Dawn

by Rakesh K Kaul

  ‘Really? Who was he?’ Tabah asked wide-eyed.

  ‘Well, it was a very long time ago, but like you narrated Kumarajiva’s story, we also only had an oral history,’ Hafiz let out a laugh. ‘He was an officer in the army of Emperor Lalitaditya of Kashmir around the eighth century. An instructor of the young recruits.’

  ‘The what century?’ I gasped. All this was getting stranger by the minute, but to a girl who had never known what lay outside her world, I was experiencing the long arc of Kashmir’s history. On the one hand, Dushita had wiped out all historical records during the Data Deluge, and yet, on the other hand, there were these indomitable spirits who were loyally maintaining their links to their history.

  ‘The eighth century, Dawn. Lalitaditya’s empire stretched across the whole of India. While on an expedition to Persia, a deadly snowstorm killed the king, including most of his army, near the border. But my ancestor miraculously survived. What a lucky break for me!’

  I looked around, my eyes darting from one face to the other. Everyone seemed to be mesmerized by what Hafiz had said. They didn’t seem to be blinking. Breaking the silence, I spoke up, ‘Each one of us takes our existence for granted, and yet, we are all walking miracles.’ This was something maej would often say. ‘How many near-death experiences did our ancestors survive that made it possible for us to be alive today? Over and over again, our lineages have defeated Dushita . . . and we will too, once again!

  Yaniv nodded, ‘Each one of us is a miracle. We are the survival of the fittest, and Dawn, you are the greatest miracle of us all.’

  I laughed. I liked the sound of that. Also, Yaniv said it so sincerely. ‘Continue, Hafiz.’

  ‘Well, after finding refuge in Mashhad, Iran, my ancestor met a local family who gave him food and shelter. He married their daughter and converted into their belief system. Because of his own cultural roots, our family has been engaged in science and technology, which is what I am involved in. You see . . .’ he paused to look straight into my eyes. He spoke with slight hesitation but also a sense of pride. ‘Today, my friends, I am a white hat,’ he said, pointing to the cap. ‘I’m a crypto cyber outlaw. That is why the cap. I can install malware on any system, hack it, control it and destroy it. So, don’t mess with me. And don’t even try to find me because I don’t exist.’ He finished with what would have been a cocky grin, if not for the childlike innocence he had.

  For a minute or so, no one said anything. Yuva and Kira, who was perched on his shoulder, seemed to be held spellbound by the soothing, serpentine flow of the River Vitasta and the Valley. We followed suit and admired the resplendence and resilience of this beautiful place. The majestic mountains that ringed the Valley were more verdant than where my pod was. In the middle was a limpid lake, lapped by tiny wavelets. Yuva told us that its name was Suaresvara, which had later been renamed as Dal Lake. My thoughts veered to the cave of Trisirsha in Mount Kailash. It was technologically adept, but there was no one else living there. Here, sitting in the lap of nature, I realized that the world was wondrous because it was powered by life . . . it was the first time that I was able to witness this in its totality, and now I knew why it was such a prized possession for Dushita.

  Tabah broke our reverie. He seemed to have been intently observing us all this while. Turning to Tegh, who hadn’t spoken much till now, he queried, ‘So, what’s your story? Another rebel?’

  We all turned to look at this burly, bearded young man with bulging muscles. He was dressed completely in white, which included a shirt that extended below the knees, tight-fitting trousers and a tightly wrapped turban covering his hair. He was carrying a small dagger hooked to his belt. ‘I’m Tegh,’ he said in a deep baritone. ‘My story starts with my family’s history, same as all of you. We are the descendants of Kashmiri Sikhs from the time when Guru Nanak Singh had visited Kashmir.’

  ‘Do you mean the founder of Sikhism? Tan sputtered.

