#Sciencefiction. It is 2075

 

#Sciencefiction. It is 2075

“Wherever he might be, find him and bring him to me. It is urgent. If you are not able to find him, do not return, because you will find nothing here. Except the rubble, heaps of dust and mangled steel bars that shall lie bare once the concrete that it supported has been shattered, and it collapses into itself. 

So, do not return, in case you are not able to find him. 

May your journey be safe and fulfilling, and may your visions lead you to him. The only one, who can prevent hell from unleashing its despicable and merciless invasion of our cities. 

Now go and find him as soon as you can!”

They looked at the wise man and left. And the wise man turned right and vanished behind the buildings and the lanes. 

I stood there, still watching them. They rode their magnetic propulsion enhanced bikes and sped past me and the long stretch of buildings and lanes. As they reached the edge of the city, they turned right too, but into the tunnel. Then I could not see them anymore. So, I rubbed my eyes, removed the dust from my eyelids and walked the same lanes and roads that I have been accustomed to for almost 43 years now.

Sometimes I thought about the two men and their conversation with the wise man. And I wondered how could hell be prevented from seeking its revenge. That too by someone who is just a human? This thought accompanied me wherever I went, and it was so, for almost a week. 

My room was located on the top of a hill and I went there and ventured into its mildness. A mildness of every sort, with a spell of stillness that separated it from the main city. And in 2075, this is where the privileged few live. And I believe I am one of them. Not in any other sense, but just for one reason; that I live on the top of the hill where there is greenery and trees. So, I am the privileged one in 2075! If you are someone reading this in 2023, it is something you will struggle to understand.

Nevertheless, by now you should know who I am:

A- a 43 year old someone 

B- living on a hill

C- considers himself privileged merely because he lives on a hill

D- lives in one room

E- overheard a conversation between the wise man and two men

F- wondering how can one man prevent hell from being hellish

Well, if this is your impression about me, you are right and this is almost everything about me. But let me add something that you might still not know about me. I am an extremely curious person, and science and logic fascinate me. That is why I have been trying to settle this thought in my mind, that somehow hell can be prevented from acting based on its nature by one person. That too a human being! 

This thought has proven to be extremely unsettling for me and I am yet to draw logical conclusions from the conversation between the wise man and two men, about whose identity I am not sure. I have never seen them in this city before, especially in our area. And they looked different from the rest of us who live here. There was something very robotic about their body language, especially the way they shook their heads in agreement whenever the wise man said something. Even when they rode their bikes, their demeanour was relaxed and without any signs of stiffness. And they held themselves upright as they sat on the bikes and rode like the wind.

Their confidence was like wind, unafraid of falling and not scared of being caught. Just like the wind. No, it was exactly like the wind! 

As for the wise man, he lives nearby and we all refer to him as “the wise man!” Not that he is wise, or maybe he is extremely wise, I would not know that because I have never interacted with him. I have always overheard him or heard of him from other people. But I can tell you one thing for certain, he looks wise. About that there is no doubt! 

He looks like Mr. Leo Tolstoy, with the sternness of Mr. Sigmund Freud bearing the gravity of Mr. Karl Jung. And you can imagine the rest. I am sure, anybody with the look of three stalwarts of psychology and philosophy, would look wise, and if nothing, be easily mistaken for a wise man. 

And the wise man I know of, he looks like a wise man, how wise he is in reality, I have no clue about it. 

In the meantime the conversation he was having with two men, has given birth to a new curiosity within me, that of knowing more about how hell will befall upon us all in 2075, and how one man can prevent it from being so.

Being a slave of my curiosity ( not to mention my imaginings about my beautiful girlfriend ) I have been on a self defined vigil, where my goal is to follow the two men whenever they enter the city gate. So these days, I spend almost the entire day and part of the night ambling around the city gate area. Yesterday, I heard a few people talking about the hell that is bound to consume everything and everyone in 2075, and lately conversations around this topic have gained a lot of attention from everyone in this city. At least I can say this with surety, because near the City gate, there is a tea stall, and whoever comes there to drink tea, always refers to Hell and the wise man who is seeking someone to undo the destiny, that otherwise is inevitable.

Now I am extra curious and extra vigilant as well!

It was late evening on Saturday last week, when I saw dust plumes rising in the distance. It was as if casper had turned into a dust ogre and was chasing somebody. And this somebody was two black blobs that seemed to get bigger with every passing minute, and suddenly resembled the shape of two black, fat, not very high, compact and sophisticated, magnetic propulsion driven bikes. And I instantly paid for my tea because I knew who they were. From the routine conversations and facial expressions of everyone around the city gate, they appeared to be clueless about their identity. For them they were just two bikers. But for me, they were the harbingers of the wise man, and today I shall know about the identity of the one they seek and also know if the one who looks very wise, is wise indeed!

