Sinner's Game: Karma will chase!

by Sandeep Sharma

  Akshay exclaimed, ‘Vineet you are not in my position so you can’t relate to what I am going through. Let us drop this topic for now.’

  Vineet didn’t stop, ‘Even if WhatsApp messages have some role but Priya and Himanshu were having an affair. Anyone could have been behind them. I hope you know that Himanshu was married and her in-laws are quite influential.’

  Akshay did not respond though he was curious to about the source of his information. He thought to himself, ‘How do I tell this guy that I am in similar situation without revealing my affair? He knows about Himanshu’s in-laws. I wonder what all he knows about me. I am glad that I have not told him anything about Tanuja.’

  Vyom was waiting outside to receive them when they reached. He led them to a conference room.

  Akshay was impatient, ‘So what do you have to tell us?’

  ‘Akshay, let me connect my laptop to the projector as it would be easier to explain that way,’ said Vyom.

  Once his laptop was connected, Vyom started his briefing, ‘After our last meeting I wanted to be doubly sure of the risk associated with the software. Analyzing any further was beyond my expertise so I got hold of a reputed security company to help me. I am going to show you the outcome of their analysis.’

  ‘Vyom, can you come straight to the point?’

  ‘Sure. It is not a virus that has infected our computers but it is a deep Artificial Intelligence driven software that grows like a Trojan virus by identifying vulnerable computers in the network. It identifies contacts that are saved in such computers and starts initiating interaction with those contacts. The mechanism by which it reaches user’s phone is not known to us. The software then collects all data including pictures, emails and chat messages from the connected devices. I could identify data from the phones of Himanshu and Priya in encrypted folders, with the help of this company.’

  While Akshay was listening patiently to understand any connection of software with him, Vineet jumped in with a question, ‘What is connection of this software with the death of Priya and Himanshu?’

  Vyom responded, ‘I will come to that as well. There were some files that even consultants in India could not decrypt. Those files were sent to the US office where they were analyzed by security experts and Artificial Intelligence specialists. After the files were decrypted using military grade software, three different files were discovered. One of them had instructions to some device or machine along with time and geo-coordinates. I did not ask US team to probe any further. These files were present in folders of both Priya and Himanshu.’

  ‘Can I see it now?’ butted Vineet.

  ‘You can see them on my laptop. Here you go.’

  Vineet took control of Vyom’s laptop and started looking at the files and other data that came from the US team.

  Akshay asked, ‘Why have you called us?’

  Vineet said, ‘I will answer that. There is a folder under your name too; it can be identified using your mobile name and there are multiple encrypted files in that folders. All files look similar to files of Priya and Himanshu.’

  ‘Vyom, I was expecting that! I am also getting messages similar to them. It means that my life is under threat now! Vineet, can you find more details?’

  ‘Well I find one thing surprising here. The files associated with you are not changing any more. Which is good; but at the same time, these files have been copied to a computer outside this network. This means that the software had already started replicating information. The latest information about Akshay may be available in some other computer.. How could this happen?’ exclaimed Vineet.

  Akshay nervously asked, ‘What do you mean by this? If the software is still tracking me, I can always change my phone number and phone. Vineet, what is this file related to machine instructions?’

  ‘It seems that software is not only tracking all information but is also acting on it. I need to analyze these files in order to find something concrete. Vyom, have you told us everything that you know about this software?’

  Vyom was not fully prepared for this question so fumbled, ‘I think we need to figure this out together. At this point of time, I don’t know what is behind messages that are being sent to Akshay now. We need to understand if his files are linked to someone else. Someone we know.’

  Vyom knew the answer but despite all his attempts, he had not been able locate files for Tanuja. All files were no longer available only in this network. The software had intelligently distributed them across various computers.

  The Divine Intervention

  Vyom went home early. He did not know how to process so much information. He decided to talk to Alka to get her views. He had never discussed work with her but this was more than work. After finding the connection between software and the recent accidents, he felt an obligation to save Akshay and Tanuja from any mishap.

  Alka was surprised to see him at home early. ‘Hope all is well! I was not expecting you so early during weekdays. Vyom hugged Alka and said, ‘Nothing, I was just missing you so came early.’

  ‘OK. What will you drink? I am pretty sure that tea is not on your mind!’

  ‘You nailed it; get me soda and I will order some snacks. Do you want me to open a bottle of wine for you?’

  ‘Only if you are celebrating something!’

  Vyom got his regular whiskey from the bar and Alka got soda from the refrigerator. He starts sipping his first drink. Alka joined him shortly with her cup of green tea. As they settled on the couch with their drinks, Alka asked, ‘Now tell me what is bothering you? You have started talking again while sleeping these days. Are you worried about some software?’

  ‘How do you know?’ asked Vyom.

  ‘I don’t know much but you keep talking about some office software that is creating havoc with some people. You also mentioned Garima once. Is she your client? I find it funny but even now sometimes you talk to Yamraj too!’

  For a minute Vyom was in shock. With the recent events, he desperately wanted to connect with Yamraj but he never imagined himself sleep talking about this. He replied with a smile, ‘I am sure I am getting old now! Actually there is something important that I want to discuss with you. It has been bothering me for quite some time now.’

