Neeraj Chand's Blog: Neel Dervin And The Dark Angel

The next evening Neel returned home with his mother. It was a relief to be able to get back to his house. His time alone in the hospital room had been spent in learning to keep his mind under control, a control that he found easier to maintain in peaceful surroundings. His mind had a disconcerting habit of speeding up whenever his attention slipped, and he had found that it was usually outside excitement that made him lose control.

The ride back had been extremely unpleasant. Alone in the quiet hospital room he had not realized just how acute his hearing had become. All through the trip home he had been starting from unexpected horns and traffic whistles. The chatter of passing groups of pedestrians had broken his concentration entirely. He had been pretending to sleep all though the ride to avoid talking or moving at all to hide his increased speed. It was only after turning into the quiet street in front of his house that the noises lessened slightly. It took several minutes of pretending to be drowsy after waking up to gain time to rebuild his concentration and get his speed under control.

While his mother paid the driver, Neel got out of the taxi and gazed up at his house. It was an old house, one of the earliest buildings in their colony. It showed its age in the weather stained walls, and the old coat of paint gave it a distinctly shabby appearance. It was where Neel and his mother had lived ever since his birth. On the left side, adjacent to their house, lived Mr. and Mrs. Ghosh with their daughter Priyanka. On the other side of the street stood the house of the Dases, the upper windows of their house shut tightly as usual. The street was deserted as darkness fell rapidly around them.

Neel stared around at the familiar scene. There was the feeling of comfort in returning home, but also something else. There was a sense of being alien to the well known surroundings, as though he was almost a new arrival to the house. He had returned from the hospital a vastly different person from before, and he found himself looking at the well-known surroundings through new eyes. It was an enhanced awareness of the environment, as though until the accident his senses had been clogged up, and he was now seeing and hearing things properly for the first time. It was an odd sensation, thrilling but also unsettling. He could count the tendrils of the fungus growing within one of the tiny cracks at the bottom of the wall. He could smell the scent of warm food coming from the house next to theirs. He could hear the distinct patter of different footsteps on the main road as though they were walking in front of him…

"Neel?" His mother's voice brought him back from his thoughts. She was looking at him anxiously, worried by the strange, vacant expression on his face as he stood staring at their house. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Neel said quickly, forcing his mind back from its wanderings. "It feels nice to be back." He went to stand before the front gate of their house. His mother stared at him for a moment before going to unlock the gate. Neel silently followed his mother inside their house, every step forward sending a barrage of information to his brain. He struggled to maintain a grasp on his mind as it threatened to speed up again.

The scene inside their home was as Neel remembered it. The small but cheerful kitchen. The stone basin and the cupboards filled with pots and pans. The drawing room in its semi tidy state, with the TV remote laying on the sofa. Kept opposite to the sofa was a large and comfortable bed, where they usually sat to watch the evening shows. Their house held a cramped air, as though it could barely squeeze in all the objects and furniture inside. But it held a cozy air, and it was the house he had grown up in.

"These last two days I've spent so much time in the office and at the hospital that the entire house is in a mess." His mother sighed, staring at the disorderly surroundings. She opened the fridge and peered inside. "Why don't you go freshen up in your room? You can rest for a while if you want to, or maybe get some fresh air on the terrace, and I'll call you when dinner will be ready."

"Okay." Neel said and made his way upstairs. He could hear the clink of cutlery from the kitchen as he pushed open the door to his room and entered.

The tiny study table in a corner. The bed pushed against the wall. The rickety cupboard which never shut properly, and which for some reason always opened at the slightest touch. The steel shelf where his books were kept. Save for some tidying up that his mother had done, everything was just as he had left it.

Neel could hear the sounds of his mother moving around downstairs preparing lunch as though she was right outside the door. He reached inside his sleeveless jacket and pulled out a packet that Divya had given him at the hospital. It had taken some effort to smuggle the packet out of the hospital without his mother noticing. Inside it was a pair of noise cancelling headphones, designed to block out sound near his ears while he slept. Divya had told him that, because of his enhanced hearing, he would find it very difficult to fall sleep unless he wore the headphones. For the last two days he had slept in a sound proof room in the hospital, and so had believed her to be exaggerating. But now that he was in his room, he realized he would definitely need them. His ears were picking up the sounds of cars and people walking on the road behind their house, the radio on in another house, the blast of the fan and the creaking of furniture, and every small creak coming from windows and doors. It might be possible to ignore the sounds when he was awake, but it would be impossible to sleep through it all.

Carefully, he opened the cupboard and unlocked the drawer inside. It was the only private space he had ever had. It contained some knick knacks from his childhood, along with a calculator, an unfinished Rubik's cube and a beautifully crafted leather wallet that rarely had any money in it. Inside the drawer was a secret compartment that even his mother did not know about. The compartment was empty, but now Neel opened it and placed the headphones inside.

He sank slowly onto his bed, its ancient joints creaking slightly under his weight, and sat staring around the room. His eyes fell on an old broken lamp that was kept stashed under the cupboard. His mother had intended to have it fixed someday, but now it lay beneath the cupboard almost forgotten. He went over to it and drew it out, running his hand over the metal handle. Grasping the handle in both hands, he applied pressure at the ends just like he had at the hospital. He felt again the surge of power in his hands, and the handle bent into an L shape. He stared at the curved metal, his heart pounding. Then he carefully unfolded it and placed it back.

The pounding of his heart was growing faster. He stood up and began to pace the room, thoughts racing through his head. His brain had begun to accelerate again. This time he did not try to control it, but finally gave free rein to its full speed. The ticking of the clock on the table slowed to a crawl as he strode quietly and swiftly across the room.

Superhuman capacity. That was what Doctor Fahim had called it. He had spent years developing the serum into what it now was. So apparently the way his brain was behaving was a good thing. The disconcerting sense of having objects near and away at the same time. The sounds from horns and loudspeakers that had assaulted his ears all the way from the hospital to his house. Watching everything around him moving at a crawl. That moment in the hospital when he had been afraid to hug his mother. All of this was supposed to be a good thing.

The tiny, darkened room seemed to close in around him, blotting out from his mind the comfort he had experienced while talking to Doctor Fahim. An attack of panic built up within him steadily. The doctor had promised they would help him control his new abilities, but he had no idea what those abilities even were. How could he ever act normally again, when he could barely keep his mind under control in quiet surroundings? He would have to keep his brain under constant supervision, every second of every day. One slip in public, and his secret would be out. He was not a trained soldier. He wasn't even an adult! He was a mediocre student with no outside interests, or any experience which would indicate a special aptitude for this kind of thing. He had never done anything before in his life that could have prepared him for this situation.

He could not help but think how Aryan would have been the perfect choice for the project. He had the confidence and intelligence that Neel could only wish for. He would have treated this whole experience as an adventure and jumped to the challenge. It would have been like a real life episode of Captain America or Wolverine or any other superhero from the comics they had grown up reading. But Neel could not summon that enthusiasm. All he felt was a sick worry. It was the worry he had experienced in the hospital upon waking up, when he thought his brain had been damaged, and when he had learnt about the serum and what it had done to him. He had spent hours deliberating upon the answer before giving it to Doctor Fahim, yet now he had to admit the decision he had made in the hospital had been a product of fear and uncertainty, and a not too well thought out impulse to mimic the heroes he had grown up watching. And now he was second guessing that decision.

But what choice had he had? And who could he have turned to for advice for making the decision? He lived alone with his mother. There was no one who could have helped him decide, no one to tell him what the right course to pursue was. He couldn't even tell anyone the truth about the accident. He felt yet again a sharp attack of loneliness as he stared around the silent room, as it dawned on him at that moment how truly on his own he was in this matter. The only people who could help him were those whom he had never met before, or knew anything about. How was he supposed to handle this situation?

The walking was not helping. His heart was beating so loud and hard it felt as though it would burst. Neel took several deep breaths, and slowly, his mind stopped racing. Difficult as it was, he began to finally accept the situation instead of second guessing the whole thing all over again. Abruptly, he sat down and forced his mind to slow down. He had found it helped to listen to the loud thumping of his heart and slow down with it. But it still took several minutes of internal wrestling before the ticking of the clock returned to its normal speed. He stared in silence at the wall opposite to him, feeling calmer as he accepted that there was nothing he could do for now. He had made the decision in the hospital, and as far as he knew it had been the right one. There was no use panicking now. He was not going to get answers right away. Only the meeting with Doctor Fahim tomorrow would help him understand his circumstances better.

