David enters the Meteorology Department building. It
smells like old paper and chemicals—the universal scent of academic research.
Lab B is a small lecture hall combined with a practical workspace. Rows of
desks face a large whiteboard, and the back is filled with weather monitoring
equipment that looks expensive.
There are already about fifteen students inside,
mostly PhD candidates and post-grads. They look at David with curiosity. He is
dressed casually, clearly not part of their cohort.
'I need to blend in. If I stand out too much as an
outsider, they might think I am a thief.'
He finds a seat in a corner. He pulls out a notebook
and a pen from his bag to look busy.
'NEAA, scan the room. Search for anything useful.'
"Scanning... There is a laptop on the lecturer's
desk. It is connected to the University Intranet.
If we can get the Professor to open a file on that computer, I can execute the
payload and bridge the connection to the Supercomputer cluster."
'Good. Then the plan remains the same: impress him,
get his email, send the file, make him open it.'
At exactly 10:33 AM, Professor Sadhique Ali walks
in. The atmosphere in the room shifts instantly. The students straighten their
backs.
"Good morning, everyone," the Professor says,
placing his briefcase on the desk. He spots David in the front corner and gives
a small, welcoming nod. David nods back respectfully.
The lecture begins. The topic is Cyclonic
Circulation Patterns in the Bay of Bengal.
For the first twenty minutes, David is lost. The jargon is heavy—vorticity, Coriolis
force, barometric pressure gradients.
'NEAA, translate this into simple English.'
"He is explaining how the rotation of the earth
affects wind direction during a storm formation."
With NEAA's real-time simplification whispering in
his ear, David manages to follow along. He even takes notes, looking like the
most diligent student in the room.
After an hour, the lecture concludes, and the floor
opens for questions. A few students ask technical queries. Finally, the room
quiets down.
The Professor looks at David. "David, you mentioned
you had some ideas about landslide mitigation? Since you are here, why don't
you share them? We have ten minutes left."
All eyes turn to David. David removed the earphones
and kept it inside pocket.
The PhD students look skeptical. 'They must be thinking
I am some expert invited by Professor'
But their actual thoughts were 'I thought we can go
early looks like we have to listen to this too'
David stands up. 'This is it. Show time.'
"Yes, sir." After keeping his bag to the side, he
begins his explanation. "As I mentioned, my idea is named Pile Net Substrate Mechanism. It's a solution
for soil stabilization in high-rainfall zones."
One of the PhD students who looks older than David, "Can
you explain the structure?" adjusting his glasses.
"It is better if I draw it," David says. He walks up
to the whiteboard.
He picks up a marker. He looks at the blank white
surface.
'NEAA, I am bad at drawing. If I draw a crooked
line, they will laugh at me. So, help with it. You can use my right hand. I
want this drawing to look like a CAD printout.'
David places the marker tip on the board.
Suddenly, his arm moves.
It doesn't move like a human arm, with small jitters
and hesitations. It moves with the smooth, precision of a CNC machine.
Zip. Zip. Zip.
Perfect straight lines appear. Perfect circles.
Cross-hatching for soil layers.
The sound of the marker on the board is rhythmic, magical.
Within sixty seconds, a complex, three-dimensional cross-section of a hillside
reinforced with the net mechanism appears on the board. The labels are written
in flawless, architect-style block lettering.
David steps back. His hand relaxes.
'Wow. That felt... weird. Like my hand was
possessed.'
The room is silent. The skepticism on the students'
faces has vanished, replaced by confusion and awe. Humans don't draw like that.
Professor Ali stands up and walks to the board,
adjusting his spectacles. He traces a line in the air near the drawing.
"This... this is incredibly detailed," the Professor
says, looking at David with new eyes. "Did you do a drafting course?"
"Agriculture requires a lot of drawing, sir, insects,
plants etc." David lies smoothly. 'Actually, I can't even draw a stick figure
properly.'
"The design is sound," the Professor mutters,
analyzing the mechanics. "The root structure binding with the net... yes, this
would increase soil shear strength. David, this is master's level work. No,
this is patentable."
He turns to David, beaming. "You must send me the
full details. I want to study this in detail. Maybe we can get government
support too."
'Hook, line, and sinker. This is what I wanted.'
"I have the full project file on my phone, sir. It
includes the plant stumps to be used and the mesh
material. Can I email it to you?"
"Yes, please. Send it right now." The Professor
grabs a piece of chalk and writes an email address on the side of the board:
David immediately pulls
out his phone. He pretends to type.
'NEAA, send the package. Do everything needs to be
done. Make sure its untraceable.'
"File sent. The script is designed to execute as
soon as the image is viewed."
"Sent, sir," David says aloud.
The Professor walks over to the main terminal on his
desk. He types in his password and opens his email client.
David holds his breath. Takes the earphones out and
puts it back on.
'Open it. Open it.'
"Ah, received," the Professor says. He clicks the
attachment.
On the large projector screen, the diagram David
just drew appears, but in even higher resolution.
"Excellent," the Professor murmurs.
'NEAA?'
"Access granted. The script has infiltrated the
University Intranet. I am now routing through the Professor's credentials to
the Central Server. Establishing a backdoor... Done. We have access to the Supercomputer
cluster 'PARAM'."
David lets out a breath he didn't know he was
holding. Now he starts sweating if anyone finds out this will be his end.
"Sir," David says, putting on his humble face. "I am
just happy you think it is useful. I have to go now to pack for my trip, but I
will definitely come to your house when I return to Hyderabad."
The Professor shakes his hand warmly. "Are you going
back to Kerala. But I must say this is brilliant work, David. We will stay in
touch."
David walks out of the lab, his right-hand tingling
slightly from the exertion.
As he steps out into the sunlight, he smiles.
'Mission accomplished. Now, let's go buy some
sweets.'
"Yes, david" NEAAs voice
has become some more realistic.