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GOD of a man
Eternity Versus Eternity
“Those who surrender, their posterity are deprived
of pride by the history, respect by their present, and honour by their future.”
Chapter Twenty Seven: Lice
Dated: 24th December, 2459
Folklores
are never written about people born into privilege, with a dais ready for them
to step on to and be heard right from their birth. Folklores are written about
ordinary people who stand up against the flow of events in an imbecile society.
They make simple decisions rooted in conscience, to create a chain of extra-ordinary
events, and thus leave behind a history their posterity is proud of. And it is the
pride vested in their genealogy that gives the posterity its’ due status in the
society, or otherwise the guts to fight for it were it to be denied by their
peers. It is history which gives strength to fight the demons of the present,
and earn a place of prominence in the future.
Silence
is not surrender, but giving up the fight is. And those who surrender neither
get honour from their enemies, nor the respect of their kin. It is better to be
consumed in the quest for glory, than taking the easy exit. Brave are remembered,
cowards loathed! However, to fight unto the end requires courage born only out
of a firm belief in what is at stake. When what is at stake is much more
important than life, the battlefield becomes home, the battle life, and glory
partner.
Toughest
battles are those when the norms and beliefs of a society are challenged by an
enlightened soul. They are tough for it is not easy to convince a society to
even reassess its’ beliefs, leave alone impressing upon it to make them over
completely. Society prefers to doubt the intelligence and intentions of the one
challenging its’ beliefs, for the truth he speaks makes them uncomfortable. It
is hard for anyone to accept they were wrong. It is much easier to silence a
dissenting voice. However progress, whether scientific or social, has always
only been achieved through the efforts of either a rebellious intelligence, or
a revolutionary idea, that dared challenge the norms prevalent in their
society. Galileo had to die for questioning the belief that Sun revolved around
the earth. Columbus had to address more than one king’s court to get the money
to set on a voyage that established the world is round, and not flat. Democracy
was achieved after much bloodshed and struggles. But once some gain has been
made, it needs to be consolidated and protected, lest it were to be lost again.
New Saisho has a virtue that has been the instrument behind its’ close knit,
free and peaceful society. A handful of greedy people are however intent on
altering its’ future for the worst, for their vested interests. One frail body
with a strong mind stands in between tonight.
The
dark does not have an existence of its’ own. What is dark is so because of the
absence of light. And light may travel in a line as straight as a sword, but it
works like a drill, digging a tunnel right through the heart of the dark. The
small lights of the electric car were enough to create a hole in the night, for
the car to run head on into it. Jenny had the advantage of a head start, but the
enemy was closing in fast. Before Jenny knew, the enemy was upon her.
She
had barely driven past the turn-off for the out-of-bound suburbs when ‘Slipknot’
pulled his big vehicle next to her tiny one. She turned her head around and
looked in his eyes for the first time. He on his part gave her a big weird
smile, tilting his head like an owl, before he turned his vehicle in and sharp
towards Jenny’s car, almost pushing it off the road. Jenny pressed hard on the
brake pedal to avoid getting pushed into the ditch by the side of the road.
Slipknot immediately cut across her and turned his vehicle at ninety degrees,
bringing it to a halt in a way so as to block the road ahead. He immediately
jumped out of his vehicle and lunged towards Jenny’s car, who immediately
reversed it back, turned it around, and turned off towards the out-of-bounds
area. Slipknot immediately returned to his vehicle that had died down by the
time, and luckily for Jenny, refused to start up again as he repeatedly turned
the ignition key around.
Jenny
meanwhile was on her way, driving as fast as she could. She wanted to turn off
at one of the shortcuts she knew, but strangely though, she couldn’t find the
road anymore. She pulled out her mobile and dialled the emergency number ‘One
hundred’. The voice at the other end answered, “Emergency services. Do you need
police, fire or ambulance?”
“Police,”
Jenny replied as she frantically looked in her rear-view mirror to check how
far her pursuers were. She noticed Slipknot’s vehicle just turning onto the
road she was on, and another vehicle could be seen driving down the road from
the ‘House of Faith’.
“This
is New Saisho Police station. How may I help you?” the voice on the phone
sought her attention.
“Hello,
I need help,” Jenny frantically shouted back, “Someone is trying to kill me.
Please send someone immediately.”
“What
is your current location?” the officer at the other end asked without the need
of any identification or details, as was the protocol for emergency calls.