  Vyom told Alka about the sequence of events in his life followed by details about the recent events. He briefly touched about his interaction with Yamraj and then told her about the death of Priya and Himanshu. He also told her about the office software and probable connections with the deaths of Priya and Himanshu.

  Alka listened to everything patiently. She remained silent for some time. This was too much information to process and that too in such a short time. Even though she had some questions. She didn’t know where to start.

  Vyom said, ‘I know that you need time to absorb everything. Let me go and refill my drink.’

  Alka said, ‘I think I also need my drink; please get me wine.’

  Vyom came back with two glasses of wine and offered one to Alka.

  Alka quickly gulped few sips of wine and said, ‘So much happened in your life and you are telling me now? I hope you have finished your story and are not hiding anything from me?’

  ‘Come on! As you can see, a lot was happening in my life but I could not figure out anything until I consulted with a security firm recently. I did not want to hide anything from you. I was not ready. I could not have shared anything on Garima as she is my client.’

  ‘How did you get this software? Is there a connection between this software and Yamraj?’

  ‘I think so. I know you will still not but believe me everything is connected. Yamraj Ji is orchestrating everything. I can feel it now.’

  ‘Vyom, you may not agree but I feel bad for Garima. Based on what you have told me she was not at fault at all. Akshay cheated on her outright. I know you want to save Akshay and Tanuja but have you thought anything about Garima. Did she come back to you after you revealed Akshay’s affair?’

  Vyom quickly responded, �
��I always felt bad for her and thus tried my best to find out details for her. It took quite some time to expose Akshay’s affair. She was devastated after knowing about his affair with Tanuja. She came to me because to know the truth but somehow she was not ready for this outcome. She has not spoken to me so far but I am planning to call her. I think I should warn Akshay about the imminent danger to him and Tanuja. Akshay doesn’t know that Garima is aware about his affair.’

  ‘I am sure there is more to this than what you and I know’ said Alka.

  ‘Tell me again, what is this Yamraj story? Is it real? Did you continue to meet him after his first visit?’

  ‘Alka I will tell you details later but it is true that I have met him a few times after his first visit.’

  Alka replied, ‘I still don’t believe this side of your story. I am sure you would have seen this in your dreams. You talk a lot about him while sleeping.’

  Vyom was not comfortable at all with the discussion. He saw this as a clear disrespect for Yamraj Ji. He quickly interrupted Alka to change the topic and said, ‘Did you fully understand what is happening here and how Akshay and Tanuja need to be saved?’

  ‘Hmm, it is tough for me to believe that a computer can plan anything like this. Are you saying that accidents happened because someone was planning all this?’

  ‘Precisely! In both cases, the police were not able to link it with any vehicle or driver. Both of them had received identical messages on the day of their death.’

  ‘Vyom, all this is beyond my imagination! If you are confident about your findings please involve police now. Just warning Akshay may not be good enough. If something happens then you can become party to the case.’

  Vyom had not thought about this. He said, ‘Alka you are right! I think my computers already have a lot of data and as this illegal software was purchased by me then I could be seen as part of this conspiracy.’

  ‘Akshay had also mentioned this. I had not taken this seriously. Let me think about it. May be I can delete all data and then destroy all my machines. I think no one can prove all this conspiracy and I have not sent anything to Akshay in writing.’

  Vyom thought to himself, ‘Oh God, I really need your help.’

  ‘Alka let’s have dinner now and let’s sleep early. I am planning to meet Akshay tomorrow and need to have a clear thought process so that I can save myself from any future trouble.’

  ‘Sure I have already ordered from the club.’

  Vyom and Alka had an early dinner and Alka was quite sleepy because of the wine.

  Vyom was relieved that everything was out of his chest but he was too tired to sleep.

  Vyom started thinking about the sequence of events. Immediately after his meeting with Yamraj, he conveniently found a seller for purchasing illegal software on the Dark Web. The software enabled with artificial intelligence had started targeting multiple individuals and two of them were dead now. Everything was connected.

  He then saw a very bright light once again in his room. This time it was easy for him to guess his guest! In fact, in the current situation he could not have asked for anything better than this.

  ‘Yamraj Ji Namaskar!

  Yamraj replied with a smile, ‘Vyom what is bothering you?’

  Vyom exclaimed, ‘Yamraj Ji too much is happening in my life and I am losing control of things around me. All this uncertainty is tiring me. I thing I made a big mistake by buying the software. After that life has become to complicated for me.’

  Yamraj smiled, ‘It is good to see you are dedicated to your mission. It seems that you are struggling with your understanding. TFD also tried to explain this to you.’

  ‘How do you know TFD?’

  Yamraj smiled and said, ‘No one can work alone for such important mission. We need a team to work in this area. Your technology always had its own limitations. I hope you remember this.’

  ‘My requirement was simple. I just wanted to read encrypted messages for my detective work. Everything was working fine with me until that Trojan Virus infected my computer and started sending messages in an uncontrolled manner. All this has gone beyond control now. I am sure you know about the deaths of Priya and Himanshu.’

