The Destiny of Shaitan

by Laxmi Hariharan

  On one side is a scene which is as close to picture postcard perfection as possible. It is an oasis in the centre of the universe, painted with the hues of a perfect dream, with flowers of all colours stretching out and the smell of the sea in the distance. Just looking at the scene soothes the nerves of Yudi and Rai. They take in a deep breath, exhaling as one, smiles on their faces. Then turn to survey the view from the windows on the other side.

  These open onto a more familiar scene with soaring edifices and tall monoliths reaching for the skies. A constant stream of space vessels use the conduit between the structures, running through them at a frenzied pace.

  “What a stark contrast, “exclaims Rai.

  “But it lends a real personality to this place,” says Yudi. “So this is what Arkana could be like, if it is allowed to grow and prosper?” He lets the question hang in the air, staring, awestruck by the magnificent panorama in front of his eyes.

  “This is very much the twin planet, a mirror image,” says Rai “yet so far ahead of its time. It is difficult to see Arkana ever getting to this level.”

  Yudi is about to reply when the door opens and in walks an extremely tired Tiina walks in holding what looks like a carafe.

  Yudi runs up to her and pulls her firmly into his embrace, almost squeezing the breath out of her. Tiina is surprised but laps up the attention. She sinks into the embrace, enjoying it for a few seconds. Then, balancing the container in her hand, she says, “Careful, we don’t want to spill what I just spent the last many hours battling for.”

  Then adds, “the next encounter is all yours. It is going to take me a little time to recover from this one.”

  “But it was only a mental battle, nothing physical, right? All you needed to do was concentrate,” says Rai.

  “And that’s why I was chosen, the one with superior brain power,” Tiina agrees, raising an eyebrow at Rai. “You are right. I am shocked that it took so much out of me. It has given a whole new meaning to mind control.”

  Yudi looks at Rai. “What do you think? Physical fighting or mental evasion? Choose your weapon.”

  Rai ignores the two of them and says, “I think we should drink this up.” He gestures towards the carafe “whatever that is. After all that Tiina’s been through, let’s at least get our strength up.”

  They both nod amiably.

  Yudi looks at the liquid and asks, “So this is the Elixir?”

  “So Lord Vishnu tells me. It’s supposed to be some kind of secret essence,” she replies “he didn’t tell me exactly what, except that it would help us in reaching our destination.”

  The Bird Man walks in, his wings flapping once more before settling down on his back. He hears the latter part of their conversation and clarifies “It is water in essence yet so much more. Not too many have yet got to where you have,” he says.

  “A mere coincidence that it is us who get to it?” asks Yudi.

  “Perhaps it was just meant to be,” says the Bird Man.

  “You mean …?” says Tiina.

  “Us …?” says Rai.

  “What about us?” asks Yudi.

  “The Elixir of Half Lives. It is rumoured that this holds the secret to the strength of the Gods. Churned up in the battle of the Gods and the demons, and hidden away by the Gods until the three …” Yudi’s voice tapers off, as the full realisation of the situation sinks in.

  “Until the three chosen ones defeat the sages and reclaim it.” The Bird Man completes his sentence.

  “And in doing so they also reclaim their powers,” adds Rai.

  “And finally rescue the Isthmus and rid the universe of the evil Shaitan?” asks Yudi.

  “Not bad,” says the Bird Man, “so you have read the myth of the chosen ones as well?” he asks interested.

  “Not really,” says Yudi, “just a lucky guess. You don’t get to where we are on this journey without discovering something of your own fate.”

  Then, sensing the protest that is about to come his way from the rest of them, he gestures to the Elixir. “Time to drink up,” he says. “Shall we?”

  Tiina looks around for something to pour the liquid in. She spots glasses in the shape of test tube on a table to the side of the room. Walking across she picks them up looking at the glasses with curiosity as she walks back towards the small group. The glasses are shaped in a weird manner, but realising there is no alternative, she pours the clear looking liquid from the carafe into the glasses and hands one to each of them.

