I couldn't concentrate on work or any other activity. I was about to witness the grand finale of the Junoon concept, and to gain an empirical understanding of the nature of these beings.

I knew they would build on the concept of temporal dimension, since they had highlighted this several times the day before. They rejected all traditional explanations such as spirits, ghosts, angels, and the like. They insisted that they were neither supernatural nor paranormal beings. In fact, they seemed to express a hint of annoyance with that type of labeling.

Their intent was clear: they wanted to help humanity. They exhibited extraordinary intelligence, or, should I say, the kind of extraordinary wisdom that comes with experience. They seemed to have seen a lot.

I made it to the library at exactly 9 p.m., only to find that the stairs leading up to the second floor had been cordoned off with a tape loosely attached to prevent anyone from going up. I went to the librarian and asked what the problem was. He informed me that restoration work was going on, and he didn't want any foot traffic on the second floor. I explained that my research books were in the Mystic Science section, and I needed to spend time reading them. He said that all the tables and chairs on the second floor were covered with drop cloths that I would have to remove to sit down, and that the lamps in the middle of the tables were not connected. I would have to read using only the ambient light from the wall fixtures. I told him that this would be fine, and made my way up to the second floor.

The librarian wasn't exaggerating. The place looked ominous with all the large furniture and shelves draped, and heavy dust on the floor. Plus, the wall fixtures didn't do much to light up the room. I went to my usual spot, removed the cloths from the table and chairs, and wiped the accumulated dust off the exposed chair handles. I sat down in the middle of the room, squinting to see in the dim light. It figured, of course, that on the most important day of my meetings with the beings, the library officials had to start renovating the second floor. I wondered how they would react to all of this—the low-level lighting, the dusty floors, and the smell of varnish or paint.

Soon, it was 9.30 p.m., and there were no signs of any activity. At 9:35 p.m., I started to worry, thinking the renovation might have interrupted our process. Maybe this table was a portal that had somehow been broken. Just when I was sure they wouldn't show up, the green lamp in the middle of the table flickered. This startled me since power to the table had been cut off. A few minutes later, the lamp flickered again; and just as my eyes were adjusting, my friends were sitting in their usual places.

The dim lighting actually made it possible for me to see their luminescence more clearly than during our earlier meetings when the lamp was fully lit. I could make out the outline of their hands, clothes, their usual book, and the oversize rings on their fingers.

"Am I ever glad to see you," I said. "I thought you wouldn't appear because of all the library renovations."

They looked at me and shook their heads. "We mentioned earlier that the physical and temporal elements of your dimension have no effect on us, but that we can have an effect on them. That is why you noticed the lamp flicker, and your favorite phenomenon of the glass of water turning icy cold."

I nodded, and after a brief pause, launched into a litany of questions. "So please tell me more about yourselves. What is this book you keep reading? Why do you keep tapping on your rings? Where do you go from here when we are done? What kind of life do you live? Do you have families? Were you once human beings who have evolved into this form?"

"We will answer all your questions today, and you will understand—to the best of your current ability—who we are," said Mir Pacha. "Let's start with the rings and the book. Are you sure you are seeing a book? And are you certain that these are really rings we are wearing?"

I looked at the book again. As I did, I was surprised to find that—while the lamp had been on—I didn't make out the outline of the book very well. Now, with the lamp off, I could see it in all its dimensions, and it wasn't a book at all. It was as if that part of the table had warped to form a gap and letters or symbols were suspended in mid air. As before, the letters changed shape depending on the angle of my view. They would appear, change, and disappear.

"Is it some kind of terminal or a device?" I said.

"No. It uses the same concept that enabled you to see your mother. Here, we have the same type of square. These symbols you see are events we are tracking at a quantum level," said Mir Pacha. He explained that each symbol represented a quantum marker of a positive event that uplifts humanity. A change in a symbol's shape indicated the outcome of the event. Depending on the shape, he and Mir Kotti knew where achievers stood in accomplishing their goals. When an event caught their attention, they became part of it simply by touching the symbol on their rings. "We join the achiever and witness the event unfolding," Mir Pacha said. "That is why you noticed us yesterday tapping our rings."

"Is this making any sense to you?" asked Mir Kotti. "We told you it would sound fantastic, and we have not even gotten to the fantastic part yet. Let's wrap up the last wave of Junoon, and then, we will answer your final questions." With that, he started to describe the final wave of Junoon.

"Up to now, the first four waves of the state of Junoon—pure inspiration, sixth sight, fanatic focus, and metaphysical energy—surrounded you, and manifested your drive to achieve your goal. Now, you are ready to recruit people who will share in your Junoon and help you bring it to fulfillment. This is where you enter social Junoon—the fifth and final wave of the state of Junoon.

"This last stage centers on the notion of creating and growing a movement. At this point, your Junoon reaches its ultimate level as it moves beyond you to lift up hundreds, thousands, even millions of others who become as consumed with your quest as you are. Their irresistible attraction to your goal boosts the power of your Junoon to the nth degree.

"Social Junoon touches people at the deepest human level and taps into their most basic tendencies as social creatures to join and find meaning and support a cause. This state magnetizes people to relate to you and your goals, and spawns a hypnotic attraction for them to follow and assist in fulfilling your Junoon. Your social Junoon makes it possible to expand your Junoon exponentially and spread it virally to like-minded people who identify with your Junoon and take it upon themselves to proliferate your message. In this way, your Junoon gathers intensity as it moves from heart to heart and mind to mind.