  Yamraj said, ‘What do you think? That is my job! You are doing your work and I am doing mine. You started this business to identify sinners. You were helping me. Similarly, I helped you when you needed it most. Now our roles are clear. Your job is to identify sinners and mine is to warn sinners. Why are you confused?’

  Vyom asked his question directly, ‘How come Priya and Himanshu both died in car accidents and how was the software able to predict the exact day of their death?’

  ‘If you want to know more about Priya and Himanshu, you need to understand that dying in the car accident was defined by their karma.’

  ‘What Karma?’

  Yamraj replied, ‘The day of death for everyone has already been defined. The problem sometime comes in execution. Your technical team will find this as well! But look at your case for example, you are alive and kicking.’

  ‘What if people are ready to change just like me? Don’t you think that everyone deserves a second chance?’ asked Vyom.

  ‘Who said a second chance was not given to Himanshu and Priya, Vyom? My way of interacting with each individual is different and people still can make choices that hurt them.’

  ‘The software is marking many people I know personally and they may be at risk too. I need to find a way to warn them,’ said Vyom.

  Yamraj said, ‘Karma never leaves you. Even I was cursed once for my wrong actions. Look at Akshay and Tanuja for instance, they both know the risk of their affair but are they stopping?’ Even after the death of Priya and Himanshu, they are continuing to meet.’

  ‘I think Akshay is quite worried. I have not discussed his affair with Tanuja with him but I can see the stress that he is going through. I am involved in this specific case as Garima is my client. She is suffering for no reason.’

  ‘Garima may be suffering because of her past Karma. You don’t know anything about that. Right?’

  ‘I think I should give a clear warning to Akshay in my next meeting. However, he needs a second chance, maybe for the sake of Garima. Please give me some way to communicate this to Akshay.’

  ‘If you want your last chance to save Akshay, ask him not to meet Tanuja at the hotel.’

  ‘Which hotel?’

  ‘You can find out this much!’ Yamraj disappeared after passing this message.

  Vyom was zapped. He could not comprehend the message. Vyom remembered the frequent trips of Akshay and Tanuja to Mumbai and where they stayed in hotels. If anything could wrong it would happen in the hotel setup only. He felt morally responsible to warn Akshay.

  The Final Destination

  Next week, Tanuja reached Mumbai a bit early. She reached Sheratons hotel a night before the meeting. The hotel manager, Raunak, came forward to greet her.

  ‘Good evening Ma’am! Welcome to Sheratons.’’

  ‘Thanks! Can you please upgrade my room to a Suite please? Here is my membership card.’

  Raunak upgraded her room and handed keys to Tanuja.

  ‘Have a pleasant trip Ma’am!’

  The hotel manager continued with his planned tasks for the day, including checking on logistics related to a wedding at the hotel.

  ‘Hi Arjun, When is the drone guy coming? He need to do trial runs before the actual wedding.’

  Arjun, the banquet manager replied, ‘Our regular guy is down with flu and he has sent his replacement, some TFD guy. He refused to share his full name. He should be reaching tonight and I have his number. Let me check with him.’

  ‘Do ask for his ID and keep me posted. Thanks.’

  ‘Sure.’

  Before Arjun called TFD, he received a WhatsApp message from him. ‘Arjun, I will reach the hotel in a while. We can test the drone tomorrow. Thanks! TFD’

  Tanuja checked into her room. Akshay had told her that he would join he
r the next day. She was still pissed about the fact that Akshay had started questioning their relationship. This was always known to her to be a possibility but it still came as a shock to her. She wanted to clarify many things with Akshay but at the same time, she did not want to risk losing him because of her impatience.

  As she thought about her relationship, she received a new notification on her phone - a new message in the ‘The Final Destination’ group. She did not want to read the message. But she remembered that Himanshu had also ignored his last message just before his death. Hesitantly, she clicked on the message: ‘Your final pickup date is tomorrow.’

  Panicking and not knowing to do, she thought about Akshay but it was late and Akshay was at home with Garima. Akshay’s final meeting with Vyom was still pending so there was nothing that Akshay could tell her. Failing to calm her rising panic, out of desperation, she called Akshay. But he did not pick up the call.

  Anxious and scared, Tanuja paced up and down her hotel room

  She thought of calling her mother but it was too late for that. In any case, there was nothing that she could possibly share with her mother at this point of time. An hour passed. No matter what she tried, her nerves were extremely ruffled and she could not relax. Instead, she drank a bit too much alone, and was feeling rather drunk. The tension of the last few weeks descended upon her with full force. The importance of the ominous message was clear on her mind and she chalked out mental strategies to avert any danger.

  Tanuja thought, ‘If needed I will avoid all travel tomorrow. I will make some excuse and will not join the client meeting. Let’s see what Akshay has to say. Who is sending these messages to me? I am not sure if Akshay has also received this message. In any case, this could be just a story. No one knows the truth. What if all this is true? In any case, Priya got it first so could it be me next?’

  The thought process made her more anxious and she called her mother, even though it was late. Her mother picked up the phone, sleepily, ‘Hello Tanuja beta! You are calling so late? Is everything ok?

  Listening to her mother’s voice, Tanuja started crying.