It had not been a good day for fourteen year old Neel Dervin. He had gotten up late for school. He had forgotten to do the work and had been unable to submit his math homework at school, leading his teacher Ticolo to compare his ability to follow orders unfavorably to that of a monkey's. The front tire of his cycle had caught a pin and punctured just as he was setting out for his coaching institute, making him late for tuitions as he got the puncture repaired. And then the car had crashed into him, very nearly killing him.

Neel woke up feeling unusually drowsy. He opened his eyes to what seemed like a strange new reality. His mind was swimming, and he was experiencing a vague feeling of disorientation. His senses could not seem to focus very well. He was conscious of being under starched white sheets, sheets that did not belong to him. He lifted his head and registered that he was definitely not in his room. Again it seemed difficult to focus his eyes on anything. The room seemed very sharply defined and hazy at the same time. He was dimly conscious of someone getting up and leaving the room, but by the time he had looked around, the person was gone.

Neel sat up slowly in the bed, trying to get back his bearings. Bits and pieces of memory were hovering in his mind. An image floated through his brain. A car crashing into him. Blinding pain. Darkness. A violent shudder passed through Neel's frame as the images became clear, and his heart beat wildly. He stared around the room, reminding himself that he was safe now. He wasn't on the road any longer. He was perfectly safe, here in this room.

But where was here, exactly? Neel knew he was in some sort of a hospital room. An IV drip attached to a stand was placed next to the bed. A bedpan was kept nearby. Someone had placed flowers on the small table at the side of his bed.

Neel squeezed his eyes shut tightly. He was finding it almost impossible to focus his eyes. Images seemed very sharp when he looked at any one thing, but everything became a blur if he turned to look from one direction to another, as though he was watching them from a very fast moving car. He was also having trouble telling the depth of the images his mind was receiving. It was as though the entire world had suddenly become flat and two dimensional. Everything seemed far away and near at the same time. His arms seemed at once stretched thin and yet oddly bloated. There was a steady thumping in his ears. It took several moments for him to realize he was listening to his own heartbeat, louder and clearer than it had ever been before. He clutched the bed sheets tightly as panic rose inside him.

He still had his eyes closed when he heard footsteps outside the door. The sound of the door opening came to his ears. He opened his eyes and saw that a tall man with a lean frame and a young girl with long black hair tied back in a ponytail had entered the room. The girl closed the door behind her. The old man stared at Neel for a moment, and then said something quietly.

Neel stared at the man uncomprehendingly. The words had sounded as though they were coming from a badly tuned radio, garbled and indistinct, but loud. The old man came closer, still speaking.

It was then that Neel began to feel truly frightened. The man's words seemed incredibly slow. In fact, everything about the two newcomers, from their speech to their movements, seemed incredibly sluggish.

Everything he had ever heard about brain damage came rushing to Neel's mind. He sat up straight on the bed, looking at the two.

"What's happened to me? I can't understand anything you're saying." Neel spoke to the man in a frightened voice.

The words came out in a string of gibberish, too fast for Doctor Fahim or Divya to understand. The boy was beginning to move around uneasily in the bed, and his movements appeared bizarrely accelerated and abrupt.

Doctor Fahim and Divya glanced at each other. It was as they had expected. The boy's brain speed was much faster than normal now. Doctor Fahim motioned to Divya, who took the recorder out of her pocket. She held it in her palm and hit the play button.

The room was suddenly filled with meaningless noise, a message played at three times the normal speed, too fast for a normal person to make sense of.

Neel, however, could understand every word of the message. He stopped moving and froze, listening intently, his heart hammering against his chest.

"Calm down, Neel." the voice in the recorder said. It was Doctor Fahim's voice. "You are completely fine. In fact, you are better than fine. Everything around you seems to be in slow motion, but I can help you speed everything up. Please trust me. I can explain everything. But first I need you to slow your mind down a bit. I want you to close your eyes."

The same message played out three more times to make sure the young boy understood every word. Divya had been timing the message with her watch, and now hit pause.

Neel hesitated for a brief second. Doctor Fahim smiled encouragingly at him. Slowly, Neel closed his eyes.

Doctor Fahim nodded to Divya. Again, she hit the play button on the recorder.

"Very good." said the voice. "Relax. Take a deep breath. You are not the first person to experience these sensations. I can promise you that you can be in command of your mind again. You simply need to understand how to regain control over your senses. Open your eyes and focus on any one thing in the room. Ignore everything else."

Neel opened his eyes. He stared hard at the flowers on the table, forcing back the feeling of panic, and took deep breaths, trying to stop his heart from hammering against his chest. Slowly, speed returned to normal. The movements of the other two became faster and the speed of the watch on Divya's wrist returned to the normal rate.

"Well done." Doctor Fahim said, watching intently as Neel's movements became slower and more controlled.

Neel stared at the man. "Who are you?" he said, speaking carefully. He looked up at the girl who was watching him as well. "What's happening to me?" He continued to breathe slowly, his mind threatening to speed up again at any moment.

Doctor Fahim drew the chair up to the side of the bed and sat down. "That is what we would like to explain to you." he said gently. "My name is Doctor Fahim. I am a doctor of biotechnology. This is Divya Nayak. She is my personal aide."

"You suffered an accident two days ago." Divya said, coming to stand next to his bed. "Your injuries were very severe."

Neel nodded. "I remember." he said. "I was hit by a car. I thought I was going to die."

"That would certainly have been the outcome if Divya had not been there." Doctor Fahim said quietly. "Fortunately, Divya had in her possession a serum which saved your life. But that serum also changed you at a very fundamental level. Would you like to know how?"

Neel nodded, not trusting himself to speak as he stared at the two serious faces before him.

Doctor Fahim leaned back in his chair and looked at the young boy. "Tell me, Neel, do you know anything about a scientist named Doctor Warren Thompson?"

Neel stared at him in surprise and confusion. He did not know what the name had to do with his illness. But Doctor Fahim was waiting for an answer. Neel considered the question. Warren Thompson… The name stirred memories. Certain news he had heard in an educational program a long time ago. "I think I've heard his name." he said. He looked uncertainly at Doctor Fahim and Divya. "He discovered something important, right? People said he discovered big foot or something."

"Fictitious rumors fabricated for the benefit of the media." Doctor Fahim said. "In reality, Doctor Thompson discovered something much more important, a discovery which has such far reaching implications that the government has gone to great lengths to keep it a secret."

Doctor Fahim rose from his chair and offered it to Divya.

"I'm fine, sir." Divya said quickly.

"It is a question of manners, Divya." Doctor Fahim said. She reluctantly took the chair. Doctor Fahim walked over to the end of Neel's bed and looked at him.

"I was working with Doctor Thompson on a piece of research work that promised to be very intriguing." he resumed his narrative. "Doctor Thompson had found a family of apes in the African jungles. Although they numbered in a mere handful, the tribes people in the surrounding area did their best to avoid confrontations with them. The remarkable thing about these apes was their strength. They were much stronger than ordinary gorillas, capable of uprooting gigantic trees and throwing heavy boulders across amazing distances. Doctor Thompson tried his best to study them, but the apes were unused to human presence at such close quarters. They attacked his research team and the two local tribes which were helping him. It took more than a hundred men to stop them. In the end, only a single ape survived, which Doctor Thompson kept with himself. That ape also died soon afterwards, but he had collected enough samples to continue his study."

Doctor Fahim paused. Neel was listening intently now. Divya already knew all this, but she was listening closely as well. Doctor Fahim went on. "Doctor Thompson was an old mentor of mine. He called me in and told me about his research, and we worked together on studying the samples for five years. We discovered a new compound which mimicked the properties of an undiscovered hormone and was responsible for the remarkable strength of the apes."

Neel's mind began to lose control again, and the doctor's words became sluggish and incomprehensible once more. With a huge effort, he forced his mind to slow down.

"I'm sorry." he broke in, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. "But I don't see what this has to do with why I can't see or hear properly."

"I am coming to that." Doctor Fahim said gently. "Please bear with me a while longer. Your present situation is another link in a chain of events which were put in motion a very long time ago. You need to understand everything from the beginning in order to appreciate your unique condition."

Neel nodded and sat completely still, staring at Doctor Fahim.

