The Return of Vaman - A Scientific Novel by Jayant V. Narlikar Page A

famous steel box from under the bed, she speculated about the contents of that other large container, in Gauribidnur.
    Karl Shulz, too, was speculating. He never wasted time, and on his first night in Bangalore he had promptly set off for Gauribidnur.
    At ten o’clock that night Pyarelal brought the car to the porch of the hotel as arranged, and Shulz was ready for him. The driver set off as previously instructed.
    As the car crossed the city limits, Shulz spoke: ‘PL, I agree with you … I won’t contact Navin just now. We should not be seen together. But what about you? You have been meeting him in the past. Have you ever been watched?’
    ‘Watched?’ Pyarelal was shocked. ‘By whom?’
    ‘By the secret service … your CBI or IB.’
    Pyarelal laughed and added, ‘They are all morons. Had they known anything about us they would have nabbed us by now.’
    ‘Don’t be too sure, PL. Of course, it is your business. But let me give you that age old advice that I have found indispensable: don’t underrate your enemy. For example, did you realize that, as we came out of the hotel, there was a person watching us?’
    ‘Rubbish, Karl! You have become paranoid about our secret service. There are always a lot of hangers-on in our five star hotels …’ Pyarelal suddenly broke off with an exclamation as a car whizzed past in the opposite direction.
    ‘What is the matter?’ Shulz asked.
    ‘That was Navin’s Jaguar going past. He must have got some news for us since he was heading for Bangalore.’
    Shulz cursed under his breath and commented, ‘PL, your whole organization is amateurish! Otherwise this lack of coordination would not have happened. Evidently you cannot communicate with Navin inside that Science Centre.’
    Pyarelal was silent. Shulz had hit upon the nail well and truly. However, after a while he added lamely, ‘Karl, you will soon see how well fortified that place is. See if your professional brain can find a way of …’
    Shulz slapped him on the back genially and added, ‘My friend, don’t take it to heart! Stop the car about a kilometre from the Science Centre. I will get out and walk.’
    The car pulled off the highway behind a clump of thick bushes. Shulz got out and walked on swiftly but noiselessly into the night. As he disappeared into the darkness, Pyarelal wondered what it would be like to encounter this huge figure in the dark as an adversary. He shuddered at the thought.
    A ten-foot high brick wall mounted with broken glass surrounded the Science Centre. Moreover, an electrified wire fence had been erected on top of the wall as a further precaution. There must also be burglar alarms suitably hidden, Shulz surmised as he took it all in. He directed his steps to a large peepal tree not far from the fence. Noiselessly, and with a speed that belied his bulk, he climbed halfway up the tree. He was hidden by the foliage but could get a clear view of what lay beyond the wall. The view was barely visible to human eyes, but it was clear enough for the infrared camera that Shulz carried with him. He rapidly took a large number of photographs.
    From what little Shulz could make out with his own eyes, he was at the eastern corner of the centre while the excavated portion lay to the south. Not far from him stood what was evidently the laboratory building cum office block. The adjoining barracks to the north were presumably used as housing. Shulz uttered a grunt of satisfaction when he discerned an empty plot to the west, no doubt set aside for a garden.
    ‘Aren’t the fortifications formidable?’ Pyarelal asked as Shulz returned an hour later.
    ‘Indeed, yes. But I have managed to get prisoners out of jails guarded even more meticulously.’ Pyarelal knew that Shulz was stating a fact that the police of a dozen countries could corroborate.
    As the car made its way back to Bangalore, Shulz’s brain was already formulating plans for penetrating that barrier, if not physically, at least