INDI A

SINGAPORE

M A L AY S I A

Notion Press No.8, 3rd Cross Street CIT Colony, Mylapore Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 600004 First Published by Notion Press 2020 Copyright © Arya Narrayan 2020 All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-1-64983-708-0 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.

A Tribute to My Family and The Earth

PREFACE

Throughout the year 2020, the whole world’s discussion centred on the Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2. When you read the blurb of this book, you may feel that the pandemic and timeline mentioned in the plot coincide with the events that occurred in the real world. I have actually written my books in the below order: 1. The Evil Days (written January 2017; published October 2018); 2. Paradox (written October 2017); 3. Massage (written September 2018; published March 2020). When I finished writing my book Paradox, I passed it to my editor; after this, however, she went on maternity leave, resulting in a delay in handing the edited manuscript back over to me. During that time, I started writing my next book Massage, which my editor completed upon her return to the office. After a while, I received the edited versions for both of my books, and, since I didn’t have time to publish both books at the same time, I published Massage before Paradox. It was upon my publishing Paradox in 2020 that I went through the complete manuscript before sending it to the publisher, during which I found myself in awe at the incidents in the plot correlating exactly with those of 5

Preface

the pandemic engulfing the world. Anyhow, this is really a great coincidence, and even you will understand this to be a complete fiction after reading the book in its entirety. Another important note is that I wrote this story with some incidents involving a few characters from the real world, since I thought this would strengthen the plot; plus, elements of the plot are relevant to those characters I know in my life. Indeed, a few of them have acknowledged these incidents in the public domain. I’ve picked only those incidents, although I may have exaggerated and distorted them so as to weave them into this story. Overall, this is a pristine fictional story, not written with the intention of hurting anybody. Thank you for your understanding! ***

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my wife, M. Sinndhu, for providing me with constant support and continuing to stand with me in our ups and downs. Without your support, this book would have never been completed, never mind published. My gratitude also goes out to my editors Hayley and Faye of Notebook Group; thanks to both of you, who have worked on both this work and my previous books. It was a nice experience working with you, and I am looking forward to connecting with you in the future; I am mesmerised by your dedication to your work. I would like to acknowledge Notion Press, for publishing my work in paperback, as well as Kindle Direct Publishing, for distributing it in digital text format. Thank you for all the support you have provided me throughout the process of publishing this book; I hope this book reaches many readers throughout the world. As always, I am indebted to Lord Narayanan and the infinite divine forms of the Supreme God, who protect me, my family, and the Earth in its entirety; you have always catered strength and positivity in me at every moment of life. Whenever I finish writing a book or novella, I always wonder how I manage to obtain such creative thoughts and successfully convert them from something intangible to 7

Acknowledgements

something tangible. I can certainly say that all these events happened as a result of some level of connection with my past life and divinity. Overall, this is the most superior experience I have ever felt in my life. Most importantly, I owe a lot of gratitude to you, my dear reader: thank you for showing interest and spending your precious time on my book. If you do like my book or writing style, kindly check out my other books; I would really appreciate if you could spread the word about my books, since this would help me as an indie author. Thank you once again! ***

8

CHAPTER 1

Veronica Miller locked the main door of the house and dashed to her red Porsche Panamera, which was parked in front of the house. The house belonged to her grandparents and was situated at Chestertown in Maryland, near to the Chester River. The house was two-tiered and wooden, with three bedrooms, with a balcony facing the river where one could watch the sunset. After the sad death of her grandparents, Veronica used to come and stay here whenever she wanted to wind away from her worries. This time, she had visited the house to celebrate her fortieth birthday. She loaded the car’s trunk with thirty boxes, all wrapped with beautiful paper. The wrapping shined in the sunlight; a glow of diverse patterns detailed on the gifts. She hopped into the car, looked at the rear camera, and combed her loosewavy long strands of golden hair. She wore a full-sleeved roll-neck sandal sweater, blue casual blazer, and black jeans; a pearl necklace sat delicately at her neck. The mirror winked at her pale blue eyes and almost questioned how she was able to maintain her slim physique at this age. She looked at the dashboard clock and corrected the date: December 14, 2025. Time is running out fast, Veronica! In the year 2025, the world will end. ‘I wish you a very Happy Birthday,’ Veronica said to herself in the mirror. 9