"Doctor Thomson was getting on in his years, and the conditions under which we worked for so long were ill suited to his health." the doctor continued. There was a ring of sadness in his voice. Divya knew how deeply he had respected the man who had been his mentor for so long. "He died a year after we had returned from Africa. He left all his possessions to charity. But the samples and all his research work connected to our time in Africa he left to me. I worked alone on the project for twenty eight years, and it was developing into something truly remarkable. Divya became my assistant during that time, and together we succeeded in uncovering most of the secrets of that curious substance."

"At this point, however, our resources dried. We could not continue our research. It seemed as though we had come to the end of our work. And yet there was still so much left to accomplish."

"But then I received a call from a certain government official. Rumors of what I had been working on had reached the military, and the call I had gotten was from the defense Minister of India. I went to meet him, and a man named General Bakshi. They were willing to fund our research, and sponsor our project, provided the end result would be handed over to the army. I could think of no better solution. We would get the research money, and our work would be used to help protect the country."

Doctor Fahim looked at Neel. "That was three years ago." he said. "Since then, Divya and I have been working on perfecting the serum, and making it safe for human consumption. We devoted all our energies to uncovering its secrets, and applying the fantastic effects of the serum to augmenting the abilities of a normal human." Doctor Fahim's expression had become brooding. "Our work was finally completed a few weeks ago. Two days ago, we finalized the transfer of the serum to the army. Divya was taking the serum back from the army headquarters to our lab when she witnessed your accident." Doctor Fahim looked intently at Neel. "I should also mention that, one of the properties the serum dispenses is a drastically increased rate of healing."

Neel stared at the doctor in a daze. Finally, he understood why Doctor Fahim had been telling him all this. "So you…you gave me that serum?" The doctor nodded quietly.

"It was the only way." he said. "Without the serum you would have died long before you had arrived at the hospital. Your condition was far beyond human aid. And so Divya chose the one course of action that had a chance of helping you. She saved your life."

Neel stared at the doctor, and at Divya. Then he stared around the room, trying to process the information. According to the doctor, the serum made a person stronger, yet that was not what Neel had experienced when he had woken up. "You said I've changed." he said, his voice coming out a little hoarse. "What exactly does that mean?" He ran a cursory glance over his body. As far he could make out, everything seemed completely unchanged.

Doctor Fahim came and sat on the edge of his bed. "The serum was refined and made more potent, with more widespread effects on the nervous system then mere physical strength." he said. "Your senses, your speed, your strength, your stamina, everything has increased to a superhuman capacity."

Neel stared at him dumbly. Perhaps the words were supposed to make him feel important, or excited. All he was conscious of was a feeling of unreality.

There was a long pause. Neel was still staring at the doctor. "And I saw everything in slow motion just now because?…"

"Because your sensory nerves have become more receptive, and your response speed to external stimuli, along with everything else, has been enhanced." Doctor Fahim said. "Your brain is unused to processing information at the speed it is now receiving. It is an ability that you will have to learn to control. In fact, everything that you know about your body and its capabilities will have to be learnt again."

Again, Neel could only stare at the doctor. A part of his mind told him this was all ridiculous, that he was either dreaming or was the target of some giant practical joke. But it did not make the situation any less bizarre.

"There has to be a mistake." Neel said, looking helplessly at Doctor Fahim and Divya. "I don't feel any different. Just my eyes were messed up for a while. But I feel fine now."

Doctor Fahim nodded thoughtfully. He glanced around at Divya, who reached inside her bag and pulled out a solidly built steel rod about a foot long. She brought the rod forward and gave it to Doctor Fahim. He hefted the rod lightly in his hand, testing its weight and strength. "This seems like a good, strong piece of workmanship." he said. He handed the rod to Neel.

Neel took the rod reluctantly, and looked at Doctor Fahim. The two stared at each other for a moment.

"I think you know what I want you to do." Doctor Fahim said simply.

Neel returned his gaze to the rod. Slowly, he grasped the rod in both hands. He felt nothing new. What he did not notice was he was lifting the rod more easily than either Divya or Doctor Fahim had been able to.

Neel applied his strength at the ends of the rod. It bent very slightly. He continued building the pressure at the ends, feeling a sudden power surge through his hands. The rod twisted, and bent easily in his hands. In a sudden burst, he pulled at the ends of the rod hard.

There was a snapping sound, and the rod broke neatly into two. Neel was left holding an end in each hand, looking stunned at what he had just done.

Doctor Fahim and Divya stared in fascination at the two pieces of the rod, and the two young hands that held them. Even after all their research and preparation, it was strangely surreal to see the serum actually at work in a human.

"Despite the unexpected turn of events, I believe congratulations are in order, Divya." Doctor Fahim smiled, extending his hand.

Divya shook his hand, her laugh a little unsteady. "It's amazing, sir." she said.

The two turned. Neel was still looking stunned. Doctor Fahim took the two halves of the hand out of his hands and placed them on the side table. "The question that arises, Neel, is what now?"

"What do you mean?" Neel said.

"We rarely get to choose the paths fate lays down before us." Doctor Fahim said gravely. "But it is up to us to decide how we travel those paths. You are a part of a military experiment now. You can run faster, jump higher, punch harder than anyone else on earth. But just as you had problems with speed after you woke up, you will have other problems. You need to be trained in order to control your new abilities. We can help you."

Neel stared at the old man wordlessly. "And then what?" he asked. "What happens after you teach me how to control it?"

Doctor Fahim leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and joining the tips of his fingers together as he looked at Neel intently. "The original purpose of this experiment was to create an army of soldiers who would be superior in every way to their ordinary counterparts." he said. "But this sudden change of events has obliged us to modify our approach. It has now been decided to test your abilities first in a closely watched environment, and see whether your capabilities could be valuable to the government. At the very least, it has been decided that your situation can still be used to study the effects of the serum on the human body."

Neel kept quiet, not sure of what to say. The one thing he did know was that he did not like being talked of as some sort of a commodity, or a human guinea pig. Doctor Fahim noticed his expression.

"What it means," he said gently, "Is that we are offering you the chance to become the first Alpha Soldier."

Neel stared at him. "And if I refuse?"

Doctor Fahim sighed, leaning back. "Then we will think about taking another approach to the matter." he said. "But in any event, you will be kept under close watch from now on." The gentle eyes that stared into the young boys were filled with sympathy. "No matter what your decision is, I am afraid your life will never be the same again."

Again, Neel was struck dumb.

Doctor Fahim rose to his feet.

"I understand that it is a lot of information to receive in a few minutes, especially after having passed through such a harrowing experience." he said. "But you needed to know the truth. We will leave you to consider our proposal. Think about what I have said. We will be in contact with you soon." The doctor turned to the door. Divya took the two broken metal pieces from the table. "Good luck." She said with a small smile as she walked towards the door as well.

"Oh, and one more thing, Neel." Doctor Fahim said, pausing at the doorway. His eyes were very grave. "I'm afraid a certain amount of deception was necessary to explain your rapid recovery to your mother. We told her you crashed into Divya's sumo and suffered minor cuts and bruises, and a dislocated shoulder. It saved her from a lot of worry which she would undoubtedly have suffered from if she had known about the nature of the actual accident. Remember the story." Doctor Fahim stared at Neel and added gently. "And I advise you not to tell her about your new abilities until we have had a chance to discuss them again. Take care, Neel."

The two left, leaving Neel alone in the room, with only his chaotic thoughts for company.

Neel sank back onto his pillow, the feeling of unreality intensifying in his mind. He thought about what Doctor Fahim had told him, and what he had just done. The images in his brain flowed at a blinding speed. His mind had started to accelerate again.

The door opened, and Nurse Aarti entered. She closed the door behind her and came to stand at his side of the bed. She said something, the words again coming out frustratingly slow and indistinct.

Neel stared hard at the nurse's face, frantically trying to get his brain speed under control again. After what seemed like several minutes to him, speed returned to normal again.

"I'm sorry." Neel croaked. "What did you say?"

"I asked you how you were feeling." Nurse Aarti said, watching him with concern. "Do you feel any sort of a discomfort? Any pain in your body? Lightheadedness? Nausea?"

"No" Neel said. It was true. Despite his mind being in a whirl, he was aware that physically he felt better than he had ever done before. There was no pain from any wounds, nor any aches in his body.

"Well, you should let me know if you feel anything wrong even slightly, all right?" the nurse said. Neel nodded. She continued. "If you feel up to it, your mother is waiting downstairs. I told her she can see you as soon as we were sure you were capable of seeing visitors. I'll send her up now, shall I?"

"Yes, thanks." Neel said. The nurse stood up and went to the door, closing it softly behind her. Neel stared into space, concentrating on keeping his straying thoughts from disrupting his brain speed again.

