Amala's Heritage

SOS

Two shadowy figures entered as Isla and Junichi stood inside the sleek glass-panelled elevator, surrounded by ambient lighting that accentuated the modernity of the 15-floor cruise ship. Their calm demeanour, hiding their inner turmoil, betrayed an air of mystery as they silently pressed the 12th-floor button and exited without acknowledging the other passengers. Turning to Junichi, Isla unexpectedly remarked, her voice tinged with a hint of anxiety, "You carry on. I want to meet up with Sophia and Maria." Junichi was taken aback, as he and her sister had just spent the evening with Isla's friends.

Isla trailed the two men as they made their way to room 1296, a door slightly ajar. Upon peeking into the room, Isla was surprised to find a large, lavishly decorated suite. The room was adorned with a glass chandelier, and there, in the center, was a massive chessboard. What caught Isla's attention was that there were not just one but three chessboards in the suite. Suddenly, one of the men emerged from the room. Thinking quickly, Isla pretended to be confused and said, "Is this room 1196? I came to meet my friends." The man frowned and replied, "No, you are on the wrong floor," before promptly shutting the door. The sizeable suite exuded an air of luxury and extravagance, with plush velvet sofas and intricately designed rugs adorning the floors. The walls were lined with ornate artwork, and the windows offered a breathtaking view of the vast ocean outside. As Isla marvelled at the grandeur of the suite, she couldn't help but feel a sense of curiosity about the occupants and the purpose of the three chessboards.

Amala was wholly absorbed in fiddling and scrolling the hologram screen as the sun rose on the third and final day at Celeste Kahani. It was a live feed of events unfolding on Iris, able to project images and show historical and real-time data. She scrolled through several images until she came across one that made her stop in her tracks. Without hesitation, she rushed to Karina, urgently insisting they must immediately send a message to Isla. "This is urgent, and Isla is nearby enough to take action," Amala stressed. However, Karina hesitated for a moment, weighing their options. "Sending a message to the LivStar Lab won't work; it will take too long. We need to find a different way to get the message through.".

As the ship's navigation officer Mr Cean, he diligently monitored the signals and patterns of lights emitted from the lighthouse. A distinct and repetitive pattern caught his attention as he gazed steadfastly at the blinking beacon one evening. Its irregularity from the usual signals piqued his interest, prompting him to swiftly record the pattern on paper. It seems like an S.O.S. signal. He quickly went to Captain Karyn's quarters, respectfully presenting her with the paper detailing his findings. As Captain Karyn perused the pattern, her brow furrowed in deep concentration, and a thoughtful expression painted her face as she processed the significance of his discovery.

Uppik was feeling unusually tired as he returned to his suite on the 7th floor of the ship. As he approached his door, he noticed Captain Karyn standing outside, holding a piece of paper with some information. "Hey, Uppik," she said, "You are an engineer, right?"Yes, I'm a mechanical engineer," Uppik replied, feeling curious about the note in Captain Karyn's hand."We received this code from the lighthouse," Captain Karyn explained, "It's the same message being relayed repeatedly. No one understands what it means. Can you decode it?"

 Uppik's interest was piqued. He eagerly took the note from Captain Karyn and studied the pattern of lights and signals recorded on it as an engineer with a knack for deciphering complex patterns. So we have the message Karyn said: the dot means no light signal, and one means a light burst; each signal lasts 1 second. Uppik felt confident that he could unravel the mysterious message."I'll get to work on this right away," Uppik said with determination.  Uppik retreated to his suite, where he meticulously studied the code. As minutes turned into hours, he still could not decode the intricate pattern of lights.