Interlude: Kumaraswamy (Patreon)

“The Minister will see you now,” the secretary announced.

Dr. J.D. Kumaraswamy straightened his tie.

“Nervous?” asked Kalachakra. 

Kumaraswamy repressed a snort. “Some of us have superhuman powers, others are very much at the mercy of the Minister. It’s best not to trigger him.”

“He does tend to be detail-oriented,” agreed the ultra. “The stars speak of it.”

One did not need star charts to see that, thought Kumaraswamy. Still, there was no point to antagonising one of his few allies. 

The Minister’s office was a study in hard-panelled wood, with several portraits on the walls. Kumaraswamy counted Gandhi, Netaji, and no less than six other former leaders from the Minister’s party. He forced himself to pay attention to the man behind the desk … and the unwelcome interloper also at the table. 

The Minister of Home Affairs, Abhinav Chowdhary, reclined back in his chair, his eyes sharp and piercing. Eyes that sparkled with the vitality of youth, despite being almost eighty years of age.

Chowdhary had clawed his way up through the ranks of the party, winning election after election in his home state of Uttar Pradesh, and decimating opponents both outside and within the party. Over the course of his career, a half-dozen of those opponents had gone ‘missing’ - whether because of Chowdhary or not would never be known. 

Anyone in the Home Ministry could tell you, though, that Abhinav Chowdhary was no stranger to violence. In the three years since becoming Home Minister, he’d left quite an impression on the civil servants who answered to him.

Said civil servants included the Enforcement Directorate, the Intelligence Bureau, and the Indian Police Services. It said a lot about the man. 

Opposite the Home Minister sat the man Kumaraswamy had hoped he’d never have to deal with. The ultrahuman’s costume was a single-piece orange bodysuit, with the number ‘2’ in a bluish green emblazoned across the chest. 

“Kumaraswamy,” the Minister spoke softly. “I read your report. Explain.”

No invitation to sit, right. That was one of the Minister’s standard tactics - force people to stand, keep them off balance. 

“Sir. We spoke to the ultra Belessar. He has volunteered to help research Aerovascar, make some of it. He will also agree to work with us as a hired mercenary, and support our defence efforts.”

“Why?” asked Chowdhary. 

“He asked for ten thousand dollars a day.”

“Don’t toy with me,” Chowdhary barked, leaving Kumaraswamy flinching. “You know he could make that much in an hour. You know he is a billionaire. Even a child could tell that money is not what he wants.” The Minister’s gaze bored into Kumaraswamy. “What is the real reason?”

“He asked for battlefield salvage rights, sir.”

Chowdhary waved a hand. “There is an entire alien battleship crashed in Tanisport. I am certain he has access to that technology. Why would he want the beaten-up scrap left after the aliens? Is that all you could find out?”

“It is hardly their fault, Minister,” the interloper spoke up. “Belessar’s motivations have often been difficult to understand. Even the Sled is wary of him.”

“That remains to be seen, Twinsight,” replied the Minister. “I am not convinced the Sled avoiding him is anything more than Western imperialistic biases at play. Only seven Indians have been selected for the Sled out of nearly three hundred ultras; with our population, a far higher number should have been chosen.”

“Leaving aside the matter of the Sled,” Kalachakra spoke up, “it is best not to look a gift horse too closely in the mouth.”

“And what if the horse is Trojan?” shot back Chowdhary.

“Minister, with respect, there is very little we can offer Belessar. As you rightly said, he has money, he has power. With what he has fielded against the Hierarchy, he also has protection.”

“That is very little to bind him to us, or ensure that he acts in our interests. I do not want an Elon Musk.”

“I believe that he may be swayed by sentiment, Minister.”

The other ultra chuckled. “Sentiment, Kalachakra?”

“My dear friend Twinsight,” Kalachakra smiled, “you more than anyone should know the importance of the personal touch. My friend Shadow and I had a chance to encounter Belessar in London, during the Convention. He was standing in front of the Indian pavilion and - as Shadow tells it - staring at our flag.”

“We did consider, at one time, the theory that he was Indian,” replied Chowdhary. “But he’s white-as-bleach American. Hardly the kind to have a sentimental attachment.”

“We believe his great-grandfather was Indian,” Kumaraswamy croaked out. 

“A great-grandfather who he never met, and who abandoned his grandmother before she was born. All this is in the RAW report. Plus the fact that he meticulously scrubbed all data of his existence from every digital system prior to the First Battle of Tanisport - none of which tells us anything about the so-called ‘sentiments’ that you want us to believe in.”

“There is more to human behaviour than data,” replied Kalachakra. “I believe we have the measure of Belessar - he wants to do good for the world. And his sentimental attachment to India may be the result of, well, Agni.”

