"Shut up and please begone, Mr. Halo Mistels. It is my earnest request to you"
I still remember his face, in general his eyes when I shouted this line at him with an absolutely cold look. He was looking at me with sheer puppy eyes shocked to his core. I assumed then that it would be the end of his venture from then but little did I not know that it was the complete vice-versa.
''Sir! Sir!Sir!", the voice grew louder as I slowly came out of my trance.
"Yes! I'm coming!", I replied.
I quickly changed over to my formal clothing and pushed the stack of research papers which Don had brought earlier in the bag. I hastily sprinted downstairs to catch the car waiting for me. I sat in the car and took out one of the many papers in my bag. It was a note; a note written by Halo Mistels to the world.
"Hello, my dearest people. By the time you would be reading this page, I would have gone farther away than any of you would ever think. This device here is none other than a time machine. Yes, a real one. Well this should be confirmed by now, I believe. Everything will slowly become a bit more clear to you I hope. I don't like to write much so I'll end this by providing a single piece of message to it's readers- " After this there was something like a quote which had weared of.
That's when the voice of a crowd began approaching my ears and I quickly got ready to deboard for the whole compound near the area had been sealed off earlier this morning and a big crowd had accumulated up prior to that side. Some were silently watching, some were protesting and some down the street carried on with their usual business.
"Sir we can't advance any farther", the driver said.
I deboarded the car and hurried towards the 'crime' scene. The fateful couple of apartments where it's all inhabitants disappeared overnight without a single trace came into my vision as I slowly pushed through the crowd. This was the same apartment where he lived and of course that man was missing too. Still, this isn't what I came to investigate here. You see, there was a reported 'time machine' found in his room along with the note which I pulled out earlier.
"Hey, hello officer! I hope you are doing great", I greeted Mr. Barrow Fellsigns, the chief inspector of the local police after I entered the apartment. He was talking with some other scientist, it seemed.
"Oh, hello Mr.Vistone, long time no see", he seriously greeted me.
"May I know a bit of what exactly is going on presently?"
"Ah, yes but I believe it would be better if you could ask your friend upstairs on the 2nd floor in room 4 as I've just gotten here, so..."
"Uh, certainly. See you later", saying this I hurried upstairs.
As I moved further, I noticed that you could find police in any area of the apartment and a single other scientist couldn't be seen who should be present here according to what Don told me.
I entered the designated apartment to find Don writing something on a paper surrounded by a pile of papers.
"Hey, Don. Can you enlighten me as to of what exactly is the situation now?", I called out to him earnestly.
He stared at me with dead and sleepy eyes and said,"Oh, you've finally gotten here...", saying this he lay flat down amongst the pile of papers with his eyes closed.
"It was very hard uptil now, Carey", he said in a whispering tone.
"Tell me where are the others?"
"All are working downstairs in the secret laboratory from hours to decode all the mysterious phenomenon happening including the time machine and other various objects in his lab"
"Is there a lab downstairs?", I asked surprisingly
"Ah, yes. Mistels's lab; it was a secret laboratory you see"
"Hmm, I see....and what are you doing here alone?"
"Scanning all the papers written by that fellow, what else? The most funny part about all this is that more than 60% of all the papers has some never ever seen before scientific concepts. Decoding it has become a very big problem for us now. Well..", saying this he got up and said,"let me take some rest on the sofa for a while, it's all upto you now, boss"
I sighed upon seeing the pile of papers and bent a little to pick one paper up. Quantum field, weak force, strong force- the first part of the paper at first look didn't seem much special rather it was all known theory but as I digged a bit deeper, all the concepts slowly began to change in a form never ever seen before. Quite intriguing, it was....
As I delved deeper into the pile of papers, my fascination grew with each page. The concepts presented were unlike anything I had ever encountered. It was as if Halo Mistels had tapped into realms of science that were previously uncharted. The equations, the diagrams, and the explanations seemed to dance with a harmonious elegance that defied conventional understanding.
As I continued reading, one common thread emerged – the rough sketch of a young girl. It was a simple drawing, yet it held an air of significance. Who was she? What role did she play in all of this?
Just then, I sensed someone behind me. I turned around to find Euler, one of my colleague entering and observing the room. He was a young fellow who wore spectacles just because they seemed cool to him.
"Well, hello sir Vistone, how is the work going?", he asked raising his eyebrows.
"Ah, not too bad till now, it seems...What about you? Are you working downstairs in the lab?"
"Yes. I was sent by Professor Aronian to fetch you downstairs you see."
"Um okay? Let's go, shall we?"
