My conversation with the old man and the others made me realise the gravity of the task I was about to take on. Such a task would need preparedness, which I did not have the time for. Since I had until the next day to relax, I decided to explore before we set out.
I went to the room Guardians had assigned permanently for me and found out that this place was near Omar's quarters so that I would have some company. Not that it would matter, with the teleportation and all. I unpacked in that place and decided to make a short visit to Earth to check up on how my business was running.
"Hey Jerry, how's everything going?" I asked.
"Where'd you come from?" he asked as he stopped arranging paper on the desk.
"The door," I replied.
"But there was no sound of you entering," he said.
"Yes, I'm very silent. You need to be if you have to tail someone. So, anything new?" I asked to change the topic. I can't tell him about the teleportation after all.
"Yes, I got a call from the international school up north. They have a case for us. Three hundred tablets that were issued for the children went missing overnight. They found a receipt from a moving company. That's the only clue. Because the reputation of the school is at stake, they have come to us instead of the police," he said.
"Show me the papers," I said.
He passed the papers to me.
"The supervisor did it," I said.
"What? How'd you know?" he asked.
"The supervisor's signature in the advance cheque is done with an ink pen. The sign on the receipt is fake, but also done in ink pen. The pigment of the ink is also matching, both dry more violet in comparison to regular ink," I said.
"Well. That's true, but we can't use this as a definite proof that it was her," he said.
"Their budget is sizeable. We can spend a bit on this. You have some legwork if you are up for it," I said.
"Anything, just tell me," he said.
"Get a new phone number. Give it to the principal. Then get the supervisors address from him and go to her door-step early morning and see what newspaper she gets," I said.
"Alright, that's easy. Then?" he asked.
"Go to the newspaper's website and print a week long advertisement in the classifieds titled 'wholesale buyers and sellers of computers, tablets and mobile phones'. Put the number you gave the principal as the contact number. Once she gets in touch with him. Our work is done," I said.
"Excellent, then I will make the number today itself. I'm also going to keep the bills for all the things we purchase and get the principal to pay for the expenses. We should not dig into our payment for solving the case," he said as he turned around to wear his shoes.
"Once again, glad to have you on board. The supervisor needs some way to get rid of all the tablets. Buzz me when the case is solved," I said.
"Sure, I will, wait where'd you go? Sir?" he said.
I heard his voice from the other side of the door. It was fun using the Ethereal gate to sneak everywhere. I went to the nearest temple to get enough pionic energy to transit to Alkapuri.
*****
This was the first time I was in Alkapuri without actually being confined into a limited space. I decided to walk out and explore the entire place. Omar was kind enough to make me a rough map of the city. I stepped out of my building and the first thing I noticed was that there were no roads or defined foot paths. It was just fine, green, St. Augustine grass all over. I began walking towards the main centre of the city. It made sense that a city where people would transit from one place to other using Ethereal gates would have no need for cars, bikes, roads, or walk ways. Although, I did see most of the people walked shorter distances instead of transiting between two points; most probably to conserve Pionic energy.
The smell of freshly cut green grass permeated throughout the air. There were circular patches of different types of flowers. Together they made a multi-coloured polka-dot pattern on the grass-ways.
Pink geranium patches grew around residential buildings. Lily of the valley, gardenia and jasmine flowers made white circular patches near business establishments. Yellow peonies and roses marked places of leisure and relaxation. All these flowers scented the air you tasted and breathed with its delicate fragrance. Scattered mimosa plants marked a trail for you as you walked so that you'd never lose your way. Every open space had a tree on its centre with benches under it to relax and socialise.
Even the buildings and other structures had its special allure. They were made of natural materials, like stone and mortar, with wooden columns, wood flooring, and cotton canopies and window-shades that gently swung with the lunar breeze (generated by micro-currents and convection caused by heat).
The odd thing was that there were no doors for the buildings, just windows. A fake door was marked in different coloured stones and an Ethereal gate would open just as a person would reach its proximity. Bamboo wind-chimes that adorned a few windows and the birds (relocated from Earth) belted soothing tones. Occasionally a butterfly would flutter by, or a lady bug would be seen chasing aphids. The whole city was a garden: a self sufficient Eco-system, like the terrariums that hobbyists create on Earth.
Every person you passed by, smiled at you, some nodded, some greeted you with a 'top of the morning', and some even came up and introduced themselves. No one was a stranger in this place, something not possible back where I lived. I suppose they intended to create a utopia here, and succeeded at that. The people who lived here were those who lived sinless lives on Earth and only such people would have the potential to create such a place to live.
I continued to walk and I passed by markets, grocery stores, robe shops, eateries and other such places, until I reached the town centre. It was humongous.
A colossal building: flanked on one side by an artificial lake, shimmering in the bluish earthlight, and the other side with a vast garden. Parts of the garden looked familiar. I realised much later that it was in that garden that I had spent my first few conscious hours in Alkapuri. The edifice itself was one of the most exquisite works of architecture that I had ever seen.
I mumbled, "I wonder who designed something so beautiful."
A familiar, friendly, feminine, metallic voice spoke back.
Cherry replied, "The Citadel of Soma was constructed in the byzantine era in the neo-gothic style by an architect who was also a Guardian. He then designed a building inspired by this one on Earth (in Spain) as well on a later date. The central structure is the Pantheon hall where the administration and decision making of our society take place. The apse of the Pantheon Hall has carvings that depict the story of the Brahman and the genesis of this world. The 400 foot tall towering spires on the four cardinal points are the homes of our four lords. The tower towards the lunar North houses Lord Mikhail. The tower to the lunar South belongs to Lord Metatron. The tower to the lunar East belongs to Lord Gibrael. Finally, the tower to the lunar west belongs to Lord Ishrafil, which you have already seen. Each tower governs one quadrant of the city of Alkapuri and its residents protect one quadrant of the universe.
In addition to these towers being places of administration and the residences or our lords, they also serve a function each. The spherical tips of the Spires, each house a generator inside them to allow the city of Alkapuri to function normally. One tower generates oxygen, second generates gravity, the third generates pionic energy and the last one generates electrical and thermal energy. The base of each of the spires has carvings about the important events that occurred in the universe related to those lords. The lake and garden are free for any citizen of Alkapuri to visit, but entrance into the towers need permission from their respective lords. Entry into the Pantheon hall is strictly forbidden unless you have permission from at least three out of the four Lords."
That was more information about the building than I had asked for. I had satiated my thirst for knowledge by then. So I began a slow and leisurely walk back towards my room. This time cherry guided me through the correct route by vibrating when I was walking in the wrong way. This barefoot walk on grass re-invigorated me.
I picked up some good food from the eatery that I had passed by earlier and came back to my room. The food in Alkapuri was not much different from the kind we found on Earth. I heard about a beverage called Amrt from the owners which is only prepared on special occasions. I unpacked and organised my room well, as I would be staying here often. Then just dropped on my soft bed, and fell asleep.