Princeton Junction, United and Murphy's Law

...'If something can go wrong...It always will'. This version of Murphy's law aptly applies to the sequence of events transpired during the past couple of days. It all started when I went to NYC (I was visiting my sis' family for a week) this saturday to meetup with few friends. It was snowing in the city (which I liked btw) and I wished I had a few more layers on me. Coming from California, we never expect how chilly the weather can be :) I was seeing BS after a gap of more than 2 yrs and so it was nice catching up and talking about old friends from school. Over the must-try-NYC-local- pizza I came to know that Sathish , another school friend, recently moved to NYC and so we called him up to meet us. But, he couldn't make it because the snow was too bad for him to drive from uptown to Times Square.

We met Rajesh and Sharad (both from UCSB...visiting NYC the same week!) at Tussads and bade good byes to BS and Sharad. After eating at an Ethiopian restaurant and checking out live music of a local band at a pub, we debated whether to go to a night club or head back home. And this is where Murphy springs into action.

First my iphone decided to die on me. The Jesus phone is amazing at a lot of things but battery life is not one of them. Since the last train from NYC to New Jersey is at 11:14 (isn't it ridiculous for a saturday night?) , I decided to crash at the hotel where Raj was staying for the night. Since I only remember munni's (sis) landline number by-heart and she was not at home, I took Raj's phone and left a voice mail on Vicky's (bro in Seattle) phone to pass on the message to munni that I won't be back home tonight. But at 10:40, since Raj wasn't in the mood we decided to skip club and head back home. I decided I would rather go home than crash at Raj's place and it was already 10:45! Anyway, we ran to the nearest sub and caught a train to Penn Station. By the time I reached the track, huffing and puffing, the train was already boarding! So, I asked Raj to email vicky (since he wasn't picking up his phone) and tell him that I am actually going home and that munni should pick me up at Princeton Junction. Now, all I wished was that vicky is going to check his email and call on munni's mobile and have me picked up.

But...when I reached Princeton, it was 12:30 and there was no one. The platform was dead empty except for a few ghostly souls and it was freezing. The waiting room was closed, so I didnt even have a warm place to hide. The only option was the pay-phone but I didn't have any change on me! Luckily one of the old ladies had quite some change and I exchanged it with a dollar note. Now, for some odd reason the damn phone wouldnt connect my calls to either Vicky or munni's landline (I thot they would have reached home by now) and so I called up the operator and gave my credit card number. I heaved a sigh of relief when I heard vicky's voice...I am not going to freeze to death here :)) Since I didnt have more change, I asked him to conference call munni's mobile and came to know that they were still at the party and would take 40 min to reach me!! No way,...so vicky looked up a NJ cab service online and put them through on the conference call. Fortunately, they had a cab somewhere near the station and hence I was on my way home.

During the ride, the curious cabbie wanted to know whether its true that if you take a girl to the Taj Mahal then she would fall in love with you. Not so easy bro. I said I never tried, so I didn't know. But we agreed its like the Eiffel Tower craze and just cheesy. After the cabbie dropped me off, the security code (munni gave me over the conf call) for entering the house didn't seem to work. I tried like 10 times and I thought I am going to freeze right here instead of the station. And there weren't any pay phones nearby either :) Just to make sure, I tried another door and as luck had it that door was open (it wasn't supposed to be..but earlier in the day I actually forgot locking it!). Wow..this was amazing...I entered the house and was glad I didnt trigger any security alarms.

