The Wanderer

Under this title, what we are about to tell you is a story! Whether you read it or not is entirely your choice! Okay, let’s get into the story! Story Title: The Wanderer (Vaḻippōkkaṉ)

Just as the universe and Earth of humans are vast and expansive, a parallel universe and its Earth also appeared to be vast and spread out! In that world, in the South Indian region, in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district, in the Potipuram Ambarappar hill area, the central government had set up a research lab under the name "Neutrino Research Observatory."

This laboratory operated under extreme military security. The lab carried out many secret research activities unknown to anyone else in the world! No one in that universe or any superpower nations knew anything about it!

Inside that lab was a highly skilled scientist named Liyarkasa. He made an extraordinary discovery there! Liyarkasa discovered rays that could travel hundreds of times faster than the speed of light! (How he discovered or obtained them is deliberately omitted from the story for now.)

He harnessed these rays using a cosmic mechanism—accumulating, focusing, and controlling them into a single form! When this discovery took place, no one else was present at the lab. Only he was there!

That’s because he lived and slept there—it was completely under his control.

Meanwhile, journalists were bombarding the Indian Defense Minister with questions. He stumbled and struggled to answer them!

What were those questions?

Q1. Is it true that there is a secret military research facility in Theni, Tamil Nadu? Leaks suggest there is—Is that true?
Answer: Yes.
(He had to admit it because several reporters had already started climbing the hill, and questions were raised both at the press meet and in Potipuram itself.)

Q2. Recently there was a loud explosion there, and there are reports that radioactive waste is being buried in a cave. Are those facts or just rumors?
Answer: Who gave you that information?!
(He blurts out, visibly shaken) Reporters shouldn't speak without proper evidence!

Q3. You have to answer the Indian public! Is it true or not—just answer! (He struggles to respond. A reporter presses on) Our journalists are going there directly—Tell us the truth!

Q4. There are reports that India is secretly developing nuclear weapons there! What do you say about that?
Answer: Who's feeding you such baseless rumors for these kinds of questions?!

Reporter: Sir, this is based on a research report from an American NGO! That report accuses India of covertly developing nuclear weapons there!

Hearing this, the Defense Minister’s face changes with anger—watched live by the Prime Minister on a hologram screen!

At that moment, the door to the Prime Minister’s office opens. It’s the Defense Minister himself entering (furiously).

Prime Minister (with sarcasm): "This is exactly why I never meet the press!" (laughs)

The Defense Minister places his hand on his forehead, indicating a massive headache as if to show how draining the press meet was.

Prime Minister: Who asked you to meet the press?

Defense Minister: Sir, that was… uh…

Prime Minister: These Tamil Nadu people always stir up trouble! Now that they know we kept it secret, they’ll start planning to expose us on every social media platform—giving explanations in VR and all!

We went through all that trouble to cover things up—digging pits and sealing everything in barrels! Didn’t we say the forest fire was natural? And blocked off the trekking area saying it was dangerous?

Then we passed a law to take control of the forest and used it to evict tribal people! Now one by one they’ll start “connecting the dots,” make videos, write right-ups, and broadcast it on air screens!

Do I really need all this trouble!?

Defense Minister: Sir! Sorry, sir!

Prime Minister: But amidst all this chaos, there’s one good news—Liyarkasa apparently made some huge discovery!

Defense Minister: What?! When did this happen!?

Prime Minister: What do you mean “when”?! If it weren’t for that, you would've blurted this out during your press meet too!

The American intelligence agency already knows about something that the Indian Defense Minister still doesn’t know! "What kind of Defense Minister are you?! Sitting at home clueless while the world knows everything!"

Defense Minister: (unable to respond, ends the conversation)

Prime Minister: Voice control—Connect the call to Liyarkasa!

Prime Minister: Hello, Liyarkasa! How are you doing?

Liyarkasa: Sir, all our hard work—it hasn’t gone to waste!

Prime Minister: Calm down, Liyarkasa. I can tell you’re excited. You’re free to express it—I'm somewhere I can’t react openly. Now, what’s our next move?

Liyarkasa: As planned, my team has already started searching for the cave near Rameswaram. With the data I got, we’ve almost found its exact location. Give us a week—we’ll definitely find it, sir!

Prime Minister: Really? That cave actually exists? I trusted you enough to be personally involved in this.

Liyarkasa: I’m sure, sir. That cave is a secret route from here to Tiriconamalai in Sri Lanka. The info I have is accurate.

Prime Minister: I trust you, Liyarkasa. You wouldn’t go into something without being absolutely sure.

Alright—there are some rules in place. The guards may ask you to follow them. Please do as they say.

Liyarkasa: Sir, I only agreed to this project if I didn’t have to follow those strict rules.

Prime Minister: Just this once. What we’re working on is huge—beyond what people can even imagine.

Liyarkasa: Okay, sir. I’ll cooperate.

Prime Minister: Thank you. I’ll join you soon. Until then, please follow the protocols.

