1 Adventure of Camelia

Camellia, my name is Camellia. Today is a special day of my life. A spaceship from NASA will leave for outside of solar system a little later. I have got an opportunity as an Indian woman. Today is the most thrilling day of my life.

I believe in God but have never seriously worshipped. I believe education, work and service to be true worship. However, before leaving for such a big adventure I paid obeisance to my parents and God.

My parents are not alive. Had they been alive they would have been very happy today. Modern science considers that after death the existence of humans doesn't end. Their vitality enters into a huge black darkness. If they can see me from there then certainly their chests will swell with pride.

I think there are two persons in our mind. One is a soldier and the other is a lover. The aim of the soldier is success and that of the lover is happiness.

Sometimes I feel, I am a very insignificant creature in this universe. Then all my vanity goes away. Again sometimes, I feel that this sky, ocean, mountain belong to me. The sun, the moon, the millions of stars in the sky, all belong to me. Nobody can snatch those away from me. Then the narrowness of my mind goes away. Then I can connect myself with the Supreme.

My co passenger, Robert Malcolm is a test tube clone. The brain of one dead scientist has been transplanted in him. Several biomedical memory cards have been inserted in his brain. To improve his decision making power a chip has been put in his brain so, from many options, he can easily decide the best.

It is about time. Both of us are completely ready. A while later we will leave.

At one point of time I had very good friendship with Robert. Then I used to like him. But now there is no more friendship between us. He considers himself to be very intelligent. He had taken me to be easily available like other girls, but I am not so.

Now he is behaving with me in such a fashion that others think that we have friendship between us like before. He shook hands with me. I did the same.

Both of us are now sitting inside that space ship, in the depths of unknown space. We have come a long distance from that blue planet.

Mr Malcolm is sitting right beside me but isn't looking at me, even inadvertently. Perhaps he is very busy with his own work. I took a glance at him. Can he feel true love? Perhaps not.

Once I had promised, "I'll never look at him". But why isn't he looking at me at all? I, myself,cannot understand the complex chemistry of my mind.

But, I will also not give him any importance. To keep myself busy I started watching the big computer screen attentively. Just then I got a jolt and my eyes became blurred.

This spaceship is following a wrong path of the solar system and by following this path we will never be able to return to the earth.

I screamed, "Robert, I think we are following a wrong path."

Robert replied, "Yes, I can also understand. Definitely there was some mistake in the programming."

I was cross, "And you are sitting just like that."

Robert said firmly, "No, I am trying, I am trying my level best."

I said in disbelief, "I think, you are not trying properly. You move aside. I'll try."

Robert said coldly, "All right, you try. I would rather check on that side."

The next two hours that passed was the best experience, the best adventure of our lives.

It was a battle for survival. The last efforts. I am trying to make contact with the earth somehow and if that happens then certainly some way out will be found. And he was trying to somehow control this spaceship and return it back to the earth. But both of us failed. No effort is becoming successful.

Won't it really be possible to bring back this spaceship to the earth? What will be our future? Who will come here to enquire after us? Shall we be finished?

Then we saw, as if, a comet is moving towards us with great speed.

I shouted at Robert to warn him. Robert said, "Yes I am trying." However the disappointment on his face was saying something else. "How long can we survive like this."

Both of us kept trying. Suddenly we saw something like a ball of fire crash upon us. There was a blinding flash. I have no idea where both of us were thrown apart.

I was having difficulty to open my eyes. As if the eyelids were stuck to each other. Very slowly I opened my eyes. I saw that I was lying in a small room. As far as I could understand the room was made up of something similar to white cork. Various instruments were scattered all around.

There wasn't much furniture in the room. I was lying on a soft downy bed. As if a big storm has blown over me.

A sound can be heard. It seems several people are approaching with long strides. I was amused to see them. They were some creatures resembling cockroaches but at least six feet tall. What was most surprising was that they could walk like humans and, when required, could fly around on wings as well. Certainly they are creatures from another planet.

They surrounded me and stared at me. It seems that they are happy to find me alive. That means they won't harm me.

I was feeling very cold. I didn't have a thread of clothing on me. I shouted, "Give me a dress, I am feeling very cold."

I couldn't understand whether they understood me. Maybe they couldn't but all of them leaned towards me. Perhaps my language is strange to them.

What I am saying is not at all important to them. What is making them surprised is that I can speak. Maybe they had thought that I was dumb.

I shouted yet again, "Give me a dress, I am feeling very cold."

I saw one of them run off and bring an object resembling a biscuit. The rest of them started removing all the tubes and pipes attached to my body. They appeared to be talking among themselves of which I could not make any head or tail.

What should I do? I can't think of anything. How do I make them understand?

Now, one of them moved towards me and in such manner that I got scared. He parted aside my long brown hair, touched that object resembling a biscuit on my forehead and it went inside. I felt a sudden jerk like an electric shock. But since then, surprisingly, we could understand each other's language.

