A TALKING BULLET; EVERY YEAR IT TALKS

FOR ANOTHER YEAR HAS PASSED AND THIS BLOG STILL SURVIVES.

ps: i am NOT deleting my blog. in the early days of Kafka cafe, when i had no idea what to do with a blog, i used to think of deleting my blog. this post is based on that, it is not a threat to delete. why would i want to delete my only connection to so many wonderful people.

ps2: Amygdala will continue. i didnt like what i had written. so i am re-writing some stuff. will post new episode asap

Amygdala : Episode 7

“Commander? Commander, are you alright? It is the sixth cigarette you have lit in a row” said Nikhil.
“I am alright, just thinking of what we can do” said the ex-commando.
“Okay, Commissioner is on the phone, here” said Nikhil and handed over his mobile phone to the commando.
“Hello commissioner” he said
“Commander Dev, I forgot to ask you, do you have your Colt with you?” the commissioner asked.
“Of course I do” said the commander, straightening his left chest pocket. He was assured to find the familiar shape of his Colt Diamondback revolver sticking close to him.
“I am sure you will use it with utmost care. But I must warn you, I don’t want the doctor using it” said the commissioner
“Alright, I will see to it” said Dev and smiled. “I don’t have anything against him, but a weapon in the hands of an untrained individual is quite dangerous. People of his abilities can be quite impulsive and this chap has proved it before. He makes at least two to three phone calls a month asking me to get him out of over speeding charges. I don’t know how many he gats away with by just throwing my name. As long as he doesn’t know you have a weapon, I think it is fine” said the commissioner.
“Don’t worry, commissioner. We shall take care.” Dev said and returned the phone.
“What was it?” asked Nikhil
“Oh! Nothing. just the commissioner giving me some details about the place. I will tell you as we plan this thing” said Dev.
“I don’t think so” said Nikhil. “What weapon are you carrying?”
The ex-commando laughed. “How on earth did you know? The commissioner warned about the exactly the same thing.” He said.
“From the time that we have set out, you have been stroking your left chest like you have something important there. You could have your wallet in your blazer inner pocket, but I saw you remove one from your trouser pocket - which means, you either have cigarettes or something else and considering you bought gold flakes at the shop; you have something else. I just guessed it was a weapon” said Nikhil.
“Good thinking” said Dev. The doctor was sharp. “Let’s leave. We will need about an hour to get there. It is almost six.” He said.

“Good, those people are not here yet. Some more time to do a few more things” said Ramakrishna to himself. He was typing a code on a computer. “That should efficiently hide the details. They won’t even bother looking for that I guess. I can always say research secrets.” He smiled. A black dialog box opened on his screen. THIS WILL DELETE HISTORY OF RECENT OPERATIONS. DO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE, it asked. Ramakrishna clicked on YES. “And now to Room number 6” he said and left

“Finally we are off the highway” said Nikhil. He had been driving for the past half hour. He was relieved to get off the highway and hit an empty cross road.
“So we go there and look at the place, you can look into the layout tomorrow, and I can pour over the records at night; provided they have kept the records.”
“Yes, we can look around the place in the morning. I want to look at the full perimeter of the place. Do you want to write a joint report?” said the commando.
“Write? A report? That was not a part of the deal. I hate writing reports. Besides this not even an official investigation” said Nikhil.
“We are being paid for it. That’s as official as it can get. At least I am going to write one. You do what you want” he said
“Commando Sir, have you played Need for Speed? The comp game? I am sure you wouldn’t have. Not to despair. Empty road, fuel all paid for and I will show you how it feels” said Nikhil, and slid to top gear and pushed the accelerator pedal to the maximum. The car shot forward like a rocket.
“Doctor, I think you should slow down, we just shot past the big banyan tree. The place is close by” the commando said. They had been on the speeding away for fifteen minutes.
“Oh yes it is right here” said Nikhil, and changed gears. He braked hard and the car spun in a semicircle and stopped. “How do you like it?” he asked
“We are alive. That’s a miracle. Let’s go, I can see that place straight up” said the commando.
“Aye aye, sir!” Nikhil said and hit the accelerator again.

