The Unfinished Chronicles

By Shiva Pothu

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An apocalypse, A lone savior, A treasure of memories

Set in the future, Aadrika, a young woman wakes up to the biggest secret of her life. She discovers that her genetic composition is remarkably similar to that of the ‘gifted girl’ who saved the earth from Solar Flares 563 years ago.

The solar flares resurge, endangering the life on earth again. The prominence of Aadrika in the world of science intensifies. As she kicks off the mission to save the world, spooky and implausible events take place in her life…!

Her only help is buried deep down in time. Aadrika, in her quest for the herculean mission, finds herself thrust into a soul-stirring adventure of death, life and time travel.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: May 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9781543706949

Shiva Pothu

Shiva is a graduate in engineering, who lives in India and is currently working as a programmer. He has written for numerous blogs as a ghost writer. He writes short stories of fiction and fantasy genre. The idea of spirituality and tales of great Indian epics is what inspires Shiva to put words on paper.

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Copyright © 2020 by Shiva Pothu.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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I HAVE TO START by thanking my beta readers, who have been my constant source of motivation. Each one of my beta readers are as important as me in getting this book done. You guys have always believed in me and motivated me to make it come true. Though I took my sweet time of 3 years to finish this book, I would never have completed it without your support.

Thanks to everyone on Partridge India, who have helped me to turn my dream into a reality. Fortunate to be associated with a dream team here at Partridge Publications. Mr. Jules Hernandez, the person whom I first met in Partridge has inspired me to go a long way. Ms. Kathy Lorenzo, had all the patience in the world to deal with my requests in shaping this book. Ms. Vanessa Dean, with all her expertise has guided me through the marketing strategies required for my book.

Thanks to team Shaastra (www.shaastracreativz.com), who had taken up an odd request for my cover art and have nailed it to perfection. Thanks to Thushara Pala and Harsha Sadhanala for being part of my journey. You guys have ensured that the cover art stays true to the soul of the story.

Contents

Chapters:

1.           IS THAT ME?

2.           A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE MYSTERY

3.           BOUNTY ON MY HEAD

4.           BLANKED OUT

5.           PROLOGUE OF THE PAST

6.           YOU LOOK SO DEAD

7.           EMBALM

8.           THE RISE OF THE GIFTED GIRL

9.           SPILL THE BEANS

10.         A DINKY HACK

11.         I SEE YOU

12.         GENEFIBERATOR

13.         SECTOR 10

14.         NIRVANA

CHAPTER 1

IS THAT ME?

Year: 563 AS (After Solar Flare)

I WONDERED IF A human heart could beat at such an intense pace! I started sweating profusely. A perfect blend of terror, trauma, and tragedy raged in my head.

Bang! Mocking the security systems built for the home, chemical explosives turned the doors, glass panes, windows and everything in their path into ashes, making an easy walkway for the intruders. As the smoke filled the room, I was filled with panic. Four masked men entered the room with their blazing guns.

I took shelter under the cot despite acknowledging the fact that it was in vain, and I yelled at myself, ‘Enough, can’t take it anymore!’

A chill went up my spine as one of the intruders bent down to me and said, ‘There you are, little dove. Come out.’

I screamed at the top of my voice, sprinted towards the window in a flash, and jumped out of the window!

I rolled out of my bed with a heavy gasp.

‘Good morning,’ greeted Vyshu as she strolled leisurely towards me. She was my robot assistant. My aesthetic love for this pseudo human was so vivid that I couldn’t stop myself from gifting my name to it!

The darkness faded out of the room as the lights turned on. The music of the oxygen inlets intensified; heavy oxygen flooded in, to fill the void created by my heavy breath.

‘I may have to get a new line of programming to replace you, if you continue to scare me up with such frightful dreams,’ I admonished her.

Her LED eyes dropped down, expressing her distress. She explained, ‘I thought you would be vexed if you don’t catch up for the call with your mom.’

The time 9:05 a.m. flashed in red on the large screen attached to her belly.

