It was the year 2010. David Antony was a 24-year-old man trying to become a civil servant in the Indian Administrative Services. He came from a middle-income family in South India, had completed a three-year Science degree in Agriculture, and had already attempted the Civil Services Examination twice. In both attempts, he couldn't even get past the preliminary examination round.
His father was a small-time businessman working with agriculture-related products, and his mother was a high school teacher. After completing his degree, David went to Hyderabad to study with his close friend from college, Ajith Tejas, who was also attempting to become a civil servant.
"Hey Ajju, are you going down now?" David asked. He was brushing his teeth hard, thinking of the interview board in his future. He didn't want to show them a yellow smile and lose marks, even though the interview would only happen after qualifying two rounds of exams.
It was six in the morning. Food was available in the PG hostel for those who wanted to go to work in the early hours.
"Yeah, I will eat and go to the center. I have an early class today." Ajith was in a hurry, knowing that David was only going to the library.
"Okay, see you in the afternoon." David finished his morning routine and went to eat breakfast.
Today I must revise World History and also think about some way to earn pocket money. I can't always rely on Papa for my expenses, he thought to himself. Although he was diligent in his studies, he had never tried to work part-time or full-time anywhere.
In the cafeteria, the TV news was on. It was replaying yesterday's report on an earthquake in the Ring of Fire region near Japan. After finishing his breakfast, David took his bag and went to the Central Library to get some books to read on World History. He was staying in a colony consisting mostly of buildings used as PG hostels; from there, he had to take a bus to get to the library. He was a daily reader at the library and knew all the staff members. Outside, there were people sitting around and old men reading newspapers.
"Hi, Baskar sir, how are you?" Politeness was the way to get things done in any government establishment.
"Fine, David. You are early today. It's good that you are early; otherwise, you would have had to sit outside." Baskar was the assistant librarian.
"I came early, so of course I will sit inside." David got near the desk and asked in a low voice, "Baskar sir, recommend me some World History books that will be useful for the Civils exams."
Asking experts like Baskar for recommendations was the best way to get through the hassle of searching for books himself.
"David, only because you are diligent and studious am I helping you." Baskar was in his late forties. He had seen many young people come to the library only to waste their time or sleep.
He pointed to the racks. "In the third rack, there will be a book named Comprehensive World History. That will be of great use to you."
What David didn't see was another young man standing next to them who had listened to all of this. Before David could move, the man went to the shelves, grabbed the book, and went to his seat to read. Unaware of this, David went to search for the book.
After searching for some time, David didn't find the book he was looking for. However, among the books, he found another titled History Volume 1. David was interested in it because it had a real leather cover. Books with leather covers were very rare, as they were usually used as personal diaries, not mass-printed history books.
He took the book and went to read it. "Baskar sir, I didn't find the book you mentioned, but I found another one, so I will be reading this first."
"Okay, someone else must have taken it to read. Let me check the entries." Everyone had to register with an ID to read books from the library.
After registering, David went to read the book he had found with curiosity.
There was no author's name on the book, which made David think it was someone's personal diary. However, when he opened it, he realized it was a printed book, not handwritten.
He soon noticed a strange inconsistency: while the cover title was in English, the text inside was in old Sanskrit. Stranger still, the book looked brand new on the inside, as if no one had ever opened it before. The pages were crisp and unblemished.
David tried to read a few lines, but he couldn't understand most of the words; his knowledge of Sanskrit was limited. Disappointed, he decided to return the book to the desk.
Just as he was about to close it, however, a page caught his eye. It contained incredibly detailed, beautiful illustrations of buildings, complex machinery, and vast landscapes. Captivated, David decided to keep the book a little longer, if only to look at the pictures.
He spent more than an hour just flipping through the pages, lost in the artwork.
When he reached the last few pages, the subject matter shifted. He found pictures of animals that did not exist on Earth. Everything was printed in black and white, yet the images were so sharp and high-definition that he could easily make out the intricate features of the creatures—from the texture of their skin to the odd geometry of their limbs. There were only two pictures of these strange beasts in the entire book, but they left David staring in bewilderment until he reached the end.
David prepared to close the book and return it to the shelf, having understood nothing of its contents.
He placed his hand on the open pages to push himself up—an unconscious action to support his weight. Suddenly, a distinct click resonated from within the book's spine.
To his shock, the Sanskrit letters on the page began to wriggle and come to life. They dissolved into a substance resembling silver-black water, which surged upward and covered his right palm. It moved with fluid purpose before slowly solidifying, changing its form into a silver-black chain bracelet clamped around his wrist.
At first, David was too stunned to register the change. But as the cold sensation registered, he gasped in fright. Panic set in. Thinking it was a centipede or some strange insect crawling on him, he frantically tried to shake the thing off his hand.
He cried out in fear, his voice shattering the library's silence. Everyone sitting nearby jumped, caught completely off guard by the sudden commotion.
However, realizing there was no stinging pain, David quickly came to his senses. He stopped flailing and tried to pry the bracelet off his wrist with his other hand. It didn't budge. It wasn't painful, but it was tight—fitted perfectly to his skin, as if it had been molded there.
He looked up. Dozens of eyes were staring at him as if he were crazy. The embarrassment hit him harder than the fear.
"Baskar sir, I'm going out for a while!" he stammered, pointing vaguely behind him while backing away. "The book is over there!"
He didn't wait for a reply, grabbed his bag, and rushed out of the library.
Baskar who saw this took the book and opened to see what was inside, But there were no words inside or outside the book it was just like a notebook.