The armed guards removed all records of Liyarkasa’s identity from global Database. They took away his weapons and security devices. This made Liyarkasa suspicious, but he didn’t react. He was brave enough to face anything, no matter how dangerous.

Then the AI voice said:

AI: "Notice: For security purposes, all external communication for User Liyarkasa has been disconnected."

Liyarkasa felt confused. Something didn’t seem right. His instincts were warning him.

Suddenly, the cosmic engine started flashing danger-level lights. Without wasting time, Liyarkasa jumped into action.

The engine, about the size of a microwave, had an issue in its power transponder. Liyarkasa started fixing it. Once it was fixed, he needed to test it again.

He tried to start the engine, but the guards blocked him. A sharp look of anger in his eyes made the guards step aside immediately.

How the Engine Works:

The engine first captures a 3D projection of the object. It then sends this data to a receiver, breaks the object down into subatomic particles, and transmits them using a quantum-powered beam.

At the other end, the receiver uses the original 3D data to reassemble the particles back into the same object.

All of this happens in under a millisecond.

This entire process is called: Teleportation.

For testing, he used a lotus flower from a pond nearby. It would teleport to the Alpha Block receiver in the basement.

Liyarkasa: "Show Alpha Block camera feed."

AI: "Request denied. Visual access restricted."

Liyarkasa: "I created you. This is a direct command. Show the feed."

AI: "Override denied. Manual access is available to User Liyarkasa."

Liyarkasa ran toward the basement. The guards followed. Since Alpha Block was restricted, the guards stayed behind.

He opened the door using a manual key. But what he found shocked him—the lotus flower had burned to ash inside the receiver.

He rushed back to fix the engine again. The guards followed. Inside the Execute Block, Liyarkasa started analyzing what went wrong.

Liyarkasa: “You’re seeing everything that’s going on. Is this protocol really necessary now?”

AI: "Your observation is correct. Initiating holographic communication with the Prime Minister as per security protocol."

Liyarkasa: PM, I need access to the Dark Room—right now.

Prime Minister (nervous): I don’t think that’s a good idea…

Liyarkasa: PM, it’s important. I must go in now.

Prime Minister: The last time you went in, it took 693 days for you to return! When you came back, the room was exactly as it was—untouched. We still don’t know how you survived. And like you asked, we never questioned it.

But what if this time, you don’t return for years?

Liyarkasa: This is just a technical issue. I’ll go in and come back immediately. I promise.

Prime Minister: ...Alright.

Liyarkasa: “Open the Dark Room!”

The pitch-dark, soundless chamber slowly opened. Liyarkasa stepped inside. Exactly one minute later, he emerged...

He looked at the device and smiled.

Liyarkasa: “Connect me to the PM.”

Prime Minister: “What the...? You’re already back?!”

Liyarkasa: “PM, we can’t run this experiment here. We need a new location.”

Prime Minister: “Where?”

Liyarkasa: “In space.”

Prime Minister (shocked): “What the hell?!”

Liyarkasa: “We need the lab set up in our space station. You, the Defense Minister, and I will go up and do it ourselves. It’s highly confidential. We have to do it off-Earth. I’ll explain everything on the way.”

Prime Minister: “Get Kulasekarapatinam launch site ready!”

Defense Minister: “Prepare the launch at Kulasekarapatinam base!”

Work at the launch site moved quickly. At the same time, the space station lab was almost ready.

As per Liyarkasa’s instructions, everything had to be finished in 6 hours. He traveled from Theni to Madurai and then flew to Kulasekarapatinam in a military jet.

The Prime Minister and Defense Minister were already there in secret.

Wearing his space suit, Liyarkasa entered the rocket. The PM and Defense Minister joined him. The hatch closed.

Rocket AI: "Master control ready. Awaiting launch command."

Liyarkasa: “Launch now.”

The rocket took off into space.

Prime Minister: “Liyarkasa, why are we going all the way to space? What if something explodes? - is that why you taking us to space?!”

Defense Minister: “Sir, even if a nuclear bomb explodes, nothing will leak from the container of the lab we set up down there. That lab is designed to withstand it—it’s built using a special meteorite element and mercury! So there’s no chance. But… I don’t know why, I feel like what he discovered might explode beyond even that.”

Prime Minister (angrily): “What are we doing? Flying into doom in a capsule?!”

Liyarkasa: “It’s nothing like that. I’ll explain the mistake we made in the last test—you’ll understand.”

He opened a virtual board and started teaching:

Liyarkasa: “This ‘Delta variation’ refers to time. You’ve heard of the time-space continuum, right?”

Defense Minister: “It applies to everything in space?”

Liyarkasa (smiling): “No. Only to objects that move through space.”

Defense Minister: “So, what are you saying?”

Liyarkasa: “Where did we do the last test?”

Defense Minister (confused, pointing down): “Uh… down there?”

Prime Minister (mocking): "Wow. 'Down there'? Let me guess—Earth? Genius Mr.."