“The same Agni who we expelled,” growled Chowdhary. 

“The same Agni who was assassinated by rogue Pakistani integrationists,” argued Kalachakra. “Who we also, officially, classify as enemies. Who we quietly arrange to share information about with the South Pakistan Secret Service. Who we ambush, trap, and defang at every possible opportunity. The enemy of my enemy, after all.”

“Is my enemy’s enemy,” replied Chowdhary. “Nothing more, nothing less. Twinsight. What does your clairvoyance tell you?”

“That would depend on the decision you want to choose between, and the time horizon,” replied Twinsight. “I can go as far ahead as three months, maybe four. Beyond that, the future is invisible to my sight.”

Chowdhury tapped his fingers on the table. “Very well. Decision choice one: we allow Belessar to stay. Decision choice two: we refuse his help.”

Twinsight went still, his costume rigid. Kumaraswamy had seen it before - the ultra would go into a trance, exploring the possible futures as a consequence of the two choices outlined to him. 

It lasted only seconds, then the man relaxed. 

“Well?” asked Chowdhury.

“I viewed both futures,” Twinsight replied. “In the first, where you allow him to help, it is announced publicly that he will be collaborating and working to develop a solution.”

“Does he come up with one?”

“Not in three months,” replied Twinsight, “but Mumbai remains calm. People have confidence that something is being done. Also, he has a mechanism to cure people without the medicine - which he offers to certain individuals. Test subjects, as it were. Including Shekhar Shroff and Pavin Mudgal.”

Kumaraswamy’s eyes bulged. 

“Why would two of the richest men in India volunteer to be test subjects for his ‘cure’?” asked Chowdhury.

“Because it works. Guaranteed. The only limitation is that it’s essentially an offshoot of his superpower, and he can only cure so many people in a day.”

Chowdhury turned to Kumaraswamy. “Was this discussed?”

“He said it would take him six years for the whole of Mumbai,” the civil servant replied. 

“Fine. But he can do one-off or special cases.”

“Volunteers only, and a limited number. But that very act provides the citizens of Mumbai reassurance - that someone powerful is working on a cure.”

“On making enough of the cure, you mean,” replied Chowdhury. “We already know the cure.”

“It matters little. What matters is that, to the average citizen of Mumbai, the fact that the all-powerful Belessar is working on finding a cure means more than what the government says. They do not have faith in the government, they will have faith in him.”

“Cult leader, indeed,” muttered Chowdhury. “So he builds a faithful following here. Which he leverages for … what? Profit?”

“I cannot answer that. He doesn’t have stocks in three months, but there are plenty who feel he is working towards it.”

“So, we still need to build the factories. What about the other alternative?”

“If you reject Belessar’s proposal,” replied Twinsight, “in a month, you’ll have citywide riots in Mumbai. People will be protesting, demanding the government do ‘something’. Buses and trains will burn, and the police will have their hands full.”

“What? Why?”

“Your turning down Belessar will be seen as a sign that the government wants everyone in Mumbai to die.”

“That’s ridiculous!” exploded Chowdhury. “We will be building factories to mass-produce Aerovascar, scaling back costs everywhere to make it happen, and you’re telling me people will riot because we didn’t want a foreign mercenary on our soil?”

“People will riot because they think you’re overconfident,” Kalachakra cut in. “Because they think you are refusing help and living in denial of reality. Not all things can be solved by us alone - especially not an alien attack. Until you bring thirty million doses of Aerovascar to the city, until you ensure there’s a needle in everyone’s arm, they will doubt you. That is the nature of democracy.”

“Also, Mudgal will be funding a campaign to have you removed from office,” added Twinsight. 

Chowdhury muttered something under his breath. “Fine. We will allow Belessar to operate. No special favours, though.”

Twinsight cleared his throat. “I am available for another consultation, if you would like.”

Chowdhury’s frown deepened. “You… fine. Decision one, we offer Belessar acceptance but no support. Decision two, we have people gently smooth his way and offer support - but not publicly.”

This time, Twinsight’s trance lasted only seconds. “Decision one - private players extend their support to Belessar to make up for the gap, and the Opposition capitalizes on your ‘callousness’. Decision two - Belessar’s actions stay non-partisan. More people are cured, including all of the Members of Parliament and of the Legislative Assembly and their families, by Belessar’s powers.”

“And overt, public support?” asked Kalachakra.

“I don’t need a clairvoyant to tell me that,” sighed Chowdhury. “The Opposition lambasts me for supporting a foreign mercenary. Very well - we will support Belessar covertly, and ensure the Opposition MPs know which actions are in their interest.”