Anu and Sam were surprised to see their portion of the chamber empty. It was fully lined with gravel but were well lit from the top. It looked just like another closed cabin from all sides but had air supply, that they didn’t suffocate.
“I think we took the wrong door.” Anu could only arrive at only one conclusion seeing her surrounding.
“Shall we get out? Swim to the one in which Sanu would have gone?”
“Yes, we must but need to know the water level and timing before opening this again. Else we would drown ourselves.”Sam commented.
The only way left before them was to seek advice from their master which they couldn’t. They were shocked to find that the most advanced device of their time wasn’t functioning inside the chamber.
“I think we are away from the satellite and so trapped.” Sam couldn’t think much fantasies behind the sudden conversion of their digics in to just a watch which shows time.
“Let’s check here thoroughly before going other way. It must be lit for some reason.” Anu suddenly made her mind to stay and they began scratching each corner of the cabin.
After a while, Anu noticed that there was an electrified cable on its roof which delivered shock on her wet hands. After further exploration in the gravel, sam found out a screen removing grit over its steel door in which he could fit his own palm comfortably.
A door appeared on one dead end and as it opened slowly, spraying smile to both their faces. Behind the door was well furnished cab awaiting them.
“Hurray, it happened to be like our metro station.” They hugged each other and decided to enter in to it though they never knew where would itblead to.
Once they were in and sam gave his palm over another plate over its window, it speeded up like a bullet. Before they could stop their scream they were at their destination with the monitor showing 240 kilometers of run.
“It was dreadful, sorry amazing.” Anu screamed aloud when the doors were again opened.
They stepped out in to the gravel and looked around if they could get some idea where they were. There a man in white gown was waiting for them at the corner of the room.
“Send the cab back with your palm and follow me.” He said and opened another door which took them to a room which exactly looked like their dean’s office as if painted white.
“Lion’s den it is.” Anu spoke to her boyfriend as she had gone inside it.
“Not exactly. But a replica of what you have mentioned. I am Roy, K.L. Roy.” The man with the darkest moustache they had ever seen started speaking himself.
“You must be Sam as your palm print showed and you are?” He asked pointing to anu who remained excited at her visit.
“Sir, I am Anu. Granddaughter of Dr. Gauri Das.”
“Oh I see, you shouldn’t have spelled her name so quick.” Roy looked her with a vicious smile and guided them to his next room might be to provide them a perfect stay.
************************************************
“Sir, I have heard about you before.” Anu said once they were taking their lunch alongside the young host.
“How would you know? I have never been in to meluha myself.” Roy who was handsome with his jet black hair and olive oil complexion made a look at her for the first time during the meal.
“I saw a letter to you written by comrade Shahid from our dean’s computer in which you were addressed Lt.Gen Roy.”
“So you were send by his son Guruji, I suppose.”
“Yes sir, we need to know what this chamber lax is all about.” Sam asked.
“And if you won’t mind, reason behind your ever sustained youth. According to hymns you must be in your nineties.”Anu complimented so as to provoke him in to their topic of interest.
“If my wife would've ever heard this, she would have showered you with curses, ha ha!!”
“You are all here for a purpose which you would gradually realise. Before talking about it I would like to know how much you are aware of Meluha.” He started looking serious as he was getting them in to something important.
“Sir, the country where we are from. We are from its city called Hariyupa.” Sam gave him the most obvious reply.
“I needed something more.”
“Sorry sir we are not well versed in history or linguistics.“
“That’s alright. Now you need to listen to me carefully. Have you heard about a festival called onam?”
“Yes, my grandma had once told about it. Years back when we had religions in the land we used to celebrate this festival to welcome some king called ‘Mahabali’.” Anu volunteered to answer this time as she was aware about it.
“Yes it is. People in a small state called kerala in a country called India, used to believe that they were under a judicious ruler by the name. It was a remark for their belief that there was an age, where people lived in harmony. A ray of hope they showered on their offsprings, that good days would come again.
Similarly people in Europe, one among the five continents of 'Yester earth' believed of existence of an imaginary land called ‘utopia’. Meluha was our contribution to the concept of ‘utopia’; state where everything is perfect. Nobody knew it existed once, until my friend Maddy made an adventurous trip the hearts of Indus valley.