I mounted my bike, wore my helmet and as soon as they passed the city gate, I began following them. Blending myself in the traffic that plied on this road almost 24 hours and 7 days a week. For now I was a part of the road, the traffic and the city. And it was good this way.

They stopped near an art gallery and the wise man had been waiting for them. I stopped, got down and pretended to unlock my helmet. And they only spoke these words, “Tonight. Hill top. Near the old Deodar tree. At 02:00 am.” The wise man nodded his head, and like last time took a right turn and vanished in the gullies. Whereas the two men rode towards the hill. To be exact towards my room, because my room and the old Deodar tree are separated by an insignificant distance of 15 to 20 meters. 

But during the night, especially at 02:00 am nobody dares to go there. Because it is near a ridge and there is something strange and unusually weird about this place. Few people in the city believe that right below the Deodar tree, from where the ridge actually drops downwards, there is a den that leads somewhere. But the drop is intimidating and nobody has ever tried to explore the credibility of this rumour.

Anyway, I shall see what happens, when it is 02:00 am, right now it is 02:00 pm and there is a lot of time. So I decided to take it easy on me and on my curiosity as well. Because we both needed some refreshment. And I parked my bike next to an old and non flashy restaurant and ate my lunch. Which at this hour was less of lunch and more of a meal. I ate it slowly, and I decided to chew it and masticate it like a cow. Why? Obviously, I had a lot of time at hand and I had visited the art gallery more than 100 times and since two years there has been no new painting on display.

Here I was eating food, but actually with it I was taking a bite on boredom and hoping it would be midnight soon. It felt like waiting for a girlfriend, when she is about to arrive in 2 minutes, and the 2 minutes seem like two eternities. And if you are wearing a wrist watch, it makes the eternity tread lethargically. That is how I was feeling right now. Born in a moment and then thrown from one eternity into another. And this scuttling ended, when the clock that hung on the wall struck 04:00 pm. And I realised I had been occupying the table for 2 hours now. It was the courtesy of the restaurant owner that he did not ask me to vacate the table. Which I should have vacated after finishing my meal, maybe after 5 or 10 minutes. But I had been occupying the table for almost 120 minutes.

Before he lost his patience, I decided to rescue my own pride and I got up, settled the bill at the counter and mounted my bike. And I rode, upto the Lovers' Point. Yes, that is correct. There is a place named Lovers' Point here, and young lovers come here. It is on the windward side of the hill and it leads to the peak, and there it connects with the main highway. From the base to the top of the hill there are almost 250 steps, I guess twice as much- Ah, I am not sure exactly how many. And on every step you will find lovers sitting and doing what young lovers do the best. 

It is a very humbling experience because it expresses human feelings in such rawness, that it reminds you of your own young days, when you too held someone's hands and walked in the meadows and climbed the hills. 

But this city is socially evolved, and I was surprised when I first realised this fact. That nobody aged above 60 ever walks or crosses this area. To me it means, that they still remember that they too had loved, they too had done the same in their youth, they too had let human feelings express themselves, because they too had been young and youthful humans once. So they let this Lovers' Point be the stair way reserved for young and young lovers. If you understand what I mean!

And being 43, I felt slightly odd walking past these young love birds, each of them hit by the arrows of blind cupid. So I walked hurriedly, to reach the top of the Lovers' Point and look at the valley below. 

To these young lovers aged not more than 19 to 20, that is most of them. They existed, the eyes in which they had fallen head over heels existed, the lover they loved existed, the Lovers' Point existed. And nothing else existed, nothing at all.

Maybe Cupid did too, but I for sure did not exist. But given our age difference I got a little uncomfortable, because I did not want to bother them. So I walked quickly, I walked as fast as I could, because every step that was occupied by these lovers, reminded me of my girlfriend. So, I was being chased away to the top of the Lovers’ Point by two forces over which I seemingly had no control at all. And it was good, because I quickly managed to reach the top of the hill!

I looked at the valley below and the meandering river that flowed like a serpent hurrying towards something, towards somewhere. To keep a secret meeting. Perhaps it was rushing towards its own Lovers’ Point! 

And I stood there looking at the river that was far away. I stood there silently looking at the valley till 11:00 pm and then I began descending the steps one at a time, because now the steps bore just the shadows of the lovers, these shadows just wore their scent, and air bore a mysterious blend of scents. It had evolved into a perfumery. With its own original essences of cold air, pine leaves, grass blades, wild ferns, with layers of lovers’ perfumes, that equaled the number of steps that led to the top most step on Lovers’ Point. I cannot explain this cocktail of aromas, because it also bore emotions, warm feelings and so many kisses. It was as if walking through the cloud of mystical air of love and lovers’ perfumes. While being shot at by the Cupid at every next step. The true joy of being in love and walking through the cloud of love. Oh my God!