They stopped in front of driveway. GEMINI HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH CENTRE read a huge board at the entrance.
“KPS Genetech has a stake here? Wow” said Nikhil reading details off a smaller board. “What’s that?” asked the Dev.
“Well, KPS is an US based genetic engineering company, which specialises in…” said Nikhil.
“Welcome to the Gemini, gentlemen, I am Dr. Ramakrishna” said Ramakrishna who had come out of the main door. “You can park your car at the end of the driveway and come up. I have some refreshments waiting for you” he said.
“Is this a hotel or something? He is being too cordial.” said Nikhil as he drove up.
“What does that genetic company specialise in?” asked the commando.
“As far as I can recall, they don’t have any products, but they fund a lot of research, mostly on viruses. That too some strange experimental stuff. Their lab in the US was recently blocked for unethical trials of some unapproved treatment for cancer. They used recombinant viruses which went out of control” said Nikhil and got out of the car.

(to be continued.

all characters and incidents are a figment of The Stygian Sailor's highly strung imagination. although you may find many similarities to different things in real life, they are as a matter of fact, coincidental.

inputs are welcome.

all rights reserved)

Updates: The episode was delayed. Sailor was held up with some work.

also, what has been already written will only last a couple of more episodes. after which, Season 1 OF Amygdala ends.

season 2 of the story will be continued when time permits

Amygdala : Episode 6

“ you are listening to ninety two point four FM , Radio Sunshine, the light of Bangalore…” the radio blared. Nikhil was at the wheel. After the briefing session, the Commissioner, the Commander and the Doctor had lunch. Nikhil had convinced the commissioner to let him take his own car instead of the police car which the commissioner had arranged.

“The time is four-thirty PM. Coming up next Rock star by Nickel Back…”the radio continued. “What a song!” said Nikhil and turned up the volume.

“So commander, what kind of music do you listen to?” he asked. “Huh? Nothing much. I don’t listen to music” the commander replied. He was looking out of the window.

“Okay, not the music types? Alright, how do you plan to go about this investigation? Any ideas or inputs? Because this is my first time. You are the army guy…”Nikhil said.

“Let me make this clear. The army is not in charge of investigations. There is an intelligence wing to do that. And this is my first time too. So I am as clueless as you are. I design security protocols; not chase a bunch of monkeys” said the Commander.

“Yeah, the army life is cool. Fit and fine all the time. The intelligence marks out spots, you go out there and destroy. Then you come back and wash everything down with a drink, a day in the life of an army man. Speaking of which, what brand of alcohol do you prefer? Scotch, rum…”said Nikhil. “Stop it. We are fit and fine because it is a part of our job and we just don’t destroy all the time; we rescue, we defend” said the commander. “Hey don’t take it so personally, I was trying to make you talk. So, what rescue missions have you been in?” asked Nikhil. He had to break the ice.

“Well, quite a few. I was a part of the rescue force during the Gujarat earthquake and the Orissa Cyclone before that….”said the commissioner.

“And the tsunami? Were you there? I was in the medical team” Nikhil said.

“When the tsunami happened I was…”the commander trailed off. He was looking out of the window again. “Let’s not discuss this. And stop by at the next tea shop. I want to smoke” he said

“Aye aye, Sir!” he said with a mock salute; So much for breaking the ice.

“Gopal! Gopal! Where are you? Have you locked room number 6?” asked Ramakrishna.

“Yes sir, I have done it.” said Gopal, who came running in haste.

“Remember what you are going to say if they ask you any questions?” asked Ramakrishna. “Yes sir. I know nothing. I come here at ten AM in the morning, mop the floors, dust the rooms and do small jobs. I leave by four PM in the evening” said the servant.

“Excellent! Now go upstairs and set the visitor rooms. They might stay over tonight if they are going to come in this late. If all goes well, you will get a bonus this month. But remember, just say what you have been told to say, anything else, you don’t know” said Ramakrishna. “You are very kind, sir. I will do exactly what you have told me to do” said the servant.

