Immortals

by Kaayn, Spartan

  ‘What? Why Ludvig Hanssen? Is he in Noyabrsk?’

  ‘Yes. In Noyabrsk and camped in the Hotel Park for the past ten days.’

  ‘It could be anyone else in the hotel, a concierge or a bellboy of the hotel too. Why Ludvig?’

  ‘It is because the stuff of Ludvig’s life is beyond us mortals.’ Nair’s pitch was measured, almost theatrical. He continued in his dramatic tone:

  ‘Ludvig started from scratch to now owning the largest telecommunications empire in the world. He has an adventurous streak, to put it mildly, and is the only person to have been to both the poles, solo; to both have conquered Mount Everest and visited the Mariana Trench; to have flown solo round the world in a twin-seater and to have circumnavigated the globe in a sailboat. His company has survived three takeovers and seven major corporate scandals. It has survived more than six hundred and fifty serious litigations in courts all over the world and most remarkably, he has fought most of his battles after the age of fifty. Now, you tell me – is there a better candidate to be harbouring the fantastic immortality trait than Ludvig Hanssen? A man who has literally cheated death scores of times and has harnessed his gift of immortality and foreknowledge to amass an enormous business empire. You have to weigh in the benefits of this gift. You could be king on this Earth if you had the power that Jai has. And Ludvig is a king in his own right.’

  Nair ended his little speech with a grand flourish and he stopped just short of a modest bow in front of his imagined audience.

  ‘But that doesn’t give us enough credence to go to Ludvig with this incredible story.’

  ‘No, that does not. But this does.’ Nair said as he waved the paper in his hand at Professor Ananthakrishnan.

  ‘What’s that?’ Professor Ananthakrishnan reached for the piece of paper, which Nair handed to him.

  ‘I found a short string of data that was out of sync with all the other data. A short string of data that could be decoded by a simple numerical substitution. It held a message, in good old bloody English!’

  Professor Ananthakrishnan was too busy reading the paper to acknowledge Nair’s words.

  His face was almost ashen white when he looked up from the paper.

  Nair just stood there looking at him, nodding his head vigorously.

  ***

  They knocked at the door of Jai’s room together. Jai was still sleeping. He awoke, stumbled to the door, and opened it a crack. Jai saw both the men of science standing outside his door, literally shaking in their boots.

  He opened the door and both the men rushed inside.

  Jai took another look at their faces and asked:

  ‘What happened? Why are you guys so agitated? Is everything alright?’

  ‘Everything’s alright. In fact I think we have most of your answers,’ Nair replied, barely containing his excitement.

  Jai looked mutely at Professor Ananthakrishnan, who made Jai sit down on a chair. Henna had woken up by then and was sitting up in bed, listening to the men.

  Nair continued his excited recounting:

  ‘The signals coming into your head are extra-terrestrial. The signals are alien, probably from an alien in some other world. You do not belong here and you have to go back there urgently. You are the leader and they need you.’

  Jai did not understand a single word that was just said.

  ‘What? What am I? Where am I from? I did not understand anything.’ Jai was scared; of what, he did not yet understand.

  Professor Ananthakrishnan tapped Nair’s shoulder and motioned him to keep quiet.

  ‘Jai, let me.’ Jai looked up to him.

  ‘There are signals coming into your head; these signals are coming from somewhere out there.’ Professor Ananthakrishnan pointed his finger up and Jai looked at the ceiling.

  ‘From where?’

  ‘From somewhere out there. We had no idea where “there” is, but I think we know now. These signals are probably responsible for resetting your life each time you die, sending you back in time so that you can live through your life a bit differently, thus avoiding your death next time round.’

  Jai nodded vigorously. That part he could identify with.

  ‘These signals are being distributed by satellites in the sky which cover the entire Earth and are sending the signal to your head at all times. I believe when you die, you, or more likely your consciousness, goes back in your perceived dreams to the place where the signals are coming from.’

  Jai was nodding his head, listening to the incredible workings of his life for the first time.

  ‘Nair here found a small code repeated manifold in the signal and the message from that string is this, here.’ The professor handed over the paper to Jai who held it in his trembling fingers and started reading it–

  ‘My name is Oeha’Ban and I am a Humae’it, an enemy of the citizens of Domus Nova. I am in charge of guarding both of you. Probably I am a traitor to my people but I have my reasons why I am trying to help both of you. I do not know where exactly your subconscious is now, but I have roughly triangulated it to the early half of the twenty-first century on Earth, probably a few years before the Final War. Both of you are being held in captivity here and the mock trial of sedition trumped up against you in the Humae’it court is almost over. It may not be long before they decide to pull the plug on you.

  ‘I have arranged for your escape five Earth days from now. I want you to be able to disconnect from the stream then. Both of you must understand that if the Humae’its manage to unplug you here, you will drop dead instantly in your twenty-first century Earth world, as well as here. You are invaluable to your people and you must escape from Earth and from your captivity here so that you can return to your people and lead them to victory in the war against us Humae’its. Hoping this message finds you in good time.’

  The letter went on for about another hundred words, detailing the steps to follow for disconnection from their ‘Earth forms’.

