The World Between

“So whats your magic number my lady?” Abbey half seriously asked the girl standing nearby in the other queue

She disdainfully ignored him before giving him a go-to-hell look.

I really liked it.

“Why do you even bother with all this earthly crap” – I said

Not being put down by these small incidences he continued to grin thinking about his next prank

“Well I just want to enjoy my life you know. And why do you always get that awefully serious man. Ok now tell me – does this hurt – “ He said while pinching me on my arm

“Oouch…ya it does. And it will do till we enter the gates”

“And shouldn’t you now start thinking of the gates too. Aren’t you curious which one of them will you go into? I mean you spent whole life working for this moment and…” – I said as his eyes steered away from me

The queues were very long.  I could barely make out the figure sitting at the counter sending people to the two gates. How easy would it have been if the concept of bribe was not that alien concept here; I wondered. Anyway, time didn’t matter but getting stuck with Abbey here was a pain enough. He is one heck of a fellow constantly grabbing attention of others. We entered the queue at the same time and started some chat to kill some time. And now,within few minutes he’s on arm pinching terms with me. Though I kept on cursing him, he has actually alleviated the mood of the crowd here…which, otherwise would have given me a nervous breakdown standing in a queue waiting for your settlement and wondering about your whole life.

Finally after what seemed like hours our turn came. There were only two people sitting at the counter. On the left, sat a man who looked like in his 80s with white hair and long white beard. He was wearing a round glass with a big black frame and occasionally tilting his head down to look at the crowd from top of his glasses. He had a very different aura with him. His forehead glowed like a sun and the wrinkles on his face only added to his demeanor. Next to him sat a relatively younger man who was handing down documents the older guy asked. He had a big moustache and strong physique. Behind him I could clearly see rusting almirahs with files and parchments about to spill out any moment.

They both were evaluating every mortal’s life through these parchments and files but I guessed it was the older guy who was making all the decisions. And then I realized that he was Chitragupta– the God who keeps account of good and bad deeds of every human being on earth.

 Good God …so Hindus were right – he is evaluating everyone’s Karma. I wondered if he ever made mistakes in counting your deeds. If he was always sure that his accounts were correct. What if he does a calculation mistake? He can’t always be right…I mean 20,000 years of human existence and billions and trillions of lives lived…what are the chances that he was perfect. Afterall,  accountants do mistakes all the time, so what makes sure that he did not send say Adolf Hitler to Heaven and Mahatma Gandhi to Hell because of some misplaced files, or a “Lets have fun day” at his job. And what about his account? – Isn’t this a conflict of interest. For a pang of a moment I thought of asking him these questions but then decided otherwise.  

Behind the counter I could see the two entry gates. They were not much different from each other as I expected. They both were having an identical golden arch with some divine artistry done on them. But I was quite sure that there would be hell of a difference between them on the other side…literally!

On one of the gates two beautiful angels played harps in their hands and welcoming people inside. It suddenly reminded me of beautiful air hostesses welcoming you on board while collecting your passes. I shrugged at the weird juxtaposition. But it was a no brainer that this was the heaven’s gate.

The other gate had couple of bouncers who were dragging tough nuts to the gate who failed to accept their fate. People were crying and cursing and trying to “resolve” their issues in earthly manner with these bouncers, but in vain.  So this is where they put bad guys for eternity. I thought.

At this point I turned to Abbey who was unusually silent for last 2 minutes and was looking at the bouncers. I guess he is quite afraid now.

“Hey man…I hope that pinch did not hurt you much. Even if it did, please don’t tell Chitragupta man. Please man ..” – Said Abbey who now finally looked sober at the deciding moment. I don’t know about his past but based on what I have seen of him, bouncers are gonna love him. Playing pranks on people for petty pleasure must not have gone well in Chitragupta’s books !

Well I don’t have anything to worry about. I paid all my taxes. Lead an average life. Did justice to my work and everything…no chance I’ll be put to hell. I thought.

“Tell me man….please” – by now Abbey was shouting at the top of his voice to get my attention.

“…Yes….ya ya…I forgive you…don’t worry” – I said

“Abbey Choudhury” – shouted the younger fellow over the crowd

“Y…Yes…that’s me” – said Abbey

I wished him best as he nervously stood in front of Chitragupta.  While the younger fellow retrieved a thick dusty file, Chitragupta tilted his head to look Abbey in the eye who was now clearly sweating.

HE started going through his file - “Hmmmm, an interesting case…to have done so many things in one life time is quite unique. Well, not necessarily all in a good way but yes so many things…”

“So what do you think Abbey….hmmmm?...whats your number hmmmm? “

“S…Sir.. I really don’t know..but …but I tried sir…this is how you made me..and I tried…” – Abbey was now shaking with a fear of what might await him in hell. Bouncers were now fixatedly looking at him. I guess they have already made up their mind that Abbey won’t go down quietly.

At which point Chitragupta tilted his head towards the younger man and discussed something. After which he gave a smile and shouted – “Plus Two”!

