The Empathy Room

“if you feel pain, you‘re alive. If you feel other people’s pain, you’re a human being”

– Leo Tolstoy

Planet Earth, 2100 AD

EdenLand was waiting; the impact was just sixty seconds away. The asteroid, now broken into several enormous chunks, was initially almost half the size of Earth. The ever-alert Asteroid Tracking System had taken care of most of the broken parts. Some have turned into space debris, and some are now accidental satellites of the EdenLand Space Station.

Only one of them would strike the planet in sixty seconds. The impact effect is predicted to be minimal, the lush tropical forest area just outside the main city of EdenLand being the calculated impact zone. It’s hilarious that way. The planet’s terra firma has undergone a huge change in the last fifty years. Much of Europe and parts of the Middle East are now submerged landmasses. Severe climatic changes have made most of Scandinavia uninhabitable. They are now partially flooded and expected to be completely underwater within the next ten years or so. Huge parts of Asia and Africa have been abandoned due to intense heat. The desert has gradually taken over those areas. On the other hand, major tectonic shifts have brought the habitable landmass closer together.It’s indeed funny that the asteroid is going to give the gigantic water mass a miss and land on the borders of EdenLand, the largest country of the only existing continent of Planet Earth. A continent hardly the size of the largest country of the ancient world.A troop of highly efficient humanoid bots stand waiting at the border of EdenLand. They would estimate the damage done, control fire in case any breaks out in the forest after the impact, and collect mineral samples from the asteroid. T minus one second, zero. An intense flash lit up the rainforest, and a slight tremor was felt in the nearby regions of EdenLand. The bots are instructed to wait for fifteen more minutes.  By the time the troop started to approach the burnt mass, debris had already settled down.Most of the scientists were already leaving the control room. It was mostly routine work now till the samples are brought in. The huge screen inside the control room was displaying the location and status of the bots. A high-pitched, sudden alarm brought the retreating scientists back. The screen was a huge chaos, each of the bots showing signs of extreme mechanical distress. The elite group of biologists, physicists and geologists of EdenLand stared at the unbelievable display. The troop of bots curled up and then fell one after another, till none of them were standing.

50 years later

The lavender sky was cloudless, as early morning skies in EdenLand normally are. The Minister was in the last lap of his hedonic dreams. He would wake up soon, ready to lead the Followers through another day of benevolence and righteousness. A fair man, the Minister of Eden Land. Soon, very soon, he will take EdenLand to new heights with his loyal team of the Followers, the No-brainers, the Learners and last but definitely not least, the Thinkers. Of course, he needs the Workers, but one should never trust them. There have been reports of a trouble or two. Minor, but many festering wounds were minor once. The System has not failed yet, though.Core Thinker CT0121 felt contented as she walked to her workplace. The day was beautiful, as most days in EdenLand are. A soft breeze blew in her face. She liked her job. She even liked her name. One two one has a strange rhythm in it. Not like the unplanned names they used to have in the past. Her great-great-grandmother was called Basudha. There used to be different countries on planet Earth at that time, and her grandfather was from a place called India. She retrieved this information from her family’s archive. Not everyone can afford that, though. Only Thinkers and Learners have access to family archives. Such a privilege would be a waste if given to Workers or Nurturers. Even most of the Thinkers never give a second thought to it. The concept of family has long been obsolete.  She thought about Basudha, a half-smile hugging her lips. The archive mentioned her as a doctor. Yet, she had a child, too, who in turn gave birth. She would never bear a child; she is not a Nurturer. Only the Nurturers are allowed to give birth now. On the other hand, they, the Nurturers, that is, do not need to bother about receiving any sort of education. They are, anyway, looked after extremely well by the State.Her office space loomed large around the corner. It is the largest building in Eden Land, housing both the birth centre and the core of EdenLand, the Lab. She suddenly felt a faint concern. Two of the Monkeys had died. She does not like failures, nor does the Leader. She waited as her biometrics got checked. The huge gate swung open, a sweet voice announcing, “CT0121 cleared for entry.” As the door closed behind her, CT0121 fleetingly remembered that Basudha meant Earth in a now-dead Indian language.

