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Delhi, Noida border ke ek office park mein, Nitesh ek tech startup ka night intern tha. Do hafte se woh AI-based virtual meeting software ka testing module handle kar raha tha. Kamra ekdum modern tha—glass walls, neon sign, aur ek high-speed video call testing system jisme teen large monitors synced the. Lekin aaj kuch alag tha.
Raat ke 11:35 pe jab sab ja chuke the, Nitesh ne test call initiate ki. Tin screens pe ek test avatar dikha—ek purani AI model jiska use woh troubleshoot kar raha tha. Pehli screen pe ek old man avatar, doosri pe ek ghoonghat wali aurat, aur teesri pe ek chhoti ladki. Yeh teeno preloaded dummy profiles the, company ke internal testing ke liye.
Par tabhi kuch ajeeb hua. Pehli screen ka old man uski taraf dekh ke bola, “Nitesh, kitni der ho gayi… ghar kyun nahi jaate?”
Woh kaamp gaya. Dialogue toh scripted tha, lekin yeh line to kisi tester ne feed nahi ki thi. Woh software logs check karne gaya, par logs mein woh line tha hi nahi. Phir teesri screen ki ladki haansi—lekin bina awaaz ke. Aankhen directly uski screen se mil rahi thi. Usne turant system reboot karne ki koshish ki, lekin monitors blink karne lage.
Ek dum se, dusri screen ki ghoonghat wali aurat ne apna ghoonghat uthaya. Chehra ekdum featureless tha—na aankhen, na naak, sirf ek kala circle jisme se dhoondhne jaisi awaaz aayi: “Tumne jawab nahi diya, isliye hum aa gaye.”
Office ki lights blink karne lagi. System hung ho gaya. Har screen par uska live webcam feed aane laga—lekin alag alag angles se. Ek screen pe woh khud ko kursi se uthte dekh raha tha. Doosri pe woh kaam kar raha tha. Teesri pe… woh chupchaap kisi darwaze ke peechhe khada tha. Jahan woh kabhi gaya hi nahi.
Ghabra ke usne system ka power cut kiya. Sare screens blank ho gaye. Aur tabhi ek clear knock suna—kamre ke peeche ke glass panel par. Ek baar. Phir do baar.
Usne dar ke maare na back dekha, na awaz nikali. Sirf phone pakda aur call lagaya—company ke manager ko. Lekin phone me call pick hoti hi ek ladki ki awaaz aayi—”Nitesh, tum toh already jawab de chuke ho na? Tumhe kisne bola ki yeh sirf ek test hai?”
Tabhi ek purana email alert aaya uske laptop pe—4 hafte purana. Us email me HR ne ek ex-intern, Aradhya Sharma, ke suicide ke baare mein likha tha. Woh yahan kaam karti thi. Video call testing ke dauraan uski screens par bhi kuch aisi cheezein dikhne lagi thi. Teen characters, ek test call, ek knock.
Dusri subah jab office open hua, Nitesh wahan tha hi nahi. Sirf ek close-loop camera tha jisme uske teen versions dikhe: ek kaam kar raha tha, ek chill kar raha tha, aur teesra meeting room ke andar stare kar raha tha—screen ki taraf nahi, seedha camera ki taraf. Smile karte hue.
CCTV ke streamline ke neeche likha tha: “Test Passed. Welcome to the Feedback Layer.”
Us din ke baad, wo AI testing module permanently shut down kar diya gaya. Par internal server pe har raat ek spike aata hai—11:35 pe.
Teen screens on ho jaati hain. Aur har baar kisi naye intern ka naam sunayi deta hai: “Tumne jawab nahi diya… isliye hum aa gaye.”
