The Humanitarian Scientist

Musa was just like any other boy of his age. Playful, mischievous but clever and hidden beneath the mischief face there was an innate desire to help. His parents had died when he was just born and barely a few days old. He had from then been under the custody of his grandparents, who were very caring. His grandparents always looked after him with so much care that he did not feel the absence of his parents. They had been living in a region of the country which was a troubled one. It was a conflict zone and almost daily people lost their lives or were wounded. No government could bring peace to the area. Explosives were made and sold in the market like vegetables are sold in the markets of peaceful zones.

Life continued amongst so many disturbances and conflict. Schools were very Irregular as there was always the panic of an explosion. In the past, even school children hadn't been spared and many had lost lives. Education for the girl child was more of a challenge because the rulers of the society were not patronizing their education although they privately educated their own daughters. The women were generally relegated to the inner confines of their homes to cook food and look after the families. 

But life must go on. Even though education was not smooth, Musa completed his engineering In such a distressing environment. Later on, in his school life, Musa blossomed into a brilliant student. He had become very smart and had an uncanny understanding of the sciences. His tutors were awestruck with the ease Musa tackled difficult problems. His strength in Math was folklore in their village.

Such talent does not go unnoticed. The village people were divided into many tribes and clans. The leaders of these tribes were nothing but warlords. They all wanted power and supremacy. To gain power they could kill innocent people with ease and élan similar to a butcher who slaughters chicken or goat. These fiefdom chiefs opposed each other on the grounds of customs and practices of religion. They quarrelled on petty matters and disputes were settled from the barrel of a gun. These war Lords recruited young intelligent people to fight on their behalf in their private armies to enhance their personal agenda. They used religion as a motivator to forward their dogmatic ideas. 

Musa had a way with biology and plants and herbs. Just after completing his engineering, he took up the job of a teacher is the only university in their locality. This job attracted him because he could get an unquestioned entry into the laboratory. Here Musa could freely do his research work without interference.

Very soon he while working with various herbs and chemicals, Musa had developed a biological weapon. It was a gas which when released in a crowded area could nauseate a sizeable section of the crowd. Musa had experimented with it on a group of mice in the lab. But some of it got leaked at night and by the next morning, many people living nearby felt nauseated. Though the government medical support team quickly took needful action and a major disaster was avoided. Musa felt very sad and apologetic having exposed so many people to danger.

But his ingenious qualities were noticed by far and wide. Musa knew that he was being targeted. The warring factions were deeply interested in hiring him to build biological and chemical weaponry to secure their supremacy.

Knowing full well the dangers, Musa knew that his time was up in his beloved country, his motherland. He started applying for faculty positions in universities in developed countries. His writing and research papers in the many scientific journals had made him a recognized character. So securing a job was not difficult for Musa but who would provide him with a visa. The Government would not allow him to go.

Meanwhile seeing the stressful life of their loving Musa, his grandparents gave him in marriage to a girl known to them through a relative. Mariam was a beautiful girl and very intelligent and also very adept at all household work. Mariam and Musa hit off very well as a couple. Musa also found relaxation and entertainment due to the marriage in the midst of his tensed life. 

Life continued for Musa enjoying the marital bliss interspersed with violent happenings all around him. He was under constant threat to join the army of these rich war Lords. His job at the university was just a farce because classes were very Irregular due to the constant violence and arson. The tragedy was striking every household. Musa's grandfather was fatally wounded while visiting the weekly Bazar. His grandmother died out of grief after his grandfather succumbed to the mortar injuries. Musa who was traumatized after losing his dear grandparents was slowly determined now to leave his country for good to pursue his research and do something good for humanity. But he now had a family and Mariam his wife loved him very much and took very good care of him. Musa was now expecting his child through Mariam. So the thought of his growing family kept Musa grounded and anchored but he was getting fed up with the endless violence and disruption of his work. The society was now wild and lawless and there was minimal administration. People were being killed like insects. The Police were functioning under the orders of vested war Lords. Musa was feeling frustrated for not being able to concentrate on his research. 

