Once in a thousand years he’s born;
A sign, a warning, an evil omen.
He’ll arrive like a storm from the horizon;
And drink the blood of a million men.
Here I lie in my cell. A lonely, defeated and humiliated mass of flesh, looking forward to death more eagerly than I ever looked to life. For propelled by ambition I became the ultimate destroyer of men, someone that would make even death pale in comparison.
When they took me out for my walk yesterday I saw the remains of the metropolis that was once New Delhi, my hometown. For miles and miles on a stretch the only thing visible was a dark giant pile of concrete and steel, electricity crackling here and there, sending sparks running from the Earth to the sky.
The world has become a graveyard, filled with innumerous dead rotting bodies, and some that are still alive but will be soon dead and rotting.
And it’s all because of me.
***
It began on the most beautiful day of my life. One of those rare days at the end of the winter when the sun shines brightly, but the wind is still cool and refreshing, a day that I wouldn’t have traded for an eternal life in heaven. ‘Today is the day that time will never forget.’ I thought as I walked briskly in the university’s wide corridor.
Born of a Swiss mother, I was almost as illustrious a scientist as my Indian father. I nodded to a couple of research students who stood in the corridor, gaping at me with awe. I fully deserved that kind of treatment. At the young age of 36, I headed the physics department of my university, a post I earned by virtue of my tireless and groundbreaking work on the structure of sub-atomic particles. I had shot to fame with my very first paper in the Science journal; praise and recognition flowed in by the gallon. But even then I knew I was made for even bigger things.
As I got into the elevator for the upper levels, I thought about the last few years. They had been full of struggle. Thanks to the initial euphoria over my newfound status as a world known scientist, I had secured the government grant needed to build the lab for my dream project, but the money flow was squeezed a little while later, even when I revealed the nature and the sensitivity of my work to the regime. I had to literally become a marketing man to convince the government to keep funding me.
‘Not the right job for a scientist. Takes away the concentration from my research.’ I Thought as I patted my golden Matiz. I loved my car. ‘It is almost irrational. How I substitute materialistic possessions like my car and my computer for real live family members. If people knew I had names for them, they’d put me in a loony bin. I would look great as a mad scientist.’ I laughed at my own thoughts. My parents were dead by the time I was 24, I was the only child and marriage never occurred to me. I lived a luxurious but quite life in my 2 room flat in the heart of town.
As I drove my car, I felt on top of the world. All those laborious days and sleepless nights had finally borne fruit. For the first time I had concluded my experiment successfully. I had transported instantaneously a sugar cube to the other end of the room without carrying it. The prototype of the ‘Transponder’ was ready and I was on my way to meet the Prime Minister to disclose the full details to him.
I dreamed of my invention as I drove to the Prime Minister’s house. The transponder was a device from the realm of science fiction, something that would change the way the world functions. It was a discovery as big as the wheel, and maybe ten times more important.
Getting into the Prime Minister’s home was no problem, the security check was done and over in 2 minutes. Apparently, they were expecting me. I was guided to an office deep inside the palatial building. The PM sat behind a huge rosewood desk talking animatedly with his young aide, the communications minister. He gestured me to sit and continued his conversation.
The Prime Minister was an old man, his face crisscrossed with wrinkles, reflecting the enormous responsibility and the years he carried.
I was a bit surprised to see the communications minister there, this was top secret material, nobody but the PM knew the full details of the nature of my research.
“So Mr. Ronald Khosla, you bring us good news eh?” Said the Prime Minister in his trademark style.
“Please call me Ronald sir, but this is more than just a good news, it’s a revolution.”
“Really? I expect you have achieved full success then. The government has poured a lot of money in your project.”
“Nothing less than that. I’d be glad to reveal the details to you. If…” I glanced at the communications minister.
The Prime Minister stared at me quizzically, then suddenly realized what I was implying. “Oh! I expect you already know Prakash Mittal, our communications minister and my nominated successor. He has full security clearance. You don’t have to hold back anything. Please go on.”
“In that case, let me begin.” I said, and told my story.
The PM and his aide were no men of science, and I knew I had to begin from the scratch. “I expect you already know that all matter in the universe is composed of atoms, which in turn are made up of sub atomic particles. This is true for in-animate objects, like this desk, and even for living organisms like us.”
