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Riya kaafi late nikli thi office se, ek tech startup mein product manager thi, aur aaj ek major release ke baad finally ghar ja rahi thi. Usne Uber book ki, cab aa gayi. Driver ka naam tha Rakesh, thoda silent type lag raha tha, par kabhi-kabhi ek nazar rearview mirror mein maar leta tha. It was close to midnight. Gurgaon-Faridabad expressway pe cab stable speed se ja rahi thi.
Riya phone pe notifications clear kar rahi thi jab GPS ka ek random reroute pop-up aaya — ‘Faster route available: Save 3 minutes.’ Usne casually ‘Accept’ tap kiya. Driver ne kuch bola nahi, bas route pe mud gaya. Lekin agla turn ek alag si narrow road par gaya jo usually Uber routes mein nahi hoti.
Gaadi ek jungle ke kinaare se ja rahi thi. Streetlights rare thi, aur koi aur vehicle dikh nahi raha tha. Riya thoda cautious hui, phone ka flashlight on kiya aur maps check kiya — location sync nahi ho raha tha. Aur tabhi uska WhatsApp chalu ho gaya, bina kisi input ke. Video call incoming.
Caller ID: ‘RIYA — CURRENT’
Confused, usne screen dekha. Screen pe uska hi chehra dikh raha tha. Exactly wohi angle jisme abhi woh baithi thi. Lekin video mein kuch off tha — uski aankhon ke peeche ka room total black blur tha, jaise 3D depth missing ho.
“Rakesh bhaiya, can you stop the car ek second?” usne kaha, toh Rakesh ka chehra stiff ho gaya.
“Madam, hum is rasta pe pehli baar aaye hain. Mujhse GPS ne bola toh le liya. Lekin…” he trailed off.
Unhone car roadside pe roki. Riya ne call disconnect karna chaha, but screen frozen thi. Tab usne notice kiya ki saamne dashboard ke rear camera feed screen pe us video se match karta ek second lag raha tha. Usme woh cabin empty thi — aur woh khud usmein nahi dikh rahi thi.
Usne panic me gaadi ka door khola, par screen black ho gayi aur ek heavy buzzer sound sunaayi di — jaise koi failed biometric scan. Rakesh turn karne laga gaadi ko, but tabhi peechhe se ek white Maruti 800 extraordinarily fast pass hui — no lights, no sound.
Riya ussi waqt chilla ke boli, “Woh gaadi khaali thi!”
“Main bhi dekha madam, seat pe koi nahi tha,” Rakesh ka awaz thoda sunk gaya tha.
Tabhi Riya ke phone pe ek message flash hua:
‘You have crossed your data shadow. Attempting Retrieval.’
Uska WhatsApp freeze ho chuka tha. Camera on ho gaya without her consent. Phone screen pe ek reconstructed version of her face render ho raha tha — par woh face thoda purana tha, jaise koi pichle hafte ka version ho. Thoda thaka, thoda udaas.
“Ye kya ho raha hai?” Riya ne Rakesh se kaha.
Tabhi Rakesh, bina muh modhe, bola: “Kabhi socha hai madam, digital duniya mein hum jitni versions banate hain — har app pe photo, voice, movement data — woh sab kahaan jaata hai?”
Riya freeze kar gayi. “What do you mean?”
Rakesh ki aankhon mein ek ajeeb darkness thi: “Aapka woh data shadow ab physical route ke vibration ke range mein aa gaya hai. Agar hum is highway pe 6 aur minute rahein, toh jo version aapka wahan bacha tha — woh aapko yahan replace kar dega.”
Gaadi ka engine band ho gaya. Riya ne ignition strike ki, par kuch nahi hua, sirf horn ek second ko bja jo khud band ho gaya tha.
Riya ke phone ka mic on hua, bina kisi tap ke. Aur ek aur call aayi — “RIYA | accepted | format: updated.”
Screen pe ek aur Riya dikh rahi thi, lekin yeh saaf thi, zyada composed… aur kuch keh rahi thi bina lip movement ke: “Main wapas aa gayi.”
Darkness suddenly thick ho gayi. Near trees ka texture blur ho gaya, jaise koi rendering glitch ho.
Rakesh ne apne haath jodne lage, aur bola: “Main data-bearer tha sirf… mujhe maaf karo…”
Ek blinding white flash ke baad Riya hosh mein aayi — woh apni cab mein thi, Gurgaon office ke bahar. Subah ho chuki thi.
Sab kuch normal lag raha tha. Lekin jab usne phone khola, toh sab apps logout the. Gallery blank thi. Aur settings mein ‘Face Unlock’ ke niche ek hi naam tha — ‘RIYA*2’.
Mirror mein dekha, toh aankhon ke peeche ka depth missing tha — total black blur.
She had been… overwritten.
