‘Here, take these two tickets for the Mumbai–Delhi Rajdhani Express. And keep these $200 as well. The train leaves arrives in New Delhi the next morning. On reaching Delhi, exit the station via the eastern side and go to Paharganj. Go to Hotel Enclave Supreme there. A room, No. 101, is booked for you for two days. The same evening, a man named Mustafa will meet you there around 6 p.m. He will ask you, “Are you ready for the marathon?” You have to reply, “Sure, we love marathons.”

‘Mustafa will accompany you on your train and bus journeys to Raxaul. From there, you know the drill. Take a cab to Birat Nagar. Al-Wali’s man Vinod will meet you in the lobby of the Mahendra Residency. He will give you your air tickets for the flight to Karachi. When you reach Karachi, call the Dubai number you were given by Al-Wali. Use a PCO. You will be put in touch with Al-Wali; tell him your location and his man will meet you at the PCO and take both of you to wherever they require you to be.

‘Is everything clear?’ Babar finally asked.

‘Yes, bhai, thank you. Your arrangements are excellent. May the operation attain success,’ said Usman.

45. THE TOAST OF LeT

45

THE TOAST OF LeT

At 9.30 a.m. on 5 January, Samuel Price, a pioneer in research on using nuclear energy for civilian purposes, rose to address the distinguished gathering at IIS&T.

Price’s work had encouraged many countries to study the peaceful use of nuclear energy. He had many admirers around the world, especially in the Indian scientific community, so it was little wonder that the entire top brass of the Bharat Atomic Science and Research Centre, which leads India’s nuclear research, was in attendance.

‘Ladies and gentleman, good morning, may God bless you,’ Price said and paused.

As if on cue, the convention centre rang with applause.

‘Nuclear energy is a boon, a gift from God himself, and shows the awe-inspiring power of nature and what the human mind can do. Never doubt the power of nuclear energy. It can light up a thousand homes and a hundred cities without producing too much waste, unlike, say, electricity that is produced through non-renewable resources such as coal. It is also a low emission energy, with a relatively low cost of production. However, this powerful gift has an ugly side too,’ Price said.

‘The problem, apart from the desire of power-drunk countries to utilize nuclear energy to make bombs, is that though the waste produced when generating nuclear power is little, it is highly toxic, and frankly no one has a complete solution yet for handling it in a safe and environmentally friendly manner,’ Price laid out the challenge.