being icy cool

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ABHIJIT KARNIK

BEINGICY

COOL


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First Indian Edition 2008, published by Coriander Books.

ABHIJIT KARNIK

Coriander Books

[A Division of PrimeTime Publishing]

1st Floor, Ujagar Silk Mills,

Opp Deonar Bus Depot,

Sunder Baug,

Deonar,

Mumbai - 400 088.

Tel: 6770 4141/42/43

Fax: 6770 4144

E-mail: [email protected]

ISBN: 978-81-8372-043-4

No part of this book may be reproduced, or transmitted

in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording, or by any information

storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing

from the publisher.

Printed at Krystal Print Products, Mumbai.

Cover Design &

Page Layouts: Neeta Patel

All Rights Reserved

www.primetimepublishing.in


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To Ni and KaTo Ni and KaTo Ni and KaTo Ni and KaTo Ni and KaThe Class of IC2K

For my parents and sis.For my parents and sis.For my parents and sis.For my parents and sis.For my parents and sis.For being there, all through.

Special thanks to Raj,Special thanks to Raj,Special thanks to Raj,Special thanks to Raj,Special thanks to Raj,editor, PrimeTime Publishing,

for patiently dealing

with the navetiesof a first-time author.


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CCCCCOOOOONNNNNTTTTTEEEEENNNNNTSTSTSTSTS

PROLOGUEPROLOGUEPROLOGUEPROLOGUEPROLOGUE ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 11111

I .I .I .I .I . FINDING THE GUIDEFINDING THE GUIDEFINDING THE GUIDEFINDING THE GUIDEFINDING THE GUIDE ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 33333

I I .I I .I I .I I .I I . FLIGHTS OF IMAGINATIONFLIGHTS OF IMAGINATIONFLIGHTS OF IMAGINATIONFLIGHTS OF IMAGINATIONFLIGHTS OF IMAGINATION ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 41 41 41 41 4

I I I .I I I .I I I .I I I .I I I . DOES HE NOT LOVE?DOES HE NOT LOVE?DOES HE NOT LOVE?DOES HE NOT LOVE?DOES HE NOT LOVE? ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 02 02 02 02 0

I V.I V .I V .I V .I V . FLEAS OF A THOUSAND MANGY CAMELSFLEAS OF A THOUSAND MANGY CAMELSFLEAS OF A THOUSAND MANGY CAMELSFLEAS OF A THOUSAND MANGY CAMELSFLEAS OF A THOUSAND MANGY CAMELS ................................................................. 6 46 46 46 46 4

V.V.V.V.V. MEANING OF TIMEMEANING OF TIMEMEANING OF TIMEMEANING OF TIMEMEANING OF TIME ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 09 09 09 09 0

VI .V I .VI .V I .V I . GORDIAN KNOTGORDIAN KNOTGORDIAN KNOTGORDIAN KNOTGORDIAN KNOT ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 3 41 3 41 3 41 3 41 3 4

VII .VI I .VI I .VI I .VI I . LOOSE ENDSLOOSE ENDSLOOSE ENDSLOOSE ENDSLOOSE ENDS ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 4 61 4 61 4 61 4 61 4 6


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PRPRPRPRPROOOOOLLLLLOOOOO GGGGGUUUUUEEEEE

DDDDDid yid yid yid yid y ooooou gu gu gu gu geeeeet tt tt tt tt thhhhhe me me me me meeeeessssssssssaaaaagggggeeeee?????

You sure got the message! In the event you didnt, you ought to read this

book.

It does not promise to reveal the many secrets about the Universe, though it

takes a pot-shot at them. There are no words of wisdom that will make sense to

the sensible folks who consider other peoples opinion or writing as level-

headed.

This book is a mirror. You may look-in and sound-out theories that seemoutrageous or downright nonsensical.

If youve read this far, I strongly recommend that you read further too.

But first a quick reminder:

BUY ME!