Paradox

‘Usually, people would be giving gifts to the birthday baby. But, with me, it’s quite different. I buy the gifts and give them to orphaned children because their happiness gives me satisfaction.’ Her tone lowered slightly when her mouth spoke the word orphan. She turned on the engine of the car, increased the acceleration, and switched on the radio to distract her mind. ‘Good morning, ladies and gentleman,’ the raspy male voice in the speaker said. ‘In the past few months, we have been interviewing doctors around the world every Sunday in an effort to establish the history of the A-virus in-depth. This Sunday, WHO Director Mrs April has volunteered to share her thoughts and light on this disease. Thank you, Madam, for coming forward and spending your time with us,’ the radio jockey appraised. ‘Now, let’s start with this question: How was this Age-Accelerating Virus spread initially? Has any individual or the federal government determined its origin?’ ‘We don’t know about its starting point exactly,’ April opened. ‘The outbreak happened five years ago. It has been attacking people with lower immunity levels in their bodies, especially children and old people. Notably, however, even young adults have been affected.’ ‘This virus is causing age acceleration at a rate of almost ten times more than normal ageing. Millions and millions of children and elderly have succumbed to this virus across the world. Is there any hope of finding a vaccination?’ the radio presenter pressed. 10

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‘Right now, there is no cure for this disease. It’s hard to accept that. But I can pledge that our scientists are working so hard to find a remedy. As of now, by God’s grace, we do have the pill RX1000–—a blood-red-coloured capsule synthesised by our labs. It is achieving a dormant effect of the virus in the body; thus, the symptoms are reduced, which helps to prevent age acceleration.’ ‘This virus becomes active once we stop taking this pill, right?’ ‘Yes. As I said earlier, currently, there is no cure for this disease, but this red pill has our faith. It is even advisable for healthy people to take it weekly once to improve immunity in order to fight against the virus.’ Veronica turned the car left towards the walking platform. She stopped the car right away, took out the red pill capsule from her handbag, and swallowed it. She then started the car once again and continued her travels towards her destination without any reluctance in mind. ‘The main challenge is to produce this pill in bulk so that it can be distributed throughout the world,’ April continued. ‘Meanwhile, we are researching to find a medicine that can eradicate this virus completely,’ the WHO Director continued. ‘The problem is that it could take one day or one year or even a decade to find a solution! And of course, there is then the concern of this A-virus evolving into a deadlier one during this period.’ ‘Let’s hope for the best,’ the man interjected. 11

Paradox

‘Of course,’ April continued. ‘We must not forget: these medicines achieved relief a few years back. At the earliest time, during the epidemic, no one even went to school, university, to work or to tourist spots. Nobody left their house. The world was pushed down financially. But the situation changed with the temporary relief brought into practice. Definitely, I hope we’ll find a permanent cure to put an end to this waterborne as well as airborne A-virus before its transmutation.’ ‘Or else the human race will be extinct!’ the male voice commented, laughter in his voice. ‘How long are they are going to spend on these interviews and lament on this virus. Bullshit!’ Veronica said, thumping her steering wheel. ‘A few groups are really celebrating this epidemic! News agencies, the media, the pharmaceutical companies producing the RX1000 pills. They’re making so much money as a result of the eruption to this point of time.’ She turned off the radio. After driving twenty miles from her house, Veronica halted at Trustful Hands orphanage and got out of her car. A banner reading Trustful Hands—Hopeful Hands for Hopeless was mounted on the third floor of the brick building. When looking at it, Veronica’s eyes watered, and a pool of tears rolled down her cheeks instantly. She wiped them away, composed herself, and carried the gifts up the stairs. Sister Stella, wearing a silver cross necklace around her neck, rushed from the orphanage to help her visitor. 12

