It was almost 14 feet under earth, a comparatively vast area where several sewerage lines joined a large stream decanting human waste to a near by lake. The site resembled a parliament house, not in the form but in essence.

The place was over crowded and buzzed with sounds of excitement. There were almost 50,000 rats gathered from various nearby settlements. They were of different texture and form, some grey haired with white patches around neck, some big fat with coal black skin and large teeth, other thin skinny with small paws and beaked noses. It could be guessed that similar assemblies were also being held in different areas of the city.

Agenda was the same, …. Holy war against humans. It was the most popular slogan of rat movement. Humans, in last few centuries, had extended their rule over elements and nature. Most of the living species of the planet were either effaced from the book of existence or domesticated on most humiliating terms. Savannas and forests were wiped away and mountains and deserts were cramped with motorways, irrigating canals and railway tracks. In air, on land and under water, no living species left that did not bow before the lord of the earth.

But rats were the exception. Thanks to their ability to survive down- earth, they did not subdue before man. In fact rats were in some way or the other better than men, their crafts and technology, though very primitive in nature, had never been used to exploit or kill fellow rats, their theology and metaphysics, so simple in context, served the purpose of keeping them in perfect harmony with their existence i.e., “Being rats on earth” their moral code, even in its very crude form, tied their community in such a universal brotherhood of rats that was still a utopia of greatest human minds. But above all was the belief; no one knew its origin, that the creative force of evolution destined rats as the successor of man to the crown of creation. And this gave the rats their real advantage over men who during the last hundred years or so were possessed by a great meaninglessness that began to dominate their mind and culture.

So it was rats who challenged the human supremacy. Unlike other species they neither ran away from human settlements nor let themselves be domesticated; rather, they preferred to stay close …… just 14 ft down. They roamed proudly in sewerage lines under the asphalt streets and concrete floors, their ears tuned to the sounds 14 ft up, like an attentive army they monitored enemy movements. Their fangs gnashed and their nails tickle with the desire of flesh.

At the front of the assembly on a broken brick stood Yakush the old rat with large white whiskers almost touching the ground. He is going to preside the meeting and was scrutinizing the congregation with some satisfaction. As he scanned the eager faces and out stretched chests he felt his heart throbbing on the beats of ancient war songs.

Finally Yakush broke the silence.

“It’s been a great pleasure to see so many of us assembled here, this shows our commitment to the noble cause” his voice was husky and coarse.

“Our campaign is going on efficiently. The strategy of attacking humans on their weakest point has been proved successful. Through sewerage lines, our volunteers enter into their houses at night when they sleep in comfortable chambers, and destroy their belongings. That’s what we can do and that’s what we shall do, let the man wakeup one morning to see his food contaminated, his cloth torn off, his furniture plundered and be died of grief.”

There was a great acclamation among the crowd. All around were the cries of approval.

At the rear of the congregation, there were two young rats; their faces divulged their reservations against the general mood of the flock. One with rather small texture and whiskers so thin that couldn’t be observed except by a closer look, could not help muttering
“ I … I guess we are wrong in our approach”

His remark brought a sudden silence in the assembly, so many eyes turned to wards him.
“Sarrum…… the fool” Some one uttered his name sordidly.

“ Oh! not to begin with his nonsense”

The young rat grew more nervous as he felt hot glances, yet some how he managed to elaborate his point.

“I never meant that we shan’t fight humans ….. my concern is to change the strategy”

“What change? Make your self clear” Yakush roared.

“Forgive me Yakush, but I and my friend Kheop violated the orders” at this his friend nod in nervous affirmation.

“We always….. I always doubt it”
“Doubt??..... what?” someone carried from the crowd.

“The sacred belief… that humans won the battle of evolution because of their cunningness and evil means, …. NO …. there must be some thing beyond this, some thing that is immaterial in essence yet manifests itself in material world”

“And what is that something beyond our perception?”

“The creative power of expression.” Replied Sarrum, red with emotions.

“We can contaminate their food, wreck their furniture and tear apart their cloths till eternity but we cannot destroy their power of creative expression.”

Yakush cut him short.

“You have just mentioned that you disobeyed orders, explain this first”

The young rats shivered with fright.

“ In the beginning I and Kheops were like any other rat, devoted to the cause, used to enter human lodges at nights with our mates and destroy every thing we found there. Till one night. When we got into a house, me and Kheops. Wandering about under the great impulse of destruction, we suddenly felt something strange some thing different from other human lodges that made us feel in-home there. While we were roving with aesthetic wonder we reached a room that can de defined as a ‘little rats paradise’. Its small seesaws and colorful wall images are so pleasant to our nature that we could not help roaming around carelessly and in this mad enthusiasm soon found our self lost in little corridors and alleys, and finally caught…. it was a trap, carefully designed to catch the most intelligent and creative of our kind.

