Vajrayudha
The sleepy seaside police station in Dabolim was used to a plethora of pickpocket complaints during the season. An occasional rape or mugging was not unheard of, but a murder with a forensic team flown in by a private chopper was a sensation. TRP-hungry media added baseless local myths and packaged the news to reap the most out of the occurrence.
A look at the cadaver placed on the post-mortem table, and the autopsy expert winced. He was irritated by being disturbed during his off hours. After 30 long years of playing around with the dead, being an expressive guy was a far cry. Everything looked intact, untouched and fresh. A spike in the drink or a deadly cocktail was the best guess anyone could take. Looking at the professional sutures in the back he lauded himself for his idea of organ harvesting. The puzzle thickened one notch further once the cadaver was opened. The spinal fluid and the pineal gland were missing. Looking at the way the originals of the report were taken away and the cadaver airlifted quickly, “This case is going to be naturally strangled by influential people” the expert muttered to himself after completing the autopsy.
If you are a travel enthusiast during one of your much-researched sojourns you might have wondered who inhabits these remote castle / chateau-like structures, perched atop a non-reachable hillock and maybe one step further to ponder on the source of income to run such megalithic edifices?
Both girls lived in a gothic castle perched on the quiet hills. Whether they were sisters was unclear, but their resemblance suggested so. Raised as motherless daughters of a millionaire, rumoured to be a dethroned prince in post-independent India, their past remained shrouded in mystery.
They were homeschooled and the teachers did not teach social science and mathematics for sure. They were raised in princely fashion and were schooled in archery, psychology and if rumours were to be believed even magic. At the right age, they were inducted into the dark pages of their history and if continuous propaganda can depict Hitler as a demigod could it not bring about ultimate conviction in the girls about their life goals?
Rishaan was the kind of person whose presence the company preferred to keep under wraps. His accomplishments in research were substantial, yet his recognition was intentionally kept minimal. His ancestors had all served the same organization, and whenever public suspicion surfaced, the company would rebrand itself with a new, well-crafted cover story. The credibility of these tales was ensured by keeping the local chief generously rewarded. Though the names changed over time, the guiding principle remained: greed could either close the door to justice or unlock the forbidden ones.
Rishan had reached the fag end of this secret his family had been carrying out under the pretext of research for replenishable energy. He never held many social contacts as talking would be the starting point to divulging. Now he had proof to believe that Vajrayudha was never destroyed and it held the key to future weaponry. The exciting part was that he was the last piece of the puzzle. He was rigorously training the lotus meditation and eating the right things waiting for that golden moment of activation. The aroma of hot coffee on his table filled the air, pulling his thoughts back to the days of his induction.
A story he could recall to the last letter even in his dreams - The Nagas were invaded by the fierce warrior clans from the Syrian constellation known as the Suras, who valued strength above strategy. Staying true to their beliefs, they began populating the planet with warriors. Though tact was momentarily overshadowed, it soon resurfaced with the introduction of weapons of mass destruction. Amidst all this, the noble sage Dadhichi could communicate with the superior Deva race in the Orion belt and mastered the art of genetic transmission and human weaponry from them.
Any Naga possessed the key to initiate a nuclear fission capable of catastrophic destruction. This power was controlled through an ancient method: all life energy was stored in the spine of Saint Dadhichi, activated by a genetic code embedded in the pineal gland of any of his descendants. This code was triggered by specific sound vibrations concealed within the Vedic texts. The key to this immense power lay in the genetic codes passed down naturally through generations.
Defecting for feeding greed is an old story and a few Nagas did get inebriated by the beauty of the Sura women and thus the genetic information map was embedded in a few suras. But before the first Sura could harness the Vajrayudha as a weapon an unexpected mega tsunami destroyed Kumari Kandam (Lemuria as it is called now) the largest continent south of India and so went the cult of Nagas and Suras under the sea.
Thousands of years later, on a fateful occasion after being intoxicated by psychedelics, his great-grandfather unlocked the metaphysical map embedded in his pineal gland. In that moment, all of history flowed into him, reprogramming his visions. He was a hybrid of the Suras, and he held the genetic map. That moment ignited the quest. Three generations passed, building the path brick by brick, and now, here he is today, journeying to Goa—the place where it all began.
After years of pursuit and several assassinations, he finally smiled to himself. "The first Vajrayudha, forged from Dadhichi’s spine and the most powerful weapon capable of annihilating an entire continent, will be mine in just a few days." Absent-mindedly, he touched the base of his skull and chuckled, a dark satisfaction settling over him.
This Goa trip is the final piece, he had deduced the exact coordinates of the place where the Vajrayudha was hidden, saved from the Mega Tsunami for thousands of years waiting to be awakened and harnessed. A remote dilapidated fort in Dabolim Beach, the dungeon's third wall, seventh stone will give way to the tunnel. All memorized and embedded by deep trance meditation, no piece of information ever once spoken or written.
