The Paralyzing Effects of Colonialism and Caste in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things

 

The world was no longer a quiet place in the way it used to be. It was almost as if the world was built upon waves. Waves of sound, waves of connection. Waves that incessantly crashed and receded, constantly emitting from machines. Nowhere was as muddled and filled with waves than the city of Lio perched up high in the hills.

Lio was a city that has no real history. Not many can remember a time before Lio existed for those that live within it’s bounds are much too busy.

The city itself is a wonder. Multiple tiers rise up from it’s steel foundation. Glass building cut their way into the sky with their fine lines and deadly shimmer. From without, Lio stood as a wonder but from within, those that called the city home had their sites set elsewhere.

Not far from the machined city there was a small cottage of sorts in the brush and forests. It rested soundly in the shade of the surrounding trees. But this cottage was by no means a ramshackle dwelling. It was just as every bit as impressive as Lio far above.

The sides were made of a durable black metal machined to the point that they glimmered like glass. Together, the 3 walls converged in a way that made it look like a precious stone dropped into the ground from a high height.

Sunlight was dimming and the small cottage gave off a faint glow rising up the building along one of the converging corners.

Within this cottage lived an programmer much ahead of his time. Many credit him with the creation of Lio’s most prized piece of technology: the Opti X.

Out of the many functions of the Opti-X, it’s main purpose was to blur the lines between what was real and what was not. It was composed of a visor and an advanced sleeve. Together, the Opti-X gave its user immediate access to data of all sorts and streamlined work. The adoption of the technology ushered in an age of leisure that is enjoyed even to this day.

But the programmer, known by many simply as Felix, left Lio in search of a solitary life. There was still so much work to be done.

| Felix had built his home to fall into a sleep each night which was evident from the outside. All windows were dark and empty but the panels revealed multiple points of light as if the universe decided to take a rest.

              Just then, a light sparked to life on the 3 floor absorbing the illusion of the constellations with it. Felix was awake and Felix had a nightmare.

              It had been happening more often, his night terrors. Not all had awoken him from his sleep in a cold sweat but the latest episodes only seemed to be getting more vivid and urgent.

              A specialized version of the Opti-X operating system coursed through the bones of the small cottage. It constantly monitored Felix which explains how the lights knew to start at a low setting and slowly increase in brightness. This was comforting to Felix even waking up in the middle of the night wasn’t.

              The violet eyes of Felix were beginning to come into focus and catch the light like iridescent pools. His eyes were the softest feature of his face. It was a hard face. Angular. Likely the most efficient shape to fit his brilliant mind. His brow and the bridge of his nose connected in a decidedly perpendicular fashion. It was clear just by looking at Felix, he was wise and filled with traces of sorrow that the years couldn’t quite blot up.

              Never was the air in Felix’s house ever not at an optimal temperature, but still, Felix wrapped his arm tightly around his body as if in a cold breeze. You can’t shake away bad feelings but that doesn’t stop some from trying.

              Felix stands and walks to the window to survey the trees. They stood solid and tall just like the the enormous pillars that hoisted Lio into the sky and the buildings perched above that. Yet trees were nothing like Lio at all. Each tree was composed of unique elements. It was impossible for one to be identical to another. Impossible. And Felix thrived off this to the point of reference.

              Feeling grounded, he quickly waves his hand across the window which instantly transitions into an opaque slab. His shadow is left to stand at attention in the new blank space.

              “Opti?” says Felix as he turns back towards the room.

              “Yes, Felix” chimes in the calming voice of the Opti system.

              “Give me lab access, please” Felix asks.

              “Granted.”

              Rectangular steps emerged from the opposing wall one by one rising to the ceiling. And it is these steps Felix took up into his secure lab.

              Unlike his bedroom, the lab hummed with life. Metal was strewn across every surface highlighted with colorful wires and motherboards. This is where Felix toiled most days.

              Humming to himself, Felix moves across the floor as he has done many times before. He passes the first-edition Opti on his way. In the initial version, the system was only composed of a fitted sleeve. It monitored many functions of the body and did away with the inconvenience of carrying a device with you. Videos could be comfortably watched without the strain of holding a device and the device was easily cleaned.

              Just a little higher up on the wall hung the second iteration of the Opti-X. Iteration 2 was composed of a fitted visor. Together, the sleeve and the visor blurred the lines of reality.

