Chapter 1
Era: 2500 A.D.
Looking out a gigantic glass window of the spacecraft observatory, Captain Talib was stood tall with his back towards the doorway, unaware of the fact that Geeta was silently watching him, as he was recording his daily log,
“The mistakes, hunger for power, and greed of our ancestors have
rendered our beloved home, Planet Earth, unlivable, ….”
He took a moment trying not to sound emotional as he looked out where the vast space is alive with celestial displays in front of him, as vibrant nebulae and distant galaxies danced across the viewports.
“… forcing us, only Seven Hundred and Eighty-Six kids to be precise from Nineveh, to leave the earth for the sake of survival of our race.”
“It has been over 200 years since we left it. Our mission is to reach KEPLER-186F, an exoplanet, within the next 300 years and make it our New Home.”
A shooting star, or perhaps a missile was heading in the direction of the spacecraft called S.H.I.P.: Stellar Horizon Interplanetary Pathfinder.
The defense system of S.H.I.P. intercepted the missile in mid space and destroyed it before reaching S.H.I.P. The incident rattled the spacecraft.
Geeta covered her mouth with her hand that appeared to be bionic. Tears rolled out of her eyes, but she stood there without making a sound, looking at Talib, with love and pride beaming out of her eyes.
Captain Talib, regained his balance and continue recording,
“In case we don’t make it, this log will stand as a as a testament to that We, the Humans, once existed, and have had roamed among stars, the moons, and the skies.
My name is Talib, I am the captain of the S.H.I.P., and this is our story.”
Geeta closed her eyes, allowing a few tears to escape. She then wheeled herself in the direction of S.H.I.P.'s R&D department.
She reserved the use of her mechanical legs for combat situations, concealing them beneath a simple white saree to make them less conspicuous.
As she traversed the corridor, the crew members she passed showed their respect by bowing to her. In return, Geeta graciously acknowledged their gestures with a combination of her bionic arm and human arm, forming the traditional Namaste greeting—a common and reverent way to welcome and show appreciation in India.
The Commander-in-Chief of the S.H.I.P., Geeta Devi, known affectionately as "Devi" to her crew and as the mother of Captain Talib, whom she fondly referred to as "TJ”, for Talib Junior, made her way purposefully towards the Research and Development Department. Pausing before the sealed entrance, she gazed upon an inscribed Quranic quote that adorned the doors:
" If You Have Powers, Go Beyond the Bounds of the Heavens and the Earth, and Seek the Hidden Secrets! - Al-Qur'an 55:33 "
She cherished the quote dearly, to the extent that she had it prominently displayed at the entrance of the R&D department.
As she approached, a precise laser beam extended from the doors, scanning her retina for authentication before gracefully sliding open. Stepping through, the doors sealed shut behind her.
Growing up in the orphanage of the temple, surrounded by the majestic peaks and fairy-tale like valleys of Himalayan Mountains, somewhere between Nepal and Tibet, this Dalit – a low caste considered not clean enough to be touched – orphan girl had always dreamed that one day a Rajkumar, a prince charming, would come, and take her away, beyond this village and its segregated caste-based ways of life.
But not even her worst nightmares, Geeta had ever imagined that a son of God, Talib, would descend on earth and fall in love with her; and she had to leave earth, half-dead.
This Dalit girl, who was once not even allowed to enter the temple where Gods were worshipped, would going to prove to the Universe that she is worthy of not only loving a son of a God, but also becoming a Goddess herself: A Devi.