“I
don’t know the names of the streets I am on, for I never lived here, but I know
my way through it,” Jenny knew her reply wasn’t going to be very helpful, so
she tried to explain the best she could, “But I am in my car heading towards
the city via the out-of-bounds area, and being hotly pursued by some dangerous
people in two bigger and faster vehicles.”
“Sorry,
did I hear you correctly?” the officer wanted to confirm something, “Did you
say you were in the out-of-bounds area of the town?”
“Yes,
that’s right officer,” Jenny replied.
“Sorry
lady, in that case we won’t be able to help you,” the officer refused flatly,
“We are under strict government orders, not to venture into that area under any
circumstances including worst emergency.”
“How
can you even say that? It is your job to protect every citizen of New Saisho,” Jenny
was expectedly incensed.
“I
am sorry, but all I can do at the moment is convey the information to the
senior on duty,” the officer replied, “He is the only one who has the authority
to override this order. But it will take some time.”
“I
don’t have time,” Jenny replied, “They are gaining on me with every second.”
“We
are sorry but you are on your own for the moment. But don’t worry, we will
return to you as soon as we can,” the officer’s reply shocked Jenny, leaving
her speechless and dry throated.
In
real world even the most perfect situation is a volatile mix of imperfect
conditions. Commonsense recommends standardising working procedures to ensure a
smooth workflow across a wide array of circumstances, and to ensure a quick
response to any sudden changes. However being prepared for any eventuality does
not necessarily means an immunity against loss under all circumstances, but can
also include a willingness to accept a certain level of loss depending upon the
severity of the surprise.
“Why
are you sitting in the dark?” Anne asked the President as she switched on the
light of his study.
“Is
it night already?” President asked a bit surprised as his pensive trance was
finally broken.
“It’s
been night for hours now,” Anne said as she walked next to his chair and knelt
beside it, putting her gentle hands on his weary arm resting on the arm-rest.
“I
didn’t realize,” President Shoji Katsuo answered, “I had been sitting here
since late afternoon.”
“What’s
the matter? Something’s bothering you,” Anne asked.
“I
never thought it will all end like this,” President said remorsefully as if
fate was his making, “All the years of hard work, all the sacrifices, it all
boils down to a situation that reminds us once and for all; you are just
human.”
“Yes
we are,” Anne tried to comfort him, “And we fight.”
“Yes
we do,” President said with a heavy breath. He then got up and walked to the
centre table in the study and picked up a file labelled confidential. “Its’
time to shortlist and prepare your team for evacuation. The mission will depart
on twenty fifth of March next year, the last day of our earth,” President said
as he held out the file for Anne to take it, “This file contains a list of
technical and professional skills that the candidates need to posses in order
to be considered for this mission. The number of spaces on the craft are only
limited, so they all will be allowed to bring along only one member of their
families. No relaxation will be allowed regarding the health and age
requirements. The confidentiality of this mission is to be maintained at all times
by your entire team including yourself, and not even the closest family members
are to be informed until the day the team is officially required to assemble
for embarking, and that too until after the actually boarding.”
“What
do you mean by my team,” Anne asked a bit surprised as she took the file from
his hand. She opened the file to have a look, and a quick read of the very
first line of the very first page left her shocked and speechless. She turned
her head up and looked straight in his eyes as her breath paused. A tear rolled
down her cheek. “No you can’t,” and she broke down as she rushed to hug her
uncle.
A
society’s bane is not the people who do the wrong thing, but the rest of the
society when it fails to reprimand them. There will always be people who will
abuse the system for selfish ends. The system will however collapse only when the
rest of the society will choose to turn a blind eye to their act, either hoping
the things will rectify themselves, or hoping that someone else will fix it for
them. The world is made a place worth living in by the significant numbers who
do the right thing. If things start deteriorating, the degradation never halts.
Rather it keeps building on, corrupting everybody one by one till there is no
one left doing the right thing. That is when a society collapses. If it weren’t
for the people who rise up above personal interests and sufferings, to
re-ignite the torch of morality and values in the society every now and then,
humanity would have degraded to animal behaviour long time back.
Having
been refused any immediate help by the emergency services, and an adversary
gaining upon her with each passing second, all hope seemed to have been lost
for Jenny. Her phone dropped from her hand and she started crying. There was
only one last avenue left to be tapped; Elle, her old classmate. She
immediately picked up her phone and called her. As she waited impatiently for
Elle to answer her call, to her horror, she noticed a huge ditch in the middle
of the road in front. It hadn’t been there previously but must have formed as a
result of the space tears afflicting the area. The street was dark, and her
car’s headlights weren’t bright enough to have forewarned her adequately. She
braked hard and tried to swerve to a side but it was too late. The car skidded
off the road to plunge into the four feet deep ditch and overturned. Luckily
though, since she had her seat belt on and had almost brought her car to a
halt, she escaped without getting seriously hurt.
