The Blackout 

I knew it was late! I searched under my pillow for my cell phone to check the time. But the screen was blank. Maybe I forgot to charge, I thought. Damn it, that’s why the alarm didn’t ring!

I hurriedly got myself ready and pulled out my watch from some corner of my desk drawer and wore it. It felt heavy and different; I almost lost the habit of wearing watches since I had my cell phone.

I had to grab a copy of a newspaper on the way to my office. Usually I had my smart phone and 3G network to read news in my App.

I missed hearing to my playlist, which used to make my day brighter. Only if I had charged my phone, I thought irritated.

I could neither wish my friends a “Happy B'day” on their walls nor could check out my friends’ current updates and DPs in their Whats app! I felt all alone in this wide world.

I was in for more shock after I reached office and heard that none of their phones were working too. What was happening!? Something was definitely wrong! How could all the cell phones go out blank at once?

I immediately charged my mobile and tried to bring it to life but nothing happened. The screen was as dark as my mood.

News poured in about the mobile phones blackout! This was happening globally. None of the mobile phones around the world worked that day!

The office hall which used to be filled with different ringtones from each one’s mobile was now filled with bustling people expressing their confusion. Something was terribly wrong! But none could explain what was wrong. Having nothing to do about it everyone resumed their work. Half-heartedly, I too started to work.

I had to schedule my meeting with the client and so I took out my cell phone to see my calendar and only then I realized that my mobile was not working. I had to lay my hands on my desk calendar for a change!

When I had to calculate 65,500 divided by 12, for a moment I took my mobile to use my calculator and then pocketed it immediately realizing that my mobile was dead. Without another option, I forced my brains to do that math!

Even our office beauty looked grim that day. I realized that as usual she would have received compliments that she looked good but unfortunately she could not take a ‘selfie’ using her mobile camera and post her photo on Facebook to get more such compliments!

I did not know what I was supposed to do that evening or the days to come as I had saved my ‘To-do’ list in my phone to which I had no access now. I started to jolt down my to-do activities on a small notepad and felt my hands ache after 5 minutes of writing. Maybe my hands nowadays felt typing way easier and comfortable than writing.

I had lost all my contacts. I tried to remember my friends’ and families’ contact numbers, but in vain. Only then I realized that their mobiles won’t be working either, so how the hell I was going to contact them. I thought to apply for a landline connection soon. Good thing that we did not do away with landline phones as we did to Telegram!

I realized how much everyone’s life was going to change without this Cell phone! Next time, when I would be heading to some unknown or new place I won’t be able to use my GPS to find my way out and rather I have to ask my way to some strangers!

And what would I do if I am bored anywhere or anytime? I would not be able to play games or read an e-book or even watch a movie whenever or wherever I wanted to! Oh God, why our mobile phones are not working!? What had happened to them!?

The whole day no one could solve the mystery of why the cell phones were not working. Lots of debates were lined up on news channels as in what caused this sudden black-out of mobile phones. Some thought it was a technical glitch, some thought it was a new method of terrorist attack, and some even thought that it was the end of the world. But no one was able to point out the real story behind it.

All over the globe, high level committees and expert panels were set up to look into the issue! Even a special probe from NASA was announced and the US president promised to resolve this situation globally and save all the countries from what was happening.

After a long day’s work I reached back home and switched on my TV to hear some new news on the mystery of the Mobile phones. The news which appeared on the TV screen startled me! It said that all the Presidents of the world have received separate emails from a single user named, “The Cell phone” and the subject of the letter was ‘My Suicide’.

The letter went on to explain from a cell phone’s perspective of how much it was overloaded with work and how much it had to multi task and do the job of a clock, a calendar, a camera, a music player, a map, a phone-book, a personal diary and so on, though it was actually designed only for anytime communication from anywhere in the world. The over usage of cell phone had made it feel exhausted and thus it wanted a permanent escape from mankind and thus it decided to commit suicide. And thus the blackout.

No one believed that news. Neither did I. Even an alien attack sounded reasonable and possible but the mass suicide of all the cell phones globally sounded ridiculous. None of us bought that story!

Researches went on for years but without much answer. All the technical experts, mobile company owners, millionaires and even many common people poured in money to find the answer for the sudden demise of all the cell phones at once.

Many theories were put forth and many debates were held on those theories for over a decade. Many probes went on but everything only concluded with the possibility of the mass suicide of the cell phones.

We, the entire human kind felt bitter after this was proved. We understood that we had caused the death of cell phones. Even the past mass murders did not have such a tragic effect on us than this mass suicide of cell phones. The cell phone which was part and parcel of our life was no more. We tried for years to bring the mobile phones back to life by using new technologies. But none worked. The damage was irreparable. We finally understood our mistake. We understood what a negative effect we were imparting on the earth.

The whole world changed after that. Human kind changed and turned over a new leaf. We started to respect everyone and everything in this world. We understood that each and everything had its own purpose. Overloading anything more than its purpose or not using a thing for what it’s actually meant is both wrong. Even if we cannot understand the purpose of anything on this earth, be it small or big we should only respect it and leave it as it is. Because human mind cannot comprehend everything, like this mass suicide!

From that day till now the world has become a better place to live in. We have become a better and a kinder being. Mankind tries to respect everything and everyone in this world. Thanks for the mass sacrifice of the cell phones to impart this sense into mankind. Let them rest in peace.

And if you want to catch a glimpse of the cell phone, you can see them at our National Museum, carefully preserved.