Жизнь как творчество

Поиграл с одной нейросетью — и это удивительно, конечно, до чего дошел прогресс 🙂

Write a short story in the style of Kharms

Once upon a time, there was a man named Ivan Ivanovich. Ivanovich was a very ordinary man, with no remarkable qualities or talents. He lived in a small apartment in the city and worked a boring desk job.

One day, Ivanovich woke up to find that his apartment had disappeared. In its place was a vast expanse of ocean, stretching as far as the eye could see. Ivanovich was perplexed, but not particularly alarmed. He shrugged his shoulders and decided to go for a swim.

As he swam through the ocean, Ivanovich encountered a fish with a human face. The fish spoke to him in a language he could understand and said, «Ivan Ivanovich, why are you swimming in my domain?»

Ivanovich replied, «I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. My apartment disappeared and was replaced by this ocean.»
The fish nodded and said, «I see. Well, since you’re here, you might as well make the most of it. Swim to the edge of the world and you will find what you’re looking for.»

Ivanovich didn’t know what the fish meant, but he decided to follow its advice. He swam and swam until he reached the edge of the ocean. And there, to his amazement, he found a ladder leading up into the sky.

Without hesitation, Ivanovich climbed the ladder until he reached a platform above the clouds. There he found a group of people playing cards and drinking tea. They welcomed him warmly and invited him to join their game.

Ivanovich played cards with the group for what felt like hours, and they all laughed and joked together. When it was time for Ivanovich to leave, they gave him a small, golden key and said, «This key will unlock the door to your apartment. But be warned, once you go through that door, you can never come back here.»

Ivanovich thanked them and climbed back down the ladder. When he reached the ocean, he used the key to unlock the door to his apartment. And there, to his relief, he found his familiar surroundings once again.

But Ivanovich couldn’t shake the memory of the ladder in the sky and the people playing cards above the clouds. He often wondered what would have happened if he had stayed with them. But in the end, he decided it was better to be content with the life he had, rather than constantly chasing after something that might not even exist.