Rohan was woken up with a thud on the door. He was unaware of what the time was. He looked up at his phone on the side table, it was twenty past seven. It was unusual for him to sleep past seven, but such was the case since he left the lab two weeks ago. He scrambled up from the bed, put on his pyjamas and stood up with a tilted neck. He had told his father he could not fit in the attic, but he insisted. That was the only way to avoid unnecessary attention. He opened the door, still yawning. His mother was standing, with some freshly ironed clothes. They smelled of lavender or was it her perfume. She was very confident that he would be treated fairly that day, but a hint of tears was present around the corner of her eyes. She was really proud of him, he knew that, but there was no easy way to console a mother when his brilliant son, due to no mistake or crime of his own, was subjugated to a trial on whether he should be killed in the name of the country or not.
Rohan went to the washroom, even smaller than his bedroom ceiling, but he managed to take a bath using a bucket and got ready in about twenty minutes. They were to reach the court by ten and it was half an hour drive, but he could not fit in the car. Madhav, his father, had arranged for a pickup truck, in which he would sit and leave. When he came down and sat on the table for some breakfast, he could see his sister watching on the sofa nearby, sobbing to see her brother go away. He was confident that things would be alright, but he was prepared for anything. Madhav was pretty good at hiding his emotions, but he was deeply terrified inside. As Rohan started eating his sandwich, he could see a small group of people standing outside in the lawn, trying to take pictures of him through the windows. He was used to this by then. When he was being taken away from his lab two weeks ago, there was an even bigger group of reporters and he didn’t get bothered by it. Madhav stood up, went to the window, closed the blinds.
As their breakfast got over, Rohan got into his shoes. He prepared to leave, turned to bid her sister goodbye. She wasn’t prepared for it. As soon as he hugged her, she started crying in big wallops and it melted his heart too. He cleaned tiny tears from his right eye and then looked at her looking up to him. He kissed her forehead and turned to the door. As he bent down and climbed out of the door, he could see a couple of police officers standing by to take him. As his mother was about to come out, Madhav stopped her. He asked her not to come, to stay home and take care of their daughter. They could not take her and she could not be left alone, at least not in these times. The mother could not believe it. She started sobbing uncontrollably and tried to at least give an embracing hug to her son. Rohan was a few steps ahead, he turned around, smiled and let the tears flow down this time. They both saw in each other’s eyes through the film of tears they were soaked in. Then he gave out a grin and turned around again. Madhav told her, it’s better this way. We still have hope now. But she knew that was not the case. She knew there was little hope. She knew this was the last time she saw her son.
As Madhav got into his car and drove, followed by the pickup truck running behind it, he could sense people staring at their entourage as it neared the court. They reached ten minutes ahead of time, plenty of time to have a last look at his son as a free man. The stairs of the court were filled with people trying to get a picture of the father and son duo. It would make for a great picture for their news hologram that evening. As they approached the court door, his custody was transferred to the court police. As they both entered the courtroom, everyone stood up, trying to take a look with their own eyes on what was going to be one of the most important trials of the century.
Rohan sat in the defendant’s chair, however comfortably he could. The judge bench was looking at him with intent, unsure of and unaccustomed to the situation. Madhav sat right in the middle, gazing down at the papers in front of his eyes, trying to convince himself on what he was doing was right. Rohan sat composed, waiting to hear his fate. He had prepared no arguments, he simply had hope on the wisdom of the people. Madhav began.
“Today we are here to witness an unusual situation, never ever presented before the court until this day. Mr. Rohan Mittal, twenty eight years of age, is a citizen of India and currently living in New Delhi. He a biochemist by profession at the National Chemistry Laboratory working in the drug discovery research team on treating McCune-Albright Syndrome, also known as ‘MAS’. He surpassed the national critical Normalised Height (NH) Factor last year in the month of November, examined and confirmed in the semi-annual mandatory health check procedure in his employment. He was given a grace period of eight months to accommodate and rationalise the work he was doing given the critical nature of his work and how close his work appears to have reached a breakthrough, as claimed and signed on by nineteen of his colleagues, including the Chairman of the National Institute of Health Management and Diseases. Those eight months ended two weeks ago. Upon the completion of the term, he was supposed to hand over himself to the Local Health Department where he would undergo…”
Madhav choked, hesitant to speak the next words. He had prepared for this moment and had brought his pills with him. He was sweating on the forehead but he was determined to see it through, for his own pride and for his country. He took a couple, gulped a bit of water and then continued.
“.. the mandatory euthanasia that every citizen of this country is obligated to undergo once they reach the critical NH Factor of 1.85. This is most unusual and unfortunate that this law would take away one of the brightest minds this country has been gifted with in the past century.” The court audience started murmuring. There was a rise in humming from the crowd outside. “Given the fact that Mr. Rohan was allowed eight months of grace period and he has shown a continuous growth spurt since then as well, there is no way this court can allow him any more grace period to complete his pending work.”
Rohan looked up to his father, in the eyes. He knew this was going to happen, with only some hope that his father would not send him to be executed. He was wrong. He knew it was not easy for his father, he loved his son as much as his mother, but he had duties to fulfil. No exceptions could be made in the law, it had to be done for the greater good. If he was allowed to go free, it would open doors for the entire world asking for the same exception. There is no way to really prove you are more important to the world than the other person. As he was looking, his father asked him.
“Mr. Rohan. Do you have anything to say?”
Rohan was unsure what he could say. He knew this was wrong, but was also right. He gulped down nerves and said, “Sir, I am not sure how close I am to the cure, hence there is no logical basis on which I can ask for more time before I expire. I believe I am pretty close and I have prepared my team to continue my work when I have expired. I see that the spread of MAS has receded to manageable levels, but the laws can’t be changed unless we have a cure in hand. I strongly believe in the law and I am happy to accept what it says.” With that, he smiled, looking at the ensemble of cameras, trying to instil some confidence in the people that it is still worth living and fighting for.
Madhav had a teary smile, but he still gathered courage to speak. “Thank you Mr. Rohan. I believe the world will be worse without you but the work you are leaving behind will make it better. I hereby announce that Mr. Rohan be taken into custody and be euthanised on the coming Sunday at six hundred hours.” And he struck his mallet on the table.
While Rohan was being taken away outside the court, he looked up to the sky, before being taken into the truck again, this time restricted with heavy steel chains. He wanted to see and hug his mother again, but knew she could not take it if she saw him like this. He will just remember her smiles and will imagine them while he will take his last breath.
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