History has long attested to social Junoon with worldwide movements to abolish apartheid, eradicate hunger and AIDS, and make drinking water available to tribes in Africa. Advances like these began with a handful of people who initially wished to address a specific problem that was social in nature. They became motivated when the state of Junoon empowered them to take action. Once Junoon overtook them, they received pure inspiration that showed them how to act. They saw their purpose through the lens of sixth sight and lived out the love of their inspiration through fanatic focus. They drew upon the multiple powers of metaphysical energy, and gathered throngs of people to their causes in social Junoon.

"This brings us to you," Mir Kotti said. "All these years, you have been searching for the answer to what makes ordinary people achieve the impossible. We watched as you spoke to experts and researched volumes of information. When we saw how adamant you were in finding out about Junoon, we touched the quantum marker on our rings and joined you in your quest five days ago. The only difference is that in your situation, we decided to appear and show ourselves to you."

"So let's continue to answer your questions about who we are, do we have families, and were we human beings before taking this form," said Mir Pacha. "Yesterday—if you remember—my colleague interrupted you by asking this: 'Can you imagine what would happen if human beings—through their Junoon—uplifted humanity to a level where the human race would not be driven by power, control, violence, and greed, but by tolerance, peace, and an intense desire for exploration, discovery, and invention?'

"Well, what if we were to tell you that there is no need to simply imagine? Humanity has evolved to a level where we are now exploring, discovering, and solving the mysteries of science, human achievement, philosophy, and the immense universe in which we live? You have deciphered the chaotic laws of quantum mechanics and can use this wonderful state to exist, travel, and tap its unlimited power.

"Indeed, human beings have now entered the realm of quantum existence. Since physical and temporal laws are not the only laws that apply, a whole new set of laws are now available, laws that you would probably describe as supernatural. And if you still think this sounds odd, then you should know that your current science has identified quantum particles that can exist in two places at the same time, be connected over very long distances, and most important, travel through time. Your scientists have identified certain quantum phenomena which are related to controversial time-twisting theories.

"So who are we?" he asked rhetorically. "And here is the fantastic revelation: we are human beings just like you, except that we can use quantum technology available to us to participate in world-changing events that have happened in the past and to witness them as they happen."

I interrupted. "So, let me understand this. The two of you are actually two human beings who exist in the future, and you are communicating with me through some kind of quantum technology. The physical form I see you in and my frozen finger and a warm glass of water turning icy cold are the side effects of your projection. Would it be wrong for me to say you are time travelers?"

"You are mostly right in principle and about the side effects of our projection, but you are wrong about our being time travelers," said Mir Kotti. "At a quantum level, time is not a progressive linear entity. The three of us are on the same plane of time, just at different places."

He explained that human beings today have the technology to communicate with each other on a time plane that operates within twenty-four hours. For example, a friend living in Australia calls and speaks with you while he or she is actually living the next day of his or her life while you in United States are still in the previous day of your life."

"You don't think of this phenomenon as odd," said Mir Kotti. "Yet, in our case, you are surprised that we can communicate with you from the future. Can you not imagine that human beings in this future have evolved to a point where using quantum technology, we can now make a call 1,000 years ahead or back if we know the quantum marker of the event? We are not time travelers; we are just making something like a phone call and speaking with you. The technology we use allows us to appear before you. And since we operate at a quantum level, you see the side effects of water turning to ice and your finger getting frostbite."

"Then, those symbols in front of you are quantum markers of events you're tracking? And by touching them on your rings, you instantly participate in that event?" I said.

They both nodded.

"Then, are you not affecting the future by participating in the event?" I said.

"We cannot alter the past to change the future," Mir Kotti explained. "We can merely call to witness the event. Can your friend in Australia call you and physically stop you from doing anything? He or she can only listen and talk to you. That is what we are doing with you."

Up to now, I had thought of Mir Pacha and Mir Kotti as supernatural beings. But at this exact moment, I realized they were human beings after all.

"May I ask you a question?" I said. "Why did you call me?"

Mir Pacha clasped his hands and with absolute sincerity said, "The concept of Junoon has to spread across the world for humanity to leapfrog in evolution. We cannot achieve greatness if human beings lack the Junoon to achieve impossible goals. This concept will empower individuals to solve current world problems so that humanity can move forward. There is so much to explore, invent, and discover, that once the human race evolves beyond the level of basic sustenance and the hunger for power and control, we will live to see thousands of years of prosperity and answer the fundamental question of our existence. And we will realize we are not alone in the universe. We called you so that you may succeed in spreading the concept of Junoon—the state of obsession to achieve the impossible."

I was mesmerized by all this, yet it all made sense. I finally looked at these men and realized that they were indeed human beings. The fear I had felt in their presence was due to a naïveté about their science and technology. It was amazing how I was ready to believe that they were aliens or supernatural beings. Yet, their elegant explanation clarified exactly who they were.

I noticed again the symbol on the collar of their cloaks, and asked, "What does the symbol on your cloaks mean?"

"You should know," they said in unison. "You created it. This symbol represents the obsession to achieve the impossible, also known as Junoon."

With that, they looked down, tapped their rings, looked up, and vanished into the future.

Now, let's return to our main narrative where 25 years ago, Dr. Batra debunked my amateurish rhoton theory.