“Those days our moon was so elegant that every girl in the neighborhood fasted to observe him through sieve, before seeing their own husband during ‘karva chauth’. They believed seeing him, would give themselves a long and prosperous life with their partner.
The teenagers longed to get a partner as charming as him. Poets praised his elegance and sang legacies. What more to say, I used to sleep on your grandpa’s lap looking at his marvel.
But one day when we were away from his grace he exploded with our mother earth. Brighu says he gave life to two young ones who weren’t looking so great. Even the mother earth went ill once they were born. They take care of their mother revolving around her. One among them was a fast freak like you my girl. Other was slow and lazy like me. So they couldn’t travel together all the way. They used to meet up once in 365 days which we consider as a year in life.”
“Poor moon. I feel sorry for him but his kids aren’t that bad.” Girl of five looked over to her granny’s face to absorb her response.
“So, now you won’t ask me the story of lunar mating. Will you?” old lady smiled at her kid with all the blessing she could shower on her.
“When I grow old I would also find a boy as elegant as your moon. Will you come for our marriage?”
“Obviously, my little princess. That would be the greatest event in the whole world.” Granny smiled revealing her broken incisors and tried to kiss her kid passionately but she couldn’t,as she was chained in all her limbs.
“I have told you a million times not to go near her. She could harm you.” Screamed the mother of that little girl from behind.She came forward and pulled the girl back leaving her granny in tears.
“Mom, leave me I want to listen to her.” She screamed inside her hand for freedom which she could never achieve. She found the majestic old lady weeping like a kid, screaming but could do nothing.
“I am not insane. I just want to meet my brother before I take last breath. Will you let me do that? I plead you not to harm my princess for all your greed.” She said loud enough to break the walls of that asylum.”
“Granny, I would let you go free. Let me talk to my dad about it.”
……………………………………………………
“Maaaaa.” Anu screamed all in a sudden raising both her friends from their heavenly sleep outside DIMCO’s cabin.
“What happened?” Sam came running to her, threatened by the sound. She suddenly woke up from her table and hugged him tightly. Her eyes were wet as if from some nightmare.
“I saw a dream, really bad one. Can you get me a glass of water?”
“Of course, here it is.” He handed her the bottle, she had kept over the rack early.
“Relax and tell me about it. You are going to feel better.”
“I saw my grandma weeping in chains.She asked mom to let her free, so that she can get back to her brother. I couldn’t help her. I was too small. I couldn’t even break open my mom’s restraining hands around me.” She started sobbing over sam’s shoulder like that little girl in her dream.
“Relax, was it just a dream or one of your memories?” He asked trying to evade her sorrow with words.
“I have seen her weeping so many times, to get freed from that asylum. But my parents were adamant and said she was abnormal and doing crazy things, though she was always nice to me.”
“Alright tell me what did she do to be put in chains?”
“She kept on saying she want to get back to his brother.”
“What is wrong in it? By the way.” Sam was further confused whether she was still in her dreams.
“She said she wanted to get back to earth. Not realizing she was living in the only planet where life was possible.”
Sam was surprised with her reply and was convinced that she has woken up.
“Alright.She might be hallucinating at times, a kind of transitional state. You must have met her during her lucid intervals” He patted her so that she would feel more comfortable at that moment.
“You need to relax now. We have got to do a lot of things tomorrow.”
He gently took her to the table over which she was sleeping earlier and sat over it with her.
“Sam, can I lie down on your lap for few minutes?” She asked him with the eyes of an innocent kid.
“Of course, if you would like to, I can stay here all the night.”
“Excuse me guys, May I come in. If you don’t mind.” Sanu, came in to the room smiling and the couple felt little uncomfortable.
Anu lifted up her head from sam’s lap and then both of them were on heels quickly. They recognized the meaning hidden in his smile and couldn’t resist breaking the silence.
“Sanu, you have mistaken us. She had a scary dream and I was just consoling her.” Sam said him so as to convince him about their situation.
“I know it already. Sorry I overheard your conversation. Anu you must not hesitate to sleep nor prevent sam from his sleep. We have got a whole day and night before us, to work. We will have to use our kin and kith to earn our destiny. Sleep is essential now as we don’t know when and where we would sleep next.”
