1 Prologue

DHARMA (IK)

CARBON (C 6: Life as we know it is anchored through Carbon atoms)

"I'm bored!" Ehlana grumbled to her father, Douglas. "Play with me. Or tell me a story!"

Douglas looked up from his desk where he was marking mid-term papers "Hmm, sweetheart, I'm a little busy right now, but I have an idea. Remember how much you enjoyed listening to the stories from The Mahabarat when you were a little girl? Now that you're older, you might enjoy watching it. I'll send you a link to my favorite versions right now."

Douglas paused. Then he got up and went to one of the several filing cabinets that were against the wall, near to his desk and pulled out a few sheets of paper. "In three years' time you will be sixteen. And will probably go to DVINE like me. When I was a student there, my favorite professor, Dr. Brandon Stewart, gave me this cheat sheet to keep the names and relationships of some of the main characters in The Mahabarat straight. You might find it useful as you watch."

The day was a cold, blustery one in Toronto with a temperature several degrees below zero. Ehlana remembered bits of the bedtime stories Douglas had told her over the years from the Indian epic, and that, plus the prospect of staying warm and cozy indoors made her father's suggestion reasonably appealing. She took the papers he offered and began reading:

Towards the end of the Kuru dynasty, King Shantanu of Hastinapur (olden India) begat seven sons who were promptly drowned by their mother, the River Goddess Ganga so that they could return to heaven sooner.

And unto Shantanu and Ganga was born an eight son, Devrath. Like his seven brothers before him, he was a Vasu (minor god) who had been cursed to live life as a mortal. His sin was greater than his brothers, and so while they lived as mortals only for a short time, he was condemned to spend more time on earth. As an adult, he was given the title "Bhishma", when he took an oath to remain celibate to ensure the Throne of Hastinapur would pass to the sons of his father's second wife, Satiyavati as prophesied. In gratitude Shantanu gave Bhisma the boon of Icchamrityu (control over the time of his death).

And unbeknownst to King Shantanu, Satiyavati, had begotten a son, Vyasa, through divine conception with Sage Parashara before she met and married her husband.

And in time, Shantanu and Satiyavati begat Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Chitrangada became king but died childless. Vichitravirya then became king and married the princesses Ambika and Ambalika. But he died before his wives could be with child. And thus ended the blood-line of the Kuru dynasty. The Kuru dynasty continued to live in name however, after Satiyavati instructed her son, Vyasa and her daughters-in-law to apply the ancient practice of Niyoga whereby a man could father children on his deceased brother's behalf, via the widows.

And so, Vyasa took Vichitravirya's place, and begat three sons with the princesses Ambika, Ambalika and their servant, Parishrami.

And the first prince, Dhritarashtra, was blind because his mother, Ambika, hid her face in fear when Vyasa first came to her.

And Pandu, the second born, was born unhealthy because his mother, Ambalika, was fearful when she first saw the sage and became pale in disgust.

But Vidur who was born last was perfect because his mother, Parishrami, welcomed the Sage into her chambers with open arms.

And Bhishma took the two young princes as well as the Vidur to the forest to be trained as warriors and leaders by the great teacher, Dronacharya.

And when Bhishma deemed the princes to be ready, he returned with them to the palace. With Queen Mother Satiyavati, and princesses Ambalika and Ambika, the court debated who should be crowned king: the elder son, Dhritarashtra, deserved it by right of birth, but he was blind, while Pandu had no such physical disability but was second in birth order. The court, advised by Vidur and Saiyavati, decided in favour of Pandu, bypassing the elder brother.

And so Pandu became king.

And Pandu married Kunti and Madri and they begat five sons (the Pandava brothers also known as the Pandavas), Yudhishthir, Bhim, Arjun, Nakul and Sahdev. And when they were of age, all five brothers married the princess, Draupadi.

And Dhritarashtra married the Princess Ghandhari and they begat Duryodhan and ninety-nine other sons (the Kauravs). And unto to them was also born a daughter, Dushala.

