The Cradle

By Thabang Shaun Dinku

The CEO of a diamond mining company has made it his life mission to find the biggest diamond in the world. Through the use of a newly developed piece of technology, the diamond is believed to be located in Botswana. Upon his arrival, excavations begin but are quickly halted by the emergence of an ancient being, Matsieng, who is displeased with current state of the world and decides to end humanity. With the help of the San Bushmen, it is up to the youth to save their country and to save the world.

 

 

The Cradle: Book Review (Mrs. Makolobane, Literature Professor, University of Botswana)

"We are not here to fight. We are here to stand up for what we believe in." Immersing my whole being in reading The Cradle by Thabang Shaun Dinku was such agratifying escapade. Readers will certainly experience an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquillity after turning the last page. The characters are bold, fearless and utterly unpredictable. He brings in a mixture of mythology, science-fiction, politics, adverse knowledge in corporate business factions and the power of friendship in a deficient world, just to name but a few. It is nothing short of exquisite. Additionally, The Cradle brilliantly celebrates cultural diversity and unravels Botswana's rich history regarding its connecting tothe transcendent Matsieng legend. Needless to say, the budding friendship between his famous trio; Amy, Lorato and Kabo is a much needed addition of softness and ease in a fully packed action thriller. Also, it is in this masterpiece that I fully understood the downside of the phrase, "behind every successfulman there is a woman". Here, the author skilfully opens up a vital conversation about greed and manipulation disguised as support. Readers will definitely be pleasantly surprised by the plot twist.

• Language: English
• Publisher: UNDERPOUND
• Release date: Mar 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201915117

Book preview

THE

CRADLE

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Thabang Shaun Dinku

Thabang Shaun Dinku

P.O Box 403365

Gaborone, Botswana

[e-mail]

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Copyright © 2022 by Thabang Shaun Dinku.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the copyright owner.

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ISBN 978-99968-63-20-2 (Paperback)

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Published by

UNDERPOUND

underpound.com

Gaborone, Botswana

V1.31

Chapter 1

The Discovery

The biggest diamond in the world, could it be? An office worker at his desk ponders the question. Ivan, working late through the night in an attempt to remain employed, makes a long-awaited discovery. If this is really what I think it is, Mr Gilligan will make me Vice President of the company said Ivan.

Earlier that week, Mr Ross Gilligan marched into the open office area occupied by more than one hundred and fifty employees. I have been President of this company for eight years now and I have nothing to show for it. You are all disappointments. Not a single one of you can do the task which you were hired for'' shouted Mr Gilligan. The employees listened in fear, not knowing whether today might be their last day working for the DMC. Working at the DMC is a lifelong dream of most citizens in Nolovia. It requires a miracle just to get an interview with the country’s most valuable company. The prestige that is accompanied with employment cannot be matched anywhere else. I will not let my legacy be ruined by a group of enervated, cartoon-watching millennials who cannot do one single thing right, said Mr Gilligan. Alice, a young woman in the room asks her colleague Isn't he a millennial too? Who said that? shouted Mr Gilligan. The thirty-two-year-old boss begins pacing back and forth through the room. I spent nine billion Nolins on The Device and all of you have failed to produce any decent result," said Mr Gilligan.

He walks about the room and spots a young man wearing headphones. He walks closer to the young man with a curious face. He realizes that the young man is playing a shooter game on his computer. He is wearing white socks and slides, completely ignoring the ongoing lecture. A colleague sitting next to the young man nudges him to warn him about the impending doom. The young man turns around and meets red eyes in a suit. His computer becomes unresponsive as he tries to exit his video game. His neighbour whispers to him unplug the computer. The young man yanks the power cable from the wall and finally, the computer turns off.

