by Abhishek Roy
“Sure, a magnet can always have two poles. It can never have a single pole even if the magnet is broken.”
“Correct!” he exclaimed, “But what if I tell you that there are some particles which exist in nature, some which cannot be seen, some, which are mono polar,” he emphasised specially on the ‘mono polar’.
“Yes. I have recently read about mono polar particles. Paul Dirac himself had also predicted them. Now don’t tell me that you... “
“We did Mathias, we did! We found the mono polar particle!” he was beaming with excitement clearly rediscovering his passion. “It was in the pipeline but it was finally my program fed into the cyclotron which finally isolated the particle.
“That helped us build fuel cells that run forever and with great efficiency. Now the fuel cells also had a mixture of hydrazine and di-nitrogen tetra oxide as a reserve fuel, if the actions of the particles fail. If the mixture were to come in contact with the particles, then it would get agitated so much that it would explode 200,000 times more that it should normally. This is why it attracted terrorists. The rest of the story, I believe that you already know.”
By the time he finished speaking I was literally amazed. It was news a person like me yearns for. Vivek really deserved more than becoming a full time scientist and then getting sacked because of his best friend.
I went over to Vivek and lay my palm on his shoulder. He somehow felt very warm and like an elder brother to me. Maybe even he had sensed that. He looked at me and smiled. I understood that he was finally getting to know me better. We stood there for some while, looking over at the setting sun. The mood was perfect, one that would not be seen in the upcoming days. This was the calm before the storm.
“Come, follow me Mathias. I want to show you something.” With that, he started towards his room. I followed him patiently. His room was more of study than a room. There was a bed, a closet and a bathroom. These were the only things that looked normal. The rest of the room was more or less like my study in the institute back in London. However, apart from the small pieces of machinery, tools and the immense amounts of books and papers, there were snippets and clippings from the newspaper that spoke of jobs and vacant posts in various small time companies. It was really sad seeing that such a brilliant fellow had to worry about such things.
He took me to his bed where we sat down quietly for we did not want to wake up Ram who was fast asleep on a mattress on the floor. After last couple of days, he was completely spent and deserved that nap.
Vivek motioned me to sit beside him and so I did. He then kneeled down and fished out a hefty box from underneath his floorboard. I moved a little to make space for the box. Vivek kept it in between us, blew away the dust accumulated on the lid and unlatched the locks. He scooped up a device. It looked like an ordinary fuel cell but was really compact. The whole device was matte black in colour. It was like a small, flat cuboidal box. On the middle of one of the sides there was a shiny silver pipe and the width of the device had small ports that were clearly meant for fitting the cell. Save a small LCD display, there was nothing else.
“What you are looking at my friend is one of the fuel cells which were created in the base. It is however a prototype but is functional even now.”
I tried to move forward to touch the device.
“Careful!” Vivek recoiled and moved it away. “It is still functional Mathias. One needs to be really careful with it. If even a small hole occurs in the divider, then the particles will mix with the rocket fuel, followed by a huge explosion in no time. However, it is totally safe otherwise as the divider is made of an inert version of solid steel and not likely to puncture easily.“
“Alright, alright.” I backed off and decided to look at it from afar. At that moment Ram tossed on his mattress. Vivek’s voice had shot up suddenly and both of us decided to talk softly so that next time Ram doesn’t get up and start scolding us.
“This cell has a small circular tube running around it in the shape of an ellipse. Inside the elliptical tube, we have the mono polar particles. Right now, the temperature inside the tube is maintained at a milli-kelvin,” said Vivek with a lot of pride.
My eyes went wild on hearing that low a temperature. “Yes, at milli-kelvin,” Vivek seemed to cherish the moment. “It is done so that the particles are not really active. Otherwise, the consequences would not be good,” he paused a moment, trying to settle that in.
“I understand,” I said.
“As soon as the device is plugged into the rocket motor, the temperature rises and the particles start moving along the length of the tube at immense speeds.”
