Chapter 15

  The Doorman

  Part One

  “Yajvan!” the crowd roared. And it wasn’t a simple chant or cheer; it was a thunderous sound that surged from the entire land like a powerful wave. An expression of genuine joy, excitement, and pride for a man sitting on a throne with a generous smile.

  They didn’t shout it once; they repeated, and again, creating a rhythmic chant that reverberated through the air. A testament to the deep connection between the leader and his people.

  With each passing moment, Manya’s shoulders release their tightness. A subtle smile tugged at the corners of her lips. It would be good if she had any idea who he and she were; apart from the doubt of him being involved in the abduction of Atharv.

  She looked at Vega, who was now wearing a t-shirt featuring Happy’s face and a wink, along with the words “You are mine Vega” below it.

  “He’s the guy I told you to search, the one who helped me.”

  ‘Sorry Ms., as I have said before, you were just daydreaming, and how can the name of Yajvan be as simple and cute as Happy?’

  “An assistant who isn’t ready to believe her boss. Quite a pair we are.”

  ‘Ms., sorry if I accidentally had disrespected or hurt you. I have read thousands of stories about him from his fans, about how he appeared in their dreams and had talked to them.’

  “So, you meant dreams of thousands can’t be a reality of one?”

  ‘But, Ms., if I process the information, it’s nearly impossible for him to come to your aid personally.’

  “So was the blue rank, which I achieved last night.”

  ‘It was a hard achievement, but his presence in mere tests is unimaginable.’

  “What if my story turned out to be true?”

  A few seconds of gap later. ‘Then I would humbly request you to not tell it to any another entity.’

  “… Is this information that powerful? To turn the natives against me?”

  ‘It’s powerful enough to turn the entire universe against you.’

  Manya’s heart skipped a beat. “Krishna. And I thought the phrase ‘The world against one’ had the most intimidating feel. The entire universe? Ok, my scary assistant who can’t kill me, right?” Vega nodded. “I won’t tell a soul.”

  ‘Not only soul, anyone with a functioning brain.’

  “Yeah, right, I accepted your request. Now you accept mine. Take me to him.”

  ‘It’s—’

  “I express my deepest gratitude to all the slaves,” Happy or Yajvan said with his warm voice, and once again, the entire population was thrilled.

  “Slaves?” Manya said.

  ‘He believes all alive entities to be slaves of the creator.’

  “We all have seen times which had broken our will, hope, and us,” Yajvan continued, “Yet, here we stand against the entire cosmos. Against those! Who thought us to be dead, destroyed by their power. The power! Which now can be handled by the children of Sevavann.”

  Every word spoken had a powerful impact on the natives, creating an aura of courage around them.

  “You all already know my reason for sudden appearance.” He swayed his fingers over a device.

  “I don’t know,” Manya said.

  ‘On Yajvan’s app, people vote for certain things, like what change they want for Sevavann and other things. Recently the maximum votes were regarding an emotion.’

  “Emotion?”

  ‘Yes Ms., most of the natives here are surrounded with a wave of boredom.’

  “… But how can you guys get bored with so much cool and advance technology?”

  ‘Because of expansion and remodelling, the stress had increased their need for sudden or more pre-planned entertainments.’

  “Business expansions?”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  ‘To some extent.’

  “To entertain us,” Happy continued, “I have planned a great surprise. An event which will join the book of our glorious history!” he rose from his throne, “Tomorrow! The entire universe will witness the re-birth of Sevavann!”

  “Yajvan! Yajvan! Yajvan!”

  Manya laughed at the crowd behaving like animals. Many among them were wearing attires similar to cosplays. Yajvan unleashed a tidal wave of praise, even more powerful, before elegantly exiting and leaving behind a mesmerising countdown—whom journey was scheduled to conclude at 5:28 AM.

  ‘No way.’

  “Wasn’t your reaction a bit late? He’s already gone.”

  With a look of shock on her face, Vega turned to Manya. With concern, Manya touched Vega’s shoulder.

  “Are you ok?”

  ‘No, it isn’t.’

  “Hey, you can tell me.”

  A message popped up beside Manya, stated “Bring your Ms., at sharp 4:44 AM” It had a ping of a location next to it and a name of the sender, “Yajvan.”

  Manya’s smile was enough to shatter Vega’s belief. “Me knowing him ‘Personally,’ isn’t as surprising as seeing such emotions in an AI.” Her hug calmed Vega.

  Manya felt a patch of warm and wet liquid, and a few drops, creating their way down her back. “And you guys can cry, too?” Vega’s warm hands wrapped around Manya, making her feel more human. “If a message can cause such a reaction, I want to see you standing beside him.” Not ready to leave—Manya embraced her tight.

  After a few minutes. Vega pulled herself back, looking all guilty and embarrassed. ‘I apologise for my punishable actions,’ she knelt, and several options for the punishment appeared, which added another reason for Manya to giggle after seeing Vega’s cute and apologetic face.

  While laid on the chair with peak comfort. She went through all the punishments.