  They clink glasses. “To us,” says Yudi.

  “And the next stage of our journey,” says Tiina.

  “And to Half Lives everywhere,” agrees Rai.

  They each drink the liquid in one gulp. Yudi clutches his throat as the liquid burns its way down. He barely has time to see Tiina fall to the floor before he silently keels over.

  Yudi opens his eyes to the feeling of the wind whistling through his hair. His head is still heavy as if recovering from a heavy hangover. He sits up groggily to find that Tiina and Rai are already awake, their faces wearing befuddled expressions mirroring how he feels. He realises that they are back on the back of the Bird Man, whizzing through space. Sure enough in a few minutes the Bird Man arrives back at Artemis and sets down on her docking platform.

  After they alight, the steps fold back, the doors close and then the Bird Man begins to shape-shift back to his half man- half bird form. “You know,” says Yudi, his voice emerging in a croak before he clears it and tries again. “You know” he tells Tiina “We’ll probably never see such an incredible sight as this half bird – half man – half machine thing changing form.”

  Rai waits until the Bird Man has completed his metamorphosis back to his half-human form and asks, “So how many of you are there, anyway?”

  “That’s a good question,” says the Bird Man. “I am not sure. I’ve never met anyone like myself, yet” he adds, a thoughtful expression coming onto his face.

  “So you are one of a kind,” says Tiina.

  “Perhaps”

  “That can be lonely.”

  “It is,” he says. “But it will change if you find the Isthmus.”

  “How is that?” she asks.

  “It’s Shaitan’s power that keeps me trapped in this form. When you find the Isthmus and overcome Shaitan, I will be set free,” he says.

  Yudi looks at him with something akin to disbelief “You sure are optimistic to set your bets with us,” says Yudi.

  “So that’s why you chose to be one of our guardians on this journey?” asks Tiina “To make sure you got us a step closer to the Devil himself?”

  The Bird Man smiles “I did it because I could.”

  “So what now?” asks Yudi “The Elixir will endow us with super powers, making us the most powerful in the universe??”

  “You’ve changed you know that, of course. Only time will tell exactly what these powers are. You will have to wait and see.”

  “And Lord Vishnu?” asks Yudi.

  “What about him?” asks the Bird Man.

  “He is impressive! I would have loved to get to know him better.”

  The Bird Man laughs. “You and many other people in this galaxy. Count yourself lucky that you at least got to look the God in the eye.”

  “And Tiina pitted her wits against a real, fully-fledged God. How about that?”

  “That’s just the way the dice falls, or rather the chess pieces in this case,” says the Bird Man. He looks at Tiina “You did well. Better than I expected.”

  “Yes. People don’t realise what I am made of, actually … but when I get the chance. I do rise to the occasion.”

  “And how!” says the Bird Man.

  They both laugh. “Is there something you are not telling us here?” asks Yudi, puzzled at the undercurrent of the many unsaid conversations he is sensing here.

  “That’s for you to ask and for Tiina to tell,” says Bird Man.

  “Oh, come on! Tell us,” implores Rai.

  “It’s a
long story,” says Tiina.

  “And I am sure you will have time on your long voyage to Bombay when Tiina can fill you in on her adventure. For now, though, I have completed my role here.”

  He turns to go and Yudi exclaims, “Don’t leave us alone!”

  Tiina adds, “You are our last familiar face, don’t leave us alone.”

  The Bird Man turns to her. “Haven’t you learnt by now that you are not alone? My role here is complete. I have taken you to the next stage of your journey. But there will be others who help you out.”

  “I don’t see any other guides here but you,” says Yudi

  “They will find you, I promise.”

  “When?” asks Yudi, then as if to himself, “No, don’t tell us, I know, I know,” as both Tiina and Rai chorus in unison, “At the appropriate juncture.”

  The Bird Man laughs. “You learn fast,” he says and puts up a hand in farewell.