Hearing this the two angels started playing their harp and one of them politely signaled him to come to heaven. Abbey could not believe it and neither could I. Plus two? – it couldn’t have been narrower than this. After that thick account of deeds he had two more good deeds than the bad ones. Well I don’t know how he managed his life but he finally was relieved and thanked Chitragupta and his assistant. Before I could completely absorb the Abbey’s fate, came a voice piercing the crowd - “Vaibhav Thakur”

 “Yes. Here.” – I answered

“hmmmmm…interesting……hmmmmm”

“hmmmmmm…..so what are the odds” – I could clearly see Chitragupta smiling as he turned the pages of my account….

“hmmmmm…”- he then gestured his assistant to lean forward

“Take a look…you might be interested” – Said the accountant God who was, for the first time of what I saw, grinning

“Tell me what it is….see don’t play games with me…I am not Abbey that you are taking so much time to decide”

“hmmmm?....oh…well actually you are worse”

I..am going to hell? That’s not possible. I have lived a good life. I never thought that my life would end like this. And I did everything right. I never dropped the ball….but…I have a negative balance…no…this can’t be right.” – I scrambled to find words as my sentences turned to gibberish thinking about the misery which lay ahead of me in the hell; beginning with those two bouncers

“This can’t be right Chitragupta” – I said. But my voice got lost in the assistant’s giggle who was still looking at my account wide eyed. There was a mysterious happiness in his voice.

“See Chitragupta Sir. I don’t know if there is a mistake in your records …but I can’t have a negative karma…I am telling you that I am not going to hell…I did not do anything wrong….you must have made a mistake…” I said while realizing that tears have rolled off my eyes. I could still see a big smile on assistant’s  face through my watered eyes.

“No No you are not. Hmmmmmm….” Chitragupta continued …. “You are not going to hell”

“See…Your number is exactly zero!. Your good deeds perfectly outweigh the bad ones…so you can’t be sent to hell..but at the same time you can’t be sent to heaven too. This has not happened in the last 4000 years….do you understand…hmmmmm?”

“What do you mean this has not happened in 4000 years.?”

“hmmmmmmm? It means that it has not happened in last 4000 years.”- answered Chitragupta

“ So now my child you’ll have to service me till next time this happens. Believe me…it is still better than hell. And I see that you have done some finance also…that will help….hmmmmmm?”

“Sir you are forgetting something” – said the assistant still smiling unmanageably

“hmmmmmm?....oh yes….you have served me well for 4000 years…I don’t know if this new guy will keep upto but since you deserve it ….now I declare the Nirvana upon you…Trishanku.”

Disclaimer: According to Hindu mythology, Trishanku was left hanging between Earth and Heaven in a tussle of wills between Devas and guru Vishwamitra. Well, I took some creative freedom to employ him at the court of Chitragupta. Hope this disclaimer won’t irk RSS now ;) 

yrevocsiD ehT

(Year:  -1100, Day: -26)

“Yes I knew. And it was fun. So, lets celebrate this in the cafeteria. Your treat !”

“So you knew about this all along. And you were just messing with me”- I said while still trying to cope with the fact that I was wrong.

He pressed the remote control again.

“…so this was Prof Stephan Sagan who was….”

“This discovery has changed the way we looked at our existence and the fluid concept of causality. Our efforts to prove the existence of parallel Universe which exists alongside us have failed before this. A parallel Universe, the habitants of which live as close to us as our next door neighbors, but defy our reach. We don’t interact with each other. We can’t even see each other as we live in perpendicular dimensions. Its like living on a photograph and not able to see another one just held millimeters from each other. But this is the moment when I can say with great pride on behalf of whole scientific community that we have been able to prove its existence. We don’t yet know about any intelligent life as such but yes there is a Universe out there waiting to be explored. I congratulate all of our scientists on this grand achievement.”

“And now we break to telecast a very important discovery by physicists at GSI who achieved a major breakthrough today in our understanding of Universe and laws of nature. The director of Global Science Institute- Prof Stephan Sagan is with us today who will throw more light on this”

And before I could argue further, he pressed a button on the remote control and a familiar voice filled the room.

“Ok. Now I just want to see the look on your face. Turn on the television, the director is making an announcement now”- He said

And he gave me a crooked smile.

“See, that’s where you are wrong. There are no such particles. There is a prescribed set of rules in nature which each Universe will follow, regardless of wherever they are. The concept of causality should be the same everywhere. You remember the paper by an Indian scientist published in the Year -1136 which said that reverse causality is impossible and even imagining that intelligent life can evolve with such assumptions is pure rubbish.” – I said defending my bet

“You remember our bet on reverse causality right? Well, I have found some new arguments for it. And I guess after this discussion you will owe me a few thousand credits and a treat. Now I understand that even if I produce relativistic conditions by accelerating particles closer to the speed of light, the absolute causality will be unaffected. But If I were to tell you that there are particles which can travel at less than the velocity of the light then in such a Universe, causality will be opposite of our Universe. Cause will only happen before the event. Imagine that!  ”

And he entered suddenly in my laboratory.