Our arrester was, as we later came to know, a man named Prof. Behram”

“You talk to much, a habit developed in the company of that man”
A comment was passed.

It needs to be noted here that all this account of rats’ meeting is a paraphrase rather than an exact translation, for rats hadn’t yet developed a comprehensive language as the medium of expression. All their expression were the earliest form of ejaculations comprises of gestures, fundamental vocal actions and few words consisting of those. Sarrum the young rat’s speech was infact the first expressive narration in rat history. It was also boring because rats hadn’t yet developed a taste for creative expression.

Sarrum knew it also. As he observed the rising anxiety among his listeners he felt sorry and exhausted.

“Any way it’s ought to be done” he thought.

“We were afraid and reluctant to respond when he tried to contact us, yet he tried every way to build our confidence and finally we had the first contact between man and rats….”

At this point he scanned the audience with some hope and shook his hand in disappointment.

“Prof. Behram explained us a lot, he explained the true nature of human evolution. Humans have developed through their vocal faculty, a system of symbolic medium called language for expressing their thoughts ideas and experiences far better than rats, and this quality of phrasing thoughts and feelings is the prime human attribute, jewel of their crown.
But all this is history now; Prof. Behram told us that human civilization is approaching its end. Humans have shunned the language of symbolic expression and prefer to speak in clear terms of digits and signs.”

Sarum was staring at some un intelligible horizon; his eyes watery and words came out with intense compassion, like one phrasing a dream.

“Metaphors & slangs, songs & myths, all are reduced to the level ‘Perceivable’. With every passing hour dies a word and with it a universe, a reality, a faith….”

At that moment Sarum observed a great agitation- among his listeners

“ He taught us that like man all species have their own domain of evolution to reach the apex of their creation, and most importantly for any species reaching there has nothing to do with stopping others from following their.”

He took a deep breath before concluding

“And then he offered us what we have brought to you, he offered to teach rats how to develop the symbolic language of our expression.”

“This planet suffered much from ‘chosen men’, now it has to suffer from ‘chosen rats”

Ha! Ha!

“This is the high time for rats to decide our line of action. In our battle of survival with man there are two ways to fight, first is to destroy humanity with all efforts that suit to our best understanding till their complete extinction, the second is to evolve our potentials on humans trails and develop a system of symbolic language up to even a higher level that will usher us to new worlds of possibilities still alien to all creation including humans.

In first case we only displace humans in second we replace them.”

“Absurd! Total rubbish”
A big Yong rat roared from behind, his features twinkled as he spoke with rage.

“If we follow this so called human trails, we can get nothing but ultimate disaster. What we need is not evolution but emancipation, leave this cursed evolution to humans, they are the deserving lot for it, their great faculty of reason, immense power of creativity and language of expression, add nothing to the general character of humanity. It only helps in masking their true motives … to camouflage a crime … for them it creates gods and the laws of gods. Truth is eternal and would always be the same for all ages and all species, men developed language not to express truth but to eclipse it. The only way to emancipation is to destroy them with every mark of their civilization. Expression, creativity and reason … every single mark of it”

“How can we bring such destruction we are not capable of?”

“We destroy their food that will starve them to death”

“Man can produce forty times what we can destroy”

“We still have our last weapon against them … what can be done against plague?”

At this the whole crowd vowed with enthusiasm. Plague was then a romantic idea among rat community; Human fear of plague and his weaknesses against this deadly disease made it the metaphor for rat victory over man.

“What use of killing men if rats remain rats!”

The old rat Yakush could stand no more, he pointed the two confessors with furious gestures.

“You broke the law of severance. Since ancient times this law is the source of our purity, for rats cannot get mixed with humans. The way they feel, they express they identify leads to individual motives that cannot be allowed to take roots in any rat, and your admiration of these traits is the result of this corrupt human’s society. And you should be punished for your crime. Both of you shall not be allowed to go up and see humans any more. For now-on you are sentenced to remain down-earth for ever.”

While the old rat was angrily announcing the punishment amid the shouts of approval, two young rats were content in their heart. They had already made up their minds. They were sentenced yet they must go up to Prof. Behram and learn to feel and express and identify, to phrase and narrate and to create.

