Vimana

by Mainak Dhar

  One day, his father had taken off in a fully loaded Sukhoi, his first flight outside of Kalki's base and what was to turn out to be his last flight. He had been flanked by three vimanas, to ensure he did not attempt escape, his job being to test fly the drone, which was being commanded remotely by Kalki, and fly it back manually if the remote controls did not work. He had worked with two experienced test pilots, Jim and Leslie, and had taken their help, enrolling them in his plan. As they had flown out from the underwater base, everything had gone according to plan. As they flew back in, his father had faked a malfunction and jettisoned his fuel tanks as they were entering the opening to the tunnel that led to the base. Three of the tanks bounced off in mid air, as if they were hitting an invisible wall, but one magically enough went in through the opening, right through the tunnel, and landed on the fields below. At one stroke, he had uncovered the one weak spot in the defensive field-the narrow window when vimanas were entering or emerging from the narrow tunnel entrance.

  Alerted that something was going wrong, Maya had ordered him back to base, and perhaps realizing that there was no way to escape, his father had turned on his afterburners and flown back into Kalki's underwater fortress. Kalki tried to control the drone, but his father had planned for it and put in a manual override. He then smashed his fighter, loaded with thousands of pounds of jet fuel, into the main hangar at near supersonic speed. The giant fireball incinerated him and his plane in seconds, but also obliterated most of Kalki's fleet of vimanas parked there, and killed all but a handful of the Asuras. At one stroke, he had set Kalki's plans of conquest back, and created new hope for all the human slaves toiling in the fields below. They had finally seen that someone strike back at their demonic captors. Without realizing it, Aaditya's eyes filled with tears, and Kalki put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, thinking that he had been overcome by Kalki's telling of the story, where his father had supposedly been shot down by the Devas while he had been test flying a drone. Aaditya looked him straight in the eye, vowing to end what his father had started.

  FOURTEEN

  'Come on, Kalki is asking for you again!'

  The way Maya said the word 'again' Aaditya wanted to laugh at his petty jealousy, but he knew that he was living on a knife's edge. The last three days had been a nerve-wracking experience. For all his newly discovered friendliness, Kalki would kill without a second thought at the first hint of deception.

  The first test of his loyalty would be critical. When Kalki had asked him to tell some secrets of the Devas, Aaditya had not instantly volunteered it. Narada and Indra and gone through the plan with him umpteen times, and at the end, their advice had helped him survive.

  He had told Kalki about the one weakness of the vimanas-the fact that their sensors went blind when they rendered themselves invisible to the naked eye. So if someone could lure them into a situation where they were forced to use their invisibility, and at the same time attack them from the air with the Asura's own vimanas or from the ground, they would for once not have the seemingly invincible edge in sensors and weapons they otherwise seemed to possess.

  The very next day, he had been invited back to Kalki's command center for a test. A radar display showed an area over Afghanistan, beamed back from a high-flying drone. Maya and four pilotless drones based on the stealthy F-22 fighter were loitering over northern Afghanistan. In the valleys below, a team of daityas was prowling in the shadows with Al Qaeda terrorists, planning to execute a spectacular attack on a US base. Aaditya guessed this was another attempt by Kalki to aid Al Qaeda in return for having them do his bidding. As Aaditya watched the display, he saw three dots representing vimanas of the Devas appear on the screen. They would have picked up Maya and his drones now, and two of them established a patrolling pattern over the area, ready to shoot them down if they interfered. One of the vimanas came closer to the ground, and by now Aaditya assumed it had gone invisible so as not to be seen by the daityas and their terrorist acolytes. In the past, faced with such a situation, Kalki would have feared committing his forces to battle, assuming that the Deva vimanas would pick up his every move, but now he knew that the vimana close to the ground was effectively blind.