“How is that brother of yours? Is he recovering? We will visit him after this investigation is over. Good thing, he sent you. Otherwise I don’t know where I would have found a helper at such a short notice. Anyway, you may go now.” said Ramakrishna

Nikhil was irritated. The commander was turning out to be a headache. He wondered how he could possibly work with him for the investigation. On the other hand, something seemed to be bothering the Commander and he wasn’t able to guess.

“Commander, you can be as moody as you want when we are done with the investigation, but as of now we need to decide on how to go about the thing” he said and took a sip from his tea cup.

They were sitting on a wooden bench in a highway tea shop. The commander was huge. The cigarette in his hand seemed like a mere twig. He took a long puff and breathed out heavily. “We were in Phuket when the tsunami happened” he said. He felt a numbness in his calf; a vague feeling which always appeared when he thought of the incident.

Nikhil was silent. At least the man was loosening up.

“My wife, my son and I were on a holiday. I had retired from service a couple of months earlier and we had just moved to Bangalore. I thought my wife deserved a surprise; hence I had booked a getaway on a beach resort in Phuket for the three of us. We were to spend a week there, celebrate our son’s birthday and fly back” said the commander. He was lost in his own world.

Twelve year old Ashok ran along the beach. The ocean waves touched the tip of his feet and splashed along as he ran. He was very happy. His dad was running after him, not very fast, but he was following him. It had been long time since his father had played with him. Months after the bullet injury and many surgeries later, his father was spending time with him. To top it all it was his birthday.

He ran up to his mom. She was sitting inside the hotel, near the far end of the beach.

“Hi mom, why don’t you come and play Frisbee with us?” he asked.

“No thanks. I will sit here and watch” she said and smiled. He looked at her. She was a small built woman wearing a white T-shirt and jeans and was slim. Then He looked at his dad, a big man, waving to him with a Frisbee in hand. His mother must be really strong to look after a man like his dad, he thought. He smiled at her again and ran.

They had been playing Frisbee for almost half an hour when the boy pointed out to his dad, “look the sea went back. Last time we saw, it touched our feet, now it is there”.

“Strange but true; Must be the tide and there are clouds, maybe a storm” replied his dad. “I think it is time, son. Let’s go back to the room bathe and get ready to cut your cake. Run to where your mom is. I will race with you” he said.

They both ran. Mrs. Dev had gone down to talk to the waiter about the cake. So the father and son went up to their fourth floor room to wash and bathe.

The commander was all set and waiting for his wife to arrive, when his son screamed from the balcony, “dad, look, the sea, it is coming back and it’s huge”

The commander ran to the balcony; it was a huge tidal wave; sweeping out everything in its path. Instinctively he looked down to where his wife was; she was running back to the hotel lobby. The rain splattered heavily everywhere. “Anisha!” he screamed and a wave of water swept past gulping her into the depths of the sea.

(to be continued.

all characters and incidents are a figment of The Stygian Sailor's highly strung imagination. although you may find many similarities to different things in real life, they are as a matter of fact, coincidental.

inputs are welcome.

all rights reserved)

updates: Sailor never imagined this story lasting for more than 5 episodes. and here we are still only half way through the series. will see how it goes.