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‘It’s nice to see you, ma’am. If you don’t mind, can I ask you one thing which keeps on niggling at me?’ the head of the orphanage asked confidently of the highest-ranking officer in the State. ‘Please go ahead, sister,’ Veronica responded politely. ‘I’ve noticed many times that you are emotional when at the entrance of the building. I see you looking up at this banner. May I know the reason? Maybe you’d feel better if you tried to share your worries? What I’m saying is that there is a possibility that you may break if your heart continues to feel overloaded with pain and worry.’ Veronica sighed. ‘Well,’ she began, ‘I made a lot of senseless mistakes in my adolescence. During that time, I gave birth to a little girl. I was just eighteen years old. Whenever I saw that baby’s face, I felt despicable and disappointed in myself. Her face kept on reminding me of my stupidity. I left her alone in the orphanage and went away with a broken heart. After a year, when I realised that mistake, I rushed to take her back home, but a well-settled family in Maryland had adopted her. I was happy for her, of course, and I returned to my life as I hadn’t wanted to cause problems in her new life.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I suppose I get overwhelmed with emotion when I read the banner. It causes me to revisit those old memories.’ ‘Maybe I’ll take the banner away for you,’ the sister responded supportively. ‘There is no need for that,’ Veronica smiled. ‘By the way, I’m planning on throwing a party at my grandparents’ 13

Paradox

house tonight. I’ve invited many of my grandparents’ friends. I would be most pleased if you could come along, maybe with the children? I’ll arrange for transport.’ ‘That would be lovely. I’m not sure we can make it but I’ll absolutely try my best.’ She smiled warmly. ‘And please bear in mind, Veronica: no human in this world is perfect. Now, on a brighter note, the children are on the lawn waiting to cut the cake!’ ‘Wow! Such a lovely surprise! How did you know it is my birthday? Perhaps I’m becoming too occupied nowadays with the headlines of the daily papers!’ ‘You’re talking about events that have happened at the University of Alabama. Leave it, ma’am. The media consists of both virtuous individuals and ugly mosquitoes who like to suck up innocent blood. The latter group doesn’t know how to ask questions without hurting those they are asking,’ the sister said. Whilst walking to the lawn behind the brick building, Veronica’s mind continued to race through the incidents that had occurred at the University of Alabama. Two months before, the Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Alabama had invited the 26th NASA Administrator to give a lecture on the workings of the whole system. Being one of the alumni of the Department, Veronica Miller acknowledged it wholeheartedly and explained to the students how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration works, giving insight into its organisational structure, history, 14

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challenges and achievements. She also worked as a guest lecturer for this department whilst working as an assistant to the former NASA administrator. Still, she was serving on the Advisory Board of the University of Alabama’s Aerospace Engineering Department. Various students around the world had attended the lecture and asked thought-provoking questions. Veronica had faced and answered them with enthusiasm in order to encourage the future generation. But by that time, one spokesperson from an unknown media agency, supporting private space agencies, had raised unexpected questions. ‘I think the administration in NASA is not being taken care of properly nowadays,’ the individual had blasted. There was a slight disturbance amongst the crowd, who muttered about how he could ask such a harsh question. ‘Excuse me. My administration? What do you mean?’ Veronica asked, surprised. ‘I’m not pointing the finger at anyone in particular. I’m just talking about the incident that happened with the Europa Exploration Programme Director.’ ‘Oh, you’re talking about Saito Nobuyuki?’ The spokesman nodded and continued. ‘Saito came to our media two months ago and cried like a baby as a result of the need to raise funds to expedite the mission to Europa—one of Jupiter’s moons. He was more than confident that Europa could certainly be home to extra-terrestrial life and that the mission to Europa would 15

In the year 2020, the world is thrown in disarray with the outbreak of the deadly A-virus. No one has any idea how this pandemic happened; even the WHO is stuck for an effective cure. Just as the whole world is growing desperate for resolution and low in hope, unexpectedly, a grey alien visits the earth in December 2025—five years after the initial outbreak—claiming that it has the concrete cure for A-virus. Can humans believe the announcement from the grey alien? Who really is this grey alien? Where did it come from? What could the purpose of its visit to Earth be? Did the grey alien bring the first life to our planet? Does it have any influence on ancient architecture and the many great wonders of the Earth? Did Neil Armstrong meet the alien? If you’re a fan of sci-fi, don’t miss Paradox—an enthralling rendition! Arya Narrayan, aka Kannan, discovered his hidden talent for storytelling in 2012 and pursued it with great passion. After a variety of literary experiments, he wrote and released his debut novel, The Evil Days, in 2018. Soon after this, he started working on his second and third books. In 2020, he published both of his works Massage and Paradox. Kannan works as a software engineer in an MNC and lives with his family in Bangalore, India. Price 220