On arriving at the New York International airport, Rhyme thought only about one thing; how could this be possible?
Rhyme was a young, beautiful and a brilliant student. She came to New York to pursue higher studies, but as soon as she arrived at the airport, she received a call from her Dean, that a really influential scientist wanted her to help him conduct a very risky and complicated experiment, who was also in New York at the moment. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for her. She was already well dressed in a chic pencil skirt and a crisp white shirt and her long brunette locks tied in a ponytail for her interview at the institution, but now she has to postpone her interview as she has to be present at a meeting for this experiment.
She still didn't know who the scientist was, neither did she know anything about the experiment, but her Dean thought that she was perfect for the job, so she decided that she would give her best, whatever the work might be.
She took a taxi to the address given by her Dean, but there seemed to be something wrong with it. The address said: Room No. 106, Rock Regency, New York, but she came to know that there were only five rooms on the first floor of that hotel.
"What? There is no Room No. 106? But I am scheduled to attend a meeting there! There must be a misunderstanding- "
"But Mam, we do not have any room which has 106 room no. Please try to understand."
"What should I do now??"
Rhyme called her Dean to recheck the address, but it was correct. Then suddenly, two men in black suits came up to her and one of them slowly said, rather whispered, "We are here to escort you to the meeting. Press the red button under the fire extinguisher in the balcony of the first floor as soon as we give you a signal."
Rhyme stared at them blankly for a few seconds before the other one said, "Hurry up ! You are already 2 minutes late for the meeting."
The two men started walking towards the lift and without even realising what is happening, Rhyme followed them.
She did exactly as the bodyguard like man asked her to do and a black door appeared out of thin air in the corridor in front of the balcony. Rhyme was shocked to death. She didn't understand what was happening. As a science student doing a major in physics, she knew that this was straight up impossible.
While these thoughts were roaming around in her mind, her phone started to ring, and she took it out of her purse to see who it was, but then those two men signalled her to keep her phone silent and open that black door.
She opened the door to another door, but this time the door was a huge polished wooden door, as that of a vintage styled office. She opened the huge wooden door to find a conference room with a long table and also a projector. There were many people present at the meeting and she also found some familiar faces in between them. She was still wondering why was she chosen for something like this, but she still didn't knew her real potential.
By the look on everyone's face, she knew that everyone was waiting for her so she introduced herself and sat on an empty chair. The chair at the other end of the table was turned around so she wasn't able to see who was the person sitting on it, or even if it was empty. One of the six people present in the room except her (and except the mystery of the chair) stood up and introduced himself "Hello Ms. Rhyme, I am Robert, and I will be the one to contact you on the matters regarding this experiment from now on. Please feel free to ask any questions as it is your first day working with us. But you might not geet answers to all your questions, since some things are better kept a secret. I hope you understand and co-operate."
"Yes, thank you Mr. Robert. I will try to do my best at whatever task you hand over to me."
"That's the spirit. And also all the information regarding this experiment is confidential. You are not allowed to share anything about it to anyone."
"Yes. I understand, but I think I should atleast know what this experiment is about, so I can have an idea of what I have to do and also, I can study something if I need to-"
"You don't need to study anything new for this job. The knowledge you have about astrophysics from your master degree will be more than enough. Also I have heard alot about you in New York, so there won't be as such need to study anymore theory."
" I am just an ordinary student, so why did you choose me for this risky mission?" Rhyme asked half excitedly and half nervously.
" Every extraordinary person always thinks of himself as a mere average person before discovering their true capabilities. You are no normal human being Ms. Rhyme, you will come to know about your extraordinary qualities once you complete this mission."
"..." Rhyme didn't knew what to speak. This was crazy. Everything that happened since this morning didn't make any sense. "Am I dreaming?" thought Rhyme as she was trying to process what was happening around her.
"What is this mission about? " she finally asked after hesitating for a while.
The person sitting next to the mysterious chair replied , " Hi Ms. Rhyme , I am Dr. Jacob, the head for this project. I will explain everything in detail in our next meeting, but for now, I would say that this experiment is related to Parallel universe paradox and to some extent, Quantum physics, the area of your expertise."
Quantum physics is after all Rhyme's area of expertise as she received a gold medal in her master degree, majoring in astrophysics and quantum mechanics. She has also assisted many well known scientists in the USA in many historical experiments.
" I'll be honoured to work with you in the near future."
" Chief, it is about time that you introduce yourself to Ms. Rhyme, as she knows the basics of what she is here for." Dr. Jacob said as he turned his chair towards the mysterious chair.
Rhyme was waiting for this moment since she opened the door to this conference room. She was eager to see who was sitting on that chair.
The chair slowly turned around to reveal the chief and......
"No way!!" Rhyme screamed at the top of her lungs. "How can this be possible?? It is Stephen Hawkings!!!"
He is alive? In perfect shape? Without any diseases?