Mystery deepens....Virtually possible part 5

Mystery deepens ..Virtually possible part 5

""Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;""

Mr.Dey was reciting on the roof of the building while Samaranand was standing beside him when the round red object at the far eastern sky was spinning up, the horizon was gradually turning from dark to red and then white, they were watching sunrise at Rajarhat.

Samaranand joined in reciting the famous “The Road not taken’ poem of Robert Frost,
 he recited the next 4 lines:

"'Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,""

‘Yes, it is my favourite poem too!” He told Mr.Dey. 
Mr Dey said, " Our organisation is like that poem, we took the other path. I will explain you later."

Samaranand was invited to see the sunrise; This is how it happened that day.

He could hear the sound of morning crows from his bed in Rajarhat where Mr.Dey had brought him. He realized that he was apparently captive and he himself decided to play along as no coercive treatment was meted out to him.  It was 5.30 am, he got up and shuffled to the attached bathroom. He came out after freshening up when heard a knock on the door.

With a feebly cough Mr.Dey entered and appeared to be happy seeing Samaranand to be ready.

‘Oh,you are up! Come with me to the roof to watch the sunrise.”

Samaranand followed him through the hall where there was a different group of youngsters on the computers, engrossed in their work. They went out to a running corridor with two lifts. From the marking on the lift he could know that he was in 5^th floor of a 10 floor building. It did not look like any residential complex, he could see the doors of two other rooms.

Mr.Dey smiled and said, ‘’ You have guessed correctly, this building belongs to our organization. Each floor has office space plus attached guestrooms like this floor. Now we will go up to 10^th floor and then walk up the stair to the roof.’

Samaranand became more curious to know about the illusive organization.

The morning was chilly both of them were in pajama and kurta with shawls wrapped around , it was chilly still and more so in the wide open Rajarhat. By 6.30 sun was fully up, MrDey invited Samaranand to go down.

They were sitting in a dining hall in 5^th floor having tea.

Samaranand could not check his curiosity,” Who are you, what does the organization do?”

Mr.Dey smiled and said, “Gradually you will come to know about us. First we finish tea and then you take bath, we will have breakfast and after that when our general shift staff come then I will take you round to show our activities.”

Samranand was matured enough to control his curiosity and also realized M.Dey was trying to convince him something.

Mr.Dey handed over a wireless bone contact headphone to him with a mike and said whatever you require can tell in that mike and will get it. Even you can listen to your favourite music simply by saying ‘Ok,Sanku play so and so song..!”

He put that on and said ‘Ok,Sanku” when he heard a silky male voice responding in English “What can I do? Do you want me to play your favourite Rabindrasangeet fom your Google play list?”

He was taken aback to find that Sanku has hacked his Google home account.

Mr.Dey looked serenely at him and said, ‘We have all information about your likes and dislikes. Enjoy our hospitality. You can ask Sanku to arrange your breakfast in your room. Once you are done ask Sanku to inform me then I will come and take you round. Yes we have developed this AI (artificial intelligence) and named it Sanku as a tribute to Satyajit Ray who created the eccentric scientist Sanku. See you till then!”

Saying those words Mr.Dey walked out.

Samaranand had watched a movie called Her where the protagonist Theodore Twombly would be constantly chatting to some Samantha through a similar headphone. Samantha was an AI and serving many other clients simultaneously. He realized that he now had an AI to help him.He has a Google home where he has to say simply “Ok,Google" before requesting for music or any information. This AI was part Samantha part Google Home.

He mischievously said, “Ok,Sanku can you help me to get out of this place.’

He heard a chuckle and heard Sanku in his headphone,’Yes I can guide you out, even I can call Uber for you but I have instructions to make sure that you remain within the periphery of this floor.” Samaranad realized that through the headphone he was geo tracked or may be the attire which he was wearing may have RFID(radio frequency identification) stuck somewhere in the lining or close circuit cameras were monitoring his movement. He became more eager to know about that smart organization which can develop their own AI. For those moments he forgot that Somaya was still missing, when suddenly came back to reality he started thinking that mystery of Soumay’s disappearance would be gradually revealed and hoped nothing bad had happened to him.

He requested Sanku to play Mood from his playlist in Google play and walked towards his room.
He went back to his room through that hall with bank of computers and robotic employees with headphone strapped. While he passed them with his headphone playing a soothing old Hindi film song they did not even look up or acknowledged his presence. As if he was invisible.
He took bath and then put on the headphone to order breakfast on Sanku.
"Ok,Sanku!"
"What can i do for you?" the unearthly voice floated in his headphone.
"Get me toast and fried egg with sunny side up."
"Anything else? Tea or coffee?'
"Oh,yes,get me coffee !"
"No sugar! i suppose!"
Samaranand was surprised to know that Sanku knows that he does not take sugar in tea or coffee.
"Your breakfast will be served in 20 minutes!"
Yes, a smartly dressed young-man entered with a tray of breakfast ordered by him.
He sat by the window table while enjoying his breakfast and requested Sanku to play songs of Hemant Kumar from his playlist in Google.
He forgot that he was a captive and got lost in music and that leisure breakfast, it was a feeling of being in a resort where he was getting whatever he was asking. He was lost in the thought of why was he brought there.... was he a captive or a guest ?

