The Pacemaker - Short story

I observed him carefully as he walked to the door. I knew that time was running out but suppressed the urge to check my watch. I took a deep breath and started counting in reverse under my breath. "Ten, nine, eight, seven...” I closed my eyes for a moment, took aim and fired. Point blank. Not once, not twice, but thrice…

Four years ago

“BB Pharmaceuticals is going to revolutionize the healthcare and life sciences industry, and you should feel immensely proud to be working with us. As long as you are with the organization, always remember the mission: innovate, innovate, and innovate. Not for profits, but for delivering high-quality yet affordable healthcare to all.”

Dr. Bhaskar Bhargava, the Founder and Managing Director of BB Pharmaceuticals received a thunderous applause from more than hundred new hires who had joined the organization along with me.

I am Dr. Ananya Mathur, Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences, with a niche specialization in 3D Bio-printing and Smart Medical Devices, two technologies touted as the future of healthcare and life sciences. Dr. Bhargava had written several research papers on these topics, and I was indeed excited to be working for him, rather, with him.

Dr. Bhargava had personally recruited me as the Lead Program Manager for his most ambitious project ever. “Dr. Mathur, there is no one else who could do this. I am giving you two years and unlimited resources. But at the end of the two years, I want to see the vision come alive.”

I gulped, nervous that I would falter.

“Thank you for the faith, Dr. Bhargava. I won’t disappoint you.”

Two years ago

After two years of gruelling schedules, with more than 14 hours of work each day, we finally made it. Sensor-enabled pacemaker and Bio-ingestible pill – perhaps everything that Dr. Bhargava had asked for. Owing to Dr. Bhargava’s reputation as the pacemaker and a leading trendsetter in healthcare, getting initial regulatory approvals was a cakewalk. It was the most satisfying moment of my life.

A few days later, I had the opportunity to pitch the products to the Board and investors, with the hope of receiving approvals and funding for mass production.

“Imagine the future of healthcare where a doctor can monitor a patient’s progress real-time and is also able to not only provide prescriptive action, but can also predict future ailments. The future is here!”

“The sensor-enabled pacemaker and the bio-ingestible pill are both Smart Medical Devices, which means that these devices have in-built sensors that continuously aggregate patient data, and provide real-time signals to the healthcare providers, i.e. the physicians and the nurses. This allows them to closely monitor a patient’s progress, predict anomalies in patient health, and thus proactively prescribe corrective action. In a country like India where many die of cardio-vascular diseases, a sensor-enabled pacemaker can bring down the mortality rate of heart patients.”

“While this may still feel like a niche product, bio-ingestible pills or smart pills are certainly a more radical and mass innovation. Let me demonstrate how these work. It’s pretty simple. All one needs to do is swallow the smart pills just like any other pill. Once swallowed, the sensor is activated by stomach acids. The sensor is designed to measure vital signs of the patient. The information captured by the pills can be then relayed wirelessly to the healthcare providers, who can provide remote care to existing patients through telemedicine, or prescribe preventive action for the non-patients. One pill will replace hundreds of medical tests.”

I went on for another twenty minutes, and by the end of it, the audiences’ expressions said it all. Dr. Bhargava and I looked at each other and smiled. We received significant funding (exact figure undisclosed due to organizational policies) and thus began our journey to bring our mission to life: high-quality, affordable healthcare to all.

One week ago

Two years went by so fast, in pre-production clinical trials, production, post-production clinical trials, regulatory approvals, and so on. But as they say, all’s well that ends well. Our latest monthly report stated that we had sold more than 40,000 pacemakers and close to 150,000 pills – more than all our other products combined. I couldn’t be happier.

I went into Dr. Bhargava’s cabin to share the good news. He seemed to have gone somewhere so I decided to leave a note. That’s when I noticed a printed document on his desk. What I saw left me aghast. I couldn’t believe him. How could he…? That too behind my back…?

My impulse action was to confront him but instead, I walked out and called up my boyfriend. “Jeevu, listen. I need a favour. I need you to hack into Bhaskar’s emails. I sense something fishy is going on. I’ll discuss in detail over lunch.”