And later in life, Pandu accidentally killed the rishi (sage) Kindharma. The sage cursed his killer with his dying breath, condemning Pandu to death if he "ever embraced a woman". Heartbroken, Pandu relinquished his throne fully to Dhritarashtra, and taking his wives and five sons, left to live an ascetic life in self-imposed exile as penance. Shortly after their departure into exile, Pandu could not resist the beauty of his wife Madri, and when he tried to embrace her died instantly.

And so it came to pass that Dhritarashtra came to be king of Hastinapur for life. And his son Duryodhan came to see himself as Crown Prince, even as the eldest of all the princes dwelling in the Palace was Prince Yudhishthir.

But Kunti, first wife to Pandu, had begotten a son with the Sun-God, Surya, before her marriage.That son was named Karna, and in fear of the shame of being an unwed mother, Kunti floated Karna in a basket on the river, Aswa, outside the palace walls. Therefore of all of the princes born to Hastinapur, Karna was actually the eldest. But birth order is not always the determinant of who should be king. And Karna's kinship to the Pandavas was not known to anyone, except Kunti, Krishna and sundry other gods.

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CHAPTER 1: HYDROGEN (H 1: The start of something epic….)

(2046)

Bright, sunny, tropical weather beckoned to Ehlana and distracted her from Brandon's lecture. For someone raised on the surreal literature of Robert Munsch, Michio Kaku and Emily Bronte, that day's lesson on South Asian history proved less than engrossing. Besides, Ehlana had grown up listening to her father's lectures on the same topic, fascinated as he was by the Hindu god Vishnu's legendary exploits. The alarm clock rousing her at 5:00 a.m.—two hours earlier than usual—didn't help either.

"We can build rocket ships to Mars, but we can't build a foolproof alarm clock," she grumbled to herself as she stifled yet another yawn. Her gaze drifted to the clear blue sky and colorful, flower-filled landscaping beyond the classroom and her eyes drifted shut in a long, slow blink.

She did not hear Brandon's question: "Ehlana, when is Vishnu coming to save humanity again? (Wikipedia)"

Silence, soon broken by twitters, met the inquiry. Brandon frowned at his favorite student who normally hung upon his every word. Her distraction irked him.

"Ehlana? Ehlana!"

Sitting next to Brandon's favorite student, Jade nudged her friend with a sharp elbow and hissed, "Ehlana!"

She blinked and snorted, jolted from her reverie. Rubbing her forehead with the heel of her palm, Ehlana looked around, surprised that she'd fallen asleep in her favorite class at the DaVinci Institute for Nurturing & Educating, more commonly known as DVINE. If one put the "United Nations" acronym in front of that, the truth more closely resembled the repressive social environment and academic rigor i.e. UN-DVINE. Or "hellish" to be more accurate.

"Ehlana," Brandon repeated, drawing out each syllable in the testy way he usually reserved for the less astute students. "When is Vishnu prophesied to appear on Earth for the tenth and final time?"

"Four hundred and twenty-eight thousand, eight hundred and ninety-nine CE (wiki)," she responded, the rote reply coming without much thought. Ehlana rubbed her eyes and blamed the faulty alarm clock again for her unwonted weariness. She spared a second to send up a silent word of thanks to her father back in Toronto for his fascination with some bullshit Indian legend. All those years of drilling the stories of The Mahabarat into her brain finally proved their use.

"And why is he coming?" Brandon asked, apparently still not convinced she was paying sufficient attention.

Thanks, Dad. Aloud she answered with mechanical precision, "Kalki, the tenth and final avatar of Vishnu, will come with a magical sword, a parrot, and a white, winged horse. His archenemy is the demon Kali whom he will smite, cleansing the earth of evil men. After his victory, he will marry two South Asian princesses and return to heaven via the Himalayas. A new age will begin with the rebirth of Lord Krishna and the earth will be renewed."