We haven't been able to think of such an instrument yet. Definitely they are much more developed in knowledge and science than us.

Now I said softly, "Give me a dress, I am feeling very cold."

One of them ran off and brought me a dress. It was a long, white dress like a bedsheet. It was very thin. Later, of course, I had come to know that they don't wear any clothes to cover their modesty. They use such clothes only during war-time, just like we use bullet-proof jackets.

One of them said, "There's no reason to be scared. You are fit now. We are from Security Council Force and he is Dr. Gomes."

Dr. Gomes was sitting right beside me. As I looked at him he said, "But you need rest. You have escaped a great danger."

That I am alive is indeed very surprising to me. When I had closed my eyes, I had thought I won't feel my heartbeat again, but where am I now? How did I come here at all? When I asked them, they fell silent.

One said, "That's a long story. We will tell you later on. Now you sleep."

Is Robert alive? I wanted to know but nobody answered me. One by one they left. Dr. Gomes gave me an injection and said, "Now you go to sleep. You need a lot of rest." Slowly my eyes closed.

When I woke up, I found myself very lively. Dr. Gomes took me out of that cabin. Gradually I saw that the whole of the surroundings of where I was staying was floating in space. How amazing!

Dr. Gomes was very affable. Within a few minutes friendship developed between us. I felt like laughing at his words and I did laugh out. I kept on laughing like a fool.

Having his permission I started looking through the binocular. It seemed a small town was floating in space.

Very, very far away from this earth there's a planet called Sifon. These queer creatures have come from that planet. We think that in this universe there is existence of life only in our planet and nowhere else, but these creatures don't think so because they know that this universe is very, very big. There are several thousands of places which have existence of life. However, they have not been able to reach all the places, like our earth. They thought that there's only darkness on this side of the universe so it was not possible for life to exist. Recently their cameras have captured some places around the star, Sonoka which have atmosphere, so there could be existence of life. I missed mentioning that the star we know as the sun is Sonoka to them.

When they were travelling very close to that star, Sonoka, they had a collision with us. That means what we thought to be a comet was actually a big spaceship of theirs, which can also be called a space town.

I thanked Dr Gomes for this new life. Such a big doctor of a different planet is socializing with me so easily.

But what about Robert? I asked. Gomes said that they haven't found anyone else. I felt Gomes was lying to me. But why? Maybe strict instructions from seniors. Or maybe they really haven't found Robert. Poor soul, what would his situation be? I was yearning for Robert. After all, he was my co passenger.

They have, however, taken me to be a creature from the planet, Alex. Repeatedly I was trying to convince them that I wasn't. Beside that star, Sonoka there's a blue planet, earth. I have come from there.

They have examined all the organs and limbs of my body. They have found much similarity with the creatures of Alex. While we can utilise only a few percentage of our brain, they can utilise nearly the whole of their brain.

The creatures of Alex was the most developed among the other creatures of the surrounding planets. So they wanted the others to surrender to their supremacy.

Sometimes the creatures of the surrounding planets came together and revolted against the creatures of Alex. As a punishment all their power used to be taken away and they were dumped in a very far-off planet so that they cannot return.

Apart from the creatures of Alex no one knew about that planet. Only it was known that the planet was blue, and that there are some creatures who cannot talk or walk. They just stand still at one place.

I started figuring things out. That means the green earth of ours is actually a prison. Plants are the original inhabitants of this planet and all the creatures have come from different planets.

From the creatures of different planets this huge animal world have evolved.

Some creatures of Alex also revolted sometimes and as a punishment they too were dumped on the earth. They are our predecessors.

The destruction of the creatures of Alex is very unusual. Two thousand years ago they were completely destroyed.

Those of us who are ordinary, consider the universe to be infinite. But the universe also has a limit. So what is beyond it? Yes, beyond it is another universe, one after another, revolving parallelly. The difference in time between two adjacent universes is one thousand earth years.

I have already said, the creatures of Alex were very developed and having been empowered by the power of science they wanted to go from one universe to another.

A big energy is controlling the activities of each universe. They went against that big energy.

As I listened to Gomes I thought, at some point of time we will also develop like the creatures of Alex then shall we make the same mistake and become extinct.

I talked with Gomes for a long time. There's no night and day here. It was a little weird. Gomes took me to the cabin and put the bulb on.

A little later food was served to me. It appeared to be something like noodles. I put it in my mouth and found that it was something different. It was tasty. I think it's some meat.

Gomes said, "This type of food is very popular here. There's a pond in this spaceship, where these are cultivated."

Gomes left. Before leaving he said, "If needed, do call me. I'll be in the adjacent room."

After Gomes left I stayed awake for a long time. Slowly my eyes closed.

I woke up and saw Gomes calling me. Perhaps he had woken me up. I saw some creatures with the long legs coming towards me.