  Kalki had not told Aaditya what he had planned, but as Aaditya saw the plot unfold, he began to worry that he would indeed cause one of the Devas to die. A single Asura vimana had been lying still on the floor of the valley, all its sensors and engines off, covered by radar absorbent sheets. On Kalki's command, it rose vertically into the air and attacked the Deva vimana. The Asura pilot launched a volley of missiles that the other Devas must have picked up since the Deva vimana near the ground suddenly began evasive maneuvers and the other Devas obliterated the attacking vimana with a barrage of astras then proceeded to wipe out the daityas and their followers. Aaditya heard Maya's exultant voice.

  'I think we got at least one hit! He's trying to limp back to base. Should we chase them?'

  'Get back, you fool. Now that they know our game, they will swat you out of the sky.'

  Kalki had looked at Aaditya in a totally different light since that moment. He had learnt that the Devas were not actually invincible in the sky, and most importantly for Aaditya, he had come to trust him. So Aaditya had been moved to a luxurious room and allowed more freedom to move around some areas of the base.

  Maya had resented this, but with Kalki insisting that Aaditya be now treated as a valuable asset, he had little choice.

  'Come in, I thought it's time I allowed you see the bigger picture.'

  As Aaditya entered the command center, Kalki put down an ancient looking clay tablet on the table in front of him. The tablet had columns of strange symbols etched on to it.

  'What is this?'

  'This is the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar. Nowadays they just call it the Mayan calendar. The earliest examples date to perhaps the 2nd century AD, but they created a firestorm of controversy when people started interpreting them.'

  'What's so special about them?'

  Kalki smiled as he reached out to run his long talons along the surface of the tablet, making a screeching noise that grated on Aaditya's nerves.

  'Have you seen the movie 2012?'

  Aaditya remembered the special effects thriller he had seen on DVD a couple of years ago. The connection struck him.

  'It said that the Mayans knew the world would end in 2012, right?'

  'Not just 2012, Aaditya, but one specific date. December 21, 2012.'

  Aaditya remembered some more of the movie and another connection formed in his mind.

  'Tsunamis, tidal waves wiping out civilization. Is that why you're…I mean, do you know if this is actually going to happen and you're trying to make it worse with the tsunamis you plan to create?'

  Kalki looked at Aaditya indulgently, like an adult smiling at a child who has just said something intelligent.

  'Aaditya, I have no idea whether the Mayans knew anything or not, and don't know if anything will happen on that date because some ancient priests saw visions brought on by drugs. What I do know is what I will make happen on that day.'

  A sinking feeling came over Aaditya.

  'Your legends and religions are quite clear. The Mayans had their end of the world, and the Bible actually says that when the Day of Judgment comes, the waters prevail upon the Earth. So I will give them what they predict. On that day, the oceans will rise under my command and swamplands. Then as your holy books predict, I will emerge as the God returned to reclaim his children and cleanse the world of sin.'

  Aaditya couldn't help but stifle a laugh at the thought of the massive, horned monster standing before him trying to pass himself off as God. Kalki snorted in anger, and Aaditya quickly wiped the smile off his face. Trusted or not, he knew that he couldn't push his luck too far.

  'Fool, they will not see this form of mine. This hideous mutation was caused by the weapons my father and his followers unleashed on me. I could have had them treated, but I carry them as a reminder of the injustice that
was done to me. No, they will see me as I once was.'

  A door slid open, and a holographic figure slid into the room. Aaditya gasped as he saw what Kalki had once looked like. Still seven feet or more tall, but with flowing blonde hair, a chiseled face, a physique that looked so perfect that it deserved to belong in a museum immortalized in a statue than on any mortal being. The only words that came to Aaditya's mind were-a Greek God.

  'Your blind faith and superstition, which the Devas have thrived on, will be turned against them. My children will once again be mine. If the Devas choose to fight, I will fight, aided by my human followers, bringing to life your own legends and prophesies of Armageddon. With the help you will give me, we will wipe them out once and for all. The Devas may be powerful in the air, but I am cloning an invincible army of daityas that no power on land can resist. The false gods will fall, and I will take what has always been mine.'

  Aaditya felt numb with fear as the full extent of Kalki's plan hit him. He had only a couple of months now. He had to find a way to get out of the base and back to the Devas.