Illusive characters...virtually possible 4

Virtually possible Part 4…Illusive characters

Samaranand slowly opened his eyes, a lingering drowsy feeling was there. He found himself lying in a strange bedroom in some high-rise building, he guessed the room to be on 5^th  or 6^th floor. It was a neat bedroom with tastefully decorated walls and light curtains draping the windows. He could see the wall clock showing 8pm, but then he tried to recall how he landed here. He was still in his street dress of corduroy trousers, black and white striped shirt with his loose fitting fleece half jacket. His feet were bare. He remembered to have come to the Kolkata Book Fair to check the sale of his newly published book in stall number 488.While he was wracking his brain to remember then a middle aged person with a small paunch, loose shirt and high-powered specs smilingly entered the room and said, “Thank god you are back in senses, I was contemplating to call a doctor.’

Seeing that gentleman Samaranand recalled the event of the evening.

He just came out of the book stall 488 of Abhijan when he was confronted by that gentleman who introduced himself as Nirod Dey. He was selling books written by himself when Samaranand jokingly told him ,” I can purchase your books provided you purchase my books from that stall!’’

Thus he got connected with that friendly soul, both took round of the book fair together. That afternoon he had heavy lunch of illish fish and rice , though morning started with a heavy breakfast of pea kachuri. Those stuff were still struggling in his stomach to get digested but then he while talking to that Mr.Dey forgot about the heavy food. He could feel the mild stomach growling. He with Mr.Dey walked out of gate number 5 ,crossed the road towards the car park. Mr.Dey suggested to have jhaal muri so that he could spend some more time with Samaranand. He agreed reluctantly inspite of the growling stomach. After having a few fistful of that concoction of muris with all kind pf fries he started feeling dizzy, he started looking for a place to sit and then everything went blank.

That Mr.Dey was standing in front of him.

“Do you go out like this often?” Mr.Dey asked him.

“Yes, I have this problem of fainting when I have some odd combination of food in quick succession, probably a gastro problem, unfortunately today is one such day. Where am I ?”

“You are in my office cum house in Rajarhat, I brought you here when you fainted. Should I call a doctor?”’

“No, please don’t bother. I must leave now.”

Mr.Dey smilingly said ,”You can’t leave now, there is something else we have to discuss. My meeting was not accidental but it was designed like that and your fainting came handy to execute the plan. I have been following you for quite sometimes. Now you take rest, there is kurta, pajama of your size in the cupboard. You can freshen up in the attached bath. I think you will not like to have heavy dinner, I will organize some light food.’

Samaranand was taken aback by the preposterous proposal about his not living for home.

“No, I am feeling alright now, this is not the first time that this type of blackout happened to me, you please make arrangement for my going home.” He told these words rather sternly.

Mr.Dey without losing cool smiled at him and said, “It is for your good we are holding you back here ! Your family has been informed.”’

“Are you holding me as a hostage or what? “

“If you think like that then I can’t help! I want to have some conversation with you!”

“Is it something to do with Soumaya?”

“You will come to know by tomorrow. In the meanwhile, you can freshen up and join us in the office. We work for 24 hours and all the days of the week.” Mr.Dey left the room. Samaranand put his hand in the pocket and found his mobile, he quickly punched the number of his wife but the call was not getting through, he tried for some time but then realized that it was futile, there must be a jammer to block the call. Almost all the IT companies put jammer. He derived that he must be in some IT company as the fellow mentioned that they work for 24 hours and also while he mentioned Soumaya’s name then the guy reacted as though he knew who Soumaya was.

Samaranand quickly went to the bathroom, rinsed his mouth and splashed cold water on his face, wiped his face with a fresh towel which was hanging from the towel rod. Then he reasoned with himself that so far he had been treated nicely so why not cooperate with them and find out more about their plan. He quickly changed into a fresh pajama and kurta , wrapped a shawl around  , it was mild winter in February. He parted the curtain of the window and found that the accommodation was in a cluster of new towers and after that it was barren with new construction coming up, he could see the broad road running towards New Town. He once visited this area which is about 4 kms away from New Town and rarely anybody was seen on the road, a pretty isolated complex with some IT companies and private residential towers sprouting up.

He cautiously walked in the adjoining hall where he found rows of computers with young people sitting with headphones clamped on their heads. Mr.Dey who was talking to a young man approached him with a smile.

“I have ordered chicken soup for you and some sandwich. If you want you can relax with a headphone and music, then you can use this bone contact headphone with this music device. Samaranand had come across such headphone which is not put on the ears bout on bone.

  Bone conduction allows one to hear sound through the vibration of the bones of ones face ,jaw bones and cheek bones. This means that the sound waves are bypassing the outer and middle ear ,where the eardrum is located, and directly stimulating the inner ear ,hearing organ..

He took the headphone and the device sat on a sofa by the wall, he watched the activities from a distance, Mr.Dey was busy in instructing the staff.

Samaranand knew that he is now a captive of this group which does not look like criminals. Soumaya was still not traceable. What was in store for him, may be next day when Mr.Dey discusses then he would know. As such he was feeling pretty weak, waited for his dinner while listening to his favourite Rabindrasangeet in the device. The listening device was clamped behind his ears and the music was smoothly wafting in through the bones, as such he could hear the murmur of the office through his ears. Another long wait…..