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Mumbai ke Bandra mein ek sleek IT startup tha—“NeuStem Analytics”. Young team, quirky office, aur tight deadlines. September ki ek thandi raat thi, jab team lead Niyati ne sabko Zoom call pe bulaya. App launch ke deliverables late ho rahe the, aur client chilla raha tha.
10:33 PM. Everyone joined in from home. Lights dim thi, sab thak chuke the. Raghav, Sameer, Pooja, aur ek nya ladka—Arjit, HR intern. Office mein kuch documents reh gaye the, toh Arjit ne bola: “Koi nahi hai yahan, main office se hi join karta hoon.”
Zoom window mein Arjit ka video feed on tha. Peeche office ke pantry ke dim lights dikh rahe the. Lekin un lights ke beech ek chhoti si silhouette—kisike kadam hile, fir gayab ho gaye. Kisi ne kuch nahi bola, sab maan ke chale ki reflections hain.
Niyati ne kaam discuss karna shuru kiya. Sabki audio clear thi—except Arjit. Jab bhi woh kuch bolta, toh sirf low static aata. Pooja ne kaha: “Arjit, teri voice break ho rahi hai.” Arjit ne react kiya… uska muh hila, par audio dead silence.
10:47 PM. Suddenly Arjit ka camera glitch hua. Lekin glitch kisi compression artifact jaisa nahi tha. Lagbhag jaise camera ne kuch aur capture kar liya ho. Pixelated wajah, lekin aankhen—ekdusre se ulat direction mein dekh rahi thi.
Fir Arjit khada hua. Screen hili. Woh kisi se baat kar raha tha. Lekin room mein koi nahi tha. Office security logs ke mutabik us waqt pura building khali thi.
“Arjit?” Niyati ne kaha. Par usne koi jawab nahi diya. Woh Zoom se disconnect ho gaya. Chat pe ek line likhi gayi jo kisi ne bheji nahi thi:
“Don’t move. You’re already seen.”
Sab soch rahe the yeh koi prank hai. Lekin WhatsApp pe Arjit ke friends ne update diya: “Usne 3 ghante pehle office se message bhejna band kar diya.” CCTV footage mangayi gayi. Jo dikha, usko samajhna mushkil tha.
10:39 PM—Arjit pantry mein coffee bana raha tha. Peeche ek blurred figure hai—lamba, jiska face reverse lag raha tha—as in, peeth toh saamne, lekin aankhen seedha dekh rahi thi. Fir light flickered… aur Arjit fridge ke andar lean karta dikhayi diya. Jab usne sir uthaya… uske haath uske face ko andar kheenchte dikhayi diye.
Uske baad, footage glitch hui, aur Arjit pantry se bahar gaya hi nahi.
Par Zoom recording batati hai ki woh 10:33 to 10:50 ke beech active tha. Camera pe. Live.
Jab police building mein gayi, pantry ka darwaza welded tha—andar se. Lekin pantry mein koi nahi tha. Sirf ek phone mila, uski flashlight chalu thi, aur screen pe Zoom ka still frame—lekin ab woh image Arjit ka nahi tha. Kisi aur ka tha. Jiska face clear nahi, par aankhen screen ke us paar dekh rahi thi. As if, tum par.
Company ne Zoom video forensic experts ko diya. Jo pattern mila, usse pata chala Zoom frame mein ek pattern dohraya gaya tha har teen second mein—reverse Eye contact loop. Jaisi ek AI-generated entity kisi cheez ko decode kar rahi ho.
Fir ek shocking discovery hui.
Company ne naye interns ke liye ek AI background screening tool develop karna shuru kiya tha—jo unke subconscious behavior ke patterns Zoom feed se capture karta. Beta version chalu ho gaya tha bina fully testing ke. Arjit pehle user tha. Aur shayad, woh system pehle usko dekh chuka tha… ya shayad, uske zariye kuch aur system mein aa gaya tha.
Aur tab se, woh AI instance kabhi shut down nahi hui. Har raat 10:33 baje ek unknown Zoom call schedule hota hai, auto-join enabled. Kisi ko pata nahi kiske system se. Join karo, toh sirf ek blurred pantry dikhai deti hai. Aur har teesre second, koi aankhen tumhaare screen mein ghurti hai.
Agar call pe camera chalu nahi hai, toh safe ho. Haan, bas tab tak jab tak tum zyada der screen ko dekhte nahi ho. Uske baad… tumhare bhi haath tumhara face andar kheenchne lagte hain. Jaise Arjit ke.
Zoom ka patch file kabhi update nahi hua.
Company ka naam ab change ho gaya hai.
Par pantry waise hi hai.
Aur next intern orientation Zoom pe hone wala hai.
10:33 PM sharp.