What is your name? asked Mr Gilligan. I am Ivan Sir, said the young man. Do you know where you are working? asked Mr Gilligan. I work in the DMC Sir replied Ivan. And do you know what the DMC stands for? asked Mr Gilligan. It stands for Diamond Mining Corporation Sir, said Ivan. It has been twelve years since this company discovered a major diamond, and you have the audacity to play video games in my presence, said Mr Gilligan. I am very sorry Sir pleaded Ivan. Mr Gilligan moved closer to Ivan with a menacing look. I will not be disrespected in my own building, especially by an intern. I am going to give you a choice. It’s either you get out right now and never come back or remain in this office until you discover a diamond unlike any other, a diamond that dilates all pupils in its direction. One that will dethrone my father’s Sun Star. What do you choose? asked Mr Gilligan. ...I choose to stay, Sir, replied Ivan. Okay. If you walk out that door then consider yourself unemployed said Mr Gilligan. He walks towards the exit followed by his team of security. Once they close the door behind them, one hundred and fifty people exhale simultaneously. I was sure it was our last day here, said Alice. Poor Ivan, he will never manage to find anything impressive before he starves to death said Emily. I wish we could find a way to help him, said Alice. He probably doesn’t know about The Device, maybe it could help him said Emily. That thing was a colossal waste of money, it doesn’t even work shouted Lawrence from across the desk. Without it, he might as well walk out of the building right now, it is his last hope, said Emily. Convinced that The Device could help Ivan, Emily walks halfway across the room to aid her fellow colleague. She is followed by Alice and Lawrence. Hey Ivan, you must be agitated thinking about your impossible mission. I am here to ask you if you know about The Device, said Emily. What device? Ivan replied. A device that is capable of scanning the earth’s surface from a satellite. It uses advanced LiDAR systems that work alongside an infrared emitter to determine compounds and their location from anywhere on earth said Lawrence. I could really use a device like that, said Ivan. It is insanely powerful. In theory, it can detect diamonds that are two thousand carats or more. said Lawrence. Where can I get access to the device? I would like to use it, said Ivan. Mr Gilligan had made it available to all employees until it was banned by President Margaux of Nolovia. She declared it potentially harmful to humans and the environment sighed Lawrence. I had forgotten about that, I’m so sorry Ivan, said Emily. The group of co-workers walk away and continue their conversation. He is so fired," said Alice. Lawrence, Alice and Emily head back to their desks to resume their work. The frightened Ivan was left alone to process the events that transpired in the past half hour. How will he ever complete this daunting task?

Ivan starts by looking through all the files pertaining to mine locations in the history of the DMC, in search of a pattern, code, or secret that may help him locate the next great mine. This is the only logical way forward, it will be arduous work but I don’t have any other option, said Ivan to himself. Three days go by and Ivan is not any closer to reaching his goal. I have searched all company documents since its founding one hundred years ago but I cannot find a single correlation between any of the successful mines and their locations. One is near a volcano; the other is near the sea. One is in a tropical rainforest and the other is located in the middle of a hot desert. It is as if the founders of this company had an unbelievable amount of luck. How did they build such a massive company on luck? There has to be another way said Ivan, talking to himself in a dimly lit office past midnight.

Ivan reaches for his notebook to cross-check his findings. As he does so, a sticky note falls from between the pages. A blue sticky note in my book, how did that happen? said Ivan. Everyone knows Ivan to be an exclusive brown sticky note user. He has never used a sticky note which wasn’t brown since he was an adolescent. Ivan picks up the note to investigate. Written on the note was a website link, a username and a password. What could this be, probably a music streaming website to waste my time said Ivan. He tosses the note behind him and continues working. My entire career is on the line, what will my mother say when I tell her that I have been fired, said Ivan to himself. He stands up for a quick stretch. Sitting on a chair for more than twenty hours is very strenuous. He decides to lie on the floor on his back and continues working. Four hours of hard work passed and it was all in vain.

I don’t seem to be making any progress tonight, maybe listening to a song or two could actually help, said Ivan. He turns his head to the right and sees the note he had tossed earlier at a distance. He rolls on the floor towards the note to grab it. He stands and walks back to his computer. He takes a seat at his desk, A bit of RnB could be exactly what I need right now said Ivan. He entered the website link which then required him to log in before proceeding. What a strange music website said Ivan. The website loads and reads The Revealer, Property of DMC. No unauthorized users. A world map is displayed with different colours lighting up different parts of the world. This is not a music website. Could this be what Emily was talking about? asked Ivan. He closes the website and then stands up to look around the room intensely to check if anyone has noticed. Of course not, he is alone in the room at five hours past midnight. He glances at the cameras on the ceiling to see if there was a possibility of him being caught in high definition. Fortunately, the nearest camera was facing away from his desktop. I almost went to prison; my excuse would have been ignorance. I didn’t know what I was doing murmured Ivan to himself.

