolutely independently.
• Kammerer and Glumov suggest that it is their behavior that "too much anomalous" to be an accident.

What happened in Malaya Pesha in general?

• Date: Night of May 5-6, 2199
• Event: Nine quasi-biological creatures have escaped from Cottage No7, possibly embryophores (artificially grown organisms).
• They entered the houses and caused panic among all residents.
• But Albina was not afraid in general, and Cyrus showed mature behavior beyond his age.

Indirect signs of ludens in Albina and Kir:

Sign	Albina	Kir
Complete peace of mind during panic	Yes	Yes
Detachment, inner integrity	Yes	Yes
Attention from the Eccentric Institute	Yes (by registrars)	Yes
Suspicion of metapsychic properties	Yes (reaction of Toivo, Temirkanov)	Yes
Independence, self-sufficiency	Yes	Yes

Context and meaning

• The Institute of Eccentrics and COMCON-2 begin to seriously consider such cases as a manifestation of "sorting" — the separation of new people from the old, possibly initiated by Wanderers.
• Glumov expresses hypothesis that the institute is engaged in the selection of ludens, and Albina and Kir are already "sorted".
• Kammerer, despite his doubts, he allows him to interrogate the "couple from the Little Dog" - this is a confirmation: their Suspected as potential Ludens.

Total

Events in Malaya Pesha is a key episode, where for the first time with sufficient clarity Real representatives of a new stage of evolution appear - ludens.
Albina and Kir show all the signs: moral and emotional superiority, inner peace, contact with unknown, interest from analytical structures.

In "The Waves Extinguish the Wind", several methods and tests are mentioned, used to identify ludens — a new, superhuman form of existence. These methods are not always direct are named, but from the context you can get a pretty clear picture:

Tests and methods for detecting ludens

1. Identification of the "third impulse"

This is A key feature that differentiates Ludens from regular ones People.

• What it is: an unknown type of neuropsychic activity that is not inherent in all people.
• Frequency: Detectable with a probability of 1 in 100,000.
• How it is discovered: instrumental and psycho-emotional methods are used, developed by a group of ludens led by with Logovenko.
• Example: "There are several ways and methods to identify the third pulse."

2. Psychophysical observation in stressful situations

• Objective: to observe how a person behaves in critical conditions, for example, when contact with the anomaly.
• Example: in the episode in Malaya Pesha, the behavior of Albina Kubotieva and the boy Kir is interpreted as "suspiciously mature and calm" — typical of Ludens.
• The Eccentric Institute uses such cases as material for analysis.

3. Inversion of the "penguin" syndrome

• Penguin syndrome is a mass panic caused by an unknown stimulus (often used by ludens).
• Inversion is a situation when a person does not succumb to panic, but vice versa – shows calmness and composure.
• Method: Comparison of lists of people who are not affected by the penguin reactions, with lists of suspects "T" (Wanderers/Ludens themes).

4. Surveillance and biographical data collection

• COMCON-2 and the Institute Eccentrics are secretly observed by potential Ludens.
• Example: Kammerer receives a list of all initiated Ludens in the last three years, although Logovenko is surprised how exactly this list got to Him.

5. Invitation to "initiation"

• Logovenko invites Kammerer to go through the "transition" to the ludens:

"It is proposed to come to the Institute of Eccentrics to become four hundred and thirty-three people."

• It's not just a test, it's a phase confirmation.

Additional Signs and Observed Effects

Sign	Meaning
Unusual calm	In a stressful environment (e.g. in Mala Peša), suspected Ludens behave balanced.
Emotional detachment	Luden loses affection or perceives ordinary people as "children".
"The Invisible Border"	Luden feels that "he is no longer human."
Altered biopsychic activity	The third is pulse, observed with the help of instruments.

Ludens are not just tested - they are are identified by a combination of features, including:

• the presence of a "third pulse";
• Behavioral abnormalities (fear inversion, maturity, empathy);
• reaction to psi-influence;
• Participation in "disappearances" or contacts with the "Visitor";
• Inclusion in the Institute's Lists Weirdos.