AAAAAbbbbb eeeeeThis novel is about Abe. There is no intention to offer a powerful introduction

to the central character of the book just a prcis about him would suffice. Afterall, this work charts Abes nature, character, his progress, metamorphosis and

eventual destiny.

So, without much ado, lets present Abe.

Abe is a typical above-average guy. By calling him above-average, I indicate

that he is neither the re-incarnation of Albert Einstein nor Bozo, the Clown. With

a measured IQ of 136, Abe is supposed to possess a mental age far advanced than

his physical age. But as they say, Standardized intelligence tests are as much ameasure of intelligence as the barometer is the measure of wind velocity. So the

figure136 fails to reveal a great deal about Abe.

By the way, this work is also intended to explore the unsaid. Abe is the typical

boy next door, all right. By the expression, boy next door, one is usually tempted

to think of a Greek God staying incognito for a momentary duration to allow

some inexplicable curse to wear off. This is what they usually do in the movies.

The guy/gal next door is also essentially the next Ms Universe or MrUnderpants-Outside-Trousers-Superhero. Abe is not. He wont be donning a cape

and flying around the world, at night. Also he wont fall for the most beautiful

babe in town. Hes what we simply emphasize as the boy next door.

Yet he remains the central character of this book.


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AAAAAcccccccccceeeeeppppp tttttaaaaannnnnccccce oe oe oe oe of Ef Ef Ef Ef Exxxxxiiiiisssss ttttteeeeennnnnccccceeeee

I would also like to clearly spell out a few additional details.

A-F-E-W-D-E-T-A-I-L-S.

Agreed there is a vast fountain of prolific and highly imaginative writing out

there. In no particular order of preference, I accept that books, or series, likeHarry Potter, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Illusions, The One, Lord of

the Rings, Cosmos, Contact etc., reside in our consciousness.

Ive had the good opportunity to read some of them. It is, therefore, expected

that since I tend like most of us do to assimilate the essence of the book I

read, my writing could be influenced subtly, or otherwise, by their fundamental

nature. It is, as a result, expected that my readers recognize this reality with a

pinch of salt and try to understand the soul of my work, instead of trying to

dissect it into its constituents. While Ive made no attempt to stand among the

ranks of the great minds that created immortal works, the right to freedom of

expression, and of thought, is duly respected and exercised.

This books origins are rather strange. It started with a plan to write

memoirs of our class of IC2K [Instrumentation and Control Batch of 2000].

However, owing to several constraints, if not differences, and lack of co-

ordination, the plans never materialized. All the same, I was extremely keen to

note down events that dictated my life over a span of four very significantyears.

This would seem a boring narrative if I were to stick to reality and/or stay true

to the timelines. In addition, I found it difficult to address the entire book as a first-

person narrative.

As a result, fact now appears mutated to fiction and/or fused to totally

unrelated incidents. Most of the incidents are purely a figment of my imagination.

They may have never transpired. To do justice to the characters, however, andto make reading interesting, I present story-bound forms of the many real-life

people who played important roles during those momentous four years.

Put succinctly, this book only uses fictionalized accounts of real incidents to

glue together totally fictitious events. There is also no intent, or attempt made, to

hurt the sensitivities or sentiments of any individual overtly or covertly.

Coincidences, if any, are doubtlessly unintentional.

A K


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IIIII. FI. FI. FI. FI. FINNNNNDDDDDIIIIINNNNNG TG TG TG TG THHHHHE GUE GUE GUE GUE GUIIIIIDDDDDEEEEE

11111. D. D. D. D. Duuuuullllll Dl Dl Dl Dl Daaaaay iy iy iy iy in Cn Cn Cn Cn Clllllaaaaassssssssss

It was a beautiful day. The perfect day when one ought to be in the open,

driving down an empty highway, wind blowing through ones hair, or maybe

lazing by the pool in a cozy deck chair.

The Sun was partly obscured by the clouds. The hide-and-seek effect it was

creating was what gets you into the mood for poetry, or activity that spawns the

need for poetry.