“I am sure you must have heard about Einstein’s relativity theory that suggests that matter in its native form cannot travel faster than light or even at near lightspeed.” I gave a dramatic pause and stood up. “That is, if you do it conventionally.”
They were staring at me with rapt attention as I walked to the center of the room. “My method, you see, breaks the tradition a bit.” I took out the sugar cube that I had transported earlier. “See this cube? A normal vehicle carrying this would need energy to propel it from one place to another, the transponder however, does the same thing by converting the cube itself into energy.” I looked at them for reaction but there was none so I continued.
“Matter cannot travel as fast as light, but energy can, and I’ve found a way to convert matter into energy and back into matter. My transponder actually converts matter into a new type of sub atomic particle that I call ‘Minuton’, beams it safely anywhere, and assembles it back into solid matter in an instant. The device works principally by using an anti-electro magnetic beam to…”
My speech was cut short by the sound of applause. The PM and his aide were clapping loudly, their faces radiating with smiles. “You don’t have to go into technical details Ron. I won’t understand a thing. Congratulations on your achievement, your discovery will make our country the greatest nation on Earth. I would like to see a demonstration immediately.”
“That can be arranged.”
The PM visited my laboratory with his full security regalia for the demo, this time I transported a kettle filled with tea instead of the sugar cube. I felt at the top of the world for the second time that day when I saw his eyes go wide when the kettle slowly appeared at the end of the room.
“Can you build a man sized transponder?” Asked the PM when the demo was over.
“I can make them bigger, as big as you want. Big enough to transport heavy machinery, there’s no limit to the size, and there are no major extra costs.” I said.
“Brilliant! In that case we shall arrange to put your discovery in production immediately.”
The communications minister was staring at the device with a lost look on his device, suddenly he turned to me and said. “Ron have you told anyone about this?”
“No. Not yet.” I said.
“You do understand how sensitive and explosive this development is. We wouldn’t want this going into any other country’s hands, would we?”
“Definitely not.” I could guess what he was hinting at.
“Right. Ron, I want you to keep this a complete secret, tell no one that your research is successful until you get clearance from the PM’s office. Not even family members.”
“I don’t have a family. You don’t have to worry Mr. Mittal, I love my country as much as you do. I would do nothing that would harm its interest.” I was quite piqued by the attack at my sincerity.
“Oh no! I did not mean that. No one can doubt your patriotism. I am sorry if you thought that. I was just telling you about the sensitivity of the matter, that is all.” He shifted uneasily in his chair.
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind sir.” I said in my iciest tone possible. His discomfort made me feel a lot better.
The PM sensed the tension in the air and rose. “We must leave now Ron, but before going, I am glad to appoint you the acting head of the Science Research Organization. You can shift your laboratory there and work with the other great minds of our country.”
Everyone in the room shook hands with me and congratulated me for becoming the head of the country’s most prestigious research organization. It was a dream come true.
Suddenly the PM spoke again. “Oh yeah. One more thing Ron. I would like you to submit your complete research documents to my office. I need to get a technical viability check done.”
“Of course. I have everything ready, I will submit them by tomorrow.”
***
I shifted to SRO the very next day. My spacious office, the giant library and the excellent facilities available in the lab kept me busy. I went about my new job with enthusiasm of a newcomer, talking to our greatest scientists, exchanging views on the quantum theory, and refining the existing facilities of the lab to make them even better. I hardly noticed anything was wrong until one day it suddenly occurred to me.
A complete two months has passed since I had first shown the demonstration to the PM, and there had been no communication about further production of the Transponder. I decided to find out what was happening. I called up the PM on the number he had given me, but he was in an important meeting, his secretary promised to pass on the message as soon as he came back.
I waited for an entire day for the call, then suddenly I remembered the communications minister. He was with the PM all the time. I dialed his number, He picked the phone himself.
“Hi, this is Ronald Khosla. Do you remember me?” I asked.
“Ron.” He laughed. “What a question. Who can forget you, you’re the greatest scientist alive.”
“Uh. Thanks. Well, it’s been many days and I was wondering what happened to the scheme to mass produce the Transponder.”
“Oh, these are official matters Ron. Delays happen. There are lots of things to do, patents, registrations, technical viability research, training, but don’t you worry, I have people working on it.”