The Thinkers knew there was a glitch. This is the third Monkey this week. The procedures are simplistic, as all procedures are nowadays. It was not even invasive like the earlier years. The goal was simple, too. “I believe in simplicity, as you all know,” the Minister had said. A month back, he had summoned the Core Thinkers to his office, not very usual for him. “The Learners have created this microfilm,” he held up a tweezers. A tiny, flat. An almost paper-thin capsule was visible at the end of the tool. “This can coat the brain with almost three thousand electrodes. Try this on a Monkey first, of course. ” Which area of the brain is to be coated, Sir?” Core Thinker CT0121 had asked, almost inaudibly. The Minister does not like being questioned, not even by the Core Thinkers. But CT0121 was curious, and they are the only ones who are allowed to retain their curiosity, a part of it at least. The Minister stood up. He looked taller, somehow. He stared at the Core Thinkers. A few uneasy seconds passed. Then he said, “That’s why I called you here. This film is to be inserted through a scalp slit as usual, and it is to be placed on the Forbidden Zone. “The Core Thinkers gasped. They had every reason to do so. CT0121 passed a group of Nurturers on her way to the Lab. Looks like it’s going to be a busy day at the birth centre. The Nurturers were in their own tiny world, smiling at one another. She idly wondered how many of the newborns were going to be Workers. Maybe most of them. Core Thinkers and Learners were hard to come across. The Minister had brilliantly streamlined the CIP or Citizen Initiation Process almost twenty years back. It is a non-invasive procedure carried out at childbirth. Every baby has their brain scanned immediately after birth as part of aptitude identification. The Workers, the Learners and the Thinkers are identified almost instantly. The Minister had tweaked the process years ago to identify the Nurturers as well. He had also added something else. His special add-on, as he likes to call it. His stunning speech, presenting the revolutionary idea, had been recorded for posterity and is now a part of the study curriculum for Thinkers and Learners. “CT0121, you look distracted,” someone nudged her gently. “Apologies, CT047, I got distracted. I’ll initiate the insertion immediately.” She jerked back to action. Her mind had wandered off; now reflex kicked in. This is the third Monkey this week. The other two had died, tugging and scratching at their scalps. The scratches were frantic, panicky. Yet, nothing was wrong with the procedure. The Thinkers had looked on, feeling mildly curious. Getting animals to experiment on is easy nowadays. Ages back, there had been protests, allegations of cruelty. No one can understand why. Maybe people were different back then.The third Monkey lay on the pristine steel bed, eyes closed. CT0121 began the insertion. Her team looked passively. Two robotic arms popped up, and a tiny slit was made in the Monkey’s scalp. The flat film of electrodes was inserted in the slit and made its way inside. She looked closely at her monitor; it’s her responsibility to guide the insertion. The slit was closed with bio-seal; it would heal almost instantaneously.

The Monkey was waking up, the tension in the room palpable. The tugging and scratching could begin any moment now.

The huge propeller-like exhaust near the high ceiling came to life suddenly, flooding the huge workspace with fresh, fragrant air from outside. The Monkey sat up, looking around the room with blank, dazed eyes. CT0121 felt her neck muscles going stiff.

Seven minutes passed, still nothing. The exhaust fan stopped, completing its cycle. The Monkey suddenly jumped, aiming for a huge shelf near the steel bed. Before any of the Core Thinkers or Learners could react, it jumped on the exhaust frame. Then it disappeared through the gap between the static exhaust blades.

CT0121 ran outside, followed by others. Even before she noticed the tip of a brown furry tail disappearing among the leaves of a tall oak, she knew the chase was futile. The Lab was surrounded by a huge man-made grove that stretched for a few miles. The Monkey could be anywhere.

“You need to issue an alert,” a Thinker suggested. CT0121 could not remember his name.

“I will inform the Minister immediately, but I don’t think an alert would be necessary. That’s just a monkey with a chip, hardly a threat,” she tried to smile.

But a vague uneasiness rose from her guts like bile. Why an escaped lab monkey made her so uneasy, she didn’t know. Or maybe, she did.

“Why would the Minster want to place a chip in the Forbidden Zone?” she asked CT047. They were passing the birth centre on their way back to the lab.

“Are you trying to judge the Minister?” CT047 looked startled.

“No, I am just wondering,” she shook her head. Talking about Forbidden Zone is an obvious taboo.

  “We Thinkers are Followers after all. Just wait for the next instruction, wondering is not part of your job profile,” CT047 looked straight, avoiding eye contact. Then he turned back with a changed expression, “You are anyway too pretty to be a Core Thinker. I am sure the Leader would love to add you to his elite group of Entertainers.”