The passage down the corridor carried an air of expectancy, as if the very walls whispered secrets only decipherable to the initiated. Afternoon light filtered through dimming windows, casting long shadows that seemed to whisper of the mysteries awaiting us.
"So, how's work going on downstairs?", I inquired him.
'Pretty.., um, not bad? Out of the 15 discovered enigmatic objects, we've perhaps successfully managed to draw out at least some percent of the explanation of their workings. It is very interesting, let me show you once we get there"
We then entered the general basement of the house through which we went another floor down by a ladder and boom! a large science lab stood before us with around 20-30 scientists working with full focus.
Upon noticing me, some smiled or waved at me.
"Hey Carey! How're you doing my boy?!", Professor Aronian, an old aged man with white hair and dense beard, called upon seeing me. Before we became colleagues, he was also my mentor during my Phd, so I've known him for quite a long time.
"I'm good, Professor. And how's everyone holding up? Ms. Welsly, Timothy, Chandler?"
"Doing fine, thank you," the professor replied, a touch of somberness underscoring his words. "Welsly's been a strong woman inspite of that incident."
"...."
"Ah, anyways the reason I called you down here was to tell you something", he looked at me with expectation.
"Yes, absolutely", I nodded as my curiosity piqued.
"Starting now, you are in charge as the head of the project, Carey Vistone"
Surprise rippled through me. "Hold up, why? And why so suddenly?"
"I'm heading to Contar Hasberg tonight. Mentoring will continue, but I'll be a bit distant," he explained, a world of implication hidden behind his gaze.
"Contar Hasberg? Is it some work related to your party?"
"No, I've some settlements to do with those Mylene boys there", he then leaned closer to me and whispered,"more like I've a revenge to fulfill".
"Ah, I understand. I've got your back, Professor"
"Good, well then I'll inform the local police about it"
"Certainly"
"Well then, I'll take my leave now, Carey, for I've to visit my wife in the hospital. Any doubts would be explained by Euler here. Well, hope to see you again", saying this he patted on my shoulder and left.
Hope to see you again? A very strange way to say it. Was it intentional?
"So, where do you want to start? 'sir'", Euler tauntingly asked.
"Again, stop calling me that , Euler. The thing with your sister happened over a year ago, just forget about it. I've explained it many times that she just wasn't meant for me. You say that I've ego but that's not it. I did spend some time with her and I whole heartedly agree that she is indeed a nice girl, nothing wrong about that. I..just am in no mood to get into a relationship you know, let alone get married."
"Oh, I see...In other words, you are indirectly telling me that you want to keep having sex with some girls in some fancy brothels, uh?", Euler replied as calmly as ever.
I nonchalantly stared at him for a second and sighed and said "You must be talking about Murphy, right?", I muttered.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Upon getting no reply, I said,"Well, let's meet her once tonight ".
He seemed taken aback for a second, then quickly shifted gears. "Anyway, back to work, shall we?"
"Sure thing," I replied, brushing off the previous topic. "Back to work it is. Well, could you please enlighten me about some of the devices decoded here?"
"Yeah, sure. Here's one right here", he said while pointing out towards a pendulum on the table.
"A simple pendulum?"
"Nah, it's named the super pendulum"
"A super pendulum? So, what are it's 'super' properties?"
"You see for yourself....", saying this he added another pendulum to the system and took the original one to a certain height before releasing it. A spectacular phenomenon happened after he released it, for the bob which was supposed to collide with the other bob, did collide with the other bob but then it came to rest!
"Saw it?"
"How is this even possible?! This defies the entire laws of physics, Euler!", I exclaimed.
"Now touch the bob of the super pendulum", he ordered.
"It's...hot!?"
''Yeah, and the heat increases substantially as the height or angle of the trajectory increases. This phenomenon could be used to even build perhaps strong bombs or other high capacity heat generator if developed. Now the hypothetical reason we all agreed upon as to of why the phenomenon is happening is because of an element which we call Vendium, which well repels any contact while converting the whole momentum of the bob to heat energy"
"How are you so sure that it's because of an element?''
"Well, we ran some tests and in between we found something unusual, you see. We heated it to something just like around 572 K and found that the bob was getting cold! And that too very cold around 300 K, which again just destroys the laws of science and thus to preserve our present scientific knowledge, we believed that something in it is just new, maybe an element? or a metal? who knows.."
"Hmm, I understand. Well, now that Professor Aronian has disappeared, can you explain my job, now?"
"Well, let's first of all announce that you are the project head from now", saying this, he called out to everyone seeking their attention."May I have your attention, gentlemen?".
"I am pleased to inform you that due to the unavoidable absence of Mr. Aronian, Mr. Carey Vistone will be assuming the role of the project head going forward. Any questions, concerns, or ideas should be earnestly directed to him.
