RECAP 

Tanya Guptopolos is part of the research panel of ‘Body of Global Watchdogs for Humans’. While T shares her experience near a submarine volcano with her colleagues at the GW Labs, Sun takes her by surprise. Not only is he funding the Eco-induced Incursion Disorder(EID) research, Sun is also the project boss. He invites the research team to an exploratory mission to the abyssal bottoms of the ocean. This information shakes up T. She is nonchalant no more. She resents this taking over the reins by Sun Dus2r. As she feels control slipping, she faces a temporary loss of her cognitive process. Past nightmares mesh with the situation she finds herself in. Assailed by memories dredged up from the past, she goes through some traumatic moments, witnessed by a bewildered Sun. When T regains her faculties, she offers to take care of Sun’s imminent problem, hosting KK and his robot nanny at her apartment, till Sheila’s quarantine period is over. The apartment is made ready with additional software programming. The day KK moves in, T is taken aback when he calls Sun “Da”. Yet again, her childhood memories upset T, and she confines herself to her room, grieving over the loss of her Dad.

CHAPTER 8 

 “What do you want KK to call you?” Nene, the robot nanny, asked T, the moment she stepped out of her self-imposed confinement. 

The question floored T for a couple of seconds, before she became her usual unfazed self. “Why, T, of course!” and she walked out of her apartment. 

Work at the GW Labs had never been more welcome. T immersed herself in the research, pushing to the back of her mind the two irritants. She wasn’t used to sharing her home and was not sure that she liked a resident nanny and a wailing baby crowding her refuge. Then, of course, there was the deep-sea exploratory mission with Sun in command. She didn’t know what bugged her more, his taking control over her life, or the fact that she was deeply conscious of him as a man! 

That evening she was greeted with a “Hi, Tee!” and a pair of plump arms stretching towards her, chanting, “want Tee, want Tee!” 

Initially shell-shocked, T was nevertheless quite moved.  She took KK gingerly in her arms. Nene showed her just the right way to do it. After all, propriety and etiquettes were part of her work portfolio. Nene tried not to smile when she recalled her entire job order programming. After all robots were not required to show emotions, or disclose confidential data, as per their ‘robot protocol’. 

KK peered closely at T, touching her smooth cheeks with his chubby hands, then moving on to touch her long, black hair. T was momentarily taken aback. What was it about these Dus2rs, had they never seen black hair? First Sun seemed taken with her hair and now KK!   

T broke up into laughter, she simply couldn’t help herself. So that was what genes were all about! She pinched KK’s nose lightly. He retaliated by pulling her hair. T’s shriek of pain, seemed to give KK pleasure unlimited. For he kept on pulling and tugging her hair, and clapping clumsily, shouting “Woweeee!!” at each of her shrieks.  

This proved to be T’s indifference atrophy.  

Even in his baby-like innocence, KK had inadvertently found her Achilles’ heel.  As a child, T never had a playmate. All she ever had were gadgets and gizmos and a robot housekeeper. Now, she found that she actually enjoyed this play with KK. 

That night, when Nene gave her report to Sun and Sheila, each of them responded differently. Sheila promptly fell ill again. Sun threw a bash for his company colleagues on Kovalum island. 

Thus commenced a beautiful relationship between a week-old baby and a twenty-four year old woman.  A renaissance of the filial bonding between a mother and her child, that has prevailed since the feral times. Of course, it was simply coincidence that T happened to be KK’s natural mother. 

Mission GW

Precisely 61 days after the birth of KK Dus2r, Sun and T embarked upon their deep-sea research mission in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB ).  

The morphology and geochemistry of the increasing number of sea-mount chains, had been speedily transformed over decades of neo-tectonic activity and volcanism.  Scientists and researchers had been using deep-diving submersibles, manned research submarines and AUVs with robots. But this was the first time, a manned bathys-marine was entering a depth beyond 3000 metres where the water pressure was tremendous. Sun had also arranged for a simultaneous transmission of data and images to the Earth Station at GW Labs, whence these images would be multi-cast world-wide. 

As the bathys-marine entered the darkest abyss of the ocean, for a moment Sun felt that familiar claustrophobia and then it was gone. Good! The pellets had worked. All those deep-sea forays, medications and laser treatments in the past month had paid off. His bathophobia was cured! 

Seamount-hopping along the mid-oceanic ridges, where magma was erupting to form new oceanic crust, T was oblivious of the 1000º C temperature reading on the panel.  It was however upon crossing 78ºE that the thin, gelatinous (jellyfish-like) veils usually observed near volcanic hot water vents, were sighted. “This is indicative of hydrothermal activity!” hissed T excitedly.  

“It is a beautiful world out here,” commented Sun for the benefit of the viewers above, “vibrant with luminous colors, weird in shape and progress. It is amazing indeed how these tube worms and organisms are thriving in this extreme environment.” 

Sun winked at the sub-cam, “Now let us all toast this ridge. We have name this the GW ridge, what else?” and effecting sounds of ‘pop’s he blanked the screen. 

“Stop this tomfoolery, Sun Dus2r!” T hissed at him. “Oh come on Tan, don’t be such a wettie, leave that for KK!” Sun whispered back to her. As was Sun’s intention, T momentarily went out of gear, though she made sure to tweak his nose, the way she did KK’s, “Naughty boy!” Immediately though, T wondered at her own atypical behaviour.

The team moved on along another ridge, and finding a wide vent, directed  the bathys-marine into it with caution.. A robotic arm controlled from within, dredged the lavas and sediments, and took samplings of the interstratified rocks. Crew member 3 made the tests. “These are feldspar granites,” he displayed. “We have found the plume inventories of particulate phosphorus here to be 300 times higher than any other hydrothermal vent field on the global ridge-crest system!”  

“No wonder the water is murky. The abundant duckweed, indicates extreme eutrophication!” stated T. Turning to the sub-cam, she explained, “The eco-system here uses up oxygen, so this is an anorexic environement.” 

Sun continued, “Even as results are increasingly pointing towards a tremendous increase in phosphoric presence and a whole new ecosystem, we are still exploring how phosphoric residue reached the coasts of Mauritius. So we shall now move on to the next phase ….  Tracing patterns of water movements, with the help of these plumes”. 

The following days, the team continued their exploratory research, using conventional tracers and newly developed magnetic waves to map patterns of ocean water circulation and mixing. Further testing and analysis of data were to be conducted at the GW labs itself. 

Sheila watched them on the v-screen transmissions, with some trepidation. She had not been all that keen about this mission. Yet, left to her own devices for once, away from the all-knowing eyes of Sun, she was gung-ho about making the most of it. 

She cast off her charade, secured an all-clearance chit from the men in white and BGWH and spent all time with KK. 

The day of their return, she was there with KK and Nene at Port Louis to see Sun and T arrive. Going by the visuals, the two still seemed to have a very standoffish logical equation. Sheila Dus2r was never one to let go of an opportunity. When she wanted something, she went at it with hammer and tongs. Even now, she had her aces up her sleeve and one in hand! 

Sheila knew she had done absolutely the right thing, when KK on sighting Sun on the docks, stretched out his arm calling out “Dada!” T looked put out, but then was spellbound; her eyes going wide and jaws dropping open, when KK next turned towards her, calling “want my TEE!” 

Sheila spoke aside, “I hope you captured those moments, Nene, or you may consider yourself without a job, beginning now!”  

                                                              To be Continued .....