“Hey, what?” She almost shouted. But CT047 didn’t stop to answer that.

She knew she had to go to the study centre. That has always been her go-to place when troubled. She passed the birth centre again and had a sudden urge to peek inside. As a Core Thinker, she is permitted inside anytime.

One of the Nurturers she had seen waiting outside was lying on the soft birthing bed. She was moaning faintly, clearly drugged to alleviate any pain. A humanoid robot was holding the newborn. The baby seemed healthy. Everything looked normal, so no human intervention was needed. Another humanoid bot was waiting beside the bed, probably to carry out the post-birth procedures. CT0121 was fascinated; she had never seen a newborn before.

“May I check your biometrics, please?” the humanoid bot carrying the baby asked in a very polite, soothing voice. Satisfied, both of them walked over to another part of the room. She looked on, almost mesmerised.

The baby was gently placed under a huge scanner. A part of the scanner, which looked like an umbrella, started to rotate. It came to rest almost touching the baby’s head. The baby slept on, maybe under the effect of some drug. A few moments passed. The umbrella withdrew. The front of the scanner has a small display. It suddenly lit up with a deep blue light. She knew what this meant. The baby is identified as a Thinker.

“Okay, welcome to my club,” she whispered.

The humanoids approached the baby once more. One of them held a small chip at the end of a tiny thumb forcep, just like the Minister held the film with electrodes at the end of a tweezer that day. A tiny, almost invisible slit was made on the scalp. The monitor attached to the bed was displaying a part of the brain. She knew it was the anterior insular cortex. The tiny chip was placed in the Forbidden Zone. Immediately, that part of the insular cortex became hazy on the screen. She knew what that meant. All the Thinkers and Learners knew of course. Signals from the Forbidden Zone of the baby’s insular cortex were blocked forever.

CT0121 felt goosebumps rising on her arms and neck. No one apparently knew why this zone of the brain is kept blocked. No one even knew what the Forbidden Zone originally was. And yet, she did just the reverse for the Monkey. CT0121 felt a tension headache building at the back of her head.

The Nurturer slept on. She would carry on as the primary caregiver for the next fourteen years. The State will support them financially and will be responsible for the child’s education. Once the child reaches fourteen, the Nurturer can opt to retire or bear a child again, depending on her age and physical condition. For four more years, the child will stay at the State’s training centre and continue to train for the already identified vocation. Ever since the concept of family was abolished, each citizen belongs to the State only. Even the Nurturers don’t know who the father of the child is, as sperm are provided by the state sperm bank. There should not be any sense of attachment to the child.

“All great solutions are, in the end, simple,” the fluid, molten voice of the Minister almost whispered to her through her transparent earphones. CT0121 was in the study centre listening to the recording of the iconic speech. The twenty-year-old speech was archived and a part of the study material for the Learners and the Thinkers. Of course, she had listened to it before, but had this sudden urge to do so again. There must be some clue, somewhere.

There had been reports of some sort of trouble among the Workers a few days before this speech was given. As a Core Thinker, that was not supposed to be any of her concerns, or should it be?

The Minister’s voice continued, “A single dissatisfied human is nothing, almost a non-entity. But a mass of dissatisfied human beings is a true disturbance. But as long as they are single units of grief or distress without any notion of feeling for others, they are again, nothing.” There was a pause here, as if the Minister wanted to check the effect of his profound words. He then went on, “The anterior insular cortex of the brain was once a mystery to the ancient planet, but it has been mapped in detail now. The whole mass, or mess, as I like to call it, was once thought to be the potpourri of all emotions. But the zones have been identified, and now it’s easy to know which part is responsible for what. I intend to make a simple and slight change in the CIP. Look at this area, this zone of the insular cortex is responsible for triggering an unnecessary emotion.”

The speech ends here.

CT0121 sat, listening repeatedly. It was almost closing time. She felt she was missing something, but could not quite place her thumb on it.

Some of the Workers were restless. They lived in the far eastern part of Eden Land, the part that had seen the least development in the last fifteen years.

W0191 was staring at the orange sky. The sunset is beautiful in EdenLand. W0171 stood smoking beside him.

“Heard what one of them oldies was saying?” W0191 said to no one in general.