Once we found it sweeter,we started dreaming of creating one on our own. The history of modern Meluha would have been just 41 year old but the journey to its salvation began decades before. It was a morale which life in a democratic country for 4 decades taught us.
A place where people can live in harmony with each other; where each individual has got his/her own role to play.”
“Sir, we knew that you were among the seven who shaped this civilization. But we need to know how it came up all the way. We are here searching for the part of history which is missing from the data bases of technocyst. How did you manage to survive the ‘big bang’ and so did bring up this civilization?”
“I am not supposed to tell you all these but I can share my memories with you. My memories would guide you to a path were you are supposed to be in future. You will have to search whatever you want from it and help me to get back my friend Maddy in return. Do you agree?”
“Yes, sir we agree to it. But before that we need to know what has happened to our friends; Rimy and sanu.” Anu asked as she suddenly started bother about them.
“They are having their time with Sana right now. She is a comrade who has been managing Hariyupa. They are going to chisel out her memories like you will do to me. You will meet them finally when you will have to assimilate both our memories to search for ‘maddy’ and of course your grandma who is currently with him.”
“My grandma is alive. I can’t believe myself. Where is she right now?”
“That’s what you are supposed to find. Find Madhav and you are going to get her back to meluha.” Roy completed his meal and got up to clean himself.
Anu who was shockingly surprised to hear that she was going to meet her grandma,couldn’t complete herself and she closed her plate to join the wizard.
“Anu, isn’t the same guy 'Madhav' who wrote the book which Sanu used to refer” Sam had a serious doubt regarding the person who was Roy’s friend.
“Yes, I forgot. It was the same name, I remember.” She stopped midway and came back to him.
“He left the book in library under your grandma’s track line, after her disappearance. Sanu gets it and we brought ourselves here. Now this guy wants him here and uses your grandma as a reason. Don’t you smell a game being played with us?”
“Oh my goodness! So the author of the diary wants to get in chamber lax through us.
I remember reading Shahid’s letter to Roy. It spoke about some old friend of theirs who asked him for his key to chamber lax. The guy was the one who couldn’t raise a clan on his own. Is he the same guy we are being asked to look for?”
“May be or maybe not. But I am suspicious whether this guy is going to use your grandma as a bait to get himself here.” Sam deduced something out of their discussion.
“How can we get to know what his intentions are?”
“Let’s obey until we get back to our friends and then decide what has to be done.”
“Kids, you have been taking long to finish your meals. Time is running out.” The man whom they were talking about suddenly appeared behind them with a shining teeth.
“Sir, we are done. Just need to know where the washroom is.” Sam managed to hide their shock with an impulsive reply.
“Good, it’s over there. Get ready for a 'Tesseract' ride with me.” He replied pointing to their left where there was a key hole which looked like an eye.
They had started observing his eagerness suspiciously. They kept on asking each other whether they should trust this man or not,who was once a dean to their alma mater.
“Who is this guy , Madhavan? Is he good or evil?” They asked each other before getting pushed in to that tesseract by Roy himself.
Surprisingly their body froze next moment and they floated inside that room as they involuntarily moved towards the key hole. Hole started getting bigger as they floated towards it or where they getting tiny?
Unfortunately they could only move their eyes now, as if they were paralysed by some strong relaxant.
'Are we doped?' They looked each other suspiciously though couldn’t talk. They were gradually sucked in to that key hole untill it was dark everywhere.
The room was dark without floor, but still they never fell down.Some forces held them high even without a platform. Their bodies were getting lighter as a feather and they started enjoying that trippy mood inside the tesseract but suddenly they fell in to a pod which futher fell down with them inside like a boat .
Their pods kept entering cubicles one after the other as if trapped in a whilpool, but it could swim. Their hands and legs fully paralysed, not able to move an inch, they realised this tesseract was far beyond their anticipations.
Their eyes alone blinked through out that trip, which ended up on the walls of a building on which it was printed 'NEST'. They soon realised they had inherited a new body on their own, which belonged someone in the early millennia.