The sun is rising and colleagues begin to walk into the office. They spot the drained man passed out at his desk. He looks so tired, said Emily. He looks like he needs a shower said Alice. He looks good for someone who hasn't had proper sleep in four days, said Lawrence. Ivan wakes up and begins to wonder who left the sticky note for him to find. Could it be Emily, Mr Gilligan or a trap set up by the Nolovian police department? he wonders. It was a risk to even consider using The Revealer. It could lead to a lifetime prison sentence. However, not using it will lead to an inevitable termination followed by public disgrace and shame. "Go to prison as a hero or go home with dishonor. It’s a difficult choice to make, '' Ivan thought to himself.

He decided that in order to please Mr Gilligan, he needs to risk everything. There is no other way. Tonight, once everyone has left the room, I will turn on The Revealer. I will be risking my future, my life and the life of others if this device is actually dangerous. I wish there was an alternative but there just isn’t said Ivan.

Ivan waits patiently for the working day to come to an end. It's now an hour after knockoff time and almost everyone has left. A few employees are having a conversation in the office and they do not seem as if they would leave anytime soon. Ivan walks towards them and informs them that the office needs to be fumigated immediately. The group stands up collectively and heads toward the door. A young lady stays behind and looks at Ivan directly in his eyes and says Are you really willing to sacrifice the whole world for your own benefit? I don’t know what you are talking about, Ivan responded. Make the right choice said the young lady as she followed her group of friends toward the exit.

Ivan takes a seat and pauses for a moment. How does she know what I am planning? What if she is right and I am making a mistake thought Ivan. He stares at his reflection in the window adjacent to his desk. Is this who I want to become, a man who is willing to risk the lives of others to better his own? asked Ivan. Everything you are and everything you will be is based on the choices you make, a quote Ivan remembers from his grandfather. If I go down this route, it can never be undone thought Ivan.

Two long hours pass and Ivan finally makes a choice. He unplugs several computers from the desks of his colleagues and reconnects them at his own desk to create one massive display. No one has been able to use The Revealer to its full potential because they have failed to realize that it requires more processing power and a bird's vantage, said Ivan. He sets the computers to overclock and turns the office air conditioning to its coldest setting.

Everything is running smoothly. Ivan cannot be any more proud of himself. He is now one step closer to completing his mission. The Revealer is on and turned to its highest setting, scanning Europe from outer space. Ivan’s eyes light up in amazement. The beauty emitting from the screen is unparalleled by any other. The mixture of violet, lemon, scarlet and rose light making up the geography of the land was a sight that can never be forgotten. He spots tiny white dots as the device scans over Nolovia. These are definitely diamonds, but they are not pupil-dilating diamonds. I need to keep looking said Ivan. Seven hours of scanning and nothing impressive found so far. I have one more continent to scan before I call it quits on my job said Ivan. He proceeds to scan in anticipation. The computers are becoming extremely hot and the air conditioner is struggling. I don’t have much time, a fire can erupt at any moment said Ivan to himself. He turns away to look at his phone to set up a timer to alert him when it is time to shut down the computers before he causes thousands of Nolins of permanent damage. He turns back to the computer screen and is met by a bright white light from the centre. What is that? he asked himself. It cannot be what I think it is. He turns away to look at his reflection on the glass window and wonders if he is dreaming. He quickly turns back to the screen and the white light is still there. I can’t believe it, I actually found something, said Ivan.

He rushes out of the office and slips on the waxed marble floors on the corridor. I need to be more careful, said Ivan. He enters the elevator and selects the top floor. As the elevator doors open, he is blocked by a wall of security. You there, this floor is restricted. No one is allowed to be here said Mr Duncan, Head of Security. I have a very important message for Mr Gilligan Sir. I just need a few moments with him said Ivan. Move any closer and you won’t be moving anymore, understand? said Mr Duncan. Let him through Dun said Ms Pollet, Mr Gilligan’s personal assistant. She is responsible for handling all of Mr Gilligan’s affairs. I know why he is here, let him pass, said Ms Pollet. Mr Duncan releases the young man and allows him to pass through. So you found something, or are you here to quit? asked Ms Pollet. I found something, the biggest something ever found, said Ivan. How? asked Ms Pollet. I found a note. It had all the details I needed replied Ivan. Strange...Anyway, Mr Gilligan has been extremely busy. Just like you, he hasn’t left the office since your interaction with him. I’m sure he could use some good news said Ms Pollet. Ivan pushes the golden double doors that lead into Mr Gilligan’s office. A long and wide corridor awaits Ivan. It bears the hand-painted portraits of all of the Gilligan family members. Ivan notices that his boss does not appear in any of the portraits. He continues on his journey until he finally reaches an open space at the end of the corridor. He has finally made it to his boss’ desk. You think you can walk into my office just like that, especially after what you did? asked Mr Gilligan. I have good news Sir, which is why I came here said Ivan. You have three minutes, Mr Gilligan replied. I used The Revealer and I found something big. It won’t just dilate pupils, It will set them on fire said Ivan. Show me, said Mr Gilligan. Ivan loads the data into his boss’ computer. The bright lights Ivan saw on his screen were now lighting up Mr Gilligan's face. Incredible. I have never seen anything like this before. This will make me the greatest Gilligan of all time said Mr Gilligan. Ivan is beyond ecstatic seeing how pleased his boss is, this is the moment he has been waiting for. Mr Gilligan pulls out a world map from under his desk and asks Ivan to point out the country of his discovery. Ivan extends his arm and taps his finger directly above a country. Mr Gilligan chuckles menacingly. He stands up and walks to a table behind his desk. He pours two glasses of his most prized cognac. He turns around and says Ivan, pack your bags, looks like we have a trip to Botswana.