  Bombay

  The technology of thought travel was invented and lost here. A secret place; hidden away, sunk in mud, covered with cigarette butts and popcorn kernels; where the film of the world nevertheless continues to run forever.

  Marcodolo, the legendary space explorer who had bridged the gaps between the galaxies, one day tears himself away from the adoring crowds to Bombay, to meditate. For six days and nights, he prays to Lord Vishnu asking for the knowledge of timelessness. Finally, the Lord opens his third eye and in one single beam of pure energy reveals the secret, direct to Marcodolo.

  The images unravel in his mind; telling him to go to the place referred to as Churchgate, in Bombay. Here he manifests the technology; as a monad of pure energy. Marco uses it to build the very first gateway to other dimensions. His masterpiece is a large canvas of pure indestructible material, onto which the monad projects colourful images, straight from world consciousness. And it continues to this day.

  Predictions, earthquakes, box-office successes, celebrity deaths and the birth of new stars. It all plays out here on the timeless silver screen. A never-ending movie, discovered by those for whom the time for travel has arrived.

  For Marco, this triggers off his dormant gene, making him the first Half Life. The one who achieves the very first recorded ascension, in accelerated time.

  And so the Chosen Ones were also summoned to Bombay. How would it be, to change the past and re-write destiny?

  Through the Gateway

  Artemis lands in Bombay in typically dramatic fashion.

  On the rooftop of the lone remaining skyscraper in the city.

  This is, of course, not astonishing to the three voyagers. No, the true surprise is to learn that Bombay is changed beyond recognition, nothing like the pictures of the thriving metropolis they are accustomed to seeing. Gone are the tall skyscrapers and the one-upmanship spirit. No more are there any soaring buildings which speak to the Gods. It seems that the spirit of the place has been broken after the killer tsunami flattened large parts of the country, specifically targeting the recently built skyscrapers, wiping them out.

  All that is left are the structures built in the Indo-gothic style so typical to the city. They are a fusion of elements from native Indian architecture, combined with revival and Neo-Classical styles favoured in Victorian Britain bearing characteristic domes, arches, stained glasses, spires, and minarets.

  It is almost as if by design the tsunami chose to wipe out all traces of commerce and lust, and spring clean ruthlessly, leaving only that which is somehow altruistic. That part of the people and the buildings that embodies the heart of the city. Those who want to rebuild a future, of which future generations can be proud.

  Yet despite being almost razed to the ground, Bombay, named after the Goddess Mumbadevi, remained at the centre of the galactic energy movement, its inhabitants and the very space in which it is created continuing to receive massive downloads of energy filled with knowledge and experience. Travelling through dimensions, across galaxies. As ancient as time, yet revealing themselves to the inhabitants of today.

  Ushering in the unexpected in a very different way. Many complicated miles of knowledge all condensed for consumption in a simple, easy to understand form.

  It is the ultimate consumer’s consumption dream. Plug in and get all the information you need to equip your brain and your heart. No more fasting and sacrifice in search of the truth. Have it delivered to you in quick, edible, photonic bytes. Absorb it into your system.

  Conforming to the fast-paced spirit of the city.

  This, though, did not explain why Artemis is very excited. So full of happiness is she that her colours change with every second. As the three disembark from the ship, the colours reflect off their faces in the dark. It is almost as if they are in an old-fashioned discotheque, with the flashing disco ball reflecting the lights off the rotating spotlights onto the dance floor.

  “What’s up with her?” Yudi asks Tiina.

  In the many hours of travelling together across the galaxies to reach Bombay, Tiina has been mock-designated Artemis’ keeper. The ship is unusually responsive to her thought processes, much more than with the men. It is obvious she has a soft spot for Tiina and will do almost anything for her.

  That plus the fact that a few days into the journey, Tiina started developing such a rapport with the ship that she is able to steer her purely by thought alone. It is clear that the two have a mind-meld of sorts going for them, if not a full-blown love affair.

  By the time they reach Bombay, it has reached heights enough to make Yudi particularly jealous of Artemis and the peculiarly intimate relationship she shares with Tiina.