And with these emotional and aromatic markers, I reached the base of the hill and mounted my bike. That had been expecting me for a very long time now. I did not disappoint it, and I rode it fast, infact very fast- Many who know me say I am obsessed with speed. And it is true, it has taken me 43 years to control speed.

The first time I drove a machine that could attain speed of upto 180 kms per hour, on the second day, I sped past 65 kms per hour, and the obvious happened. The speeding machine along with me on the second day fell off a small ridge. All because of a child who appeared in the middle of the road almost from nowhere. And after that I decided to put it under some restraint. I was not scared for myself, but for the child and those who loved him. Yes, that is true!

Therefore, I have every reason to believe it is in your genes, more than anything it is in you. If nobody, the great and legendary French writer; late Mr. Albert Camus would agree. He too could not resist the lure of speed. ( RIP comrade, you shall be missed by all speed lovers! Me in particular, because you are so straightforward, whether you are addressing the president of the universe or just an ordinary person like me. A remarkable quality to possess and a rarity in 2075. )

I still love speed, I sometimes feel I can go faster than the speed of light. It may sound insane to the sane world, but in the world where you love something or someone unconditionally, it somehow makes you believe anything is possible. I guess late Mr. Albert Einstein felt the same love for Physics. And my love for speed arises from my childhood obsession with logic and science. A love affair only paralleled by my human love affair with the one I love!

Anyway, I managed to limit the speed finally and calmed down the engine, and before it could cool down, I pacified myself and my thrill seeking personality. Now both were calm, the engine of the machine and the organic engine of my body i.e. my mind!

But that does not mean my obsession with speed has ended, it has only begun, but now in a different form. Because one cannot live without some element of thrill in life. To me that will be like assuming the patience of a dead person!

So, around 12:00 midnight I entered my room and prepared my dinner. Settled in my chair and ate it slowly. When it comes to food that I like, I tend to eat it slowly, the only time when I do not like speed. Then I washed the dishes, mopped the floor, and wiped the balustrade glass, preventing the cooking area from getting stained by oil or curries, whenever I am cooking.

With all kitchen related tasks fulfilled I read a book for almost an hour and gazed out of the window, and stared at the moon for some time. And suddenly my smartphone alarm beeped at 01:55 am. And my curiosity and my speed driven instincts took charge and I locked my room and hid myself in the thick growth of bushes next to the old Deodar tree.

Exactly at 02:00 am all three of them arrived. They all were so exact that it was difficult to tell who was late or who was early. Because they all arrived exactly at 02:00 am. I wonder from where they had learned so much respect for time. It was commendable! And due to this, I now had a lot of respect for them. Which might change, based on the conversation they have now.

And the wise man spoke, “where is the one we seek?”

The two men looked at the wise man and answered, “In our midst wise man!”

“Where?” enquired the wise man.

“Right here!” again answered the two men.

I was now beginning to get worried. I felt they had sensed my presence and that is why they were not speaking the truth. But fortunately it was not so. 

One of them took out a small rope and tied it across the Deodar tree. And the other one asked the wise man if he could climb down with them. He immediately agreed and they all descended and perhaps went into the cave.

I stood there thinking and assuming. Because that is all I could do!

Finally after 20 minutes or so, they all climbed back and stood there, next to the Deodar tree. And after a minute, I saw someone with a brightly lit body and face, appear in their midst. It was bright but the light did not scatter around, it was just there concentrated on him/her. And he/she whispered this, “someone is listening to whatever we talk. But that person means no harm. So let him be. Do as I said, and hell shall be avoided in 2075!”

They all bowed and the person vanished.

The men, and the wise man appeared relieved, and they went their respective ways.

I came out from the bushes and wondered what he could have told them. Again, curiosity took over, and instead of thinking about it and taking guesses, I wrote my own #sciencefiction novel, They Loved in 2075. It too talks about the dangers and threats humans will face in 2075, and it elaborately explains how to avoid them. Now you might be thinking, I actually did hear what the person who bore the light told them, and the #scifi novel, They Loved in 2075, is actually the secret shared by the person who was covered in divine light. 

Hnnmm, if you think so I think it is a good reason to explore the #scifi novel titled: They Loved in 2075! Please read it and maybe you will know what the person bearing the divine light whispered to them that night. And maybe you can then share it with the world so that the world in 2075 is a better place for all humans to live in. A world that future human generations shall be proud of!

#Scifibooks amaze us, but the scifi book, They Loved in 2075 would provide you with a #scifi nostrum that shall help future generations of humans to survive in 2075.