Sunday evening. Time to leave to SB. As dumb as it sounds, I actually forgot to put my bag in the trunk of the car and realized it only after reaching the airport. Since there was no time to go back, we debated whether to intentionally miss the flight and weave a story to the United airline staff about traffic jam and how I missed the flight and get rescheduled to next day. But, I was wary of this option, because I already had an experience flying Standby (if you remember). So, I decided to go ahead and travel empty handed and have my luggage shipped next day. Reaching home, I realized my keybunch (along with my lappy and phone charger) was in my bag and so my house is locked! I slept at Ponnuru's place for the night and got a duplicate key from the apt office. Complying with the tradition, my car didn't want to start and needed a jumpstart . So now....I am using duplicate keys for my house and the lab...my phone is going to die soon...no laptop till my luggage is delivered on friday...car doesn't want to start...but hey it was a fun trip :)

The Dark Night

He swerved the car into the parking lot. The black shade of the car seemed to disappear into the shadows. It was dark outside. He stepped down from the car and looked around. It was deserted as he anticipated. He would have looked odd in this place, if there were people around. But there were none. Flickers of light in the nearby buildings told him all were still not asleep. May be its not time yet. He hesitated a moment.

Tiny droplets of sweat were beginning to break out on his forhead. He was slightly nervous. He held on to the cigarette, hoping it would calm him down. The ambers fell on his shoes like tiny snow flakes. Snow flakes...they brought back memories. It was a different time, a different place, a different life. How did he become the one he is today. He never thought capable of doing what he was going to do today. But, he had to do it. There was no other way. It was his calling. The phone call he got today gave him clear instructions. He was the chosen one!

He took a last puff and threw the cigarette away. He opened the boot and got the equipment out. It was not heavy. He wondered if it was really capable of doing what he was told it would do. He closed the boot, locked the car and began to haul the equipment to its destination. There was a military efficiency about how he did things. But, he was never in the military. His background and training were completely different. The training was excruciating. But he was glad, it was over and he could endure it. Not many did. He touched his back and a searing pain went through his spine, as if reminding him. The wound was fresh.

He setup the equipment in the abandoned ground. He looked at his watch. It was time, but he still didn't get the signal. Did something go wrong? He couldn't call back because he was never given a number. The sweat began to wet his side burns. He wished he could go back to his car and get another cigarette. But, he couldn't leave the equipment. He looked at the buildings...the flickers were gone, Everyone was asleep. He was relieved. May be it was better this way, when people were sleeping. He had principles. "Why do I still cling on to principles?After all...", his thoughts were cut off as his phone vibrated with an incoming text message. He got the code. He carefully punched it in the equipment. He let a deep sigh and pressed 'Enter'. It started transmitting...

Summer of '09

This is the low down on my summer this year. I know a few of you have been waiting for it and I am sorry its a little late than I anticipated. Anyhoo, where do I start. From my pre to previous post you might remember that I finally reached Mountain View (the bay!) on the 23rd June after going through a bunch of twists and turns.

So, this summer I was interning with Bosch Research Labs, Palo Alto on a vehicular networking project. I didn't realize it was aGerman company and moreover wasn't expecting more than a couple of Germans. But guess what, you should expect a lot of Germans (90%) if its a German company...not that its a bad thing :) Infact, I made quite a few good friends there and learnt a few things about them. They are hard workers...some to the brink of not having a life :) They are actually shy (and I thought Indians were the only kings of shyness). They are smooth talkers; don't get carried away by their less than mellifluous, throat wrenching baritone :)). Most of them are very friendly. I really enjoyed our backyard fountain lunches, bbqs and some dinners and kicking the ass of Volkswagen in our annual soccer match!. I even tried learning some German, as I did in Austria back in 2005. But, all I remember is "Arschloch", which is exactly what you think it is :).

Other than work, bay area was awesome for a lot of things. I would highly recommend it esp if you haven't been to the west coast before. The options for food, sight seeing, movies etc etc are endless. I haven't seen as many movies in the last 2 years as I have seen this summer, in theaters! And Its coming from me, who usually likes going to the movies. Food...yumm...I can't begin to describe it. I haven't eaten out this much, again. Part of the reason being, all my house mates were google interns where they get free food day in day out. So, I was the only one in the house cooking and I did any respectable guy would do. Stopped cooking and started eating out :) (j/k...I actually like coooking). The new cuisines I tried this time were Ethiopian, Mongolian and Japanese (I had sushi once before). Oh, and bay is the place if you like great Indian food!! Tons of great restaurants serving authentic biryani, kabab,mmmmm. Ok ok, lets stop salivating.

