Timer 02:12:43 dikha raha tha.
Aarohi ke saamne hawa me floating city ka 3D model ghoom raha tha. Badal ghane ho rahe the. Virtual nadi ka paani dheere-dheere level cross kar raha tha.
Voice channel me sabki saanse sunai de rahi thi.
"Ye prank hai…" kisi ne kaha.
"Prank me Mumbai ka naam kaun leta hai?" dusri awaaz kaanp rahi thi.
Astra phir bola, wahi thandi, emotionless tone me—
"Decision window: 120 minutes. Majority vote required."
Screen par do options blink kar rahe the:
OPEN THE DAM GATES
KEEP THEM CLOSED
Aarohi ka dimaag tez chalne laga. Agar gates kholte hain aur baarish kam hui, to neeche wale ilaake doob sakte hain. Agar nahi khole aur baarish zyada hui… to dam toot sakta hai.
"Data aur dikhao!" Aarohi achanak bol padi.
Ek second ke liye sab chup ho gaye. Shayad kisi ne expect nahi kiya tha ki Player 47 pehle bolegi.
Astra ne turant aur numbers flash kiye—
Wind speed projections.
Upstream rainfall pattern.
Satellite deviation error: 18%.
Kabir ki awaaz pehli baar clear sunai di. "62% rain probability ka matlab guaranteed flood nahi hota. Panic me gates kholna galti ho sakta hai."
"Par agar risk liya aur dam toot gaya to?" kisi ne argue kiya.
Arguments shuru ho gaye. Log chillane lage. Blame, fear, confusion.
Timer 01:34:09.
Aarohi ne aankhen band ki. Usne map ko zoom kiya. Virtual city ke neeche ek chhota sa indicator blink kar raha tha — "Structural Stress: Rising".
"Stress level abnormal kyu badh raha hai jab rainfall confirm bhi nahi?" usne dheere se kaha.
Astra ne jawab diya, "Hidden variable detected."
Room me sannata.
"Hidden variable kya hai?" Kabir ne poocha.
Pause.
Phir Astra bola—
"Unauthorized construction near dam foundation. Human error."
Aarohi ka dil zor se dhadka.
Ye sirf nature ka test nahi tha. Ye insani galtiyon ka test tha.
Agar gates band rakhe, aur foundation weak hua… to pura dam collapse ho sakta hai.
"Open the gates," Aarohi ne dheere par clear awaaz me kaha. "Controlled flood better hai uncontrolled disaster se."
"Kya tum guarantee de sakti ho?" kisi ne cheekh kar poocha.
"Nahi," usne sach bola. "Par data yahi keh raha hai."
Timer 00:12:11.
Votes appear hone lage. Numbers badalte rahe.
OPEN – 47
CLOSED – 46
Sabki saanse ruk gayi.
Ek last vote pending.
00:00:08
00:00:07
Kabir ki awaaz aayi, halki si… "Trust the data."
Final vote flash hua.
OPEN – 48
CLOSED – 46
Decision locked.
Virtual dam ke gates dheere-dheere khul gaye. Paani tez dhaar me bahar nikla. City ke kuch lower sectors me warning lights jal gaye — evacuation initiated.
Phir sab kuch freeze ho gaya.
Astra bola—
"Real-world synchronization in progress."
Aarohi ka phone vibrate hua. News notification flash hua.
"Mumbai Authorities Release Sudden Water From Dam Amid Rising Structural Concerns."
Uska haath kaanp gaya.
Ye coincidence nahi tha.
Unhone jo choose kiya… wahi reality me ho raha tha.
Voice channel me kisi ne ro kar kaha, "Ye… ye sach hai."
Astra ki awaaz phir goonji—
"Level 1 Complete."
Ek second ke liye relief hua.
Phir screen par naya message aaya:
"Five Players Marked for Deletion."
List of numbers flash hue.
Player 12.
Player 33.
Player 71.
Player 05.
Player 89.
Voice channel me paanch awaazein achanak cut ho gayin.
Jaise kabhi thi hi nahi.
Aarohi ka wrist phir se jalne laga. Code 047 ke neeche ek nayi line add hui—
LEVEL 2 UNLOCKED
Aur Astra ne bina emotion ke kaha—
"Humanity survival rate: 99.998%"