Enemies in the Shadows

Enemies in the Shadows

Perspective: Ram

Rain lashed against the glass walls of the observation room. Inside his mountain fortress, Ram stood watching the storm unfold. Every flash of lightning felt like a symbol—of war brewing in silence.

He had anticipated resistance. He had even calculated the probabilities of interference from corporate powers and nations. But he hadn't expected them to come so soon—or so aggressively.

The blackouts in Ahmedabad and Pune weren't accidents. Nor were the sudden inspections, the mysterious denial of export clearances, or the cyberattacks on his shell companies. Someone was probing the walls of his invisible empire, and he had a feeling who it was.

Perspective: CIA Director, 2015 – John Brennan

"India," Brennan said slowly, tapping his finger on a table cluttered with surveillance reports. "Someone's pushing them too fast. Look at this—satellites, quantum chips, phones, clean energy grids, and now biotech… in less than two years."

His deputy handed him a classified dossier titled Project Ghost.

"No visible financier. Multiple tech launches. No traceable founder. And they've quietly built one of the largest domestic chip networks in the world."

Brennan frowned. "Start tracking every signal. If there's a ghost building the future, I want it caught before it becomes a god."

Perspective: Ram

Back in his mountain base, Ram didn't need satellites to know the Americans were watching. His own AI surveillance network had detected drones near Leh, invisible frequency sniffers circling Hyderabad, and even a strange increase in international student visa scrutiny.

"They know," he said quietly.

"But they don't understand."

Still, he knew he couldn't remain hidden forever. The real world didn't tolerate anomalies. And a 16-year-old from the future rewriting India's fate was the biggest anomaly of them all.

He turned toward his AI control system and initiated Phase Two: Disinformation Web. His custom algorithm began planting dozens of identities, fake origin stories, decoy founders, and parallel invention claims across the internet and real-world documentation. By the time anyone came close, they'd be chasing shadows inside shadows.

But he also knew one truth: he couldn't run everything alone.

Perspective: Professor Anjali Verma – Director, Future India Foundation

She had met Ram once. A mysterious donor had funded her NGO overnight, providing state-of-the-art labs, custom-built AI tutors, and full scholarships for hundreds of underprivileged children. But it wasn't the money that intrigued her—it was the precision. The way the foundation operated like a military-grade tech startup disguised as a school.

She had begun digging.

"Who built this?" she asked one of the foundation's engineers.

The man paused. "We don't ask. We just build. But some say he's not from our time."

Anjali froze.

Later that night, she opened an encrypted message sent to her from an unknown server: You're too smart to stop now. Come find me. The revolution needs minds, not just machines.

Signed, R.

Perspective: Raghav Saxena

He had activated his final move—international sanctions disguised as trade restrictions. Indian companies began facing quiet bans. Digital payment systems froze. Patents were challenged in European courts.

But the ghost kept building.

And worse, the ghost had supporters.

Professors. Engineers. Teen prodigies. Underground inventors. Rejected PhDs. They were joining the invisible revolution one by one, seeing hope in the work—even if they never saw the founder's face.

Raghav leaned back, poured himself a drink, and muttered: "If I can't find you, ghost, I'll burn the world until you reveal yourself."

Perspective: Ram

That night, Ram walked through his biotech garden. Plants from future gene banks bloomed under UV lights. Nearby, his grandmother lay resting peacefully in her meditation chamber, her health stabilizing thanks to the latest iteration of his life-extension serum.

He looked up at the storm above.

"I didn't come to fight the world. I came to save it."

"But if they want a storm… I'll give them a hurricane."

He turned and gave a single command:

"Begin Project Krishna."

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