COMMON ENEMY
--Sasidhar-
If a single question were posed to all the human beings on earth to name the most common enemy of the mankind, undoubtedly the most suitable single answer would be ‘mosquito’. Not in the sense, that it spreads dangerous and dreaded diseases like malaria, dengue etc., but due to the most irritating pricking made by them and unbearable songs sung by them. Talking about the dreaded diseases, they were all eradicated, way back in the 21st century, to be precise, during the period 2020.
Mankind has achieved many a thing, ever since, like vehicles using water as fuel and man able to fly with an attached propellers run by the laser aided mini computers, controlled elsewhere.
One thing man cannot achieve was ofcourse eradicating mosquitoes themselves and it has become mandatory for the citizens to sleep in the open to avail the benefits of artificial ozone layer created with the help of satellites developed by Indian and American scientists which help humankind to get away from the dangers of ultra violet radiation which has become acute since 2075 AD. Hence sleeping inside with all cooling machines and covering oneself would tamper the health in the long run. But sleeping has become a nightmare due to the menace created by the ever-increasing mosquito population.
Many a scientists are on their toes, with their researches, round the clock to kill the common enemy completely but without much success. In the primitive age people were using nets, then some creams were also applied on human bodies to get mosquitoes away, and after that some chemical coated papers were used to drive them away. In the earlier 21st century people even used some device, which mimics breathing mammals so as to attract the mosquitoes to them, and then sucked into the device. The device managed the mimic by emitting Co2 using liquid petroleum gas along with some moisture and scent spraying mechanism, which perfected the art of mimicking the act of a breathing mammal.
But with all these techniques, the mosquitoes were clever enough to adapt to the situation and adjust to them and get acquainted with the ideas by mankind to eliminate them and grow faster than ever before.
There was another device invented during the beginning of the year 2050, which incorporated the laser beam rays with electric impulses emitting from them, which will target the moving things in the atmosphere with a lesser weight and dimension by killing them instantly, But the problem is if you use this device, in the morning when you woke up, you are smothered with lot of dead insects all over your bed and some times even inside your mouth if it is kept open for a while when sleeping. But still the device is in vogue even now, by far the popular one with its near perfect performance.
All these years I was also on the tracks of these researches and doing round the clock laboratory tests with more than 2300 tests conducted so far but the result was not quiet satisfactory until I stumped upon an idea taken from a very old German classic tale of the 13th century. The story is of a Pied Piper from Hamlin who kills all the rats in a city by using a magic pipe blowing a specific tune, which attracted all the rats in the city following him and finally dumped into the river from the top of the riverside hill.
I was taken aback by the idea and was working on this line to eradicate the whole mosquito society. I somehow came to a final curtain down by developing a device which would emit low emitting noise which mimics the sound generated by both the female and male mosquitoes during their reproductive stages. I have managed to create the noise emitted around say about 500kms approximately, and with the help from the Central Nation controlled by the American and Indian I can manage to develop such device in large numbers which may bring an end to the unending menace created to the mankind since its inhibition.
The idea of getting the Intellectual award, the highest award given on earth, made me shiver and tremble with excitement.
I could not resist even imagining the scene where I was felicitated by the great leaders of the united countries by the greatest award, and hence I worked day and night for performing the feat to a near perfection by slowly increasing the range of distance of the device I invented to attract mosquitoes. Finally I have concluded and finished the papers after the last lab test and the trial was successful to the utmost satisfaction of myself and my most confident assistant who worked all along my research period.
That day I wanted to doze off earlier so as to enable me to get up soon the next day, when I was to present the papers to the eminent group of scientists who would be present and test the trials and on approval recommend the device to the government department, which looks after the patenting and licensing of such inventions. I gave my assistant permission to leave earlier and prepared my dinner very meagerly and lightly, and went for a doze.
I do not know when I fell asleep; suddenly I heard a bash on my left shoulders trying to wake me up. I woke up and found to my bewilderment a man, in his middle age his face fully covered with beard and moustache, standing besides my bed.
“How the hell, could you come inside, it was locked?” I shouted.
The man replied calmly, “your assistant, while leaving in hurry, did not close safety latch properly and moreover you forgot to enter your password on your master computer to lock the doors of the premises. But don’t worry, I am not a thief, I came to talk to you for a while regarding an important thing.”
“The hell, thing you can talk may wait till tomorrow,” I said with an uncontrollable anger literally shown by trembling of my body. The man, intruder, still calm, replied, “No, it cannot wait till tomorrow, it has to be settled today, it is about the trial test you have done successfully today.”
I was astonished and asked, what the trial and what you are talking about, because I was damn sure that my research and particularly my trials were most confidential and done strictly under the most secured survivalence.
“Forget it, don’t worry how I got the information, simply take for granted that I know all the details of your research and trials and the successful trial you have done last night” the man with the beard replied to me with a very sharp eye contact.
I was confused at this moment, whether to buy what he said and immediately guessing what is on my mind, he told the exact range my device tested in the last trial done yesterday which was more than convincing that he knows everything about the trial. Now I tried to look calm and asked him,” now tell me what do you want?”
He said “abandon it, just abandon it” I could not believe what he said and asked, “I beg your pardon?”
“You need not beg my pardon, you abandon your research in this or else you will end up begging your pardon to the entire humanity.”