But this is the very problem, thought Abe. He was stuck in a room with a

dull white coloured wall listening to a teacher, a good teacher, who, for once,

failed to hold his attention. This is the very problem, continued Abe, albeit to his

own self. He had come to realize through painful experiences that asking simple

questions or making even simpler statements aloud could invite a great deal of

trouble. For instance, there was a time, when in 2nd Grade, Abe had made that

mistake, for the first and maybe the last time.

The textbook said in bold words, Air is everywhere. He had also readsometime before about this thing called space, where you couldnt stay without a

spacesuit because there was no air. Besides, it was also inconveniently filled with

something called vacuum. He had found out that spacesuits were not available at

the local clothes shop, which meant that not many kids went into space. But the

thought that you could float made it a very lucrative playground for him. By the

time he finished a game of space-tag in his mind, the teacher had finished the

lecture too.

Do you have any questions? The funny thing about this question is that no

one is supposed to answer. You are supposed to look at the pretty girl sitting on the

chair to your right. You think it was addressed to her, while she looks at you and

thinks it was addressed to the clown on her left.

But that day, way back in 2nd Grade, Abe had broken the rule. He had raised

his hand and before the teacher could ignore his pitiable but defiant attempt to

break the rule, he said, I have read there is no air in space. What followed next

was something that Abe would like to forget. There was also a reason why Abewas remembering his gaffe today. There was something in common. Both were

beautiful days.

Time is a great teacher. As time progressed, Abe realized that all the knowledge,

which lecturers imparted, was simply outdated. It was not the fault of the


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education system. It was just that, like every well-oiled machine that tends to

creak in some unexpected corner, every system was outdated in some part or

whole. Abe had come to believe that it was his obligation to the greater good to

be in that working part of the machine, or system. So, here he was, listening to

things that had been taught to people who had sat in the same seat as he was

doing now. There were also two fundamental flaws in the whole picture.Firstly, the seat he was sitting in wasnt there 10 years ago; in fact, it was not in

existence even five years before him, since this college was just as old. Five years.

Secondly, there was nothing wrong about learning things that had been taught 10

years ago. 2+2 = 4 has been in vogue for ages, written or oral. It would be pretty

incorrect to change it to 2+2 = 10. Given a chance, Abe would have argued that

2+2 is actually equal to 10. This emerges, hed well say, from the normal human

brain, bearing direct descent from [or, to satiate the theological lot ascent from]

the Devonian fish with ten phalanges to comprehend a 10-based numeral system.

Abe, however, considered himself to be a flawed descendant. He took no

offence to the word descent, since it was as good as ascent. His argument would

have stated, that given a base-4 system, 2+2 would actually equal 10. Or, maybe

01, given your ability or a birth-enforced disposition to read from right to left or

left to right. This was all for the sake of argument. The main pain-area of the whole

matter was that given the rapid pace of industrial development, the technology

aspect being forcibly taught was used by his parents and people of their time too when they were of Abes age but not necessarily due to the prohibitive cost

of technology of the time.

No modern-day astronomer would be caught dead with the drawing of

the Earth, held up on the back of a turtle swimming in an ocean, with the stars,

the Sun and the Moon revolving above. Likewise, no modern-day process

plant would be found working on outdated instrumentation, which Abe was

learning about.

There was very little to despair for the greater good.

The study course was being revamped, but for the batch to which Abe

belonged it was too late. They would be the last martyrs to the age-old belief

that old is gold.

This was the proverb for an antique shop salesman, not for Abe.

Abe felt exasperated. It was a beautiful day outside, yet its effect didnt permeate

inside or into the classroom. Forever cut-off, it was like being inside some black-hole with a selective filter. What appalled Abe the most was the fact that the

beautiful day did little to improve the mood of the lecturer. Probably, it was the

boring subject matter. Teaching crap is possibly more boring than learning it. The

learner or the listener has the choice to tune out the teacher or the speaker. The

speaker didnt have this privilege.


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sky above us as if mocking at our attempt to reach infinity. Yes, we will never be

happy, because infinity cannot be reached.

