INDI A

SINGAPORE

M A L AY S I A

Notion Press Media Pvt Ltd No. 50, Chettiyar Agaram Main Road, Vanagaram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 600 095 First Published by Notion Press 2021 Copyright © Mukul Talukdar 2021 All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-1-63957-408-7 This book has been published with all efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. However, the author and the publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. While every effort has been made to avoid any mistake or omission, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that neither the author nor the publishers or printers would be liable in any manner to any person by reason of any mistake or omission in this publication or for any action taken or omitted to be taken or advice rendered or accepted on the basis of this work. For any defect in printing or binding the publishers will be liable only to replace the defective copy by another copy of this work then available.

Dedication To Mom and Dad.

Contents

1. The Beginning

7

2. The Walk in the Dark

13

3. The Other Half

17

4. The Monastery

27

5. The Next Move

43

6. The Fall for Love

58

7. Change of Tide

64

8. Back From the Dead

75

9. The Path You Choose

85

10. The Day of the Underdog

97

11. The Dataverse

102

12. The Void Escapee

118

13. The Almost Closer

135

14. The Pursuit To Order and Disorder

142

15. The Nefarious Approach

167

16. The Spectacular Fall

174

17. The Rescue

194

18. The Consequences

200

19. The Road Not Taken

206

20. Amendment226 Contents | 5

Chapter 1

The Beginning

A

llen and Alex Lucent were two ordinary brothers born in an ordinary family. Their mom and dad were both accountants and had migrated to the city for a better life and opportunities. Both Allen and Alex were look-alike, monozygotic twins. Their habits and behavior were similar. Their parents loved them more than anything and anyone in the world. Since both the parents were working for a private firm, they had to hire a nanny to take care of the kids when they were out working. Things were going great. Then, one day, life showed its true colors. One random truck driver decided that he could drive for fifteen hours straight, on that particular day, to meet his delivery target. Driving down the freeway, he was exhausted. After driving for hours, he dozed off for a few seconds, with his hands still on the steering wheel. The massive truck diverted from its own lane, crashing through the dividers. The vehicle in the line next to the lane couldn’t slow down instantly and got stuck under the trailer. Losing all control, the car crashed, leaving behind no survivors. Their parents were in that car. With no immediate relatives to take care of them, both of them were sent to a foster home. Among more than a dozen other kids, they grew up. From time to time, new kids joined the foster home and they got adopted within a year or two. Prospective adoptive parents felt that adopting twins was too much of a commitment, so they always went for other kids. Also, no one wanted to pick any single one of them, as they The Beginning | 7

looked alike, and separating them would be inhumane. No one wanted a guilty conscience. But both the kids were very optimistic. They decided to take matters into their own hands and used their time and energy for education. They worked as a team, helping each other with their studies. Other kids in that institution used to look up to them. They set an example that life may be hard, but you need not have to wait for someone else to rescue you, your salvation lies within your own self. Even the staff members working in the foster home were impressed by the ethics of the twins. With grit and hard work, both of them managed to secure a good place in the university. On getting the admission letter, Allen wanted them to go to the same college, so he decided to compromise and joined Alex’s college despite securing a higher rank. It was a very bad career choice, but he was happy to be with Alex. There was never any individuality, the Lucent twins were a single entity. They felt invincible together. College life was great. They made new friends. Eventually, they had their own place. They took a part-time job at a nearby gas station. Allen was the cashier at a burger joint and Alex worked in the mechanic’s shop in the same gas station complex. Finally, they were independent and self-sustaining. They earned their name in the community. By the second year, they were amongst the top performers in the semester. The Lucent twins were even recognized by the dean of the university because of various seminars in which they had represented the institution in nationwide competitions. It was their third year in college. During one of the laboratory exams, Allen fainted and dropped on the floor, scattering his pieces of the lab equipment all over. Alex had 8 | Way Beyond

to stay back for the exams and Allen was taken away to see the doctor. After the exam, Alex tried to call him, but Allen did not pick up. There was no response from him the entire day. The next day, Alex found him in his room sleeping, it seemed he came back in the middle of the night and directly fell asleep. On asking what happened, Allen told him that it was due to dehydration and sunstroke. Once all the papers were over, Allen did not return to his room after their classes. He also looked a little off. Curious, Alex could sense that there was something fishy going on with Allen, and he couldn’t give up on him. So, he decided to follow Allen undetected and see what he did after class. What was revealed baffled him. Allen was sneaking into the radiology institute. Alex enquired at the reception against the patient named Allen and got a room number. He ran straight to the room to see what was going on. What he saw there would scar him for the rest of his life. Allen was seeking counseling for cancer treatment. He had a tumor in his brain, and it was in its last phase. It was already too late. Allen saw Alex coming in, he felt terrible for not sharing his concerns, pain, and worries. Doctors had given him a time limit. If he wanted, he could opt for the experimental treatments. But he chose not to. He had accepted his fate and wanted to live free in the moments he had left. Devastated, Alex begged Allen to continue the treatment, and also promised that he would always be present there, every night, to accompany him. After a lengthy denial, he finally agreed to the therapy. The following month went on like that. The fight against time, medical science, the measure of limits a human spirit can endure. But there was no improvement. His health gradually degraded, and then, one day, Allen left Alex, stranded all alone to face the world. The Beginning | 9