“Sanu, I think you are over tensed about things. We are still on earth.” sam replied without understanding the depth of the mission they were indulged in.
“I am tensed. Guruji hasn’t gone to the station. He is going to come here at any moment tomorrow. We have to find the location before that.”
“So, shall we start the mission now itself?” Anu who was completely back in to her environment asked him.
“Don’t you guys need to sleep?”
“No, we can sleep once things are done. Thank God my grandma woke me up.” She replied without a second thought.
“Let’s find the key hole before the dawn.” Sam added on the support for his girlfriend’s decision.
They took out the bag from the racks in which they had collected all those tablets.Sam sorted out them in the correct order they acquired it.
Anu climbed up to the next floor where the humanoid wardens were sleeping uncharged. She had removed the supply to each of them before they went for the sleep that night. She now wanted to ensure that they were completely discharged by the time,so they can move around.
She used her testers to ensure, there wasn’t a wink of power to the bottom floors, for them to get in and out at any moment. The solar batteries for emergency requirements were also disconnected.
Lift system with in the library ran on different technology, was functional for them even at that time. She got suspicious about security measures as they knew little.
She came down with a clean chit in few minutes and they were ready to perform each of their works.
Sanu was destined to enter golden gate, approach the statue of ‘hermes’, and check for akeyhole that would fit the tablets. Sam had to approach the entrance to their Dean office, inspect the statue of Dhanvantari, in search of keyhole.
Meanwhile Anu was supposed keep a track on them through closed circuit cameras, regulated from the fifth floor, ensure their safety throughout the mission.
They had to cut open the emergency windows with in each building so as to enter them. Anu had purchased a laser knife for this purpose secretly. She handed over it to sanu and their movements began.
Now since the power was short,they decided to use the windows and stairs as their routes for movement. It was 3AM in the morning when they began the search party.
Anu kept giving them instructions accurately but they couldn’t find a lead even after an hour.
“Guys, I think we overestimated the possibilities for a key hole. What shall we do now?” Anu asked both of them from the control room.
“I agree with you.I should've checked these statues earlier itself inorder to avoid this waste of time.” Sanu was most disappointed among them as things were out of his hands then.
“Relax and get back to the station.” Sam gave him the command to proceed further through the digic screen.
They assembled again insideDIMCO’s room for further discussion, as they lost monitor of the scanners in the campus. They never knew someone really interested in the treasure was finally arriving for them.
“We should have tried to crack the rest of these scripts.” Sam started discussing the drawbacks with in their plan.
“I tried my best dude. But it was damn difficult for me to decode the original harappan script.” Sanu replied.
“Do you mean these are our own text? I never knew that.”
Both Anu and Sam hadn’t heard about a civilization which was dated 3000 years behind them, having city under the same name.
“No, this script is two millenniums old.Once upon a time in our ancestor nation called India, there was this great civilization which inhabited the valley of a river Indus. In 1900 we had dug out their remains in the form of a great bath, granary, sewage system, well planned townships and many rock carvings.
We dug four larger sites around the river and they were called Hariyupa, mohenjodaro, kalibangan and lothal and three smaller ones Ambaram, Chan hu daro and Dholavira. We couldn’t read their script or deduce how and where they'd disappeared. All we had were these seals, which are now encrypted on these yellow metals, nobody could understand till date
Our citadels here has been designed in the same pattern, you must see. We have 7 citadels under similar names.A myth of saptarshis as in one of their carvings and now 27 seals to prove the same.
Our town planners,architects and the agrarians have adopted some of their techniques with a bit advanced machinaries. River indus being replaced by the 'Ocean of salvation/Mahasagaram'. I have been researching about them all these years as a part of my hobby.
When Anu came to me with these I was literally dancing for this chance. I knew this is my last resort to chase all dreams and I came in. But I have directed everyone to a dead end ultimately.
Sorry guys, Sorry for misguiding you. We should've waited for more information.” Sanu stopped his speech outpouring emotions once he had opened out his mind to them.