Then tragedy struck Musa again. There was a marriage party in his relatives family and Musa was invited. During the solemnization of the marriage when there was a huge gathering then there was a big explosion followed by a stampede. Many people died in the event either due to the explosion or due to the stampede. Musa had to say goodbye to his beloved wife Mariam and their unborn child which Mariam was carrying. Because Mariam died out of shock and asphyxiation. 

Grief-stricken and overcome by the unbearable loss of losing his most dear ones in such a short period made Musa turn into a stoned silence. Now he wanted to get out of this hell, his once-beloved motherland. 

So one day after much thought, Musa went and took refuge in the consulate of a powerful Western democracy. He asked them for protection and asylum in their country. The home country got very annoyed and cut all diplomatic relations with them till they released Musa. But the asylum giving country knew Musa's worth and could afford to take the risk of diplomatic estrangement with Musa's country. So they airlifted Musa one night and temporarily removed all the existing staff till the relationship was healed.

Musa now started life as a research scientist in a foreign university. There also he was hired on the express condition that he would be helping the asylum giving country with their war machinery.

Now, Musa being the Humanitarian he was, was the last person to build weaponry for human annihilation. So he began fresh experimentation on a war footing for the cause of benefit of humanity.

Very soon he came up with a strategy to develop alternative fuels from Plants and the technology and experiments he recorded in some prestigious journals. Because he knew that the fossil fuel had run its time on this earth and more of its usage was helping increase the carbon footprints. Global warming was increasing at an alarming rate and fossil fuels were the major contributor.

Musa knew that he didn't have time till eternity and had to change course to brand himself from an annihilator to a sustainer very quick. But to get access into a country that had a reputation of being 'neutral' one on one hand and having a good reputation of having a great research infrastructure on the other was not easy stuff. Sponsorship was needed. Also, constant lobbying was needed to get access. Musa had a research assistant named Marianne who had important connections in the diplomatic channel. Marianne used her resources to help Musa to get an academic chair at a reputed University in a country not aligned to any of the superpowers. But Musa needed financial and moral support. Musa had helped many doctoral candidates to get their dissertations and degrees. He was a respected academician. Marianne had also joined the team of Musa in the hope of getting her doctorate degree . But after completing her doctoral thesis she had stayed on with Musa to help him further in his research. Musa had also gladly taken her on board as she had been a great help and support. Marianne had a solid financial background and was having an important social and academic connection. She loved Musa for his knowledge and humility and wanted to pay him back out of gratitude. She had also a growing love and affection for him. 

Fortunately, the efforts of Marianne and the academic experiments of her with Musa bore fruit and a University from a neutral country hired him and organized his entry into their land. Musa out of deep gratitude took Marianne along with him as she was also now an indispensable part of his research team. 

Very soon Musa with his new experiments had developed quite a strong substitute to the fossil fuel based on plant legumes and plant based components.

Now Musa was eulogized and hailed by the academic world as a Humanitarian Scientist. But his fame and greatness was making some jealous in his home country. So they were plotting to kill him. One day while receiving a felicitation at an award ceremony he was targeted by a sharpshooter with a telescopic gun. The bullet was off target and ricocheted his leg and hit the wall behind. Musa slumped to the floor with blood wound and pain. Quickly rushed to the hospital, Musa recovered but his normal unprotected life was permanently thrown for a toss. The sharpshooter was soon overpowered and arrested. But the captors just could extract from him his country of origin that was the same as Musa's and his objective was assassinating Musa. But before he could disclose who his employers were he consumed cyanide and died. For the rest of his life, Musa had to live the life of a caged bird surrounded by security all around. Fortunately, he had a caring person by his side in Marianne who was now his wife and partner in his scientific world. 

Even though his life was not out of danger, but Musa continued to be the scientist with the Humanitarian concern in his heart.