“Now what?” W0171 felt compelled to reply.

“You heard ’im, didn’t you? Before the Minister came to power, we Workers, they Learners and they Thinkers had the same basic lessons at school. Even the Nurturers received some, do they call it, education, yes. Then the Minister said it is a huge wastage of time and all else.”

“What of it, you went to school and learnt your abc’s, didn’t you?” W0171 was bored, and W0191 always said weird stuff.

“What if I don’t want to be a Worker any more?” W0171 was still looking at the orange sky.

“What are you gibbering about? CIP said you are a Worker,” W0171 felt stupid.

“But I might want to be a Learner, even a Thinker. I could have tried,” W0191 trailed off.

W0171 was silent. W0191 might get into trouble. No-brainers are good at tracking every spoken word, he had heard. All of them belonged to the largest band of the society, the Followers. And Followers are not supposed to question anything.

“Let’s go to one of them Entertainers,” W0171 said at last.

“They don’t come cheap, buddy. You need to save up for old age,” W0191 was still absent-minded.

“I know a few cheaper ones, come on.”

The Minister was also gazing at the orange sky. It had turned purple, another glorious day ending. There was little catch, though. The Monkey escaped. He was concerned, but just a bit. It’s a Monkey after all. He would be the most successful leader in the history of EdenLand. A Monkey would not be able to change that.

He came to power some twenty years back. Things were a lot different then. There were some obvious flaws in the System, creating all sorts of confusion.

Even though all of them were mandatory Followers, unpleasant things happened. The Thinkers had access to the archived history of this planet, the study of which proved to be utterly unnecessary and somewhat disastrous. The Thinkers tried to identify right from wrong. A ridiculous attempt, no doubt, but it happened nonetheless.

The basic education was the same for Workers, Learners and Thinkers, another severe flaw.

The Minister, genius that he is, sorted everything out. He wisely realised that the Workers needed training, not education. The Learners needed education, but only in the form of information. The Thinkers needed it all, but access to the archive should be limited and has to be approved by the Minister. The Nurturers should be the happiest of all. A few months of training in childcare was all they needed.

Even after that, things were not easy at all. Shameless humans! Some even went to the extent of declaring themselves as non-followers. They were labelled the Rebels. The System has abolished violence long ago. Weapons are exhibits; they can be viewed in the museum only. The Minister almost regretted that decision in those initial days. As the leader of the state, he needed to study the history of the planet. Some of the old techniques were doubtlessly effective, but sadly no longer legal. But the Minister is a true genius. He came up with a masterpiece.

He felt warmth seeping up through his muscled legs. Even a subtle hint at his stroke of genius makes him feel like this. Not even the most exotic Entertainers he has bedded ever made him feel this ecstatic. The sky has grown dark. The Leader stretched himself and went inside. A fresh, newly groomed Entertainer was waiting for him.

CT0121 sat up in the dark. Her pulse was racing wildly. The walls sensed her movement, and immediately a soft glow filled the room.

“Time,” she whispered.

“It’s 2:45 am, not your usual time to get up,” a melodious voice replied.

But CT0121 was wide awake, and at last she knew what she had to do.

“Look at this area, this zone of insular cortex is responsible for triggering an unnecessary emotion”, the recording started playing once more in her head. It definitely seemed The Minister was pointing out the Forbidden Zone to someone, maybe to a group of Core Thinkers. None of the then-existing Core Thinkers is working now. But some of them might be residing in the Retirement Quarters. Maybe, just maybe, one of them might happen to remember what the Forbidden Zone actually was. She couldn’t access the original mapping of the anterior insular cortex, but if she could find someone who actually saw the mapping twenty years back – CT0121 shuddered, what was she getting herself into?

The Main Square is the heart of EdenLand. It’s teeming with demonstrators since early morning. EdenLand was celebrating the twentieth anniversary of unparalleled leadership. The demonstrators were carrying flags and cut-outs showing the Minister smiling kindly. Participation is mandatory for the Workers. The No-brainers were everywhere.

“Look at those idiots,” W0191 didn’t even bother to whisper, “They don’t even need any education. Yet, they have the best quarters to live in, the best food. Look at their shining uniform.”

“I wish I were one of them,” W0171 was standing beside him, holding a smiling cut-out.

“Them spies,” W0191 said loudly.

