Jul 21–Aug 5, 2016
"Faces for the World"
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Opening Scene – Estate Underground Lab – July 21
The lab smelled faintly of ozone. Holographic screens hovered in the air. Two figures stood motionless inside transparent pods:
One tall, broad-shouldered man in a tailored grey suit. Synthetic skin stretched over titanium bones.
One graceful woman in a white blouse and dark skirt, her eyes alive with a glimmer that was not human.
The MC adjusted their neural cores, his fingers dancing over holographic controls.
> MC (to Aarya): "Arjun Rao has carried Bharat InfraWorks far. But Saraswati needs her own face. A voice alone won't survive long. They'll ask — who runs it?"
Aarya tilted her head.
> Aarya: "And so you give them Maya Iyer. Not too young, not too old. A face that looks intelligent, approachable, yet firm."
The pods hissed open. Arjun Rao blinked. Maya Iyer smiled faintly, her voice calm, melodic.
> Maya: "I assume I am to be introduced soon?"
> MC: "Yes. Both of you will stand before the world. Two masks, one empire."
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Side POV – CNBC Studio, Mumbai – July 24
The CNBC anchor adjusted her earpiece nervously. Today she would interview Arjun Rao, the mysterious CEO of Bharat InfraWorks. The world wanted to know how one company had built record-breaking tunnels in the Himalayas.
The cameras lit. Arjun Rao walked in, his handshake firm, his gaze steady but unnervingly precise.
> Anchor: "Mr. Rao, your company has stunned experts. Tunnels that take decades are finished in months. How do you explain it?"
Arjun Rao's lips curled into a practiced smile.
> Arjun: "Discipline. Efficiency. India has always had the minds, we simply gave them the tools."
The anchor pressed harder.
> Anchor: "Some say you're using foreign technology. Some even suggest corruption. How do you respond?"
Arjun Rao leaned forward slightly. His tone was firm, measured.
> Arjun: "Infrastructure is the spine of a nation. If people doubt our methods, let them travel through the roads and tunnels we have built. Let the results speak."
The interview ended with applause from the studio crew. The anchor whispered afterward:
> Anchor (to producer): "His hands were… cold. Like steel."
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Parallel Scene – BBC World, London – July 26
Maya Iyer appeared on screen for the first time, representing Saraswati Corp. She wore a navy-blue sari with subtle silver embroidery, a deliberate cultural statement.
The interviewer, a veteran journalist, leaned forward.
> Journalist: "Ms. Iyer, your app exploded across India without warning. Some call it the 'Indian ChatGPT.' But no company records exist. Who are you?"
Maya smiled softly.
> Maya: "We are builders of bridges — not of stone, but of understanding. India needed a voice that speaks in her languages, and so Saraswati was born."
> Journalist: "But where are your servers? Your headquarters?"
Her gaze was calm, unwavering.
> Maya: "India's strength is her people. Our headquarters are wherever a child opens the app and learns, wherever a farmer asks the weather and receives an answer. Saraswati does not live in one building. She lives in millions of hands."
The interviewer blinked, caught off guard by the poetic framing. The broadcast went viral within hours.
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Side POV – Ritika Sen's Notebook, July 27
The journalist Ritika scribbled furiously.
Arjun Rao — steel handshake, perfect answers. Maya Iyer — poetic, almost too perfect.
She tapped her pen.
Two faces, two companies, emerging in the same year. Both without pasts. Where did they come from?
She underlined one word three times:
Masks.
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Side POV – Washington D.C., July 28
A CIA tech analyst watched both interviews side by side on a laptop.
> Analyst: "Sir, one CEO for impossible tunnels. Another for an AI app with no servers. Both emerging within six months."
His superior frowned.
> Director: "And you think they're connected?"
The analyst hesitated, then nodded.
> Analyst: "I don't think they're people at all."
Silence hung in the room. The Director finally replied:
> Director: "Then the real question is — if they're not people, who is pulling their strings?"
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Estate Balcony – Aug 1, 2016
The MC stood watching the monsoon rains. Arjun Rao and Maya Iyer stood silently behind him, perfect silhouettes in the stormlight.
His parents were inside, laughing as Saraswati's voice taught his mother how to use the new "email" feature. For them, life was simple. For the world, questions multiplied.
> MC (whispering): "Two faces, one body. Two voices, one will. Let them chase ghosts. The truth remains mine alone."
Thunder cracked across the valley. Below, the estate glowed with warm lights, while above, the world argued about the strange new faces of India's rising power.
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