It was a Tuesday afternoon, the clock read 2:43, and we were running out of time. My team at work had three major deliverables due at 5pm. It didn’t seem like we could meet the deadline. Not being able to deliver on time wouldn’t look good on the team and could have a drastic impact on our delivery ratings.
“If only we had more time, a few more hours”. This was the only thought on all our minds. The call was scheduled to be held at 5pm and the clock didn’t stop ticking. The system and internet issues were not helping this crisis.
I heard a noise outside and went to check the source. A cold draft came in as I opened the door, the deep, dark clouds were closing in. There was a strike of lightning across the sky and before I could blink it had started pouring. My phone vibrated, it was a message from a colleague on the team’s WhatsApp group.
It read, “I have lost all connectivity. It is heavily raining here”.
The phone vibrated again twice. Two more messages - “Same”, from two other members.
It poured heavily for two hours. In the light of circumstances, the deadline for the deliverables was extended to the next day. The team couldn’t believe the luck, our prayers were heard. It didn’t surprise me. How could something surprise you if you initiated it? Let me explain.
The time is now 2:13 pm, I realized what the issue was - more time, a couple of hours at the least. I thought for a moment, a smile crossed my face. I knew what I had to do. I stood up and headed to the Control Room. I stepped in and walked towards Elf - she was developed based on the “elf” system that Russia used in the early 1980s. It had thirty huge transmitters that form high- pressure blocking systems that can change weather around the world. It could generate electromagnetic waves of very high power and an extremely low frequency (ELF). These waves have the capacity to travel thousands of miles across the earth without their strength being diminished.
All I had to do was select the location and this would increase the precipitation by the artificial introduction of sea water vapor into the atmosphere and BOOM.....
Lightning, thunder and rain!!!
With the press of a button, I could simulate droughts, floods and storms.
“Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it”. This statement is longer valid. Behind the scenes, while scientists are breaking heads to produce a vaccine, politicians are debating over policies and regulations, there are people who belong to “think-tanks” doing much more than humanity could possibly imagine- controlling the weather. Today, two countries in the world have the ability to control the weather around the world: the United States and Russia. And of course there’s me - an extra-ordinary Sri Lankan!
Mastery of man over nature, began with Nikola Tesla in the late 1800s involving the transformation of electrical energy through space. He had experimented with atmospheric effects of electrical discharges of tremendous strength for eighteen years.
My flow of thoughts was interrupted by the sound of an alarm that went off. Something was wrong. The screen was blinking and a whirring noise came from Elf. It seemed like she was malfunctioning. I reached out and pressed the emergency button. Nothing worked, the lights on the generators also started blinking. I continued to press the button hoping that the noise would stop.
Again and again I tried but to no avail. “Wake up, it’s time to start work”. I heard someone yell at me. It was my mother.
Wait, what...?! I sat up on bed feeling sorry for myself - an ordinary Sri Lankan!
Rtr. Dhatchaiyani Dhayaparan
Joint Editor
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