I made a ton of trips again. And, I usually travel a bit. I had quite a few of my ugrad friends here (LA, Vsky, MC, Archit) in the bay ,working and studying. It was great to catch up and hang out with them. Also, I had good roomates this summer (Anindya, Rajesh and Rip). Susmit and Kamal were in the bay too. KJ came for job hunting and stayed at our place for 10 days. All this meant, I always had company for trips. Lets see what I did...

I went to Seattle for attending SigComm, which was great. I really loved the ambience of the city, esp the downtown. Luckily summer is the only best time there...it rains 9 months! I stayed at Vicky's place (bro) and we did the usual touristy stuff and played tennis. Also, met KK and went for a beach, which was a joke. Sigcomm was also great, being a top conference and all, and it was good to finally see and meet the big shots in your field after reading their papers for so long. There was a cruise again...and all in all it felt like Vancouver all over again. Only this time, I didn't meet any cute girls :))

I did a good number of hikes too, which was awesome. I am begining to get addicted to outdoorsy thingies. Oh, we went to skydiving too which was an experience in itself. Its the most scariest thing I have done in my life so far, though it wasn't that scary (Anindya might disagree :P). We went to Napa Valley for wine tasting and scenic driving which was pretty interesting too. First time, I had 4 glasses of wine in my life (still a kid..I know). Mom and dad visited me for a few days (they were staying at Sis place in NJ) and I just had a weekend to show them the beauty of CA. Now, you have to understand that they were just coming after visiting Vicky in Seattle and getting impressed by the huge buildings of Microsoft and their huge parties. So, to impress them was a daunting task. So, I started them off with a good Indian restaurant which they really liked and felt at home (I know the right buttons :)). Then, I drove 300 odd miles over 2 days covering Monterey bay, Half moon bay, Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Needless to say they were pleased. Yay.

Oh this is getting longer than I expected. I will cut it here. I will do a part 2 if enough people are interested and/or I have the mood. And just to give you a preview, it includes my first ever camping experience, alcatraz trip, google as our rec-cen etc etc :))

Is it Just Me...

1. looking at people in nearby cars during red lights
2. prefer rolling down the windows to A/C
   
3. wondered why hot chicks always go out with jerks
4. stood in a corner in the club because you just can't dance with anyone
5. stared at the mirror in an empty restroom until someone walked in
6. you were lost so many times that there is no place left to be lost
7. wished you could turn the clock back
8. wished you could read her mind
9. hoped people were as interested in taking your pic as you are in theirs
10. thought life was unfair
11. wished things were more logical
12. wanted to grow up as fast as you can, when you were a kid...not sure now
13. missed childhood because the laughs were pure...people were nice...days under the sun and nights full of fun
14. never understood why your mom said you were a kid for some things and an adult for other
15. working all night gave you a high that nothing else ever did
    

...is it just me or any of these apply to you too? if yes, just write which numbers..so that I know I am not alone..or weird :)

Standby

None of my long trips are without twists. It all started during my trip to Tawang during the undergraduation where people thought we almost got killed. Then the Yosemite trip where we had to camp at the valley coz we couldnt hike back in the night. Tahoe trip, this spring break, wasn't so bad except for the fact that we got lost in an almost un-inhabited rural place, no street lights, no signs, gas needle touching the 'E' and no cellular signals. I never blogged about that trip but it was kinda scary. My current trip to New Jersey wasn't so adventorous but it had its own set of twists and turns.

It all started when I decided to visit my sis and bil (bro in law) and niece after my spring quarter and before I start my intern. 2 weeks before I was supposed to leave, my niece poured hot coffee on her which caused some pretty bad burns. Poor kid :(..but she is doing well now. This prompted my mom and dad to come from India to take care of her for a while (both bil and sis hav full time jobs). Coincidentally, they landed in NJ on the same day that I did and we pretty much had a family reunion (except vicky was debugging code at MS in Seattle). So, on the upside I was able to eat home made Indian food for 10 days...hehe!