  ‘Yes,’ Tegh continued speaking, his voice sombre, emotionless and firm. ‘My ancestors had migrated from Mattan in Kashmir to Yuba City in the United States via Mexico. My father had then moved to New Mexico where he was part of a global security firm headquartered in Española. The firm converted en masse following the sell-out of their leader to Dushita, but my father resisted until they captured and killed him and my mother. Luckily, he bought enough time for me to fly to the Bandelier caves where he and I used to trek together. That’s home for me now. I was scared for a long time, but now, I am not afraid of anyone,’ he said squarely. ‘Living all alone in the caves teaches you how to survive against all odds. I absorbed the spirit of the Native American warriors from their paintings on the walls of the caves, which celebrated their victories.’ He clenched his fist and pulled up his sleeve; three big, bold words were tattooed on his broad biceps and triceps, ‘Aham asmi yodha—I am a warrior.’

  I stared in amazement. It seemed that Tegh was a champion in the making, but his story left me heartbroken. At least I had my mother to take care of me. He was all alone. I could not even imagine what all he must have learnt from these ancient Native American practices and from his own oral history and training provided by his late father.

  Yuva seemed to have read my mind. I had a feeling he knew what everyone was thinking about, even if he didn’t show it. ‘You’re a champion, Tegh. Your father must be very proud of you.’ Tegh remained quiet, staring into space. It appeared that life had hardened him. He had been preparing himself for a lonely calling—the ultimate fight. Suddenly, I heard my own voice, which was a little too loud and directed at the shaved head boy sitting next to me. ‘So, what about you Tan?’

  Clad in a saffron outfit, Tan exuded an air of relaxed calm. He gave me a warm, understanding smile. ‘The eagle hunts with one wing of knowledge and one wing of action, Dawn,’ he spoke softly but with deep conviction. His mannerism of speech made me think of Yuva—always talking in riddles. ‘I am a lama and my ancestors were martial Tibetans who have been resistance fighters for over a thousand years. Much like everyone here, I can see we have a lot in common. We trace our lineage to Somanatha. He was a Kashmiri who went to Tibet and preached Buddhism.’

  ‘Martial Tibetans? Does that mean you know how to fight?’ Tegh asked with keen interest.

  ‘Yes, you are correct,’ he nodded at him. Placing one fist between his other palm, he bowed deeply from the waist, ‘I am trained in Kalachakra—“the wheel of time”—which had predicted this great war ahead of us. This technique combines the cycles of time, planets and breath to gain empowerment and defeat the barbarian Dushita. I am fully prepared to fight him. But Tegh, you are trained to fight what you see, while I am trained to fight what is hidden.’ He had a calm face, but there was a strength there that conveyed that he knew you from the inside out, and yet, you would not know him, especially his weaknesses.

  ‘Well, that’s a lot about me,’ the lama concluded, as if he had spoken more than he was used to. You knew better than to push him for anything further.

  ‘Yaniv, what’s your story?’ I asked, looking at the young man with blond hair. He had long sidelocks and wore a tall black hat. His outfit was all black with a white shirt.

  Put on the spot, Yaniv was initially tongue-tied.

  ‘Umm . . . My forefathers . . . they were sapphire traders originally from here, Kashmir. We’re a part of the lost tribe. In our family, there is a story that we would ship the plant Costus from Kashmir to Solomon’s temple for the making of the holy incense. But all the Jews, including my family, fled Kashmir for Jerusalem in the fourteenth century.’

  ‘Tell us more, young man, for we want to know you,’ said Yuva with a serene smile.

  ‘Well . . . My interest is in life sciences,’ he said, sitting up straight, which made him seem a lot more confident now. ‘And I have been tracking what Dushita’s scientists have been doing and how horribly, horribly wrong they have gone. I think I may know the remedies to whatever Dushita’s fighters throw at us.’ A pale-faced Yaniv slightly quiv
ered his nose. Talking about his work, he now came across as a gifted youth who was supremely confident in his skills. The hat seemed befitting, bearing in mind his medical profession.

  All eyes now turned to me. Clearly, it was my turn to speak, but I had nothing great to tell them—all these boys with glorious pasts and fabulous gifts. Raised in infancy by their fathers for longer than I was. I suddenly felt out of place, even small, because compared to their abilities and gifts, mine were non-existent. I had lived in a pod, admittedly one that seemed like a wonderland where my mother would do her research and teach me various sciences. But she was overprotective of me and had banned me from ever venturing outside . . . I had no knowledge of the real world.