  The No-brainers are fast. W0191 looked up; three of them stood around him. They have fine mesh hanging from their caps, making their face almost invisible. One of them was holding a small spherical device. W0171 had never seen this device before.

“I did nothing,” W0191 started.

The No-brainer holding the spherical device raised his arm. W0191 felt a sudden sharp pain in his abdomen and knelt over. Is this some sort of weapon, he wondered. But weapon usage has been declared illegal. The numbing pain was spreading fast; he was unable to scream at all. W0171 looked on, his face blank and passive. Some of the other Workers sensed trouble and looked up. They moved away from the scene, carefully taking their flags and cut-outs with them. W0191 felt a scream almost tearing his throat apart. Then he heard a sudden scampering. One of the No-brainers shouted, “Hold on, that’s the Monkey!” The pain was subsiding. As his eyes flew open, W0191 found himself looking into the strange grey eyes of a Monkey.

A new set of Workers was getting ready for the final step of their training. Sixteen and fresh-faced, their eyes were still lit with expectation. Today is going to be important, they were told last night. The Minister had addressed them himself. “You are the main pillars of the System,” he had said. Now they are being walked to the forest surrounding EdenLand.

“They are not our teachers, who are they?” whispered a brown-haired boy. He had not been assigned a permanent name yet. They are all referred to as Temps, meaning Temporaries. They don’t really need any name at this stage.

“No idea, I haven’t seen such shining uniforms before. Their faces are hidden behind a mesh; they are carrying some strange device too,” the boy walking beside him whispered back. He had dark, intense eyes.

The forest was visible now. One of the No-brainers raised a hand. Then he spoke, “Listen carefully. About a kilometre inside the forest, there is a burnt rock. It’s huge, you cannot miss it. The rock is made up of thousands of bluish pebbles. They will loosen up if you touch them. Each one of you is assigned the task of going there, taking a pebble and returning with it. Any questions?”

The boys stared at one another. They expected today’s task to be a difficult one, but this seemed pretty easy. The No-brainers looked relaxed. The pebbles are immensely powerful; they grow back after they are removed. They have been growing back for the last twenty years. Each of the spherical devices they are carrying has a bluish pebble hidden inside it. The No-brainers have permission to use it, but only the Minister knows how to harness the power of the pebbles.

The trainee Workers are used to mining the bluish pebbles, but how many of them will be back remains to be seen. Not everyone can withstand this training.

The retirement homes are just outside the city limits of EdenLand. CT0121 had never seen one before. She was not sure if she needed permission to enter the premises or contact any resident. It wouldn’t harm to try her luck, though.

It was early when she started. She wanted to be back in time for work. The almost empty road stretched idly; CT0121 felt uplifted. EdenLand was beautiful in so many ways.

Not many people can afford to have personal cars, but luckily, the Core Thinkers can. A huge network of magnetic tracks crisscrossed EdenLand, but the tracks ended once the city limits were over. CT0121 had never crossed the city limits before; she didn’t know what to expect. A dirty, bumpy road stretched in front of her. Her maglev car would be useless here; walking seemed to be the only option.

The forest was faintly visible. The dirty yellow buildings in the distance looked deserted. The dust road ended suddenly; the rest of the way looked like forest undergrowth. CT0121 felt as if she had been transported to a different age. The buildings were practically in ruins.

“Excuse me, I need to meet someone,” CT0121 said loudly, hoping someone might appear. No one did. The entrance door to the building, right in front of her, was ripped off from its frame, the gaping hole riddled with weeds and strange thorny shrubs. What was this place anyway? She knew she should go back, but felt strangely drawn to the seemingly abandoned building. She tentatively stepped inside.

W0171 looked at the strange sight. He watched as the No-brainers approached W0191. He saw one of them raising the strange spherical device; he kept on watching as W0191 writhed in pain. He felt nothing, except for a sense of relief. Most of the other Workers also watched with him. They also felt nothing.

Now a stranger scene unfolded before them. Some of the Workers were sure the Monkey jumped down from the nearest tree. Some of them thought the Monkey appeared from nowhere. All of them were sure that the Monkey stood there, looking strangely at W0191.

“No-brainers will kill both of them,” one of the Workers stated in a matter-of-fact voice. But they didn’t. They just stood there, watching.

