Novel Preview: The Existence

Work in progress

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Chapter 0: The lost prize

Month 2, Year 623 AW (After War)

High winds are gusting in the plateau-like terrain. It is another long dust storm in the freezing low temperature of the night. In these dust winds, A Rover wagon with a tank-like wheel system is slowly yet steadily approaching the opening of a canyon system. As the rover enters further inside the canyon the surrounding hills gets higher and the passage starts to narrow. The driver inside is looking carefully at the sensors and 360 cam feed to navigate through the alley like canyon terrain. After going half a kilometer, an opening of a cave is seen on one of the forks in the canyon.

The vehicle stops a few meters away from the cave’s mouth. The cave’s opening has been covered with rigid metal automated gates. 

A person behind the cave’s gate looks at the camera feed and looking at a symbol on the rover outside, he waves at his interface to open the gate. As the metallic doors slide away from each other opening up the path for the rover, the rover slowly enters the cavern. After the rover enters the first gate and the gate closes, the second door is seen in front of the rover now made of heavy glass. The rover again stops at the closed glass door. A man opens the rover and descends from it. He is joined by another tall man who gets out of the rover from the other door.

The two men start to approach the guy who opened the door but the doorkeeper shows them his hand signalling to stop. In his  firm yet respectful voice he instructed. "Please wait for the body and rover scan to complete,"

The taller man, eyebrows raised in slight indignation, began to stride forward. "Do you even know who—" he started, but his companion, a shorter, more seasoned man, raised his hand to stop him.

Removing his mask to reveal a bearded face marked with a dark red tilak, he said calmly, "No need, Sen. Our agenda can wait a few seconds."

The interface emitted a green light and an affirmative beep, signalling the completion of the scan. The gatekeeper then opened the glass door, gesturing inside with a welcoming hand. "Our commander is awaiting your presence. This way, please."

Both the men walk with a military style march inside the cave tunnels, their steps in sync. After walking about a few hundred metres, the cave tunnel opened up into a huge natural cave chamber in which they found a group of people gathered around a rusted old piece of machinery. It appeared to be some sort of wreckage of an aircraft. 

They are welcomed by the group leader and commander. With his deep cyborg-like voice he says “Welcome our Sanatani brothers! Welcome to our temporary setup. I am sorry in advance for keeping this meeting short and transactional. But such is the nature of our work.” 

“The feeling is mutual commander. We would also wish to attain our prize soon here and make a move.” Says the taller man.

The commander gives a stern and cold look to the tall guy, walks past him towards the shorter and more senior of the two. He places a metallic box at the stone beside the short man. “Here is your prize Mr. Kenji. This is what you have come this far for.” He closes in one step towards Kenji and says in a serious voice “Also, advise your son to speak less for the remainder of this meeting. He turns towards Sen who looks flushed out and infuriated after hearing this. “My crew doesn't appreciate high pitch voice in our caves here”

Mr. Kenji waves at his son to not add a response to this. He knows that they are in the Scavengers’ territory right now and if they want to go ahead with the deal, they have to be the submissive ones. With his calmer voice Kenji asks “Is this what we discussed in our chats?”

“Yup.” Says the commander. “Its data was based on the pre-war era binary storage format and also had some military grade encryption. But for our quantum computers, decrypting it was a matter of minutes. We have also converted it into a more apt data type for your team.”

Mr. Kenji’s eyes were visibly glittery looking at it. In his calm voice he replies “This is absolutely brilliant on your part Commander. Our clan would never forget your crew’s contribution as we move towards our ascension.” 

“Hah! Contribution to ascension.” Commander laughs it off while turning towards his crew. He is also joined by his crew members in the laughter which echoes in the vast tunnel chamber. “This may seem comedic to you and your followers commander but we are laying out a foundation to dethrone the Alliance empire while you still run errands for petty sums.” Commander’s laugh slows down as his crew also stops laughing after hearing Kenji’s words. Kenji comes close to the commander. He slightly stands on his toes against the tall demeanour of the commander and speaks in a lower voice to him. “You should join forces with our cause Commander. Nobody knows the smuggling routes between the planets better than your crew. When we plan the attack, your team can help us smuggle our troops’ aid on Mars. An attack on all fronts would be unimaginable for the empire.”

Commander with a cold look keeps a hand on Kenji’s shoulder bringing him back to his usual standing posture. “You can keep your politics with you Kenji. We are done with rebelling against the empire. We did it for our units. So now would be the time to give us our part of the deal.”

