The "Acoustics Valley" was a place where sound traveled in impossible ways, reflecting off the jagged limestone cliffs and multiplying through the thick, damp fog. It was a perfect site for research, and an even better site for a disaster.

The University’s Graduate Research Trip was in full swing. Laksh, as usual, was the silent leader at the back of the hiking pack. While the other PhD students were discussing echo-location algorithms, Laksh’s focus was singular. He was tracking the coordinates of a royal-blue trench coat fifty meters ahead of him.