Note: I'm posting the article for which I've first place in SEDS Article Writing competition. Will love to know your comments.
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Time has really
lost its meaning. I never really understood what it is for time to lose its
meaning, until now. It is just darkness I see. Maybe there are huge cosmic
objects floating around and flying by. But all I see is darkness. There is
something pressing me hard. It feels like I’m trying to float in a crude oil
pool. Sometimes I doubt if I am dead, already. But no, I feel my breath. Feeble
but present.
Memories come
flashing by. There is nothing else that I can hold on to. It was 2053, August
12th, if my memory still serves right. I boarded CosmoCraft III, with
such a pride. Arya, my name flashed silver in the nameplate on my suit. CosmoCraft
III is to be first successful space vehicle to go cosmic journey, with a
human. The first two crafts were a failure and Indian scientists were all
determined to make this one a success. After all, India will be the first one
to try this one crazy idea.
It was kind of
a war journey for India, that day. But not for me! I was at last, making my way
to my destiny. The destiny which has been calling out to me, from up above, for
as long as I can remember.
Well, my
personal life was crazy. I ran away from my family. The only thing that ever
mattered was my crazy love for the horizon. Because whenever I couldn’t hold my
emotions together and break down, stars and sky had been my only constant
presence.
I had this list
of crazy things that I so badly wanted to do in my life. I’m not such a fan of
Time-travelling. There is no assurance that you come back to where you started.
So I always live in the present and be as crazy as I can be about it. Striking
off every single thing in that crazy-list has been my goal.
And as CosmoCraft
III plunged into deep space with me in it, I struck off the last crazy goal
left in my list.
The idea was
for me to board the CosmoCraft III and journey as far as it can take me
out into the deep space and relay the data I gather, back to earth. It was not
possible to travel faster than light but closer. But humans did find a way to
generate almost infinite amount of energy to keep the craft going.
The craft was
designed to absorb energy from velocity of the heavenly bodies, including
comets and asteroids. So there supposed to be no real problem at all. But the
craft couldn’t survive after 15 earth years. I hit on a dark spot where there was
literally nothing to draw energy from. The craft started shutting down and I
couldn’t steer my way back or move forward. I had to eject out from it. The
craft had just gone, drifting away.
And so here I
am in this dark place, all alone. I don’t know how many hours, days, months or
years have passed since then. The interesting part is that I can’t die that
easily. Interesting right? How?
While doing my
research on blending humans and machines, I found a way of twinning. Like
Quantum Entanglement, it’s possible to entangle a person with oneself. Let me
explain, I split myself into half and pair it with the robotic-metallic
counterpart. I had to be divided in such a way that I’m human as much as metal.
So I become two separate being with same thoughts and action (with equal
human-metal parts). That way I can mirror my twin from anywhere.
That was a very
complicated process. And I had a 0.0000000001% survival rate. But I made my
decision and went over the process. The difficult part was to choose which of
my parts would be metallic and which ones flesh. For me, metals are needed to
complete me not define me. After several hundred simulations we found a
solution that might work. I took my chance.
Since I (and
not algorithms) needed to make logical decisions out here in space, my left
brain is flesh and the right robotic. You get the idea, right? Of course, there
are few common things like blood circulation and breathing. Since I don’t age
as faster as my earth twin, I got the human heart and lungs. And the oxygen
tank I carry is of liquid oxygen my body can circulate it almost forever. As
weight isn’t felt in space, I can carry that much with me.
I and my twin
are both connected like the Quantum entangled particles. I feel what my twin
thinks and I can transmit what I think by just thinking, back to her. We are
the portal connecting earth with this dark space. I know it sounds complicated.
And it is.
Did I mention
that pressure changes periodically in this dark place where I now am? Well, it
does. Moments before it was crushing me under and now I feel like I’m
afloat…like I’m free of a tight grasp.
Space is made
of lot more than we could ever even imagine. Our Physics rules might not
actually be that solid. There is a lot to know. There is still a tremendous lot
to decipher in the language of Nature. As much is said, humans have really
achieved the goal of reaching beyond what’s seen by them!
- To be
continued…
“There. That’s one
of the messages from Arya. She’s the living example of humankind’s feat. She’s
still out there somewhere keeping the portal open for us. Let’s stop fighting
each other and get to know why we are what we are. We can do better than
cannibalism. Jai Hind and Humanity thrives!” Director of
ISRO concluded his speech at UN conclave of world peace; Switzerland, August
2070.
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And one more
space badge was added to the collection, Arya the Voyager of Space!
Tangled & Untangled,
-Sp-
Whoa! You are seriously one hell of a writer and dreamer... Man its crazyily Wowww
ReplyDeleteHonored to hear that! Thank you so much ;)
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