“Any idea how long it will take?” The red tape was beginning to bother me.
“I do not really know Ron, Maybe a few more days. I will keep you updated.” He said and hung up.
I spent the next month puzzling over the government’s apparent lack of interest in the Transponder Project. The communications minister never called back, and my calls to the PM’s office still went un-answered. By the end of the month I realized something was seriously wrong and went into the grip of a strong paranoia. I was afraid they were trying to steal my invention from me.
I tried one last desperate call to the PM’s office.
“I am sorry, he’s busy. I’ll ask him to call you back when he’s free.” The man on the phone gave me the standard brush off, but I wasn’t buying it this time.
“Look mister, this is the fifth time I am calling this week. Did you tell the PM I called?”
“I told you, he’ll call you when he’s free.” He said in a stony voice, he was trying to intimidate me.
I felt my blood boiling with rage. “Is that so? Well pray he’s free soon, because this is a matter of national security. If he doesn’t answer my call, our country is going to loose the biggest discovery of the millennia to some over-industrialized western nation that doesn’t even deserve it.”
There was a moment of silence. Then, “I’ll see what I can do” said the voice and hung up.
Five minutes later I was talking to the PM.
“Hi Mr. Khosla, I just got your message. I have been a bit busy so couldn’t talk to you earlier, but believe me it was your project that I was busy with.” He said even before I could say hello.
“That’s alright sir. I just wish that you had kept me informed.” I said, feeling apologetic for my earlier behavior.
“We can correct that now. This evening I am organizing a meeting with some of the country’s best economists and defense experts about the Transponder, Would you care to attend?”
‘Would I care to attend? Does an otter have teeth?’ I thought as I murmured a polite yes.
“Be at my office at 7 sharp then. The meeting begins at 7.30, but I need to get a word with you.”
***
The three hours I spent waiting for the meet were the longest three hours of my life. I reached the PM’s office at 7 to the dot, and was promptly led into his room.
“Ah. Ron, have a seat please.” He was not being formal, a good sign. “Before we attend that meeting, I need to tell you something. There are some problems putting the Transponder in production.” He could have hit me with a sledgehammer and it would have hurt a lot less.
“What sort of problems? I did a complete research, all the components are available easily.” I stammered after I got over the initial shock.
“It’s not the actual production I am talking about. You see… some of the experts I consulted have expressed apprehensions over mass production of the Transponder. They say it will be a very dangerous move.”
“Whaaa.. Do you mean? What sort of experts are these?” I was amazed someone could call such a discovery dangerous.
“We’ll be meeting them right now. I suggest you regain your composure until at least you’ve heard them out.”
I went to the meeting with fear in my heart and rage in my soul. Apart from the PM and the communications minister, there were two other men in the room, one of them wore a general’s uniform and the other I recognized, he was Ratikant Basu, the country’s most famous economist. I was literally ready to tear apart the first man who dared to question the viability of my project, but I decided to wait until I had heard the so called ‘experts’ speak.
“Undoubtedly the Transponder is a great invention that will revolutionize travel, but it’s effect on the world’s economy is going to be disastrous.” Ratikant Basu started. “My analysis suggests that the launch of the transponder will cause world’s most severe recession that will last for not less than 120 years, during this period almost all the major industries will be ruined permanently and un-employment rates will be well over 80 per cent. There will be no improvement unless the population of Earth falls below 4 billion from the present 6 billion.”
“This is pure shit. You are talking out of your head. Where the hell did you get these figures.” I yelled unable to control my rage.
“Pardon me Mr. Khosla, but with all due respect, our methods of research are just as scientific as yours.” Basu glared at me. “Have you ever tried questioning what powers the world’s economy…? It is the lack of contact between the buyer and the producer. Do you understand? No? Let me try and make it clearer.”
“Everything that is purchased by a consumer is made by a manufacturer, but it is impossible for the manufacturer to sell directly to the consumer due to the distance and lack of communication between them. The importer, the distributor, the dealer and the store-owner, they all make their living from a commodity before it reaches you, by providing you only one service, getting you what you need. Then there are ancillaries like transporters and packagers who make a living transporting material.”
