Please Note: Copyright for the following work has been applied for and is in the process of being copyrighted.

The Rise of Man

Part-I

Utopia

Neil Chatterjee was watching an English movie when he experienced a sense of déjà vu. It was something he had felt before, if felt is the right word, for it is beyond the scope of dictionary as it is beyond the scope of known experiences. He had seen it in a dream, he had lived that experience in a dream, how was it thus he had no idea. While the superstitious would consider him to be divinely blessed and the too rational would dismiss it, he modern, scientific yet believing in his perceptions, started to search the internet to look for some clues that could shed some light on his present conundrum. Before long he came across a host of devices that with some development of technology could potentially interfere with and manipulate someone’s thoughts. He also had an inkling that such promising technology for observation and control won’t be left alone by governments and that such instruments as possessed by nations would be kept under wraps under the security of confidentiality. His contention was that the technology as possessed by nations under confidentiality was more advanced than the technology in public domain. Slowly Neil began to work on a theory of how these technologies evolved and what the real state of the world really is, the real condition of humanity is.

                             They say that truth is stranger than fiction but that’s only because  fiction is some bit’s and parts of the truth, in a way the fiction that surrounds us is only an aspect and simplification of the truth, at least that’s what Neil’s experience taught him. By now he was under psychiatric medication as a result of his declaration that he was being externally controlled and influenced. That was the most logical step to be taken by the perpetrators, after all they couldn’t let some loose cannon emerge and spoil their party and to dismiss it as mere madness was the easiest method. Neil had also experience the true extent of their powers; they could increase heartbeats and induce headaches at will, and perhaps could also induce heart attacks and cerebral hemorrhages Neil concluded. They considered themselves to be gods and not without reason for they did have god-like powers. 

                           But how did human history fit in all this. After much thought he came to the conclusion: All ancient civilizations were polytheistic. Actually their gods were an advanced extra-terrestrial species with superior technology. When Man was uncivilized, superstitious and backward they took an active and open part in controlling the world. But as humanity progressed they slowly receded to the background. Later when Man developed nuclear weapons they got in touch with the Men who mattered and shared advanced technologies with them on the condition that the true truth would be hid and they will have the final say in world affairs. Thus an all powerful secret society emerged that controlled Men’s thought, hence their lives and civilization. But what was his role? Where did he fit in all this? This is the story that tells his tale.

                              Dr. Chandak Das reclined in his chair and said to himself “The stage is set, let’s just hope he makes the correct choices for that’s all that we can do now.” On the other hand by this time Neil had worked out the implications of such revolutionary technology. He realized that knowing all this and keeping mum was dangerous and was the most heinous crime; the murder of humanity as every damn thing we know could be manipulated beyond our comprehension using such technology, whether he was considered to be out of his mind or not he didn’t give a damn. Dr. Chandak Das apart from being Neil’s psychiatrist was also a member of the team which monitored and manipulated Neil’s activities. Sooner or later all of them knew that one of them would have face Neil and tell him what a big sham is life really was. Aritra Roy was the in-charge of the team. Neil didn’t even know him and he preferred to remain anonymous. He gave Chandak the instructions to tell Neil face to face what he wanted and needed to know.

                          Chandak asked Neil to visit him alone at a separate time when he went for his regular check-up. When Neil did so he said “Have a seat. Do you still think you are being externally manipulated and controlled?”

-Neil “Yes Sir. I do”

-Chandak “Let us suppose, just suppose mind it, that what you are saying is true, what will you do if the power was given to you to use them as you saw fit?

-Neil smiled a bit and said “I’ll implement its positive applications.”

-Chandak “Please, Elucidate”

-Neil “First of all I’ll use them in the implementation of law and order in case of serious crimes. There will be a system where an accused’s mind would be scanned and his memory would be analyzed to check if the person is guilty or not. But their thought process would only be monitored and not influenced. This will result in the deliverance of true justice apart from speeding up the judicial system. After some time a condition will arise when every major illegal deed would be penalized and hence the crime rate would fall to negligible proportions. Necessary change in judicial sciences and defendant’s rights should be made in order to implement such a system.”

“Another positive implication of such technology will be in the field of education. In place of the current system of evaluation in education there will emerge an individual specific education built on the principle that no two individuals are alike in their interests and talent and hence the education meted out to them should also vary. After a common primary education the pupil’s interests, potentiality and talent in different fields should be assessed and his education should aim at developing his latent talent to the fullest with the help of thought monitoring apparatus’s. The evaluation of students should be done with the help of psychologists specially trained for this, each specializing in a different field of learning. In the evaluation there will be other criteria’s for judging a pupil. It will also be seen how much the educand has been able to imbibe in himself the higher ideals of education like search for the truth, honesty, rationality. The pupils should be brought up in a way that they respect honesty, virtue, and intellect more than money, power or status. All this will result in a condition where an eternal moral order, a law of karma not dependent upon after-life will emerge.”

