The Doctor

Ishar stared at the man for a whole two minutes. Dr. Tanvir didn't look scared, or afraid, or anxious from any angle. On the contrary, he looked confident, like there was nothing in this world between him and his plans.

Taking Ishar's confused silence as a sign to continue speaking, Dr. Tanvir started, "So, what brings you here to my lovely abode? Found something…unsettling?"

The scientist's words snapped Ishar back from his daze. The same, furious anger crawled into his veins, and he spoke slowly, in a controlled voice, "I think you know why I am here, Dr. Tanvir. We know about you. About your genocidal plans. About your guiltless back-stabbing."

Dr. Tanvir seemed unaffected by Ishar's words. He gave a solemn smile instead, the kind of one that sent chills down your spine. 

"Oh, Ishar. You call it genocide, but we…we think about it differently. In the right way, you are supposed to think, the way you all should think. You see, humans are a thing of many imperfections. But the greatest imperfection, the one that results in complete destruction, is your disobedience. Your reactions to every single thing that hurts your comfort. Revolutions, rebellions, all those irritating little protests that give way to bloodshed and war."

Ishar clenched his fists. He was finding it harder to not punch the man in front of him, by the minute. He held in a deep breath, deciding to keep his cool, and extract more information about Dr. Tanvir's future plans.

"You call it irritating?" Ishar spoke, in a shaky tone, "Centuries ago, when the foreign invaders attacked India, oppressed our beautiful country, you think we should have just sat quietly? If our freedom fighters hadn't resisted, hadn't fought, hadn't broken the chains of slavery, you wouldn't be able to sit and talk nonsense right now, in front of me. You would probably be lying somewhere, serving the very person who enslaved you."

Dr. Tanvir chuckled, something which only fueled Ishar's anger. He stood up from the chair, grinning with menace, "If your 'freedom fighters' hadn't resisted, then there would have never been bloodshed. It would have been much easier to capture India, with much less pain and torture. You Indians, always so stubborn, from the very start. Always rebelling whenever there is a sign of oppression."

Ishar gritted his teeth so hard, he swore he heard a tooth crack. 

"And what are you? Are you not an Indian? Were you not proud to be born in this country? Or were all your words lies?"

Tanvir's eyes flashed with a furious intensity. It was as if they had actually turned red. But a second later, they were back to normal, with that same disgusting chill.

"Me? I always hated to be Indian, to live off the same nation that stole from my ancestors. But I was calm. I was caring. I pretended to be proud, and I decided to infiltrate the very ranks that upheld the country. Needless to say, I was very successful. Oh, you should have seen the face of the General when he learned the truth!"

Ishar looked at him confused, his heart thumping against his ribcage. "The General? He wasn't involved with you?"

For the first time, Dr. Tanvir let out a laugh. But it wasn't your normal laugh, that made you feel warm and comfy. No, this laugh was high and chilling. One that screamed 'danger.'

"Of course not, silly boy. And I thought you were smart. Yes, the General was a great friend, and I expected him to co-operate with me, in my plans. But no. Just like you, he went on with his stupid 'patriotism' and got himself captured. A fate that you will meet as well."

As confused as Ishar was (and relieved that the General didn't turn out to be a genocidal person), he didn't have time to ponder on his thoughts. He secretly clicked a button on his phone, alerting his comrades about his location, and decided to stall Dr. Tanvir.

"And what about the small camera? The one which you had promised to send into space?"

Dr. Tanvir shrugged, stopping in his tracks. "Well, it's already in space, probably inside the spaceship. We decided to safeguard it, to use it to our advantage."

Ishar's eyes flicked to the gun in the corner. He slowly backed towards it, all the while unable to hold himself back from asking one question that had been bothering him.

"And who exactly do you mean by, 'we'?"