There is a hypothesis that there are some particles called Tachyons which constantly travel at the speed greater than light. The speed of light is a lower limit for such particles and can’t be breached. For such particles events will come before the cause and its as normal as for us to see cause happen before the event. (My brother Gaurav, however, correctly points that the definition and philosophy of their “cause” and “effect” will be different in such Universe)  I just tried to imagine what kind of intelligent life might exist in a Tachyon filled Universe. 

Message in the Bottle - Final Part

Hello Friends,

First of all i have to apologize for this very long delay in the 2nd part. Life's been quite happening since last few months - got a new job in consulting, relocated to bangalore and got stuck with hectic schedules and lots of travelling. I will now try to  keep this blog alive and update it at least once a month. 

For now, i hope you will like the final part of the story. Please give your honest comments. (Which my wife already gave me in form of grammar lessons :D )

                                                                      -Continued from Part-I-

“Wha…..What?...but how can it be?...”Now- it was my turn to stammer

“A trick once is a trick twice” It was his turn to smile

 “But I eliminated the existence of the time machine…its ….its never invented. I made sure that he finally agreed to me ..then…then how did you?..”

“Universe is not dependent on us to change its course- myself. So little was understood about time when you invented this machine. Isn’t it? Well I have made some progress in that area in last 10 years. I discovered many things …time is…its…enlightening… its a way to God’s mind...its not a simple eraser to correct your mistakes…I made a mistake by trying to correct it…and now so did you”

“But I changed the past…I changed the cause of the future which I saw happening…didn’t I?” –I asked…”Didn’t YOU?” I added suspiciously

“Yes yes..i did..i did exactly what you are doing now. I changed the course of the world but only for some time…I changed the cause but I couldn’t change the end. Time works in mysterious ways !”

“What do you mean?”

 He was 50 now and his withered face reflected what he has gone through. He took a big sigh and stared at me.

“I was very happy when I changed the course of time. Just as you are now. And so I thought. After going back I found what I expected ….time machine was not invented…I was an average man with a desk job…I had my family…I had my life back…and I was quite happy …but only for a few years. And then I received the biggest shock of my life when I found out that our dear professor has disappeared. The report was identical to what it was when I was eliminated by GRAW in the original timeline. …only the characters were different. And then I realized that….that..”

…and then it hit me.

“That he also knew about it ” – I mumbled to myself

‘Yes…you only prevented yourself from going further on those equations but the professor advanced the knowledge. And succeeded.”

And then, I was scared…not for myself or the professor but scared from the realization that Universe had corrected itself. I realized that I tried to alter something which was far beyond me. I did not realize how and why, but that happened. And then I was scared that Universe will correct itself to what would have happened. There was a bigger force of which I knew nothing about but which was always working to set things right. Maybe wrong.

“But there is way even this can be corrected. Now let me begin from the beginning and then I will tell you what to do next”

“Do what? ..now wait a minute. I came here taking a big risk to set things right..i can’t even yet absorb the fact that you are standing in front of me. I don’t understand anything now and I don’t want to mess with timeline anymore. And you too shouldn’t myself. Now keep me out of it. I will go back to my time and won’t dare change anything…whatever may happen. Moreover don’t you realize that whatever we do we won’t be able to change the future. “

“Don’t jump the gun. Listen to me patiently first. ” – He interrupted me with a serious tone in his voice

“Ok ok…I am listening”

“You remember how we thought that Universe branches out going forward in time.” – He said matter of factly

“Once you stand at a decision point in time, Universe will divide itself into multiverses corresponding to the choices you have”

“I know that much. Our choices change the variables which decide the future course of the universe. “ – I added

“Yes. In fact remember the quantum physics’ interpretation of many-states-universe where multiple Universes exist and all decisions keep splitting the universes on the basis of their probability”

 “Now since you have raised this point isn’t this the basic assumption you and me made when we tried to alter the past to change our present Universe. “ – I asked

“Yes we did. And the physics is right. But we were wrong. More specifically our interpretation of underlying physics was wrong. We failed to realize that once time machine was invented- all the border of time dissipated ..the words like past, present and future hold no sense after that. Take yourself for example…you are standing in your past talking to your future. “

“So whats your point?”

“My point is that Universe does not distinguish between time at all ! Universe in fact does not simply split going forward but it just splits. Forward and backward in time are just our notions. It’s a self aware system which only tries to maintain a consistent relationship between its various dimensions…including time.”

“The moment at which you and 10 years before you I, changed the initial conditions, Universe branched itself backwards to create alternate initial variables which resulted in the same final outcome”

“Are you saying that Universe forced the professor so that the ultimate timeline remains the same” – I was shocked at my own words.  If what my future self was saying was right then there was a deterministic universe…there was a  fate , a destiny for everything… existence of ‘The One’..even a God perhaps” – I just shuddered even imagining the physical and philosophical implications of such a discovery.