After taking a very brief pause, he again started,"That's all, now you all can continue doing your work. Thank you for your attention".
Amid all the stares, I then heard a single clap which eventually multiplied and turned into a big round of applause. Many of them came forward to acknowledge and congratulate me.
"Long time no see Carey, How've you been?", said one."Becoming the head of such an important project at such an early age, huh? You'll be going places", said another old acquaintance of mine. And such and such....
******************
After everything was settled, I finally asked Euler,"So, what's the real deal here? Explain me the whole thing."
"Well, it all started a week ago actually, when the landlord of these apartments came running frightened to the police station for filing a complaint against Halo Mistels who stated Mistels as a pyscho and performed illegal experiments at his home in which the former was forced to involve as a lab rat when the same had gone to Mistels's home for collecting due rent."
"Hmm, and after that? What did the police do?"
"Initially, the guy seemed to be high on drugs, so his statement wasn't taken too seriously. He couldn't remember the details of what happened to him, and after a brief investigation of his body and house, he was taken into custody for drug-related offenses."
Now, the real story starts from yesterday midnight at around 3 30 pm that someone called the police and reported that all the inhabitants except the some who had returned home late that night were missing."
"Is there any specific reason as to of why it was reported so late?"
"Well, as yesterday was a public holiday and today was a full working day, many people stayed home with their families at night except a very few, you see."
"I see, then after? How'd you all conclude that it was Halo Mistels himself who was behind this incident?"
"The police investigated nearly every nook and corner of the apartment and found that everything was left intact; there were no signs of any violence or force of any kind, it was like people just vanished from their places. And when they finally came across Mistels's room, they found many anomalies. Firstly, a number of things were thrown here and there; Secondly, they found that alleged time machine and other strange items along with the note. And upon more further investigation, this lab was found."
"I see. Thank you for explaining me this much. Can I see the time machine once?"
"Welll, currently it is seized by the police for safety purposes and they said that soon a special team would be set up for its investigation."
"I see, that's alright. Hey, I'm leaving now as I've some work with the police; If anything happens, contact me firsthand."
"Umm, okay alright."
Saying this, I left the apartment and caught a tram which was just a few hundred meters away from the apartment. After 10 minutes or so, I reached my stop and swiftly made my way to the Marken Street police station.
The precinct was almost empty with very few officers present. Fortunately, I found Mr. Barrow seated at his desk doing some paperwork.
To give a brief description , he is a well-built and sturdy old man in his late 50's with a clean cut face and a fierce moustache, which many young men including me admire. He helped me get out of many twisted cases over the years and gradually became a good friend of mine.
"A very good evening to you Mr. Fellsigns", I sincerely greeted to catch his attention.
He looked up from his desk and motioned for me to take a seat. "Vistone, good to see you. I'm sorry that we couldn't had a proper talk earlier this morning. So, what brings you here?", he asked with a soft and reassuring smile.
"Well, just wanted to have a little discussion over the Mistels case", I smiled back at him.
"Oh, yeah sure, tell me"
"Umm, firstly, can you tell me a bit about his background?"
"Sure", saying this he took out a file from the pile on his table and put it before me."You can freely go through it. His real name is Halo Mistels, reportedly born in 1608 in some unknown place but occasionally he received letters from a small village in the northern region of Velvet Pentex named Everevans until just an year ago. Records show that he worked in a automobile factory in Lanster for about one and half year aged around 15-16 and then after he joined the infamous Resurrection guild formed by some staunch liberals, whose venture lasted for about another 2 years or so before his group was caught during one of their so-called 'revolutionary activities' for which the whole group was sentenced to execution but fortunately for him, the then Head of the Science and Law department of Marken street, Sir Edward Kenward developed an interest for him for unknown reasons and bailed him out to put him under his personal supervision. Just six months later, he then made a surprising entry into the scientific community with a theory related to atoms or something I guess and remained somewhat connected to them until the death of sir Kenward, a year and half ago. There you go- a brief summary of his background. You could find other significant details in that report though."
"Ah thank you officer, and may I get to know what is next regarding this case?"
"We're dispatching a squad to Everevans tomorrow to try to unravel the mystery behind those letters. Might uncover some hints," he shared.
My eyes glowed a bit as my mind struck an idea. Yes, it was certainly....
"Can you let me tag along with that group?" I asked, trying to keep my eagerness in check.
"Hmm? Sure you can but what for?", he asked a bit surprised.
Well, it's a science-centric case, right? You need someone with scientific knowledge to make sense of it all. Plus, it's a chance for me to understand Mistels on a personal level. And there's one more thing I want to investigate," I explained.
