Earth To Centauri_Alien Hunt

by Kumar L

  “In a minute. Were you first on the scene? What've you done so far?”

  “I received the ‘injured person call’ from the control room, sir. The last known location had been automatically transmitted to me. There was some delay in locating the next of kin. But Control finally made contact with the wife. In the meantime, I came over and found this. It looks like he's been killed very recently. His blood had just started to congeal.”

  “Identity?”

  “A freelance driver, sir. In fact, he was supposed to be out for a run in his truck. Told his wife he'd be back only tomorrow. When the emergency signal came in, she was at the local temple. She says she missed the alert in all the chaos.”

  “A driver, huh? He came here in a vehicle? Where is it?”

  “It’s missing, sir. I have placed a lookout notice for it, but the tracker seems to be turned off. Looks like a case of simple vehicle theft, though what anyone would want with a ten-year-old truck is beyond me.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Yes, there is actually. I found an empty transit cab, a hundred meters away, hidden in the bushes. It looks like the thieves had arrived in it, carried out the murder and left in the truck.”

  “Smart thieves, don't you think - exchanging a new flying taxi for a beaten-up truck?” said the SI sarcastically.

  “I … I didn't think of that.”

  The SI dismissed him and looked up at the derelict building. Something was not right. The place was abandoned. Derelict. Why would a truck driver come to this site at all? He climbed up the stairs - noticing the dust had been disturbed in many places, leading up to the door of one of the rooms. As he reached the room, he dismissed the automated crime scene robots. He needed space to make his assessment. The door to the room was latched from the outside. He opened the latch and pushed the door open. The room was small and empty, but it looked like someone had been there very recently. As he checked the place thoroughly, a small shining object in the corner caught his attention. It was a diamond and below it was a ComNet interface patch covered in what looked suspiciously like dried blood.

  What is going on here? Why would anyone rip off a ComNet patch? The room offered no other apparent clues, and he walked back down, allowing the crime scene robots to continue their analysis.

  As he walked down the stairs, the driver’s widow broke the cordon and fell at his feet, crying bitterly. He lifted her up and led her to the ambulance nearby. As a medic handed her some water, the SI waited for her to calm down.

  “Why would anyone do this, Sahab? He never hurt anyone. What will I do now?” The wailing started afresh. The SI called over his lady constable to help comfort the wife. He needed some answers.

  “Did he tell you where he was going?”

  “Nothing, Sahab. Yesterday he came home and said he had a job to carry an idol into the city for immersion. He left this morning saying he would be back late at night. I begged him not to go today, but he did not listen. The money was too good to turn down, and now he is never coming back.”

  A missing truck decorated for the immersion plus a discarded ComNet suggested that someone did not want their location to be known. If he were correct, he'd possibly stumbled on the hiding place of the three terrorists the alert had mentioned a couple of days back. He decided to call this in. He needed backup and lots of it.

  His Station House Officer, in turn, bounced the information upwards to the area Deputy Commissioner of Police. In a matter of minutes, clearance was obtained, and a general alert was sent out to all units to keep a lookout for the truck.

  A copy of the message was transmitted to the NIA and reached Abhiram a short while later.

  ********

  “Message from the Mumbai Police, Ma’am. They say they might've located the suspects we'd warned them about. The place is not too far from here, near Panvel city.”

  “What are the source and the evidence?”

  “A police sub-inspector has reported in from the crime scene. He has described a stolen truck with tracking disabled and a murdered driver. They have found a… a diamond and a discarded ComNet interface,” replied Abhiram reading from the alert on the screen.

  “Diamond?”

  “Yes Ma’am. They’ve also found a travelpod and are trying to trace its owner. An EMRAR sent to the spot in response to the drivers’ injury was destroyed. The local police have not identified any motives or suspects but they believe there is a link with the people we are looking for. ”

  Tej paced around deep in thought. “On the face of it there is no connection but the local cop has acted smartly in sharing this. Get a technical team to the location right away. Tell them to first check for radiation.”

  “I’ll also inform the police to patch the investigation updates directly to us,” said Abhiram.

  “Do that. We may not have much time left. This could be the break we were looking for. It can also mean that the aliens are on the move. Get in touch with the ATS. Get them to assign an armed team to us and ask the local police to get the Quick Response Teams in place. Where's my link to the PMO? We need to activate Prana,” said Tej.

  T minus 4 hours - The Prana Protocol

  “W hat exactly is this Prana Protocol, Tej?” Anara was intrigued.

  “Nothing that you need to worry about, Captain,” replied Tej offhandedly as she manipulated the system in front of her. “It's just another government procedure.”

  “And what does it entail, exactly?” Anara persisted. “How will it help us in this situation?”

  “Not now, Captain, I need to set this up.” Her screen came alive with a logo of the PMO. Shortly she was rewarded with the image of the PM along with the CMG.

  “What is it, Tej? Have you found them?” The PM was direct.

  “Not yet, sir. But I have a very promising lead.” She explained the circumstances in short.

  “What's your plan now?”