“But that means nothing can be changed. Its all decided for us?”- I managed to ask

“Yes and No. Actually here you are missing one very important point” – He smiled again. Like teasing me to solve a complex puzzle

“The change which we did…the dent which we made in the Universe…the delta we created in initial variables …took ten whole years to heal. In other words we delayed the ultimate timeline itself by 10 years. The creation of timemachine and events that followed were all delayed by 10 years. The Universe took a definite time in trying to self correct itself.”

“Had the dent been bigger or in other words had the change done by us being significantly large it would delay it even further. Think about it for a moment – a simple lecture given your past self delays the invention of time machine itself by 10 years. So theoretically…a very drastic change in initial variables will have such an impact that Universe will not be able to heal, and time machine will never be invented. Well… at least not by you or the professor”

“Which now brings me to the task of creating a bigger dent which you’ll have to do. “

“Wait a minute. I don’t agree with you. Even if you and I manage to create “a bigger dent”, how can we be sure that this time it will correct everything. We have seen that Universe corrected itself out. What if this doesn’t work. We have messed up with time too much as it is. Theres no guarantee that some other guy will not uncover those fundamentals anyway. Its quite a simple fundamental you know and the equations have been around for 100 years.”

“EXACTLY” – He smiled as if he knew that I’ll say it.

“You don’t think that you are the first person to unravel those fundamentals and build a time machine. Do you?” – He was grinning now

“I have travelled Vaibhav…I have travelled a lot…been to times unheard of…seen things in time…past and future.” – For the first time in the evening he looked tired now. There was a definite pain on his face. Pain of knowing things which should have gone unnoticed through history books. Pain of living through the times and watching the human civilization grow and probably eventually die in the course of thousands of years.

“I also thought of myself as the first time traveler of humanity….but I have met others…Yes. There were others. Some of them well before even our great-grandfather’s times. I shouldn’t tell you more about them but this is one thing you should understand- the reason why time machine did not exist before your time is because the ones before us, came to the same conclusion. They travelled and tried and experimented with time. But they realized that the only option left with them is elimination of the prime mover – the time machine. It happened again and again and again at various times and timelines without a fail. And today you too won’t fail me. All of time travelers before us made a dent on the universe …so that time-machine won’t be invented again….and today we’ll have to do the same. We will have to……”

He paused for a moment.

“….. kill the professor”

“What. Are you mad???”

“See myself…that’s the only way. We have to do this. Nothing else can prevent this from happening. All time travelers bear a responsibility…this is ours”

“But why? There should be other options. Lets try talking to him. I did that with my past self. We can do it again.”

“You think I haven’t tried that ?” – He said

“The Universe is a paradox Vaibhav. The more we try to deny it the stronger it becomes. If you delay it….a bigger dent will be required later…this is the only way…and trust me this is not the first time I am doing it.”

“Yes. You heard it right. I have done everything to bring Universe to the normalcy. It was just  hit and trial…the bigger my delta was….

“But I am very tired now” – he sighed

“….and I can’t do this on my own now. I need your help. Do you trust yourself?” – He asked

I weighed my options. What if he is wrong. But I sure was definitely not right – and he was a living proof of that. I thought about the knowledge which will never be found again. And what about those time travelers. Will they continue to try and prevent this Universe from inventing the time-machine forever. I did not have any answers but only a future self to rely upon. I guess probably this is the ultimate timeline which Universe drives. Perhaps this is what the Universe wants. But if this fails- I’ll end up like him…a time traveler trying to change the course of timeline forever. I guess he won’t want anything bad to happen to his past self.

“Ok. I’ll do it” – I said looking into his tired eyes

Message in the Bottle

I  remember this vividly. As I paddled my bicycle through dry leaves at the corner of the road, a chirpy sound perfectly echoed with the evening chatter of the birds. I loved  it......I still do. And that was precisely the time when somewhere in my mind the idea was born for the first time. As the bicycle turned towards the LASER lab, I came out of the hiding and counted again.

That was the only chance I had ....to make it right.

'This should be easy' I thought confidently. And perhaps I was right. Because I knew everything. 

I looked at my watch. I still had to talk to the Professor and the technician. And then I would get the chance of the lifetime. And so I thought. 

One more hour and i would be alone. And it would be a perfect time forthe faceoff. This could change my future. This should.

I waited patiently. 

As the sun began to set, I saw more students around the corner where i was hiding. I saw my watch again. Not yet - i told myself. 

As the evening grew darker, I pulled my hood and started walking towards the lab. The lab was a modern state-of-the-art technology building with all the science's latest marvels inside. And the first one being a retinal scanner enabled security system at the gate. 

I walked down the deserted aisles of LASER lab, i was careful to avoid any encounters. . But i knew the place was deserted except for the one person, who was working in module number 6.

As I walked down the aisle quietly towards module number 6 which was on my right hand side, my heart started pounding heavily on the anticipation of what I was going to do. 

"One small step for man...a giant leap for the mankind" Perhaps.