Jeevan Mehta is India’s best ethical hacker, and has been a Cyber consultant with the Government for the past eighteen months. Generally, he wouldn’t do anything illegal, but he knew I wouldn’t ever ask him for a favour unless it was damn serious.

“One Roasted Chicken salad and one Tuna salad. Thank you,” he said to the waiter, and then asked me, “Ok, so tell me. Why do you look so flustered?”

“I think Bhaskar is trying to sell off the pacemaker and the smart pill to Afrodite. Not just the patent but the entire manufacturing technology and the computer algorithms. Jeevu, every damn thing that I have created from scratch over the past four years.”

“Ananya, I don’t understand your point. I mean, divestitures happen all the time in the Pharma industry. Afrodite is a reputed player with stronger distribution and Bhaskar must be getting a really good deal. ”

“I agree with you. But the issue is something else. While no one has proved it yet, Afrodite is allegedly supporting terror groups through funding and medical aid. I am just scared my products will get into wrong hands. You are a Cyber expert yourself. I mean, you know the potential threats of Smart Medical Devices. What if someone tampers with the algorithms which can cause harm to patients using them? Close to 200,000 patients use these products, Jeevu. Just imagine the scale of bio-terror. You may think I am getting paranoid, but I am scared. I really am.”

Jeevan mulled over the situation for a minute or two before responding, “Okay, let me check his emails. You don’t worry. But I still feel you are overthinking. Anyway, I’ll get back to you in the evening.”

I went back to the office, but my mind was distracted the entire day. I anxiously kept waiting for Jeevan’s call. I got a text from him around 4 pm: “You are right. Actually, the matter is graver. Can’t tell you on phone. Dinner today at 8?”

Later in the evening, when I met him, my first question was, “Yes, tell me. What is it that you couldn’t share over phone?”

“I scanned through Bhaskar’s emails for the past twelve months, hoping to find something interesting. While most of the emails were fairly routine, there were four that caught my attention.”

He took out a notepad where he had scribbled something in an illegible handwriting, before continuing: “One was from the CEO of Afrodite discussing details of the divestiture, and proposed terms of agreement. This was from last week. From the trailing emails, it’s evident that the discussions have been going on for at least six months. This email has nothing controversial though.”

“The second was a highly encrypted email from an unknown sender. It took me around one hour to crack this one. It was from one of the administrators of the Silk Road, the modern online darknet market, infamous for its illegal transactions.”

“Shit! Does that mean Bhaskar was involved in illegal, online trading of our products?” I gasped.

“It seems so. His email conversations with the unknown sender provide sufficient proof of close to $40 million of money transfer. Moreover, not in a typical bank account, but in a Bitcoin wallet. Have you heard about Bitcoins? Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency and is often used for illegal transactions like these. One of my ongoing project with the Government is around devising a mechanism to monitor Bitcoin exchanges and prevent illegal transactions. It’s really difficult to track the identities of the people involved in such transactions. Bhaskar is a smart guy.”

I nodded, too disturbed with the news to respond.

“The third one is an email that Bhaskar sent to the CIO of Afrodite with an attachment which was in Morse code. Poor fellow believed that it is still the 1960s when Morse code couldn’t be deciphered easily. In the attachment, he has shared a part of the computer algorithm and has provided tips to reprogram or sabotage the pacemakers and the pills.”

“Oh my God!” I screamed, and started tearing up a little. “We should inform the police,” I said.

“No, not yet. Please relax, will you? Let me get to the fourth email. It talks about a day-long meeting scheduled next Thursday from 10 AM with the CEO, CIO, other leaders, and investment bankers associated with Afrodite.”

“Does it mean that the entire C-suite is involved in the planning of a potential bio-terrorism attack?”

“I don’t think so. Here’s my hunch: The CEO is thinking of the divestiture purely from a commercial and strategic standpoint. I don’t have any information to suggest otherwise. It’s the CIO who’s definitely up to something sinister. I am not sure about the others.”

“So what do we do now? Bhaskar should be stopped.”

“I have a plan...”

Present day

Today is Thursday, the day of the big leadership meeting. My heart was pounding, even though I had rehearsed Jeevan’s plan a thousand times. It was 9:45 AM. I went over to Bhaskar’s cabin.

