Sparks in the Dust
Chapter 25: Sparks in the Dust
The morning sun crept through the rusted shutters of Ajay's Lucknow office, casting long rectangles of light across the floor. Bharat entered quietly beside his father, eyes scanning the half-painted signboard outside that now bore fresh letters:
GameTech Creative Division
Imagination Engineered.
Inside, the room buzzed with low conversation. Anil, Ajay's closest colleague, leaned over a prototype casing while two new hires unpacked wires and resistors. A lingering scent of paint and dust mixed with the bitter-sweet aroma of chai boiling somewhere down the hall.
Ajay had invested heavily—remodeling half of his automation workshop to give Bharat's idea a real foundation. What once built punch-card machines and banking sorters now stood ready to explore imagination itself.
Bharat walked with purpose. This wasn't play. Not anymore.
> "They think I'm still just a boy," he thought, watching a man test a soldering iron's heat against his palm. "But the ideas I carry… they belong to another time."
Ajay placed a palm gently on his back. "Come, beta. It's time they heard what we build next."
They walked into the main lab. Light filtered through the jalousie windows. A blackboard stood by the corner, chalked half full with scribbles from the last meeting.
Anil looked up and smiled. "Good. I was wondering when our youngest visionary would show up."
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👥 The Circle Forms
Ajay gestured toward the chalkboard. "Everyone here knows we're not building for now—we're building for what's coming. But we need clarity. Roles. Departments. And more importantly, direction."
He turned to Bharat. "Not a pitch this time. Just a plan."
Bharat nodded. No grand speech. He opened his schoolbag and pulled out a small notebook wrapped in cotton cloth. He'd sketched it during his evening alone at the courtyard step.
> A layered model of development:
Narrative base (myths, puzzles, play routines)
Mechanics based on current tech
Art and Sound, simplified but character-rich
Modular Learning Tools—mini-games with educational objectives
Export track—games with minimal text, high universal appeal
As he spoke, the men and women around him scribbled notes.
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🔧 The Challenge of the Present
Anil raised a hand. "Bharat, this is ambitious. But we have constraints. No personal computers in most homes. No stable distribution channel. Just a handful of CRT monitors and black-and-white displays."
Bharat nodded. "That's why we won't wait for a better future—we'll shape it."
He walked to the board and drew a simple blocky triangle. "We start with arcade cabinets. Coin-operated. Durable. Low maintenance."
Ajay added, "We can distribute to railway stations, cinema halls, school courtyards—wherever foot traffic is high."
An engineer named Ravi spoke up. "And home consoles?"
"Later," Bharat replied. "Let's prove quality first."
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📈 The Business of Dreams
Ajay looked at Bharat with quiet respect. "What about revenue, beta? We know there's a global market—but how will you compete with Japanese and American giants?"
Bharat had already done the math in his mind.
> "In 1982, Namco's Pac-Man made nearly $1 billion globally. Atari sold 12 million units of just one console last year. This is a rising tide. And if we export Indian stories with engaging mechanics, we'll offer something unique, not repetitive."
Anil leaned in. "Do you see export potential even now?"
Bharat nodded. "Children in Europe or America haven't seen Chakravyuh, Tenali Raman, Ajanta caves, or Ashoka's riddles. If we make games that are visual, playable with minimum text, they'll cross borders."
Ajay smiled. "And we make two tracks—one for global markets, and one for local educational rollout."
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🧠 Roles Emerge
Bharat stepped back as Ajay began assigning teams:
Pranav and Tushar, software architecture and engine logic.
Leela, lead art designer with textile influence ideas.
Deepali, sound lead, already experimenting with hand-modified microphones.
Vivek, ex-trader turned marketing researcher, building price models for coin-based games.
Suman, logistics and vendor coordination.
And finally, Bharat—not the boss, but the origin point.
"Bharat is our Story Seed Planner," Ajay said. "He brings vision. The team brings it to life."
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🔍 After the Meeting: The Advisor Arrives
Late afternoon. A tall man entered the office, tan leather case in hand. His name was Mr. R. Sen, a veteran who had once worked with Japan's Sharp Corporation as a product consultant.
Ajay introduced him. "Sen ji has agreed to give us two weeks. To refine hardware specs."
Mr. Sen shook Bharat's hand with a half-curious smile. "So you're the young spark."
He looked over the table. "CRT displays, magnet-based joysticks… good. But these won't survive long travel."
Ajay nodded. "Then we build inside-out. Light chassis. Insulated boards."
Sen turned to Bharat. "What matters to you more—graphics or speed?"
Bharat hesitated. Then said, "Playability. A game must feel alive, even in pixels."
Mr. Sen looked impressed.
"Then you'll do just fine."
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🌆 Evening at the Office
The sun dipped behind the buildings. Bharat stayed behind, doodling quietly.
Ajay came and sat beside him, both sipping from paper cups of tea.
"You surprised them today," Ajay said.
Bharat looked up. "I didn't mean to."
"You didn't try to impress. You tried to make something real. That's what matters."
Ajay leaned back, looking at the ceiling fan spinning above. "You know, when I started this company, I just wanted to fix problems. Build solutions. But now, I want something more."
"What?" Bharat asked.
Ajay smiled. "To leave behind stories."
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🌌 Bharat's Final Thought
That night, as the sky turned indigo and stars crept out above Lucknow, Bharat scribbled into his notebook:
"Technology isn't only to build. It's to tell. To feel. To remember."
"Every machine in our lab—every hand that works—is a chapter of a new epic. And I'm not here to lead it. I'm here to begin it."