  Tej took a deep breath to steady herself. What she was proposing was theoretically possible but had never been tried in a live situation - ever. The protocol was so secret only three people knew about it, and all three of them were connected at that moment.

  “Sir, the only way I can locate them now is if I activate Prana.”

  “Prana?” the PM repeated, racking his memory. Then he visibly blanched. I thought that was behind me. If word of this got out, he was sure to be thrown out of office by the very people who had elected him. The choice in front of him was between the devil and the deep blue sea. He needed time to decide. “Are you absolutely certain this is the only way?”

  “I'm quite sure, sir. Once I get a fix on their location, it would be a simple matter to apprehend them before they can do any damage.”

  “Hold on for a moment.” The screen went blank.

  “What is this protocol, Tej? What could cause the PM of India to look even more worried than now?”

  Tej turned around with a sigh. Fine, if Anara would not let it rest, then she would have to tell her. Either way, they would all know sooner or later once the protocol was activated.

  “Many years ago, during the time of the terror strikes, our biggest challenge was the homegrown variety of militants. We tried everything to bust the cells, but they always seemed to be a step ahead of us. Every location we raided would be empty. We would intercept messages and track their devices, but the bad guys would go incognito before we reached anywhere near them. The privacy functions gave them the upper hand. So we started plugging the leaks in our systems and enabled privacy override.”

  “The same thing you did some time back?”

  “Yes. The same thing. But it wasn't enough. They learned to deactivate the ComNet or simply go off-line after a message had been sent. So our only means of tracking them became useless. Are you following me?”

  The trio surrounding her nodded, so she continued.

  “Well, it was during that time that the home minister came up with a plan for a top-secret project to embed deep tracking into every communication sy
stem carried by every citizen of the country, from their birth onwards.”

  “Ten years ago? But that would mean our current-”

  “-Prime Minister was the one who ordered the project. Yes. So now you see the reason for his anxiety. If this ever comes out, he'll be sunk - lock, stock, and no barrel.”

  “So what you're saying is that, despite all the secrecy laws protecting the citizens of the country, plus the privacy settings available on every interconnected electronic system, the government can still spy on us?”

  Tej nodded, waiting for the screen to come alive with good news.

  “And how does it work? Does it override the privacy settings or what?”

  “No. Like I'd said, that wouldn't work if the devices were powered down. Instead, they came up with a plan that made it mandatory for every communication system to be embedded with a small dormant chip. This chip is not connected to any power source, nor does it transmit any signals. It's completely passive. In essence, it is invisible unless someone takes apart the system at molecular level.”

  “If it's dormant, it wouldn't work once the system was powered down, would it?”

  “Not necessarily. You see, these chips are electromagnetic responders. We embedded reading antennas in all the communication towers and satellites. Now generally, these reading antennae are also completely powered down, and emits no signals. They work independent of the standard ComNet. But once energised, like we are going to do now, they will send out electromagnetic waves of a specific excitation frequency. The passive chips in the ComNets will absorb this electromagnetic energy and in turn, the chips will get sufficient power to start transmitting their positions.”

  “Thus allowing you to track every single person whether they are connected to the network or powered down.” Anara was scandalised. This invasion of privacy went against every grain of decency and ethics. Would anyone be crazy enough to defy the laws of the land on this scale?

  “Millions of people simultaneously - if required,” said Tej casually shrugging her shoulders, ignoring the shocked expression on Anara's face. “Unfortunately, we've never managed to test the system in real time. One can't help but admire the simplicity of the system. No one needs to know anything until the time the system is activated. And it can track all living human beings. Hence the code name ‘Prana’ - life.”

  “I… I'm at a loss for words, Tej. I never expected my government to be behind a conspiracy of this magnitude. How do you people even go to sleep at night?”

  “It's all right for you to pontificate morality, Anara. You're not responsible for the lives of millions of citizens. Step into my shoes and then maybe you'll understand. It's all for the greater good. Besides, it's nothing new. Governments across the world are obsessed with keeping tabs on our enemies. Ours is just one of them. Privacy, my dear Captain, has been and will always be a myth. Remember that.”

  “Is there any way the person being tracked would know that the device has been activated?” asked Ryan.

  “You've identified the one fatal flaw in the system, Commander. You see, once energised, the chip absorbs a large amount of energy and gets hot. It essentially burns out the person’s ComNet system. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the reason for the burning out of so many ComNets at the same time. The secret would come out even if the protocol is used even once. That's the reason it has never been used or tested on a large scale.”

  The screen buzzed behind her. “Now if you'll excuse me,” said Tej as she turned her back on them.

  “Yes, Mr. Prime Minister?” she said to the figure on the screen.

  There was some incomprehensible reply from the screen.

  “Right, sir. Thank you. We'll get them now. Tej out.”

  She turned around, and her eyes found Abhiram’s. “Prana is a go, Abhiram. The operational sequence is being shared with you right now. Get your team to initialise the signals. In the meantime, get the ATS to backtrack the places Nish had visited before he deactivated his signal. We need more confirmation that he is the double agent. I don't want to run down this path and then realise we've been chasing the wrong person.”

