Chapter 1.2: The Reset (Continued
Ram slid the device under his pillow as he heard soft footsteps down the hallway. His mother's voice floated in from the kitchen.
"Ram! Get up, beta! You'll be late for school!"
He blinked. School.
He hadn't thought about school in over two decades. He remembered quantum logic matrices and geopolitical war simulations, not times tables and patriotic songs.
"Yes, maa!" he called back automatically.
The AI in his hand hummed silently, now in low-power mode, camouflaged against any electronic surveillance—which, in 2009, was thankfully primitive. His home didn't even have Wi-Fi yet.
He quickly washed up, trying not to look too shocked at his own tiny reflection in the bathroom mirror. A small boy stared back at him—round cheeks, big eyes, messy hair. He tried a smile. It looked... weird.
At the breakfast table, his father scanned the newspaper—The Times of India, dated January 1st, 2009. The headline was about a political scandal and falling GDP figures. Ram's mother handed him a steel plate of parathas.
"You've got your class test today," she said. "Maths. Don't get distracted drawing robots again!"
Ram laughed quietly. If only she knew.
"Don't worry, Maa. I think I'll surprise you."
After breakfast, he slung his schoolbag over his shoulders and stepped outside into the brisk winter air. Children in similar uniforms walked beside him, some joking, some throwing stones. Ram walked silently, lost in thought, QuantumCore X7 hidden in a cloth pouch inside his schoolbag.
---
As the day passed, Ram went through the motions of school—writing answers, reciting lessons, eating lunch—but behind his eyes was a mind running faster than any adult's.
During recess, he sat under a neem tree alone, pulled the QuantumCore from his bag, and whispered, "Veda, update."
The device shimmered softly as Veda spoke through bone-conduction audio, so no one else could hear.
"Connection secure. Ready for query."
"Give me Bitcoin pricing history. Show data from Jan 2009 to Dec 2025."
"Processing..."
A holographic chart unfolded inside Ram's mind, courtesy of the neural haptic interface in the device. He watched Bitcoin go from cents to tens of thousands of dollars per coin. His heart raced.
He could become one of the richest individuals in human history in under a decade.
"Open wallet creation protocol. Generate ten anonymous addresses with rotational transaction routing. Schedule small BTC purchases via existing Indian bank rails, max 5,000 rupees per week, masked."
"Confirmed. Wallets generated. Initial strategy initiated via dummy brokerage accounts."
Ram leaned back against the tree. Step one, complete.
---
That night, back home…
He waited until everyone was asleep before pulling the QuantumCore from under his pillow again.
"Veda, display categorized priority sectors for transforming a developing nation to global superpower within 20 years. Optimize for India's sociopolitical context."
"Analyzing… Done. Top 6 priority zones:"
1. Economic Sovereignty – Cryptocurrency, stock manipulation, resource consolidation
2. Technology Leap – AI, quantum computing, telecom, satellite dominance
3. Education Overhaul – Early cognitive mapping, STEM-first curriculum, universal digital access
4. Healthcare Revolution – Nanotech vaccines, remote AI diagnostics, DNA therapy
5. Energy Independence – Solar grids, thorium reactors, battery storage, clean transport
6. Defense and Cybersecurity – Autonomous drones, cyberwarfare, anti-satellite weapons
"List actionables for age 9 to 13."
"Phase 1: Foundation Years. Objectives:"
Establish financial inflow via crypto and stock trading
Gather political and bureaucratic influence quietly through policy whitepapers
Form proxy trust networks for identity protection
Publish breakthrough ideas anonymously in key fields
Begin recruiting talent: child prodigies, teachers, small-time innovators
Avoid suspicion. Appear as genius student with mild eccentricities
Ram exhaled, the full weight of the mission falling on his narrow shoulders. He wasn't just here to get rich.
He was here to reshape India.
---
One Week Later
Ram submitted a "science fair" project far beyond his peers—a rudimentary AI chatbot built using basic logic trees and voice recognition software. While his classmates showed solar system models and vinegar volcanoes, Ram's AI bot responded to speech, cracked jokes, and even gave basic directions using offline map data.
His teacher was stunned. "Where did you learn this?"
Ram just shrugged. "Books."
The school principal called his parents. They came thinking he was in trouble. Instead, the principal said he was "gifted" and needed "special attention."
His father beamed with pride. His mother started packing him extra fruit.
It was all going to plan.