“So you guys have built a mini cyclotron?” “Correct!” he exclaimed.
“Hence, the moving particles radiate energy which is collected and moves throughout the connecting pipe-” he said, motioning towards the silver pipe, “and travels down the length of the chamber, providing energy to the boosters. That is the reason why we have to be careful with it. If there is even a slight change in temperature then the energy radiated by the particles will agitate the molecules of the reserve fuel and then, BOOM!“
“Alright, but where is this reserve fuel kept?”
“It is in a chamber in the middle of the elliptical tube. In the hollow space. The cell has been constructed well. It is weatherproof, shockproof, waterproof and largely puncture- proof.”
“Interesting.”
Vivek kept the cell back inside its box carefully and slid it beneath the bed with utmost gentleness.
“This is yours?” I asked, surprised. “What about the institute?“
“These are mine for the moment, since these are part of prototypes developed by me and it would have been pretty awkward trying to return them to the Institute after the scandal.”
“Fine, but thanks for giving me that wonderful information. That shall suffice.” I wanted to know more but I figured that the time really wasn’t right.
“We will start discussing and packing for our journey after Ram and all the others wake up, right?” Vivek asked me.
“Yeah. I reckon.”
“Then meanwhile.... I would like to show you my garden.
I suppose a person like you would like it.“
Vivek’s offer surprised me. Of course I liked him but he seemed to like me too. I don’t know what he saw in me that he decided to show his garden to me, a person he had got aquatinted to just that day. Anyway, I said yes.
Kapittel 17
Mathias’s story
RISHIKESH, INDIA
March 10, 2017, Friday, 0600 hours IST
“Ram, you have got the piece of nylon rope and the GPS I gave you, right?” Vivek cried out.
“Yup!”
“Mathias, have you got the tools on you? We are probably going to have to break in. We do not want to find ourselves without the right tools!” I checked my bag and found the toolbox. “Yes! I do have it!“
“I have my stuff, climbing gear and the small tent in case we decide to set up camp. I hope we are not forgetting anything. We will be leaving in.... three minutes from now.” Vivek said.
“I do not think so. I seem to have everything I need,” said Ram.
“I should probably give a cursory look to the room in case we have forgotten anything,” I said.
“That would be good. “Vivek replied.
I went into the room and looked around. I saw nothing in the room that we may have forgotten. I had my laptop, a toolbox, climbing gear, rope and my clothes in my bag. Just when I was about to leave the room, a thought crossed my mind. I looked at the bottom of the bed. Standing at the doorway for a while, I made up my mind. I went up to the bed, kept my bag on it and bent down. I pulled out the box with the cell outside. While looking at it I thought that this journey was going to be a dangerous one. We should muster everything we can for our defence. The fuel cell, being able to be a bomb at the same time could come in handy some point in time. Though I knew that no one would allow me to take it with me, I found an
empty space, big enough for the box and stuffed it inside.
“Mathias! Where are you? We are about to leave!” shouted Ram.
“I am coming!” I shouted back.
I slipped the straps over my shoulder and walked out the room to join them. I was just hoping that Vivek was right about the cell. After all, it was a potential bomb and hopefully the people had made it equally tough so that a sudden jolt would not dislodge the divider and the temperature of the particles is maintained. It was a ‘rocket’ fuel cell. It had to be tough. The fact that someone might catch me with the cell in my bag also frightened me.
“We have not left anything. I think we are good to go.” I gave them thumbs up.
“Come on,” Vivek led the way.
“Isn’t your father coming along?” Ram asked.
“No. I persuaded him not to since we might fall into trouble.”
We stuffed our bags at the back of the truck. While Ram settled in the back of the truck, near our bags, Vivek sat in the driver’s seat with myself at his side. Vivek’s parents bade us goodbye and we were off to the biosphere.
***
It was a pleasant and smooth journey to the Himalayas. As we went closer to our destination, the atmosphere became cooler even at 10 AM. The foliage of trees, unable to bare the cold, went on thinning and when we reached the foothills of the snowy mountains, none were left. The cold had become forbidding but not strong enough to veer us from our path.