Here two key pieces related to Kammerer's offer to become a Luden and the tests that identify Ludens:

1. Kammerer's Offer: To Become the 433rd Luden

From Kammerer's letters (Paper 21):

"Today I was visited by Logovenko... It is claimed that the period of the stationary development of mankind is coming to an end...
Currently, 432 ludens live and play on Earth and in space.
I am invited to become four hundred and thirty-three, for which I must arrive in Kharkov, at the Institute of Eccentrics, the day after tomorrow, May 20, to 10.00»​.

Kammerer thinks:

He feels that he will become alien to humanity if he accepts proposal. And although he feels the temptation – "the enemy of the human race whispers" – internally He rejects the transition:

"I I won't go to Kharkov...
I am absolutely sure that as soon as they turn me into a luden, there will be nothing human left in me...
Thatwould be a betrayal of Asya... and to my mother."

 2. Tests and methods for detecting ludens

In dialogue between Komkov and Logovenko reveals the details:

"The Third Pulse"

"There is a several ways and techniques for detecting the third impulse in a person. I myself am an instrument operator, but my colleagues..."
This is a characteristic of a special type of neuroactivity, distinguishing the Ludens from ordinary people.

 Methods

• Instrumental methods (e.g., sliding frequency cameras).
• Psycho-emotional experiments – cause phobias to reveal non-standard reaction (for example, "penguin syndrome").
• The following methods are recognized: may appear immoral or cruel, but are considered Reversible.

3. Penguin syndrome inversions as an indicator of ludens

Glumov analyzes cases when people did not succumb to panic, unlike From the majority:

"I think it is necessary to draw your attention to the complete list of persons with inversion syndrome Penguin. The list is attached."

Intersection such lists with COMCON databases show: those Those who are not afraid are not accidental.

 Inference:

• Kammerer was actually invited to join the ranks of the Ludens, He refuses, motivating this by fear to lose your humanity.
• To identify ludens, the following are used:
• third impulse (neuropsychic activity);
• Behavioral reactions in abnormal conditions (for example, fear inversion);
• observation and psychophysical experiments;
• psycho-emotional tests, often hidden from the subject.

.

Now let's figure it out in order: what is the first, second and "third" pulse" and how they relate to the theory of signaling systems Pavlov, as well as what exactly the Strugatskys mean by this in "Waves extinguish the wind."

1. Classical theory of signal systems (according to Pavlov)

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov introduced the concept of two signaling systems in his work Brain:

▪ The first alarm system

• Working with direct stimuli: sounds, light, smells, movements – what comes in through the senses.
• It is typical for animals and humans.
• Example: I heard a shot — Got scared; smell food - hungry.

▪ Second alarm system

• This is speech, abstract thinking, the ability to generalize.
• It is typical only for humans.
• Example: you read a word "Fire" — and you imagine flame, heat, danger.

2. The Strugatskys' "Third Impulse"

At Strugatsky's "third impulse" is an analogue of the hypothetical third signaling system, a quality peculiar only to the Ludens.

It is not explained technically, but it is clear from the text:
This is a new type of mental or neuropsychic activity, built on top of the first and second systems.

Main signs:

Sign	Description
Overperception	Luden is able to "feel" meanings, intuitively understand the unspoken.
Extra-linguistic communication	Understanding without words, perhaps telepathy.
Moral intuition	No moral dilemmas: Luden knows exactly what is right.
Immunity to panic	Luden does not react to "animals" impulses, we control emotions.
New logic of thinking	Luden does not think consistently, but "voluminously", holistically.

3. Why is it called "pulse"?

Rather In total, the term is chosen not in the sense of physiology, but figuratively, as:

• something elusive devices, but influencing all thinking;
• mental an impulse of a new kind, not associated with ordinary stimuli;
• resonance, which is recorded by devices (the book mentions cameras and meters, catching this activity).