‘Oh no! I almost forgot. Thank you, Vyshu.’ I expressed my gratitude then commanded her, ‘Call Mom, she should be waiting.’ I looked at myself; my hair was so disturbed that it covered half of my face from visibility. The 3-D video of my mom sprang out of the LED.

‘Hello, Ma,’ I greeted her, adjusting my hair.

‘You seem to have lost weight. Is everything all right, dear? Are you having proper diet?’

‘Nah, everything is going fine,’ I replied in a disinterested tone, still focusing on getting my hair in the proper position. For a second, I felt it was sarcastic from my mom, as I was completely aware of the fact that I had put on a little more weight and I was seriously concerned about it. It didn’t take long for me to realise that my mom could never ever be sarcastic. I felt the long gap of seven months of my absence had triggered a sense of affection in her. Mom, being a mom, made efforts every month to catch up with me. But I was the culprit as I couldn’t make some time for her and I felt I regretted it!

‘I have something important to tell you,’ stressed my mom.

Eventually, I managed to pull back my hair, uncovering my face, and keenly stared at the screen expecting her to finish the proceedings.

‘This is C. R. R. Rao, a senior scientist who currently works at the Global Research and Development Centre,’ my mom continued as the image of a man in his forties who had dense hair on top of his head clearly indicated that he just got a new set hair grown on his bald head synthetically. There were no signs of wrinkles on his face, but the skin on his hands had lost some elasticity.

He has a higher beauty consciousness than any other average man out there, I told myself.

She still continued, ‘I want you to join his lecture today. You would definitely love it, dear.’

‘All right, Mom,’ I sighed in acquiescence.

‘I’m warning you again, you have to attend in person, not by rolling on your dusty bed’. She ended her note with her own style of warnings.

‘All right . . . Bye!’ I shouted, letting the dizziness flow out of my body.

‘C. R. R. Rao—what does it stand for, Vyshu?’ I inquired, rubbing my eyes and still trying to get rid of the dizziness.

‘Chandrashekara Ravi Ramana Rao,’ responded Vyshu.

‘I thought it was just my name which sounds dumb—his name is dumber than mine.’ Saying so, I gave a wicked smile.

‘That still makes your name dumb—nothing changed,’ countered Vyshu, and it was her turn for the wicked smiles.

‘Now shut up and help me get ready,’ I instructed her.

I took a bath and stuck out there, quietly analysing my wardrobe. ‘How about the red one?’ I inquired of Vyshu, still considering other available options.

‘You look dashing,’ Vyshu complimented me.

‘Thank you.’ I jumped in and pulled it out in no time.

‘But—’ my assistant interrupted.

‘What now?’ I responded in dismay, dropping my shoulders.

Vyshu clearly noticed that I was not happy with her interruption. ‘I know you love it, but I suggest that you strongly consider business formals,’ advised Vyshu.

I didn’t enjoy it at all! I stood there, staring at her, but finally obeyed her and got into a dark skirt with a darker jacket.

‘How do I look?’ I enquired, only to receive compliments from her.

‘Lovely . . . Beautiful wide eyes, chubby cheeks, dancing hair—you are pretty.’

I wish it was human. My bad—I programmed it to be too sensible. Thinking so, I got into my PAV (personalised air vehicle).

‘Destination, please,’ prompted the vehicle.

‘Global Research Centre, got to meet C. R. R. Rao,’ I said.

The vehicle took off at lightning speed and so did my dizziness. I peeped out of my glass pane. The measures to control the air traffic had gone all in vain. I have an inclination to purchase the higher-altitude air path; the sole thing stopping me is my finances! I took a glance of everything my eyes could cover. I was fascinated to know what makes every man, woman, and kid race with the time. Strange and random thoughts like asking every person in my sight for an interview to know what they are up to have constructed in my head! I always dreamt of life beyond these glass panes. I try to imagine my footsteps on the land. People said a legend aptly predicted a hundred years ago, ‘A day comes when our mother earth would be untouchable!’ Amid these thoughts, my vehicle rushed into the research centre like a fish into