“Now imagine a world with the Transponder. Everything that you wish to buy is suddenly available right to your home direct from the manufacturer curtsy the Transponder. Just dial the correct number. You could reach any factory in an instant, it doesn’t matter if he’s located in south east China, the jungles of Africa or the north-pole.”
“Between the factory and your home about 5 families will loose their living to the transponder. It would have already killed the transport industry irrecoverably. Rail, airlines, road transport, everything dead because nobody would need them anymore. It will also kill the regional or small time manufacturers that exist solely because of the extra cost and time needed to transport material from a distant manufacturer. About 1.5 billion people who work with non-manufacturers will loose their jobs, and the amount of revenue loss, it will run into trillions. ”
“The government would loose revenue too. There will be no longer any control over import and exports. No import duties possible, no custom duties applicable because goods will be transported direct to home and government wouldn’t be able to monitor them. 120 years is a conservative estimate Mr. Khosla, sometimes I fear that humanity may never be able to recover from that recession if it happens?” Basu sighed and stopped speaking.
I was stupefied for a long while. “This can’t be true, can it?”
“I am afraid we’ve got more bad news for you Ron.” This was the PM. “General Baljinder Singh Rathore has yet to present his analysis.”
“With your permission sir.” Said the General and stood up.
“Mr. Basu presented the economic side of the Transponder admirably. I will present a different perspective. The effect of the transponder on the security of our nation.”
“As Mr. Basu said, unemployment will increase sharply with the introduction of the Transponder unit. This will be the basis of the security threat we foresee. Have you noticed how quickly pople hit the streets in response to a slight cut in salary or even a delay in raise? Economic pressures of the kind brought by the Transponder will cause a public backlash unforeseen ever in the world. We have all witnessed the rioting and looting that followed the bankruptcy of Argentina, after transponder, you can expect a similar reaction multiplied some 100 times.”
I found myself unable to utter a protest this time.
“The newly unemployed people will take to the streets, they will organize strikes, rallies and marches and quickly graduate to rioting. According to the figures that Mr. Basu gave me more than one-third of our country’s working population will loose its job and when that a mob of that size starts rioting, it will be impossible to control. Even if we succeed in imposing a curfew, it will close down the industries that are still working, causing a chain reaction that will kill the entire economy.”
Unable to hear my biggest achievement torn to shreds so terribly I closed my mind, withdrawing, unaware of the universe.
“Ron! Ron!” I woke to the Prime Minister speaking my name. He was shaking my shoulder and had concern written all over his wrinkled face. “Are you alright?”
“Yes. I am fine now.” I managed to say. I composed myself. “Well then gentlemen, I understand that the party is over. We will not be producing the Transponder.”
“Who said that?” Spoke all the 4 people at once.
“What? I… I don’t understand. What is the meaning of all this then.”
Ratikant Basu spoke again. “We were merely presenting the foreseen sequence of events once the Transponder is mass produced. We haven’t told you we won’t be mass producing it.”
“You have foreseen a calamity, the total destruction of civilization. How can you even think of mass producing the Transponder in such a situation.”
“I am afraid we do not have an alternative Mr. Khosla.”
“What do you mean?” I demanded.
“By inventing the Transponder device, you have proved that it is possible. If we refuse to acknowledge its existence now, it’s quite conceivable that in future some other country will discover it, and might not be as reluctant to mass produce it.”
“You mean?”
“If some other country invents the Transponder, our destruction will be more assured than if we ourselves invent it.”
“That doesn’t give us an excuse to make this device. Why should we become the destroyers of the world? I will not work on the mass production of the Transponder.” I surprised at how quickly I had become strongest critic of the Transponder from the biggest supporter.
“You are a scientist Ronald. Look at this from another angle.” Basu was clearly making a plea now. “Knowledge cannot be suppressed forever. It is inevitable that the Transponder will be discovered and resulting destruction will happen. You will not be able to stop it then. But After a while, no matter how long a while it is, people will adapt, civilization will adjust itself to the Transponder and humanity will be back on its track.”
“But why now? Why me?” I spoke, more to myself than the others.
“Don’t be numbed by self pity Khosla.” Said Basu sharply. “You’ve done us a great favor by inventing Transponder before anyone else. We are in a position of advantage over the rest of the world.”