  ***

  One of the benefits of his newly found favourite status was that Aaditya had been given a room with a view. His room had large glass sliding doors leading to a small balcony that overlooked the fields far below. Aaditya had not been sure where exactly he had been in the giant pyramid, but the first time he stepped on to the balcony, he had felt almost giddy. His room was near the very top of the pyramid, which itself was no shorter than the highest skyscraper Aaditya had seen. The gleaming gold pyramid towered over the humans toiling in the fields below, reminding them who really was in charge here. Kalki may have intended the room to be a reward for Aaditya, but seeing the ant-like figures of men and women working away in the fields below made him feel even sadder. So many lives snatched away, so many families destroyed, all so Kalki could build and feed his army of monsters. But the vantage point had its advantages. Aaditya had observed when the military prisoners, housed somewhere in the pyramid, unlike the civilians who lived in slums just outside the fields, were brought out for their daily walks. The long line of men and some women would walk out in single file, their feet manacled, the daityas watching over them, mingle briefly with each other, savour the artificial sun and wind and then go back to the dark isolation of their cells.

  The next day, having taken permission from Kalki, Aaditya walked near the fields, watched by a guard behind him. As the prisoners came out, he saw Leslie at the head of the group. Their eyes met for a second, but nothing was said. The prisoners dispersed and began to talk to each other in small scattered groups. Aaditya walked closer to Leslie. The other prisoners watched, some warily, others with open hostility. His clean clothes and appearance stood in stark contrast to their own filthy clothes and unwashed and unshaven looks. Leslie nodded to a man next to her and as Aaditya watched in horror, he ran towards Aaditya's guard, kicking him in the groin. The stunned daitya doubled over in pain, and the man ran into the fields, screaming at the top of his voice. Absolute mayhem broke out as the other daityas ran after him. Leslie pulled Aaditya into the nearby fields, where they were hidden behind some bushes.

  'Quick, tell me what you've learnt and what you want to do!'

  'That man…'

  'That man was called James and he was willing to die so that we could help you get out. Now tell me what you know so his death will not be in vain. We don't have much time.'

  So Aaditya, stumbling over his words, told her what he knew and that he had to somehow get outside the underwater base where the Devas could get him. He saw Leslie's face darken as she understood Kalki's plan.

  'Kalki must not know that you betrayed him, otherwise he will bring forward or change his plan.'

  'How do I manage that and still get out of here?'

  'You need to die.'

  'What?'

  They could now hear the daityas shrieking in triumph, an unearthly sound that told them that James had been caught. Leslie closed her eyes and Aaditya could only imagine the pain and loss she must have endured over the years.

  'Look, go back now. We can't risk them knowing you're anything but the loyal dog they think you are. Lemme talk to Jim and the boys and we'll get a plan.'

  'How do I contact you?'

  Leslie smiled as she got up and rejoined the other prisoners.

  'You won't need to. We'll find you.'

  The next day was spent talking long hours with Kalki who seemed to be very interested in what each of the Devas was up to. In particular, he wanted to know how Shiva had taken the loss of Kartik. When Aaditya told him of Shiva's grief, Kalki practically gloated in triumph.

  'Now he knows what loss feels like.'

  Aaditya tried hard to control his anger as Kalki continued, a slightly glazed look in his eyes. 'I had so many with me, Asuras who believed in our way of life, and then they were all wiped out when the Devas crushed our city. All those lives lost will be avenged soon. The waves will wipe out the humans who shunned their creator.'

  Aaditya came back to his room, which he now had the freedom to enter or exit at will, provided he didn't go to any other level without informing Kalki. He was troubled at how unhinged Kalki seemed to be getting as his plan came closer to execution. Earlier, Kalki had at least tried to put on a veneer of justification to what he had been doing. Now, he seemed to be acting more out of spite and anger than anything else.

  There was a knock on the door. A daitya was outside. Maya wanted to know more about what had happened outside earlier in the day. They were walking towards the elevator when a scraping noise came from a dark corner of the corridor. The daitya walked over to investigate and suddenly reeled back, grabbing at his neck in agony. Two pairs of arms reached out and pulled him towards the partially open vent. Then Aaditya heard Jim's voice.