              Iteration 3 of the Opti system was not displayed in the lab as it was the most current and cutting edge of the interface. The people of Lio could not help but be impatient for where the system would go next. That’s part of the reason for Felix’s exodus from the city. Who could say if iteration 4 was coming.

              Felix finished crossing the room and sat in his favorite chair to begin taking notes. With stylus in hand, Felix scrawled across the glass table top. His flowing hand would slowly fade away as the computer transcribed his writing into a uniform type.

              Round bulbs hung by thin delicate cables from the ceiling giving light to the sterile space. It was an open room save for one end that was sanctioned off with a black curtain.

              While invested in his work, flashes of white illuminate the corner of his desk. Opti had a pending message.

              “Felix, you have an incoming message from Lio. It is of high importance. Would you like to reply?”

              An soft sigh escapes Felix’s lips. “Take a message. I can reply later.”

              “Affirmative.” The white light collects at the right corner of the screen as a reminder to respond.

              Behind the heavy black curtain, a sound can be heard. It’s both organic and mechanic all at once. Felix sets his pen down on the table and turns to the curtain. He gets up and makes his way over the curtain. Before he gets near, the curtains raise up like the beginning of a theatrical production. The action is fluid and silent. Beyond the dark curtains are what appears to be 2 small toddlers. Each appears to be healthy and strong but a reflective silver strip can be seen across the heads of each child.

              Felix quietly coos the toddlers back to sleep and sets them down to rest.

              Hanging on the walls in this section of the room were schematics of all kinds. Some display anatomical drawings of humans while other show robotic schematics. With the help of these bionic children and others, Felix had drawn inspiration for the Opti systems.

              There were pedestals what looked to be adults. But they were not complete. Some were missing legs, others were simply torsos with heads but none of it was carnage. These were robots. Wires, levers, pulleys and the works.

              What the people of Lio always forgot is that their city was not built from nothing. The location of the grand city was situated atop an older civilization. One with a long history of life. Life far different yet at the same time very familiar to the lives that they lived. Once, long ago, there lived the Letan people. A robotic people. Their existence dates back even further than humans but this knowledge was blocked. Blocked to anyone wearing the new Opti hardware. Yet this hardware was inspired by the Letans. Felix had studied for years the Letan hardware and software to create devices that made life far easier. Yet, the Letan people were still present. Hidden from view but integral to the success of this budding new empire.

              Founders of Lio had succeeded in bending the will of the Letan people to their will but this was information beyond even Felix knowledge.

              Felix toyed with one of the hanging Letan’s hardware with awe. He sympathized with these people. His decision to remove himself from Lio was based in his belief that the Lio rulers had gone too far. That his technology only further pushed this ancient people further into darkness and obscurity.

              Back across the room, the desk panel began to flash a menacing crimson from all sides. Opti’s calm voice explains the sudden change.

              “Felix, a Lio convoy is approaching by air. I tried alerting you to their call earlier. Awaiting your command.”

              “Lock down the facility. Send the incoming envoy word that I am away in the northern sector on sabbatical.” Felix brings his fists down on the nearest counter, shaking a few mechanical pieces lose and falling on the ground. In the flashing red light, the screws and nuts move across the floor in a jilted manner. “I can’t be caught with these living Letan on my hands.” Felix hurriedly says under his breath.

              “Would you like me to ready your ship?” says Opti.

              “Yes. And how much longer till the convoy reaches us?”

              “Fifteen minutes and thirty-two seconds if you must know exacts.”

              Felix has already begun tearing down his schematics and throwing them into a bag. With the push of a few buttons, the 2 craddles in which the Letan new borns lay begin to hover above the floor. The tops gently close, concealing the children below gleaming glass panes.

              “Direct my supplies and the toddlers to my ship. I will be there in a moment.”

              “Affirmative” says Opti, now in a solemn tone.

              Dashing down the staircase in the wall to his room, Felix opens his closet and straps on his prepped go bag.

              He moves into the hallway moving towards the next stairway down.

              The ship was primed and ready to go in the basement. Also at the heart of this room glowed a bright column that connected the floor to the ceiling with as much importance as a main artery.

              Felix first moved towards the column. Before he touched the pillar, a white light appeared revealing a keypad. He quickly entered in the code and immediately the streaming colors stopped and absorbed into the center of the pillar. The colors collected at the center and revealed a compartment door the hissed and popped out towards Felix. Once it moved, there sat on a pedestal a rough stone that had a pearlescent dark shimmer. He removed the stone and placed it within a sturdy metal container nearby. It sounded as if the box latched itself closed.