Now, I planned to drive upto Niagara falls with a couple of friends on the weekend I arrived. But, my sis had arranged for a party at her house and invited a hell lot of frenz on the Saturday (Jun 14th). So, I couldn't escape the event and gave up on my hopes on niagara falls. Suddenly, next week, sis tells me that we (the family) has to visit niagara falls on Sat (21st) because she wanted mom and dad to see it. What a good daughter :)) The thing was, I had to fly that saturday from NJ to LAX and take a bus to reach SB the same night. And then, I had to drive from SB to Mountain View on sunday (6 hrs drive) and start my intern from monday. So, I was on a really tight schedule but the good daughter was not ready to take any of it. I finally gave in, canceled my ticket from NJ and bought a ticket from Buffalo (Niagara falls) to LAX for sat evening 4:30. The plan was to reach niagara by fri night and see the illumination and do whatever we can on sat till 3 ish and drop me at the airport. One thing led to another and by the time we reached niagara it was 2 am!! So we missed the illumination and the fireworks :(

Meanwhile, X (one of the 2 friends) informed me that he is visiting niagara falls with his gf the same weekend. So, we thought, great, we can meet and do something. Now, considering we reached at 2 I just had 11 hours with me including sleeping time. So, me and T planned that we can do some hike early in the morning like from 7 to 9 and then I can do the touristy things with my folks. Anyway, he never called me at 7 coz he was too tired to wake up, so we decided to fuck it and just meet somewhere near the park. Now, he didnt want my folks to catch him snogging his gf during the romantic boat tours so we decided to meet in private or in the off chance that we met in the company of my folks I promised that I would pretend that I didn't know him:)) But as always, nothing happened according to plan and we didn't even meet in the park, despite he calling me like 6 times and I calling him like 4 times. So, I did the (apparently world famous...in america everything is world famous ;)) Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds, which were awesome btw, and by the time we reached airport, my flight had taken off! I could take the next flight but my last connecting bus from LAX to SB would have been gone so I was little worried. Anyway, I took the next flight and reached Atlanta to catch the connecting flight to LAX.

Unfortunately, in Atlanta I was told that I was put on 'Standby' and my seat isn't confirmed till all the regular passengers are seated. I didnt know what the heck this standby was, never traveled this way, so I googled it up. Apparently, non-revenue passengers (airport employees ' families) and misconnected folks like me are put into this. Pain in the ass, basically. At 9 I was told that the flight was full and I had to "try" (again on standby) the next flight which was at 9:20 am the next morning. Great! I'm 12 hours late, will probably reach SB by 4pm sunday and then I have to drive immediately to bay area for another 6 hours. On the upside, I will have a connecting bus from LAX to SB now :))

Luckily, I had couple of good friends (Jaini and Anand) in Atlanta and I called up Jaini who just graduated from Gatech and was working at Yahoo. I stayed at his place for the night and caught the 9:20 plane to LAX. Yea, I was finally given a seat!

Now, currently I'm at LAX waiting for the airbus to SB and writing this crap to while away time :P. Hopefully, I will be in the bay area by tonight if there are no more twists and turns except on the US101 :). I have a love-hate relationship with these long trips. Buttttt, for better or worse, these are the things that add spice to the life...what say?

Update: Looks like fate hasn't done with me yet. I reached SB at 4 pm and started the engine of my car and it didn't start! I opened the hood and found a squirrel inside! I hoped it didnt eat any wires...tried jump starting with Ankur's car and it didnt work. Finally called AAA...they charged the battery and it worked like a charm. I finally started my drive at 7:30 and reached bay by 12 ish! Whew....

