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You can decide what you wish to do with the 50,000 words. Do you want it to evolve into a novel or just some exciting story series or something that you like? You decide.
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Today's Maynia Prompt: shattered glass
Today's Daily Freewrite Prompt: spirit animal
Writers can choose to use one of the prompts, both the prompts or not use the prompt at all. It is all up to you!
I wish to make this into a sci-fi novel. Let's see how it progresses! 😊
Continued from Day 7. You can read it here.
"The law-upholders," Sarvi's facial expression were closer to a smile. Akash and Radhika, despite their preoccupation with Gangesh and Sarvesh's case, were present to Sarvi's kindness. "Come."
"Who is it?" Olyint could not see the guest being welcomed.
"The law-upholders, Radikum and Akash," Sarvi replied.
"Well, that's a first," Akash walked-in, "my partner has changed her name."
Radhika was not interested in having her name corrected, least of all from an alien species. Though, she did witness the special treatment meted out to the aliens. The room's furnishing and polished wooden surfaces gave the impression that they were made from the finest teak wood in Madhya Pradesh. The twin bed, with the neatly folded linen, appeared hardly used. She thought maybe they didn't sleep like humans.
"How long will we be prisoners? We have done no wrong, and we need to apprehend the wrong-doer," Olyint said walking away towards a sofa in the corner of the room, "from what you saw of Zarqui, I hope you do know that we are quite strong to be stopped by humans?" Olyint sat down.
"Let's figure out the strength part," Akash wanted to punch Olyint and somehow felt that he would soon hear 'pace back', but he felt a tug even before that.
"We will figure that out on some other opportune time," Radhika said, "tell me this, with all your technology, couldn't you do something for the men we lost?"
"What is time?" Sarvi asked.
"Earth language for passage of events," Olyint responded.
"How does he know what is time and you don't?" Akash asked Sarvi in a total interrogatory mode.
"Commander can mind-jag. He is one of the five elders who can speak to the universe?"
"What?" Akash was in no mood for the alien terminologies, but he had to understand this part since it had to do something with the mind. "Mind-jag? He can read our mind?"
"No, not mind. Your planet's experience," Olyint offered to explain. "the atom that you call Hydrogen is abundant in this universe. This gas also stores the experience of the universe. Four elders from our planet and I can read these experiences. That's how we can understand the universe and its components without needing to be explained."
"Fascinating," Radhika said. "how is it different from reading our mind?"
"Reading your mind means knowing what you are thinking even before it becomes an experience. I don't talk to your Carbon-based mind but the Hydrogen-based experience in your atmosphere," Olyint clarified, "besides, Hydrogen is quite less in your planet."
"Quite true. Most of the Hydrogen goes to form water molecules, so very less is left in the atmosphere," Radhika said. "I come back to my question. Those men we lost, couldn't you have cured them?"
"We could have," Olyint said, "but you'll hardly heard us that day. We were taken away from that place once you left. We never got the chance."
"Hmm," Radhika looked at Akash and nodded, "how could you cure them if you had the chance? I mean if people are dead, then they are dead."
"Our weapons are not as crude as yours," Olyint said, "we did not make weapons to undo our people. We only use the weapons to desynthesize the wrong-doers to put a stop to them momentarily."
"Desynthesize, crude, weapon, I understand zilch," Akash declared and looking at Radhika asked, "what do I ask to make them talk in English?"
"Your weapons are designed to stop a person forever, functionally. Our weapon, on the other hand, is made to stun people," Sarvi explained, "they can be revived."
"Now, that's English," Akash said.
"If you even attempt to demean our elder, I will be painfully dealing with you," Sarvi warned the unexpecting Akash Schwarzenegger.
"Huh, guess what, she understands sarcasm without even a mind-jag," Akash taunted again only to have Sarvi enraged even further. Olyint intervened and she backed-off.
"Akash, we are here to help and let's stick to that," Radhika said. "I get what you explained Sarvi, but what about us? Humans? Surely, your weapon won't be able to desynthesize our bodies?"
"It works the same way," Olyint explained. "The shot that Zarqui fired desynthesized the matter in that person's head. His whole body would have been in stasis. We could then use the same weapon to synthesize his body back."
"So, you could still save our people, right?" Akash's tone had a flicker of hope.
"Not now. You see your body has a lot of fluid which you call water that disallows the stasis to remain for a longer period. If the stasis disintegrates, the person disintegrates, or decays, in your language, and if he decays, he cannot be synthesized back."
"Hmm. That explains why you can't revive our people," Radhika sighed.
"Yes, and we are sorry," Sarvi said. Akash thought that even Sarvi could mind-jag and that's why she probably understood what sorry was.
"You know what, I never asked before, tell me more about how you landed here," Akash asked.