              Felix was taking Opti with him.

              Boarding the ship brought the small cockpit to life. Four people could comfortably fir in this space but today it was only 3.

              Opti’s container fit perfectly in the center console. It’s placement initiated a familiar voice.

              “Preparing for take-off.”

              “Perfect.”

              After a quick pause, Opti makes one final request. “The Liodens are nearly here. Would you like for me to cause a diversion?”

              “Work your magic.”

              And with that, the ship was ready to go. It pushed itself slightly off the ground and moved towards opening bay doors. While looking back into the old room, Opti moved them forward and out into the night sky.

|||

              Traveling by chopper was not Aster’s ideal form of transport. It shown on his face like a child playing hide and go seek. The time when their face is covered but the rest of their body is left for all to see.

              Choppers made him ill. The noise and the constant reminder of the Earth far below the glass paneled floor was all too much for him. His thoughts were racing enough to be impeded by these external worries.

              “Premier Aster, we have attempted to contact Felix. It appears they have chosen to ignore the transmission.”

              Aster walks towards the front of the chopper, gripping the netting to stay upright.

              “Are we sure that he is even in these parts? Felix travels widely. It would be unfortunate if you brought me all this way to visit an empty house.”

              The pilot readjusts his position briefly looking behind to see where Aster stands.

              “It is true that only this morning did we identify this dwelling as Felix, but I can assure you, our satellites picked up activity in this area only an hour ago. Someone is home. My bets are that it is the lone engineer.”

              “And if it is not?”

              “I’m confident in my prediction. Now please, remove yourself from the cockpit so my co-pilot and I can make sure we get there quickly.”

              With that, Aster swings on the strap he is holding to face the rear of the chopper. Lio Sentinels, the finest in the city, stand at attention.

              “Hear that, tonight is the night we track down my property and bring it back to Lio. Look alive. Felix likes to play tricks.”

             

              The 3 choppers crested the hills and dropped into the valley where Felix reportedly was hiding. Compared to the symmetry and order of Lio, this area was a mess. Trees, ferns and flowers of all sorts were spread out with no logical placement. Wind from the rotors kicked up the organic matter in visible cyclones scattering all living things this way and that.

              “Approaching our target” says the pilot. “And it appears like someone is still home.”

              Not more than a few hundred yards away sat the black sail-like building where Felix had been hiding all this time. It was incredibly noticeable given the large spotlight beaming up into the night.

              Aster spotted the building and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. This was not exactly a subtle hiding place.

              “Make contact with Felix once more. Maybe he is expecting us now.”

              With a few movements of the hand, the pilot initiated the call. After a few moments, Felix’s assistant answered the call.

              “All power to Lio” said the voice of Opti. “What might be the pleasure of such a heavily armed convoy.”

              Aster moves back into the cockpit area garnering a momentary glare from the main pilot. “Felix has something of value to me. I must get it back.”

              “I am not quite sure of which you refer. Felix has many items. All with varying value.”

              “I need only speak to Felix directly. He can give me what it is that I need. So please, bring him online.”

              The choppers finally reached the small house and proceeded to land in a v formation on the grass in front of the peculiar building. Though the main light on the top spire pointed directly to the sky, the sides of the building were also aglow. Purple lights pulsed portentously.

              “I am sorry. Master Felix is sound asleep.”

              “Curious for so many lights to be on so late in the night.”

              “It would be inadvisable to turn off the lights.”

              “And for what reason?”

              “Well, it has never been done before” Opti states flatly.

              Aster pushes his way to the door and walks out of the chopper. All 3 aircraft have finally cooled down, the motors silent. Save for the wind, the field was quiet and holding its breath.

              “Turn off those lights. Now!” Aster says after grabbing a gun of the nearest soldier and making his way to the front door. “I don’t care if we have to blow down the door. I am retrieving my property.”

              “As you command.” In that moment, the transmission goes static. All the lights that pulsed and shown into the night sky dim into nothingness. Now all that is left are the yellow lights illuminating the sentinel uniforms.

              Aster stops as he makes it to the steps up to the main door. He realizes that no one has followed him.

              “What are you waiting for?” he says.