 4. How is it defined in novel?

"There is a several ways and techniques for detecting the third impulse in a person. I myself am an instrument operator...", says one of the Ludens Logovenko.
They use instruments, emotional tests, reactions to fear in order to catch an unconscious, but different from the norm activity.

 Total:

• The third pulse is not just the "next" signaling system, but fundamentally a different way of thinking, accessible only to the Ludens.
• This is a metaphor, indicating an evolutionary gap between humans and those who will go further.
• In physical or neurophysiological sense, it is not described in detail — and this is on purpose: the Strugatskys preserve mysticism and give room for Interpretations.

Let's try to imagine what the The "third impulse" system in terms of modern neuroscience, cognitive science, and theory of consciousness. Of course, this will be an interpretation based on the fact that The Strugatskys are an artistic image, but let's go deeper.

HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE "THIRD IMPULSE" FROM A SCIENTIFIC POINT OF VIEW

 Initial analogies:

Level Alarm System	A modern neuroanalogue
The first signal	Sensory cortex, thalamus, basic reflexes
Second signal	Left hemisphere, frontal lobes, speech centers
Third Pulse	? (Hypothetical level: meta-consciousness, hypernet, global workspace?)

POSSIBLE SCIENTIFIC INTERPRETATIONS:

1. Global Workspace Theory (GWT) — Advanced Level

• Luden could have had a constantly active consciousness, where data not only from the senses, but also:
• From intuition,
• Unconscious Processes
• "external channel" (perhaps the collective unconscious or some external system such as Wanderers).
• This is the brain in the super-mode of integration, without the distorting "ego noise" – i.e., a perfectly balanced perception everything at once.

2. Metaconsciousness and overempathy

• Luden is able not only to be aware of his thoughts (like an ordinary person), but:
• realize as he realizes;
• instantly build other people's experiences into your inner space;
• "read" emotions, not through behavior, but through direct neurofeedback.

Example from Malaya Pesha: Albina and Kir not only did not they are afraid – they seem to understand and accept what is happening deeper than any of the adults.

3. Neural network without false "I"

• Perhaps the third pulse is consciousness without a central ego.
  Instead of the subjective model of "I → world" there is a single a non-local model of the world, where the "I" is only a node.
• Modern science (in Giulio Tononi's theory of integrated information) considers consciousness as a system with maximum causal closure.
  Ludens could be creatures who have this The level is much higher.

4. Neuroarchitecture with "ultra-long bonds"

• In the brain of an ordinary person There is locality optimization: it is faster nearby.
• Ludens could hypothetically have powerful extra-long connections between different parts of the brain — from the thalamus to the parietal and prefrontal cortex — which would allow:
• instantly integrate logical, emotional and sensory perception;
• operate with ideas not linearly, but "volumetricly", as the Strugatskys describe.

Let's imagine a hypothetical neurophysical profile of a luden:

Parameter	Luden Level
Prefrontal cortex activity	Maximum Stability
Brain Default System (DMN)	Fully integrated with the work
Number of "long" synaptic connections	Well above average
Alpha/Theta Sync Level	High in wakefulness
Degree of self-awareness	Exceeds the normal level
Sensitivity to fear/reflexes	Suppressed
The ability to empathize and intuition	Excess

Alternative: Ludens as "brain + external system"

Some Researchers interpret the third pulse as:

• interface with an impersonal information structure — there is a kind of external neural network to which Luden is connected to.
• In fact, Luden — it is a brain embedded in a non-biological meta-network, possibly created by the Wanderers.

This is It reminds me of modern conversations about neural interfaces, neural collectives, and the noosphere.

Conclusion

Third the Strugatskys' impulsive is a poetic image of the new evolutionary stage,
but if you look at it from the point of view of neuroscience, it can be interpreted as:

• Next level integration of consciousness and the unconscious;
• Metaconsciousness and Overempathy;
• Brain Integration and something external — as a collective consciousness, or metamind.

