Science Fiction. The shadow people

 

Science Fiction. The shadow people

It has been condemnable as far as her plight at the hands of her persecutors is to be dealt with by anybody with a rational mindset and logical premise of thought. That perceives her first as a human being, then as a female and after that anybody else. But they did not care about any of this when they accused her of being an alien who had insurmountable powers residing in her, and they had no clue about this lamentable force that she wielded at will. ( For the ignorant ones, it was lamentable ) And since they had no explanation, mostly due to their poor knowledge and understanding of planets that exist in this cosmos, they decreed this in her favour: To be banished and relinquished of all her powers. 

“But how?” Asked someone from the crowd.

“How will you uncouple the powers from her? Because you do not even understand what her powers are. It might turn the universe upside down. Do you know that? So, how will you do it?”

And with this question, there was a relay of murmurs spreading throughout the crowd, and everyone's lips appeared to be pouted in a subconscious act of alignment to seek some sort of unanimity in pattern- That is how it felt to me. And all of them were trying to figure out how the clergymen would solve this puzzle. The mild dissonance of murmurs and whispers was vibrating throughout the crowd, when I saw a few men marching towards us. They looked very different from anybody that was present there.

They were dressed in blue, black and white combinations, and most of them wore a stern look. With bodies that were very stiff. Except for one, whose look was that of a person who had known decency and maybe felt a few beautiful emotions as well. As for the rest of them, they were flat with expressions that of a white Peace Lily, that opens up to anything and everything, unlike roses and pansies that have a character and a personality of a flower that greets you both visually and emotionally. Whereas there are a few flowers, like Peace Lilies, that only greet you visually and never emotionally. ( Maybe that is why they are called Peace Lilies because that is the only visual impression they offer ) And most of them were these lilies only that they did not bear any expression of peace, whereas one of them had some character of a flower that was not a lily. 

But the characteristics of his decency also had been battered and tampered with, that is to some extent. Maybe it was a professional incentive that represented itself or it was something that was an inheritance that they could not rid themselves from. But as far as my guess is concerned, I think it had something to do with their profession. Because the moment they arrived, the whispers ended immediately. Everyone in the crowd now looked at the girl who had been tied to a post.

Then these men, untied her, and ushered her away in their chariot. And in a matter of few seconds, there was neither the girl, nor these men. Just me, and the crowd that had resumed murmuring, but this time it was a choir like whispering that sounded like, “The Shadow People took her away. The Shadow People were here and now her fate is in their hands. The Shadow People!”

We must have walked a few steps, when we heard a loud sound. As if something had been smashed against the rocks or as if something that was a combination of wood and steel had raptured from inside and got fragmented. And we all expeditiously revolved our eyeballs to find out the source of this sound. And in a moment there were black wooden planks, leather strips, hooves, steel doors and steel rims flung into the air and instantly they landed on the ground right in front of us.

“It is the chariot of the Shadow People, their horses and the Shadow People themselves who have been blown into pieces by the witch. It is this alien girl who has done this and she has kidnapped the leader of Shadow People.” 

As we heard these words, and began making sense of these hurriedly uttered lines, commotion set in and everyone ran in every direction they could perceive in the frenzy of the moment. Few took refuge in godowns, few under roof tops, and I was left there alone wondering where to hide. 

I decided whatever happens, I shall let it be the resolve of fate and my argument of prudence to encourage me to take these steps of courage towards my room. Because hiding from someone as powerful and gifted as her, would have been like hiding from the rain drops when you have neither an umbrella nor anywhere to seek shelter, because you are in the middle of a huge field. And that too in an area where it almost rains everyday and very heavily.

With this feeling of bravado, I finally reached my room and without thinking or doing anything, I tried to create a sequence of events that unfolded today; and my goal was to make sense of everything I witnessed. Because it was like magic. Magic where the Universe had intervened and bent many rules. Rules that defied every logical thinking because it was unimaginable how someone could possess so much power, and the ability to control immeasurable amounts of energy. And it was not fake, because it happened right before my eyes and that of the crowd that stood there, completely stunned.

It was a thoughtful night, a night where I was preoccupied with so many things, except sleep. And it was after continuous thinking that I realised something, that perhaps nobody had understood so far. And it was this ability that she was using to manipulate energy and bend the cosmic rules. And she had mastered it with such perfection, that nobody stood a chance, but when I was there in the crowd, I saw her lifting a few grains of sand which whirled around her fingertips and she played with them at will. Tossing them in every direction and summoning them back. It was something I had noticed, but when the crowd started whispering I forgot about it. Maybe I had become a victim of the crowd that only whispers and keeps guessing forever.

And the question that started marching to and fro in my mind was whether I should side with the innocent girl who had never caused anybody any harm, until that fateful day when she was provoked and flogged merciless and left to die in the searing heat. I remember that day, I remember the marks on her body, I remember her sighs for water, and I saw her lips glued to the dirt, in total desperation and maybe highest form of discipline. Discipline to not use the powers until provoked. And it was then she was infuriated and the town had suffered famines and plagues that have not ended ever since.

Or

Should I favour the crowd that I am a part of. The society I mean. Although I know they have always mutilated the innocence in the girl, and always deprived her of her rights as a citizen. Citizen of our so-called just and civil society. If I favour the society I should tell them about the secret she uses to control so much power. And if I do so there is no guarantee, they will spare her after that and let her be the individual she is.

