The Second Meeting
“All right, I am referring you to the Space Affairs Department for further debriefing. I might also be present there though the questions would be more probing and more intense than what I asked here. So, be prepared.” He rose indicating that the interview was over.
“We (royal we) shall be prepared. Thanks.” She nodded her head at him and rose elegantly from her seat walking towards the door with strong, confident steps of a princess born to rule.
She was escorted to her room, and she sat on the bed observing her surroundings. The room seemed to be too good for a rehabilitation center. Obviously, the ruler simply had to overdo things. Either that or they wanted to give a good first impression to the inmates before they were taken to their doom.
She spent a week in the rehabilitation home and got to know the inmates and the security personnel. The facility was run by a 50-year-old matron who had been trained to handle all kinds of nut cases. Further she was one of the rare humans who could speak 2700 languages including 100 alien tongues. She also seemed to speak the official Karnakathora language of the Ambika Puram Empire fluently.
A security officer worked under her who was responsible for the safety of the inmates. He had a force of 1500 soldiers trained for this purpose. In addition to this there were another 6000 lady ward personnel who would take care of the inmates and would also act as a buffer force in case of an unexpected attack.
1000 people worked in the mess under the supervision of the Mess Manager providing mouthwatering meals to the staff and the inmates. Mounika enjoyed the food so much that she ate more than what she would normally take. Even if she wanted to diet, she would not have been able to do so, as the matron believed that an empty stomach was an insult to her management.
As a result, when Mounika was taken to the Deep Space Affairs Department, Ministry of Space Affairs, Government of Bharat, she had gained 3 kilograms in weight. She was feeling a bit embarrassed that she had eaten so much, but the food was simply irresistible. Besides the matron had fed her like her own mom – making sure she had double portions for every meal.
If she insisted that she would eat only one chapatti, the matron would make sure she was given one roti that was equal to five rotis! It would be so thick! So, how could she not gain weight? And she would keep chiding her parents for ‘starving’ her. She equated a pot belly for wealth and thinness for starvation.
A special vehicle that had been painted black with no identifying marks had taken her to the Deep Space Affairs Complex, about 564 kilometers from the rehabilitation facility. The journey had been uneventful. Neither had the personnel escorting her bothered to initiate a conversation with her. It was as if she didn’t exist for them!
Since the vehicle had moved slowly, at just 500 kilometers per hour, it had taken them just over an hour to reach their destination. The vehicle had stopped at the gate. A drone had scanned the vehicle thoroughly before flashing all green signal. The gate had opened letting them pass through to the parking lot.
There everyone had got out of the vehicle and had escorted her to another gate where they had to pass through another security scan. Once they had been cleared, they had been taken to an office room where each of the soldiers escorting her got their ids and their biometrics scanned.
She was then sent to another room accompanied by two female attendants. They took her to a gynecologist who examined her thoroughly. She then issued a report after which Mounika was again escorted to another room by the female escorts.
This room was empty except for two chairs facing each other. Each chair had a set of headphones placed on the seat. One of the escorts lifted the headphones and indicated that she put them on as she sat on the seat. Mounika did as she was told. The attendants left the room leaving Mounika alone.
After about half an hour, Mounika heard a door open and close. She ‘heard’ since she couldn’t see door being opened. The headphones set rose in the air and adjusted itself in the air as if an invisible person had worn it.
Mounika’s eyes opened wide in surprise. Had the humans discovered a way to make themselves invisible? Or levitate inanimate objects through remote control? She didn’t expect them to be so advanced.
A voice spoke startling her. She was a bit rattled by the number of unknowns in this room. She felt a bit spooked though she neither got up nor showed any visible signs of fear.
“Greetings! The Deep Space Affairs Department, Ministry of Space Affairs, Government of Bharat, Planet Earth, Welcomes you to our world. We hope your stay has been comfortable.”
“Yes. Your hospitality has been good, and we (royal we) express our (royal our used in the singular) thanks on behalf of the Amba Puram Empire for making such delightful arrangements.”
“We hope you were not inconvenienced in any way?”
“Not in a way that we (royal we) feel is offensive. Small inconveniences are expected when one moves into an alien world.”
“True. Thank you for understanding. As per standard protocol, we need to debrief you so that we can decide what to do with you. So, we request that you cooperate with us.”
“Sure. No problem.”
“Who are you?”
"We (royal we) are Princess Varsha of the Shakti Clan, of the Great Galactic Empire of Amba Puram, in the Garuda System of the Athreya Galaxy."
“What is the purpose of your visit ‘Princess’?”
“We (royal we) were betrayed by our (royal our used in the singular) own people and were banished here.”
“Why should we trust you?”
“Lying is prohibited in our culture. No one is allowed to lie even if it means death. Our word is considered divine and so we don’t speak lightly. We speak only the truth and nothing but the truth. So, if we (royal we) say, we (royal we) were betrayed, it means we (royal we) were betrayed.”
“Tell us about your Empire.”
“The great galactic empire of Amba Puram is spread over 1500 galaxies in more than a thousand universes. It consists of sentient species that have been coexisting since time immemorial. We have trade, tech, medical and cultural ties with many of those species.
Our species live for more than 10,000 years on an average. Each individual male usually grows to a height of 70 feet. The emperor is the tallest man in the empire. An average female grows to a height of 60 feet. The empress is the tallest female in the empire.
Most of the power is held by three persons: the emperor, the empress and the heir apparent. They are assisted by the other princes and princesses belonging to the royal family. They rule all the provinces in the empire. Each of these provincial rulers is assisted by a council of ministers that helps them in administration of the province.
Each province has a standing army of 20 million Imperial Troops along with a Royal Guard consisting of specially trained commando troops numbering at least 12 regiments. Then we have the Imperial Police Forces stationed for regulation of crime and vehicular traffic.
Each province has a team of judges numbering 100 judges who are appointed through a special Judicial Services Exam. These judges are paid the highest salaries, provided with the best protection and enjoy the best facilities. They are also impartial and are known to give fearless judgements that are always just.
The provinces are provided with the best educational facilities. Each town and village in the province have schools to take care of the education of the children. We have a literacy rate of 100%. Everyone in the empire is educated. Employment is also provided to all.
The health care system is the best in the creation. We have overcome diseases and pain. Our healers can heal anything except death. We chose not to conquer death as its nature’s way of sustaining life.
The capital is the most guarded part of the empire, and it is impossible to enter without permission. No invading force can breach its defenses, nor can any imposters pass through the security features that sometimes border on paranoia.”
“How strong are the defenses?”
The Princess then went on describing the defenses in detail.
And so, the questioning went on for more than 6 hours. The voice would change occasionally indicating that different persons were interrogating her. All the time none of the persons who were asking the questions were visible to Mounika.
“Thank you, Princess, for your kind cooperation. Please return to your present accommodation while we present our report to the government.”
The two female escorts entered the room and removed the headset Mounika was wearing. Then they escorted her to the room where the soldiers who had brought her here were waiting. She was taken back the same way in silence.
Now all she could do was to wait for the decision of this human government.