Conversation with the Bike Shop Guy

Today I went to the bike shop at our university to get the brakes tightened up. This, after I realized that those "Action Shoe" commercials, aired back in those days in India aren't very practical :) (The blokes in those ads stop their car with their shoe fitted feet scraping the road..and I used to do it on my bike:))).

Anyway, after telling him what to fix, we got into a conversation to while away the time. It went like this...

BSG: So what do you study...engineering?
Me: [aah..the sterotype] Well..Computer Science

B: I have heard they are having trouble finding more space on the ships?
M: Excuse me...ships..who?
B: Chips...The Intel guys
M: [Wow] Haha...I dont think so...Im sure they will find a way to increase the capacity.
B: But I think there wouldnt be space anymore..
M: They have been telling this for last 10 yrs..and they always found a way..they will
B: You mean by nanotechnology?
M: [Who is this guy] yea and quantum computing...blah


M: Did you study engineering?
B: No, I studied humanities. But I read stuff..I like learning every day
M: [Impressive]

B: So, do you want to start your own company?
M: Yea..I would love to. Its too early...I have to complete my Ph.D
B: You are in Ph.D? You look so young
M: [Thank you :)]
B: ...I am just kidding!
M: [WTF :)]

B: So what do you work on? software or hardware?
M: Umm..well..networks. I'm working on getting people connected while traveling in vehicles
B: Great...But don't distract the driver!
M: Haha..but it can be used by passengers too
B: But who wants network access while driving anyway?
M: Well..if there is an accident..you can get the info
B: Cool...But it has to be voice activated...shouldnt be touch based
M: [Man...this guy knows stuff] Haha...Yea it will be completely audio-visual..no touch..blah

B: Have a female voice on the device..and some soothing 'raagas' in the background
M: Haha
B: Guys will love it..they wont leave their car...their wives would say "Honey why are you always in the garage..."
M: Haha..but what about females?
B: You never know [with a wide grin]
M: [I could interpret this in thousand ways :)] Haha

Its always interesting to see how non-techie guys think about stuff...though this guy was no ordinary!

Are all friends created equal?

My cousin has been pestering me for quite some time to write something more intellectual (in her own words) than those I have been doling out on my blog lately. So, I am going to take a stab at something I have been pondering for a while now. I would probably be opening up the Pandora’s box but I am open to discussion/debate, as always. Ok…enough introductions already.

So, the question is “What is the mantra for a friendship to flourish”? If you go by the book, its when all the individuals involved have equal say in decisions and there is probably a common interest(s) that binds them together. It’s essentially a democratic process. While I agree with the common interest thingy, I differ about the former. In contrast, I think a friendship between two (or a group of) individuals flourish when, loosely speaking, there is a leader and a follower! From what I have observed in my life so far, when two individuals have strong opinions about something and are usually the type that would like to lead rather than to listen then the ego clashes would eventually arise. A close bonding friendship is seldom possible in this case. On the other hand, if one of the guys usually takes the lead in decisions and the other is willing to follow then a very close friendship will be formed. The decision making role can change from event to event and person to person but there always have to be, for any given decision, one that leads and others that follow. This last sentence might seem to be a convenient fit for our friendship model (to pamper our egos), but the problem is, a person who likes to take decisions usually wants to take a decision of his own in every event, irrespective of his expertise in deciding over an event. He wouldn’t be willing to follow someone. So, it’s not as convenient as you think. All, I am saying is leaders can’t be good friends.

This might seem outrageous at first but if you really look closely at friendships near you, I’m sure you will find this. I did. Now, it needn’t be as obvious a decision maker – follower model as I make it out to be; in fact often times than not this relationship is very subtle. The societal upbringing and our own egos probably wouldn’t allow us to see this because we were always told that a good friendship thrives when everyone involved has equal share in decision making. Not true. Why does a company need a CEO, why does a country need a President…can’t everyone involved make a decision? No. Because when everyone is (equally) involved in making a decision it’s hard to reach a consensus. This is actually known as "distributed consensus problem" in computer science. Allow me to be a little geekier, when I refer to the interesting Arrow’s theorem from one of the classes I took recently: In a voting based election, the only procedure that guarantees 3 crucial properties (transitivity, unanimity and independence of irrelevant alternatives) that any fair election should satisfy is Dictatorship! Not a majority, not pair-wise contests or anything…only dictatorship. If we keep aside the atrocities, oppression etc, and look from a pure decision making perspective I think dictatorship wins hand down compared to democracy in efficiency.

