Oct 21–Nov 10, 2015
"The Mountain Awakens"
The highlands of Arunachal Pradesh were wrapped in mist as October slipped into November. Clouds clung to the jagged peaks like slow-moving rivers, drifting between pine forests that whispered with the cold. Villages perched on steep slopes seemed half-asleep, smoke curling lazily from chimneys as morning prayers echoed faintly in the thin air.
It was here, at the edge of a forgotten trail, that the MC had chosen to test his greatest creation yet.
---
The Arrival
Just before dawn, a convoy of disguised trucks rolled silently into the valley. Painted with the colors of a government survey mission, they drew little attention from locals, who were used to officials arriving for short-lived projects.
Inside one of the vehicles, Arjun Rao — the humanoid shell — sat motionless, while the real MC, cloaked in invisibility tech, stood a few meters away, observing through layered HUD screens. The Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) rested in modular parts, concealed beneath tarps that looked like ordinary roadwork supplies.
Aarya's voice hummed in his earpiece:
> "Atmospheric density: stable. Soil composite: 63% granite, 21% quartz. Ideal for first activation."
The MC exhaled slowly. Months of simulation would finally meet reality.
---
The Awakening of the TBM
As the tarps were peeled back, the villagers who had wandered down out of curiosity stopped in their tracks. At first, they thought it was some sort of enormous tractor. But the size was wrong. Too sleek. Too alien.
The TBM's front cutter head shimmered faintly in the weak sunrise, its surface lined with crystalline alloy that pulsed with faint blue light. Unlike traditional machines that used sheer mechanical force, this one whispered with an energy that seemed alive.
The MC gave the order:
"Activate."
With a low hum, the machine stirred. Blue lines flared across its body like veins awakening. The cutter head began to rotate, but instead of grinding rock with sparks and dust, it projected a field of laser-thin plasma blades.
The villagers gasped as stone that had stood for millennia melted away like butter under a knife. No explosion. No noise beyond a resonant hum. Just… the mountain opening.
---
Side POV – A Villager's Wonder
Old Dorjee, a herder from the nearest settlement, rubbed his eyes in disbelief. He had walked this mountain path every day of his life, carrying salt and wool to trade in the valley below. To him, the rocks were immovable, eternal.
Yet here they were, crumbling, reshaped by something he could not name.
He whispered in Tibetan under his breath: "This is not the work of men. This is the work of gods."
Beside him, a younger man pulled out his Nokia phone and tried to take a grainy picture. The screen flickered and died — Aarya's built-in EMP shield blocking unauthorized recordings.
---
Engineering Precision
Inside the machine's control hub, Aarya's projections danced across translucent holograms. Every millimeter of rock density, every angle of slope, every possible fault line was calculated and stabilized in real time.
The MC moved like a conductor leading a silent orchestra. With each subtle adjustment, the TBM carved forward, leaving behind a tunnel wall as smooth as polished marble. Reinforcement nanobots sprayed thin layers of alloy that hardened instantly, creating a structure stronger than concrete.
This was not just engineering. This was art.
---
Side POV – A Miner's Doubt
A week later, at a tea stall in Guwahati, a miner who had been hired as a local assistant told his drinking buddies:
> "I've worked in tunnels for twenty years. You hear the rock scream when it breaks. You feel the dust choke your lungs. But this… this machine… it chews through the earth like a spaceship. No fire, no sound, no rubble. I don't know if it's human at all."
The others laughed nervously, but one of them, an old hand who remembered army stories, leaned forward.
> "If it's not human, then whose side is it on?"
---
The MC's Reflection
By the time the sun set on the tenth day, the TBM had carved a kilometer into the mountain without a single collapse or delay. The tunnel glowed faintly with embedded bioluminescent panels — his small flourish, so workers would not need artificial lamps.
Standing at the entrance, the MC let the cool wind rush through his hair. He felt both pride and danger. With this machine, he could reshape landscapes, bend geography, redraw borders if he wished.
But power always drew eyes. And already, whispers had started.
Aarya's voice cut through his thoughts:
> "Master, multiple encrypted communications have been intercepted from the district headquarters. Observers have reported unusual activity. Do you wish to erase traces?"
The MC shook his head.
"No. Let them wonder. Fear is a stronger barrier than silence."
---
Closing Image
On the morning of November 10, villagers gathered again. The mist parted to reveal a perfect archway carved into the mountain, glowing faintly as if the stone itself remembered the machine that had passed through it.
Dorjee pressed his palms together, bowing toward the tunnel. For him, it was no longer a road — it was a passage to another world.
And miles away, in a government office in Delhi, a classified report landed on a minister's desk with a stark conclusion:
"Bharat InfraWorks possesses technology beyond known standards. Source of origin: unknown. Risk level: escalating."