“That’s alright. We wouldn't have achieved this much if you weren’t with us. Think what we should do next?” Sam consoled him with his sweet words and anu also joined.
“We can abort this mission and I shall hold the responsibility for these damages before the new Dean.” He concluded their plans with a deep sigh.
“No, if we are going back, either it would be with the treasure or as equally guilty. I can assure you that.” Sam said it aloud and they found the lift towards the base opening up. Guruji entered with a face devoid of expressions and addressed them.
“Proud of you my kids. I wonder how you keep such a spirit among you. Anu had astonished me once when she came out with the message decoded. Now you both astonish me with your passion towards each other. Your friendship takes me back to my college days. I was once in the same mission. I couldn’t succeed in it even with the support from my dean.
I never had such friends around me to plan and share responsibilities,So I failed.But surely three of you are going to do it for me today. You are going to make me proud.” Guruji halted delivering them appreciation for what they have achieved.
“Sir, beg your pardon I have a doubt. If you had reached here during your campus life, why didn’t you search further?” Sanu had a serious doubt running in his mind.
“Rules, kids. We are bound by them. Even the 12 deans who came before me knew what I spoke.
They delivered the same speech on their farewell, as they were insisted. But we are not permitted to enter in to these secrets on our own.”
“Sir then can you help us with a path ahead?” Anu asked for his help without hesitation.
“Anu, you might be the chosen one. Think from your memories. May be your grandma could help you. She was one among them, who created this puzzle.”
“Anu, I heard you telling that your grandma was put in the asylum for some reason. It can’t be just for what she had said. Could you please tell me the whole story?” Sanu who had peeped in to her conversation with sam asked her.
“She broke in to library one night and damaged a statue which used to decorate this hall, over that pillar.” She said pointing to the central pillar of the library hall which was right in front of them. It had a large hole with in about 3 meters above the base.
“She was found unconscious on this floor with the broken idol, the very next day. She was then send to that asylum where she again attacked one of their lady warden.Finally she was heard missing from their place. She disappeared in to air all in a sudden.” She completed her story and looked at his eyes expecting he would have got some clues out of it.
“Thank you Anu. You should have completed this story earlier itself. Sorry I interfered you both.” Sanu turned to the man whom he once hated the most and started talking.
“Sir, we are standing in the hotspot, If I am in the right track.”
“Anything more?”Guruji asked him back.
“The statue must be of ‘A noble man’ which used to decorate the center of this hall. I have read about it.”
“Sanu, but it was destroyed years ago. How would it get us to what we are looking for?” Sam interfered in their conversation so as to clarify his doubts.
“Sir, tell me if there is any facility to melt metals with in the premises.”
“Yes, there is a furnace towards east but it is not in use since my time. It is a restricted area since someone broke in then.” Guruji answered with a puzzled look as he was not getting what his chap meant.
“Guys follow me if you want to see a miracle.” Sanu took a few steps forward collected the tablets which were neatly arranged and grabbed them in to a bag. He took the bag and ran out of the library hall while rest of them were standing stunned.
“Anu common let’s follow him.” Sam was the first to retrieve from their shock and asked everyone to observe his friend. He always had a great deal of respect for his friend’s instincts.
When they reached near the furnace they were shocked to see that their friend was throwing those tablets in to the burning lava within furnace. Sam tried to stop him from that deed.
He caught hold of him and pushed him back.Sanu then threw the whole bag in to the fire which sam couldn’t resist.
He slapped his friend straight over his cheek as he was still smiling like a lunatic. He kept on dancing around them as if he had found something.
“Sanu, why are you behaving like this? Your lunacy has spoiled days of hard work.” Sam tried to convince him the mistakes but he didn't admit.
“Common dude, follow me to see the real miracle.” Saying so he ran back in to the library.
The couples looked at each other puzzled ,almost thought their friend was losing his senses. They had to get hold of him before he does any further damage. They ran behind him swiftly in to the hall until they were frozen by the magic that had happened inside their library.
“Look at this, my friend noble man has arrived to meet you up. Say hi.” Sanu spoke proudly at their licking surprise.