Amygdala : Episode 5

“When did a Government owned Forensic Science Laboratory start having a PCR?” asked Nikhil. “And whose report is this? It has no seal. And more importantly, how can we be sure if the saliva was of Human origin, when we don’t know if there were contaminations or not.”
“Patience, doctor; I will come to that” said the Commissioner. “As far as the FSL goes, we don’t have a PCR; this was done on request. In fact I got it done in a private lab because I was curious about the bite marks. My doubts were well placed. The report was written and certified by Doctor Gayathri of Jasmine Path Labs private”
“Her? Old snooty!?” said Nikhil.
“I am aware that she is from the same institution as you are and whatever animosity you might have, you have to admit she is good. Even the CBI consults her. In fact they…” said the Commissioner
“Okay, uncle fine. Let’s take it that she is the best. My question is how can we be sure if the sample you sent was human? The answer to this question will also tell us if there is a need for our ‘investigation’ or if it is just a wild goose chase. Not that I am complaining but all of us do have other things to do, other than just chase a bunch of monkeys. What say, Commander?” said Nikhil.
The commander nodded. “True, especially I don’t understand the need for a security consultant on the team” said the ex-commando.
“Gentlemen, I assure it is not a waste of time. There is foul play going on there and I want to get the bottom of it. Besides you don’t have to worry about your time. You are being paid by the day. How does ten thousand rupees sound? Per day?”
“Done” said Nikhil.
“When did the police become so rich? As in don’t the officers have pay issues?” asked the Commander.
“This is not a regular investigation” the Commissioner sat down and lit a cigarette. “The researcher, Doctor Ramakrishna had given me ten lakh rupees as bribe. It is that money I am going to use. So in the eventuality of him ending up in court, I will justify my actions by producing bills and keeping the records straight”.
“Now gentlemen, lets go ahead with the investigation. Commander Dev, you are the security expert. You will examine the security of the place; the possibility of animals escaping and adequacy of security. While you are at it, keep an eye out for signs of suspected terrorist activity. The truck blast on the Highway was in the vicinity.” The commander nodded.
“You, Doctor Nikhil, will look at the place with respect to medical safety, their containment procedures and the kind of equipment they use. Also look out for any specific signs of the place being used for unethical vaccine trials or experiments” he said.
“Wow, I never studied all this in medical college.” Said Nikhil “I may write a text book on…”
“No. you are prohibited from communicating details of the case to anyone else except me. You will be given a car and fuel. If you have no more questions we can get started” said the commissioner.


Tiger was a pedigree German shepherd. His mother and father were both winners at some time in the ‘Kennel Club’ contests. He would compete this year. His owner was priming him for that. The farm house provided him the adequate exercise. The food was carefully selected too. He had a vet visiting every week to chart his growth and development.
He loved running around the banana trees chasing rodents and birds. With a sharp ear, that flicked every second, Tiger was already a good watch dog.
It was four in the evening. He was pacing about the farm yard. Soon, it would be time for his evening walk. There were dark clouds in the sky. The birds were already heading back to their nests. Somewhere, he heard leaves ruffle. His ears flicked in that direction. Nothing. Again he heard a rustle. This time, tiger was alert. His nose twitched. He had picked up a scent. Tiger crouched up to the tree from where he heard the rustle.
He advanced forward with a growl. The cats always ran with his growls. But he did not see any cat. The scent was stronger. He barked as if to warn who ever was hiding that their game was up.
Suddenly, a dry coconut was hurled at him from one of the trees. It hit him near the hind leg. He whimpered and moved. There were more objects being hurled. Tiger was barking in frenzy. A glass shred pierced his skin and he whined. His tail tucked between his hind legs.

“Tiger” said the owner. “Where are you? Why are you whining?” he came out of the front door with a leash. It was time for Tiger’s walk. “Tiger”. Tiger liked his evening walks. He was always at the door when it was time. Today, he seemed to be different. “Tiger?” the owner called out again as he turned around the corner.
He froze in his tracks. “Tiger!” he screamed.
Tiger lay dead in a pool of blood. His neck twisted and jugulars ripped open. There were bite marks all over his body.
“Tiger!” the owner said and fainted.






(to be continued.

all characters and incidents are a figment of The Stygian Sailor's highly strung imagination. although you may find many similarities to different things in real life, they are as a matter of fact, coincidental.

inputs are welcome.

all rights reserved)

The Sailor may not be able to update on Monday. Hence the early episode. Also, the readers may get to read two episodes a week if all goes well.

Amygdala : Episode 4

“I thought we had a deal? What ever happened to the vacation you agreed to take?” asked Dr. Ramakrishna. He was on the phone, speaking to the Commissioner.

“Listen doctor. Just because you left a suitcase full of money on my desk, it doesn’t mean I agreed. And that is not the problem. Your monkeys are creating havoc in the area around your lab. It is not a law and order problem, but sooner or later, the questions regarding the incident in your lab premises will be asked. I just want to have answers ready. Besides, this is a private investigation. Both of them have nothing to do with the police. But yes, if they say, that there is something wrong in your lab, I will take over the investigation. So when they are there, treat them well” said the commissioner.

“Of course, I will. I’ll show them around” said the researcher.

“Do what you want. God knows what diseases you have put into those monkeys. My only hope is that nothing untoward happens” said the commissioner and hung up.