Abe had arrived at this conclusion a long time ago. But just for the heck of it,

he too was running the rat race. It gave him a sense of satisfaction, or rather a deep

sense of dissatisfaction that seemed like satisfaction that he was doing something.

He wrote: There will be a time when we can be happy. After having spent ourwhole life running after happiness, we die. We hear people silently cursing us for

making them spend a beautiful day at the cemetery, or those who we dislike say

good things about us. We often settle scores on this beautiful day. Revenge is

sweet, but I have heard the dead cant hear

The lecture over, Abe decided to skip the next one. He had company for this

mission. This was his friend, Nilesh.


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22222. I. I. I. I. Innnnnttttt rrrrrooooo ddddduuuuuccccciiiiinnnnng Ng Ng Ng Ng Niiiiillllleeeeessssshhhhh

They say that opposites attract. It is not known who those they are, but

when it came to Abe and Nilesh, nothing better proved their statement. Given

their profiles [Abe and Nilesh], nobody could say that the duo shared even a single

conversation together. On the contrary, they were the best of friends. Their

association started on the day the college began. Abe found Nilesh seated behind

him, claiming to be from a school which, Abe felt, produced intelligent, but absolute

bozos. To Abe, Nilesh was not exactly a bozo it seemed that their wavelength

matched to some extent. This was where their similarities ended.

Nilesh was suave, a natural lady-charmer. Hed disagree, but Abe would

back up his claim with numbers. Nilesh was also passionate about his waistline

and food. Though these two passions dont go well together, he managed tostrike the right balance. He also liked playing tennis and pranks. He was a good

singer. He hated computers and engineering alike and suffered from Monday

morning sickness a dislike for spending two hours of the first day of the week

doing carpentry or plumbing in the workshop. He also had a no-nonsense attitude

towards other people, which he relaxed a little for Abe. This was probably why

they were such good friends. Abe and Nilesh were different. Abe wasnt anything

that Nilesh was. He was, well, different.


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33333. I. I. I. I. Immmmmppppprrrrrooooobbbbbaaaaa bbbbblllll eeeee, P, P, P, P, Prrrrrooooo bbbbbaaaaabbbbblllll eeeee

The two friends managed to escape from the class after the first lecturer left

and the other entered. They, as usual, went to their hideout. It was not exactly a

hideout. There was nothing like a hideout on their college campus.

The first thought that struck Abe about the campus, on seeing it for the first

time, was, Gosh, it is so naked. He had begun to imagine a fierce gun-battle

raging on the campus and the apparent difficulty anyone could face while going

from one block to the other.

The so-called hideout was a secluded place on the north side of Block-B. It

was the perfect location for people not wanting to attend classes on such a beautiful

day. Funnily, Nilesh and Abe were the only ones there. It didnt matter to them.

Their spot was empty and they flopped down there. Both of them liked the place

for a reason. Trees. It was shady and cool. To top it all, there was a clearing in the

foliage above. While the Sun did not shine on them directly, the sky would still be

visible without hindrance. This had another advantage too. Sitting under trees

afforded the hazard of being targeted by frightened or pissed-off birds. To be hit

by bird droppings was less probable. Abe proved to Nilesh through trajectory

calculations, compounded with vectorial deflection by wind, the probability of a

bird actually wanting to drop into a clearing barely 12 feet across on two loafingindividuals. This theory was soon rewarded, not by a Nobel Prize in Physics, but

by Nileshs thwack on Abes head with a large textbook.

Great minds tend to think at the most inappropriate times. Nilesh and Abe

were soon engaged in a rather one-sided discussion relating to probabilities, while

lying on the grass and watching the clouds float by.

So, what do you think? Probability of everything happening or not happening

lies between 0 and 1, rambled Abe, while Nilesh was trying to wonder if the lastcloud that went by was a Double Sundae or Black Forest Delight. This means,

everything, however improbable, is actually probable until something otherwise

has already happened. After all, we only talk of probability of events that are yet

to occur. Otherwise, the probability of the event simply shifts invariably and

unchangeably to either 0 or 1. A whimper from Nilesh indicated that he was not

exactly enjoying it. Abe knew it was weak resistance.