Mr. Kenji gives a stern look at the commander. He flicks his eyes in one direction ordering his retinal interface to transfer the units. “You must have received the units in your account Commander. Now please be kind to get the black box and wreckage loaded in our rover”

The two persons on their way back to the cave door look at the box which was placed in their cabin. “Are you so sure father that it would have the data we need?” 

A smiling Mr. Kenji responded back with glittery eyes “This is the key son! It is the truth that our forefather discovered and which was hidden from us. This is the foundation on which we would initiate our uprising.” 

“I’m still unsure as to why a pre-war satellite debris is so important for us that we spent a fourth of our military budget on it” adds Sen as he looks through the rear view screen showing the satellite in the trolley. 

“It's not just a satellite Sen!” Kenji responds with a keen tone as he looks back at the path ahead. “It used to be the most advanced space telescope mankind had ever created - JW telescope. Some years before the final war, it captured something that hinted at the creation of the universe. If the lore is true, then this is the very data that started the clash between the followers of ancient religions and turned it into a full scale war.” He turns towards to look ar Sen “A war that we must reignite to prove  how brutally our Sanatani belief was crushed and never brought back”

“Father, I want to see our army myself. I want to head back to earth with you” says Sen.

“Not now Sen. Your presence is needed here with the prize. Once you retrieve the data from it, relay it on our channels and make preparations for a skirmish here on Mars.” Adds Kenji.

“A skirmish? Here on the Marsha base?” asks Sen.

“Yes. You will have to wait for the new maintenance crew to take over Marsha. We would plan the attack to take advantage of the inexperienced new crew. There are also rumours spread that this crew may also have the miracle kid as one of the members.” 

“Vic? Are you still optimistic in aligning him with our cause after the trauma he went through in his childhood?”

Kenji looks out of the tank’s window “After knowing the whole truth, after looking at the evidence himself, he would have to..”

Chapter 1: Echoes of Dreams

Month 5, Year 624 AW (After War)

The room exuded an air of comfort and tranquillity, with its elegant wall paintings and a glass window offering a view of lush green crops swaying gently with the breeze. Vic sat on a comfortable couch, his gaze fixed on the therapist in front of him.

The therapist's calm voice filled the room, “Vic, I know you need time to put the feelings into words and this topic might be heavy for you. Maybe we should go a bit back and restart again from the dream. Tell me more about this dream. Was it as nightmarish as the previous episodes?"

Vic leaned back, his fingers entwined. "No. Actually, it was different this time," he began, his voice carrying a mix of nostalgia and uncertainty. "It started with a memory. A good one. I saw Saanvi." His eyes softened as he recalled the dream's opening scene. "We were lying on the hangout pad back at our Lunar campus. It's one of the more savoury memories I have from my training time. But it didn't feel like a dream at all. It was like I was really there with her with all my consciousness. Her smile, her dark hairs falling gracefully in lunar gravity, her hazel eyes looking at me—it felt so real, so vivid. She leaned her head near my shoulder and asked me ‘You still remember our promise right?’. I nodded back with a smile and then leaned towards her for a kiss”

The therapist nodded with a hint of smile on her face, jotting down notes on her electronic pad She started "That's great! A positive start, then. You were in a place of happiness in the dream. Also what was the promise that Saanvi mentioned about in your dream?”

Vic smiled faintly, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "During our lunar training, we made a pact. We promised each other that once we were posted on Mars, we'd climb the highest canyon point of the Martian terrain together. We dreamt of watching the Martian sunset, side by side, witnessing the crimson and gold hues painting the sky, marking a moment that would forever be ours. Sadly, I barely saw her towards the end of our training and there has been zero contact with her after our separation."

“Aw! That’s really sweet.” Adds the therapist putting her pad down ”I would definitely like to come back to Saanvi’s topic a bit later in our session, but first let’s get to the core issue. Can you remember what triggered the shift, when did the dream take a turn towards a more serious or nightmarish tone?"

Vic reclined on the couch, his gaze distant. "It happened when I realised I was back on the Moon. Suddenly, memories of my childhood visits to the moon with my father flooded in. I found myself in that peculiar chamber near the Copernicus crater—the strange temple-like outpost."

"Ah, that was where you first experienced your seizure, correct?" The therapist's voice was gentle, encouraging Vic to share his thoughts.

Vic nodded somberly. "Yes, that's the place. And then... then things changed. I felt frozen, and I saw my father. He was holding a blade and moving toward me. Just like in the earlier dreams, I can't remember anything after that. I woke up."

The therapist offered a thoughtful response. "It's interesting, Vic. This dream seems to have begun on a positive note, with a cherished memory. It's a good sign that your dreams are allowing some positive thoughts to surface."