The door opened, and Neel's mother entered the room. A mixture of anxiety and relief showed on her face as she hurried to his side.

"Neel" she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. She bent and kissed his forehead fervently. "Thank god you're awake. I was so worried."

"I'm fine, mom." Neel said with a reassuring smile. "Totally fine." His mother began to look him over anxiously, checking his body for injuries.

"Really, mom, I'm fine." Neel assured her again. He remembered the story Doctor Fahim had said they had told his mother. "I just twisted my shoulder a little."

"Oh, you be quiet." his mother whispered, her voice still tight with worry. "What do you know? They're trying to make it out to be a smaller injury than it is. But why would they have to bring you here in an ambulance if it wasn't serious? They had to operate on you!"

"They're just being careful." Neel offered. His mother ignored him, and continued to check his body. She leaned over the bed to examine his arm. The light from the lamp shone on her eyes, and he saw that they were bright with tears.

"Mom." Neel said in a low voice, placing a tentative hand on her shoulder. He tried to think of something soothing to say, but nothing came.

His mother stared down at him. Suddenly she folded her arms around him in a tight hug. He could feel her shoulders shaking. "My baby!" she whispered, stroking his hair softly. "Oh, my poor little Neelu. I was so afraid I was going to lose you." She kissed his forehead and hugged him again.

Neel lay frozen on the bed, staring at the door in front of him. He did not hug her back. To his mind had come the image of the rod breaking in his hands. And with it had come the terrifying thought that if he wasn't careful he might break her too. He kept his hands at side, desperately trying to think of something reassuring to say.

"I'm sorry, mom." he said, and his voice was suddenly unsteady as well. "But I'm all right now. I really am." He could not keep the tears from welling up in his own eyes. He could never have imagined that he would ever hear her sound so scared. The full horror of his accident hit him at the moment as he gazed up at his mother crying over him.

"Yes, you are." she said, wiping away his tears and kissing his forehead again. "You had a nasty accident, but now you are going to get better. I'm sorry, Neel. I don't want to upset you anymore. I've just been so worried that I started crying. But really, the doctors tell me you are going to recover completely. It was just a dislocated shoulder, after all."

Neel stared at her, and felt a sudden urge to tell her everything. About the serum, Doctor Fahim, about his recovery, and what had been happening to him ever since waking up. But then he remembered what Doctor Fahim had told him about keeping quiet about the serum just yet, and he imagined his mother's reaction if she found out just how serious the accident had really been. He kept quiet.

His mother had leaned back and was drying her eyes in her handkerchief. When she looked at him again, her worried expression had been replaced by a glare. "How could you be so careless, Neel? How many times have I told you to be careful on the road? Don't you know the people around here drive like maniacs? Thank god that girl's car was stopped! Do you have any idea what would have happened if you'd hit a moving car?"

"I'm really sorry, mom." Neel repeated meekly. "I was in a hurry. I guess I lost control. It won't happen again."

"That's right, first you almost lose your arm and worry me half to death, and then say it won't happen again." His mother sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. His mother had a small frame, and usually gave the impression of being thinner than she really was. Ever since Neel's childhood there had always been a slightly ragged edge to her, yet today she seemed even more worn out than usual. When she looked down at him again, she looked calmer. "The only good that can come of this is if you learn from your mistake, and never let it happen again." Neel nodded vigorously, and she bent down and smoothed his pillow, drawing his sheets more snugly over him. "Now you just concentrate on getting better. You're coming home tomorrow. Get some rest."

She made sure he was completely comfortable. As she bent down to smoothen the hair back over his forehead he saw that her eyes were very red, and dark circles had formed under her eyes as though she hadn't slept in a while. He felt a sharp stab of guilt at lying to her. Again he felt the urge to tell her, and again he restrained himself. His emotions were so mixed right now that it was difficult to even think about the accident, and he knew it would take him a long time to sort out his own feelings on the subject. Explanations would have to wait.

"I'm so grateful to that girl Divya." his mother said quietly. "You know, she came with you in the ambulance, and found out your name and school from the copies in your bag. Then she got my number from them and called me. Goodness knows what would have happened if she had just driven off after you crashed into her car, like so many of those drivers would have done."

"Yes, that was nice of her." Neel said. He stared at the door in front and continued slowly. "She didn't have to help me but she still did what she could. The world needs more people like that."

His mother smiled. "Don't worry about that now. Get some more rest." She gave him a final hug before kissing his forehead. "Sleep well, baby." she said softly as she rose to leave.

Sleep, however, was impossible. Alone with his thoughts, Neel's mind could no longer maintain control, and his brain sped up again. There were far too many things to think about. The project… his near death experience… Doctor Fahim and Divya Nayak…

And especially the doctor's proposal.

"The power you possess is greater than anything any human has ever experienced. You need to be trained in order to control it. We can help you."

By the time Neel fell asleep, he had come to a decision.

The next morning, Neel awoke feeling completely refreshed. The first thing he noticed was his eyesight had gotten fuzzy again. It took him ten minutes to regain control over his mind. He could view objects much more easily now, although it was definitely a bizarre experience. He was sitting in bed thinking about everything that had happened yesterday when the nurse who had attended to him the day before came in bearing a breakfast tray.

"Feeling all right?" she asked, setting the tray in front of him.

"Yeah, totally." Neel said, sitting up in his bed. He polished off the sterile food quickly, the sound of his own chewing and swallowing impossibly loud in his head. He had only eaten once yesterday and felt famished. "How long am I supposed to stay here?"

"Well, you seem to have recovered completely from your accident as well as the surgery." nurse Arti said with a wondering shake of her head. "Patients are usually required to stay a few more days, but someone seems to have cleared your way, and you can leave anytime you want. Your mother still wants you to stay one more day just to make sure."

Neel nodded as he ate the last morsel of food on the plate. It hadn't been exactly a feast, but he felt full now, and was able to think about the future a little more calmly.

"Do you need help going to the toilet?" the nurse asked matter of factly as she rose with the tray. "Or would you prefer a bedpan?"

"What?" Neel said in alarm. "No, no. Er… Thanks, but I can handle all that on my own."

"Okay then, I'll let you be." the nurse said, preparing to leave. "The gentleman and the girl who were here yesterday are waiting downstairs. They said to ask if you felt well enough to talk to them. Do you want to see them?"

"Oh." Neel said slowly. It was happening sooner than he had expected. "Well, okay, yeah. Could you tell them they can come here in about half an hour, please?"

"Very well." the nurse said. She left carrying the tray, leaving Neel alone with his thoughts again.

Exactly half an hour later, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Neel said, feeling a strange queasiness in his stomach that had nothing to do with his injury or the food.

The door opened and Doctor Fahim entered, followed by Divya, who closed the door behind her. The two came to stand at the side of his bed.

"Good morning, Neel." Doctor Fahim said. "I hope you had a good night's rest?"

"Yes, I did, sir." Neel said, watching them both nervously.

"Well, then." Doctor Fahim said, looking at him intently. "I hope you also had the chance to think about the conversation we had yesterday, and our offer to you."

"Yeah, I thought about it a bit." Neel said, and stopped, trying to play for some time.

"And?" Doctor Fahim prompted him gently.

Neel stared at him. "What happens if I say no?"

Doctor Fahim considered the question gravely. "You will have to learn to cope with your new abilities on your own." he said. "That in itself is no small task. You will have cost the country an important piece of technology and the possibilities it has." Dr Fahim stared at him quietly. "The only questions you need to ask yourself are these Neel; do you think you can handle this situation on your own? Or do you want to see what your full capabilities could be under the proper guidance?"

Neel nodded slowly. It was the question that had kept him awake all night. "Then I accept your offer, sir." he said.

"Excellent" the doctor said, smiling broadly at him. "Then we can now start this very interesting experiment. Your school has been told that, because of the shock you sustained from the accident, you won't be able to attend your classes for a week. Instead, you will come to the head quarters of this project every day. Starting tomorrow."

"I can learn everything in a week?" Neel asked in surprise.

"No, but you will only need an hour or so every day after school after the first part of your training is over." the doctor said.

"What about my mother?" Neel asked. "Can I tell her about this?"

Doctor Fahim sat down at the edge of his bed and looked at the young boy very seriously.

"I'm afraid not, Neel." he said quietly. "Not yet, at any rate. By agreeing to this experiment, you have become part of a top secret military project. This is a matter of the highest national security, and the stakes are higher than anything you can imagine. For now, we need to keep this a secret. Neither your family nor your friends can know about this part of your life. Not yet at any rate."