He pressed on, Now, consider knowledge. We dont have it all. We are hereand well spend another two-and-a-half years trying to gain some. What is the

probability that we will gain anything, if at all, out of it?

Given the present circumstances, as we are skipping lectures, the probability

of us not gaining something is right now tipping towards 1, interjected Nilesh.


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This is not true, although I certainly wish I could gain all the knowledge

about how to exist, at one go, conveniently indexed. Now, what is the probability

of this thing happening within the next 30 minutes? It is certainly not zero. And if

an event ensuring this were to occur right now, your needle of probability, which

is tipping towards 1, would tilt to zero and remain stuck there forever.

Yeah, you are talking about an improbable event happening to two lousy

loafers who have nothing better to do than lie down on the lawn and talk about

probability. Now, what is the probability ofthat happening? I say zero! said

Nilesh.

Abe responded, On the contrary, my dear idler friend, since we are already

here, that part of the event has already happened and the probability of the other

part of the event happening too is pushed towards 1 and not zero. In addition, I

can guarantee you that the probability of you jumping to your feet in the next 10seconds is 1.

Crap! said Nilesh, You need a bull charging at me to make me do that!

Abe laughed and said, I guess the 8-legged arachnid skittering on your shirt

should be enough.

Argh! retorted Nilesh as he jumped to his feet jerking the hairy apparition

off his shirt, and joining Abe in his hysterical laughter. Then abruptly the two

stopped. Say, now that is improbable! as they stared at a 3-foot circular patch onthe grass which seemed to be getting a full blast of sunshine.

How does sunlight that is not even directly overhead produce a patch three

feet across when the clearing is at least four times across? asked Abe.

He didnt get an answer. He was not looking for one. There was a good reason

the reason being that the intensity of light was growing by the moment. Soon,

it reached a level where it was no more possible to look at it without shielding the

eyes. Then it happened. Just as abruptly the light had appeared, it vanished too. It

took some time for Abe, temporarily blinded by the light, to be able to see anything.

It felt as if he had walked into a dark room after spending a good deal of time

outside on a bright, sunny afternoon.

The recovery complete, he realized that the glow had left an artefact. It was

a small object about the size of A-4 paper, its thickness encompassing 25 such

pages put together. It was shaped like a book and in all respects looked like one

and it was as green as grass.


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44444. Q. Q. Q. Q. QWWWWWEEEEERTRTRTRTRT Y oY oY oY oY or Dr Dr Dr Dr DVVVVVOOOOORRRRRAAAAAKKKKK

What the fish is that? asked Abe. As an unspoken rule, both Abe and Nilesh

desisted from using the actual 4-letter expletive.

Abe was in no mood to wait for Nilesh to respond. He was already bendingover the curious object that was lying in the grass. He had a deep feeling that this

was something not ordinary. There was nothing groundless in that feeling. After

all, how many things actually drop out of nowhere in a blinding flash of light and

are normal? For Trekkies, this would be pretty normal. Beam me up, Scotty! is

probably the most famous phrase Captain James Tiberius Kirk reportedly never

used, although its been attributed to him. However, even a hardcore Trekkie

would surely be surprised if a Klingon were to materialize in their drawing

room, while watching Star Trek.Abe found the thing to be somewhat cold. He actually expected it to be warm.

He was imagining a fiery entry into the Earths atmosphere, wherein friction would

drive up the temperatures in the thousands range. But he realized that the thought

was absurd. If the object had taken the normal entry route through the Earths

atmosphere, assuming it came from outer space, the object would not have just

plopped down on the grass without leaving a sizable crater. By trying to push the

equations of terminal velocity and gravitational acceleration floating in his head,

out into the void of space, Abe was playing with the absurdity of expectation. All

was valid as long as the event was normal. This event was not normal. Logically

illogical, thought Abe. This one is definitely not normal, so the object not being

warm is certainly normal Abnormally normal.