"Zarqui killed Arkan, commander of the first Arlenian force, who also happens to be our commander's elder brother. He…" Sarvi was cut-short.
"You mean desynthesized," Akash reasoned, "so all you had to do was synthesize him back."
Sarvi saw a flicker of intelligence in Akash whom she had so far classified as an immature adult. "Fair assimilation of information, but when the weapon is used more than three times, the effects of the desynthesizer rises exponentially. The person cannot be synthesized back, after that."
"I see. So, Zarqui, who was also a commander, killed another commander, and how did you come to know?" Akash asked.
"Zarqui was the only one with him before the event," Sarvi said, "and he.."
"You didn't see the event?" Akash interrupted again.
"What do you ask?" Sarvi wasn't happy with the question. Akash could gauge that but was unsure about the reaction. If it was a human, there could be a chance that the uneasiness opened a possibility of guilt, but with aliens, the expression could mean something else.
"I mean, you are sure that Zarqui did it, so did you witness the event?"
"I understood your question, Akash. What I am asking is, what does that even mean?" Sarvi's question meant that she was indeed upset, or some similar feeling. Maybe, the Arlenians did not lie, but Akash still had to complete his interrogation.
"I don't know the meaning. It is quite a straightforward question on our planet. If there was an event, and if someone was so sure about the occurrence, then it is assumed that he or she had witnessed the event."
"You dare question us?" Olyint bellowed which was also a hint for Radhika to intervene.
"We question nothing. Like you had said, we know that you are far stronger than humans, and yet you need our help to nab Zarqui," Radhika's words seemed to cut-ice, "but we would be ineffective in our help if we don't understand what had happened."
"You are verifying if we are lying. Arlenians don't have the word in our knowing," Olyint said.
"Again, we are not judging here. You know what happened better. All that we are asking is to tell us the event as it happened in Arlenia," Radhika said.
"Arlenium," Sarvi corrected.
"We understand, now," Olyint said, but he appeared far from having understood.
"Okay, so what happened next?" Akash asked by-passing the who witnessed it part.
Sarvi then explained how Zarqui was apprehended, but he managed to flee the forces while Olyint and Sarvi followed him to Earth.
"Hmm. So, he stopped at some place and changed hopper. That's smart thinking," Radhika said.
"Yes, each elder is a master strategist, so, don't make the mistake of underestimating him," Olyint warned.
"So, you should also not be underestimated, huh?" Akash looked Olyint straight in the eye. Radhika was unsure why Akash was taking the man head-on for no reason.
"Anyway, we don't foresee you both staying here for long," Radhika changed the topic, "you will be free soon."
"Why? What changed?" Sarvi asked.
"Pace back, law-upholder," Akash quipped, "why would you want to stay apprehended when you did nothing?" He smiled as if he got back at Sarvi in some manner.
The drive back from the government guest house seemed to coast through never-ending greenery on both sides. The smell of the green and colder weather allowed them to switch off the air-conditioner and keep the windows open. On any other day, silent sightseeing would have been an ideal choice. However, Akash and Radhika had much to piece together in this quagmire of universal proportions.
"So, they didn't bring back Sarvesh and Gangesh," Akash's gaze was fixated on the tireless rush of trees outside.
"At least, they have the technology to get them back," Radhika said, "and there is only one other person who could have done it."
"Zarqui. I am starting to like this character."
"We can like him. I don't think Olyint would," Radhika had her palms cupped into a tight fist. Akash was curious about the surface she would choose to tap. However, he was eager to know what could be so nerve-wracking about the current situation.
"Hmm. Odd situation. All of these guys have violated nothing in India, but have their fights," Akash was stating the obvious to pacify Radhika's raging nerves. "So, what do we do? Let them go and ask them to buzz off our planet?"
"See, that's my problem," Radhika turned so fast that Akash got startled. "If they have caused no harm here, we can only wish them to get out of our country. Why do I care where they go? And if I have to care where they go, am I a global superintendent, or… or… the head of the United Nations, what… who.. am I? Why do I do with this case?"
"Don't take it personally. It's a situation which does not have guidelines," Akash popped his chewing gum, "I mean, we don't meet aliens every other day."
"That's the point. We don't have Standard Operating Procedures. What do we do?"
"Let's ask Arvind. Let him also earn his salary. Why do I have to think about everything."
Radhika smiled, "because if you don't, Arvind may live to take his salary, you won't."
"Okay, baba, relax. I didn't mean it that way," Akash smiled, "the closest solution is what you'll were planning, today morning. Handover the case to the Americans. After all, they are the alien champions of the world."
Radhika smiled for the first time since she sat in the car.
"And guess what, they must have some Standard Operating Procedure," Akash grinned. Radhika laughed out.
Image Courtesy: Pixabay