Neel nodded. "I understand." he said quietly and sighed, wondering if he was going to regret his decision.

"Divya will now tell you the particulars of tomorrow." Doctor Fahim said, rising to his feet. "Listen closely to her instructions, and we will get through this together. I will see you soon, Neel. Take care."

Doctor Fahim left the room. Divya came to sit in the chair next to the bed and smiled at Neel. "Feeling nervous?" she asked. She was very pretty, and there was a good natured quality to her smile. Neel suddenly felt a blush suffuse his cheeks.

"Just a bit." he admitted quietly, trying hard to make the admission sound casual.

Divya stared at the young boy, her smile slipping a little. He looked so young and vulnerable, lying on the hospital bed in the oversized gown. She felt a sudden stab of guilt at the strange and dangerous situation she had put him in. "Neel, I know there's no point in saying this now, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry I put you in this position." She said softly. "I know this must all be very confusing for you."

"No, come on, you don't have to apologize." Neel said quickly, blushing even more. "I mean, I would have died if you hadn't helped me." He stared up at her. "And I wanted to tell you, thank you for not just walking away."

"Well, your recovery is thanks enough." Divya smiled. She rummaged in her purse for the notes. "Now, there are some things you need to keep in mind for the day after tomorrow…"

Doctor Fahim had stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. He made his way down the hall to the third door on the right. Entering the room quietly, he glanced at its lone occupant. General Bakshi stood at the end of the room looking out of the window. Doctor Fahim took out the mobile that the General had given him and placed it on a nearby table.

The mobile had a roving bug spyware installed that allowed the General to activate it from his own cell phone. The General had used the microphone and transmitter arrangement to listen to the entire conversation that had taken place in room 449, just as he had listened to the conversation that had occurred in Neel's room the day before. He did not turn as Doctor Fahim made his way towards him, but continued to gaze silently outside.

"So the boy has agreed." he said curtly as Doctor Fahim came to stand next to him.

"Afraid and uncertain and extremely nervous, but yes, he has agreed." Doctor Fahim said gravely.

The two men stood in silence for a moment, both looking out of the window at the front of the hospital, where a profusion of people and vehicles were crammed into a tight parking space.

"That was a completely unnecessary approach you used, pretending he had a choice in the matter." General Bakshi said, still without looking at Doctor Fahim.

"He needs to believe he himself has chosen to become a part of the project." Doctor Fahim said quietly. "Otherwise we will never be able to obtain his trust and cooperation."

"As if we did not have enough to worry about." the General muttered. "Now we have to waste time on the emotional problems of a teenager as well." General Bakshi finally turned to look at Doctor Fahim. His voice had an edge to it as he spoke. "As you yourself pointed out to the boy, the stakes involved in this matter are very high, doctor. The childish insecurities of a fourteen year old are the least of our worries at this point."

"These 'insecurities' need to be resolved from the start, if the project is to have any sort of a success, General." Dr Fahim looked at General Bakshi with a slight frown. "Your tough love approach would in this case be detrimental to the project. It is necessary that Neel learn to trust us if we are to help him get used to his new abilities and work with us. Without his cooperation this project will not succeed. Please try to remember that we are not discussing the training of one of your army recruits, but a young and impressionable boy. A boy, moreover, who has recently been through a singularly terrifying experience."

"An experience that would have been fatal, had it not been for the serum." the General retorted. "A serum that is the property of the Indian defense force. That makes the boy, at least in part, our property as well."

"That serum is not important." the doctor spoke quietly, but there was a hint of steel in his voice. "The boy is. I know you are more concerned with results, but I'm afraid I place a higher value on lives than on your ambitions for the army." the General was a tall man, but Doctor Fahim was taller still. No trace remained in Doctor Fahim's eyes of the gentleness that Neel had seen there. His hardened gaze reminded General Bakshi that this was no ordinary civilian he was talking to.

"Be that as it may, I hope you understand our agreement." the General said coldly. He walked over to the table and placed the mobile in his pocket. "This turn of events may have forced our hand, but at the first sign of incompetence in the boy, he will be removed immediately from the program, and we will find some other way to deal with this situation."

Doctor Fahim nodded, his gaze relaxing. "But in the meantime, while we try to make this new endeavor a success, I trust we will have your full support?"

"I shall perform my duty as is expected of me." the General said as he turned to leave the room.

Doctor Fahim turned away from the screen of the projector to face the two men who were watching him intently.

“And so, gentlemen,” he concluded with a smile, walking towards the table on which his laptop was kept next to a steel container. “I can say with full confidence that we have at last met with success in our endeavors. The idea that had seemed little more than idle fantasy three decades ago has finally become a reality. I thank you both, as well as the government, for your invaluable support of the project.” The two men leaned forward in their chairs as Doctor Fahim opened the container and carefully drew out a test tube from its casing, holding it up for the others to see.

His guests gazed in silence at the transparent liquid contained in the glass tube. It looked exactly like ordinary water, yet in the glow of the light coming from the projector on the screen, the liquid glistened silver. The men continued to stare spellbound at the contents of the tube for several moments. Both of Doctor Fahim’s guests counted among the most powerful men in the country, experienced in matters of national importance for many years. Yet at that moment both their eyes mirrored a look of amazement and child like wonder at the marvel they beheld.

Doctor Fahim held the tube raised in his hand for a few seconds more, sharing in the moment of collective triumph with the other two men. Then he carefully placed the tube back in its casing, leaving the lid of the container open.

The spell of silence that had fallen over the company broke, and the Minister of Defense rose to his feet.

“Our heartiest congratulations.” he said, smiling broadly as he strode forwards to shake Doctor Fahim’s hand. “We were sure that you were the only man in the country who could have succeeded in this endeavor. You have fully justified Doctor Thompson’s faith in your ability.”

The doctor returned the smile, the glow from the projector lighting up his profile. He had a very tall and lean figure, with a neatly trimmed beard and moustache. His face was lined and wrinkled with age. But there was no frailty there. The deep, alert eyes indicated the presence of a powerful mind, and the wisdom of experiences vast and numerous which only a lengthy and eventful life could provide. Experiences which today had made him into one of the world’s foremost authorities on biotechnology. Yet the exhaustively scholarly life he had led had not dimmed the twinkle in those shrewd eyes. Doctor Fahim laughed quietly as he shook the Minister’s hand. “It was indeed a formidable challenge, Mr. Rai, but it was extremely interesting working in a new field.”

“And the end result was certainly well worth the effort.” the Minister said, beaming. “I take it that the serum is now ready to be used on human beings, or is there still some work left to be done?”

“The work is complete from your point of interest, gentlemen.” Doctor Fahim said, his voice becoming grave again. He turned to his laptop and selected the final slide from the presentation. “From a scientific viewpoint, however, an experiment is only considered completely successful when its applications have been tested in real world conditions.” He glanced up reassuringly at the Minister. “Nevertheless, the results we have obtained up to this point are undeniably conclusive. The effect of the serum on the physiology of the test subject is nothing short of miraculous.” Doctor Fahim turned to the image on the projector screen.

The slide showed the bone and muscle density of a rhesus monkey and a mouse in two stages, one before intake of the serum, and one after. Doctor Fahim pointed to the images. “As you can see, the entire composition of the subject’s bodies have been radically enhanced,” Doctor Fahim turned once again to the two men. “In practical terms, the intake of this serum would turn a normal person into a being of a much higher mental and physical capacity, with all the benefits of the increased biological efficiency, not the least of which is an enhanced metabolism, and the ability to heal at increased rates. A godsend in times of war.”

The third and final occupant of the room rose as well. In his non-descript civilian clothes, it would have been difficult to identify the man immediately as General Bakshi, the chief of army staff of the Indian military. Only the General’s erect and disciplined carriage hinted at the fact that the man was in fact the leader of the largest army in the world. The general’s stern and forbidding demeanor was for once relaxed into a smile.

“This is a great day for the Indian Army.” General Bakshi said, coming forward to shake Doctor Fahim’s hand as well. “The effect of this discovery on our armed forces can hardly be underestimated.” The General studied Doctor Fahim intently. “And considering the importance of this discovery, I must ask you again, before this business is carried over to the next stage; is there any other information, any side effects or the like, that you would like to share with us about the serum, before we begin using it on our soldiers?”