As I had expected the door was open. The room was dark but i could clearly see a figure on the far side of a small rectangular room sitting on a small chair. The table was lit by a small lamp and he was facing down looking Einstein's theorem.

"Vaibhav" - I called him

"Yes. Who is this" - He replied trying to adjust to the dark to see who the stranger was.

"I am afraid your work stops here" - I ordered

He was confused. “Ah! You know me” I said to myself.  

"I have taken permission from the Professor to use this lab for my work" he defended "But who are you sir?" - he asked again still trying to figure out my silhouette.

"You sure you don't know me Vaibhav? 20 years could not have changed me that much " I removed my hood and  stepped into the dim street light coming through the window.

–

And the moment arrived….the moment which the history had waited for thousands of years …the moment which was man’s greatest defiance of God …the moment which was created and was never before…dawned upon him as the biggest shock of his lifetime

  

"It.....it can't be" - He was shaking with fear and anxiety. 

"D...Don't play this on me....this is not funny" - he was clearly afraid

"Don't be afraid, Vaibhav. This is real. And i have no intentions to harm you. How can i? I am YOU Vaibhav!!!!"

"But H...How? W....Why? " Poor me. I always stammered when i was afraid. I thought.

"Wasn't this your dream? Your dream is standing in flesh in front of you. Those equations...." I pointed towards his notes. "...are the beginning. Isn't it? And you succeeded. I succeeded"

"I...I don't understand" 

"Just calm down and focus on what i am saying. Let me start from the beginning." I pulled a chair for myself as he watched cautiously.

"Who are you ?" He asked a again

"Don't ask foolish questions. Do you still have doubts? Well if you are wondering from how far i came back, i have already told you. 20 years. I am your future self from exactly 20 years, Vaibhav"

"Now let me tell you everything. I came here for a purpose. And i am going to tell you how exactly your life will go, if you continue your work."

"After the study you do on the equations and then building a prototype with entangling LASERS. You will be captured by GRAW -Global Research and Analysis Wing. They came when i achieved a theorization breakthrough for time travel. That was about 12 years ago. They then eliminated my identity and asked me to work at making a prototype. Initially i was very content. I had everything i ever wanted. But then it started to get worse. I saw things at GRAW which i shouldn't have. I realized the implications of such a power in human hands.

But I continued …and after 20 years of work I built first successful working time warp machine."

I paused. Looked him in eyes and said -

"What you see in front of yourself is the first time-traveler in the history of mankind."

And for the first time this evening, he smiled

"I...I succeeded"

"Listen to me" I shouted

“Don’t you see this? I made a big mistake. Imagine what will happen when this invention lands with dictators and terrorists. Each one of them fighting at all the fronts in time-line. Just imagine every power assassinating the ancestors of their enemies and changing the course of the world each time. The worlds will fight with each other at the fronts of time and histories will change. And the wars will be unending as no one would remain safe ....safe from his own past"

“In fact, GRAW will kill me once this first time travel succeeds......and it has. I only have this one chance to change everything

"Do you understand now ? Only you can save me . And save yourself."

"Stop this work and live. Continue and you give this world a weapon more destructive than quark bombs"

"Only you can stop the madness which will begin once i go back."

Absolute silence filled between us. I knew what he was thinking. He would be compromising on his biggest dream. His face hardened.

He stared at me. Perhaps he was measuring me as his achievement....and so i was. Same individuals ....just separated by time. He wouldill make this possible in another 20 years. But not now, I had to change things now. 

"I will stop this work future Vaibhav. But i want to know about my alternate futures. Once you go back-your past will also change. I just want to know about these 20 years which will never happen." - he said with intriguing eyes

“This alternate future is a disaster Vaibhav. I lost everything. I lost family…our family…imagine how hard it was for me to stage my own death in front of the whole world. Everyone was devastated…and I…I just stood there doing nothing. I deserted everyone…just for this dream…”

Tears begin to roll off his eyes. It was hard for me to separate from my family…to abandon them. And he understood this.

“I hope you understand now, myself” – I said

He nodded while still crying.

“Now, stop crying like a baby. You have changed your future now” – I said mockingly trying to make him laugh

“I will never change, I guess” – he said wiping his eyes and now trying to smile

"And so i'll part now. Take my advice - Enjoy your life to fullest. You won't know what you are losing till you have lost it. I am going back now. I hope everything will be changed in my time."

"But what will happen to you now?" - he asked

"Me? I will just go back in my time where everything must have been changed. My life will be different when i go back. Perhaps i'll end up in a parallel reality with another Vaibhav living a happy life. I will just have to kill him in that case" - i said with a wink and he smiled.

Knowing that i have changed the world, I departed with a lightened heart. The aisles were empty as before. I walked briskly towards the bushes in the complete dark, hoping to see a changed world in MY time. 

