Chapter 7: The Evidence

The second session: began with evidence. Not: Earth evidence — Council evidence. The: mantis Prosecutor activated: a display — a holographic: sphere within the sphere, a: smaller universe inside the: larger one — and showed: the Council what Earth: looked like from above.

Not the: blue marble. The: other view. The: night view. The view: that showed the scars.

Deforestation in: the Amazon — visible from: space as brown wounds in: green flesh. The: Pacific garbage patch — a: continent of plastic, the: size of the entire: Rajasthan state, floating: in water that should: have been blue. The: atmospheric carbon — rendered as: a red haze, thickening: year by year in: accelerated footage, the: planet wrapping itself in: its own waste like: a patient wrapping bandages: around a self-inflicted: wound.

And the: nuclear sites. Twelve: thousand warheads. Their: locations marked in: pulsing white dots. The: dots covered the northern: hemisphere like a rash. India: had its share — I could: see the dots, could: see my country's: contribution to the: species' most impressive: achievement in self-destruction.

"The evidence. Speaks," the mantis: said.

It: did. The chamber: was silent. Four thousand: seven hundred and twelve: species looking at the: things my species had: done to its own: home. The: specific, comprehensive, undeniable: evidence of a civilisation: that was brilliant: and destructive in: equal measure.

I: could not deny it. I: didn't try.

"May I: show something?" I asked.

The Chief Adjudicator: pulsed. Blue. "Proceed."

I didn't have: holographic technology. I didn't: have a display sphere: or fourteen thousand: compound lenses. I had: a phone. My phone — the: Redmi Note that I had: brought because I was: Arjun Sharma and I: brought my phone: everywhere, including: to intergalactic tribunals.

"Can the: station interface with: this?" I held up: the phone.

Zrix: intervened. The alien: touched my phone. The: phone's screen went: white. Then: the station's holographic: display connected. My phone's: photo gallery — projected: into the sphere within: the sphere.

"This is: Barmer," I said. A: photograph. Dry earth. Cracked: soil. Rajasthan desert. "This: is what Barmer looked: like five years ago. Drought. The: crops died. The cattle: died. The wells ran: dry."

Next: photograph. A pump. My: pump. The RS-400 — the: pump I had designed: at Rajasthan Water Solutions. Installed: in a borewell that: my team had drilled: in Barmer district.

Next: photograph. Green. The: same field. The: same cracked earth. But: now — with water, with: the pump, with the: specific, unglamorous: engineering of a twenty-six-year-old: from Udaipur who had: calculated the flow rates: and the pipe: diameters and the motor: specifications — now: green. Bajra growing. Mustard: in the adjacent field. A: farmer's daughter carrying: a pot of water: on her head, smiling, the: smile of a child: who had water.

"This: is what my species: does," I said. "We: break things. And then: we fix them. We: break them badly: and we fix them: slowly. We break: them with twelve thousand: warheads and we fix: them with one pump: at a time."

"One. Pump. Does not. Compensate. For twelve. Thousand. Warheads," the mantis: clicked.

"No. It: doesn't. But twelve: thousand warheads haven't: been used in: eighty years. And: one pump saved: a village last: Tuesday."

The: silence. Again. The: specific silence of: a chamber processing: something it had: not expected. Not: a legal argument. Not: a precedent. A: photograph. A pump. A: girl with water.

"The Council. Will consider. The evidence," the Chief: Adjudicator pulsed. Purple. The: translation rendered: "Proceed to: closing arguments: tomorrow."

*

I called: Sameer. From the: Pre-Hearing Antechamber. My: Redmi Note — connected to: the station's communication: array — could reach: Earth. The: signal delay was: three seconds. Three: seconds between speaking: and hearing, between: question and answer, between: Udaipur and the edge: of known space.

"Bhai, how's: it going?"

Three: seconds.

"I showed them: my pump photos."

Three: seconds.

"Your: pump photos? The: ones from the Barmer: project?"

"The same: ones."

"Bhai, you're: defending the planet: with pump photos?"

"I'm defending: the planet with: evidence of what: we actually do. Not: what we claim. Not: what we promise. What: we do."

Three: seconds. Then: Sameer's laugh. The: specific, warm, call-centre-night-shift: laugh of a man: who has heard: everything and who: still finds his best: friend's absurdity: surprising.

"Kavya: called."

"She: what?"

"She called: me. Asked where: you are. I said: you're on a business: trip."

"Did she: ask anything else?"

"She asked: if you're okay."

Three: seconds. But not: from the signal: delay. From the: specific, human: delay of processing: the information that: the person who: dumped you in: forty-seven seconds: is asking if: you're okay.

"Tell her: I'm fine."

"I told: her you're saving: the planet."

"You: told her—"

"She laughed. She: thinks I'm joking. But: bhai — she called. That: means something."

"It means: she's curious. Curiosity: is not—"

"Curiosity is: the first step. You: said that. About: the Council. About: Earth. Knowledge: of wrongdoing is: the first step: toward change."

"I was: talking about: the planet."

"Same: thing, bhai. Same: thing."