After a five-hour winding drive, we entered the beautiful and holy town of Badrinath. Badrinath is a picturesque town nestled in the lower mountains of the Himalayas. The fact that one can watch the ice covered peaks of some mountains meant that Badrinath is located at the threshold in between the shorter and the gargantuan Himalayas. Besides, it is an extremely holy area for every year almost a million Hindu pilgrims visit Badrinath to seek the blessings of their lord.
Although this wasn’t the pilgrim season, people swarmed the roads.
“See that temple over there?” Vivek pointed towards a temple a few hundred metres away while driving.
“Yes, I do,” I replied, squinting to see the big temple in the sunlight.
“That is the Badrinath temple. That is the biggest tourist attraction here. Not only do the locals pray here but also the pilgrims who come here every month.”
“In India, there is an intriguing legend behind everything, Mathias,” Ram joined in enthusiastically. “In this case, legend has it that Lord Vishnu once sat here in meditation because he was disappointed by the meat eating and unchaste sages. During his meditation, Vishnu was unaware of cold weather. Lakshmi, his consort, protected him in the form of Badri tree or Jujubi tree. Pleased by the devotion of Lakshmi, Vishnu named the place Badrika Ashram.
“Besides,” continued Ram,” Lord Vishnu himself is known as Badrinath so this town in basically devoted to Lord Vishnu.” “Interesting,” I replied, making a mental note of reading about Lord Vishnu on Wikipedia.
“I see that you are keen about Indian mythology, aren’t you Ram?” Vivek asked from behind the driving wheel.
“Well, not only Indian myths and legends but world mythology and folklore.”
“Excellent,” smiled Vivek.
From the words of it, Indian mythology appeared to be pretty interesting. It kind of felt good to know that people have a rationale behind what they did, be it inane or meaningful. Suddenly, I started appreciating the town of Badrinath more. Also, I began observing the tiniest of signs and images to obtain more knowledge about their rich mythology.
“What is that?” I pointed towards a sign etched into the stone of a local well.
“I am not sure about that Mathias. After all, I am not an expert on symbology and iconology. You better ask Ram.”
I turned my gaze to Ram, who said, “Neither am I sure about the symbol. It is definitely not Indian. Looks more like.. .European. Scandinavian perhaps.”
“What would a Scandinavian symbol do here in India?” I questioned him, surprised.
“I have not the slightest idea why.”
After a few more minutes of driving we decided to have a break and eat some food. Vivek parked the car directly in front of a small outdoor restaurant that in India, is known as a Dhaba. We got a nice seat inside and I had another chance to eat Indian after having eaten in Vivek’s house and in the small restaurant in Meerut. This time however, the food was spicier and oilier but nevertheless, tasty. While eating, I secretly took out the leather-bound book from my bag and read the verse a few more times, hoping that something would strike me.
“Take a break, Mathias. We will find out soon,” Ram whispered to me when he saw me reading the poem. I sighed and kept the book on my lap.
After eating we decided to resume our journey without wasting any more time. While exiting from the restaurant, I tripped over the elevated threshold and fell down on the polished stone floor. In order to protect myself I let go of the book which fell on the threshold with a tearing sound - SCHHACK!
As I was at the back of the file, Ram and Vivek never noticed me fall and carried on towards the truck. I got up in fear that the book had torn. I picked up the book and felt the pages. Nothing was damaged.
Then where could the noise have come from?
I felt the cover with my hands. Smooth.
