HOST - DIGBEJOY GHOSH

HOST.

By Digbejoy Ghosh

The room lies in partial darkness. The only source of light is the window at its far end. A rogue ray of light penetrates the iris blinds, illuminating an oval patch on the carpeted floor. Broken shards of glass glint on the floor, as signs of a violent struggle can be seen in the dim partial light. A broken coffee table, bits of porcelain can be seen littered over the floor.

The sound of breathing can be heard, followed by soft murmuring. A boy lies on his side, contorted uncomfortably on a bed positioned against a bare wall. He mumbles to himself inaudibly as his eyes shift around beneath pale eyelids. Soon, the sounds become louder and more animated as he begins to shift around clutching the sheets tightly to himself. He exhales forcefully, his eyebrows coming together in a frown suddenly as his eyes open, almost in fear. The moment passes as clarity sets in and he begins to breathe more evenly now. He sits upright with his knees to his chest, holding his hands to his face. It takes a few moments for the shock to set in as he looks up at his room. The iris blinds rotate by themselves, flooding the room with light. It is now that the true extent of the damage can be seen. Framed photographs hang lopsided on the walls, the wallpaper slashed across in places. There is more glass lying around the room, some having been violently lodged in the plaster of the walls. Within the chaos, a sole shelf stands at the opposite corner of the room, virtually untouched by the violence. On it lies a large glass case, half filled with what appears to be soil.

The boy clambers out of bed, panic stricken. After putting his slippers on, he makes his way carefully across to the shelf. Scrutinising the glass case from every angle before being satisfied, he lets out a sigh of relief. Something in the soil kept within the case moves. As he bends in closer, the half eaten skull of a small lizard can be seen poking its hollow eyes out from the earth.

Several hours later, the apartment stands lit up by a dim midday sun. A uniformed policeman sits in an armchair in the corner, keeping a sharp eye on the crime scene probe as it records and documents each and every detail. The boy stands next to him, a grave expression on his face.

“You have no reason to be worried Sir, we will do our utmost to get to the bottom of this.”

The boy nods, watching the probe finish taking samples of glass and porcelain from the floor. The policeman rises from the couch and begins to walk towards the door. The boy follows him to the entrance, waving his hand at the sensor to release the door.

“Please contact us if you have any trouble, we'll send someone as soon as we can.”

“Thank you very much officer.”

“Sure. Have a nice day.”

The officer smiles reassuringly and takes his leave, the probe gliding along behind him as the boy looks on warily. He shuts the door and walks towards the Holovision and powers it on. The smooth voice of a woman is heard as an advertisement plays.

“...which is why we at Salvotech bring you the latest in nanotechnology. The Nanoprobes are completely safe, monitoring every system in your body, around the clock. Now you don't need to call the doctor if you fall sick, the Probes will do the healing for you. They are capable of synthesising their own antibiotics, helping your body fight that infection.”

The boy sits in his couch and stares blankly at the screen, then slowly looks out of the window.

“..and you will never have to worry about recharging them. They draw their power from your body, relying on Biomagnetism for propulsion.”

Hundreds of feet below, the grey multitudes float by. They move with the intention of a collective entity, swelling to large numbers in some places, while being reduced to a trail at the far ends. Above them, punctuated by sudden jets of steam, a thin mist obscures the street.

The muffled static of the perpetual rain is suddenly overpowered by a whirring hum as a dark blur of metal rushes by. Through the broken silence, the boy looks at the vehicle fly by his window, leaving a thin trail in the mist. His eyes follow the dark shape as it is swallowed by the mist again, followed by the streaks of two pinpoints of red on its tail light. Evening falls, bringing with it its neon-charged landscape. In the distance, the skyscrapers begin to light up, almost in unison, part of an orchestrated symphony. They glitter through the grey blanket of mist, so thick in some places that they obscure the gargantuan structures completely.

The room looks more organised now. Although the pieces of glass and porcelain no longer lie on the floor, there are visible signs of violence from the night before. The wallpaper still remains slashed in some places, while the pictures on the wall are missing. The boy stands near the door, checking the automatic locking mechanism. The central computer flashes its diagnostic report on a monitor near the entrance. He looks puzzled as he examines the report, unable to find any aberrations. The entry and exit records do not seem to indicate forced entry of any kind. Still confused, he walks distractedly towards the glass case and bends down to examine it. The skull of the lizard can no longer be seen in the soil. He walks back to his bed and sits down, his face showing signs of fatigue. He powers the Holovision on and lies down on the bed.

A neutral computerised voice speaks. “Appointments...you are scheduled to meet Dr. Frietas at the Salvotech facility at 1 pm tomorrow.”

“Messages...message number one....this is Dr. Freitas at Salvotech. I hope to see you tomorrow in my clinic by one. We have to run some basic diagnostic scans to keep track of your progress. After all, we are responsible for you. See you there then. Have a good day.”

“Message number two...this is Officer Li speaking. I'm sorry to say that we have not found any leads. As you might have heard, we have our hands full with the freak murders in the 4th District, so we're running a little low on manpower. However, as we speak, our systems are conducting searches on surveillance databases in and around your area. Please bear with us, we will find the perpetrator soon enough. Hope you're feeling better now. Do get some rest.”

A beep signals the end of the notifications, and the Holovision resumes its telecast. Sensing the boy asleep, the iris blinds rotate to a close and the lights become dim. The Holovision powers off, and a soft silence lingers in the room.

The glass case lies in the corner of the room, partially lit by the dim ambient lights. The surface of the soil begins to undulate, slowly at first, then more rapidly, forming wavelike patterns across the length of the case. Something moves just under the surface. Then suddenly, the soil spews what appears to be tiny black insects. They resemble ants in size, but move in a more organised manner, as if controlled by a single force. With them, surface the skeletal remains of a lizard, its bare ribs still protecting the internal organs. The black mass descends upon the carcass, covering it completely. Within seconds, all that remains of the lizard is its skull, as the insects begin to retreat to their lair below the soil.

A shadow suddenly moves across the room. The boy comes into view, eerily lit by the ambient lights above. His eyes are wide open, unblinking, as he makes his way to the shelf. His pale face expressionless, he reaches into the case. Before his hand touches the soil, the black swarm is upon him. They begin to eat away the skin off his hand, exposing the red tissue underneath. He lifts his hand out of the case slowly, bringing it up to eye level. His blank eyes watch the insects move up his hand to his wrist as he lifts it up against the light. Suddenly, his body starts to tremble. It begins in short random bursts then intensifies as he falls to the floor. All that remains of his lower arm are the bones, and the swarm makes its way further upwards. He twitches violently and flailing his arms and legs back and forth. The sensor catches this movement and powers the Holovision on.

The voice of a news reporter can be heard, her voice straining to be heard over police sirens in the background.

“...it seems that the Nanoprobes have begun to have adverse effects on their human hosts. A deranged man, recently treated at Salvotech has been apprehended two hours ago, while he was attempting to attack a pedestrian in the 4th District. Inside sources say that the Probes were responsible for this aberrant behaviour, somehow controlling the host's mind....the Department of Nanorobotics at Salvotech have declined to comment at the moment...”

The reporter continues to talk excitedly as the boy lies on the floor, occasionally twitching. The red stain on the carpet spreads out slowly as he finally stops moving.

(END)