“I have also a theory about distribution of power and its structure. All the candidates of election’s memories will be checked in order to ensure whether they indeed intend do what they promise. The ends they claim to adhere to and the means they want to take will be made public. And an amount of representation will be ensured to artists, intellectuals and scientists.”

All this will make the people who monitor the whole system with such technology extremely powerful. So any individual could ask for the monitoring their thought process itself. This is a sacrifice that those in direct power and those in the monitoring force will have to make in exchange of their powers.”

Chandak smiled and said “This is the day you were waiting for, a day you will always remember for today is the day you will discover your unique gift; the power to change. You see life is all about the choices we make, we are who we choose to be. We both know what we are talking about. You are right about your comprehension of the reality that surrounds us and I would be lying if I say we didn’t interfere in your comprehension. Again we both know about your dark past which was both evil and violent but what sets you apart is your ability to give into evil, succumbing to its seductiveness before conquering, mastering and renouncing it. The choices we consider yours are those which you make after knowing the truth and yours have made you the oracle. Actually many men of power and repute want to accomplish your goals; they are driven by the dreams which you dream. They will help you along the way. This is just a confirmation that you are on the right path, all you have to do is to never give up.”

Neil said “But my intentions are diametrically opposite to yours, you seek to hide the truth. The first thing I’ll try is to establish the truth”

Chandak let out a mischievous smile and said “Don’t be sure about what we really want. Actually we need some time before we can confirm the truth. There are two reasons for that. We too need to survive and prepare ourselves for the consequences that may arise due to the disclosure of all facts. Secondly the masses must be prepared in order to make them able to accept it. On the other hand it will help you also as you will get recognition for being devoted to the cause since the very start, before the cause was even known.”

-Neil “I am thankful that you guys did confide in me and did the right thing”

 -Chandak “We did the right thing and also what we needed to do in order to survive. Remember your path is the future of humanity.”

-Neil “So what’s your advice for me?”

-Chandak “Just do what you must”

“Goodbye and thank you” said Neil before leaving.

                                     When Neil returned home he analyzed the various options open to him and decided to disclose to his close friends and his girlfriend the secret and invite them to join the movement which he wanted to start. It gave him a chance to gauge people near to him for what they nearly are and not only mere opportunists, not that he wanted to leave them out totally for that will exclude a considerable part of humanity but they must at least be sympathetic to the cause. Betrayal was inevitable as was the coming out of the truth according to him. Thus any setback due to betrayal would only be temporary.

                                     In the evening he went out to meet his best friend and his girl-friend for their daily dose of gossiping. He was a bit thought stricken and seemed to be engrossed in them. When Sangita, his girlfriend, asked him he narrated the whole tale to them and added “It might seem madness but it is just the truth.” Sangita said “Yes it does seem too farfetched and highly unlikely almost to the point of being unbelievable. But I know you as a person and if you believe so, there must be adequate reason for that. So I am with you through thick and thin.” Neil gave out a relieved smile and muttered “Thanks”. Jack his best friend said “I could comprehend only bits and parts of what you said but this much I know, if you say so it is so.” After a while seeing him indulge in bird-watching Sangita with a bit of anger in her voice said “Such a beautiful girl is sitting next to you and you are busy watching other girls.”Neil smiled and said “Sorry my dear love, they are just time-pass while you are the real thing.”After sometime they bade goodbye to each other and left for their respective homes.

                           Neil’s confession to persons close to him met with diverse responses. Some thought he was lying, some reluctantly believed him and some came to the conclusion that he was plain mad.

                                In world affairs Pakistan was in deep turmoil from within, there were unmistakable signs of the Government’s decreasing hold and control over the state machinery and the prospect of its nuclear weapons falling into Taliban’s hand was very much a possibility. On the other hand North Korea had developed Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles and was close to developing nuclear weapons. The world seemed to be at the brink of war.

                             And the war did start. The Taliban and North Korea forged an alliance to which China lent a tacit support. They first targeted Afghanistan and South Korea. The other major world powers refrained from interfering in order to avoid a full-fledged nuclear war. Iran also joined the alliance.

                            By now Neil had started to take an active interest in politics realizing that in order to realize his goal he couldn’t be indifferent to it, but he joined it as a reformer as a motivating influence. His potential was soon realized and his backers in the secret society helped him a good deal. He soon became the state youth president of a national party.

