Global Tremors in Real Time

February 19, 2010 – 8:00 PMLocation: Global Broadcast Feeds and Private Boardrooms

The livestream was over, but the storm had only just begun.

The world had expected just another flashy product launch — the kind held by tech companies every few months. A bump in camera megapixels, some cosmetic redesigns, a slightly faster processor — the usual game.

But this was different.

This wasn't just a product launch. This was the rewriting of the rules.

8:05 PM – Titan Mobile Technologies Global Boardroom, Cupertino, California

The vast, oval-shaped conference table was filled with faces that had dominated global telecommunications for decades. CEOs of component suppliers, network partners, and R&D heads sat shoulder to shoulder — eyes glued to the giant screen at the head of the room.

The air was thick with disbelief.

"Replay that part," John Leland, Titan's CEO, growled, his knuckles pressing into the table. "The live speed test."

A junior executive hastily rewound the footage. They all watched, for the fifth time, as Vikram demonstrated a 2GB download in under three seconds — using a phone connected directly to Nova's 5G satellites, without a single terrestrial tower.

The silence was heavy enough to crush the room.

"That's not possible," the VP of Network Infrastructure muttered. "There's no ground-level cell tower coverage. There's no known LEO or GEO constellation capable of handling that kind of bandwidth density across such a wide area."

"It's possible," Leland said, voice tight, "because they just did it."

A senior advisor, a 30-year telecom veteran, took off his glasses and rubbed his face. "We own 32% of the global smartphone market. But if Nova controls the network itself, we're not just competing with their devices — they've made every other phone obsolete."

"What are our options?" someone asked.

Leland's eyes narrowed. "Options? There are no options. Either we find a way to force them into an open-access agreement, or we watch our entire ecosystem collapse under its own weight."

8:15 PM – Deutsche Telecom Emergency Call – Berlin, Germany

A hastily convened conference call brought together Europe's top telecom executives. They had long feared the arrival of Chinese competition, but no one had prepared for this.

"Satellite-only 5G?""No tower footprint?""Is this vaporware, or are we actually seeing the future?"

The Chairman of Deutsche Telecom cut through the noise. "It doesn't matter if it's vaporware or not — our subscribers just watched it happen in real-time. By tomorrow morning, every journalist in Europe will be asking why we charge $50 a month for 4G when some Indian company offers 10x faster speeds without any towers at all."

The voice from France Telecom chimed in, dripping with sarcasm. "If it's even available to us. From what I saw, Nova controls every piece of the chain — devices, satellites, even the core network hardware."

"We need a regulatory response," said the CEO of Vodafone UK. "There's no way we let them bypass every national telecom authority and spectrum auction. No way."

The Deutsche Chairman sighed. "We can't regulate what isn't on our soil. Their satellites are in space. Their servers? Who knows where. Their licenses?" His voice darkened. "They don't need any."

8:30 PM – Indian Opposition Party Strategy Room – New Delhi

A large screen displayed the same livestream that had just shocked the world, but in this room, the emotions were a little different. Anger. Confusion. Panic.

The Party President leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled in front of him. "I thought we had control over this telecom space. Every spectrum auction, every license, every ground network—"

"We do," his Telecom Liaison interrupted. "But they aren't using any of that. They've bypassed everything."

The Economic Strategist flipped open a thick file. "We assumed they would play the game — buy spectrum, install ground towers, lease fiber lines. But this…"

"This isn't playing the game," the President said darkly. "This is burning the whole goddamn game board."

The Deputy Leader glanced toward the screen. "We can still discredit them. Call it vaporware. Question the speeds. Frame it as unsafe — untested radiation from space."

The President exhaled slowly. "Do that. But understand — they have the product. We don't. We're running out of time."

8:45 PM – Pentagon Special Briefing – Washington D.C.

A digital map of Earth hung on the far wall, two bright dots orbiting silently over South Asia — Nova's two satellites.

"This isn't just a commercial breakthrough," said the Deputy Director of Space Intelligence. "This is strategic superiority."

A four-star general leaned forward, reviewing the latest feed.

"Can they shut it off?"

The Space Intelligence Officer hesitated. "Technically, yes — but not in a way we can control. Nova owns the encryption, the uplink, the downlink, the authentication system — even the onboard AI."

The general's lips pressed into a thin line. "Meaning?"

"Meaning if Nova ever decides to revoke access to anyone, including our government agencies, there's nothing we can do about it."

The room went silent.

9:00 PM – OmniLink Live Chat – 110 Million Users Active

The chat had devolved into open warfare between two factions — jubilant Indian users celebrating the tech triumph, and international users horrified at the power shift.

👤 TechKingUSA: This is a global takeover. You can't let one country control the whole internet.👤 RealDesiPride: Cope harder. We didn't colonize half the world. We just made your tech obsolete.👤 BerlinEngineer: If Nova holds all the keys, even your military comms could be cut off.👤 TokyoInvestor: This is bigger than phones. This is data sovereignty.👤 NYCAnalyst: You think they'll share this tech? Wake up. They'll milk the world dry first.

9:15 PM – Nova Electronics HQ – Secure War Room

Deep inside the Echelon Holdings Skyscraper, Aritra sat in a dimly lit conference room, Lumen projecting a live feed of global reactions, emergency corporate calls, and government intelligence assessments.

Ishita stood nearby, arms crossed. "They're panicking faster than we predicted."

Aritra's eyes tracked the red flags lighting up across Europe, North America, and Japan.

"They thought they were at war with each other," he said quietly. "They just realized the real war was already over."

Ishita's brow furrowed. "What's next?"

Aritra's gaze drifted toward the 5G device prototype on the table — the device that would force every global carrier, government, and tech giant to pay Nova for access.

"Let them scream," he said softly. "We've already won."