Jenny
quickly gathered her wits together, undid her seat belt, kicked open her door,
and crawled out. Elle’s voice meanwhile could be heard on her phone’s speaker.
As Jenny picked up her phone from the car, she had the presence of mind to turn
the car and its’ lights off, so as to hide her location from her suitor and buy
some time. She finally answered in a whisper, “Hello Elle, it’s me, Jenny.
Please help me! They are going to kill me too.”
“Jenny,
where are you and who is going to kill you,” Elle was shocked by the
information.
“I
don’t know who they are,” Jenny replied, her voice shaking with fear as she
found the courage to crane her neck out of the pit to have a look at her
pursuer, “I saw them talking to Granger and Norman at the ‘House of Faith’. I
don’t know what they did to Reverend Ferdinand, but I heard them talking about
taking care of the old man, and also planning to get rid of me.”
“Don’t
you worry Jenny, for nobody will be able to even lay their hand on you,” Elle’s
reply was charged with self belief, “Just tell me where you are right now and I
will be there in no time.”
“I
am in the out-of-bounds area,” Jenny replied, “I even called the police station
but the person on the phone refused to help me, saying they are under strict
orders to not enter this area at any cost. Please Elle save me, or they will
kill me. Oh here he comes! I better keep moving.”
“Out-of-bounds
area,” Elle was left speechless for a moment, but finally found courage to
answer the call of her duty, “Don’t worry love, I will save you. You just hold
on. I’m on my way.”
True
strength does not reside in physical structure, but it rather comes from
beliefs. Love is stronger than the sword, for a man holding a sword may not
have the guts to face a mob wielding sticks, but an unarmed man in love can
take on the whole world alone. Blessed are those whose hearts are full of love
and belief, for they will never have a weak moment in life.
Other
than an old wall clock ticking away the time, there was nothing much of
interest on the wall opposite the couch. Even the television set in front of it
was not on. Yet there was something that had the Captain’s attention caught for
good. As Bradley came out of his open-eyed dream, he looked at his bandaged
hand. The dark grey shade had started to spread out from underneath the cover.
He finally gathered the courage to take his bandage off and have a firsthand
look at his wound. His wound had healed completely, but the colour of his skin
had turned grey. No it wasn’t a mole, but it was as firm as the sole of his
feet. He looked at it for some more time before finally calling his heart.
“Hello
Captain,” the sweet voice answered from the other end, “I am glad you still
remember me.”
“Were
I blind not to know your face, my ears would never let me forget your voice,”
Bradley replied, “Were I deaf to not know your voice, my skin would never let
me forget your touch, and if I couldn’t feel, then I would be dead anyway!”
“Wow,
I didn’t know you were a poet,” Suzanne teased him again.
“Doctor,
can I have some of your time,” Captain asked.
“You
can have a couple of minutes Captain,” Suzanne replied.
“A
couple won’t be enough for me to live a day,” Bradley replied.
“Well,
a doctor can only find so much time to share with a patient Captain, for a
doctor is for all,” Suzanne replied.
“But
every patient is not the same doctor,” Bradley quipped.
“But
then every doctor may not be the specialist a patient needs Captain,” Suzanne
teased him.
“But
the only specialist this patient needs is the one he is talking to right now,”
Bradley played on as well.
“Ain’t
you a spoilt little child Captain?” Suzanne joked.
“If
I am then I only want the candy that I have my eyes on,” Bradley replied.
“What
if someone else steals this child’s candy,” Suzanne asked.
“They
won’t grow to see how they will look like as adults,” Bradley quipped.
“That
is bullying,” Suzanne replied.
“Whatever
works,” Bradley answered.
“You
can see the doctor tomorrow, but I don’t know about the candy yet,” Suzanne
teased him.
“As
long as I get to see the doctor, I will find a way to steal my candy,” Bradley
replied.
There
was a brief blissful silence before Suzanne finally replied, “I will keep the
candy safe behind a lock and key for this little child.”
Safety
and duty have never made it together in the same sentence unless the sentence
reflects upon the mutual exclusivity of the two. Duty cannot be fulfilled
without disregarding personal safety, and absolute safety cannot be achieved
without discarding duty. The choice made by the performer of the action
determines whether they will be remembered or ridiculed.