**************************************************
"Namaste comrade Shahid, Citadel General Maverick here." The middle aged man with a full fledged frontal baldness spoke to someone over his digic.
"Namaste comrade, Why do you happen to call me?"
"Comrade the legendary noble man has been breached again and this time four kids have entered chamber lax with help from your son
Guruji. Now he is under our remand for all those damages he have done to the citadel.
On enquiry he revealed another intervention in to the chamber which we feel so suspicious. That is why we have dialled you." the bald man seemed to be too much worried.
"Son relax yourself and tell me who it was." the one whom he addressed as comrade Shahid spoke again.
"It's the dwarf again, your first born. He claimed to Guruji that you had send him inside to guide those kids."
"Shit happened, he must not get in maverick. He is the one even I am afraid of, never a trustworthy type. He had ditched all of us earlier and joined MONTENERO but my latest intelligence speaks he had ditched them too.
If he have gone inside he is gonna bring us to ashes for sure. He must be stopped by any sorts else the whole chamber will vanish from existence for sure along with those chosen ones." Comrade seemed equally panicked hearing about the dwarf..
"Sir what to do now? He is already inside and we won't even be able to recognise him or follow him."
"I had named him 'Shisya' but he never like that name even. From the day he ran away from us, he has been called Chathan,the eldest son of God." Comrade seemed to be worried a little as he was unravelling his son's whereabouts.
"Ok comrade, could you please send us something to recognise him?"
"Yes, definitely maverick. But keep Guruji under your supervision untill everything is done. He is such an emotional being and should never come to know his brother is such an evil."
"Sorry dad, I never knew you were such a lier always. How long you would keep telling me these bullshit stories and I keep listening." Guruji who was always peeping in to the call with maverick on his laser point intervened.
"Son, I am so sorry. Me and your mom hid everything from you for a reason. Your brother was a demon full of egoes and hatred ,when he tried to kill you in your cradle we lost trust and had to desert him forever.
It's our mistake that we never told you about him, as he got misguided by Montenero first and later went missing from the galaxy. Forgive us my dear son and please stop him from doing any harm to the seven and the kids." Shahid was breaking down faster but his son was getting shocked further.
"Sir, I earlier thought you were MONTENERO!! Like you always talked in our long lasting calls."
"What the hell are you telling dear?? I never ever contacted you after my death, proudly performing the duties of a sacred seven." That was like a bolt of lightning in to Guruji's heart.As he had anticipated many times grandmaster wasn't guiding him out of his interest, but with some hodden agendas.
"So you aren't a part of them, MONTENERO, are you?,"
"No my dearest son. I have always been a saptarishi guarding the gates of chan hu daro.
You have been heavily misguided by someone.
Can you describe about those calls? What were you talking around?" Shahid cleared his throat and wanted to know about the plans of his rivals.
"Yes dad, he first addressed me as the grand master whom everyone called Montenero. He then narrated me about the 'Apocalypse' and its hidden agendas, the origin of chamber lax and some hints to find a way into it.
It was under his guidance I had expressed my anxiety about you all, in my farewell speech. He then asked me to guide those kids in to chamber lax and approach you (him) from the Technocyst. But I never knew he was making me a fool out of me,in your fake identity. I didn't understand what was going on around me then, but I was manipulated for sure.
Last time he called me, appeared before me as yourself in old ages and pretended to me as your own astral projection." Guruji recollected everything that had happened around him for the last few weeks before the lunar mating.
"Ok son, he have his own agendas, which I would have to deal myself. You please help Maverick to get rid of him, your elder brother." The call suddenly went off and Guruji looked at Maverick in apology.
"Sir, I hope now you would have understood the real situation here. Pardon me I had to be so harsh." He showed grave regret on hijacking the enquiry table and stealing his laser trigger. His Digic beeped again and this time it was Montenero. Reading the message, suddenly his season changed from guilt to hatred.
"Go to hell Maverick" His trigger fired lasers over the forehead of the Chief of hariyupa and he fell on the floor. He screamed out like a mad man without knowing he started the count down for apocalypse then and there.
********to be continued***********