For Alex it was a major blow, he was attending college, but it seemed like he had lost his soul. Allen and Alex were two sides of the same coin. Everyone always saw them together, they traveled together, always. Now it was just Alex, he was incomplete. Slowly, he stopped all social interactions and going out, and he spent most of his time curled up in his dorm. One day, he decided to continue his job at the Gas station. When he went there, he saw Uncle Dave. Allen used to work in his restaurant. Dave was a famous local figure. And, the name of the restaurant was Uncle Dave’s. He was a man of wisdom and principles. It was a Sunday. Alex seemed lost. Uncle Dave called out Alex and asked how he was doing? “Nothing Uncle Dave! Why? Why are you asking this?” “I am sorry about your brother, I loved him a lot … But it’s been a month now … you seem to be lost!” “It’s nothing, I was wondering what our purpose is, just to eat, live, and suddenly die alone somewhere in the backyard?” “I am glad you asked that question. The thing is that if you seek happiness, you are never going to get it. Because the only person who can make you happy is you. But if you seek the meaning of life, you must go after it, you can’t just sit around and wonder. When I was in the army, I was a very good commander. All my mates used to tell me that I would be a big sensation. My senior officers told me that I will go very far, after seeing my performance during the crisis. Things were the same until I got out of the army. I was a total stranger in the civilian world. I could not find any meaning in other jobs, politics, and social life. I was a nobody. Life became like agony for me, I felt like drowning in an abyss. I wandered around for a purpose. Then I met a few of my old veteran 10 | Way Beyond

pals, we sat together, laughed, and I followed their advice that it’s never too late to start. It can be anything small. Initiation is the key. Within a few days, I started the restaurant. Your aunt was my first waitress. One thing led to another, now I can’t possibly think of anything that would make me any happier. That’s the boil-down, you can’t just wait around. Take the step, eventually, things will fall into place.” “You just blew my mind,” pointing with both hands towards Uncle Dave, Alex said. Later that night, Alex went to a night pub for the celebration of the Fifth Day. During the semester exams, irrespective of the number of subjects, college finished all the scheduled exams within a week’s time, excluding the weekends. So, Friday night becomes the celebration night … Thus, the name Fifth Day. He went there, had a few shots, then, he sat around the corner. He saw his buddies, who were literally scumbags, drinking and making scenes. Everyone but Alex could enjoy the party. He was unable to connect. Alex returned straight back to his bed. He couldn’t sleep. The feeling of being stuck, the feeling of meaninglessness in life, started corroding his body and soul. He was in limbo between sadness and emptiness. He couldn’t think properly about what to do with his life and the worst part is that nobody would even care. He woke up the next day, wounded with a pale face. He went to work with his heavy eyes. While walking down sideways, a moment of clarity coagulated his mind to a transparent world. Just like how fog settled down, unveiling a high definition surrounding. “I have no one to impress, no one to feed, and no one to look after, then why am I bound?” Alex said to himself. Now, The Beginning | 11

it was time for him to convert his weakness into his strength. Uncle Dave had a five-second rule according to which, if you really wanted a spontaneous life, you should take every exciting decision in five seconds. If you take more time, all the pros and cons of the scenarios will emerge, and the decision will get canceled. Without wasting any more time, he ran back to his room, took his backpack and documents, then ran to the airport. Alex couldn’t book a ticket due to the documentation procedures. He came out of the airport with a blank expression. Maybe it was all for good because he won’t be left with any money once he reaches his destination. Alex jumped on into a bus headed towards the dockyard. As if he was being driven by an invisible force.

12 | Way Beyond

Chapter 2

The Walk in the Dark

L

eaning against the glass window, Alex was seeing the droplets sliding by the surface. Although the passing wind is trying to push it back, somehow the droplets find their way to the ground. After a painstakingly long few hours, at last, the bus stopped at the last stop, which was the dockyard. Only a few were left on board the bus. Alex got down and headed towards the worker’s colony. The colony is basically filled with immigrants. There lived Alex’s childhood friend, Lucky Joe. He lived a few blocks away from Alex’s foster home as a child. Joe’s real name was Joseph Chang. He was there not because he is a recent immigrant or a port worker but because it was totally isolated from city jurisdictions and a perfect place to operate the illegal business from. How Joe got his Lucky Joe name is quite an interesting story. During his high school years, when he used to stay with his parents, due to some domestic issues his high school principal rented Joe’s upstairs apartment for a few months. The principal didn’t know that, at first, but one day when he was talking to his colleague at school, he realized that fact. By that time all the school faculty also came to know about that fact. In that school, it was mandatory for teachers to ensure that at most five or fewer percent of students should get a grade of A+ on their respective subjects. Mostly, it was up to the teachers to choose the students for that. To impress the principal, unknowingly, every teacher gave Joe A+ in all the subjects although he was just average at academics. The Walk in the Dark | 13