  With a clear purpose ahead of her, Tej seemed intensely focused. “Captain, it'll take some time to get the towers and satellites activated before we can start collecting the data. We will start at very low power settings to avoid burning out the chips. It will take a bit more time. Won't you sit down and wait with me?”

  ********

  In the CMG room in Delhi, the PM turned towards his trusted advisors. “There is no turning back now. It's done.” He walked back wearily to his seat. He doubted the opposition would allow him to continue in office once the truth was known. He sighed heavily. He was getting too old for this stuff anyway. Maybe it was time he started considering retirement. Yes, he would resign once this was over. Let someone else deal with the aftermath.

  “Sir?” the home minister spoke up, causing the PM to snap out of his reverie. He raised an eyebrow.

  “Now that we know the aliens are in Mumbai and possibly headed into the city, I think it is time to order the evacuation.” The others seated in the room all nodded gravely. They should try and cut the losses in case Tej failed.

  “I had given the NIA forty-eight hours to find the aliens before I order evacuation. There is still some time to go.”

  “If the aliens are already inside the city, I'm afraid we don't have a few hours, sir. We need to advance the schedule. We should at least move the troops to their final positions and get the local government and high-risk areas secured.”

  The PM signed again, “Which are the areas at maximum risk?”

  “We had already decided that during our planning, sir.”

  “Tell me again. Which are the high risk areas?”

  “Maximum population density is from Dadar southwards. Also the south Mumbai beaches will be crowded with Ganpati processions.”

  “Ok. But let's start only with the Mantralya and Shivaji Nagar before we cause widespread panic. Get everyone out from the underwater city through the sea routes. You have my go ahead. I’ll inform the chief minister.”

  The order for evacuation was on its way to the military commander in charge of Operation Moksh. Within minutes, vessels under the naval command started heading towards the embarkation points of the underwater city.

  ********

  They had started arriving in twos and threes, meeting up in the various cafes that dotted the roads near the Gateway of India. Staying in touch through text messages, the team leaders had been busy keeping their respective flocks together. Keith saw the growing numbers with satisfaction. Another couple of hours and they'd be ready to go. He was standing outside the cafe, looking at the gaily dressed crowds of devotees all moving towards the seashore a few miles away. He'd never really understood the way the Indians insisted on making all their festivals noisy and colourful. Every ceremony was like a never-ending party. Yet, somehow, the piety of the faithful still managed to shine through.

  He flicked his wrist to turn on the time display. Just a few more hours and then he'd have his moment in the sun.

  His lieutenants would meet him once their people had assembled. They would start moving in a direction opposite to the immersion crowds - down Colaba market, exiting the shopping row and towards the hospital. He was hoping to have at least a thousand people assembled. That would be more than enough to storm the hospital and get the aliens. His careful preparations so far had ensured that the police had no inkling of the force that was about to overwhelm them. The best part was that everyone was busy with the processions and the immersions. Nobody would pay attention to another thousand people till it was too late.

  T minus 4 hours - Marine Drive

  T he codes for activating Prana were sent over from the PMO on a secure channel to the NIA control centre. From that point, it took an hour to enable the control towers to transmit the energising signal. Towers all across the city and multiple satellites in the sky came alive with a
new type of EM-pulse.

  When the radio waves from the readers reached the ComNet devices embedded in the citizens, the hidden chips were activated. These started emitting a magnetic field. This secondary signal, in turn, reached back to the towers and satellites, thus signaling the presence of specific individuals and pinpointing their location. The accuracy of the position was somewhat limited because of the technology used, but a fix of every individual was available with an accuracy of one hundred meters. In almost all the cases, the chips burnt out as well causing annoyance if not pain to many individuals.

  Millions of signals started flowing into the control centre and were swiftly catalogued by the computer with the name and identity of every citizen. Nish's details had already been fed into the computer, but it did not get any matches. He had not been located. The NIA’s gambit with Prana had failed.

  A call went out to Tej, and the tech apprised her of the findings. The group huddled around her, feeling despondent that their last hope was heading for failure. Then Ryan finally honed in on what had been troubling him.

  “Hold on, guys. We are forgetting something. The police had found a ComNet patch at that place in Panvel, right? Have they determined who it belongs to?”

  “No, not yet, Commander. It is a little tricky analyzing a patch once it has been removed.”

  “But if it belongs to Nish, as we suspect, then even if we track it with Prana, it'll be of no use, right?”

  “That's correct, although I have data on his movements over the last few hours. He was definitely in Mumbai, and a team from the ATS is tracing his steps. We should get an update soon,” replied Abhiram, not sure where Ryan was leading them.

  “That's good. But coming back to the original ComNet. It would have lost power once it's removed and it wouldn't show up at all. But he had a secondary chip - just like all of us who had been part of the mission with ISC. That would have a different identity module. We need to start looking for that chip.”

  “Of course.” Tej felt irresponsible about having missed this crucial point. “We will need the ID number. Can you get it?”