Doctor Fahim glanced at the only partially open window of the small room they were in. The meeting was taking place in a conference room in the south block of the Central Secretariat in Delhi. He remembered passing by several prominent politicians on his way to the meeting. Standing there reminded him now more than ever of the monumental nature of what they were attempting.

The doctor turned slowly to face General Bakshi, a thoughtful expression on his face. He seemed to be debating something in his mind. “I am glad you brought up the matter.” he said finally in a quiet voice. “Gentlemen, please take your seats again. There are some concerns of mine regarding this project that I would like to share with you.”

The Defense Minister and the General resumed their seats and turned to face Doctor Fahim, their expressions showing a mixture of curiosity and wariness at the Doctor’s grave tone. When the doctor spoke, his voice was very quiet, but it was still clearly audible across the silent room.

“I can think of no better use of this discovery than applying its uses to the defense of our country.” He stared at the General, who was watching him with a slight frown. “And yet, sir, I cannot help but wonder whether it would be judicious to put such a vast amount of power in the hands of one person.”

The General’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he sat up straighter in his chair. “Doctor, we are grateful for your contribution, but kindly understand your boundaries. How we use the serum is for us to decide. Rest assured that the power of the serum will not be misused in our hands.”

“And what will happen, General, if those who hold that power in their hands no longer feel the need to follow your orders?” Doctor Fahim did not look away, but met the General Bakshi’s gaze squarely.

“A soldier is taught to be responsible and logical in all his decisions.” the General said. His voice had grown sharper. It was the voice of a man not used to having his directives questioned. “Serving the country is every soldier’s passion, Doctor Fahim, a passion that an ordinary civilian can never truly understand.”

“I am sure that is what you teach your troops.” the doctor countered. “But you cannot deny that many people who become soldiers have other, less honorable reasons. There have been cases in history when soldiers rebelled, and their mutiny caused great damage. How can we be sure-”

“We understand your concerns, doctor.” the Minister interrupted in a gentle voice, even as the General opened his mouth angrily. “That possibility has already occurred to us. We intend in the beginning to use the serum on an extremely select group of candidates who have excelled in every field of the defense service, and whose loyalty is beyond question. And even then we will be starting with a single test subject for now. That person will be the first agent under the project, our first Alpha Soldier.”

“Then I have your word, gentlemen, that my work will not be misused in any way?” The doctor looked at the two men seriously.

“You have our word.” the defense Minister replied, his eyes unwavering as they looked into Doctor Fahim’s. The General said nothing, but his gaze did not falter either.

Doctor Fahim nodded, and the lines around his eyes seemed to lighten. “Then I can rest easy in my mind. Forgive me if I offended you, General, but I needed to make sure.”

“And now that we have assuaged your conscience,” General Bakshi said as he rose, not attempting to conceal the impatience in his voice. “Perhaps we can move onto the next phase of the project. Our work is far from over, Doctor Fahim. In fact, for all intents and purpose, it is just beginning. We can count on your total cooperation?”

Doctor Fahim inclined his head. “Yes, General. We continue on.”

“Excellent.” Mr. Rai rose as well. “Then we will say goodbye for now. We will see you tomorrow when we start the next phase of Project Alpha.” Doctor Fahim nodded quietly.

“You have the remainder of the day to clear out your laboratory.” the General spoke somewhat brusquely, his voice indicating that he had not forgotten their argument. “All physical evidence of the experiments you conducted for Project Alpha must be destroyed. All the chemicals removed, and the test subjects readied for transfer. A team will come to the lab at twenty two hundred hours tonight to wipe down the area and replace the memory banks from your computer. Good day.” The General turned away without another word and strode out the room. Mr. Rai shook Doctor Fahim’s hand one last time and left as well.

The doctor let out a low sigh as he turned off the projector and switched on the lights. The meeting had been a success, all things considered. Yet he could not summon any enthusiasm for the moment. He pressed his temple, staving off the headache that had been building up since the morning. There were too many things to think about, and not enough time to deliberate upon them all. The General and the Defense Minister were both good men, each in their own way. But the three of them working side by side was not going to be an easy task. The other two were both leaders of men, and he had the distinct feeling that his role in the project from this point onwards was going to be drastically curtailed.

Doctor Fahim left the conference room carrying the steel safe at his side. It was not very heavy, and it was not something that could be trusted to an unknown person’s care. As he came out of the conference room, his assistant Divya Nayak rose from her chair and came forward to meet him. At a height of five feet and nine inches, with fine, even features, a delicate figure and long black hair, she looked more like a model than a scientist. This was a misleading appearance, since she had proven herself to be a worthy student to the doctor, and had been working with him for three years on the project. She looked at the doctor expectantly as he came up to her.

“The meeting was as fraught with interest as we were expecting it to be.” Doctor Fahim said with a smile. “I’m afraid my standing has gone down somewhat in General Bakshi’s estimate. But we are nearing the end of this stage of the project. They want us to tie up the loose ends of our work and finish up the research by tonight to have the serum ready for transport to the army lab. Unfortunately, if we are to have everything ready by tomorrow, I will need to have a talk with Doctor Mathur as soon as possible to prepare for the cognitive training of the subject. So I need you to get the serum to my office.”

Divya nodded, conscious of the enormous responsibility that Doctor Fahim was entrusting her with. Aside from the doctor, she was the only civilian who was aware of the existence of Project Alpha, and his trust meant a great deal to her. “Of course, sir.” she said, “I’ll get it to the lab immediately.”

* * *

Divya sat in her car at the four way intersection, waiting for the signal to change. Traffic in Delhi is consistently rated among the worst in the world, with extremely aggressive drivers and frequent flouting of the road rules. Accidents happen frequently, and the congestion on the road means frequent delays at stop signals, something that Divya had been forced to become used to. As she waited, her mind wandered over the events of the day. She sighed, feeling like a small paper boat caught up in a tidal wave, vast and relentless in its progress. They had now reached a point of no return in their research. The project was a day away from being converted into a top secret military operation. Stepping back from the business was now impossible, as was walking away from the whole thing.

Divya wondered what kind of a future the use of the serum would lead them to. In her mind’s eye an army of Alpha soldiers rose up before her. They would be unstoppable. Indestructible. The balance of power would shift in India’s favor at the global level, with the most powerful army in the world under its command.

A shiver ran down Divya’s spine, even as the sun beat down mercilessly outside. She could not help but feel uneasy about the image that her mind had conjured up. So much power in the hands of a select few, with someone like General Bakshi at the helm. Divya knew the general was a decorated war hero, acknowledged to be one of the ablest generals in the history of the Indian army. But he was also known to be completely ruthless in his dealings with people, even his own troops. Friends and foes were not very different for the General, and everyone was suspect until proven innocent. A man like that leading an army of super soldiers…

Divya shook her head slightly, breaking out of her dark reverie. She was being paranoid. The project was supposed to help the world. That had always been the primary motivation, right back to all those years ago in Africa, when Doctor Fahim had worked with Doctor Thompson, alone and without any sponsors. There they had laid the seeds of their work, and now it had come to fruition. The serum would make the world a better place, a safer place. She took her minds off the involvement of the army and focused on the serum instead. She glanced to her right at the container lying innocently on the seat beside her. Inside the container lay the key to more power than anything the world had seen before. She checked the lock again. Tomorrow, the serum would be in the hands of the military, and then they would see exactly what the serum could do for mankind.

Divya looked out of the window, watching the people waiting with her at the stop. Some were on motorcycles, some were inside cars like her. There was also a young boy sitting on his bicycle, his eyes on the traffic light. He had a schoolbag strapped to his shoulders. Divya guessed he was on his way to tuitions.

Seeing the boy opened a new train of thought, as it brought to Divya’s mind the remarkable effect the serum had on youngsters. Divya studied the boy. He had a thin frame. Not in a starved way, but in the awkward, pubescent stage way. There was a slightly childish quality to his face, with soft features that were not yet fully formed. The cycle was slightly too big for him, and he was resting the tip of one foot on the ground as he waited. She guessed his age to be around twelve or thirteen.

The boy was staring into the distance. Divya followed his gaze to one of the buildings with a billboard on the side with some advertisement. It seemed a bland enough piece of work. For a moment, she thought she saw a flutter of dark cloth over the edge of the building, but in the time it took to blink it had disappeared. She stared at the road again, her mind back on the task at hand.

When the light changed to green, she put her car in gear and prepared to move forward. Suddenly her phone began to ring. She took her foot off the accelerator and opened her purse.

