The news of the humanoid creature f alling f`rom outer space into the Shivalik mountains was at l`irstgreeted with skepticism by the chief spy of Islam Khan Suri`s court. Initial reports stated that it had two heads, four arms, four legs, and two antlerlike protrusions extending out from his chest. The tribesmen who had first sighted the creature had reported a heavy meteor shower just before the creature`s appearance.

The chief spy read all the reports carefully once again. He had to consider many things: Was the creature, whose description clearly depicted it as an impure being, a ploy by the king`s fugitive brother Adil Shah to cast aspersions on the king`s reign as unholy and doomed? Or was it perchance a ploy by the Mughal adventurer Humayun to attract the royal forces into the treacherous mountain passes where they could be decimated? The chief spy could find no obvious links to the two possible threats. He learned nothing more other than that the creature had not made any effort to communicate so far, nor moved from the open field where it lay supine. It had left untouched the food and water offerings which had been left for it by the tribesmen. The only disparity in the reports related to the nature of the creature`s protrusions: one of them mentioned the protrusions were in themselves two retractable human heads equipped with antlers.

The chief spy asked for further corroborations, and received them shortly.

Now there only remained the matter of deciding the manner in which the news had to be presented before the king. It needed further thought.In the third year of Islam Shah`s reign, a mysterious constellation had appeared in the heavens for a short period. A month later it rained blood inthe environs of the Fort Chinar, followed by aheavy shower ofchunks of dark., malodorous flesh. Nobody could interpret the meaning of these marvelous occurrences, but equally none could deny that they portended evil.

The news of the humanoid might have been received as yet another inauspicious omen.

Having carefully considered and rejected a number of possible ways of approaching the emperor with the news, the chief spy finally decided on securing the advice of the old court astrologer whose word carried weight with the king.

Before the astrologer could give his opinion, however, the news of the creature`s manifestation had leaked and reached the king`s ears. The courtiers began openly speculating on the significance of the creature. The religious scholars were of the opinion that the creature was one of the recalcitrantfinn who had been felled by the guards of the skies when he approached the first sky. Others maintained that the creature was a monster from the future, come to warn the subjects of the Suri king to mend their wicked ways; otherwise they would be turned into monsters like him. There were others yetwho insisted the creature was a finn emissary from Koh Qaf who had come to seek the help of Islam Shah, the refuge of the world, as some great calamity had befallen his people.

Instead of feeling dread at the existence of the creature, as the chief spy had feared, Islam Shah expressed a great curiosity to see it. He was convinced the creature could tell him about the hidden events from the past and the future, and he would be able to learn the treacheries that lay hidden from his notice; forewarned about the future, he could take measures to forestall trouble before it befell. He issued orders to have the creature brought to Agra for a royal audience.

The court astrologer drew the horoscope of the coming days and saw a grave threat to his life. As the cause of the threat remained unknown, the old man concluded that if the creature could indeed tell the past events, he would certainly tell the king about the covert support provided by the astrologer to the rebel prince Adil Shah in determining the auspicious moments for his maneuvers. He decided that the king must not have any communication with the creature. There was no time to lose.The creature was already on its way to Agra, strapped to a specially prepared cart to which a battery of 12 oxen had been harnessed. The creature had not made any sound nor resisted when it was lifted by the tribesmen onto the cart. It had taken some effort, for the creature was found too heavy for its dimensions. A body of the tribesmen accompanying the creature on foot dressed in battle attire had him in their protective custody. They wished to present arms before the Suri king and invite him to a hunting expedition in their region as a sign of royal favour.

The cavalcade was about to emerge from the hilly passes into the plains when a little before sunrise they were intercepted by a troop of soldiers from the king`s bodyguards. Their commander roughly demanded custody of the creature from the tribesmen.

When the tribesmen objected, they were attacked and put to the sword.

The tribesmen`s long bows were useless in close combat, and their primitive swords and daggers equally ineffective on the chainmail worn by the king`s soldiers. The soldiers did not touch the creature of whose inauspiciousness they had been warned byIslam Shah. The astrologer had convinced him that anyone touching or communicating with the creature, who was a portent of the king`s death, would be forever turned into a mortal enemy of the king.

The soldiers drove the cart to a clearing where a large, deep hole, built to the dimensions of the cart, had been prepared. The oxen were unyoked and the cart whole and entire lowered into the hole. The creature made no noise until the soldiers started shoveling carth onto it. It tried to move but was fastened too securely with protective straps to the cart. Then it let out a buzzing sound which grew into a terrible rattle but the soldiers continued their work and by the afternoon the hole in the clearing had been filled with gravel and heavy stones as if it has never existed.

Those who lived in the environs reported hearing a deep rattle that rose from the bowels of the Earth for a fortnight or so, after which it grew fainter before dying out completely. E Musharraf Ali Faroogi is an author, novelist and translator. He can be reached through www.matarooal.com and on Twitter at @microMAF