***
Three months passed since the last rat meeting. It was the same spot just 14ft above, a gigantic town hall with expansive marble floor and decorated walls. At the center, around a big mahogany table sat the most powerful persons of human race, their most prestigious intellectuals and greatest experts of killing. They were assembled for a very emergency session. The agenda was rat terrorism.

After that last meeting 14ft down earth, rats had increased the momentum of their activities against humans and the pace of their attacks called for this emergency session.

On the presidential chair sat the city mayor, a figure with predatory looks, clean shaved, curly hairs and medium frame.

His spoke in a loud husky voice.

“ I am a patient man, don’t believe in revenge. Traits that contribute to our rule over heaven and earth hold my nerves from getting loose in petty issues. But there is a limit to every thing. If some one threatens your peace, your property and above all your liberty, you should not haste a moment to crush him for ever”

There were nods of agreement among the assemblers except for a few.

“ Rats are becoming a serious danger to this planet, a continuous threat to the peace and well-being of all species. Our scientists have discovered that they have some sort of sick genetic code that force them to destroy every thing gentle and beautiful. And due to their terrorism we humans are now forced to take principal action against them. But before declaring war against rat terrorism I would like to explain my people why rats hate us”

After a brief pause during which he retained his good humor he continued.

“Why we the lords of earth who are adored and even worshiped by all the species of this world are so detestable to these loathsome creatures who care for nothing save their dirty skins?”

He paused for a while and dramatically slammed his fist on the table.
“They hate us because we are superior, they are jealous of our liberty to drive our own destiny. We enjoy light and open air in our cozy homes on earth surface while they creep in darkness and dirt …. living on our waste.”

“Mr. Mayer; with honor sir, I object…”

It was professor Behram one of the leading intellectuals of the world, who was regarded a few years ago the wisest man on earth, now he had an entirely different reputation, that of a half mental sage whose ideas people loved to listen but never bother a serious thought over them.

The Mayor granted the permission.

”Sir rats do not hate us because of our freedom to drive our destiny; they hate us because of our strive to drive theirs as well.”

“So what?” A fat guy in full military uniform roared.

“Humans as the supreme power of universe are entitled to teach right morals to all species, because they are ignorant and we are enlightened, they are weak and we are strong, they are sick and we have the cure (he raised his arm) and we are going to cure them whether they like it or not.”

Professor Behram stood up and walked across the room to the opposite end.

“Perhaps what we diagnose as sickness in rats is the cure for humans, and today I have brought some thing that will surely make you a second thought over declaring war against rats.”

After a little pause Prof. Behram searched the inner pockets of his large over-coat and produced a small wooden box. He continued his account while opening the box.
“I hope every body here knows my critique of human evolution. The true understanding of this exquisite phenomenon is very important. The way we humans reached the peak of the hierarchy of existence is like elephant walk … slow, steady and firm … a child’s rapture and a savage’s thrill were the guiding instincts.”

As Prof. Behram opened the box, two small creatures jumped out reluctantly on the wooden floor of table.

Yes; Sarum & Kheops had violated the law of flock, the life long sentence down earth. They reached Prof. Behram the very next night and stayed with him ever since. The three worked together to construct the first language of rat expression, day and night hours and hours, they worked. Finally they succeeded in developing the symbolic structure of rat language. The mice even learned human language, but most remarkably, Sarrum, being the smarter one, was even able to compose basic type of verses and a few new slangs, the first ones in human language since last century.

Men around the large table were trembling in their shoes, few with anger more with horror. Rats… the loathsome creatures, carrier of deadly diseases were so close to them.
“Professor; what is the meaning of this?” Mayor was furious.

Professor Behram was in one of his best humors.

“Gentlemen meet Sarrum & Kheops, first rats in history who can communicate in language of symbols, can speak human language and also have composed few verses and slang”

“But what’s use bringing them here?”
Professor’s face took the expression of a man who takes pain in explaining simple things.

“Men and Rats are at different stages of evolution and the way they both perceive it is the cause of contingency, frankly speaking; human assumptions are farther to reality. ‘Survival of fittest’ the dim-witted concept of evolution our men in power keep sticking with, portrays nature as the battlefield of ruthless competition among specie …… . Wrong … Nature has a big heart and even a bigger scheme…. Too big to have thumb rules”

The true nature of evolution is quite different. Evolutionary domain of each specie is designed by nature with its own laws like planetary motion. Species extinct not because they weren’t the fittest to survive … they extinct because they betrayed their destiny like giant reptiles. All other explanation of evolution and extinction apparent to us are but mere illusions like Pre-Copernicus Astronomy”