W0191 was whispering something. The Monkey ran to the drinking water fountain in the middle of the square, cupped his palms and collected some water. Then he ran back to W0191 and held his palms to his lips. The Workers looked on, dazed. The No-brainers looked on, unable to decipher. They knew they needed to capture the Monkey. WT0191 looked on, something strange stirring inside him.

The boy with intense dark eyes was crawling on the forest ground. He could see the boy with brown hair struggling with each step, eyes squeezed shut in pain. Finding the rock and picking the pebbles was indeed easy. Their steps were light, almost joyful. Then the pain started. First, it was in the guts, slowly, an intense burning pain tore away at their insides. They were still several hundred metres away from the city, and this training suddenly became something entirely different. The dark-eyed boy realised that not all of them were going to finish the training, and it was planned just like that. Some of them were already lying on the forest floor, their eyes strangely vacant. Whether they were unconscious or dead, he didn’t know. He felt nothing. He wanted to throw the blue pebble away, but maybe he would be the only one to finish this deadly race. The boy with brown hair was crawling. They looked at each other, their eyes locked in an infinite moment. They could have helped each other, but of course, they never thought of it.

The No-brainers were waiting. They were actually playing a game, guessing how many would come out alive. A scampering noise drew their attention towards the forest. A strange scene was unfolding there.

One of the trainees had emerged from the forest depths. He was teetering, his dark, intense eyes looked wild with pain. Close behind, another boy was dragging himself along the ground, his brown hair covered with moss. A Monkey was standing between them.

 The dark-eyed boy looked unfocused. The Monkey, it seemed to him, appeared from nowhere. There was something strange about the way it was coming up towards him. The boy dropped to his knees and stared. The Monkey stopped right in front of him. Then it stretched one of its paws as if it wanted him to hold it. Vacantly, the boy touched the paw. It was warm, soft and something else. The boy couldn’t understand what it was. He has never been touched like this, not even by his caregiver. The Monkey pulled at his arm, as if it wanted him to stand up.

The No-brainers looked on. They had no idea how to respond to this.

CT0121 had never seen a building like this. It looked dark in the early morning light. A darker staircase went up and disappeared inside the eerie guts. The stairs were filthy. CT0121 had never climbed stairs before; Eden Land has moving staircases everywhere. She peeped into the darkness.

“Is there anyone here?” Her voice felt strange. She felt a sudden movement upstairs. Something was walking floppily. She took a long breath and climbed upstairs.

The stairs led to a dirty hall, and faint morning light was coming in from several windows surrounding the hall. Most of the panes were broken, and the rest looked as if they had never been cleaned. CT0121 couldn’t believe such a place still existed.

Someone was standing in the farthest corner.

“Hello,” whispered CT0121, “is this?” The figure huddled up to her, and she stopped, shocked. Standing in front of her was an old lady, her pale skin looked almost transparent in the dim light. She was fumbling, as if she were partially blind.

“Who are you?” Her voice was hoarse.

“I am a Core Thinker. I came here to meet someone,” CT0121 automatically responded. Yes, what else was she anyway?

The strange old lady took a few steps back. “I was a Core Thinker once, now I am a ghost.” She started laughing. The laughter was maniacal, and CT0121 felt goosebumps rising on her arms.

“Why are you living like this?”

The laughter intensified, “So you think we retire to comfortable retirement homes? No, to Eden Land, we are just surplus and therefore disposable. But you are young, why are you here?”

“I wanted to find someone who knows about the Forbidden Zone.”

The old lady stared blankly at her for so long that CT0121 thought she must have forgotten about everything. She was about to mutter, “Okay, I’ll leave,” when the old lady asked, “What about it?”

“I need to know what that region originally did before it became Forbidden.”

Suddenly, someone, no, several people started singing outside. Startled, CT0121 hurried to a broken window and stared. A group of old people was passing the house; some looked absolutely wasted, some looked demented.

“Are they retired Entertainers?” She asked, though it didn’t seem probable at all.

“No, they are just old people. They were Workers or Thinkers or Learners in EdenLand. Here, we don’t care about that. You want to know where they are going? That would answer your question, too.”

The group walked on till they reached a bend farther down the road. Here, the terrain dropped sharply, forming a gorge. They stopped there suddenly, waited for an instant and jumped into the gorge one after another.

“That’s our retirement, my dear, that’s what we do to escape,” the old Core Thinker whispered. “Tell me what you feel now,” she continued.