  As they cautiously disembark and breathe in the night air, Artemis continues to try to attract their attention.

  “It’s more like she is your mistress now,” says Yudi.

  Tiina looks at Yudi, amused. “I can’t believe it, you are jealous of a ship.”

  Yudi has the grace to look shamefaced. He says, “You have to admit, it’s highly unusual for a machine to develop feelings for a Half Life. Trust us to find the one lesbian-inclined space machine in the entire galaxy.”

  “It is not entirely unusual,” says Rai.

  “That the damned thing prefers the female of any species? That it has feelings? Or both?”

  “Both?” asks Rai. “It is more common among machines to prefer their own gender than the opposite sex.”

  “Really?” asks Tiina. “That is the first I’ve heard of that.”

  “Machines are less surprising,” says Rai, “and more predictable. Is that not what you would expect? We have a lot in common, so it’s common to feel a certain kinship, especially in troubled times.”

  Yudi thinks it over. “So we are more like the machines?” he asks wryly.

  “Hmm,” says Rai, choosing to ignore that comment. “Coming back to the original comment, all I am saying is that it is not unusual for a relationship to develop between a Half Life and a machine, especially not since they are being engineered more and more with real emotions.”

  “Yes, OK, I know. It has happened on occasion. Still I find this difficult to understand,” Yudi exclaims.

  Tiina laughs, and then, to tease him even more, walks back to where Artemis is parked, glowing in the dark. She puts her palms against the ship and lays her head against the side of the panel. She tunes in to Artemis. And is taken aback. It is a different trip this time. What flows through her mind is an abundant rush of words, poetic, almost a prayer.

  Intense joy, radiance, luminance, enlightenment.

  You the all-powerful, the all-knowing.

  The dancer who spans the galaxies in mystical ecstasy.

  The origin of the soul, keeper of the third eye.

  Fire in your step, purifying your gaze.

  Your long locks whip around you.

  Rippling muscles move in harmony.

  Your eyes shut in intense concentration.

  A cosmic chant.

  All powerful, rising in crescendo.

  I bow to you, humble
d in awe.

  In happiness, in gratitude.

  I prostrate myself at your lotus feet.

  Enfold me in your presence; give me a corner of your gaze.

  You, who conquered fate.

  Bowed the odds, narrowed the gap.

  The prayer comes unbidden to Tiina. It is, she realises, a mantra. A song asking nature to help them through the biggest adventure of their lives. The pure energy vibrates through her and then falls away, leaving her drained.

  She raises her head, stunned by the emotions that wash over her. Yudi and Rai look at her as she walks back towards them, shaken by the entire experience. Unable to put into words what she has just encountered, she simply looks at them.

  “What? So has Artemis finally confessed her love for you, then?” asks Yudi.

  Tiina takes her time replying. “Not quite,” she says. “It seems as if it is time to get back to the school of hard knocks.”

  “Meaning?” asks Yudi.

  “I am not sure what exactly I heard. It did not sound like Artemis. More like someone was speaking through her. Someone or something. From another dimension.”

  “Are you sure?” asks Yudi. “Perhaps that was Artemis just assuming a different avatar? Trying to impress you?”

  Tiina looks at him. “I do believe you are jealous,” she says, “just because I have a special understanding with Artemis.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous!” exclaims Yudi. “It’s just a machine!”

  Tiina smiles. “Just hear yourself, Yudi.”

  Yudi laughs “Yeah! That was childish.”

  “Who or what did it sound like?” Rai interrupts their shared moment.

  “Like someone was watching over us. And asking … no, pleading with us to be careful with what is to come,” says Tiina.

  Yudi says in a considering tone, “Hearing your description, it sounds like it is …” He lets the statement hang in the air.

  “Mimir,” Rai and Tiina chorus.

  Then Tiina’s face clears. “Of course! It’s him. No wonder the voice seemed familiar.”

  Rai asks, “And he is transmitting through Artemis?”