I flipped open the back cover and my eyes fell on an opening between the back and the seam of the leather. On closer inspection, I was surprised to see a band resembling velcro attaching the leather to the back of the book. It was lighter than velcro and was attaching and detaching with utmost ease. Slowly, I peeled the sheet of leather from the strip and fitted perfectly inside that compartment was a tiny parchment made of very old paper with brown blemishes here and there. I carefully picked it up from its compartment and rolled it out with my fingertips to find something written in cursive. However, just before I could read it-
“Mathias!” Ram called out from the truck, “What are you doing standing there?“
“Nothing, nothing,” I slipped the parchment back into the opening and sealed the Velcro. “Just a second, please,” I said while I set down my big bag. After I kept the diary back in my bag, I walked to the truck.
“You are obsessed with security, Mathias. We are in Badrinath! No one over here is interested in us, there are plenty of tourists around. No sign of any of those white giants here.”
I settled myself on the seat next to Vivek again. “Old habits,” I smiled.
Kapittel 18
Mathias’s story
BADRINATH, INDIA
March 10, 2017, Friday, 1130 hours 1ST
A little further away from the city of Badrinath, we arrived at an outpost. All of the dozen guards there wore the same camouflage jacket, black trousers, a pair of black boots and a fur cap. The only difference was that the people outside the small, cubical radio station had AK-103, the people inside had assault rifles and Glock pistols and the lone man on the tower was using a very old Mauser sniper rifle. In all, the outpost was heavily guarded and a barricade that could be lowered only by a man inside the radio station blocked the way ahead.
“ID please,” one of the two guards who had come up to Vivek asked him brusquely.
Name: Rajendra Sharma
DOB: 15/4/1994
Father’s Name: Suresh Sharma
Address: 592/H, Bharat Bhavan, 45 North Road, Badrinath.
Reg. no: 3324H456387J898EJJK8EURUE9
Vivek held out his ID. The guard grabbed it and looked at it carefully.
Satisfied, he asked Vivek what his purpose was.
“I am delivering supplies to the ISRO base.”
“Right. May I check your cargo?”
“Sure,” Vivek replied, trying to stay calm.
The guard nodded to one of his men who went up to the back of the hold and checked the crates.
“They do have food sir!” the man confirmed to the officer.
“Check the dashboard!” the officer commanded the other guard.
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The guard jogged to the front. Vivek opened the dashboard and allowed him a look.
“It’s all clean sir.”
“You may proceed.” The officer gave thumbs up to the man inside the station who pressed a button and the barricade lowered. Vivek was relieved and he sped off. After the barricades were set up into place again the officer turned to his fellow guardsman and said, “Is one supposed to sweat in such a climate?“
“I don’t think so.” he replied.
“Then why was that young trucker sweating?”
***
When I heard Vivek say, “You both may come out now,” I let out my breath and climbed outside from the hollow interior of the triple truck seat. Staying inside the box, contorted and with Ram had really killed me.
I pushed open the small trapdoor and climbed out. Ram followed me. Vivek was standing outside the door with a smile on his face. “They let us in!”
“So the ID I had hacked and forged worked out,” I replied.
The scenery outside was stupendous. The brown mountains with some snow here and there were majestic. Only, the landscape would have looked better if the sky were blue instead of the dark shade of grey it was now. There was probably a storm brewing as the first few cumulonimbus clouds were indicating. Nonetheless, Ram was enthralled by the scene. So was I.
“Welcome to the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve,” said Vivek triumphantly.
After a minute of admiring the beauty, we were off again along the dirt track to the coordinates. The GPS was really coming in handy. It showed our movements and gave us directions to our desired location. Along the way, we spotted a few guard cum watchtowers. We needed to be really careful about our actions here. It was a really bumpy ride for 45 minutes after which we had to park the vehicle and travel on foot for another 20 minutes or so as our destination was well off the road. We fished out our Samsonite bags from beneath the straw and food material we bought along the way and started walking.
It was a small valley we were walking through, flanked on either side by sheer cliffs. There was little snow but our hair and clothes were assaulted by the howling wind. These regions of the Himalayas are the most hostile places in the entire belt. It is cold all year round and there are blizzard storms and rainstorms, especially in this part - Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. I remembered Ram saying that the fauna here was dangerous too. In all, most of nature was against us.