"Could you please elaborate upon that?"
"Ah, yes sure. Well, you see, while checking Mistels's papers, I found an interesting tiny detail- the rough sketch of a young girl at frequent intervals, which I assumed could be his artistic musings, or it could be someone close to him. If it's the latter, chances are she's in Everevans and maybe she knows a lot about this guy."
"Hmm, certainly you are right. Well, at the end, it is good that a trusted acquaintance of mine is going to see this case as most of the other guys are busy regarding King Ryan's assassination case," he said it in a fed up tone.
"But wasn't that like 2 weeks ago? and also didn't he survive that so why are they still wasting their time on finding the assassin?"
"The Elections, my brother. You see, the original law was that only two parties could compete for the national level elections- one from the royal family and one any other external party which has the highest no. of overall votes from the parliament. This time, Prince Milton, King Ryan's younger brother, decided too decided to join with his newly found party. So, we've got two slots for the royal family and this time the liberals party got the last slot, creating a hot mess of problems regarding unequal division of slots and likewise. It all escalated with the attempt on King Ryan's life."
"I guess this now somehow gave an opportunity for the conservative party and its supporters to raise their voice against the Liberals Party?"
"Absolutely right.. And know the cherry on top? Two days after the assassination attempt, Theo Darrens, one of the biggest businessman among the Liberals, had his office turned into ashes by some reported masked individuals in the dead of night.
"Ah yes, I'd heard somewhat of it."
"That incident now powered the liberals to put blame on the conservatives saying this and that about exploiting their power and so on by adding some extra spice to the topic. Now the same goes for this Mistels case."
"Yes, I understand the reason of protests and fights regarding this case. But even though I knew about it before, I'd no idea that it was a political war on such a large scale."
I knew it. I knew that something like this rubbish was brewing in the backend but blantly ignored it as it was not my problem. The reason for which the parties and its followers are fighting now is neither for the welfare of humanity nor as a genuine concern for the lost people or its citizens but simply for their own lust- the lust of power. It was simply a game of thrones played with the lives of the unsuspecting populace.
"Well, leaving that topic, I am really grateful to you for providing me such valuable information. May I ask for your leave now?"
"Sure and do remember that if you want to accompany those people to Everevans, then report to the railway station tomorrow at sharp 8 a.m. Got it?"
"Yes sir!", I nodded with commtiment.
Saying so, I left the police station and began to walk along the street, back to the tram station, when I just noticed a phone booth at a corner and recalled that a certain person had asked me to call them in the evening.
I opened the 'two' consecutive doors of the booth (apparently for soundproofing) and put 5 cents in the designated slot before dialing the number.
"Hello, this is Vistone speaking", I heard a voice over the phone.
"Mother? It's me..."
"Oh?! Carey, how are you doing my boy?"
"I'm fine, and why had you asked me to call now in that letter?"
"Well, I wanted to tell you that I'm coming to Markens tommorow! Welll, getting the ticket was hard though due to the rush of Rossens Week but your father somehow managed to get the ticket", she proudly stated the last line.
"So..., is father coming with you this time?", I meekly asked.
"Well...It's as always", she sighed.
"Oh, I see...No, wait, Mother, I'm afraid I won't be available tommorow onwards!"
"What?! And why is that so?"
"Well, You must've heard about the building disappearances here right? So, regarding that I have to go to Everevans tommorow"
"Everevans? What is that? Never heard of it."
"Well, it's a small village in Velvet Pentex, so not many people know about it obviously"
"Tell me Carey my boy, is it that urgent?"
"Well, it IS very urgent...umm, but don't cancel your journey tommorow. I'll send Bob to fetch you upon your arrival and look after you until I'm gone. I'll be back in about a day or two"
"I guess that's okay for me as your father honestly did stand in the queue for a long time to get that ticket, so I wouldn't want to waste it. Also, young Bob is a polite fellow. "
As soon as my mother completed that last line, I realised that it was raining outside.
"Mother, Time's running out for the phone so I'll contact you through Bob later tommorow, alright?"
"Yes, that's ok"
"Well then, I'm ending the call. See you later", saying this I ended the call and turned back, just to witness the horror of my life.
Raindrops had somehow become bloody red and people were lying completely unconscious down the street. Most horrifying of all, their faces seemed like they retained the expression which they were making just before getting unconscious. Some were happy, some even laughing,some showing no expression at all- all with their eyes open, making it seems like someone had turned off their power. I couldn't move for a few seconds trying to process everything. I had a feeling that this wasn't it, something big was about to come, something absolutely destruct-
And it turned out to be true.