India, February 20, 1990 — Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi
Aryan stepped into the high-security conference hall where India's top scientists had assembled.
The hall was filled with PhDs, bearded professors, thin-framed computer engineers, and a few confused bureaucrats trying to understand why the Prime Minister himself had summoned them without warning.
He stood at the podium—not as a politician, but as one of them.
"I didn't call you here for a seminar. I called you for a war council."
Silence.
"We are a nuclear power. But we can't build a supercomputer without begging for Cray hardware from the West. Why?"
A senior scientist cautiously replied, "Sir, we lack the funding, the precision fabrication, the operating systems—"
Aryan cut in, "You lack the support. That changes today."
The American Snub
He showed them a letter.
"This is from the U.S. State Department. It says we are denied access to Cray X-MP because India might use it for missile design."
The scientists exchanged uncomfortable glances.
Aryan smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"We ask for a supercomputer to forecast monsoons, and they treat us like a rogue state."
He slammed a folder on the table.
Inside: a rough blueprint.
Project title: PARAM — Parallel Machine for Advanced Research Applications.
"You will design it. You will build it. In one year."
Recruiting the Genius
That night, Aryan personally visited the modest bungalow of Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, a Marathi-speaking computer scientist known for his eccentric but visionary mind.
Bhatkar opened the door in a kurta, visibly confused.
Aryan, without ceremony, handed him a manila file.
"This is not a job offer. It's a challenge. You have 365 days. No budget limit. No bureaucratic chain. Build India's first supercomputer."
Bhatkar laughed nervously. "PM-saab, I'll need an army."
Aryan's response was instant: "Done. You'll get 20 handpicked scientists and access to any IIT lab you want."
"And the government clearance?"
"You're talking to the clearance."
Meanwhile — DRDO HQ, Hyderabad
Aryan's system blinked another mission.
[Mini-Task: Begin UAV Project to Track Foreign Interference]
He called DRDO's Director, Colonel Vishwas Pillai, and gave a direct order:
"Forget imported UAVs. I want an indigenous unmanned aerial vehicle prototype in two years. Build it cheap. Build it light. Build it invisible."
Colonel Pillai paused, then said, "Sir...that's ambitious."
Aryan smiled. "Ambition is the new budget."
A Private Moment — Later that Night
Back in the PMO, Aryan sat with tea gone cold.
He scribbled in a notebook under a heading that read:
"Long-Term Tech Targets — Vision 1995"
PARAM Supercomputer: Complete
Rural Internet: Prototype
UAVs: In Development
Smart Identification Card: Concept
National Encryption Standard: Research Pending
Just then, the System pinged:
[New Task Reward Unlocked][Reward: PARAM v0.5 Technical Architecture — Parallel Node, Heat Optimization, Local Bus Protocols]
He read it, then smiled faintly.
"They blocked us from Cray? Fine. We'll build something they can't even imagine."
March 1990 — The Announcement
At a national science conclave, Aryan stood on stage beside Dr. Bhatkar and declared:
"India will no longer wait in line for secondhand science. We have brains. We have vision.
Today, I announce PARAM, India's own supercomputer mission.
We will use it for climate, agriculture, and artificial intelligence.
Not just to copy the West. But to surpass it."
The hall erupted in applause.
In a Remote Room at the CIA Headquarters — Langley, Virginia
Two analysts watched the broadcast.
One said, "That's... new."
The other tapped his pencil nervously. "We should keep an eye on this guy."