“But what use of telling us all this, we simply just not continue to listen this any more”

“Because this is to be understood right now, humans are making the same mistake. Our strive against the laws of our domain. Men are destined to create as the imitation of their own creation, if they cease creating they will succumb to extinction. Our existence on this planet is not threatened by rats or any other specie but by this sickness … that force us to abandon the creative power of expression. The so called clear sense, a naïve positive expression, brings all perspectives as near to mathematical plainness as it can. Humans … once they were called “Animal who speaks” do they speak at all today? Humans are now bored with eloquence, they now mistrust the expression. Clarity swallows up all serious concerns for really speakable maters. And this is the way rats can help men. ”

“Rats … helping men, bah!”
Somebody repeat sardonically.

“Language of symbols the mysterious world of creative expression is fading day by day, and with it the higher possibilities of evolution. After years of research I found that rats are the only creatures that have potential to develop the symbolic medium of language tough if left to their own they are millennia away from this. And that suggests the way men & rats can cooperate. If we help them in creating their own symbols they can help us recalling what we have forgotten or may be creating new ones”

“No…”
The Mayor roared with mark rage, he waved his arms as if pushing away something filthy to force it remained at that vermin status.

“Human language is complete now, there is no need for creation any more, only invention is required for progress and our new language of signs and digits is sufficient for inventing what is required for progress.”

His account had made an effect and men around the table shook their heads in agreement

At that point Sarrum took lead, by now he gained much confidence. He stood erect on two hind legs and marched towards the Mayor who watched him approaching with
horror. He stopped just an arm away and boldly looked into the predatory eyes.

“Mr. Mayor; sir, I belong to a less intelligent species, no doubt we have little understanding and even a lesser degree of courage as you may put it. You accused my kind of jealousy and I accept it, as I myself have no other word for it. But if you were 14 ft down earth your stuff would be the same, you would look 14 ft up the Enlightened and prosperous city and despise it for being too busy living while you crawl and circle aimlessly about dejection.

From that deep view your own soul would be degraded to destitute and succumbed to such perspectives where the ocean of great possibilities turns into a duck pond.

And when you gaze from your dark ditch the infinite heavens above you and allow your soul to expand to this high view you would feel to be the heir of eternity… the child of time. Space should be yours by the right of this immortal heritage and you thrill at the thought that one day you and your kind shall ascend these mysterious heavens.
The great world 14 ft above with its towering structures and sparkling roads is but one of the countless negations to this idea of eternal bliss. What would be to you the ambitions, the achievements, the paltry conquests of those restless creatures 14ft above?”

Words were softly spoken yet very effective. More than once the Mayer thought of cutting the little devil short but his banishment from the order of courage laid its finger in his face and told him he must not.

“Your zeal for progress is remarkable, but I find in such statement no elements of framing a vision in which imagination may work. The principle of progress is utility that calls for invention rather than beauty, which calls for creation; progress limits your possibilities to the paradigm of physical universe and deprived you of that naked natural way of speaking once proudly proclaimed in your forgotten text

‘So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name’

“Nice talk Mr. Dirt worm”
Someone hushed from the far end of table.

The president could not stand any more, he leaped from the chair and bumped his fist so forcefully on the table that the little creature who was so near to him took two bounces before rolling over the smooth surface and smashed against the wooden box. He laid there Prostrate, out cold and dazed.

The whole room echoed mad laughter. All men were laughing at the poor Sarrum, the only one remain serene was Prof. Behram.

That stupid laughter took an unfortunate break when the Mayor moved his lips.

“ There is no possibility of cooperation. Humans are the governing power of Universe. Those who do not learn to obey our will shall be perished.”

As the governing power of humanity, I declare war against rats, we will wage death upon them and in this war no man or beast or element shall be allowed to remain impartial.

After Prof. Behram was sent to asylum and two rats were carefully handed over to research laboratory, the resolution of war was passed with a “majority vote” it was later decided to use poisonous chemicals against rats.

And so human factories started manufacturing deadly chemicals. They produce so much deadly chemicals that can burn every filament of plantation, pollute every drop of water and contaminate every atom of air. All the drains and gutters were to be over stuffed with these chemicals.

And 14 ft down earth, totally ignorant of these preparations there were legions of parading volunteers colonizing fleas on their skins. Some consists of thousands some even millions waiting for the sign to appear on the surface and begin the deadly dance.

Like an alert army they monitored enemy movements, their ears tuned to the sounds 14 ft up, while feeling their fangs gnashed and their nails tickle with the desire of flesh as the heralding sign of a new age.