by Neeraj Chand
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 voiceslightly 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 himin the head doctor"s office downstairs. He will thentell you what to do.” The nurse nodded and disappeared.
“The r ecovery 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 thatmoment. “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.
CHAPTER 2: Alpha Child 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. Hewasn"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 DoctorFahim"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 sta red 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 explainto 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 theoutcome 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 veryfundamental 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 DoctorWarren 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 themedia.” DoctorFahim 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. DoctorFahim 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 controlagain, 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. “ButI don"t see what this has to do with why Ican"t see or hear properly.” “I am coming to that.” DoctorFahim 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 curioussubstance.”
“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 F ahim looked at Neel. “That was three yearsago.” 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.” DoctorFahim"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 drasticallyincreased 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 staringat 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.” DoctorFahim 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 DoctorFahim and Divya. “I don"t feel any different. Just my eyes were messed up for a while. But I feel finenow.” 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 hi
s hand, testing its weight and strength. “This seems like a good, strongpiece 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 arein 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.”