“This
is Senior Investigator Elle Wilson calling base,” Elle contacted her base as
she pressed the race pedal of her car down to the floor, “I am heading towards
the ‘City Council of Peacock on the Hill’ and I need back-up.”
“City
Council of Peacock on the Hill, but Ma’am, that area has been declared
out-of-bounds for everyone,” the operator at the other end hesitatingly pointed
out.
“This
is an emergency directly linked to the disappearance of Reverend Ferdinand, and
with another life at stake,” Elle responded, “I need immediate back-up. Send in
the chopper.”
“But
Ma’am we have orders from above, not to venture into that area under no
circumstances,” the operator politely reminded her.
“I
am your senior who has the authority to issue or modify any standing orders in
case of an emergency,” Elle reminded him her authority, “I order you to
dispatch a back-up team right away.”
“Yes
ma’am,” the other side copied the orders.
Meanwhile
Slipknot had reached the ditch where Jenny’s vehicle had overturned. After
spotting the car in the ditch he pulled out his night vision goggles and took on
foot.
“Hello
sweaty, where are you?” he spoke in a mocking tone, “Papa’s home cutie pie.”
Jenny
only had the faint light of her mobile phone to guide her steps through the gravely
altered terrain of the ‘City Council of Peacock on the Hill’, and to add to it
she had to make sure it doesn’t attract her enemy’s attention. But negotiating
one tricky turn around a pile of rubble left behind by a collapsed house, much
of which had vanished through a space tear, she twisted her ankle. It forced an
involuntary shriek out of her mouth, drawing Slipknot’s attention towards her
location.
“Oh
there you are,” Slipknot exclaimed as he spotted his victim, “I see you baby.
Papa’s coming for you.” And he made a dash towards her location.
Scared,
Jenny made a run for life, and in the process lost her mobile in the rubble
somewhere. Now she only had the faint night sky to help her negotiate her
escape. But Slipknots infra-red vision gave him the perfect view of his target.
Had it not been the piles of rubble dispersed in between houses, Jenny would
have been caught in no time.
Meanwhile
Elle was desperately trying to contact Jenny on her mobile phone now. Unable to
make any contact with her, all sorts of bad things crossed her mind as she pulled
up right behind Slipknot’s vacant vehicle. Unknown to her, a bit further
behind, Viper had also arrived in his vehicle, as he had guessed by the urgency
of Elle’s vehicle as to where his mercenary and adversary have headed to.
Elle
immediately jumped out of her car and used her shoulder radio to contact the
base immediately, “Senior Investigator reporting from the field; a suspect
vehicle located, an army four wheel drive bearing no number plate for
identification. The vehicle fits the description of the vehicle whose track
marks were found at the ‘House of Faith’. Do you copy?”
“Message
copied Ma’am,” her junior at the other end replied, “Are there any suspects in
the vehicle or in its’ vicinity?”
“Negative!
No one inside the vehicle or around it,” Elle reported back as she flashed her
torch light inside the vehicle, “Where is the back-up?”
“Departing
in under thirty seconds Ma’am,” the operator replied.
Walking
around the vehicle Elle had meanwhile noticed Jenny’s overturned vehicle as
well, “Another vehicle spotted, belonging to one Miss Jenny. The vehicle has
turned over and no one’s inside. Looks like the victim has taken on foot, with
the suspect, or suspects, following her. I am going in pursuit. Tell the back-up
to hurry up.”
As
she finished her orders and turned around, she was waylaid by a shadow that had
snuck up behind her. Shocked by the sudden act, she didn’t even get a chance to
react and an eight inch long knife was through her heart. Her breath got stuck
in her throat as the torch fell from her hand. Her hand tried to reach for her
gun but the man’s firm hand grabbed her hand and the gun right where they were hanging
around her hip-holster. The man’s other hand forcefully tried to push the knife
blade through her chest upwards. As she quickly lost her strength, with very
feeble hands she tried to stop the movement of the knife, but her body
collapsed on to the ground. Viper knelt down besides her, his knife still deep
down her chest as he twisted it around. Elle’s hands fell by her side as her
body shook softly. Not even a squeak escaped her lips as her life slowly crept
out of her body. Viper disconnected the shoulder piece of her wireless set from
the main piece hanging by her hip.