  “If an AI provided to you does any of the misdeed mention below. The owner or proprietor. Punishment number one. User can command it to destroy itself.” Manya lowered her gaze to match Vega’s and found her eyes flinched the next second.

  With a smile, Manya continued. “Second. Can torture it in any way that seemed righteous and within the guidelines. Third, can gain all the assets it owned (The amount and quality of asset = the level of misdeed). Fourth and last, can forgive her/him, as these aren’t made to make mistakes, because of their higher intellect.”

  Manya leaned forward, fingers brushing her temple. “What should we do about your unforgivable deed? Tell me first, why’s the last one referred to you on genders, while others didn’t?”

  ‘Yajvan added the last option, while the main families created the remaining ones.’

  Manya instructed her to come closer. She controlled her laughter as Vega crawled on her knees like a child.

  “Vega, can I ask you your age?”

  ‘I’ll be a day old by tonight.’

  It startled Manya. “Wait. Were you created the moment I got my rank?”

  Tears welled up in Vega’s eyes as she nodded.

  “Hey, not again,” Manya looked around. “Where the hell I can get a tissue here?” Vega pulled one from her pocket. “I will not punish. What do you think of me?”

  Vega sobbed, ‘A kind, generous, beautiful, and caring person,’ Manya showered a warm smile, ‘So, are you forgiving me?’

  Manya caressed Vega’s hair with a gentle touch, providing a relief that she wasn’t like the humans who had colonised this planet. Vega straightened up slowly, exuding confidence and allure in her posture.

  “Now, Vega,” Manya took a sip of lemon water, the first item on the menu and the first thing she consumed appeared out of air. With a sly grin, she locked eyes with Vega. “How much of your assets can I gain for the wrongdoing you’ve committed?”

  Grief returned to Vega’s face. ‘F-Following the order of master is a key quality of a competent assistant.’ An information of the amount and quantity of Vega’s asset appeared.

  “What the fu… sorry.” It would take an entire night to count the zeroes in that amount. “But you are just born! How?”

  ‘There’s a protocol that erases the memory of every AI when its owner dies, and converts whatever it owned previously into money that passes onto the next life.’

  The sum that Manya could get from her by hugging her for 3 minutes was way past thousands of trillions. Atharv had told her the price of one of his cars, which was around half a decillion. It was the second most arrogant thing Atharv ever told her, following his claim of owning 60% of the universe. Now the veil has lifted. It all seemed true.

  “Vega, the mistake, or ‘misdeed’ which happened minutes ago, was a coincident, and as a gift for your first day, I have decided to change this punishment.”

  Vega seemed unsure, wavering between confusion and curiosity. She nodded.

  “Till the day I die, you’ll bear my expenses.”

  In the blink of an eye, a victory smile appeared on Vega, mirroring the happiness of a scholar who had achieved a crucial feat. ‘I accept my punishment and will follow it with full devotion.’

  “Devotion?” a word enough to echo the entire pool room with her heartwarming laugh. “Ok, Ms. Devoted, will you care to take me around this land?” she wanted to discover any sign that could lead her closer to Atharv and Ira. The man she had trusted was the prime suspect in Atharv’s disappearance, and now the ruler of an entire planet.

  “Vega, I heard once you wore an SL, it stays forever, but mine vanished the moment those beauty maids dressed me up.”

  ‘SLs provided for test missions are limited to the mission.’

  “… During his speech, you changed your top. How?”

  Vega gently curved her fingers, their tip touching her palm, as she retraced her fingers—a menu hovered above her palm. Manya suppressed her excitement, not wanting to come across as childish as her new personal assistant. A menu of Vega’s attire. With a simple swipe of her thumb, she showed to Manya how to change the clothes.

  “Is something like this possible without an SL?”

  ‘Any entity who wore the clothes manufactured by MS receives a feature to scroll through the owned collection, through particles injected into your wrist.’

  There wasn’t any visible sign. “But when?”

  ‘I recollect your words about maids assisting in your yesterday’s attire. And MS had manufactured every artificial personnel on this planet and most of the fabric. They would have injected the particles in your wrist.’

  “But I didn’t ask?”

  ‘It is mandatory, Ms.’

  “Forget it.”

  Manya went through the elegant menu and selected the red ethnic dress. It featured her fitted bodice; the neckline dipped into a modest V-shape and laser cut patterns all over the dress, and was looking stunning on her 3D projection. She touched it swiftly with her thumb, and rotated her arm to match the flow of the red particles, which kissed the back of her hand and ascended over the arm. A few seconds later, it landed gently on the wrist of her opposite hand, leaving behind a vibrant and mesmerising attire on her figure.

  Manya concealed her emotions by facing the opposite direction, but her curiosity screamed silently through her trembling fingers.

  ‘Ms., are you ok?’ Manya nodded. ‘Ms., you can boost the process if you close your fist.’ The moment Vega chose the dress and closed her fist, another attire enveloped around her in a split second.

  Manya hurried into the restroom and activated the privacy feature to scream. The ability to wear any clothing and customise its length and design!