I could not understand his statement and looked idiotic expression written all over my face. “Okay, I will tell everything in a nutshell which you can understand. Just the preface; this research you have done to eliminate the entire mosquitoes’ community will be detrimental to the humanity as a whole.”
I shot back “don’t be foolish, how eradicating the most dangerous enemy of the mankind since man’s existence could be detrimental to the human, instead I have done a great help by finding at last a way to eliminate them which was the root cause for the most dangerous diseases spread in this world.”
“Well, but we have almost found ways to cope with all the diseases, and as per last scientific status report released by the United Government on April 2090 it was said that almost all the diseases that were spread by the mosquitoes were completely eradicated, and then about the nuisance, I repeat only the nuisance, of pricking by these little creatures, it is still bearable by us and we have got some devices.”
I interrupted “Okay whatever it is, why do you counsel for the deadly creatures?
Are you in your previous birth a mosquito or going to be a mosquito in your next birth? What the hell could happen if I kill all the mosquitoes?”
“You want to know what will happen, you are going to eradicate not only the mosquito community; along with it the entire human race, not far away but in the year 2390, if you still resist and eradicate the mosquitoes from the earth.”
The man seems to confuse me further and further with each of his statement but still I could not resist my temptation though I have not taken him seriously, I questioned, “Who are you? Are you a sort of predictor?”
“I am not a predictor but I am telling you the bare truth, which is going to happen if you insist and continue your trial and implement it. I am sure I can substantiate my claim very logically only if you have the inclination and patience to hear and believe.”
“Well I can hear no problem, but I don’t think I am going to believe it.”
“All right, I will explain everything but do not interrupt and do not try to counter argue as it may look like, as you have said predicting the future. In the year 2375, there is going to be a huge destruction by a newly invented missile, which is most powerful that we can imagine, not based on the nuclear but completely new theory, which I cannot elaborate.
Human force completely destroyed except those who have migrated to the nearby planets like moon and mars and luckily a group of scientists comprising of genetic engineers were also on mars who return after the effect of the missile subsides. To their bewilderment they found that all human force destroyed but not the animals and insects.
The people thus return, found their fertility has come down gradually and finally to a near standstill reproduction of human race due to the effect of the destructive forces imposed on earth and immediate thing is to revive the human force by genetically reproducing it. As the existing human force is without the fertility gene present in their body, sure the human race would come to an end sooner than ever imagined. Hence the most sought after thing was the human gene which has chromosome of fertility which is unavailable.
A German scientist finally comes to the conclusion through a extensive but a quick test conducted by him establishes that the common enemy, that is the mosquitoes were having the trace of human blood with them contained the gene factor needed for the genetic scientists who are about to create human force with fertile gene. Thus the mankind was saved again without having to face an abrupt end. This is the story that is going to happen in the future if you are kind enough to leave the mosquitoes as they are now.”
I was astonished with the near perfect logic the story carries, to some extent the ideas revolving around some Hollywood films taken during the 20th century, but still confused without any words coming out of my mouth gasping at the intruder.
“Now I will leave the option open to you, and decide as you wish but remember if you still do not believe me and do the trial and get it approved tomorrow, you are the one single man who was responsible for the complete elimination of human force on earth,” saying this, he left the apartment and walked out.
Suddenly I got out of my bed with a jerk, and found myself in the bed with the lithium clock showing the time as 2 a.m. I rubbed my eyes and could not understand whether all these time I was dreaming or really somebody entered into my house and had the conversation. I slowly recollected the conversation and I could not simply brush it aside as a dream. It could have happened really and there is also a slight chance that this could have been a dream. I went to the door and found that the door indeed was open and checked the master computer where I really forgotten to enter the safety password to close the premises.
As I was thinking rubbing my forehead, I suddenly found a tie, which is a worn out one, most probably the one seen on the neck of the intruder who visited yesterday.
YES. It was real. I was not dreaming. Certainly I could not become the villain of the human race by eliminating the mosquitoes. I decided to go back on my research with some excuse and as a most important thing I went to the master computer and put on my 28-digit password and accessed to the file where I created all the trial tests and programmes related to the research. One by one I eliminated all files. Now I felt fresh air blowing my face and felt relaxed and went for sleep.
In the morning I was awaken by the sound of door alarm and got up and went to the peep in camera and asked for the person who rang the bell.
“It is me, Edward, Your assistant”
“Okay, what is the matter, why you have come so early at this wee hour?”
I questioned.
He replied through the phone, Sir; Sorry I have not closed the door yesterday properly.”
“All right it is Okay”
“ Yesterday, I left a worn out tie in your room, which is one of my collection, you know I am collecting items belonging to the old centuries and this tie which I left yesterday belonged to 14th century, can I have it back?”
Though I was shocked, later I gathered courage to recover from the initial shock.
So the question was whether the intruder was here yesterday or not? I could not find the answer. Or would I be able to find the answer?
That day thinking this again and again, I stumped upon another idea. Whether I can prove the presence of a person in my room yesterday by any means? I guessed it is possible by collecting all the available traces of moisture and carbon-di-oxide and odour present in the atmosphere of the room. This line of thinking led me to another extensive research for a couple of years, which resulted in the invention of a device, which established the presence of a person in a particular place at a particular time. This not only helped the Social crime control Department of the State in tracing and proving many crimes but also landed me in getting the most coveted Intelligent award, for creating a milestone in medical forensic research, which is yet another story.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