“Lice;
we are the lice that infect earth. Just like the lice that infects our heads
and body, feeding off our body and scalp, destroying our hair, we are parasites
of this earth, feeding off its’ resources shamelessly, and destroying it with
our imprudence,” Viper commented with a merciless, expressionless face, “Mother
Earth through the forces of nature at its’ disposal, like earthquakes, tsunamis
and tornadoes, tries hard to clean itself up, but we are too resilient. So it
is really very important for nature lovers like me, to take up the cause of our
great mother in our own hands. So how can a lice killing lice be a crime? After
all, what I am doing is helping mother earth get rid of some of the parasites!”
Elle’s
body fell motionless, her eyes still wide open. Viper pulled out his knife and
wiped it off with Elle’s uniform. He put his hand on her eyes and shut them, “Thirty
Two!”
He
got up and turned around, only to spot a helicopter lifting off from New Saisho
and appearing to be headed their way. He looked around to spot either Slipknot
or Jenny. He noticed Slipknot far away. “Damn,” expletives slipped out of his
mouth as he realized the dangerous situation they were in, their cover ready to
be blown away.
He
looked around to find a way when he noticed a big space tear opening up just a
few feet away from Slipknot’s vehicle. He immediately rushed to Slipknot’s
vehicle, turned it’s ignition on, and drove it straight towards the space tear.
Just before the vehicle hit the space tear, he bailed out of it leaving the
vehicle to be sucked up into another universe, thus destroying the direct piece
of evidence in case of an eventuality arising.
He
then rushed back to his own vehicle, turned it’s ignition on but turned all its’
lights off. He pulled out his own night vision goggles and drove in a mad rush
towards the area where he had spotted Slipknot a few moments back. He finally spotted
his man searching for their target, “We’ve got company. Make sure you find the
bitch and kill her, and also make sure this filthy body of yours is never found
by anyone, dead or alive.”
“Don’t
worry about me,” Slipknot answered, “You get out of here.”
Jenny
witnessed this from behind a pile of rubble. As Viper drove away and Slipknot
continued his search, moving towards where she was, she tried to back off
slowly, taking shelter behind the rubble to escape detection through Slipknot’s
night vision goggles. As fate would have it, her foot slipped off the edge of a
pit and she rolled down into it. A pile of dirt also rolled on top of her.
Scared
she tried to remove the sand of her face, so as to be able to breath, but a
heavy hand fell on her neck. She shrieked out in fear as she crawled away. But
it wasn’t a hand attached to a living body. It was a hand that belonged to
someone put to sleep underground forever. And in the faint light of the night
sky she identified the ring on one of the fingers, “Reverend!” Her jaw dropped
and tears rolled down her eyes. For a moment she forgot all about the death she
was running away from. She folded her face in her palms and sobbed a bit until the
sound of a heavy breathing just above the ground behind her caught her attention.
Slipknot
giggled in a weird scary tone, “Got you babe!”
Jenny
got up in a flash and tried to run out of the pit from the other end, but this
time Slipknot was quick as he leapt across the pit and grabbed Jenny from her
hair. He mercilessly pulled her back and landed a hard heavy slap on her face, “Try
running from this bitch.” And the frail body of Jenny rolled down the pit once
again.
“I
am glad you found your resting spot yourself, right next to your so beloved old
man,” Slipknot said, “Saves me the hassle of dragging your dead meat here.”
“Please
don’t do it,” Jenny pleaded, “What wrong have I done to you?”
Slipknot
laughed at her pleadings as he pulled out his knife. “You are crying as if I am
going to give you a baby,” he commented shamelessly, “You should thank me bitch,
for I am setting you free.” And as Jenny pleaded with him again, he leapt in air,
his knife pointing at Jenny, “Get ready to die bitch!” A scared Jenny fell flat
on her back, as if trying to merge into the ground to escape the sharp blade
headed straight towards her heart. But before the blade could even scratch her,
a space tear opened right above Slipknot’s falling frame, sucking him into it
instantly.
And
as the hole grew in size Jenny watched in horror, Slipknot getting asphyxiated
due to lack of oxygen, not even a sound escaping his emptied lungs. And then suddenly
Slipknots’ body was pulled to a side as if a large heavenly body had sucked him
due to gravity.
As
the hole grew bigger and got closer to Jenny, she got the first glimpse of the
dark, huge and monstrous space beyond it. As scary as the vastness on the other
side of the tear was, as scary was the suction trying to pull Jenny into it as
well. So close did the tear grow, had Jenny not held her breath, her rising
bosom would have pushed her into it. And had the tear not closed at the moment
it did, Jenny would have lost control over her breath anyway.
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