For now Let's imagine what a person with the "third impulse" would look like in reality, if such a form of consciousness could really be achieved by natural evolution, technologies or their synthesis.

Portrait of a Man with the Third Impulse

Imagine such a person in the 21st and 22nd centuries. It can be born as a result of:

• evolutionary leap,
• Bioengineering Intervention
• symbiosis with AI or neural networks,
• Activating hidden brain structures.

 Psychological and cognitive profile:

Characteristic	Manifestation
Thought	Volumetric, nonlinear, intuitive and logical at the same time
Speech	Almost unnecessary. Can communicate with looks, gestures, Resonance
Emotions	Calm, but not "cold". Feels deeply, but does not Rapidly
Morality	It is built in at the level of instinct. Not needs laws and regulations
Communication with people	A stranger among his own people. Empathetic, but lonely
Understanding reality	Perceives relationships, not events. Not "what happened", And "why"
Fear	He does not react to danger, but comprehends it immediately
Reflection	Constantly feels himself in the context of the universe, other minds

Biological features:

Index	Peculiarity
Neuroplasticity	Very high. Quickly adapts, retrains
EEG profile of the brain	Amplified alpha and theta waves, synchrony between hemispheres
Limbic system	Weakened. Emotions do not control, but are integrated by the mind
Cardiovascular activity	Stable. Stress responses are minimal
Sensory	Increased sensitivity but without overloading

 Possible technologies that may "turn on" the third pulse:

1. AI cognitive enhancement neural implants
   → add a "second level of thinking" in real time.
2. Genetic engineering A strengthened brain
   → an increase in the number of neural connections, a change in the structure of the prefrontal cortex.
3. Combined Consciousness (neurocollective)
   → a constant exchange of thoughts between a group of people through a direct neural interface.
4. VR/neurofeedback as a simulator of the third impulse →
   modeling of states of hyperawareness, teaching new logic of thinking.

How would such a person be perceived by society?

• Surprise → fear → mythologization.
• He would be considered a saint, a genius, a mutant, or even a machine.
• He will not become a leader or dictator – he will silently help, watch, leave, like the Ludens of the Strugatskys.

 Artistic image:

Imagine: He enters the room and you immediately feel that he is different.
He doesn't say anything, but you become aware of yourself through his gaze.
He doesn't give advice, but in his presence you know what to do.
He can be a scientist, a doctor, a pilot, or just a passerby.
He looks at the future as at a house that he has already moved into.

Imagine a scene in which a person with an active third impulse system (Luden in fact) comes into contact with the an ordinary person. We'll put them in a simple but tense situation — and we will show the contrast of thinking, reaction, depth.

Scene: Conversation in the shelter

Context:
2048. The world is unstable: the environment is collapsing, society is divided, AI companies They are fighting for power.
Somewhere in the Alps, in a secluded underground shelter, a former military engineer Victor meets with Aida, a woman which is suspected of "anomalous" abilities. She is silent, but they are looking for her — special services, corporations, fanatics. Victor is the only one who dared to hide her. As they wait for the storm, he tries to figure out who she is.

Dialogue

Victor:
(nervously) "Who are you, Aida?" They tell me you... as they say... Passed edge.
(lightsthe lamp, looks into the eyes) You're not even afraid. Why?

Aida:
(calmly, without pathos) – Fear is an identification with the future, which is still No.
I'm just here. With you. With silence.

Victor:
(laughs nervously) - Sounds like nonsense from contemplation textbooks. And what if for Will they come to you?
You'll be taken away. Me too.

Aida:
(gently) "If they come, they'll be scared before they come in.
They will feel what they cannot describe.
You already feel it, but you are afraid to name it.

Victor:
(in a low voice) - Do you read minds?

Aida:
(smiling) – No. I read the resistance in you.
It screams louder than thoughts.

Pause.
Only the hum of ventilation is heard. Victor looks at his hands. They tremble.

Victor:
"Are you human?"

Aida:
"I'll do it later."
You're still in time.