Ramakrishna was furious. After accepting the bribe, the commissioner was still pressing for an investigation. Probably he wanted more. But it wasn’t time to lose his temper. Ramakrishna went back to his desk and stared into the computer screen. “Private investigation? We shall see about that” he thought. “Gopal, shut door number 6 and get started on sweeping the floors” he called out to the helper. “Apparently tomorrow is Diwali”

A Silver Ford Ikon stopped in front of the main gate to the commissioner’s office. A police official flagged it. “Sir, no parking inside for civilians” he said.

The tinted glasses rolled down. “What do you mean civilians? I am here because the commissioner asked me to come. Call him and ask him. I am expected to be in his office by nine. If I get late, I can tell him I was asked to park a kilometre away. Now that won’t be nice, will it? Call and ask, I’ll wait here. My name is Doctor Nikhil Rao” Said Nikhil.

The guard rushed to find out. Behind the Ikon, other cars were sounding their horns.

“Control room? Security, some doctor has come to meet the commissioner, he wants to take the car in because he is late, can I let him in?” the guard asked.

The walkie talkie hissed with static.

“Damn it, I’ll just let this man in.”

The grandfather clock on the mantle struck nine. The commissioner and the ex-commando sat waiting in the conference hall attached to the commissioner’s office.

The door opened and Nikhil rushed in.

“Sorry uncle, your guards created problems for parking my car” said Nikhil as he entered. The Commissioner arose and said, “Doctor Nikhil Rao, meet Commander Vikram Dev, security consultant. Commander this is Doctor Nikhil, Physician and my personal doctor” said the Commissioner. “Hi” said Nikhil. The commander nodded.

“You see, Nikhil and my son were classmates in school. So I have seen him grow up. My son left to the US to pursue higher studies, Nikhil finished his MD course and settled here. He has been our family doctor ever since.” said the commissioner. The commander nodded again.

“Commander here is my old friend, we had to collabo…” “It is okay, Commissioner” the commander cut him off. “Let’s get started” he said.

“I just wanted to say, I am entrusting this investigation to your hands because I can personally vouch for both of you. So, let us start.” The commissioner said and lit a cigarette.

He started to brief them about the security guard incident at the lab and the subsequent incidents of monkeys destroying crops.

The briefing session was in still in progress when two officers walked past the room. “The commissioner must have hit jackpot today, the meeting has been going on for an hour” one of them said. “Is it a ‘suit-case’ meeting?” asked the other. “I don’t think so. Both the visitors didn’t carry any suitcases” he said as both walked on.

Inside, “isn’t it a bunch of monkeys, how is it our job? Or even the job of police? Let the forest department people handle it” said the commander. “Wait that’s not everything. One last detail; It may change your mind” said the commissioner and handed over two sheets to both of them.

It read:

Post mortem report

A Caucasian male, aged about 25 years, brought in by Banyan Tree police station. Pc no: 2345

“Gentlemen, the necessary details have been highlighted for you” said the Commissioner.

A few lines on the sheet were marked in pencil:

The death occurred due to hypovolemic shock, caused lacerations around the left side of the neck, which caused the rupture of the jugular vein.

Multiple bruises all over the body; apparently caused by a strong force as in an assault.

Multiple bite marks seen, with teeth marks resembling human dentition.

“I don’t get it. What does post mortem report have to do with the investigation?” asked the commander.

“it is the post mortem report of the security guard who died in that incident, alleged killed by the monkeys. But that’s not it, read the other page” the commissioner said.

The doctor and the commander both turned to the second sheet

DNA analysis report

Specimen: wound swab from bite area

Content:? Saliva, probably mammalian

DNA analysis by PCR.

- Sample DNA is of HUMAN ORIGIN.

- DNA of the saliva sample DOES NOT match with that of the body.

(to be continued.

all characters and incidents are a figment of The Stygian Sailor's highly strung imagination. although you may find many similarities to different things in real life, they are as a matter of fact, coincidental.

inputs are welcome.

all rights reserved)

Updates: if you like reading fiction, you might want to check out these

1. The devil has no face
2 The Tailors of Chitoor