Now, I know that friendship is not only about decision making but involves lot of complex yet beautiful mixture of love, comfort, kindness, happiness etc etc, but trying to see from one view point is always interesting and gives us a perspective. To me, atleast.

Indian Food

As always, the gap between my posts keep increasing. One of the main reasons for this, I figured, is that I try to think too much about what I have to post. I try to think about the topic, whether it has to be intellectual, entertaining or plain non-sense. The other reasons being, I'm lazy and am busy... blah blah. Anyway, to cut it short, I decided to just post random short stuff more frequently than long spaced out stuff. Makes sense?

The reason for the title is, today Pon and Jalan invited over for dinner just before I decided to go out for dinner. And when I have to choose between home-made delicious indian food and any other food, the decision isn't difficult. So, I stayed back. And man, was the food delicious. Thanx guys!. I was remarking that, of all the varied cuisines that I tried so far in my life, none of them can beat Indian food. I know it sounds cool if I say I like some foreign cuisine like Italian, Thai or whatever, but if I said so, I would be lying. Maybe I am biased because I was born and brought up and was fed Indian, but seriously, how can you not like :)

I especially like the innumerable dishes that Indian cuisine has to offer...there are literally thousands of them. Every state/region of India has its own freaking dishes and styles. The intricate complicated recipes add to the allure. The aroma of the spices is enough to make one hungry. Its not your, "put noodles in hot water and add the sachet of spices". The convenience food that we get here is, lets say..just convenient. Nothing more. (Ok Ok..I do like different cuisines and enjoy the different tastes...but thats not the point) Cooking Indian food, on the other hand, is an art thats been perfected over centuries. You have to eat the authentic food to believe it. Enough said..this is going too long...

The Weekend

It was the weekend. The corridors and the hallways were all deserted. The HFH building didn't show any signs of the buzzing activity that goes on during the week days. It was a complete contrast. No one comes to the campus, much less the HFH, during the weekends. Well, may be some graduate students who are lured by the coffee machines in their labs or the prospect of watching movies on the big screen monitors in the lab. Some come to appease their conscience by working hard on weekends. Professors have mastered the art of making their labs conducive for the unsuspecting grad students to work 24/7. Grad students, on the other hand, mastered the art of sitting infront of the computer and yet not being productive. Talk about evolution.

It was a bright sunny day after a string of gloomy rainy days. I couldn't understand why would any one come to campus during this time of the day instead of basking out in the sun in the nearby beach. The beach was just a few meters away, so there's no excuse. Me, I came to drop off my homework in the homework box located on the second floor. As I dropped it, I could hear the faint clicks of keyboard strokes...grad students at work. Or infront of the computer. On an impulse, I wanted to go to the top floor and catch a view of the ocean from there. I took the stairs to avoid the boring elevator. As I peered from the glass window of the top floor..the beach never looked more beautiful. Filled with families having barbecues, kids playing un-meaningful yet funny games, surfers showing off their skills and pretty gals sun-bathing. Tiny specks of fishing boats were at a distance. The green mountains were soaking in the sun, keeping a fatherly eye on everything thats going on in the ocean. Its always peaceful and inspiring to watch the beach...especially when your day is not going right.