  I began hesitantly, ‘As you all know by now, I’m Dawn. I am in complete awe of each one of you. You are so strong in your chosen fields. Your fathers and mothers would be extremely proud of you. I guess I am lucky . . .’ I gave a sad smile, ‘. . . I live with my mother. I would like all of you to meet her. All I know about Kashmir are the folk tales that my mother told me . . . that and yoga. I do not possess any great abilities like all of you here, at least not that I know of. Maybe I am good at playing some games. Oh, and I do not know who my father was or is.’ My voice tapered off.

  I could see that all of them looked at me with a mix of kindness and pity but also a yearning when I spoke about my mother. I guess we all recognized something in each other that we wished to have in our lives. At the same time, I realized that they had a clear mission in their lives, which was shaped by their personal histories and losses, while I had grown up with a silver spoon in my mouth and ignorance had kept me in a state of false bliss.

  All of a sudden, Yuva waved his trunk up and down, as if to bless us. ‘The most important thing about you boys and, you Dawn, is that you are a free people. The shikha electrode has not been implanted inside your brain by Dushita’s priests. The circumcision of your memory gene has not been done yet. You are outside Dushita’s laws. You are the Outlaws for them.’

  I quickly objected to this. ‘Outlaws? Yuva, who cares about what we are to Dushita? The boys have great ancestry. They are no outlaws. I think . . . In fact, I will dub them the Pandavas based on an age-old story my mother had told me. They will be the new Famous Five.’

  Yuva nodded approvingly. ‘Yes, my child. And I suggest that the Pandavas elect you as their leader.’

  ‘What!’ Tegh exclaimed. ‘Why her? She’s a girl! Why not one of us boys?’

  I lowered my eyes and looked at my feet. I could feel the tip of my ears going red. Why had Yuva proposed my name? I did not choose to be a leader and I did not want to be the centre of a hostile feud. Now that I knew other people existed, all I wanted to do was make friends.

  Surprisingly, Kira responded to this, ‘I have known Yuva since birth and I understand why he does what he does. One of the reasons why he has selected Dawn is because elephants, by nature, select a female to lead the herd. It is not the single male’s physical power, but the compassionate female’s capability to get everyone to come together and form a wise decision. It is this skill that makes the herd the most powerful.’ She continued in a sing-song voice, ‘The elephant’s footprint contains within it the footprints of all moving animals.’ Then she looked away into the distance.

  Yuva nodded, ‘Thank you, Kira. Yes, this is a major reason, but it’s also important for you to know that each one of you will have to play a pivotal role. Without the other, one would fail. Each one of you boys will be trained to specialize and become supreme warriors in the weapon of your choice. And Dawn here,’ he said, gesturing to me, ‘must be trained to become a multiplicity warrior to face Dushita and his fighters who will attack her on all fronts.’

  ‘What’s a multiplicity warrior?’ asked Tegh.

  ‘It is about performing multiple tasks at the same time with great speed and accuracy. It is called avadhanam or “one-pointedness”. When it comes to multiplicity training, what takes a boy one year to learn will take a girl with the right talent only twelve days.’

  ‘But do you agree with Yuva that Dawn can be a stronger fighter? Kira?’ Hafiz raised his voice and asked sceptically.

  Kira turned to us and asserted, ‘Oh yes, all female raptors are bigger and stronger than the males. The bigger female eagle can hunt down wolves, while the male eagle is content with mice.’

  Yuva, who had been observing all of us especially me as I sat awkwardly in the circle, stood up and walked towards me. He swung his trunk and stroked me on my forehead. ‘Only Dawn can stop Dushita. That is the truth. Time is short, and based solely on her qualities, Dawn is the chosen one. In the absence of your father, Dawn, you have my father’s blessing.’

  I was totally at a loss for words, but Kira spoke up before anyone else could, ‘Elephants have excellent memories and they also bear grudges. That will come in useful because it is not easy to go to war, especially against one’s own kind. But Dawn,’ she turned to me, ‘the key to pulling everyone together is that you must treat each member of your team equally. You, though one, now have many and can never become the reason for a quarrel among the boys. And you boys, the thing that unites you, sadly, is that your parents were taken away from you. That is your strength.’

