The Man From The Dark Web

The man from the dark web accosted me on the road when I was on my usual weekly once outing from my apartment to get my retail therapy at D-Mart. He introduced himself as Peter Parker from the film series Spider-Man. He rattled the biography that made me ask him “are you a descendant of Sherlock Holmes, from London?” He replied that he was from the dark web and knows all about me since he has hacked into my system. I have heard about data leaks which have become common these days and were not very surprised. Did I ask him why me? I am just a common man and there are more than a billion in this country. He replied, “you are a writer and an influencer and you have got wide readership in Quora and that too in a short time.” But then I told him “you are wasting your time and the man he must go to is the one who runs the R-Pub TV.”

“Tell me all about him,” he said. I then told Peter that I was not a bhakt of the R-Pub man but he keeps himself always in the news and he has patented the phrase “India wants to know.” “Hmm,” the man from the dark web said and asked me to continue. He must be one of the top ten VVIPs now in the country and SC gave the case about his bail precedence over so many other important cases affecting lakhs of people. Anyways, he has got free and the SC has been reminded about individual freedom in his case which it had long forgotten when the government has arrested scores of other individuals. So, in my view, he keeps the SC and the nation awake and aware of constitutional rights, which have long been forgotten in the country.

“You have been made your point and I would take the first flight tomorrow and meet him,” said the man from the dark web. As a parting shot, I asked him to keep me posted as I write about such things to keep my ordinary life a bit exciting.

What follows here was about the meeting between the founder of R-Pub TV and the man from the dark web. Like he did with me Peter was hanging down from Anthillia when he accosted the R-Pub TV founder and committed the mistake of his life. The founder, let us call him, Gotoman, in turn, rattled several facts about the man from the dark web. The Gotoman said “I own the phrase India wants to Know” and that is a billion-dollar worth phrase and I have access to all the intelligence that this country can muster, whereas you try and bluster me with some silly things that you have garnered from the dark web. Anyway, you have come a long way it seems. What is it you want from me? By the way, I have just met “One Corporation Mukeshji’ and he said he has just finalized the deal to buy up Warner Bros. Next Spiderman would be a Make in India with the Khiladi No:1 in the lead and the girl who played Jhansi ki, Rani, as his girl-friend?” Said Gotoman in an AK-47 style shooting with words and that too in a dismissive way.

Peter thudded down from the Anthillia as the spider thread got weakened with the shock of Gotoman’s words. The man from the dark web got speechless and lost his nerve. He could not weave his spider thread and make good his escape. Instead, he ran and ran till he became breathless. Luckily unlike in the capital city, the air was breathable. He found himself at some beach and that was when he called me and stuttered this whole story. “What do I do now?” He asked me in his nervousness.

I told him to take the first flight to the US and meet either Pitchai or Kamla in that order and not to forget to carry a pack of hot idlis, sambhar, and chatni. Maybe, they can help with some diplomatic maneuvers.

He thanked me for the common man’s sense and cut the call.