She was standing in between life...and death!
“Hello Ms. Roshni and Ms. Noor. I hope you had a safe flight to London.” An officer greeted us into a huge and spacious building made of glass. The structure looked no less than the ones seen in movies, with endless corridors filled with complicated security codes and cameras.
“I hope you like the place… Oh, why will you not?” She assumed without giving us a chance to respond.
“After all it is way better than that filthy India of yours…” Maria Gold, the officer smirked, exciting the anger in me.
“Oh, you know what? The country that you just called ‘filthy’ a second ago, is the country your ancestors wanted to conquer due to the riches and fortunes we had, Ms. Gold.” I snapped, but in the politest manner possible. No way was I going to let some foreigner ruin my country’s reputation any further. This was the problem with media that I despised. They only knew how to flash out the negatives about something; after all it was the easiest thing to do. Very few people bothered to see the brighter side of things, the positives in each matter.
“Whatever you say Ms, Roshni, but you can’t ignore the poverty and corruption spreading in India.” Ms. Maria argued, flaunting her deep British accent. She was ready to fight, and the burning fury in me did not let me back away.
“Firstly, the poverty in India has partially been caused by your country, as you had made us your slaves. But we don’t blame you for that, for we are the reason behind the growth in the number of poor. And we all know, this is due to the corruption in our country, which makes India internally weak.” I explained, noticing the proud smile on her face.
“However, what you don’t tend to see, are the good aspects of India. Tourists from all over the world make it a point to visit this country, for there is no such land with such diversity. You will find innumerable cultures at each corner of India, with over 18 major languages spoken. You can discover the modern youth in Goa, or experience the royal life in Rajasthan.” I smiled victoriously.
“You mean to say that the whole world is wrong about your nation?” the security officer asked, offended.
“My intention wasn’t to offend you Ms. Gold, and if I did, I would like to apologize for it. What I am only trying to say, is that we all need to look at the brighter side of things. This is what my family and experiences have taught me, and this is what I believe in.” I concluded, seeing a agreeing smile on her face.
“You are a person I will never forget, Ms. Roshni!” She beamed in joy.
Noor di squeezed my shoulder, expressing how proud she was of me.
“Thank you Ms. Gold, it was my pleasure having a conversation with such an open-minded person like you.” I replied, meaning each word I said.
“We have reached the place where your test will be taken, Ms. Walia.”
I stood there, flabbergasted at what I saw in front of me. The only furniture in the huge white room was a pure glass container which could fit in almost 3 people. In there, was a bizarre looking machine. The object was no bigger than four feet tall, it looked like a bigger version of the electronic wheels I had at home. The electronic wheels, or swegway, as some people call it, was a machine where you put both your feet and can automatically move in all directions. It is similar to a skateboard but the only difference is that the swegway is electronically balanced.
There was a small conical flask attached to the machine through some wires. A transparent jacket filled with thick, colorless wires was placed beside the swegway looking device. I suddenly thought of something appalling. Were they going to give me unbearable electric shocks to just find out who I was? All this for surviving, I guess.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be facing something as horrible as you just thought.” Ms. Gold assured, reading my mind. I was dumbstruck, how did she know what I was thinking? Did she plant some sort of transmitter into my head? Before I could ask, the short-haired security officer spoke again.
“I knew what you were thinking because I have heard the same question from many others.” She explained.
“Many others? So other people have also tried to find out if they are related to….” I left my question unfinished.
“Yes… this machine was tried by many people situated in Europe first. It was then revealed to India and other parts of the world.” Ms. Maria said in an expressionless tone.
“So have…all the tries been successful?” I questioned something my ears dreaded to hear.
“Most of them, but some have failed.”
“So, what has happened to those people…” I croaked, not identifying my own voice.
“I think, it is better to start the test immediately. I will answer all your questions once we announce your results.” The blond haired officer ignored my question and straightened up. My voice got stuck in my throat as I couldn’t feel myself breathing. My heart rate probably increased to 300/250 and my legs trembled as I moved. I clasped my hands together, squeezing them till they became white and the blood circulation stopped. “Calm down Roshni…You’re going to be fine.” My sister whispered softly. I noticed she hadn’t spoke since we entered the building. I gave her a promising nod, but did not feel convinced myself. This was it… and there was no going back.
…
There was secret room near the glass container. I hadn’t seen it from at a distance as it wasn’t visible. The grey room with a single glass wall contained sophisticated computers. They were going to show my results. Look at the hysteria in my life; a few computers would decide my fate and my life. I took a deep breath and proceeded towards the odd looking swegway inside the glass box as instructed.
As soon as I entered, the invisible doors automatically closed, isolating me. I felt as if I was Tris from the Divergent Series, and this was my fear landscape. The only thing that distinguished the series from me was reality. That was a mere imagination of an author, this was real life.
“Please step onto the Aurester.” A female voice surrounded the container, only it wasn’t Ms. Maria. It was an unfamiliar voice, guiding me through this new process. I remembered that this was the Aurester Noor di had informed about earlier. I hesitated but put both my feet onto the device, just like I used to do at home with my electronic wheels.
“Please spit into the conical flask located on your right.” She ordered. I obeyed without any hesitation this time. Bending forward, I spit into the flask, and instantly, it sealed itself with a jerk. The conical flask disappeared into thin air within a blink of an eye. Before I could think of asking where it went, the unknown woman started speaking again.
“Thank you very much… the flask has been deposited into our Development Chamber. Please remain on the Aurester for another two minutes.”
A timer started to count down, beeping at every second causing sweat beads to roll down my spine despite being an air conditioned room. I observed that the Aurester did not move like my swegway at home. They started to glow in the dimly lighted glass box, forcing my eyes to squeeze shut. I could feel the energy draining out from my body, into the exceptional device. However, I stayed put, and tried not to wobble a bit. Finally the woman spoke again, soothing me.
“Thank you for your cooperation. The energy from your body has been transferred into the Aurester in the form of ‘Aurengy’. Please wear the jacket kept on the left. This will provide you with energy required throughout the test.” My hands shivered as I reached out for the transparent jacket. Surprisingly, it felt very light despite all the wires attached to it. I wore the jacket on top of my head and felt the energy rise through me again. Through the transparent wires in the jacket, I could see blue liquid rushing rapidly, providing me strength. I was feeling better already.
“You will now go through two levels in order for the test to complete. The two levels are named as ‘Provoking Past’ and ‘The Development’ respectively. You may only pass ‘The Development’ if you succeed in the previous level. But if you do not, you will start feeling weak and soon lose all your strength, leading you to perish. You may now begin the test by closing your eyes.” She ordered.
I was terrified as never before, this was a life or death situation, and I was all alone. Slowly, but hesitantly, my eyelids shuttered until everything was pitch black.
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