The Entertainment Empire Begins

Date: July 15, 2009

Time: 11:00 AM

Location: Aritra's Private Residence, Jadavpur, Kolkata

The mid-morning sun reflected brilliantly off the sleek red Audi R8 as it pulled into the driveway of Aritra's modern three-story home near Dakhuria Lake. The quiet residential lane was lined with large trees, the branches swaying gently in the humid July air. The neighborhood was peaceful, but Ishita's sharp eyes caught something immediately—the precision in the property's design.

The motion-sensitive exterior lights adjusted brightness as she walked toward the entrance. The discreetly placed security cameras followed her movements, but without the eerie, obvious presence of traditional surveillance. Everything about the house was seamless, efficient, and calculated.

She barely had time to take in more details before the main door slid open silently, revealing a tall humanoid AI butler standing in the entryway.

LUMEN.

The silver-blue eyes of the AI scanned her for a brief second before it bowed slightly, its movements eerily smooth, like a perfectly choreographed human.

"Welcome, Ms. Ishita," LUMEN greeted in a measured tone, stepping aside to allow her entry.

Ishita blinked. For all her years in business, she had never seen an AI assistant this advanced.

Her expression remained neutral, though a flicker of curiosity passed through her sharp brown eyes as she stepped inside.

The house was as meticulously designed as its exterior suggested—modern, minimalist, yet imbued with a quiet luxury that spoke of efficiency over excess. Polished dark wood flooring, a sleek, L-shaped sectional sofa, a black marble coffee table, and a smart OLED screen mounted on the wall.

Her eyes instinctively scanned for flaws—anything out of place, anything human—but there was none. Everything was in perfect order.

"Tea or coffee?" LUMEN inquired, standing near the kitchen.

"Tea," Ishita answered automatically, still taking in the house. She walked toward the study room, where she could see Aritra seated in a leather recliner, facing the lake through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

He was calm, sipping his own tea, fingers idly scrolling through his laptop screen, a small smirk on his face as if waiting for her to react.

"You look impressed," Aritra remarked, setting his cup down.

Ishita shot him a deadpan look, crossing her arms. "Impressed isn't the word I'd use. Confused, maybe. Since when do you have AI butlers? And why does your house feel like it belongs in a sci-fi movie?"

Aritra chuckled. "I like efficiency."

"Yeah?" Ishita said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, if you tell me you also have an underground bunker, I might start worrying about your plans for world domination."

Aritra smirked. "You're not far off."

Ishita sighed, shaking her head as she sat opposite him. "Alright, you called me here. What's the emergency?"

Aritra leaned back, fingers interlocked, his smirk widening slightly.

"I'm starting an entertainment company."

Silence.

Ishita stared at him for a solid ten seconds, her lips slightly parted, her mind working at full speed to process his words.

Her brows furrowed, then relaxed, then furrowed again.

"You… want to start an entertainment company?" she repeated, voice slow, as if waiting for him to correct himself.

"Yes."

She sat back, crossed her legs, and exhaled deeply, adjusting her glasses. "Let me get this straight. You, the man who avoids PR, social media, and anything remotely close to public exposure… want to make movies?"

"Not just movies," Aritra corrected, his eyes glinting. "We're talking about animation, games, live content, the entire entertainment ecosystem."

Ishita folded her arms, tilting her head slightly. "So… what? You want to compete with Bollywood now?"

Aritra shook his head. "No. I want to replace it."

She let out a short laugh, but there was no amusement in it. "That's bold, even for you. And how exactly are you planning to do that?"

Aritra tapped on his laptop, turning it toward her. On the screen, a media player loaded up a video file.

"I already started," he said.

The screen flickered to life, and a high-quality animated scene played.

Animation Clip: Chrono Dominion – Episode 1

The camera panned across a futuristic Kolkata, where towering glass skyscrapers stood side by side with centuries-old temples. A digital time clock shimmered above the city, reading Year 2095.

The protagonist—a brilliant but reckless software engineer named Arin Sen—stood on the rooftop of a research facility, a holographic display of ancient Vedic scriptures hovering in front of him. The city's neon lights reflected in his glasses, his eyes filled with determination and curiosity.

"Time isn't a straight line," Arin muttered, scanning the symbols. "It's a cycle. And we've been looking at it all wrong."

A sudden surge of energy erupted, the screen flashing as Arin activated an experimental device, unleashing a pulse wave that distorted reality itself.

The visuals were crisp, cinematic, breathtakingly smooth—it didn't look like a traditional anime. It was hyper-realistic, every frame designed with meticulous detail.

Ishita leaned forward, eyes locked onto the screen.

As the sequence ended, she blinked rapidly, her brain catching up to what she had just seen.

She turned to Aritra, her expression unreadable, except for a faint trace of disbelief.

"This… this is insane," she muttered, running a hand through her hair. "This is completely AI-generated?"

Aritra shook his head, smirking. "No. This was done by my secret team of animators, developers, and writers. No AI production—just raw human talent."

Ishita's breath hitched slightly. "You built an entire studio in secret?"

Aritra took another sip of tea, completely unfazed. "Had to. If we rely on traditional production houses, we'd be stuck playing by their rules."

She leaned back, exhaling slowly. "You're planning to launch this on OmniLink?"

"For free," Aritra confirmed.

She let out a low whistle, shaking her head. "Damn. This is ruthless… and brilliant."

"You see it now, don't you?" Aritra said, his smirk widening. "If OmniLink becomes the go-to platform for both social media and entertainment, we own the audience. Once they're here, we monetize the ecosystem—premium memberships, in-app purchases, brand partnerships, live events, game expansions… everything."

Ishita was silent for a long moment. Then, she let out a short laugh of disbelief, running a hand through her neatly tied hair.

"You're insane," she muttered.

Aritra smirked. "That's why you work for me."

She rolled her eyes. "Fair enough. Alright, I'll start structuring the entertainment division under a new corporate entity. But if this fails, you'll be the first person I say 'I told you so' to."

Aritra chuckled. "Deal."

As she stood up, she glanced around the high-tech house, then at LUMEN, who remained eerily still.

"You really live like a Bond villain now, huh?"

Aritra laughed. "And yet, you still came."

Ishita sighed. "Yeah… and I have a feeling this is just the beginning."

She wasn't wrong.