Ehlana straightened in her seat and finished with a bright smile she hoped would redeem herself in her instructor's eyes. Her thoughts drifted off again. Was Dad's fascination with Indian mythology and history a manifestation of liberal white guilt, because her South Asian mother had died? Did he think that drowning her in her mother's cultural history would make up for not having a mother? And what use was a parrot anyway?

That one always puzzled her. In a traditional battle, a horse provided speed and mobility, a sword the lethal edge to vanquish enemies. But a parrot? Bringing a parrot to a battle was about as sensible as bringing a knife to a gunfight. She suspected a sword wouldn't be all that effective against a demon either, because demons usually had abilities beyond human ken. She yawned, again bored with the subject. After all, she'd have long since died by the time the magic date rolled around, so she wouldn't have a ringside seat to the epic final battle between Kali and Kalki.

The final victory prophesied to restore righteous balance to society, likely meaning the imposition of old, traditional values and laws, didn't appeal to her anyway. She rather liked knowing she could own property in her own name, vote for political leaders, and pursue a career that interested her. What modern girl looked forward to that final battle between overbearing, hidebound men who relegated females to narrowly prescribed roles? Or with having to share a husband.

Not I, that's for sure.

"Does that seem fair?" Brandon's voice cut through her reverie.

Ehlana frowned, stung by his persistence. Did he not like her anymore? Why was he making an example of her?

"Ehlana, does that seem fair?" he repeated, impatience crisping every syllable.

She inhaled, ready to snap out a flippant response, then caught herself before she committed that grievous error. Her mouth opened, then closed without uttering a sound, as she realized she'd never considered whether the prophecy was fair. She had more important things to worry about, like whether she ought to find a way to punch her V-card before her eighteenth birthday like all the other girls seemed to do.

Her failure to respond obviously annoyed Brandon. He persisted, "Is it fair that Kalki is an all-supreme being with magical powers and every advantage on his side, while Kali isn't and doesn't? Is it fair that Kali is fated to battle against the ultimate supreme being?"

Ehlana met his gaze, her hazel eyes locked by the intensity of his black ones. Normally his gaze sent shivers of warmth up and down her spine. Not today.

Finally she sputtered, "Kali is evil. Evil should always lose."

Her classmates snickered at the lame answer. Brandon's broad shoulders sagged, and he turned away from her. He, too, looked out the window for a long moment. Ehlana supposed he was either gathering his thoughts or working up the control not to blast her for that weak response. She sat in anticipatory silence and watched while he fingered the knucklebone necklace he always wore. He turned to face her again and she flinched from the intensity of his glare.

"How do we know that Kali is evil?"

Bright sunlight beaming through the window refracted through the ethically sourced Canadian diamonds embedded in his customary necklace. Ehlana blinked rapidly against the dazzling light that pierced her eyes and the tears that welled up. Why was he attacking her like that? Wasn't she his favorite student?

She urged herself to think. What had she said at their last counseling session? Had she offended him? Her desperation to sort out this abrupt change in treatment from someone who had always offered her kindness and understanding as she struggled to acclimate and assimilate to the prestigious school brought forth no answers—at least nothing useful.

Her mind frantically latched onto her father's lectures and engaged her mouth before she could stop it: "The Kalki Purana tells us that Kali is evil, that his presence pollutes our place and makes his age evil."

She paused and corrected herself, "Our age."

She paused again and continued at a more measured pace, "We are in the age of Kali now."

Silence greeted her response and goaded her.

"But it's just a story! Made up! Fiction! No one cares because it's not true. It's not like history which really happened. And even history is suspect, since it is written by the victors!"

Ehlana realized her classmates all gaped at her outburst. She slumped in her seat and looked down at her lap, where her folded hands clasped with white-knuckled force. Shit, I've done it now. Brandon won't just hate me today, he'll hate me forever. I want my daddy.

The whiny tone of that last thought pricked her pride. Daddy hadn't raised a quitter or a coward, even if she was a girl. She raised her eyes and glared at Brandon with defiance. The guidance counselor-cum-philosophy teacher met her gaze and nodded. Turning his attention away from Ehlana, he addressed the entire class, "Okay, so it's just a story, but it's a story set in the future. We don't know yet if it's true or not. After all, the future is history that hasn't happened yet."