CT0121 was too startled to speak. “Ah, startled. Shocked,” she managed.

“Do you feel anything for them, the group of people you just watched committing suicide?”

CT0121 stared.

“That is your reply, Core Thinker. The Forbidden Zone was originally called the Empathy Zone. I, too, don’t feel it any more, I just remember what the feeling meant.”

CT0121 was halfway down the stairs when the old Thinker called, “One more thing. Remember, the bots are inactive in the presence of the blue pebbles.”  CT0121 didn’t understand her. She rushed outside, a plan shaping itself in her mind.

WT0191 stood up, still a bit unstable. The No-brainer right in front of him seemed distracted. In one swift motion, he snatched the spherical device from the No-brainer, picked up the Monkey and placed it on his strong shoulders. Then he ran towards the forest.

The Monkey was holding a strange spherical container in its other hand. He gently took the pebble from the boy with dark eyes and secured it inside the container. The boy instantly felt pain ebbing from him. The boy with brown eyes reached them; he was panting.

“The pain was gone almost as soon as the Monkey put the pebble in the spherical container. I wonder how he got that. But strangely, you seem out of pain too,” he looked at the brown haired boy.

“I have thrown it away deep into the forest, couldn’t take the pain anymore.”

“Okay, take a look,” the boy with dark eyes lifted the sphere towards his companion and instantly the brown haired boy cowered in pain.

That was when they understood everything.

The pebbles get controlled if they are inside the spherical container, but can be used to subdue and control others by pointing them at their heart. Each of the guards with shining uniforms was carrying these. Yet, the trainee Workers had been sent to the forest unprotected and powerless.

They looked at one another for a long time. The dark-eyed boy picked up the Monkey on his shoulders.

They ran away from the burnt rock, deep into the other side of the forest.

The lounge of the Birthing Centre looked empty. Inside, a Nurturer was lying sedated. The humanoid bots were bent over the newborn baby, about to cut into its scalp. The scanner had identified it as a Thinker.

CT0121 was panicking. Would her plan work at all? Getting inside was the easiest part, though one of the humanoid bots had remarked, “You were here yesterday only.”

CT0121 shook the Nurturer once again, “Wake up, please. Till the babies are five, they are programmed to listen to Nurturers. Please, stop them.” The Nurturer was unresponsive.

The bots stopped. They turned and took a few steps forward. “You need to go outside, right now.” CT0121 stood still. The bots took another step forward.

With light scampering, a Monkey jumped down from the exhaust frame high up on the wall. Immediately, the bots cowered down. There was a faint frizzling sound, and the next moment they fell like toys on the floor. The Monkey approached and placed a spherical container in front of her. Inside a bluish pebble glinted.

CT0121 had seen these containers before, purely by accident. She had gone to the Lab disposal area inside the forest to discard the dead Monkeys. On her way back, she had come across a manufacturing unit run by humanoid bots. She was not allowed inside, of course, but she noticed a few broken containers in the open bin outside the facility. She just thought the unit was backdated.

CT0121 picked up the sleeping baby. It was a girl. A brand new human, with her empathy uncontaminated, unsuppressed. The baby’s tag was blank; she was not yet named. CT0121 slipped the tag away from her wrist. She knew the perfect name for her.

“Teach us, Basudha, we will learn,” she whispered as she picked up the huge bag containing state-provided clothes and baby food lying beside the Nurturer.

Then she ran out of the lab. The No-brainers would be here any moment now. The Monkey followed, carrying the spherical container.

The old lady sat silently inside the yellow, ruined building.

W0191 was approaching it from the North, a Monkey on his shoulders. Two young boys were also very near, coming from the East. They, too, had a Monkey. CT0121 would soon reach there with a baby, a heavy bag and a Monkey.

No-brainers may look for them, or maybe they won’t. The Minister is too powerful to be bothered about three missing workers, a crazy Core Thinker and a failed experiment. After all, lab animals are easy to get these days. He just wanted to check if the empathy zone of the anterior insular cortex was still functional; he would do it someday.

The filthy room in the old building may learn empathy once again. Maybe, just maybe. 

The Monkeys are not dead. The war begins. 

Tags: Buma Banerjee Das, English Section, Kalpabiswa, দশম বর্ষ প্রথম সংখ্যা