Rishaan smiled softly, looking at the pigeons cosying outside his window sill. It involuntarily brought flooding memories of Diya, the girl on his company's accounts team. The best part was that she never understood a thing about his research, nor did she show any interest. She was not even bothered about his background; she was the only thing that was not predetermined in his life’s equation. He yearned for her.
She had a natural charm of making him forget the unmanageable weight on his shoulders; she was the imperfect beauty amidst his life that was crafted to perfection. She truly cared and clearly expressed both of which he lacked, rather he was trained to lack. She was the only thing he wanted to hold back from his past once the mission was accomplished.
Suddenly, he was distracted as the phone rang, frowning that he had no choice. Avoiding Kaira’s calls would prove fatal. She was the daughter of the facility's owner and his research sponsor to date. He once in a while threw dog bone-like research results to keep the money flowing for the ultimate goal. In return, she had bought him as her arm candy and he had no problem keeping his likes and duties separate. Humouring her was a duty to ensure his ultimate goal was accomplished.
Diya was deeply shaken by his sudden marriage to Kaira, but there was nothing she could do. When the news broke, she lashed out, kicking him in anger and pouring out her grief, while he stood there, emotionless like stone. The truth would paint him as purely greedy, and he feared Diya would never understand the real purpose behind his mission. In the days that followed, the awkward glances and heavy silence between them tormented him deeply; even psychedelics and meditation failed to bring him peace.
He and Kaira had a fight just this morning, memories of which were afresh. Despite being an airhead she had sensed smoke once being told about Rishaan and Diya’s planned business trip to Goa. Kaira insisted on accompanying him to Goa. He was initially apprehensive, but then an afterthought struck him that nothing mattered after three days and so he did not stand in the way of her plans.
Mid-flight, Kaira quickly visited the washroom. When she returned, she was too lazy to push her way into the middle seat. And with Rishaan readily offering to shift seats, the seating arrangement changed. With 20 minutes remaining for the flight to land, a sleep-starved Kaira took another power nap, this time holding Rishaan's right hand more firmly. Rishaan's other hand, though, nervously moved to touch Diya's and her heart skipped a beat. Diya pulled her hand away. But a defiant Rishaan held her wrist again, this time firmly and more reassuringly. The changing behavioural dynamics between the three perhaps gave out a foreboding of what was to come in Goa.
When the flight landed at the Dabolim Airport, Rishaan felt uncanny...his excitement seemed replaced by an unknown fear that he found very difficult to decipher. Genetic makeup and meditation had taken effect and something forewarned him. But he brushed it off as mere mind games.
Kaira’s shopping and party spree kept her occupied and Rishaan was feeling blessed to be left alone with Diya. However, she never let him in her close vicinity. Her hatred and the feeling of being deceived were justified. But, today was the night to accomplish his goal and he was determined to confide in Diya and take her along.
He knocked on Diya's door and followed up by saying Room Service. The moment she opened the door he pushed her in and locked the door, the door key swiftly tucked into his denim. She started to bang the door from inside to attract attention and that meant waking Kaira sleeping in the next room.
He sprang at her in one swift motion and pinned her to the side near the dresser, things fell from the dresser but the noise was muffled by the carpeted floor. She was strong for her puny looks he thought. With no hands left lip lock was the only shocker he could offer for muffling her increasing cries for help. Neither of them realized when the hasty act turned to heated passion. Diya recovered first and started sobbing; the next hour was spent in the forbidden act, an hour-long narration by Rishaan of all the mission details. She promised to be a part of his mission and his heart swelled with love, pride and whatnot. The concept of faith and soul mate did exist.
Spiking Kaira’s drink proved effective. Rishaan and Diya set out at 9 PM and were at the outskirts of the fort in an hour. After an hour of frustrating search, the marked stone was found. Followed by three more hours of digging, the red box glistened under the torch beam.
With shivering hands, Rishaan opened the box and held Dadichi’s spine the ultimate weapon and felt a small prick in his neck. He could not tell if it was a dream or if Diya was injecting him nor could he be sure of Kaira standing over his falling frame. Everything was dim then there was only pitch black.
Kaira was trained in surgery for this moment since adolescence and quickly removed his Pineal Gland and Spinal Fluid, which were required for harvesting the pent-up energy in the priceless weapon. Then, they left without a trace.
The girls were teary-eyed. After a long minute which felt like an eternity, the elder sister Diya feverishly messaged their father” Parcel obtained. “He beamed with satisfaction and rushed to prepare for the Naga ceremony to activate the weapon.
The forensic team was still pondering over the unique case of organ theft….