Hearing that platitude, Elana sank into her own resentful thoughts, scoffing at the whole "future history that hasn't happened yet." Rubbish. Nonsense. Complete and utter bullshit. She couldn't wait until her next tete-a-tete with Brandon so she could tell him what she thought of that. That thought, of course, veered off into a concern as to what her classmates assumed happened during those private, weekly sessions.

"Great," she mumbled under her breath. "From history to philosophy … I know DVINE preaches that all subjects are interconnected, but this is ridiculous."

Jade snickered, overhearing her grumble. Somehow from the other side of the classroom, Brandon's unnaturally sharp ears did, too.

"Sorry, Ehlana, I didn't quite catch what you said. Repeat it, please, a little more loudly for everyone's benefit."

Trapped, Ehlana focused her fulminating gaze on that damned knucklebone necklace and wished she could strangle Brandon with it. She took a deep breath to compose herself.

"According to the Kalki Purana, during the latter stages of the age of Kali—also known as the Kali Yuga, a time that started around 3102 B.C.—there will be a general societal decay and loss of righteousness in men. Society will deteriorate, leading to the rule of the demon Kali. This state of corruption will continue until Vishnu is reborn as his tenth and final avatar, Kalki. As Kalki, he will battle Kali and the latter will die. Thus the world will move into a new golden age, the new Satya Yuga. (Wiki - Kali Yuga end)" Her jaw snapped shut and she shuddered internally at the thought of her classmates just waiting for her to screw up again. With a shrug Ehlana concluded, "So that is why Kali is evil. He is evil because he has always been evil."

More snickering greeted that pronouncement and added to her embarrassment. Why, she wondered, had she never thought to question the assumption of Kali's supposed immutable state of evil?

Brandon seized the teaching moment. "Have we been moving toward a more corrupt society as the Kalki Purana claims? Is mutual affection instead of family pedigree and social status a bad basis for choosing a life partner? Is it bad for women to have more freedom to think and act independently, to have equality with men? Is the breakdown of the caste system evil? Are atheism and scientific methodologies moving humanity in the wrong direction? The Kalki Puranas define such things as hallmarks of societal decay."

Ehlana blinked realizing that she agreed with Brandon, assuming that he disagreed with that definition of a failing society. She entertained no delusion regarding the whole and pure benevolence of human society, but the awareness of civility and equality was growing by leaps and bounds. Thank God for the internet.

Brandon nodded as he watched her think. Good. He turned his attention back to the class and concluded the day's lecture: "Consider the history between Kali and Vishnu. Vishnu wins every single time."

He met the gaze of each student, some of them wincing, some returning his regard with boredom, and others with avid interest.

"Perhaps Kali would like to win. Just once." He paused to let that sink in. "Or maybe he'd be content with something other than total annihilation. What if Kali would be satisfied with calling a truce and, for once, just live."

He chuckled and added, "After all, evil is just live spelled backwards."

Ehlana pursed her lips and rearranged the four letters in her mind to spell vile. She locked that observation away, deciding the better part of valor mandated she not draw further attention to herself. As she collected her materials, she realized that Brandon had given her a great deal to think upon: What if Kali wasn't really evil, just misunderstood? What if he had repented of his evil? What if Kali's version of evil was society's version of progress? Had Vishnu evolved, too? Or was he stuck in tradition? Were the gods even allowed to evolve?

She shook her head to clear her mind of thoughts she could not hope to answer as she passed her teacher and guidance counselor. She glanced at him as she followed her classmates from the room, but he did not smile at her as per usual. That lack of warmth crushed her.

I've got bigger things to worry about, like a broken heart.

She ignored the ethical dilemma of having a crush on a man who was her senior by several years and her teacher besides. She wanted him to return her feelings. He made her feel important and special. She admired his usually charming manner, his sexy smile, and his muscular physique. She'd thought he liked her, too, but apparently not.