Reeling back to the reality...I headed towards the stairs. Then it happened. I heard the foot steps which were amplified by the empty corridor. I looked back and saw K coming towards me. K was a very good friend of mine. We did our undergrad at the same college. He was always jovial and fun to be around with. But, there was something wrong in the way he was approaching. There was no hurry, just cold determination. When he was close enough I could see his blood-shot eyes. There was no mistake. Something was definitely wrong. His quick steps suddenly changed into a brisk run towards me, as if to attack me. Without thinking I started running away from him. I had no idea whether he meant to harm me or whether I was just imagining it, but I didn't want to take any chances. As I ran through the convoluted corridor, I realized that there was no line of sight between us during brief moments when I turned into the next wings. The corridor was long and the wings were many. The elevator was at the back and the staircases were way ahead. He was running faster than me and my panic didnt allow me to focus my energy. My mind was searching for questions...wondering at the bizare turn of events...why was this happening to me?

As I turned into the next wing, I briefly lost sight of him behind me. In my hurry, I forgot to take a staircase that would have led me out of the building. There was another one, few meters ahead. But...it suddenly struck me as a flash...my heart skipped a beat. The hallway was eerily silent. It only meant one thing..K was not following me anymore. Where did he go? He might have taken the stairs I passed and might be waiting for me at the next staircase ahead. I could neither go back nor front. I was just stranded there unable to think what to do. I had to make a decision fast before time ran out. Then I saw a room to my left with its door partially ajar. Without thinking, I just ducked behind the door.Unfortunately, this door couldn't be locked from inside. Before, I could even move the door...I heard the foot steps again. I was trapped...I didn't make a move...I couldn't. He was close now...I could feel it...may be just infront of this room. Probably wondering where I vanished..or he already knew! Sweat trickled down my face onto my shoes. I prayed the drops wouldn't make a puddle near the door and draw his attention. I stopped breathing, so that the sound wouldn't give me away.

Why is K trying to harm me. Why is he so angry. Did he just snap after I made fun of him last night? It was made in good humor but it was not the first time people took offence at my friendly jabs. Of course, no one was offended enough to harm me. Not until now. These thoughts raced through my mind, as I held my breath hoping against hope that he would go away. After a few secs, I didn't hear any foot steps...it was completely silent again. I knew he was not near the room anymore. Has he gone? Or is he lurking at a corner just waiting for me to show up. I couldn't stay like this forever. I had to come out. Without making a sound I slowly came out from behind the door. I looked down the hallway to my right. No sign of life. Then I looked to my left. A silver light flashed on my eyes momentarily blinding me. I closed my eyes with my hand for a second. There he was, waiting for me patiently like a lion waits for its prey. The light was a reflection from the metal he was holding in his hand. It was a knife!!! He lunged at me and I knew I can't escape this time. As I tried to run, the metal scraped my back...but it was not deep. I wondered why he didn't kill me yet. I looked back and saw that N was holding K back. N came from no where. N was another friend of mine. He now pinned K to the wall and I could see K was wriggling to get free. But his stare was fixed at me. Then A came. I remembered A worked a floor below and he probably heard the struggle from his lab. Now A and N were holding K down. No one said a word. Everyone understood what they had to do...or may be everyone was clueless. There was no rope to tie K down and I motioned A to get one from his lab. A left us and went down to get the rope.

Only 3 of us were left. Me, N and K. N was holding K down on the floor. He was still struggling. I saw the backpack K had dropped just a few feet away and proceeded to see what it contained. I didn't dare to be near K, even though he was not free now. I hoped the backpack contained some clue about the way K was acting.I wanted to make some sense out of all this madness. While I was rummaging through the bag, I caught a glance of the knife that was lying on the floor next to N and A. Its tip was slightly red from the scraping of my back. I didn't find anything in the first two compartments of the bag. There was only one more compartment left to check. I looked back to see how N and K were doing. For a fleeting moment, it seemed to me that N and K were staring at each other. As if, there was some unspoken agreement between them. May be I was just hallucinating after all that I went through. N was a friend of mine. He could never harm me. I started searching through the last compartment and suddenly I heard the sound of metal scraping the floor. I was paralyzed for a moment. I took a sideward glance. The knife was no longer there...