Chapter 11: The Aftermath

I went to: work the next day. Rajasthan Water Solutions. The: office on Fatehpura Road — a: two-storey building above: a chai stall and a: photocopy shop. The: specific, unglamorous headquarters: of a company that: designed pumps for: government contracts.

My boss: Verma-sahab — the: man who signed: my pay cheque and: who believed that: punctuality was a moral: virtue and that: air conditioning was: a weakness — looked: at me when I: walked in.

"Sharma, you took: three days leave: without notice."

"Family: emergency, sir."

"Your mother: called. She said: you're fine."

"It was: a different kind: of family. A: larger family."

Verma-sahab did: not understand. Verma-sahab: would never understand. Verma-sahab: understood pumps, deadlines, and: the specific joy: of a government contract: that paid on time. The: Intergalactic Council was: outside his jurisdiction.

I sat at: my desk. The desk: — grey metal, government-surplus, purchased: at a Chor Bazaar: auction for two: thousand rupees — held: my computer, my: calculator, my: coffee mug (which: said "World's Best: Engineer" in: faded letters, a gift from: Sameer that was: now technically accurate: in a way: neither of us had: anticipated), and a: framed photograph of: the RS-400 pump: installation in Barmer.

The: photograph. Ramlal: and his daughter. The: photograph that I had: shown to four: thousand seven hundred: and twelve species. The: photograph that had: been part of: the argument that: saved the planet.

I looked at: the photograph and: I thought: nobody: knows. Eight billion: people on this planet: and nobody knows: that we have: one hundred years: and a schedule: and milestones and: that the universe: is watching. Nobody: knows that a pump: engineer from Udaipur: stood in a sphere: with no floor: and said "namaskar": and showed them: his phone.

And: nobody needed: to know. That: was the point. The: Council wanted: authentic change. Not: performance. Not: the panicked scramble: of a species that: knew it was: being graded. The: genuine, messy, slow, stubborn: change of a species: that was fixing: things because fixing: things was what: it did.

*

Sameer came: over that evening. With: biryani. The Chetak: Circle biryani — the: one from the: stall next to: the ATM, the: biryani that had: sustained us through: engineering college and: heartbreaks and call-centre: night shifts and: every crisis that: Udaipur had produced: in twenty-six years: of friendship.

"So," Sameer said. Sitting: on my one-BHK: floor. Eating biryani: from a steel: plate. "You saved: the planet."

"Temporarily."

"Everything's: temporary, bhai. The: biryani's temporary. The: hangover's temporary. Kavya: was temporary."

"That one: stung."

"Truth stings. Also: she called again."

"She: what?"

"She called. Twice. Once: to ask if: you're back from: your 'business trip.' And: once to ask: for Chintu's number."

"Chintu? The kid: who plays cricket: on the ground?"

"She wants: to organise a: neighbourhood cricket: match. For charity. She's: doing things, bhai. New: Kavya. Post-breakup: energy."

"Post-breakup energy: is a real: thing?"

"It's the most: powerful force in: the universe. More: powerful than shakti: or whatever the: aliens use."

I ate: the biryani. The: Chetak Circle biryani. The: saffron rice, the: slow-cooked mutton, the: fried onions on top: that were crisp and: sweet and that: Sameer always stole: from my plate: because he claimed: his plate had: fewer. The: taste of Udaipur. The: taste of home. The: taste that no: alien grey paste: could replicate because: taste was not: nutrition — taste: was memory, was: friendship, was the: specific combination of: spice and heat: and a shared: plate on a: floor in a: one-BHK in: Hiran Magri.

"Bhai?"

"Yeah?"

"If the: aliens come back — if they: check on us: in a hundred: years — what: will they find?"

"I don't: know. Maybe: we fix everything. Maybe: we fix some: of it. Maybe: we're still arguing: about it and: eating biryani on: the floor."

"That's: not a bad: outcome."

"It's not. It's: very human."

"It's: very Udaipur."