I am standing in a big hall and wearing a white diaphanous dress. Surrounding me were many strange creatures. All the commotion is because of me. Everyone wants to touch me. No heroine of Hollywood, perhaps have this much popularity but I couldn't think of myself as anything more than an animal of the zoo.

Couple of hours passed this way before I was taken back. Now Gomes is sitting by me. There's no one else. Maybe he can understand my feelings, my agony.

Suddenly Gomes said excitedly, "Camellia, I have great news for you."

I didn't show enthusiasm, "Yes, tell me."

Dr Gomes said, "I had lied to you. We had found your companion. He was trying to escape so we have imprisoned him."

I couldn't believe. I asked, "What did you say? Really? Can you take me to him?"

Gomes thought for a while and said, "Alright, come."

Gomes lead me to him but didn't stay himself. Before leaving he told me such a thing that I cannot trust my ears.

Gomes said, "Go, meet your friend. Now I will take leave and, if possible, flee from here."

I moved closer to Robert. He, too, was wearing a similar white sheet.

I untied his hands and told him smilingly, "You are still alive."

He replied, "Why? Would you have been happy had I died?"

I said, "I wouldn't have been unhappy either. You, too, had tried to escape alone, leaving me behind."

He said, "I didn't think you were alive. Nevertheless, now both of us must flee."

I said, "Just by saying about fleeing, can we flee? How do we flee?

He said, "I have made those arrangements. There are several small vehicles here. Driving those is very easy. I'll manage. If we can get out of here once, thereafter we will see.

I said, "But, if they attack us? He said, Yes, I am going to the armoury. We need some weapons with us. You go and sit in the vehicle."

I said, "No, not you. Getting the weapons is my responsibility. Now you go to the vehicle."

Without a demur he said, "Alright, you go."

Now I am inside the armoury. It had numerous types of weapons. My eyes started to roll on seeing those. I picked up as much as I could. When I looked up I saw many strange creatures had encircled us.

Then I could do nothing else. I hoisted up two rifles in both hands and started showering bullets aimlessly. Quite a few of them fell down here and there.

They also fired back at me but those bullets did not strike me because I was wearing that bulletproof sheet.

Slowly I moved ahead. Right then a ray of black sunlight fell upon me. I couldn't see anything, it was hazy all around - shadowy. A black ray, as if, was draining away all my power.

One by one all of them went away. Now it was darkness all around. There is Robot, approaching towards me through the darkness. But, will he able to save me? Perhaps not.

Robert came in front of me and said, "You have saved my life but you have entangled in such a trap that there is no way to get out of it."

A few words escaped from my mouth inaudibly, "No way out." Perhaps he has heard it.

He thought for a while and said, "There is one way."

Immediately he jumped into that black sunlight. He stood covering me and said, "Camellia, you quickly escape, quickly!"

Till now the invisible power that was pulling me ceased. I was about to go out when I stopped on my tracks.

I asked him, "But you, how will you come out?"

His voice trembled, "No, I will not be able to come out any more. But you go."

My eyes were getting moist. I said, "If we have to die then we must die together. By fleeing in this manner I cannot save myself."

Robert held my hand and said, "No, you will have to go. If you remain alive, I will remain alive within you forever."

A few drops of tear rolled down my eyes. I could not resist myself any further. I pressed my lips against his very strongly.

His body was swaying. My body also didn't seem to have anything. For sometime we forgot where both of us were. Both of us were getting lost. Two of us became one. Maybe, we were alive for this sweet union.

With one sudden jerk I was abruptly thrown out of that sphere of black sunlight. Hazy -- shadowy, I could see his body gradually diminishing. He is disappearing in the distance. Slowly he is transforming into a point. Maybe it's an Illusion of my eyes. I cannot think of anything else anymore. I cannot even stand up, let alone searching for a way out.

Only the picture of Robert is flashing before my eyes. At one point of time that too faded away. My eyes are closing. Perhaps this is the last vision. Maybe, I will never be able to wake up again from this slumber.

When I opened my eyes I saw I was sitting inside a taxi and the taxi was going through space with great speed. The taxi driver appeared to be very familiar.

I shouted, "You? Who are you?"

The taxi driver smiled and said, "Can't you recognise me? I am Gomes, your friend. There's no more reason to worry. Now we have come away a long distance."

I wanted to know, "But, what happened to Robert?

Gomes replied, "I am sorry, I couldn't save him. I suppose, they will not kill him."

I thought to myself, even if they do not kill him, maybe they will keep him in some museum or conduct scientific research by operating on his body.

Now Gomes asked, "About what are you thinking so much? I can understand, you are feeling a lot of pain."

I steadied myself and asked, "But where are we going now?"

A smile crossed his lips, "To the earth. I have a lot of interest about that blue planet of yours. You show me the way. We will start a new life there."