                            By now the war had reached its zenith and the opposition alliance was as its peak. The opposition controlled considerable parts of Asia and Africa and Europe. From now on its downfall was inevitable. The population under their control soon rebelled against their fanatical ideologies and ways of living. Now they faced crisises both without and within. As a last resort they launched nuclear weapons carrying missiles to USA, India and Israel. Fortunately all of these countries had missile shields and their counterstrikes literally razed the opposition to dust.

                          After the war the secret society leaked out the true technological progress of mankind and how much benefit Mankind stands to gain if its beneficial aspects were implemented. Neil’s story was also made public and he now was considered to be a great hero. India was at the fore-front of such revolutionary changes and a constituent assembly was formed in which Neil was elected member and all his suggestions were accepted and the entire Indian subcontinent was turned into a federation and the state was rechristened Confederate of Republic Indian States. Neil was given the No. 2 position in the newly formed Government. One by one all the nations followed suit and within three years  there came into existence a One World Government, a World Federation, a dream cherished by poets and philosophers throughout the ages. Amnesty was given to all criminals in this monumental moment in our history so that they too could get a chance to reform themselves.

“Much has been destroyed; too much blood has been shed. Why does it seem like that Mankind is intent on destroying himself since time immemorial? But today is the day which will forever be remembered a s the day when Humanity redeemed itself, the day whose memory will be remembered till Man exists, the day we united as species, as brothers as compatriots. Today is the day when the world became one, became a single unified whole” said Jean Baudelaire, French President and Head of the First One World Government.”

.

The Rise of Man

Part-II

The War Between Gods And Men

The following seven years was an era of unsurpassed progress. Humanity’s knowledge increased by leaps and bounds. All innovations were added to the total knowledge of man as the notion of nation states each repeating advances by other nations was abandoned. The crime-rate dipped to negligible proportions, there were cent percent collection of taxes and corruption became virtually extinct which in turn resulted into the ideal of an egalitarian welfare state. The economy became robust and spending on infrastructure and welfare activities increased ultimately improving the overall life of the ordinary man.

                        However the alien race which influenced the world affairs were not pleased. The rise of Man was threatening. If not checked Man could be a formidable enemy. They decided to give an ultimatum to Humanity; either accept an alliance as a subsidiary or face war. The One-World Government declined the offer to forcibly join an alliance as a junior partner. The military wing of the Human forces sent out armed satellites in hundreds and thousands to cover the entire Earth and also developed and put in place a shield which was charged by solar energy and was extremely energy consuming, so much that even solar energy could not put it up for long and hence could only be used as an emergency. The alien had several divisions each led by a leader and the baton of divinity passed on to a successor as chosen by his immediate predecessor. By now Man had progressed quite a bit in his technological know-how in the gap of seven years and the alien race at first could not gauge the amount of progress Man had made. They sent their space-ships which were thwarted by those of ours. Then they got hold of meteors and asteroids by tractor beams and hurled them towards Earth at high speeds. These too were destroyed by missiles from satellites. The war was evenly poised.

                         By now Neil was the head of government of his country and a General of the Earth Defense Forces. All power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely declared Lord Acton. But though Neil wasn’t one of those to become corrupt and compromise with his ideals and principles nevertheless he became unfaithful to his girl-friend. She tried to make him understand that it hurts her and it is unbecoming of someone of his stature and magnanimity. But Neil would just say “You know I will come back to you always, don’t you.

                      As a General Neil was brilliant. He won quite a number of battles and led from the front. Now the Gods unveiled their ultimate weapon. They started firing energy balls to which Humanity was helpless. Man’s missiles, lasers, bombs were unable to stop the energy balls and even the shield was of no use, in fact it was invincible to all weapons. The tide of the war turned. Squadrons after squadron of Earth’s spaceships were literally eliminated. Humanity seemed to be at the brink of defeat.

                    Then several spaceships of the military wing of one division of the Gods approached Earth. They then contacted the Earth Defense Forces and said “I am HO, the leader of the Hinocians, we are sympathetic to your species and its ideals. We have deserted our federation and will help you by giving you access to the technology of energy balls. Actually all matter is composed of energy and it is variable. And with a device called Je one can manipulate it.  The power of Je varies according to individual and depends on his own energy. This energy can also transport matter from one place to another with the help of an energy beam. It can also store an unlimited amount of information and transport it at the speed of light. We have sent you all the details which you will receive in a few moments. This energy can control every natural phenomenon and thus have lethal effects and make the possessors Gods. There is only one element which can resist its effects and weapons which is called Vikton but it is absent in hell, on your planet present only in even less than negligible proportions and found in Xen, our base, in very minute amounts. You can check the technology for yourselves. And we hope you will trust us for we seek to join you and we have nowhere left to go.