The prime minister spoke up. “We are in a tough spot Ron, if we make the Transponder we become the destroyers of civilization, if we don’t, we’ll be the victims. Events leave us no choice but to proceed?”
“Besides, we have a plan.” Said the General suddenly lighting up. “There is no way that we can stop the economical and the cultural shakedown that will happen. However, we are in a position to mold things such that the world sustains the crisis with minimum damage. Mr. Basu has calculated that if our plan works the world will be back on the path to progress in 25 years. We’ll be alive to see it Mr. Khosla.”
“How is that possible?” I asked.
“With a regime of strict control.” The General’s expression hardened. “We’ll have to unite the entire world under a single government.”
I was horrified. “You are talking about…”
“World domination.” The General’s voice was stern. “Nothing less will do.”
“This is crazy. I will not be a part of this.” I almost shouted.”
“You already are Ron. There’s no way you can avoid that. The cat is out of its bag, and this cat is a tiger.” said the Prime Minister, and that was it.
***
So I decided what was best for the world, and offered the prime minister all assistance in saving it from imminent destruction. The plan was simple, bring the entire world under one order to prevent wars between countries, and establish a very strong disciplinary force to keep rioters in check, meanwhile establish efficient public welfare agencies to prevent poverty.
We waited for 15 more days while the strategy was given finishing touches and preparatory measures were made.
Finally on exactly three and a half months from the day I discovered the Transponder we told the world about its discovery and that the first pair was in place already, transporting people from Delhi to Mumbai. The whole world immediately went into an euphoric cheer that I witnessed from my drawing room on the TV. They were calling me the greatest scientist ever borne.
I was invited to conferences, made a fellow of every scientific society on the planet, and nominated for the Nobel Prize that everybody knew I was sure to get. Every detail about my past was dug up and people read about my boring life as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. I had found the fame I had longed for, but I wasn’t excited. All I wanted to do was go back to the quite and peaceful days when I was still unknown.
The government had already taken a patent on the Transponder on my name, and was charging other countries colossal sums to sell them Transponder units. They kept the units on short supply, and put other countries on allocation, nudging up the price further, and ensuring that no country got enough units to effect its economy badly.
Inside our country laboratories were being established and scientists worked relentlessly on perfecting arms and ammunition. The army started a recruitment program on war footing, and soon new training camps sprung up all over India, filled with excited new recruits.
With exclusive rights to the Transponder, the government’s clout in the world politics went up sharply, no country wanted its supply of Transponder units suddenly stopped, so no one objected even when the government started purchasing weapons and war machines by the thousands. Several countries even offered to supply arms in exchange for the transponder units.
In a very short while, the government had the largest and the best-equipped army of the world, we had guns from Israel, rockets from China, submarines from Russia, tanks from Germany and fighter planes from USA. The world had given the instruments of its own defeat willingly.
***
It was 12 months from the invention of Transponder, we were sitting in an emergency meeting called by the Prime Minister. The cast was same as earlier, me, the general, the economist and Prakash Mittal. Only the Prime Minister spoke.
“Gentlemen, the time has come. We have reached the culmination point of all our efforts. As I speak our soldiers are busy pulling a coup in 23 leading nation of the world, if everything goes according to the plan, we will have achieved the biggest political coup of the world with virtually no bloodshed.”
“What? But how?” I was truly astonished at the pace with which things were moving.
Everyone in the room smiled, then the Prime Minister spoke again. “It was easy Ron, in every Transponder unit around the world, we have installed a tiny component that monitors and regulates traffic so we know where each Transponder unit is. I had earlier taken the liberty of gifting each leader of the world his very own personal Transponder unit, and right now our soldiers are arriving at target destinations using the locations of very same Transponders as co-ordinates.” The Prime Minister looked at his watch. “We should be getting a detailed report in exactly five minutes.”
“So this is where it all ends.” I said.
“No Ron actually, this is where it all begins.” Said the Prime Minister.
The next five minutes were spent in absolute silence, broken occasionally when one of the men shuffled in his chair. The Prime Minister sat with his hands placed palm down on the table, concentrating on his fingernails. I was bursting to speak, but the silence choked the words in my throat.
Suddenly a door opened and the Prime Minister looked up. “General Bedi, what news have you brought.” The General walked inside, he was a tall, muscular man, with an impressive personality. You could tell he belonged to the army with a single look at him.