Emotional note of the scene:

• Victor — rational, habitually thinking, frightened, looking for answers with words.
• Aida is a luden. Its logic is not broken, it is not She fights with herself, she has no fear of strangers.
• She feels a person deeper than he is himself, but does not break in — she creates a space where he can hear himself.

 What do we see?

• Communication without direct meanings. It does not argue, it does not convince, it adjusts.
• Third Pulse Works like background awareness – not to react, but to hear and be present.
• For the average person next to it, it is a shock, a personalquality, but also liberation.

 1. Ludens as a way to God — without God

The Strugatskys did not believe in a personal God, but created an image of people approaching the "divine" state:

Characteristics of ludens	Analogue in religion or metaphysics
Moral perfection	Saints, bodhisattvas, prophets
Calm and clarity	Enlightened Ones Who Have Attained Nirvana
Detachment from material things	Detached ascetics, mysticism
Relinquishing power and control	Christ-like non-violence
Presence, "illumination"	Divine revelation, abiding in Tao

In in this sense, the Ludens are the image of God who has come from within man, not from heaven.
This is an evolutionary God, born not from outside, but according to side of the human mind.

2. The Third Impulse as a Channel to the Transcendental

If The first and second signaling systems are communication with the world and with others people, then the third is,
in fact, a connection with the ineffable, with what is beyond logic, language, ego.

In terms of metaphysics:

• This is the entrance to non-dual consciousness (non-Cartesian, outside of the self/world).
• This is an experience Unity: you do not distinguish yourself from reality, you are in it.
• It is participation in the infinite, but without mysticism.

Can say:

Third the impulsive is the sense organ that perceives the Absolute.

3. The metaphor of God through evolution

Many philosophers of the XX century (Teilhard de Chardin, Weil, Simone, Whitehead) wrote that:

God is not a being, but a vector, a direction of development of consciousness.

So and the Strugatskys:

• The Ludens are not "sent by God",
• They are God, beginning to awaken in man.

This is The God is not of personality, but of emergent complexity, as an assemblage point between:

• Morality
• Knowledge
• Love
• Freedom.

4. Eastern metaphysics: Tao, Atman, Shunyata

Third Impulse is very reminiscent of Eastern concepts:

Luden / Third Pulse	Oriental analogue
Empty but Filled Consciousness	Shunyata (Voidness in Zen)
Non-attachment	Moksha, liberation
Clear Presence	Satori, Insight
Morality without external law	Living by the Tao
"I" as a point in the flow of the whole	The Atman Dissolved in Brahman

5. Mysticism without mysticism

Ludens do not perform miracles, do not work magic, they do not violate the laws of nature, they become its pure expression.

They is a bridge between matter and spirit, but without religion.
Without temples. No rituals. Without rituals. Only inner enlightenment through evolution.

And one more thing – the Strugatskys knew that God could not be given, He must be hard-won

Therefore, Kammerer refuses to become a luden:

• He is not ready give up pain, love, affection,
• he remains a man by love, not out of weakness.

And This is an almost Christian tragedy.

Inference:

Third Impulse is not only a neuropsychological leap.
This is:

• the spiritual organ of the new man;
• analogue mystical perception built into evolution;
• a channel to God, if we understand God as something that arises from the depths of awareness, love and unity.

Monologue On behalf of Luden, in which he explains, what God means to him, if we look through the prism of the third pulse. This is not a sermon or a philosophy. It's a way to be in this one.

Luden's voice: "We call Him Silence"

You will you ask if I believe in God.
But how can I believe what I hear?
Not with my ears, not with my thoughts, but
with the whole fabric of consciousness.

He does not speak. He doesn't need a word.
Words are an exhalation of fear, an attempt to hold back.
He is not restrained.
He is an ineffable presence that
becomes clear
as soon as the need to name disappears.

We are we call Him Silence.
Because only in complete inner silence
does He begin to sound.

This is Not the god of images,
not the old man in heaven,
not will, not wrath, not mercy.