Taking out her phone, she saw that the number was an unknown one. She turned on the loudspeaker on her mobile and waited, but no sound came. “Hello?” she said into the speaker, but a sudden burst of static was all she heard before the line went dead.

Puzzled, she switched her phone off and again started her car, but the boy had now moved in front of her and she paused to let him pass. She bent down to replace her phone in her purse.

Which was why she missed witnessing the accident.

The whole incident was over so quickly that for a moment passersby could only stare in shock. The boy moved forward to the middle of the road, and a giant black sumo raced up the road to his left. The boy had barely time to turn his head before the car had crashed into him. The impact of metal against metal and the squeal of rubber tires produced an ugly, high pitched screech. Before anyone could react, the sumo was gone, racing on down the road at an even faster speed.

The boy was thrown into the air from the impact, landing ten feet away, and lay there unmoving. The rest of the onlookers were too horrified to do anything but stare. Divya got out of her car and ran to the inert form stretched out on the road. She knelt beside him, and for a moment all she could do was stare in horror as well. His arm had been totally mangled. There was blood pouring out of his skull and the right side of his ribcage had caved in.

“You! Help me get him inside my car.” Divya shouted to one of the onlookers, a man in a blue shirt who looked thoroughly unnerved. A crowd had begun to gather rapidly on the spot. Between the two of them they managed to get the boy inside her car, away from the blistering sun. “Call a hospital. Tell them to bring an ambulance.” She told the man. He walked off quickly, fumbling for his mobile, the front of his blue shirt now stained with dark red blood.

As he disappeared, Divya knew it would be too late. The boy’s condition was critical. Even without a stethoscope she could almost hear his heartbeat slowing. She shook off the helplessness she felt and grabbed the box containing the serum, placing it under the front passenger seat. No one should see the container when the ambulance came-

Divya stopped, her hand still on the container. For a long moment she stared at the handle of the container. Slowly, she placed the box back on the seat.

Now that the shock was wearing off, her mind was beginning to function normally again. The analytical side of her brain was computing the chances of the boy living till the ambulance arrived, while a separate part of her mind was replaying flashes of a conversation she had had with Doctor Fahim months ago. “This serum is going to be particularly helpful in times of war.” He had said. “The recovery speed from wounds and the healing rate for the subject is phenomenal.” He had laughed then, the pride of the creator in his voice. “I’m almost tempted to put it on the market as medicine.”

Divya stood frozen, bent over her car seat, feeling oddly detached from the scene around her. Her mind was wrestling with the implications of what she was contemplating doing, and the repercussions her actions might bring. And yet it was the only way, the only hope there was for saving the boy’s life. Thoughts blew a whirlwind in Divya’s mind. Arguments and counter arguments. The work and effort that had gone into making the serum. The importance it held for the entire nation. Her duty towards the project. Towards her country.

However, after all had been said and done, there was only one reality. The image of the boy taking his last breath in front of her. Divya knew she had no choice.

Her fingers flew over the combination lock. Within seconds, she had taken the serum out of the container, raised the boy’s head from the seat and was helping him gulp down the liquid.

* * *

Divya was pacing the floor of a private room in the hospital. Twenty minutes ago, the ambulance had rushed the injured boy to the emergency room, and he was currently being operated upon. Divya had called Doctor Fahim, who was still at the secretariat. She had given him a brief account of what had happened and where she was. After the initial shock and subsequent inquiries, Doctor Fahim had instructed her to stay at the hospital, and was now on his way over with Mr. Rai and General Bakshi.

Divya paced the room, waiting. A part of her was still reeling in shock at what she had done. The other part was wondering what they were going to do to her. Her decision had been mainly instinctive, and now that she had time to think beyond that decision, the future looked very bleak. She had been trusted with a literally priceless piece of government property, and had managed to lose it in less than an hour. Even worse, she had involved a civilian, a teenage boy, in a top secret government project. She knew offenders had been executed for lesser crimes before.

“Miss!” A frightened voice came from the door. Divya turned. A nurse was peeping at her from behind the half opened door.

“Some men are looking for you, Miss.” the nurse said in a whisper. “They’re turning the hospital upside down. One of them seems to be a military man of some sort. He was insisting that they be allowed to see the injured boy you brought in, even though the doctors tried to tell him that the boy was being operated on. But then the other two men managed to persuade him to wait. And now they’re asking for you.”

Divya nodded. “They are friends of mine.” she said. It was an odd way of referring to the three men, two of whom would quite possibly want to have her jailed, but it was better than revealing their true identity. “Could you tell them that I am waiting for them here? We will need some privacy.”

The nurse nodded and scurried off. Divya resumed her pacing, her hands feeling clammy with sweat. In the past few years she had matured a lot, and had become used to fending for herself, yet her heart quailed at the thought of meeting General Bakshi now.

A minute later she heard a series of rapid footsteps outside, and upraised voices. She turned to face the door, inwardly steeling herself.

The door burst open, and three deeply disturbed men entered the room. The Defense Minister was in the lead. Lines of worry creased his forehead. The General was right behind him, his mouth tightened into a line of fury. Doctor Fahim came in last. He shot a look of inquiry at Divya, his eyes full of concern. The sight of Doctor Fahim was reassuring, and Divya felt slightly more confident. Doctor Fahim turned and locked the door, sealing the room behind them.

“What have you done?” the General shouted without preamble, his face a deep shade of red. “What monumental stupidity possessed you to behave in this manner? Answer me, Miss Nayak!”

Divya took a deep breath. “I did what I thought was right, sir.” she spoke as evenly as she could. “The boy was dying in front of my eyes. The serum was the only thing that could have saved him. It seemed to be the only course to pursue.”

“The only course?” the General spluttered. His face was growing steadily redder. “And who gave you the right to decide how to make use of a piece of government property? Who said you could involve in a private matter technology intended specifically for the use of the Indian army?”

“Calm down, General.” Doctor Fahim said, coming to stand next to the Minister and the general.

“Don’t tell me to calm down, Doctor Fahim.” the General turned to glare at the doctor. “Do you realize what she has done? In less than an hour we have lost the single greatest tactical advantage in the history of the armed forces, something that could have single handedly turned the rules of modern warfare on its head. And instead we have gotten a massive casualty on our hands in the form of a child with the power of a demon. And even that is provided he survives the operation, which does not at all seem likely at the moment, in which case the power of the serum will be lost forever. I want to know what she has to say for herself. Why was she even given the serum? You were the one who was supposed to get the serum to the lab.”

“Which is what I would have done if your plans for getting the project ready by tomorrow had not forced me to change my plans regarding the training program of the subject.” Doctor Fahim said calmly. “I had to talk to Doctor Mathur about the therapy techniques we intend to use on the Alpha Soldiers. I therefore instructed Divya to take the serum to the lab.”

“And how did she know the combination for opening the safe containing the serum?” the General growled, his eyes narrowing. “Do you routinely share critical information of that sort with your subordinates?”

“She knew because I had told her.” Doctor Fahim said, his voice becoming sharper. “Kindly do not make unfounded and damaging insinuations against Miss Nayak, General. This accident was not a ‘private matter’, as you called it just now. This serum was designed to help people, which is what she did. Divya has worked on this project with me for the last four years, and I trust her implicitly.”

“But I’m afraid I do not trust her, Doctor Fahim.” the General said, breathing hard as he stared at the doctor. “And I do not trust you either. This is why I was against using civilians in the project in the first place. They can never be trusted to follow orders.”

“Calm down, General.” the defense Minister now spoke up, putting a hand on the General’s shoulder. “We cannot change the past. What has already happened is beyond our control. We need to decide how to deal with this new situation. Miss Nayak, will you tell us exactly what happened? We only know the barest details.”

Divya took a deep breath and began to tell them what had happened at the intersection; the accident, the boy’s broken body landing on the road, his life ending in front of her, and then the serum. The three men listened in silence.

“I didn’t think I had a choice.” Divya said. She looked at Doctor Fahim almost pleadingly. “The boy was dying in front of me.”

“It was the only course to pursue, Divya.” Doctor Fahim said quietly. “You did what any decent human being would have done. We cannot blame you for it.” The General shot a look at the doctor, but did not say anything. Doctor Fahim ignored him.

“I called the police on the way over.” the General said. “The man who was driving the car was caught two miles later. Some idiot with too much alcohol in his body. He will be jailed, of course, but the damage has been done.”

“The question now is, what do we do with the boy?” the Minister said. He stared abstractedly at a nearby table, his forehead still creased with worry. “Provided he even survives the operation.” He turned to Doctor Fahim. “Do you think he will survive, Doctor Fahim?”