Vic looked at the display, his expression contemplative. "But it always takes a turn, doesn't it? It always spirals into something darker."

The therapist's voice was soothing. "Dreams can be complex reflections of our thoughts and emotions, Vic. Your mind might be processing certain memories and feelings, even those you might not be fully aware of. We can work together to unravel these layers."

As the therapist spoke, her image suddenly froze, her words suspended. The leaves visible from the windows of the room stopped moving. It seemed as if someone hit a pause button to the whole room that Vic was in. Then, the room around Vic transformed. The paintings, the window, and the therapist—all dissolved into thin air, revealing the interior of Vic's ship. He was seated on his bed in real life. A holographic interface is now visible hovering before him which was until now painting a 3D emulation of a therapist's room. The audio from the hovering device speaks out "You have exhausted your extra 10 minutes of this therapy session. Please confirm if you want to schedule the next session at the available slot"

Vic's homeOS bot appeared, its voice chiming in, "Vic, would you like to schedule the next session?"

Vic blinked, slightly disoriented by the sudden shift in his surroundings. He moved his gaze towards the affirmative option on the interface and blinked lightly to click on "yes" area.

As the holographic display confirmed the scheduling, Vic's thoughts lingered on the simulated conversation. The therapist, the room—all had been a meticulously designed AI imitation. He couldn't help but feel a mix of gratitude and unease. The sessions offered him a chance to process his thoughts, yet the knowledge that he was essentially talking to a construct left him with a sense of disconnect.

With a sigh, he settled back on his bed, staring at the holographic ceiling above. This journey to Marsha held both promise and uncertainty, much like the dreams that visited him in the quiet of space. And as the hum of the ship enveloped him, he couldn't shake the feeling that his mind, much like the cosmos itself, held mysteries waiting to be explored.

"But dad, why did Arjuna keep asking so many questions if he didn't want to fight the war?" asks Vic to his father who is continuing a bedtime story to his son.

The father smiles and replies "Well asking questions about something you don't understand is human nature isn't it Vic?"

Vic continues "But what if someone would have attacked during the time Krishna was chatting with Arjuna? It just seems very illogical to me"

"Uh.. that's actually a fair point. Well people back then had honour and didn't start the fight unless their opponent had picked up their weapons and aligned their battle formations."

"You know I can figure out when you're making up some parts of the story to tell the remaining part right Dad?" Says a smirking Vic to his father.

His father replies with an impressed smile on his face "Sometimes I wonder if you're actually 8 or just a young teen pretending to be a small kid when I hear your questions." 

"Hey but you didn't answer my question? How do you expect me to believe the story if you're just making up parts of it Dad?"

"That's the point Vic! You or anyone who heard this story earlier doesn't have to believe in the whole story. The story's intention was something else."

Vic looked more confused and was about to ask another question but his father continued "As I told you, this story was told many, many, centuries ago and it was shared to enlighten people about sticking with the right deeds and doing their Karma you remember?"

"Yeah, so.." Vic asks 

"So sometimes to tell something really meaningful to less smart people, the smart ones have to tell a very engaging story first." his father replies.

"Hmm.. I understand, it may have been a good moral story for people back then" says Vic looking upwards as though imagining people in the early ages.

"Anyways, I think that's enough for tonight. Maybe we'll continue some other time" He says, bringing up the blanket to cover Vic.

As baby Vic turns towards the side, he sees the mirror in which his Dad is shown holding a knife instead of a blanket. His father in the mirror turns his gaze towards the real Vic and gives a horrifying smile as he reaches close to Vic's throat in the mirror. 

Vic suddenly wakes up from his nightmare and finds himself upright on his bed.

Jane  - his homebot assistant intervenes "Another nightmare Vic? Your pulse was over 130 while you were sleeping and your REMs were quicker than usual."

Vic calms down his breath and nods in his reply. He gets up with a hint of frustration in his expression. After 3 hours of constant struggle to sleep in his pod after his therapy session he again ended up having a similar nightmare.

"I don't know if these therapies are helping me out or making things worse Jane. Did you see any signs of.. " Vic makes a brief pause.

"..Your childhood convulsions? Fortunately no Vic. The only visible signs were that of a typical nightmare." Jane completes his question.

"Don't worry Vic, as the therapist mentioned, this is going to take time and it's important to unwind these emotions to solve the real issues. My algorithms suggest that you can take a light Prazosin capsule to carry on with your sleep tonight. Should I get it dispensed from the ship's inventory?"

Vic stares onto the ceiling of his room for a while, then decides to get up from his bed .

"No Jane, won't be needed. I will just take a walk outside to the deck" He adds while going out of his room.