He picked it up. It was seemingly a simple electronic gadget, with a

translucent rectangle at the top, which seemed to be a kind of display. A little

below, he saw there was some kind of activity. It was as if the object was re-

organizing its structure. Abe half expected it to be some kind of a door thatopened for a small alien to pop out, and say, Hello Earthling! I come in peace.

Take me to your leader!

Logically illogical! thought Abe, again. How would the alien know he was an

Earthling, a resident of Earth? How would the alien know the 3rd rock from the Sun

was actually called Earth, that too only by a select part of the large population of

life that inhabits it? How would it know the existence of a societal structure among

the most dominant species of Earth? And lastly how would it know that Abe, a

representative of life on Earth, understood English?

While he was running berserk with his thought train, Abe felt a kind of a

funny singing sound in his head. It was just like singing of electric wires, which

seems to happen at times. Most people never notice this because we have no

time to look around and try to figure out sounds coming from somewhere. But


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Abe had this habit. He was a kind of person who had some difficulty

comprehending simple spoken words, but was able to pinpoint the source and

reason for a sound that no one else would hear. Surprisingly, he was not able to

place the source of this sound. It was kind of confusing. It seemed the sound was

coming from inside his head and all logic defied the existence of the sound. Abe

knew his brain was not exactly a sound-producing organ.

His thought train was interrupted by something that appeared on the display

screen of the object. It read, Interesting thoughts! QWERTY or DVORAK?

The words QWERTY and DVORAK were flashing alternately. Abe was kind of

confused. The first line made sense. His thoughts had at least been somewhat

interesting. But the second line didnt make sense. Then he got the question. The

question was about what kind of input keyboard he desired. This was apparent

from the fact that the re-arrangement on the objects surface had created

something similar to a keyboard. He must have thought in some corner of his

mind it was QWERTY, since the output now read, QWERTY it is!

55555. T. T. T. T. T hhhhhe Fe Fe Fe Fe F iririririr sssss t Qt Qt Qt Qt Quuuuueeeeesssss tttttiiiiiooooonnnnn

Abe watched the changing structure on the surface as it formed itself into the

QWERTY keyboard.

Your request has been granted!

The words were accompanied by the ebbing and disappearance of the singing

sound.

Let me introduce myself.Words continued to form on the display.

I am the Guide to Existence.

To explain my presence here, you first need to understand the Theory of

Multiverses.

* * *


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66666. T. T. T. T. T hhhhheeeee ooooorrrrr y oy oy oy oy o f Mf Mf Mf Mf Muuuuulllll ttttt iiiiivvvvv eeeeerrrrr sssss eeeeesssss

The display started changing rapidly, scrolling the text, but only as fast as Abe

could read it.

Multiverses are a result of the laws surrounding the Big Bang. To theuninitiated, this is the event that brought all the universes into existence. The

perspective to the whole event cannot be explained to an individual in a direct

way since an individual is constrained by the limited perspective of their small

segment of their own instance of the multiverse compounded by the limited

awareness of dimensions. It is like trying to explain to an individual, who is a part

of a 2-D existential instance, that there is another plane or another existential

instance above him. It would not make sense to the individual since s/he doesnt

know the meaning of above , or correctly put, s/he lacks the ability to be awareof Above.

Hence, poetic liberties with similes are put to use to explain the multiverses.

The Big Bang is like, well simply put, a big bomb going off. The basic law that we

picture in this event is that of Conservation of Momentum. According to it, we

see that the movement of individual fragments moving away is directly related to

the movement of other fragments to bring the sum total of momentum to zero.

The Big Bang in the nth dimension is also similar. Now, though this is an unexplained

postulate, owing to the limitation of granularity of matter at that level, the

explosion resulted not only in fragments of the lowest possible size, but also of the

same size.

Like in bomb fragments the individual fragment is not necessarily inert; it

could be dynamically evolving as it moves further. This, effectively, is the

occurrence of diverse events following the occurrence of the Big Bang. However,

this is seen only for the singular fragment or universe instance.

