Gut Feeling: Short Story

It was the annual conference of the bacterial community. The debate over whether the Human exists took an ugly turn between groups of bacteria. The ‘doesn’t exist’ side was especially aggressive and up in arms. They argued that the Human is non-existent based on sound logic and rational thinking.

“The invisible, nonsensical being that you call the Human is a figment of your imagination.” A member from the tuberculosis bacteria dynasty said with a villainous look. He vehemently denied all claims of Human existence made by the previous speaker. The tuberculosis dynasty had a long reign till a few bacterial centuries back. After that, it went into relative decline, but still managed enough to rest on past laurels.

“In our long and successful reign when we expanded bacterial frontiers,” he added. “But none of our monarchs ever made any mention of any such creature or being. Do you have any concrete, logical proof of the existence of Human, or is it only a creation of your own mind?” The tuberculosis bacteria spewed venom on the earlier speaker.

The earlier speaker had been from the lactobacillus bacteria community. Since time immemorial, they had skills in converting milk to curd. He stood up again. With a calm demeanour, he spoke. “Our diminutive microbial eyes cannot see the Human. Since ages, we don’t have logical answers to even simple questions. We don’t even know how we get the milk from which we make curd on a regular basis. So how can we expect rational answers for Human existence? It is a fruitless exercise. How can we expect, from our miniscule view, to see the Human? You have to feel and experience his presence, and you can perceive him when you have full faith.”

The annual conference included prominent leaders from the bacteria and related microbial species. The intelligentsia in the bacterial world often discussed “Human: Myth or Reality?” That was the theme of this year’s conference. Microbes had gathered at the well-known microbiota symposium ‘The Gut’ this year. Over three days, distinguished bacteria from various sectors debated over it.  It was the last session of the last day. Experts from all bacterial fields of endeavour joined this climactic debate.

“The question is not if the Human exists. It is what difference does it make?” a renowned bacteria businessman from the diphtheria community rose up and proclaimed. “We are only concerned with the here and now on our planet, where microbial life has flourished since ages. We have to be thankful for the good deeds of our previous generations. We now have enough food and all other requirements for a successful microbial life. We need to work hard on increasing microbial wellbeing and output. We must focus on it so that we can ensure comfort for our future generations. There is no point in wasting time any more on such abstract speculations. The existence of Human is irrelevant. It is time for action,” he remarked.

This inspiring bacteria talk got a huge thunder of applause. There was loud clapping from the audience, young and old.

“I agree,” a lone voice said. “We need visionary bacterial businessmen to tap into microbial potential. We need to provide employment to millions of microbes of the next generation. Rest assured that you will get all the government support you need. Ease of microbial business is top priority.” The solitary microbe representing the government rose and said.

A leading member of the famous cholera bacteria dynasty thumped his desk in delight. This dynasty had known ambitions of world dominance. It was his opportunity to capitalise on this favourable wave towards bacterial business. He stood up amidst claps and said, “Well said, Sir. Well-meaning bacterial businesses are eager to expand the frontiers of our species. We must tap this optimism, never before seen in microbial history. We have all the resources, skills, and the burning desire now to do so. It is important that we remain focused on the right things. We must pursue the furtherance and betterment of our species. Otherwise, how can we leave a legacy and make life better for our future generations?”

The entire cholera community stood up in reverence for its speaker. The sound of their claps reverberated in ‘The Gut’. They also got the support of the smaller diphtheria and government groups. Visions of a bright future for the bacterial generations of tomorrow inspired applause. The cacophony stopped when, out of the blue, rose a wise, dissenting voice.

“We are taking our future generations down the wrong path.” The somewhat enlightened voice spoke. It turned out to be a leader from the Gut bacteria community, the host of this year’s event.

“Expanding bacterial frontiers where we aren’t meant to go isn’t good. It will not serve our future generations. We must act with an attitude of service rather than one of entitlement and profit. That is where the enlightened self-interest of the bacterial species lies. We need to be thankful for the hidden hand of the Human behind everything that we do. We must find ways to live in harmony with that hidden hand.” The service-oriented member of the Gut bacteria dynasty claimed.

The mood of the audience didn’t change a lot after his wise words, though they gave them some food for thought. It evoked a reaction from a group of bacterial activists.

“Why is this hand of Human always hidden, by the way?” a member from the activist organisation ‘Rational Microbes Society’ yelled in rebellion. There were whispers that the cash rich cholera and tuberculosis dynasty funded this society. It was an unproven claim though.

“Why doesn’t the hand of Human come in front rather than stay behind? For all rational and practical purposes, a hand that’s hidden is as good as not there.” The vociferous member argued.

The Gut bacteria stood red faced with no answer to this rational onslaught. He had never seen a Human but believed that he existed. He had believed in doing his work tirelessly. He looked towards the like-minded Skin bacteria for support.

“Well, hidden it might be. But it is not absent. Of that, I am certain,” the speaker from Skin bacteria community stood in support of the Gut bacteria. “There are a lot of things that we can’t see with our limited microbial eyes. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist,” he said.

He further added, “Let me assert that we must not be arrogant about our skills. The universe doesn’t revolve around bacteria. We have a part to play and we have to do our part. If we don’t do so, and go against nature, I have full faith that the Human hand will do its part. We will learn the hard way,” the skin bacteria submitted his words of wisdom with humility and forcefulness.

There was an awkward silence. The two opposing views didn’t reach any satisfactory agreement. The last session on the last day had almost reached its close. There were no signs of a common bacterial memorandum.