                 On the other hand in Xen the other leaders approached SU, the wife of HO, and asked her to kill HO as it was her duty according to their norms.

                   With some equilibrium returning, the war continued with ferocious intensity. HO was given command of one of the major offensive brigades. He fought bravely and without fear, marauding the enemy forces. While in a dog-fight he suddenly received a transmission from SU “This is the last time that you will hear my voice and I will feel your presence. My duty is to kill you but how can I do so without ending my life first. So I thought this would be the best way. Goodbye. You are a good person and I love you.” And she crashed her ship with that of HO.

                   By this time Neil had decided to penetrate the alien defenses and challenge and directly confront Xeni the head of the alien federation. He did so by taking a small squadron of captured alien ships piloted by expert commandoes and they communicated with the alien mothership with the help of a communicator which imitated the alien communication systems. They also had taken the help of a new technology developed exclusively for this particular mission. It could alter an individual’s appearance with holographic technology and the voice could be manipulated by a voice synthesizer. The unit led by Neil docked on the mothership. As soon as they climbed down they were surrounded by a platoon of the chief guards and led into a guarded room. Suddenly an alien female appeared with some forces and killed the guards. She asked Neil and his unit to follow her and her troops saying “Don’t worry I’m FI, HO’s daughter, they are responsible for the death of both of my parents. I’ll lead you to Xeni, our Supreme Commander.” This newly formed entourage fought its way through the alien army on the mothership. When they reached the meeting room of Xeni they could clearly see that the theory of numbers was against them. A battle started with Neil going directly for Xeni. Just then one of the alien troops fired at Neil when FI came into the crossfire and sacrificed her life. Taking advantage of this situation Xeni tried to finish Neil for once and all but his weapon had no effect on Neil. By now only four of Neil’s units were alive. They were astounded to see all the aliens bending on their knees with their face downwards. A voice started to speak “Neil you are alive as it is absolutely imperative for the cosmos that you survive. You have a major role to play in the days to come. You see the universe is governed by two major forces, the male and female principle. I am the male principle, the creator and caretaker who does not intervene unless it is absolutely necessary. The Will as consciousness is omnipotent. All the consciousnesses of rational beings are parts of mine and mine are theirs. However their consciousness is molded by the environment, the nature which varies hence the plurality of consciousness Nature is the female principle which is composed all matter. It acts on a much larger time-scale according to the need of the varied matter of which it is composed. Though you are young you are sagacious and wise. You have earned for your species peace and co-existence .However I do have a word of advice for you, be faithful to yourself.”

The Rise of Man

Part-III

The Final Fight

There passed an intermediate sixteen years which again was an era of peace and progress. There was reconciliation between Gods and Men. Meanwhile there emerged a Cosmos Defense Forces to which Man joined and Neil was appointed its Chief General. Neil’s personal life was however far from being all that rosy. His continued infidelity hurt Sangita along with his decision not to marry and have a family. Sangita lived together with Neil and rarely did he have time to devote to her. Every morning Sangita went for a walk in a nearby park where she developed friendship with a middle aged woman called Manta, who became really close to her and became her best friend. They spent almost the whole day together. She advised Sangita not to endure Neil’s failings and leave him. She at first was reluctant to do so and tried to attract Neil’s attention by going out with other men. But Neil failed to notice it for what it really was which Sangita interpreted as being indifferent. She was by now totally incapable of tolerating Neil’s behavior and slowly began to hate him and seeked to destroy him due to the constant influence of Manta. Manta asked Sangita to wait for the correct time to get her revenge.

                          During that time some of the reconnaissance ships at the edge of the universe began to disappear. A whole squadron was sent there which too disappeared without the trace. The Cosmos Defense Forces were put on Red Alert and after some time they discovered a huge number of ships coming towards the Men-Gods Alliance. Their numbers were so great that it was beyond the comprehension of both Men and Gods. They waited for the Creator to illuminate them about the current situation and what should their next course of action be. The voice appeared and spake thus: “Satan has regrouped his forces and is ready to wage war against the Man-God Alliance. Neil is the Chosen One who will face Satan and he fails then both Men and Gods will fall. I will give Neil the armor I wore when I led my forces against those of Lucifer. It is made with the purest strain of Vikton and it took 15,000 years to mine so much pure Vikton. And another final warning to Neil : Beware of your close ones. Let Satan be defeated, let the will be so.” said the voice before disappearing.