This is – clarity.

This is When you see a person
and all the pain of humanity in him,
but you do not turn away.

This is When you know
that you can run away,
but you stay.

This is when you no longer divide –
into yourself and others,
into right and wrong,
into the beginning and the end.

He "Not above us.
He is deeper.

We are if we did not find Him,
we took away from ourselves that which prevented Him from being.

When fear disappeared,
anger disappeared,
"mine" disappeared,
He remained.

And if it seems
to you that you are alone,
that the world is deaf and empty,
remember that
He breathes silence in you.
You just haven't learned to listen without ears yet.

Luden explains how he perceives love, evil, and suffering.
This is not a confession. This is the transparency of inner knowledge, which is not imposed, but simply is.

 About love

You will you ask if I loved.

I am love.

Not the one that says: "You are mine",
not the one that demands, sacrifices, waits.

My Love is a state of continuous connection with everyone.
I do not divide love into addressees.
I just...
I can't help but care.

I I feel someone else's pain as my own flesh.
I don't need you,
but I am present in you
in a way that you have not yet learned to be present in yourself.

When You cry,
I do not console -
I keep the silence
in which your pain blossoms with meaning.

On Evil

You will You want me to tell you what evil is.
But I can't.
Evil is not an entity.
This is a break in the connection.

When You have forgotten that the other is you,
you begin to be afraid,
and blows are born from fear.

Evil is pain that screams instead of understanding.
This is a tightness,
a collapse of consciousness,
when a person sees only his shadow
and thinks that it is an enemy.

I I do not fight evil.
I'm reconnecting.

On Suffering

You will you ask why there is suffering.
You think it's a mistake.
You are angry with the universe, with God, with yourself.

But Suffering is not punishment.
It is the hole in your armor through
which light can enter you for the first time.

Not Everyone who suffers awakens.
But everyone who woke
up once suffered to the end.

I I do not eliminate suffering.
I enter it.
I sit next to him.
I don't take my eyes off.
And then it becomes a door.

And if you ask why all this...

I I won't say.
I do not know.

But I live as
if it makes sense.

And Maybe
this is enough.

Finish This cycle of Luden's monologues is the third fragment — more personal, quiet.
Here he answers questions about death, loneliness, freedom. And says this to the child.
Not from a height, but from a depth. Almost in a whisper.

Scene: Luden and the Child

Night. Scorching sky over the plain. Fire light. The boy sits with his knees pressed against his knees. Luden is nearby. He does not stroke, does not teach. He only says when the child himself Asks.

About death

Child:
"Everyone dies?" Even you?

Luden:
Yes. But they do not disappear.

Death "This is not the end.
This is the rearrangement of knots in the great tissue.

How When the music ends,
but the air remembers the vibration.
And you, not knowing, suddenly sing it years later.

I "I'll disappear."
But you will remember not the face, but the feeling.
And it is me.

About loneliness

Child:
"Aren't you afraid of being alone?"

Luden:
"I can't be alone because I'm not separated.

Inside me, the world. You. Even those I haven't met.
You feel lonely
when you wait to be filled from the outside.
And I am already full.

But If you feel lonely,
I will sit next to you.
Not to remove it.
And so that you hear it to the end –
and understand that this is not an enemy, but the beginning of a meeting with yourself.

On Freedom

Child:
"And what does it mean to be free?

Luden:
"To be free is not to do what you want,
not to be what fear and noise have made you to be.

Freedom is
when the voice of duty, the voice of desire, the voice of other people's expectations no longer argue
inside you.
Silence.

And In this silence you choose.
Not out of fear.
Not out of spite.
Because you just can't do it any other way.

And Then, even if you give everything,
you will not be a victim.
You will be the light that chooses to
shine even if no one sees it.

End of scene:

Child Silent.
Then, without raising his head, he whispers:

— You will... Is it like a person?

Luden smiles, stares into the fire for a long time.
And he answers:

— No.
I am what a person can become.
If he is not afraid.