The Cost of Values - Part 2-1

CHAPTER 8

Kanatal.

Continuation of Chapter 7.

Akshay and his friends.

Akshay and the investigators from the government.

Decision of the government officials regarding Akshay.

Akshay's memory - last remembered memory of entering the structure resembling the cafe and then total blank. His friends are surprised that he doesn't remember anything that happened afterwards. Is he hiding something? Government officials like Pramod Gupta suspect that the person calling himself Akshay isn't Akshay at all; but a other-world entity. What will the government do to Akshay? 

Synopsis of The Cost of Values - Chapter 1 through 7

Prema and Ramu are a couple, probably in their 50s who are working and living in Bangalore. They have two children, Deepa, who is abroad, and Akshay, a software engineer working for DataLogix in Gurugram. One day Ramu receives a call that leaves him perplexed. A few days earlier to this, Akshay and three other friends of his travel to a camping spot, Kanatal in Uttarakhand. After a couple of days of camping there one day a small building appears out of nowhere a few metres from their campsite. They walk towards that building and when Akshay enters that assuming it to be a cafe, he suddenly disappears from view. Just vanishes in front of the eyes of his three friends, who are shocked.

This information reaches the government and they come into the picture with the police to investigate. It appears that such events have occurred in the past and Pramod Gupta has been investigating this phenomenon on behalf of the government. Amrutha (one of the friends of Akshay) has been meticulous in her documentation of all that happened and she is able to explain whatever she saw to Pramod Gupta. These facts are corroborated by her other two friends Vikrant and Ganesh. Amrutha has taken some photos immediately after Akshay's disappearance, which she shares with Pramod.

Meanwhile Akshay finds himself inside a structure where he doesn't see anybody else. A voice communicates with him to inform him not to be worried or scared; which Akshay is not. The voice explains to Akshay that they have been regular visitors to earth and have 'intervened' in the development of humans here - in a positive way. They also tell him and he will be returned safely back from where he came, but he will not remember anything that transpired in that place. That is what happens. Akshay returns but is perplexed because he cannot account for the time lost - from early morning to probably afternoon now. He also sees some activities in the campsite and a few people who are talking with his friends.

 

The Cost of Values - Part 2

 

INTRODUCTION TO PART 2

My experiment with a serialized story appeared in my blog over 7 weeks and was something that I hadn't yet attempted. (Check the first chapter here) Though it gave me satisfaction that some of my well meaning friends read the Chapter that appeared every week and a few commented on it; I have been having some thoughts on taking this story forward and writing about what happened to Akshay and his friends; how did Ramu and Prema cope with this event in their lives; what did the government representatives do after learning something or nothing from Akshay regarding the 'craft'. Also the previous seven chapters did not mention Deepa (Akshay's younger sister, who lived abroad) and what was her reaction to this entire 'adventure' that Akshay faced. 

It was obvious that an 'alien' had visited Earth and India (contrary to the story projected by Hollywood movies that aliens had some affinity to the USA and always went there!). It was also a fact that the alien had no body - no that was not a fact; probably the 'body' was not mentioned in Chapter 7. But is a form required? Can aliens not be 'formless' - a form of energy? Well, that can be interesting. I have always been interested in science fiction and my favourite author is Arthur C. Clarke and I have read many novels by him. I read a short story by a science fiction writer (that was long ago - about 45 years ago) where he suggested that aliens could be a form of energy. Carbon based forms need not always define life; though many scientists looking for life elsewhere in our universe have been searching for carbon in the atmosphere. Why not silicon, or any other material? Anyway, why not just energy. Matter converted to energy to escape the limits of interstellar travel. Just imagine! One could travel across vast distances at the speed of light (if that really is a 'universal constant' and a limit of speed that any particle or energy cannot overcome). Akshay was in an enclosure and that looked like a spacecraft to him. That means it was a material; and probably the aliens weren't energy forms but they just did not appear before Akshay. So were they formless or did they have a 'form'? Makes for an interesting sequel to the earlier set of chapters and the direction the story is likely to take.

There was a mention to Akshay by the 'voice' that they had made some changes (positive they said) to Akshay's brain and that was a nudge in the positive direction. This they had said is likely to result in some breakthrough changes in the world and such positive changes have occurred in the past thanks to them. The reader may like to know what changes are likely to result and have happened or are likely to happen. 

Did Akshay return to DataLogix to pursue his job? Or did he do something else? What about Akshay's friends who went to Kanatal for some mild adventure, trek, and camping but had an adventure they weren't likely to forget for a long time. What changes did this adventure have in their lives? Did Akshay really not remember anything  at all as to what happened in the 'craft' that he was on? Can that memory return by some means? Did the government officials try anything to bring back that memory and learn something at least from Akshay?

I will try and explore these and probably some more in the days to come. Please wait for the sequel. Do comment within the blog regarding your views.