               “Premier… look.”

              Aster quickly turns towards the building but not quick enough. A fire could be seen burning in the upper windows which is what the others further away had seen. Glass began to buckle and bust out of the upper decks until the entire building was up in flames. Aster was blown back towards the choppers and loses grasp of his borrowed weapon.

              A few sentinels and the pilot rush over to pick up their leader. Gushes of air begin to whirl as the planes spring to life. It is clear if they stay, they will be caught in a forest fire. The neighboring trees are kindling waiting to ignite.

              “He isn’t here!” Aster yells. His uniform is singed but he otherwise is not harmed. He throws a hand up and the others move towards the transports with little hesitation. “Scan the area. Now. He can’t be far from here.”

              And with that, the 3 choppers take to the skies once more. What was previously a field of greens and browns is now simply a blur of yellows, reds and oranges. The peaceful glade is now quickly disintegrating. Another destroyed eco system at the hands of the Lio people. But there was no time to wait. Seconds were draining fast to catch the traitor known as Felix.

|||

              Felix craft takes its time to get through the tunnel. It was built this way so that any comings and goings by Felix could go unnoticed. Felix and his precious cargo were moving as fast as they possibly could go in the tunnel but the speed didn’t feel fast enough for him.

              A waterfall concealed the entrance to the tunnel. Well it covered the bay door in which one could gain access. The bay door could be made out not more than 100 yards away and it was seamlessly lowering to the floor. With the door out of the way, all there was in its place was the falling water and a faint glow of light beyond.

              The shuttle and water collided with a splash. Felix always imagined this moment as a baptism. A temporary cleansing of all the thoughts and happenings of the past. It would be the last time he would experience that moment and he made sure to cherish it.

              Thrusters were on full and the water, all that was left clinging to the ship, was pushed off into the night sky in the twinkle of an eye.

              It wouldn’t be long until they were miles and miles away from the small cottage although Opti made sure to ground everyone in the current reality.

              “I have confirmation that Premier Aster was part of the convoy en route to your cottage. Took it upon myself to initiate the most welcoming of gestures for our good friend. In fact, you can see for yourself.”

              Footage from before the blast appeared along the forward panel. Felix could see the party land, hear Aster’s message and witness the explosion of what was his home for the past few years.

              “Such a pity. I was really beginning to like that place.” Felix looks through the back panels of the ship. Dense smoke billowed up in the distance almost imperceptible to the dark knight sky.

              Opti allows Felix to process what is happening. Before a minute has passed, Opti attempts to life Felix spirits by saying, “At least we were able to safely get these toddlers away.”

              Felix stands up and walks back to the 2 children sound asleep in their transports. He gently tucks each of them into their blankets and returns to his chair. But instead of sitting down, Felix leans against the head rest, arms folded and rests his eyes for a few moments.

              “How many more times must we do this, Opti? We are running out of places to go.”

              From this height, most of the planet of Hex was visible. Far below there were still long stretches of what, during the day, would be green and blue hues of nature. It was a rare section of the planet. Most of what constituted the surface of Hex was industrial. Estimates say over 60% of the planet is developed so leaving the grid was quite difficult. Movement within the undeveloped areas of Hex necessitated communication technology of the strongest caliber which is why Felix rarely had issues with hiding in these vegetated areas.

              “I have a suggestion but it won’t be anything you like.” Opti queues up a new view on the forward panel. Felix stands up from the headrest and moves closer to the screen. He uses the ceiling as support to lean in and take a close look at the displayed image.

              Opti slowly states that “you would need to leave the planet… and you would need to leave behind our 2 deckmates sleeping in the back.”

              For a moment Felix just continues to stare on. Not quite looking at the panel or seeing much in the real world. He just is there. Leaning with his eyes open. Opti awaits a response.

              “Time has a funny way of setting its own agenda, huh?” Felix says this as he pushes himself upright again, runs his hands through his short hair and return to the captain’s chair.

              “Oftentimes, we have no say in the matter but its often best if we heed the suggestions of the universe.”  

              “Fair. Always bringing the wisdom, Opti.”

              “I have set us on a course to Bantma and alerted our contacts there. We should get there in a few hours. Now rest up. I need you to radiate energy, not suck it from every soul we meet.”

              “Ay yi captain” says Felix with a slight smile.

              And with that, the ship moves onward in peace like the valley below.