Liyarkasa: “Exactly. Now tell me—is Earth moving through space?”

Prime Minister and Defense Minister: “Oh… now we get it.”

By then, the rocket reached the space station. Liyarkasa rushed into the lab and began testing.

For the first teleportation, he used an old wristwatch he’d worn for years. It worked.

The Prime Minister and Defense Minister were excited.

Defense Minister: “Wait, did we spend all this just to teleport inside space? If World War 4 breaks out, how will we deploy weapons or forces? This feels like we’re blindly firing into nothingness!”

Prime Minister: “Relax. What’s the rush? Are we so eager to destroy the very people who elected us? We already killed half the population during World War 3, calling it ‘collateral damage’! Let’s wait—he just discovered this. He may know more than we do.” Liyarkasa (smiling): “Sure. But before I proceed further —I need 40 more days.”

Defense Minister: “What?! Are you going on a 40-day fasting or something?”

Liyarkasa (smiling): “No. I’m going to show you time travel.”

Prime Minister: “Wait... what did he just say?”

Defense Minister (stunned): “Did he say time travel?”

The Prime Minister and Defense Minister returned to Earth. Liyarkasa, however, chose to remain in the floating space research station to continue his experiments. He insisted he needed no assistants, so the station was completely empty—except for him.

He deactivated the AI's central control system and put everything into manual mode. The Indian space shuttle remained floating in orbit—roughly one light-hour away from the moon.

In that loneliness, Liyarkasa stood quietly, gazing at Earth. It was clear something weighed on his mind. His thoughts were deep and long. Something was bothering him.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, in Rameswaram, Indian military forces had intensified their search for the hidden cave. The operation was relentless. Satellite maps and lunar geology experts helped in the search.

At one point, a local folklore passed on by old fishermen caught the attention of the scientists: “If you wait until twilight and look at the sky from the coast, you’ll see a blue star. That’s where the path to another world lies.”

They decided to wait by the coast until nightfall. When the exact blue star appeared, they carefully recorded its astronomical coordinates. By morning, they began their search.

Using the newly aligned data, they located a massive rock in the sea—only its tip was above the surface, but it extended all the way to the seabed. It was located not far from the coastline.

Upon scanning the rock with their technology, the scientists discovered air pockets and tunnel-like formations beneath it. However, the actual entry point wasn’t visible via scan. So they reverse-engineered what they could see and made sketches of possible underground structures.

They noted that drilling from the top would lead to one such structure at the second layer inside the rock. So, excavation work began.

The rock was massive. That something was constructed inside it left the entire team speechless. They tried reaching Liyarkasa through the Indian space shuttle’s long-range comms, but got nothing but silence.

Immediately, the Prime Minister's office was alerted. ISRO tried contacting the space station—but no signal. They then decided to launch another shuttle to reach Liyarkasa’s location.

But to their horror, the original shuttle was missing—gone from space. So was Liyarkasa.

The disappearance of both India’s most advanced spacecraft and Liyarkasa shocked the leadership and the global science community.

Worse yet, there were no official records of Liyarkasa’s true identity. No name. No origin. Not even confirmation if "Liyarkasa" was his real name.

His discoveries were so far beyond current human understanding that the government had created a special protocol just for him. They allowed him to work independently.

Now, with him missing, leaks and speculations spread across the world. Everyone asked the same questions: Who was he? What was he doing? How did he disappear?

Global superpowers grew suspicious. What exactly was India researching?

The Joint Governance Council immediately called an emergency meeting. Members included India, China, Russia, and the European Union. Aransil led the council meeting as its chief person.

He opened the session:

“After World War 3, the United States of America lost its power and its land. Its people have no homes, no assets, and no direction. Your countries must step in and help them. A new governing representative must be selected for them immediately, and all of you must immediately provide the necessary funding for the infrastructure within the Council.”

The other superpowers responded in one voice: “Yes. We will.”

Then Aransil turned to the Indian delegate:

“You’ve conducted secret research without informing us. You entrusted all your secrets to someone who isn’t even on the global records. Our space task force is already on its way to catch him. Your technologies will only be introduced to this world when we, the Royal Council, approve them—not before.

Why the hurry? Everything you are developing—we discovered it long ago. We release it to the public only when the time is right, following strict timelines.

If you violate that—death is the only punishment.”

All council members sat in tense silence.

Aransil continued: “Immediately formalize the Southern India division. The Indian Ocean is now under the Royal Council’s control. Halt all research related to the rock you discovered!.

The Union of South India will now represent the next phase of global governance. They will operate directly under the Royal Council and the Joint Governance Council.

Just like Washington DC became a military-controlled zone during the collapse of America, Tamil Nadu is now declared a militarized region. It will act as the main command center for this new world order.

Once established, our council members will relocate there, and the native population will be assigned to serve them.

All preparations must be completed immediately."

To this, all nations responded: "Agreed."

(To be continued)

—We are, The Internet Warriors