From a broader perspective, fragments moving in relatively similar directionsare linked to each other. By certain methods, it is possible to traverse across such

interlinked universes. There are chances that the progression of events is similar; it

may also be possible to find individuals who are exact copies of individuals from

your own instance of the Universe.

To Abe, this was pretty heavy-duty stuff as the concept of above would be

to the resident of a two-dimensional world. The next question was quite obvious,

Why me?The Guide was ready for this. The display continued to scroll showing new

words.

Abehin and Niehin were perplexed with the same question as maybe you

are. Do you know the question? Niehin was the first to come up with it. Abehin


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only helped him figure out the answer. Well, this Guide wont tell you the question.

If you have the Guide, you already know the question. It is time to go after the

answer. Abehin and Niehin created the Guide and had it published. While it was

received pretty well in their Universe, they felt the need to pass on their perspective

to their counterparts in other universes. So, here, you have it in your hands.

Why call it the First Universe? asked Abe.

It is called the First Universe because its the First Universe to stumble upon

the question and try to answer it. You may also ask how you can be sure of that.

The fact is, any instance of the Universe that finds the answer will try to tell the

other universes that are closest. This will propagate till everyone knows the answer.

Since the First Universe never got the answer from another Universe, Abehin and

Niehin took the privilege to call it the First Universe the First Universe that

attempted to answer the question.Abehin and Niehin were not the first to try and give the answer to the question.

Over 2,500 years ago, as measured by our time scales, Moserahin had also tried

doing it. He, however, chose to share the answer only with his close confidants

and not with the residents of his own Universe. So, his work is believed to be lost,

as seen by the First Universe. The only thing known about it is a part of its name

was a number, number 10.

The last question which seems to be in your mind, right now, and which

follows the logical sequence of questions, is that why the Guide is referred as it,

when you seem to be reading from it. The Guide is referred as it since it is not

what you are reading it from. What you are reading it from is a translator device

that converts the Guides contents into a language understood by you. Do you

think your language is thelingua franca of all the multiverses? Of course not! I

read into your synaptic signals and generate the required translation algorithm.

******

All right, it is nearly time for a break. We need to get out of here. I am damn

hungry, Nilesh said as if he was feeling drowsy. Abe looked at Nilesh. He was just

sitting up and brushing off the grassy artefacts that clung to the back of his shirt.

Abe was quite perplexed. Was Nilesh not standing by him a moment ago? He

wondered why, whilst at the threshold of such an important discovery, all Nilesh

could think of was food. He wondered what Niehin would be like. Or, maybe,

Nilesh had a different purpose to fulfil in this Universe. He also wondered how

Abehin would be like. There was one difference between him and Abehin. UnlikeAbehin, he already knew the question. And in the midst of this, Abe forgot the

most important question hed have asked.


20/20

Being Icy Cool is a racy, sepia-tinted novel of coll ege lif e.

It revolves around Abe, the protagonist, and his two

friends , Nilesh and Kanani their ups and dow ns and of

grow ing up beyond the shackles of what's righ t and what

isn ' t wrong

It also ho lds a mirro r that reflects onl y one image. Your own

whil e you' re in college!

This novel depicts the life and times of avant-gardecollegian

Abe his nature, character, progress, metamorphosis and

eventual destiny.

Abe is the typical boy next door, all right.

By the expression, 'boy next door,' you are often tempted to

think of a Greek God living secretly for a while to allow some

mysterious curse to wear off.

Not Abe, who is effect ively a master of underplay.

What's more, Abe does not carry a cape and fly around the

world. He'll also never fall for the most beautiful babe in town,

even when he's hypnotized by her alluring eyes.

Why? Because, Abe carries a resolute mind a mind blessed

with imaginative flair a mind that takes him to the pinnacle of

glory and also derision.

In other words, Abe is a winner who feels he's a loser no less.

Fiction Rs 250

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being icy cool

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