                        Neil from then on worked tirelessly day and night with his colleagues on how Satan’s army could be stopped. Leaving some thirty percent of the army back if in case the offensive forces fail, the entire Cosmos Defense Forces were sent to confront the enemy. Neil’s ship, the mothership was also preparing to leave when Sangita sent a message saying that she too wanted to join him and Neil reluctantly agreed fearing for her safety, but due to her insistence she was allowed into the ship along with Manta. Jack, Neil’s childhood friend and his secretary was not comfortable with Manta, he felt something wrong with her. When he told Neil about this he dismissed it. As the creator had warned Neil about his near ones Neil had a suspicion on Jack.

                        After a few days they reached the part of the galaxy where the war had already started. There Neil took over the infantry and marshaled his troops brilliantly. After several days of fighting when the war was its zenith with Satan’s forces having the upper hand, while Neil was taking rest Sangita arrived. She awoke Neil and asked him to embrace and kiss her. He did so and suddenly there emerged a dagger and she was about to stab him in the back when suddenly Jack pulled away Neil and was stabbed instead. Now Manta’s figure changed as she said “You will die, Neil. I am the devil’s concubine and it is my responsibility to see to it that you are dead.” Sangita felt as if she had emerged out of a spell, and was crestfallen and stupefied, unable to react. Then there was an intense battle between Manta and Neil. Without his armor Neil was vulnerable. Manta gained the upper hand when suddenly Sangita stabbed her from behind. While dying Manta too stabbed her. Sangita lay in Neil’s arms and said”I’m sorry. I misunderstood you. How can I forgive myself foe what I’ve done? So perhaps it is desirable that I die” before dropping dead. In anguish and rage at losing both his love and dearest friend, Neil gave out a shriek which made all creatures tremble in the middle of the night.

                          Neil put on his armor and commanded his entire army to proceed towards the enemy in a fight to death. In his rage his power of Je increased so dramatically that he hurled hundreds of Satan’s forces aside with a single turn of hand. He marauded the enemy in his hovercraft that was controlled by his consciousness. His Vikton armor made him invincible. Nothing could stop him as he made his way to meet his foe.  

                         Then he saw Satan with his enormous volume approaching him. Satan said to him “So he has sent you to confront me. How cowardly of him. Do you know why he sent you instead of coming himself? You are his sacrificial lamb. Actually we have developed a technology, a weapon which even Vikton cannot resist. Join me and together we will overthrow his predominance and rule Heaven and Earth. Join me or face your death.” “I will rather die a hundred times rather than join you. It is because of you that the persons closest to me are no more. I would rather fight a fight till death. Saying this they started their fight showing their mastery of Je. Satan hurled energy balls at Neil  at whose  impact there became a single line of gap in the battlefield where there were only the forces of the two sides as far as one could see but it did not harm Neil due to his armor. Neil then bounced back with a reverse somersault and landed in his hovercraft and threw an immensely intense small energy ball at Satan. Due to its force even Satan with his enormous frame stumbled before falling. Satan was gaining the upper hand in the confrontation by using Neil’s rage against him when a voice spoke into Neil’s consciousness “Control your emotions, be calm and you shall win.” Neil did so and for the next few hours the battle continued like this, with each unable to defeat the other. Then at last! Satan said “Enough, do u know why the creator sent you. It is because of a technology we have developed. I call it the Ball of Power and Knowledge. Even your Vikton armor cannot protect you from it. It sucks out someone’s life force at a speed proportional to his impulse towards power and knowledge. Your God knows that it is lethal even more for himself as his impulse towards power and knowledge is the greatest. Meet your end, Human.” and hurled the ball towards Neil. Neil at first felt drowsy and began to feel weak and after sometime he could barely stand. Satan continued “You have great power and could have fared better than such an end.”Neil knew he had to do something and fast. He then put together all his strength and held the foot of Satan in a bear-hug till death. He said “Your impulse towards knowledge and power is greater than mine and no matter what happens I will not let go of you. We will die together. “ After a while Satan collapsed as his rate of dissipation of his life force was far greater than Neil’s. Neil was feeling weak and was barely conscious when his troops took him away to try and save his life.

                           When he regained his consciousness he was back at Earth and heard the Creator’s voice saying “Son the war is over. Evil has once again be defeated. What do you want?” “Immortality” mumbled Neil. The creator said “Let it be thus. Go to sleep for now.” When he awoke he saw that his body was now mechanical. The Creator’s voice said “Your physical body was at its end, so I have transferred all your thought processes, associations and memories to a mechanical body.” Neil looked at his arm and said “I am now immortal.”

war, science fiction, fantasy, epic

novel

Last updated 229 days ago by vivekchakraverty