  The boys faced me slowly and one by one bowed down. I was embarrassed because they all seemed to be of the same age as me! Sensing my discomfort, Tegh held out his hand, ‘I will follow where you lead, Dawn,’ he said with a smile. ‘Well, count me in,’ chipped in Tabah, as the others nodded. I managed to smile and shook his hand. The unconditional trust and love I was receiving from them made my vision blurry with tears.

  Wiping away my tears, I said emphatically in a surprisingly resolute voice, ‘I swear by my mother’s name, I will uphold what you said, Kira. I will treat all equally in all respects. It will be a hard journey, but with all of you by my side, I am sure we will conquer whatever is thrown at us.’

  I truly meant it. I was exulting with the unspoken happiness of being accepted by all these new people. It was so sweet a feeling as if I was tasting nectar—something my mother would have said.

  Yuva tapped me on the right shoulder with his trunk. ‘Bravo! You are no longer a reluctant warrior. And so, Princess Dawn, I anoint you as the leader of the Pandavas. The fate of the Universe depends on you, my child. Things will get very difficult very soon, and time is of the essence. We will begin your Niti training as soon as we get your mother’s permission. Now, something tells me that you have questions for me?’

  Yuva always knew, it seemed. ‘Well, Yuva, there is something—compared to the Pandavas, there is so little that I know about myself.’

  ‘Ah yes! But don’t worry. You will learn more about your roots as we go along. You need to keep learning along the way because all the identities were erased during the Data Deluge.’

  ‘The data what?’ Hafiz asked.

  Yuva replied, ‘The Data Deluge. It’s a little complicated, but yes, when artificial intelligence was created, some wise human beings created computer algorithms that permitted all recordable human interactions to be distributed to individually owned machines. Are you able to keep up?’ he looked at all of us, one by one. Except for Hafiz, all of us nodded, somewhat hesitantly.

  ‘Good. Yes, so through these machines, no single expert could gain control of the repository of facts and truth by posing as a trusted source, or the truth could get compromised. Any factual query had to be confirmed by millions of individual machines, each of which was in the control of individual humans. Truth was democratized, and each human became a Truth Keeper of the information that was in their range. This way, the upholders of truth would always thwart any attempt to introduce error in it by those who wanted to promote falsehood. The Truth Keeper system worked very well indeed, for a very long time. Until one day, it failed!’

  ‘Whoa! This is unbelievable! Then what happened?’ I asked Yuva, trying to wrap my head around this phenomenon of how humanity had sought to guard its most pre
cious asset, the Truth, which according to maej was the foundation of human development.

  In his characteristic unfazed manner, Yuva continued explaining, ‘You see, Dushita found out that this way he could be privy to the smaller day-to-day interactions of his subjects. He started with the images that people posted of themselves. His free algorithm was the best at photoshopping humans and making them look perfect. He threw in some social incentives for the biggest fakers. Humans became addicted to that recognition and sought more. We are all greedy.’ He shook his big grey head with sadness.

  ‘Dushita quickly became the dominant “recorder” with his Digitalis machines. He had everyone’s photos and now knew what they looked like. Then his algorithm began providing false background settings in the images so that one’s activities became a lie. Ever so slowly, he took control and moved up, inevitably destroying truth and replacing it with falsehood.

  And so, the world gradually moved away from the real to the false. They moved away from the disciplines of yoga, which they had been taught.’

  ‘Yoga? How does that even fit here, Yuva?’ Tan asked. It was quite evident that everyone, even those who had lived their lives outside pods, were grappling for answers.

  ‘Tan, yoga taught humanity that a yogi does not engage in worldly activities solely to gain pleasure or profit. He is not needy or greedy. The yogi was taught, from time to time, to balance his consuming desires by alternating them with periods of abstinence and giving. You see, my children, yoga purified humanity. It is this continuous exchange, this balance of these two contradictory experiences—of receiving and giving in equal measures—that brings out the highest good in a person. It is what you would call a “reset” that would remove all viruses in a computer.’

  ‘So you’re saying that Dushita puts a virus in humans and corrupts them? And that yoga was a reset button that everyone just forgot about?’ I asked.