Then, since he was the only one to receive such a grade in all the subjects, he was selected for the National Science internship program. There, on the board, one of the directors was an alumnus from the same school. Although Joe couldn’t perform well there, he was awarded one of the ten positions of the best student by the alumni director just to keep the east zone schools in the competition. So, with that, since he represented the school at the national level, and on top of that put the school in the top ten list, he was made the student of the year. Then, an engineering college that reserves a seat for local talents, took him for granted and offered him a seat. After four years of college, spent on scholarship, came the placements. Just because of the diversity and the variance of his resume, and considering the reputation of the college, one of the finest firms hired Joe from the campus. Thus, the name Lucky Joe. But soon, his luck ran out. After working for a few days, he realized that that was not his place. In the first month of his job, he once got stuck in the elevator for an entire day. On being rescued, he sued the company for traumatic settlement and, with the money, started this new business. All his voyage was perfect, but he just landed on the wrong island. He left his job and was now earning twice as much, and even wearing pajamas at work. Alex could find his workshop amongst all those barren left-out warehouses. As he entered the shop, everyone started noticing him. Maybe they had seen someone new in months. As he set foot further into the shop, he could see a guy resembling Joe but that guy was much thinner. The guy turned back and gave a wide, slow smile to Alex. Yes! Joe remembers. Alex asked Joe about his mum, she always liked Alex. After some small talk, Joe straightforwardly asked what on the devil he was doing there? 14 | Way Beyond

“I just had a revelation.” “What kind of revelation?” “I was thinking of exploring the world. See what’s out there. Understand how differently different people are living physically, mentally, and spiritually.” “What’s in it for you?” “See, all my life I stayed in Broadway, my hometown. I thought whatever I saw was real. People have been living there that way ever since. Paying taxes, community services, going to church, and then planning for retirement. I couldn’t find purpose in life. But one day, when I had a talk with Uncle Dave.... you remember him, right?” Joe nods. “Anyway, during his younger days, nothing was certain. In the middle of college, he had to join military forces. Overnight he flew away to the other facet of the planet Earth. He killed people he had never met before. Cried out loud to save a partner’s life. He thought that was what life is all about. He won the foreign war but lost his home. When the war was over, he did not have any real skill to survive a world without the war.” There was a moment of silence. “See, all I am saying is that one day, while I am working, I may suddenly realize that I have reached my expiration with too many strings attached all around. It’s going to hurt like an epic slap.” “Oh, you are motivated then?” “Hell yeah!” “Okay fine! I will help you with everything in my power, but I have to tell you to try to not get into trouble.” The Walk in the Dark | 15

The Org is an ancient and mysterious organization that supervises the human species genetic, behavioral, and technological advancement. It manages annihilation and apocalypse at the civilization level. A young apprentice, Alex Lucent, was recruited under one of the finest organization agents. Under some unforeseen circumstances, he came across two choices, either to quit or to set out on a very dangerous quest to fight against someone with the intention to shatter the equilibrium of the fabric of space-time itself. There exist four sub-realities: Dataverse, Entropyverse, Energyverse, and Dark matterverse. Everything that we see and interact with, corresponds to these sub-realities. If one attains all the sub-realities by opening a portal to it, one would be able to harness the four fundamental forces of nature at his/her will. That means the ability to bypass the laws of nature, theoretically bend reality and jump through space-time. This was a master plan by the antagonist Volkan, a brilliant manipulative rogue agent, fueled with greed and vengeance. Alex has to learn the ways of the organization agents and prevent the obliteration of the linearity of order and chaos. He would embark on a journey to the unknown, a journey of self-discovery, friendship, and love. The limits of his spirit would be tested, he has to take many unpleasant decisions for the greater good. Not only does he have to stop Volkan, but he also has to make sure that, good or evil, no one should possess the ability to bend reality. Mukul Talukdar was born in the small town of Pathsala in the beautiful state of Assam, India. Growing up, he was fascinated with astronomy and loved finding answers to the questions on our universe and existence. After passing out of military school and completing a degree in mechanical engineering, he found the most valuable resource in his life, time. A new realm of possibilities opened up for him to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a writer, to contribute to society, to learn something new, and to expand our perspective. Mukul explores the phenomenon of natural physics and technology, as to how it is and how it could be in the wildest of Price 249 imagination. Way Beyond: An Expedition for Equinox Event is Mukul’s first book.