“Our mission is partly successful sir, all nations except three have surrendered, and we will be going to war with them. I have already set the forces on alert, we have the surprise on our side, it shouldn’t be a long war.”
“I am glad to hear that, take extreme precautions General, if we make a mistake, we will have to pay dearly.”
“We will make it sir, we are prepared for this moment.” He paused for a moment. “The nukes are deployed and waiting for your orders sir.”
“Nukes? Did you say nukes?” A nuclear attack was the last thing I could wish for in this war.
The Prime Minister turned to General Bedi as if he had heard nothing, “You may go ahead with the plan General.”
The General saluted smartly and left the room. I lost my voice for a little while, and when it came out it was only a croak. “What are you going to do.”
“Just making sure we are not defeated.”
“You will not drop the nukes will you?”
“I am sorry Ron, but this is the way it has to be. We are going to nuke Islamabad, and some nuclear sites of Pakistan.”
“What? You can’t do this you monster, you will kill millions of people.” I was too angry to control myself.
Everyone in the room looked at me with a horrified expression but nobody spoke. The PM looked hurt, he sighed and began “I am not a monster Ron. These nukes have very small payloads, just enough to wipe out the targets. I am afraid some people will die, but we will save a lot of other people who would have died later if we didn’t do this.”
“But why nuke?”
“Consider this life insurance Ron. Only 8 countries in the world have nuclear weapons and everybody is aware of the terrible destruction that a nuke can cause. By using our nukes we would show the world that we are prepared to go to any extent, this will at least frighten the smaller countries into submission.”
“I don’t agree with your reasons. Nukes are too dangerous to be used, even in a war situation. I demand that you stop this immediately, like right now.” I stood up and shouted at the top of my voice.
Nobody seemed to agree with me.
***
They’ve placed me under arrest. I am not allowed to go out or meet anyone, but they’ve allowed me access to the newspaper and the TV. Now I am only a mute spectator to the ongoing drama.
Our nukes killed thousands of people, but they achieved the Prime Minister’s objectives only partly. Several countries surrendered when threatened with a nuke, Russia joined us as an ally willingly when told of the purpose, and we managed to capture nuclear sites of all other countries using the Transponder to beam soldiers directly to them, but several countries became even more determined to struggle against what they termed neo-imperialism.
With our large army and weapons the soldiers are advancing slowly, capturing new lands as they reach them, but it’s taking time, more time than the government expected. Meanwhile resisting aircrafts bomb India daily, some come even as far as New Delhi, but they return defeated every time, for the army uses the Transponders to beam soldiers directly into the aircrafts, who destroy them, or worse capture them and use them against the enemy itself.
The Transponders units sold to the rest of the world have stopped working, tipping the scales on our side, the enemy never knows when a group of soldiers will materialize out of the thin air and blast them to pieces, they live in terror.
Yes, we are winning this war, but the prize is not what we wanted. By the time we finish this war, the world will be a broken place, filled with zombies who will live in fear, without a shred of hope or optimism in their heart. It will be a long time before anybody even thinks of progress in this place.
The resisting forces call the transponder ‘Mankind’s Last Invention’ for it is their belief that by the end of this war there will be no men left to invent anything. I am content to be a prisoner. It is a price that I am willing to pay for doing what I did.
What would you do if you won a spacesuit in a contest? Wear it in your backyard of course, and then be kidnapped by an alien spacecraft and visit the Moon, Pluto another star and then another galaxy. Sounds like some adventure eh? And what if you could come back from all that in a few weeks time. That’s what Russ does in Heinlein’s epic tale that spans distances that the human mind will break down before imagining.
Reading Heinlein’s astounding science fiction I never thought about how long ago it really was when he wrote them. Reading this book reminded me.
Black Swan’s back cover talked about the phenomenon of Black Swan describing companies like Google as the Black Swan that came out of nowhere taking analysts by surprise. I thought this would be a book that would analyze Black swans like Google, describing why they are doing so well, but the book couldn’t be more different.
Don’t read this book if you have eyebrows, because you’re going to raise them if you do. Heinlein in his days has caused quite a few controversies for his radical views about a lot of things that most of the world is traditional about. Things like religion, marriage, society, economy, and sex. How can you mention Heinlein and not talk about that.