The tuberculosis, cholera and diphtheria bacterial groups were too powerful. They weren’t willing to give up on their interests. The Gut, skin and lactobacillus bacteria had abundant resources. But they didn’t have enough support for their wise intentions. They weren’t successful in showing the bacterial community the higher path. An attitude of service didn’t have many takers among the species lit up by ambition.

At that crucial time, it looked like the last session would end in acrimony. But seeing the deadlock, an elderly bacterial gentleman stepped on to the stage. He was frail and weak, and seemed battle-hardened. He was hardly able to walk steadily without support and looked like he might fall at any moment. Few knew who he was. He held the mike with shivering hands, and with a quivering voice, he spoke.

“My dear bacterial brothers and sisters, I do not know if the Human exists. I have not seen him with my eyes. But I have seen life enough to realise one thing. Whenever the bacterial community has shown arrogance, it has met its end. Whenever it has pursued only its self-interests, it has seen a downfall.”

He looked on to the audience waiting for a response. There was none, except pin-drop silence. But there were some murmurs around the hall asking who he was. Word spread that he was a descendent from an ancient bacterial dynasty.

That dynasty had ruled their planet millions of bacterial years back. They had ruled over a long, successful bacterial era of wealth and prosperity. Their kingdom spread far and wide. The long and prosperous reign that they had was never seen by any other bacterial dynasty. There had been none like them, before or after. But they were almost exterminated in a natural disaster. That disaster took a toll on most of the members of that dynasty. Now there were very few of them left. They didn’t have much of a voice left now. Their numbers were very few and dwindling further. Most of their members were old. They lived in abject poverty, paying for the sins of their ancestors.

“Let me introduce myself,” the aged, derelict bacteria started.

“I am one of the few remaining members of the ancient Plague bacteria dynasty. No bacterial community, nation or dynasty has achieved as much as the Plague dynasty did. I don’t know if Human exists or how it looks if it does. But I know that we perished due to the self-indulgent arrogance of our ambitions. Don’t let that happen again to you is all that I can say. Rest, I leave to the wisdom of this August assembly.”

The last surviving member of the Plague bacteria dynasty submitted his plea. Seeing no immediate response, he stepped down from the dais.

There was a long silence after he left. But there was no memorandum signed. Warring factions of the bacterial community didn’t reach a common agreement. The conference ended this year too, without any conclusion.

***

Several bacterial months passed after the symposium.

News spread then in the bacterial community of the rise of the cholera dynasty. Their march had captured several new kingdoms. History noted that the dynasty had taken advantage of favourable weather conditions. They had gone for the kill to fulfil their ambitions of dominating the bacterial species.

Over the following years and decades, their march through troubled waters was relentless. The wealth and prosperity of their dynasty had grown by many means, fair and foul. They were now in a position to call the shots of power in the bacterial world. History said that this was an era of dominance of the cholera dynasty.

The Gut bacteria dynasty, since time memorial, always had higher numbers. But the members of that community did their part in all goodness. They toiled in their duty to protect their territories with an attitude of service. They watched the developments in silence. To their dismay, all their good deeds of service were never appreciated by their own brethren. The acts of ruthless maniacs like the cholera bacteria always took all the headlines.

But, within a few bacterial years and decades, the tide turned. The sudden, swift, and rising march of the cholera bacteria dynasty came to a halt. Even faster than their rise was the pace of their sliding downfall.

The Gut bacteria was fighting invaders on its territory in a single-handed manner. At that time, news spread that the cholera bacteria dynasty was down and out. Their decimation was final. Its last few standing members begged for mercy. The reasons for their downfall were still unknown. There were no eyewitnesses that could report on what exactly happened.

Some members of other dynasties said that it seemed like a natural disaster swept them away. It was not due to a lack of preparation or courage on their part. But they attributed their demise to completely, unforeseen circumstances.

Over time, everyone realised what the cause of that downfall was. It was an unforeseen natural disaster. The living members of the bacterial community had never seen before.

But the old archaic members of the Plague dynasty got a feeling of Deja Vu. They had been there, seen that. One of the old members tried to raise his voice. But it wasn’t heard.

The living members, younger and more enthusiastic, felt it was time to prepare better. It was time to learn from the Cholera dynasty. It was time to take lessons from their courage and ambitions. It was time to improve upon their failures.

Whispers spread that the bacterial community should prepare itself. “The next time, the microbial community should be better prepared.” One of the upcoming leader claimed in a speech. That was also set as the topic of the next bacterial conference.

They called that natural disaster that had fallen on the Cholera folks as ‘Antibiotic’. They decided to dedicate next year’s conference to strategies to mitigate such disasters.

The topic was set. It was “The Antibiotic Challenge for Bacteria: Natural or Human?”

The members of the Gut bacteria dynasty and their friends believed that it was the Human hand at work again. They did not have any fact-based rationale for the existence of the Human. They could not prove the hidden hand of the Human in this Antibiotic disaster. But they had a strong intuition. They had an inner voice that said that it was the hidden Human hand. History named this inner voice and strong intuition as the Gut feeling. And the Gut feeling was that though they didn’t have the data, they were right.  They were right about the existence of Human, and its hidden hand in the world of bacteria.

Excerpted from the book “Kaleidoscope: Short Stories of Many Hues” by Ranjit Kulkarni. Available on Amazon in Kindle Format. Follow Ranjit Kulkarni on his Amazon Author Page to hear about his latest books and get updates from his blog.