Elite Organisms
Story By Thiyam Ningol, Africa

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John was not joking.
He had been doing some serious thinking. People might call him crazy but he was serious about his hypothesis.

John was a happy go lucky person. Even when he was very sick, he still had his humor intact. Doctors and nurses loved to serve him.

In the local bar where he frequented, all the workers and customers alike would be waiting for John. The day when he did not turn up at the bar, things were not the same. Wherever he went, he usually kept the atmosphere very lively.

One of their friends who used to be a regular customer at the same local bar had passed away the last week. The real cause was not known but there were some obvious signs and symptoms which caught the attention of the fellow friends in the bar, John being one of them. They talked about their lives when they were young and vibrant. During their time, there was no mention of AIDS. Life was free of fear of dreadful diseases.

Since the AIDS era started, they had lost many friends. Most of them had lost one or the other family members. Many of them had orphaned nephews and nieces to take care of.

John was a father of two beautiful teenage girls and a young boy of 24. He was very concerned about his children. He even felt pity for them: they would not be able to date their boyfriends and girl friends as he did, they would always be talking about AIDS and Bird flu, Rift valley fever, Ebola and what not. The world had changed. He was worried what would happen to his children.

John was not the only one who was concerned. Almost everyone had grown up children and grand children. Everybody had the same fear. Fear of a serial killer on the loose, not knowing when and whom it would strike.

AIDS had become a topic of discussion everyday in the bar. The list of affected people and lost lives were increasing by days.

While they were discussing, that day, the topic changed from illness to IT.
- I learnt that the first computer was as big as a house.
- Yeah, it’s true. Recently at CNN, I watched a documentary about the evolution of computers. They showed some of the giant size computers.
- Can you imagine, in the first half of the last century who would have believed that you could walk around with a phone which works as a TV, phone, musical system, calculator without the cable dangling around you.
- Yes I remember in our office, we had this telephone when you want to reach the operator, you could not dial but you had to wind the handle on the side.

The discussions went on and on.
- But old is gold - one of them mentioned. No doubt they were ugly but durable.
- We had little but enjoyed a lot. Now our kids have everything and they can’t enjoy as much.
Another friend commented as the new diseases being a form of punishments to human being by God. “We human have sinned a lot.”
- May be it is, but we have become very selfish for sure.
- How is that John? Why you say so?

The other day John took his son to the hospital. He was suffering from malaria. He asked the doctor what happened to the Chloroquins and other medicines of the old times.
He was told that the mosquitoes and the malarial parasites which they carry had developed resistance to those medicines. Those medicines could no longer kill the parasites.

A sudden idea developed in John’s head.
It is true. On this earth, there are so many living beings surviving together. We get the same sunrays, the same air we breathe together, If the mosquitoes and malarial parasites have developed resistance, that only means that their intelligence has also been advanced. May be they have their own computers also which can detect and counteract the viruses. These small organisms have developed new ways of attacking their targets.

The world is changing. That means they also change, they also become wiser and more capable. That is it. Its really interesting.

The next day John shared his thoughts with his friends.

- Swai, in your next scientific conference, please don’t forget to invite John’s mosquito scientists and parasite doctors –someone commented.
- Ask them to bring their equipments for display. I would like to buy. Another one added.
His friends joked and laughed but John remained serious. He held on his theory.
He asked if anyone could explain to him the reason of the human beings only advancing and the other living beings or the organisms remaining as they were.

Everybody laughed in the beginning but as they saw the seriousness in John, the laughter became less and less loud. Nobody could satisfy John’s inquisitiveness.

- Let the scientists do their work and let us continue with our beer.
- Cheers everybody.
- Cheers to Elite organisms.

Everybody sipped the beer in silence.