The Answer Prelude: The seven immortals, or the sapta chiranjeevis, are characters mentioned in ancient Hindu literature. These immortals: Sage Vyasa, Kripacharya, Parashurama, Vibhishan, Hanuman, Ashwatthama, and King Mahabali are believed to be living on Earth for a long time (King Mahabali however was banished by the fifth Vishnu, Vamana into patala). They are known for their peculiar characteristics: Hanuman’s bravery, Sage Vyasa’s knowledge of literature, Kripacharya’s knowledge of archery and politics, Parashuram’s skills of warfare, Vibhishan’s compassion and administrative skills, and Ashwatthama’s drive for righteousness fuelled by his rage towards his cursed immortal life. ** Once upon a time, there existed an unbreakable rule of the universe- mortality. Everything born or created had to meet its end. Even the most magnificent of species that walked the Earth couldn’t find a loophole to this rul, until the Homo sapiens emerged seventy thousand years ago. In a millennium, they transformed from insignificant animals living in the corner of Africa, to the terror of the ecosystem. And yes, they were the ones to beat mortality, but not by their intelligence or by science but due to their good deeds- their “humanity”. Today, there exist seven such deviations, the sapta chiranjeevis (the seven immortals) who have been on the Earth for thousands of years and will continue to do so until the planet ceases to exist. Ever since they received this boon, they have been Earth’s counterparts in witnessing humans write their and the planet’s history. Even though they had supernatural powers in their eras, in the times of artificial intelligence and virtual reality, their only power immortality.. They tried their best to save humans from the jaws of death during wars, epidemics and natural disasters by using their experience, but they failed to meet the exorbitant expectations of humans. Humans came with a bag full of problems of which, the latest wasClimate Change. Earth’s temperatures were rising, glaciers melting, and the ozone hole reappearing, all at an alarming rate. Climate change was about to engulf Earth when a man came up with a solution. He claimed akashvani-the voice of God from the sky told him the solution to climate change. He called his new innocation ‘The Answer’. Theoretically, it was just carbon capture technology magnified to the extent that it could absorb the excess carbon dioxide of the whole world. It could easily go wrong as claimed by scientists,but the situation required an urgent solution, and the government had no choice but to adopt it. Unfortunatly ‘The Answer’ turned out to be a bigger threat to the world than climate change. Trees dying, air freezing, people complaining of headaches, even an occasional death. The immortals had to assemble and save the humans with all their might this time. ** Parashuram was pacing thinking about how the sapta chiranjeevis should’ve met earlier. Sage Vyasa and Kripacharya were busy discussing the recklessness of the government for disregarding the advice of so many experts and listening to one man who promised to change the world. That’s when Hanuman decided to speak up. “Respected brothers, we have been on the Earth for so long and seen harmony disturbed so many times. We can get the humans out of this” One could sense the doubt in his usually unflinching voice. “we just need to figure out the science behind this ‘Answer’ and somehow reverse engineer it to find what needs to be rectified.” “Well, if you want science just read these hundreds of articles analysing theories about what went wrong from newspapers around the world,” Ashwatthama said, irritated, thrusting a stack of newspapers on the table.
Issuu converts static files into: and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.