Suddenly i realized that someone was following me. I can't risk being detected....this will hamper the balance. I can't be found now. I started running towards the bushes where i hid my prototype. And at that moment i felt a chill in my spine when i heard that voice -

"Stop Running Vaibhav I know you are there"

"It....Can't be...." - I stammered as i turned around and realized what i was seeing

"Don't be shocked Vaibhav. This is me. 10 years could not have changed me that much." - He stood there . Smiling at me.

-End of Part I - 




Thanks a lot to Vaibhav Anand again for giving very important comments about the story. I hope i have not borrowed too much from back to the future, primer etc ;). Critical comments are most welcome.

The Rise of Kalki - Chapter 2

Dear Friends,

This final chapter was long due. Partially because i was afraid of doing injustice to a beautiful idea and partially because i thought no one was reading it ! But many thanks to Vaibhav Anand for continuously pushing me to complete the story and then painstakingly reviewing it.....thrice !

Please read the story patiently and pardon me for insufficiencies in my writing skills. Leave your criticisms so that i can improve.

Chapter 2 -The Eternal Light

“My Lord. Was that the last prayer everyone of us had done?”

“Yes Strot. Time has come when Gaia receives what she already owns”

“I am afraid your words offer more than what I am able to perceive my lord”

“There are some things which you don’t know about the new day my Trisents. You hail me as your Lord. Your savior! But there are matters when even Lord himself has to choose an impossible path. Sriram in Satyug , Krishna in Dwapar …all had to sometimes choose a path of deceit …..even God themselves are caught in this mysterious circle of life which nature has created. Well, It has happened in all the other yugas and it is happening in kalyug. Today is the day when Ishould tell you everything. Today I shall open the doors of sacred chambers my trisents. And I want you to witness it”

Sacred chambers as it was called, was the symbol of the new day. The place where Gaia emerged in her physical form with all nature at her command, was later taken by the Seas and Sands and the Trees for the next eleven days. They all came together in the shape of a mountain - where they danced fiercely - nothing could be seen except the interplay of waves of water and clouds of sands and sway of trees.

Nature was eclectic. Man was afraid. And when all went back, a dome remained- a dome which symbolized nature’s hail to Gaia. But miracle was not over. Soon, all the creatures of Gaia -the animals, small and big- and the elements stood around it as humanity watched. And before they knew, they themselves were standing among nature’s other creations which Man ruled for thousands of years. As if the world had come round the full circle, every element of Brahma was now having its own place in the eyes of Gaia…exactly as when it all began.

But there was only one creature which Gaia found worthy to enter the sacred chambers, and today he himself was opening its doors for his followers.

“Gaia wishes me to do this alone. But my Strot and Trisents deserve to know the truth” – Lord offered as he walked and lead others to a narrow paved path to the sacred chambers.

As always a mystic radiance emerged from the chambers, but today something was very different about it. Trisents, who always felt chambers to be a place of solace , a place where everyone felt close to Gaia, realized that perhaps it was meant for a higher purpose.

‘Kalki chose an “impossible path” to end the cycle…and the chambers is the way to do it? Perhaps chambers is way to complete what Gaia left – the annihilation of mankind! But Lord? Why Him?‘ – Trisents thought

As Kalki went close to one of the walls of sacred chambers, the radiance nearly engulfed him, and then as if guided by an unknown force , others followed him to what now seemed like an opening in the chambers which they had never seen before. As they moved towards it they felt an extraordinary calm inside their hearts. It was as if all their sorrows and all their pains were lifted, if all the fears had been precipitated away from them. They felt as if they were merely observers of their own sufferings and were distant from them.

Once they were inside the chambers, the absolute majesty of what they saw uplifted calmness of their hearts to pure ecstasy. The chambers reflected grandeur of nature in its best. Now they realized what it meant when nature danced in the form of Sands and Waters and Trees for eleven days ….Nature had created her masterpiece.

On chamber’s walls there were mysterious patterns filled with divine colors made by Elements themselves. They could see the sands moving through the patterns and the waters paving way for her. They could feel the divine music on which the Elements danced. They could see the waves of Waters on the walls as if it was flowing in a river ...they could see the sand storms swirling over their heads.

As their eyes followed the dome’s curvature, they noticed a cone of light emerging from the zenith of the chambers. When they looked closely they saw that the source of light was an eclipsing sun! It was as if Gaia wanted to create another Universe inside the chambers.

The nature’s biggest miracle was coming true in the chambers…and only a few eyes to witness it.

The eclipsing sun illuminated the staff standing tall just underneath it at the centre of the dome. The staff echoed the patterns on the wall. It was a mesmerizing sight and though they hadn’t seen it before they realized that the staff was the reason Kalki brought them there.

And it took Lord Kalki’s voice to wake them from the spell which the chambers had cast upon them - “My dear Strot,Primus,Prathus,Alphus! I shall tell you everything now.”

“Listen to me carefully. All of you know that Gaia did come to annihilate the Man on the new day. She brought with her all the nature’s powers unknown to Man, and then Lord came to help him..”

