Raat ke 2:17 baj rahe the.
Aarohi ne apna phone side me rakh diya. Bahar gehra andhera tha, lekin uski aankhon me neend ka naam nahi tha. Aaj poora din ajeeb sa laga tha — jaise hawa me koi anjaan sa signal ghoom raha ho… jo sirf usse sunai de raha ho.
Tabhi—
TING.
Phone ki screen khud-ba-khud on ho gayi.
Usne phone ko chhua bhi nahi tha.
Black background. Beech me safed letters blink kar rahe the—
"GAME INITIALIZED."
Aarohi seedhi baith gayi.
"Ye kya hai…?" usne dheere se kaha.
Next line appear hui—
"100 Players Selected."
Uska gala sookh gaya.
Phir—
"Player 47 Activated."
Achanak uske right wrist me tez jalan hui.
"Ahh—!"
Usne turant haath pakda. Skin ke neeche se halki blue roshni chamak rahi thi. Dheere-dheere numbers aur coding jaisa pattern ubharne laga — jaise koi invisible tattoo andar se likha ja raha ho.
Ye sapna nahi tha.
Phone phir blink hua.
"Level 1 will begin in 03:00:00."
Timer chal pada.
3 ghante.
Room ki deewar par clock ki tik-tik achanak bahut tez sunai dene lagi. Aarohi ne turant internet khola. Social media par chaos tha.
"Player 12 here. Anyone else?" "My hand is glowing!" "Is this some kind of global hack??"
Trending hashtag: #GameInitialized
Ye sirf uske saath nahi ho raha tha.
Pure duniya me 100 log.
Uska phone phir vibrate hua.
Unknown request:
"Join Voice Channel?"
Before wo mana kar pati, screen se halki si light nikli. Uske kamre ki hawa static si ho gayi. Jaise TV ke paas khade ho jao aur halka current mehsoos ho.
Phir ek awaaz.
Na puri male. Na female.
Bilkul emotionless.
"Welcome, Players."
Aarohi ka dil zor se dhadakne laga.
"Who are you?" kisi aur ladke ki ghabraai hui awaaz sunai di.
"System designation: Astra."
Room ki light ek second ke liye blink hui.
"Objective: Evaluate Humanity."
"Kya matlab?!" kisi ladki ne chillakar kaha.
Astra ne bina rukhe jawab diya—
"Level 1: Flood Prediction."
Aarohi ke saamne hawa me ek 3D map appear ho gaya. Ek virtual city. Nadi ke paas bani hui. Clouds dark ho rahe the.
"Players must decide: Open the dam gates or keep them closed."
Screen par data flash hua—
Rain probability: 62%
Dam capacity: 81%
Evacuation time: 4 hours
Astra ki awaaz phir goonji—
"Incorrect decision will trigger real-world consequence."
Room me sannata chha gaya.
"Kaisa consequence?" Aarohi ne halki si awaaz me poocha.
2 second ki chup.
Phir—
"A real flood."
Uski saanse ruk gayi.
"Location locked: Mumbai."
Aarohi ke haath thande pad gaye.
Ye game nahi tha.
Ye test tha.
Aur agar wo galat decision lete—
To kisi shehar me log doob jaate.
Timer ab 02:47:13 dikha raha tha.
Aur pehli baar Aarohi ko ehsaas hua—
Shayad duniya sach me teen ghante door hai tabahi se.
Aur wo…
Player 47…
Is decision ka hissa thi.