  Jai looked up, horrified at the prospect of his imminent death.

  ‘What does this mean? Who are the both of us? I do not understand any of this.’

  The professor shrugged his shoulders.

  ‘I was hoping you could shed some light for us.’

  Jai had told the professor about his Abdi dreams and about the white room but had refrained from mentioning his most of what he saw there. He had desperately wanted to cut down on the oddities so that his tale would be as believable as possible. He had therefore skipped the part where he had seen another cot with another person in the white room.

  Now was the time to tell all. He arose, and pacing about the room, launched into his story.

  Jai narrated the tale all over again, sparing no details. He talked about the aberrant clock-face on the wall, his companion strapped to another cot in the adjoining room, and the beautiful moons in the window on the wall. He also told of the old man in the ‘white bomb-squad suit’ who had held a mirror before him to show him his face, which, oddly, was not his.

  Henna had heard it all before but the retelling by Jai once again brought goose-bumps to her skin. Professor Nair was mesmerised, hearing the tale from Jai’s lips for the first time. Jai told his story with utmost conviction, as could only come from an intimate personal experience.

  Moreover, Nair had the proof right there in his lab and in his hands.

  This was incredible. The most fantastic discovery in the world of science and he was a part of it.

  Jai finished his tale and then looked up at both the professors. Before they could say anything, Jai asked his question:

  ‘I do not understand any of this. Can someone please tell me in a language I can understand?’

  Professor Ananthakrishnan nodded sympathetically and replied.

  ‘Well. I am sorry for our brusque behaviour. But I guess I have not been this excited in a long time. Let me try to break it down for you. As you already know, we detected waves around your head. We traced those waves here and found that they emanate from a str
ing of satellites in orbit around Earth,’ he paused for a moment and asked, ‘Are you following me this far?’

  Jai nodded and the professor continued:

  ‘Well, beyond that, Professor Nair here analysed the signal further and found this secret message in those rays that are being beamed to your head. In the light of what you have told me just now, I can surmise that you and your companion in the white room are being held captive in an alien world and your consciousness – rather, your subconscious mind is – being telecast into your bodies here. The hows and the whys of it beat me right now, though.’

  ‘What do you mean by an alien world? I am afraid I lost you completely after you said that.’

  ‘Okay. That’s the stuff of folklore. But let me give you a crash course on astronomy. Our home here, the planet Earth, is one amongst many orbiting around our star, the Sun, which is one amongst a couple of hundred billion stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. A galaxy, by the way, is a conglomeration of stars and ours is one amongst more than a hundred billion galaxies in the Universe. The scale and the numbers of this Universe are staggering and it is all very, very humbling. We are but a tiny, insignificant planet around an ordinary star amongst billions of stars in our galaxy, which in turn is only one amongst billions of galaxies in the Universe. These figures, though humbling, open up a really tantalising possibility – the possibility of us not being alone here. It seems like an awesome waste of space and resources if we were the only life in the entire Universe. But maybe we are alone and that’s because life is not as important to the Universe as it is to us. Anyways, philosophical questions aside, this here, what is happening with you, tells us that we are not alone. This is perhaps the most important discovery ever made by humankind. And thanks to you, I am right in the thick of it. This message that we have deciphered says that there is life on another world and that this message is possibly from a different place in the Universe and perhaps from a different time of Universe.’

  Jai was intently following the professor and this bit about a different time did not make sense to him.

  ‘What do you mean by a different time?’

  ‘Well, that is a difficult concept to grasp, but let me try. Just as you see everything around you spread in the space around you, you can perhaps stretch your imagination to the idea of a time that comprises roughly of yesterday, today, and tomorrow and which encompasses everything there is to encompass. All matter and all happenstances occur within this fabric of time. Once we attribute this physicality to time, it ceases to be an abstract entity and in turn becomes amenable to tangible manipulation by us. That has given us the concept of time travel where you can possibly travel to your yesterday, and your tomorrow. You can think of your experiences of immortality as mini time jumps that you have been making each time your self in the “today” dies.’ The professor raised his hands as he reached the end of his lecture.

  ‘Hope you understood half of what I told you.’

  Jai nodded his head. He understood the basic theme of the professor’s lecture.

  Professor Ananthakrishnan then asked Nair a question. Professor Nair was deep in thoughts of his own and the question brought him back from his reverie.

  ‘You asked me something?’

  ‘Yes. What do we do about this now?’

  ‘What else is there to do? Call a press conference. The world needs to know about this.’

  ‘I thought you would say that. What proof do we have? Our data may not be enough. Others would like to confirm and then reconfirm our findings. There would be a huge storm of epic proportions among our ilk. Not to mention the legal wrangles of Jai being a wanted underworld shooter from Mumbai.’

  Nair looked on, not having any answers for the professor.

  Professor Ananthakrishnan continued:

  ‘It can all be done, but definitely not in five days. In five days, Jai will be dead and a fat lot of good that will be for science. None of the results would be confirmed by then and Jai’s case would just be another oddity, an enigma which time and prudence would dismiss as a “brilliant hoax”.’