“Yes my Lord. Lord made Gaia forgive us” – Primus interrupted

“But my dear Primus. I couldn’t”

These words brought upon a stunning silence in the chambers. The only sound that could be heard was swirling of sands and waves of water. …but it was nothing before the storms what Trisents and Strot felt inside their hearts.

“I quite understand that you have questions. But listen, and you might not have to ask them.

I did ask for forgiveness for the Mankind at first. I argued that Man would learn. I told her that Man was her greatest creation…but she …she told me that Man’s existence was unjust for her other creations. And she was right…as long as Man has reasons to realize their individuality, their awareness of self-ego, there will be wars. Except Man, no other creature has the power of self realization as strong. Gaia gave this power to him to make him the guardian of the nature’s other creations. …But Man did exactly the opposite. His capacity of self realization and highest degree of consciousness which was second only to Gaia herself, …such a gift…and Man wasted it. “

Lord continued –“Man’s consciousness is the source of his selfishness my friends. He will never truly understand his part in Gaia’s world. And he will always be a threat to her.

This staff is made by Elements themselves. It has the Gaian threads to all the creations in this world, and they live in harmony and peace. But only one thread will make this staff complete and after that Man will be a part of Gaia. Fellow Gaians, I offered Gaia the consciousness of Man on the new day. Once I complete this staff…rest of humanity will become one with Gaia. We will share the pain and joy, sorrow and happiness, death and rebirth with Gaia herself. On the new day I gave Gaia Man’s consciousness for his eternal happiness“

“No…My lord…..No.” Primus said with a deep sadness in his voice.

“You traded man’s existence for his free will” – He continued

“Gaia would have punished us for our deeds…but to save our lives you gave away our consciousness? Lord what is a life without the realization of its own existence? ”

Lord smiled – “My dear Primus. I did not trade Man’s free will …I brought harmony of his consciousness with Gaia. Man will truly become a Gaian….and his will will work for the Gaia and not against her”

“Look around you my lord….everyone lives in harmony…they are all one already. You have said in your prayers that Man has become a Gaian now. My Lord they have faith in you….as long as you are here all Gaians live in peace. Now you are the only God for us.”

“Fear unites them Primus. Not peace but fear. They all live in peace now as they fear their past. They fear another new day. They themselves created God to justify their fear. Religion was nothing but an instrument to unite people…with fear. Every religion Primus,….every religion …had Heaven and Hell, Swarg and Nark, Jannat and Jahannum. Man was united by the fear of God….and faith of afterlife. This balance was only broken when religions were brought against one another. You say that I am their only Lord now….but till when Primus? Once the new day will have become a myth and Kalki a legend….what then? It will only be time when we go back on the same path again. This was the past …..and this will be the future. I only wish to break this circle of Satyug and Kalyug…after what we do here today…it will not be just another Satyug…but it will be an eternal harmony for all Gaians.”

“But Lord, shall peace be justified at the cost of free will? I still have hopes from the Mankind….and I can’t let this happen” –Primus suddenly jumped towards Kalki with a dagger in his hand.

Silence.

As the dagger went deep into the flesh, the blood began to flow down…turning the flawless floor of the dome into a deep red carpet.

Tears flowed down from the eyes of Lord Kalki and Primus alike as the Strot’s body twisted with pain.

“Why did you…” …Lord said with tears in his eyes and Strot in his arms

“I had to my Lord. You were right….Man will always be amongst us.” Strort said pointing towards Primus.

“ I….I …let myself do this ! What have I done Strot..what have I done. Perhaps you are right. ”– Primus said with eyes full of tears and looking at his own hands red in blood. “Now I understand my lord. Evil is the cost of free will”

“Lord, Please do it – I want to be one with Gaia before I die” – Strot uttered as blood continued to abandon his veins…

“Yes my dear friend”

As lord Kalki moved towards the staff Prathus and Alphus stood near Strot taking his last breaths and Primus on his knees crying for the one last crime of the mankind.

Lord Kalki turned towards them, spread his arms….closed his eyes before looking at his followers for the one last time.

“It is time” – he said

Kalki’s forehead began to glow brightly as the eclipsing sun’s light engulfed the staff …the last thread of Gaian staff was to get completed. Suddenly there was a bright flash and Alphus,Prathus and Primus were blinded by the light. Moments later…when they opened their eyes…Lord was not there…only the staff now emanating more brightly than ever.

“We are one with Gaia now. Should we tell the others?” – Prathus asked

‘They already know. Now ,they are us.” – Alphus answered.

The Rise of Kalki

Hello Friends,

This is my first attempt at science fiction. The idea has been brewing in my mind since last couple of months and was initially meant only to be a short story. But as the story progressed i realised that it deserved at least two chapters. Please provide constructive criticism. For beginners - Kalki is prophesized to be the 10th and last avatar of lord vishnu, and the only one in the age of Kalyug. According to the myths, he will stand on this earth to destroy all evil and pave the way for Satyug again.

Regards,

Vaibhav

Chapter 1 : Of Dark and Light

Year 2010 – France bans burqa in public. Islamic Institutions all over the world protest.

