by Meghashri Dalvi
“What would I love to do with my money? Good question!” Martin grinned. “I can of course give to numerous charities that are after me. Or I can set up some academy and inspire the young people to become an entrepreneur like me. Or I can just hand it over to some trust!”
“But Martin”, a well-known journalist interrupted him. “We know you will actually do something much wackier!”
There was a roar in the tightly packed press meeting.
“Ah! You nailed it, Bashir!” He acknowledged the famous TV face. “Now I got to do it. Something wacky. Right? Let me think. Ah! Well, here in this worldwide live press conference, I declare a billion dollars prize.”
“A billion dollars? What for?” Bashir pursued.
“For the most ingenious solution ever to our waste disposal problem!”
There was an uproar in the hall. Followed by chaos.
“Mr. Jarent, are you serious?” A young voice called out from the last row.
“I am dead serious! You know we produce millions of tons of waste every day. My companies alone produce one tenth of that. We spend a huge amount of money to dispose it and still have the long-term pollution threats. Really, I wish someone comes along and takes care of all this garbage. I promise, solemnly, if someone genuinely does that, then I would hand him over one billion dollars.”
The audience gasped. Then there was complete silence, as people tried to come to terms with the announcement.
In a far corner of the country a young scientist listened to the press-meeting halfheartedly. He liked Martin for his sheer spirit of entrepreneurship and guts. He was faintly aware of the multi-billionaire’s worth. Beyond that, he never took Martin’s much publicized weird gimmicks seriously.
But once he started surfing the news channels, he found that all of them had picked up that one crazy headline – Martin’s one billion dollar prize for the garbage disposal!
Garbage disposal! Why did he never think of that? That would be the perfect fit. Not only the huge amount of money for him, but also the end of the permanent problem of mankind. And to boot – the wackiest idea Martin can ever get into.
Deven quietly gathered his working papers, sketches, calculations, and began to write a proposal.
#
It was surprisingly easy to get Martin’s appointment. He never got involved in the day-to-day activities of his business empire and spent most of his day just lazing around. Sometimes in his decent Manhattan home, sometimes in his Italian villa. At times in the other rich and affluent people’s homes, on the pretext of some party or event. Deven caught him in his bored mood.
“So you are Indian?” Martin tried to gauge the thin, gangly person in front of him.
“Second generation Indian settled here in US. My mother is actually French.”
“Hmm. Look, Deven, my people had literally hundreds of aspirants like you in the last week. All for the garbage stuff. I spoke only to two. Both crap. But your proposal seems interesting. Tell me quickly, for I have to rush for an important industry event.”
“Mr. Jarent …”
“Martin, please.”
“Okay, Martin. My proposal is radically different, I assure you. Currently, it is only in the theoretical stage, but as soon as we get going, with the funding, I mean …”
“Cut that part. Just tell me your physics is right? And your calculations?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you can accurately locate it?”
“Certainly.”
“And once the garbage is thrown there, we can forget all about it?”
“Very much so.”
“How long do you estimate?”
“For?”
“For you to locate and setup delivery of garbage there! Quick!”
“Six months.”
“Okay. We sign the confidentiality papers. Then I’ll get this stuff checked by some scientists. Experts, you know – seniors in your field. And then if they find it alright, I want you to set up a lab in my Colorado estate. We’ll work out the details and funding. And if it fails, we both owe each other nothing.”
“Fair enough.”
“And yes, no word to anybody till it’s done. Not to your dad or Italian mom. Okay?”
“She is French. And yes, okay”
#
As expected, the inauguration of the Waste Disposal project was a big event. Martin was in his element, but Deven was somewhat nervous. Obviously, for it was not often that students of theoretical physics get to do a demo of their theory in front of a massive worldwide excited crowd.
Martin gave his big wave and his usual wild sound bites. The journalists loved him. The small assembled group of his senior management tolerated him. Deven simply ignored him. He was fully focused on his small gadget.
“So guys! Here I give you”, Martin made dramatic gestures, “the best ever idea for garbage disposal …” He paused to gauge the effect. “The time machine!”
“What!” It was probably the first time in the history of mankind that so many people said the exact same word at the exact same time.
“Yes.” Deven took over. “The idea is simple. This gadget is a small time machine that can transport about 30 kilos of garbage into the future at a time. With its duty cycle, efficiency and stuff, we estimate about 20 tons per hour. Adding maintenance and other possible downtime, it could be 150,000 tons per year. Considering that we produce about 10 billion tons of garbage every year, out of which at least 1% is highly toxic and non-recyclable, we actually need maybe a bigger machine or more such machines, but this is a great step forward, we believe.”
“Have you ever tried it?” Asked one incredulous journalist.
“Yes. It works beautifully.” Martin grinned.
“And how much far in the future does it go?” One worried journalist quipped.
“About a 1,000 years, as of now.”
“So our descendants have to bear the burden of the garbage we generate today?” another joined in.
Martin took over with his usual grandiose cheer. “Does it matter? If we don’t dispose of this garbage now, we are inviting trouble for the immediate generations anyway. On the other hand, we are taking care of the problem for at least 1,000 years, aren’t we?”
“But still, we are sort of encroaching on the life of future generations. That should not be allowed.” Some people were getting really agitated.
“Well, there is no law about who regulates the future time. Is there?” Martin raised his eyebrows dramatically. “In fact, this is the most inspired use of technology. The technology of time travel. And I congratulation to my friend Deven for this great achievement!”
“But if you invent a time machine, why use it for garbage disposal? Can it not be put into some better use?” The questions had started coming from all directions now.
“What’s better than garbage disposal?” Martin announced cheerfully. “It is the biggest problem we face today! Okay, so what we are going to do is to focus on the radioactive waste at first and then we’ll tackle the highly toxic waste. Meanwhile, if this idea is successful, my corporation will turn it into a regular service and we will make more such machines, I promise.”
“Are you going to share the technology?” Another question.
Martin laughed his heart out. “I am a businessman first. So no. I have already applied for the patent, and I own this technology. My friend Deven will of course ensure that we put the technology only for good use. Right, Deven?”
Deven nodded sheepishly.
“So let me hand over the big prize to the most deserving person on the planet, my friend Deven!” The huge ceremonial billion-dollar cheque was handed over to Deven with a big fanfare.
Plastered with a huge smile on his face, Deven accepted the cheque and waved to the audience. But deep down he was not happy. For he knew that he had only one year, just one year to improve on his machine and take it further and further into the future. The reason was that only he knew his time machine wasn’t going to throw the garbage a thousand years into the future, but pushing it forward by only one year.
He had just one year to do something about it or face the huge heap of rubbish coming from the last year. And more rubbish from all those hopeful people.
Clutching the cheque, Deven tried to feel good. He had his prize and now he was going to work for it.
Dr. Meghashri Dalvi consults in strategic and marketing communication when she is not writing science fiction or teaching management. She has published 150+ Marathi and 40+ English science fiction stories. Her English science fiction stories have appeared in numerous publications and webzines. Her stories are included in the Written Tales and The Writer’s Notebook anthologies. Two collections of her stories have also been published.