“Good morning, Dr. Bhargava. How are you?”

“Good morning, Dr. Mathur. I am actually not feeling too well so I am thinking of heading back home in a while.”

A blatant lie, I thought.

“Oh, is there anything I can help you with?”

“No, Dr. Mathur. I’ll be alright.”

Enough of small talk. Time to move to Step 2, I thought.

“Bhaskar, I know about your plan to sell off the pills and the pacemaker to Afrodite. My question is why?”

Alarmed, he looked at me with part disdain and part fear, and asked, “What? This is utter nonsense. Where do you get such news?”

I laughed sarcastically at him, “I know all about your illegal online trading too. I am impressed how you managed to fool everyone for so long. And I am really, really glad I happened to come to your room last week to share the latest monthly sales report with you. That’s when I noticed the printouts regarding the divestiture. I did not know it was just the tip of the iceberg. You want to sabotage the pills and kill thousands of people? How can you even think of this, Bhaskar? You are a bloody criminal. That’s all you are, Dr. Bhargava.”

He was too shocked to answer. He didn’t deny it, nor did he accept it. Perhaps, he assumed I was just a pawn who can do no harm to him. Perhaps, he was not going to let a stupid, nosey woman destroy his plans. His most ambitious project ever, that’s what he called it four years ago. Perhaps, his real mission was: Innovate, innovate, innovate. Not only for profits, but to destroy human lives.

Finally, he spoke: “I started planning this fifteen months ago. I found an ally in Dr. Bakshi, the CIO of Afrodite. I knew that I needed to sell off the products to Afrodite and let Dr. Bakshi tamper with the algorithms. BB Pharmaceuticals’ reputation would be at stake otherwise. Dr. Bakshi agreed to the plan. We decided, that within two months of the divestiture, he would tamper with the products, leading to mass genocide. A few forged signatures, bribery and he would be scot-free while the CEO of Afrodite would spend the rest of his life in prison.”

“Everything is planned, Dr. Mathur…” he smiled devilishly, “…there is nothing that can stop me. No one knows about the meeting at 10. And even if they do, there’s no one that can stop me. Actually, here’s a change of plan. As soon as I enter the meeting room, I will instruct Dr. Bakshi to activate the reprogrammed code. Why wait for two months from the divestiture for what can be done in the present! And yes, needless to say, I’ll lock the door from outside as soon as I get out. This room is sound-proof so you won’t be able to do anything. Don’t you dare fight me, I am twice your size and can easily beat you.”

At that moment, I knew what needed to be done. As soon as Bhaskar started walking towards the door, I put my hands into the back pocket and pulled out a gun (Jeevan’s licensed gun, which went undetected as the security don’t always frisk the Lead Program Managers!)

I took a deep breath, and pointed the gun at his back. I took a deep breath and started counting in reverse under my breath. "Ten, nine, eight, seven..." I closed my eyes for a moment, took aim and I shot him. Point blank. Not once, not twice, but thrice. He lay motionless on the floor, and I started crying, vulnerable and aware that I had just turned into a murderer.

Around twenty minutes later, the police arrived to the hotel opposite our office where the leadership meeting was scheduled. I later learnt that Jeevan had contacted the police a day before, and provided all the proof they needed to arrest the CIO.

At 10:15 AM, a police inspector accompanied by Jeevan came to our office, where the Founder and Managing Director, Dr. Bhaskar Bhargava, my idol and my hero, lay dead, murdered by my own hands.

“When did you inform the police?” I asked Jeevan, surprised to see the police inspector at the venue. I felt instant remorse. If I had known that the police was waiting outside to nab Bhaskar and the CIO, I would have just let him go. And I started crying, inconsolably, in Jeevan’s arms.

As we made our way to the police station to record our statements, several questions popped into my mind: What will happen to BB Pharmaceuticals now? Did Bhaskar have an accomplice at BB Pharmaceuticals? Will it be possible to track the illegal Bitcoin transactions? What about the future of smart pills and pacemakers – would they be banned? How is Afrodite reacting to this sudden turn of events?

Countless questions, but the biggest of them was, how a hero, who everyone revered, could stoop so low, and why…