Therefore, I shall side with the girl and help her find her destiny. Her planet of origin. 

But, where shall I find her? Because like the Shadow People, she moves like the wind, paces like the storm, and sometimes when you look at her, it seems she lives in the past as well as in the present. And she exists everywhere, yet nowhere. And for me to be able to help her, I should first be able to find her.

I was thinking about it when the window of my room started clattering and then after a minute it stopped. I ignored it because I had the windy night to blame for it. And as I occupied my chair, I literally fell off my chair because she was sitting right in front of me and so was the leader of the Shadow People. He was the same person who wore few signs of decency, unlike the rest of the Shadow People I had seen along with the crowd.

“Do not be scared and please do not panic! I know you know my secret. And I know you want to help me. And this is why I have come here.” Said the girl.

I did not utter a word, because I was in a state of complete shock. As much as the leader of the Shadow People who had been living in a state of shock for many hours now. This mutual feeling made me seek company beside him, because the girl was busy staring at the mirror. And she had left the leader beside me. He was not tied or fettered, but it was as if he was bound by her unseen power and it had transfixed him. She was so sure of her abilities, that she left him there without bothering to turn and check on him, or me as well!

This definitely scared me a lot because it meant she had an enormous amount of power at her command. The room turned quiet, everything seemed more still than usual, and the silence was hijacked by her when she approached me and said, “Well I want to find my planet. I have never meant any harm to anybody. And I know you think so as well and I know you will be able to locate my planet. Because we share something in common. The Shadow men and women are actually from our planet, who landed here millions of years ago. They retained some powers but as time passed by they lost most of these powers and gradually they also forgot the lifestyle of our race and became utterly corrupt. And I was sent here to show them the righteous path, but they are so obsessed with their beliefs that they are unwilling to accept the truth. And about you. You too are from the same planet, but somehow you have replaced the old powers with new gifts and it is amazing how you have evolved and developed. On our planet we see these mutations as absolute gifts and if you use it and concentrate on it you shall unlock great mysteries of the Universe. 

I shall share a few coordinates with you, and then, you can, I am sure you can summon the energy of my planet. Necessary for me to launch myself into its actual orbit. It has many pseudo orbits as well, I need to locate the actual orbit. Will you please do this for me?”

“Yes, I will try to. Although I have no clue about what you are referring to. But I will try to locate it. Please share the coordinates. And before you do that, what about him?” This was my slow but willing response.

She looked at the leader, then she thought for a moment and responded, “Hnmmm. He shall have two options: Either join the crowd or become a better, original, worthy, honest shadow man, and I shall find him a few people who have what it takes to be Shadow men and Shadow women. And then he can again do what he was born to do. Like always it shall be his choice. Neither you nor I can choose for him.”

She shared the coordinates with me. And I worked on them for more than 3 hours and then as instructed by her I began focusing on some energy. And no matter how hard I tried, nothing seemed to happen. I was still who I was and the world outside was still the world it had always been. There was no change.

She smiled. As though she had read my mind she said, “So it seems. But it is not so. A lot has already changed and the Universe has responded. I can sense it.”

I was still trying to understand what she meant, that I saw her walking towards the leader. She did something and the leader behaved as if he was reborn into this world. He thanked her and bowed before her and promised that he would lead a life of true and honest Shadow People and identify men and women worthy of being called “The Shadow People!”

She smiled and asked him to leave. And he obeyed!

Then, she sat next to me and asked me something that had no contextual relation with what had transpired in this room so far, “Will you enter the energy and disappear with me? That is for this world. I want to show you a world where everything is in perfect balance. An epitome of perfection. 

When I enter the energy stream, you will have to think that you want to be with me and touch my finger and that shall be it. You can accomplish amazing things there and help us solve new and higher mysteries of the universe. Choose well, and choose you must!”

And after 15 minutes a strange stream of blue light entered my room and she walked right into it. She looked at me, kept looking at me, with her finger stretched out. I thought of the crowd and my society, and the fact that now the real and worthy Shadow men and women shall help them seek their destiny and establish order. I was convinced about it. So, I extended my hand and touched her finger, and we both vanished to be never found again.

The crowd still visits the room, to find a trace. About her, about me, but all they find is whispers and echoes from the past. And sometimes the leader of Shadow People, visits the room as well, and he does not come here to find anything, he just comes here to whisper his prayers and leaves to fulfil his mission with a new found purpose and devotion.

It was this coincidental meeting with the Shadow People that I got inspired to write the science fiction novel, titled: They Loved in 2075. In this science fiction novel, you will find a whisper of different kind, a struggle of totally different kind, but there is intense science fiction romance that will make you believe in love once again. And hope that the world in 2075, will still believe in the sanctity and beauty of love and true human emotions. Which many believe that it might be a rarity in 2075, because humans will be interacting with self aware and intelligent machines. 

They Loved in 2075 is not just a science fiction novel, it is a reminder that human values, and feelings like love count, and we shall not let them be diluted at any cost. Especially when humans will be interacting with intelligent machines on a daily basis.

So it will be correct to say that They Loved in 2075, is the reality of love and human feelings in 2075. And in order to understand it, you as a reader should first feel it.