  'Kid, find a way to be at the main hangar tomorrow night and try to grab a ride in a vimana. We'll do our best to ensure no other craft gets out to intercept you. You've got to figure out the rest. Good luck.'

  Just as he turned to walk away, Jim slipped something into Aaditya's hand. When Aaditya looked down, he saw the long and thin blade that the daityas seemed to favour.

  'Why the hell am I supposed to be babysitting you here?' Maya growled.

  Aaditya enjoyed seeing Maya angry about his growing influence with Kalki. He rubbed it in, hoping that being angry would make him careless and less prepared for whatever Leslie, Jim and the others had planned.

  'Because Kalki asked you to, and from what I gather, when it comes to what he wants, your opinion counts for little.' Aaditya answered.

  Given Aaditya's love for flying, Kalki had not at all been surprised when he had requested to be allowed into the hangar to see the Asura vimanas and drones up close. Now Aaditya was not just waiting with bated breath for what was going to happen, but also taking in Kalki's forces. For the first time, he realized that Kalki's fleet of vimanas was small-perhaps no more than ten craft. Kartik's actions had inflicted crippling losses on Kalki's vimanas. There were at most a half dozen Asuras-large humanoids, all with deformities to their skulls and bodies in the form of small horns, an extra limb or in the case of one, two heads, results of the radiation or poisoning that the weapons of the Devas had inflicted on them millennia ago. Fearsome as they looked, they were few in number. Aaditya realized just how thin Kalki's capabilities really were in the air. He felt a surge of pride as he recalled Leslie's account of his father's last flight. His father must have taken out several Asuras and their vimanas with his last act of defiance.

  'Maya, come on, you know I asked to be taken on a flight with you.'

  Maya groaned, his exasperation clear, but Kalki's instructions had been just as clear. Given how thin his bench of pilots was, Aaditya wondered if Kalki's largesse was also driven by the hope that other than sharing information, Aaditya may actually be cajoled to fly on their side.

  Maya's vimana rose vertically and then swept out over the fields. Aaditya saw a dark opening on top of the s
pherical dome. That would have to be the way to the surface. They entered and after a few minutes Aaditya saw the thin light of a moonlit sky as they emerged out of what appeared to be a tunnel opening. He turned in his seat and saw a large sphere disappear into the water behind them. He had seen it before in Japan and when Maya had escaped back into the base after the battle where Kartik had been lost. He guessed Kalki had a fleet of submersibles that detached from the dome and carried vimanas to the surface in the attached tunnels.

  After two weeks in Kalki's base, being outside was an exhilarating sensation. But he had no time to savour his newly found freedom. He had no idea what Leslie's plan was, but without the element of surprise, he would have little or no chance in a one on one struggle with Maya. A voice screamed over the vimana's intercom.

  'Maya, there are human prisoners in the hangar!'

  'What the hell is going on there?'

  Then Aaditya heard the sound of explosions and screaming in the background. He had never really considered himself very religious but found himself praying for Leslie, Jim and the others who were probably sacrificing themselves so that he would have a chance. He took a deep breath, readied himself and began singing the song that would hopefully bring the Devas to his rescue.

  'All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go…'

  ***

  Maya heard Aaditya singing aloud and cursed himself for letting down his guard. As he turned around to see what Aaditya was doing, he Aaditya's right hand coming up at him, something sharp and shiny in it.

  Aaditya shouted in exasperation, as his first blow just seemed to nick Maya's shoulder. The Asura was wounded, but he was hardly out of the fight. The intercom was now filled with the sounds of explosions, but Aaditya had more immediate worries.

  Maya struck out at Aaditya with his right hand, rocking Aaditya back, his head striking the canopy. Aaditya brought the blade up again, connecting with Maya's right wrist. The Asura grabbed at his wrist in pain but when Aaditya tried to strike again, he knocked the blade out of Aaditya's hand.