The golden tablets melted inside the furnace flowed through a chimney, traversed an underground channel in to the central pillar of the library and at a height of 3 meters from the ground it was being molded in to a statue. Sanu preferred to call him the noble man though history called him ‘The priest god of mohen-jodaro’.
Guruji who saw the formation of the whole idol in front of him advanced towards him with excitement and hugged him tightly.
“Son, how did you get to know about this?”
“Sir,I read in atharva veda that each of their rituals either began with a sacrifice or end with a sacrifice. They spoke, it would add elegance to any mission. I have been searching for long what should be the sacrifice in our mission,as the designers of this puzzle were following those texts. Something worth valuable for their generation would become an ideal choice,like these plates made out of GOLD. Since anu’s grandma had broken a statue from its place to enter chamber lax. I thought it must be for a reason,to get a passage in to chamber lax.”
“Sanu, I am sorry that I hurt you out of my ignorance.” Sam recognized his mistake came near to his friend.
“Dude, I actually deserved it. I shouldn’t have intervened in to your private space.”
“Sanu, you are miraculous. When did you discover such a system existed underground to build an idol?” Anu couldn’t resist her anxiety about the whole incident.
“I inspected furnace before switching it on and could deduce that it had a connection pipeline to the library. Though I couldn’t exactly detect the reason, I decided to try my luck.
Of course you said your grandma was here. I was sure she must have come for some purpose. If she had destroyed the idol, it should mean something for us as she is its creator .
When I roamed around here few days ago,I could notice that central pillar of this building had a low density laser around it. It is dense around that hole. Rest were all wild assumptions and instincts that had less than 10% chances to get into reality. But I assure you, she wasn’t insane.
People around her intentionally or unintentionally disbelieved her theories and questioned her intentions.”
“So you say my grandma was in search of chamber lax. Why should she search for something which she herself made?”
“I don’t know. Guruji must be able to clarify your doubts. Sir, can you?” Sanu turned to his teacher again for some more knowledge about the history of the chamber.
“I will try, if you have any idea about what were her ambitions in the last few days.”
“She used to mumble of getting back to her brother on earth.”
“Who was he? Have you got any idea about him?”
“No sir. She said he lived in planet earth. Neither she had an address to contact nor a number to dial. Parents tried to search him out initially, but she was unsatisfied with all they had done here. She was angry and screamed to them, they were never going to see anything with open eyes. Initially even my parents believed that she was speaking sensible but things went bad gradually.
She started getting crazy at times, speak about unheard aliens, stories about her life in a space station revolving around mars and many such. Even today I am confused which one of her fairy tales to follow and which one not to.”
Seeing Anu was getting emotional again, Sam came forward to hold her back and deviate from their topic for a while.
“Sir, what should we do next? So that we can trace the chamber.”
“I think one of you should inspect the noble man. He is our only ray of hope at this moment.” Guruji gave his suggestion for them to move ahead.
**********************************
While the children were eagerly scanning around the pillar Guruji tried to get her daughter on line.
Unfortunately he couldn't get her but instead his master appeared all in a sudden.
"Son, you have done a good job so far."
"Thank you comrade, now you must take me to your legacy for sure."
"Yes, you will learn everything from these children, that includes your daughter. So guide all of them to the keyhole which only they can pass and you will fetch your destiny."
"Learn from them!! This isn't what you have promised." Guruji made a disgusting face and grumbled.
"Yes, I have promised you stability of nature and sovereignty of people once you find and cede him to me. MONTENERO always keep up our promises to high deal." Unkown voice whispered in his ears,watching the kids were noticing their gossip.
"Fuck off! I don't need enlightenment from you anymore, I shall fetch my destiny myself." Mumbling irrelevant he switched off the call.
"Sir may I know whom were you scolding so harshly?" Anu had partly listened to their conversation and had guts to ask.
"To one of my subordinate dear, he is such an asshole that I couldn't use better words."
"Really?." Anu stared him with much suspicious eyes for a while.
He looked anxious and his heart was sprinting beyond their pincer grasp.
'Only a man with secrets need this mask to pretend cool infront of them' Anu kept probing herself for reasons to trust him.
*********To be continued**********