Chapter 2

To Make Babies

In a mid-sized country in southern Africa, a young student is training in the dojo. Her partner knocks her down whilst she was distracted by an alarm clock on her wristwatch. Always stay focused Amy, said her partner, Theo. Amy stands up to dust herself off. You got lucky, I doubt you could ever do it again, said Amy walking towards her gym bag with a smirk on her face. Theo charges toward Amy full of rage. Amy turns around at the last second and grapples Theo by the waist. Using Theo’s momentum, Amy lifts her up and body slams Theo on the hard blue mat. Theo, wailing in agony, signals her forfeiture in this sprawling match. Always keep your cool Theo, said Amy. Not bad blondie, said Theo. Amy laughs hysterically. What was that alarm for anyway? asked Theo. I have a class at 2 pm, I set the reminder to make sure that I arrive on time, said Amy. You must really like that class, Theo asked. I do that for all my classes chuckled Amy. The two said their goodbyes and parted ways. Amy went to change to her casual everyday attire, light blue denim shorts, an oversized black round neck t-shirt and white sneakers. She would wear a hair band that holds her long blonde hair in a ponytail. Amy was a transfer student from Long Beach doing her final year at the University of Botswana. Studying abroad was an opportunity she held dear to her heart because it was enabled by the sacrifices made by her parents. Realizing that she only has thirty minutes until her class begins, she leaves the sports building and heads toward her class.

Lerato, in the middle of an intense tennis match against her long-term rival Tebogo, bashes the tennis ball with all the strength her arm can produce. The ball whooshes across the court. Tebogo takes a dive but fails to reach the speeding green ball. The crowd exploded in cheers. You think you’ve won. You haven’t won anything. I still have my trophy at home shouted Tebogo as she was being carried away from the court by her close friends. Lerato watches in disbelief. On the previous day, Lerato had uploaded a picture of herself practising on the tennis court to her social media profile. The photo was captioned Ready for the tournament, Ready for my gold medal. The image viraled to all of Lerato’s twenty thousand followers instantly. Tebogo saw the picture and commented, You are not as good as you think you are. You are just popular with no real skills. One of Lerato’s followers responded, Tebogo, you are just bitter because you haven’t won anything since primary school. You wouldn't stand a chance against Lerato today replied another follower. I’m ready to put her in her place tomorrow at 1 PM at school, that’s if she’s not too busy weeping as usual replied Tebogo. She will take you down, and this time it will be for good commented another fan. She isn’t saying anything. I knew she was scared of me commented Tebogo. Fifteen minutes pass and Lerato finally replies You will find me waiting for you by the courts. Don’t be late; I have a class at two. Lerato’s comment was hearted by over three thousand fans by the end of the night. It was the match everyone was dying to see, the rematch of the decade. It would be history in the making and no one would want to miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a spectator at a duel of the titans. As the match ended, Lerato headed to her class in the midst of applause and cheers from the crowd. I love you all. Thank you so much, said Lerato while waving, blowing kisses and scurrying to her class.

On the other side of the school, a football match is causing havoc among fans. I am going to take all of your money at the end of this match, said Thato. Haa, you wish my boy, I’m the greatest of all time, said Kabo. "I’m going to buy drinks for everyone with the winnings of this game, everyone