“It would depend on how long he can be kept alive for the serum to take effect on his body.” Doctor Fahim said slowly. “I have already mentioned how remarkable the effect of the serum is on the healing ability of the subject. I believe there is an excellent chance that he will survive the operation.”

“So after all our preparations for an Alpha Soldier, instead we are stuck with an Alpha child?” General Bakshi was no longer shouting, but the frown was still in place.

“I’m afraid you do not fully understand, General.” Doctor Fahim said quietly, a strange expression on his face. He glanced at Divya. “There is a side to this new situation that you are not aware of.”

“What do you mean?” the defense Minister was looking at Doctor Fahim warily.

“There is a curious property of the serum that I have not yet shared with either of you.” Doctor Fahim said slowly.

“At the secretariat, you said that you had told us everything.” the Minister said, his voice less calm than before.

“Everything that had a bearing on Project Alpha.” Doctor Fahim said. “But there was a host of additional information related to our experiments that would have taken too long to relate.”

“So what part of that information has suddenly become relevant to the project?” General Bakshi stared hard at Doctor Fahim.

Divya watched the three men, hardly daring to breathe. The information that Doctor Fahim was about to give the other two men would show them how the situation had become much more complicated then they believed.

“The serum was tested on fully grown chimps, and the increased muscular and neural capacity they exhibited was entirely satisfactory.” Doctor Fahim said. “But a curious fact was noticed when the chimp in question was younger. The effect of the serum seemed to be compounded in their case.”

Doctor Fahim looked at the two men significantly, but from their expressions it was clear that they did not understand the implications of this discovery.

“It seems that the reason behind this augmentation is that the serum directly affects the glands which are responsible for the growth of the body during adolescence.” Doctor Fahim continued.

“At this stage of the operation, I believe the behavior of test monkeys might be considered superfluous, Doctor Fahim.” the General said impatiently. “How would this detail affect humans?”

Doctor Fahim stared at the door for a second. He turned towards the General and spoke slowly.

“Provided that the effect of the serum is the same on humans as on the monkeys, the serum will increase the abilities of a normal man roughly five-fold.” He paused. “However, it will increase the abilities of someone whose body is already developing by natural processes by ten-fold or perhaps even twenty-fold.”

There was complete silence in the room as the two men realized what Doctor Fahim meant.

“By ‘someone’,” the defense Minister said slowly, “You mean youngsters?”

“A youngster like the one who has suffered the accident?” the General’s voice was rising again rapidly.

Doctor Fahim inclined his head. “According to Divya, he is a teenager. That means, if he survives, all the physical and mental enhancements we were expecting in the case of the soldiers will be much greater in his case.”

Mr. Rai was staring at Doctor Fahim in blank shock. The General turned and walked away slowly, breathing hard. Perhaps it was the thought that they were in a public area that made the General attempt to deal with his agitation through movement rather than more yelling.

“So this boy…” the General spoke, and Divya was surprised at how calm he sounded. “This teenager. He will be even stronger than we had anticipated?”

Doctor Fahim nodded somberly. “His power will be greater than anything the world has ever seen before.”

The four occupants of the room gazed at each other in silence.

The Defense Minister closed his eyes, composing himself as he tried to process all the information. His shoulders slumped as the full extent of the situation was borne upon him. “We need to talk about this to the Prime Minister.” he said finally, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “Please excuse us.”

The General and the Minister left the room. Only Doctor Fahim was left with Divya. He looked at her in silence for several seconds. Then he smiled a rueful smile. “The best laid plans washed down the drain by a single unfortunate occurrence, right, Divya?”

“I’m so sorry, sir.” Divya whispered. Her voice was tight with anxiety. “I wasn’t thinking about the consequences of my actions. And now I’ve cost the army the project, and I’ve cost you all the research you did.”

“Don’t let the General’s harangue scare you.” Doctor Fahim said gently. “Given the circumstances, you did the right thing. That is all anyone can ask for. This situation is the product of an accident, so stop blaming yourself.”

“What will happen now, sir?” Divya asked soberly.

“Well, given the unusual circumstances that this project had fallen upon, I think we will need an unusual solution.” Doctor Fahim said thoughtfully. “Now, we will have the opportunity to observe a very interesting part of the experiment”

“A teenage meta human.” Divya nodded.

“Actually, I was referring to how apoplectic the general will become before he has a heart attack and expires.” the doctor said, his eyes twinkling.

Despite the gravity of the situation Divya could not help but laugh in a low voice.

“I cannot predict how this new situation will affect the overall plan anymore than you can, Divya.” Doctor Fahim said, his voice serious again. “But rest assured, this is not the end of the project. The General is too determined a man to be stopped by stumbling blocks, and the Minister is no less tenacious. The project will continue forward, one way or the other. The child now….” Doctor Fahim frowned thoughtfully and shrugged his shoulders. “The child I am not so sure about. I believe he will survive, but you can never be completely sure. We will simply have to wait and see."

* * *
Nurse Arti sat nervously in the private ward. She was only a few months into this job, and it was the first time she had been assigned to this particular ward. The room was small but comfortably furnished, with more amenities than the usual private hospital room provided. It was kept separate from the other rooms, and was used for patients who required peace and quiet to recover, or when someone well known or important was in the hospital and wished to keep a low profile. On the single bed in front of her slept a young boy. It was the same boy who had been admitted to the hospital two days ago. He had been heavily sedated following the surgery, and had slept for an uninterrupted twelve hours. He had woken up briefly in a half delirious state yesterday and fallen asleep again immediately. After the surgery the doctors had not been very hopeful that he would survive such a serious accident, although they admitted that his vital signs were very strong for someone who had suffered such grave injuries. The boy’s mother had arrived in a haze of panic the day before. She had been calmed down and assured that her son was in the best possible care. The mother had since been visiting the hospital regularly, if only to check on her still sleeping son.

The nurse wondered who the boy was. He had to be related to someone very important, judging by the number of important people who seemed to be concerned about his welfare. It was remarkable how quickly the usual red tape had been dealt with, and the boy transferred to the most privileged room in the hospital. There were rumors among the hospital staff that someone very high up in the government was interested in the boy’s well being, and it was speculated whether he was a Minister’s son. But the security around the boy’s identity was air tight, and it was said that even the doctors who were treating him knew almost nothing about his civilian identity. Even the rumor grapevine of the hospital had been unable to extract any details.

The boy suddenly stirred. Arti was startled out of her musings. She looked at the young patient. He was waking up, and much earlier than the doctors had hoped for. At these times it was usual to bring in the doctor in charge of the patient and the patient’s relatives. This time, however, nurse Arti had different orders.

She went out of the door and hurried down the corridor. Turning around a corner, she knocked on the door to her left. A voice called, “Come in.”

Arti opened the door and stepped halfway through. Inside the room sat a white haired old man with a neat beard and moustache, and a girl who seemed to be in her early twenties. They were both poring over some biometric data sheets spread out in front of them. They looked up as the nurse’s head appeared.

“Yes?” the old man said.

“Please, sir.” Nurse Arti said, her voice slightly breathless. “The boy is waking up.”

Both the occupants of the room immediately became alert. The old man stood up and nodded. “Thank you, nurse. Kindly go and inform a man named Mr. Bakshi about this. You will find him in the head doctor’s office downstairs. He will then tell you what to do.” The nurse nodded and disappeared.

“The recovery was even faster than we had anticipated.” Doctor Fahim said softly, putting the sheets which the two had been studying back in their folder. He reached inside the small drawer in the desk and extracted a special mobile phone General Bakshi had given him. Turning it on, he placed it carefully in his shirt pocket. “Do you have the recorder, Divya?”

“Yes, sir.” Divya said. She reached inside her handbag lying on the table and pulled out a tiny tape recorder, placing it in her pocket.

“Good.” Doctor Fahim said. He gazed at Divya for a moment, both aware of the magnitude of that moment. “Are you ready?” Divya nodded mutely.

“Let’s go.” The two walked out of the door, retracing the path the nurse had taken to call them. They stood outside the room 449. Doctor Fahim paused at the door for a moment, his hand on the knob. No sounds came from inside. He pushed open the door and the two entered the room.

Inside the small, cozy room, they found the young boy sitting up straight in his bed, his eyes closed tightly. He froze at the sound of the door opening, and slowly opened his eyes.

“Hello, Neel.” Doctor Fahim said softly, his gaze intent as he stared at the young boy.