Year 2011 – French president assassinated against Fatwa issued by Taliban Leaders

Year 2012 – “War on terror” begins with religious undertones. 47 countries join in against fight with 8 nations.

Year 2015 – After 3 years of guriella war. Radicalists call for extreme steps.

Year 2016 - “The last Jihad” begins.

Year 2017 – Nuclear arms used by Jehadis as a last resort. 1/3 rd world population is swiped off the planet. Another 1/3 rd suffers from radioactivity.

Year 2019 – War erupts between remaining humanity to capture weapons, safe food and water.

Year 2020 – The world goes back 5000 years as only 1% of original population remains

Year 2025 – Boy named Kalki is born.

Year 2040 – He declares the abolition of religion as core cause of wars

Year 2050 – 6^th Feburary . Unimaginable happens. Later called The New Day (Year 01 of Kalki)

The New Day – Gaia in form of Waters and Sands appeared in its final and true form. Waters of Seas rose so high that it even eclipsed the high sun. Sands decided to remove itself from the Man’s feet. Forests and animals who had obeyed and helped Man to conquer themselves, stood against him for the first time. Mountains who once gave shelter to Man became his nightmares.

And then…the Lord appeared. A man, who he was not – stood against Gaia. Asked for forgiveness for all of the mankind. Asked for one more chance. He asked the Gaia – the soul of the earth, to give Man a chance to serve Gaia. …And She did.

Waters receded. Sands went back to the deserts. Trees went back to the forest.

Kalki made nature forgive Man the very last time.

“Lord, the Gaians wait you for your morning prayer. It might have come to Lord’s notice that Gaians from the west have also come to participate today.”

“Twenty Years . Tell me Strot. You have seen the great wars. You have also witnessed the Dark Days. Tell me – how was it. How was the Man ? Have we really succeeded? Are the Men truly Gaians now?”

“Now my lord? The Gaians await for you. The day which the whole Gaia waited for has finally come” Strot looked at his lord whom he has served for a long time. But today for the first time he saw a strange deepness into his young face.

“I need to know. I need to know if this is what we deserve from ParamShakti. If there are still Men among us, I may fail. Gaians don’t know what awaits them.”

Strot’s sixty year old face showed no signs of emotions. One of the very last Gaians of his age, who saw the world’s order changed in his lifetime. He never thought that a normal Indian teenager would see world going to dark age and see its complete devastation in youth. Now called Strot – a name given by Lord Kalki himself signifying him as his source of knowledge and wisdom, never dreamt that he would be the part of making of a legend. He spoke with a heaviness in his voice –

“Lord, I was among those Men who lived in dark times. Times when religion brought differences and not harmony among people. Doom was imminent, but no one thought it was that close. The last war was not fought for Man’s greed …it was fought for survival. I have seen friends changing to worst enemies during the battle. I have seen wives murdering their own husband for few grains for their children. There was no God left. No religion. Men died the very day my lord. And Gaia was born. “

“I have chosen a wise advisor for the Lord. Stand-up Strot – we must do what we must do”

As Kalki moved towards the veil of the stage , Strot followed.

On the other side of the veil stood a gathering of thousands. Every Gaian looked towards the Lord who brought them from the dark times. Lord, who stood to remind humanity of what its purpose was. He showed them the ways to rise above their survivalist instincts. He showed them the true meaning of oneness and religion, of love and faith, of feeling the pain- of self and others.

The three Gaia leaders Alphus, Prathus and Primus who came from across the world, bowed down to the Lord. Their names were also given by the lord to signify them as the world leaders called Trisents.

Kalki addressed his three leaders first – “Today we stand for the new world my Trisents. You all have served the Gaia very well. You have shown that Gaia deserves you. But after this, we will exhaust our threads to the past, however dark it may be. So I want to ask you….all of you my trisents. Are there any Men among us.”

It was Primus who spoke first – “Lord might know what is wise for the Gaia. Lands of Forests are at peace. Trees and animals and Gaians live harmoniously. I think we are ready for the New World.”

“Alphus?”

“Yes my Lord. Sands and Mountains hail the Lord’s ways”

“My dear Prathus. Are Waters of Seas wish to trust us again” – Lord asked

‘My Lord. I know you trust you trisents for advise. Gaia has been kind to us all along….even in the Dark days. But if we fail her again, I fear even Lord himself will not save us like he did on The New Day”

“Yes Prathus. Your words lead truth. Dark days are past us. But Man has always proved us wrong. And…..“ – Trisents and Strot waited for the next words of Kalki. His eyes trying to probe all three leaders, perhaps questioning their faith on Him and ultimately Paramshakti. He looked different. He looked through the silence to search for words.

It was Strot who came forward to break the silence. – “Your prayer my lord”

“Yes…Yes. Of course." He paused and looked directly into the eyes of his Trisents - "And this could very well be the last prayer of humanity in its full conscience.”

- End of Chapter 1 –