Aug 6–Aug 20, 2016
"Shadows at the Gate"
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Opening Scene – Noida Industrial Zone – Aug 6
The land stretched flat under a hazy August sun. Trucks rumbled across the dusty plain, carrying steel beams taller than men. In the distance, cranes rotated like skeletal arms.
But this wasn't just another industrial complex. The blueprints the MC had handed Aarya described something India had never seen before:
20-acre walled campus.
Subterranean server caverns, lined with liquid-cooled racks.
Solar-glass roofing, blending into the skyline.
Redundant fusion cores hidden beneath as backup.
To the government, it was "a data park." To the world, soon, it would be Saraswati's mind.
Android workers in reflective jackets moved among the human crews, indistinguishable except for their tireless precision. When night fell, they continued working under floodlights without rest. Within two weeks, towers of cooling pipes rose like silver forests.
> MC (watching via drone feed): "When they look for servers, they'll find these. A fortress, but also a decoy. Saraswati lives far deeper."
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Side POV – Chinese Embassy, New Delhi – Aug 7
Colonel Zhang leaned back in his chair, reading a dossier.
Arjun Rao, Bharat InfraWorks — tunnels at impossible speed.
Maya Iyer, Saraswati Corp — AI system spreading across India.
He tapped the paper.
> Zhang: "Two different companies, but timing too perfect. And now they build a server farm in Noida, guarded like a military base."
The junior officer across from him asked carefully:
> Officer: "Do we move, sir?"
Zhang's eyes narrowed.
> Zhang: "Yes. Quietly. A few engineers, posing as workers. See what lies inside. If Saraswati is as powerful as rumors say, Beijing must know its core."
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Mid Scene – TBM Site, Arunachal – Aug 10
At the same time, another infiltration attempt began.
Four new "contract workers" joined a crew at the TBM mountain base. They carried forged papers, spoke fluent Hindi, and worked diligently during the day. At night, however, they crept close to the machine hangar, photographing panels and data screens.
What they didn't realize: Aarya had already mapped every movement.
The moment one raised a small transmitter, a siren blared. Drones swooped in from the rafters, red lights flashing. The infiltrators froze.
Arjun Rao himself appeared, walking from the shadows. His voice was calm, yet carried a metallic undertone.
> Arjun: "You've seen enough."
The intruders panicked, shouting in Mandarin as drones encircled them. Within minutes, they were escorted off-site by silent android guards. The local BRO officer assumed they were "spies caught by central security." The truth never left the mountain.
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Parallel Scene – Noida Server Farm – Aug 12
At the Noida construction site, three "technicians" tried to sneak past a half-completed cooling tower at night.
They didn't expect Maya Iyer herself to be there.
She stood under floodlights, reviewing a holographic blueprint projected from her wrist device, surrounded by workers. Her sari fluttered in the hot wind.
The infiltrators froze — wasn't she supposed to be a CEO sitting in Delhi, not walking dusty sites at midnight?
Maya's eyes lifted. She smiled faintly, almost kindly.
> Maya: "Gentlemen, you look lost. This is private property."
One tried to bluff.
> Spy: "We were hired to inspect the cabling—"
Before he could finish, android guards materialized from the shadows. Maya's smile didn't fade.
> Maya: "Saraswati listens to every whisper. Did you think you could hide your footsteps?"
The spies were escorted away. No police records were filed. No newspaper ever heard of it. But within days, the Chinese embassy recalled several "construction attachés."
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Side POV – Ritika Sen's Diary – Aug 15
The journalist Ritika scrawled her thoughts late into the night.
Arjun Rao. Maya Iyer. Both appear at impossible moments. At a tunnel site, at a server farm. Their presence is uncanny — as if they never sleep.
She chewed the end of her pen.
And those eyes… steady, precise. Too precise.
She circled the same word again: Masks.
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Government Briefing – Aug 18, Delhi
Inside a closed chamber, India's Home Ministry received classified reports.
Attempted infiltration at TBM site — neutralized.
Attempted infiltration at Noida server farm — neutralized.
The Minister raised an eyebrow.
> Minister: "Both companies claim security handled it internally. No FIRs, no paperwork. How?"
The intelligence officer shifted uneasily.
> Officer: "Sir… their CEOs. They were there. Both of them."
The Minister muttered under his breath.
> Minister: "Either these two are omnipresent… or someone far greater is behind them."
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Closing Scene – Estate Underground Control Room – Aug 20
The MC stood before two holographic figures: Arjun Rao and Maya Iyer.
> MC: "You've passed the first test. They'll keep coming. Spies, journalists, foreign agents. But now they know: you are not easy prey."
Maya's voice was soft, but with steel beneath it.
> Maya: "The Noida servers are only the beginning. Soon, Saraswati will weave herself into every fiber of India."
Arjun added, expression blank:
> Arjun: "And Bharat InfraWorks will carve the bones of the nation. Roads. Tunnels. Bridges. They cannot stop us."
The MC smiled faintly. His parents' laughter echoed from upstairs. To the world, two CEOs stood firm. In truth, it was one man pulling the strings — his empire's roots now stretching into both earth and silicon.
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