  Jai looked from one to the other as they discussed his death in such an academic fashion. Nair was not happy, realising where the professor was going with this mini-speech of his.

  ‘So, what do you want to do?’

  Professor Ananthakrishnan looked at Nair and then at Jai.

  ‘Make an ISD call to Noyabrsk.’

  Chapter 21

  The Call from Beyond

  Park Hotel

  Noyabrsk, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug

  Russia

  28 May, 2012

  It had been a week of agonisingly little progress. Ludvig had been stationed in Noyabrsk all this while, trying to secure Sonya’s release. There was still no contact with the kidnappers and they had not come out with any demands. Attempts to get in touch with Luvenson had proved futile.

  It was yet another dreary morning for Ludvig, as he sat forlorn in his chair by the balcony, munching on a cold sandwich. Dan had been working furiously for the past week, gathering leads from all his sources while liaisoning with the Russian politsiya and the FSB. There were leads that pointed to it being a mafia hit but beyond that, no further leads emerged.

  Ludvig was immersed in his thoughts, going over the events of the past week, when there was a discreet knock on his door.

  The door was ajar and Dan pushed it open and entered the room.

  Ludvig looked at Dan and motioned him to sit.

  ‘Anything?’ Ludvig asked Dan before he could take his seat.

  ‘Well, I have some news. There is an old-timer locked in a forest penitentiary in Smolensk for the past thirty years. Smolensk is about 300 kilometres west of Moscow, near the Russia-Belarus border. Apparently this jailbird claims to have information about Sonya and is ready to sing for a price.’

  ‘Is he genuine?’

  ‘I don’t know, at this time. But as we speak, an FSB team is making its way towards Smolensk penitentiary to ascertain the veracity of his claims.’

  ‘What can we do?’

  ‘I have sent word that we are ready to meet any financial demands this jail-bird might have. Also, he will be moved tonight to Moscow where I’ll have access to him. I am on a flight to Moscow tomorrow morning.’

  Ludvig thought for a moment.

  ‘I am also coming. We’ll take the company jet.’

  ‘Okay. As you wish.’ Dan knew Ludvig was suffering although not much of it was seen was on his old face. He had been Ludvig’s shadow for much of the past decade and he knew that of all his relations, Sonya probably meant the most to Ludvig.

  ***

  Ludvig had got tired of waiting and the idea of spending another sedate day in the hotel just did not appeal on any count. He needed action and felt that his being in Moscow could help matters. The company jet was being readied and all he could do was wait in the meanwhile. He had drifted off into the pages of the daily Russian Gazette when his telephone rang.

  It was Dan. Ludvig picked up the phone and said hello.

  ‘I have some very bad news.’

  ‘What happened?’ Ludvig already feared the worst.

  ‘Demyan’ was killed.’

  ‘What? Who is Demyan’?’

  ‘The Smolensk prisoner I was talking to you about today morning. The convoy that was bringing him to Moscow was attacked on the way and Demyan’ was killed. I am sorry. He must have been a genuine lead and has probably been eliminated by the mafia.’

  ‘How could that happen?’

  ‘The mafia has its ears everywhere. The Russian intelligence is like a leaking tap. The plans to shift Demyan’ were probably leaked out to the mafia for a price. There was an ambush and the whole convoy was blown to smithereens.’

  ‘Hm…’ Ludvig’s heart sank at the news. It was the best lead they had had in days and whatever hopes he had of seeing Sonya, were again dashed to the ground.

  Ludvig thought for a while on the phone. Dan patiently waited for
his boss on the other end of the line.

  ‘Get me the details of the ambush. The how and where of it. I want to know the exact location of the ambush, and the details of how it was carried out.’

  Dan did not understand what good that would serve but brought it to his boss within an hour. Dan had got in touch with the FSB detectives investigating the attack.

  Ludvig pored over the details that Dan had given him. He committed them to his memory and then stood up. He had thought hard about this and a plan had formed in his head.

  This was probably the only chance he had of getting back his daughter. The more time passed, the more it was likely that he would not see Sonya alive. He had to intervene. He had to get to Demyan’ before his death.

  For that, he would have to rewind time, in his own unique way.

  He sent Dan away on for an update on Luvenson and then locked himself in his room. He took out his Heckler & Koch VP70 pistol from the drawer in the table and once he had made up his mind, he stood by the table and took the pistol in his hand. It was a semi-automatic, probably the best semi-automatic handgun in the world. He raised it to his mouth and cupped his lips around the barrel of the gun. Ludvig took a deep breath and his finger slid into the trigger chamber.

  ‘This needs to be done,’ he said to himself and then just as his trigger finger muscles were tensing, the phone rang, startling Ludvig. His finger froze when he was startled and that prevented the bullet from taking his head off.

  He pulled out the gun and answered the phone, his voice still gruff from his mouth having been around the cold barrel of his gun.

  ‘Hello.’

  ‘Hello, Sir.’ It was one of the men on Dan’s team. All phone calls to Ludvig came through him.

  ‘What happened?’ Ludvig was annoyed with the interruption.

  ‘Sorry to disturb you, Sir. I thought this was important. I have an overseas call for you.’