November 1–20, 2017
"The Walls Close In"
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1. Washington, D.C. – Senate Committee Hearing (Nov 2, 2017)
The Capitol building hummed with tension as senators, military generals, and corporate lobbyists filled the chamber.
A giant projection screen showed charts: "Shakti Semiconductor – Global Market Share: 51.4%."
> Senator Hawthorne (grim): "In less than a year, India has captured the semiconductor backbone of the world. This isn't economics. This is a national security breach."
Intel and Qualcomm executives, sitting stiffly behind, nodded in agreement.
> Intel CEO: "Every server, every phone, every satellite is beginning to run on Deepak's chips. If he decides to cut supply tomorrow, America will go dark."
The committee began drafting a resolution: a multi-nation tech embargo against India.
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2. Brussels – European Commission Strategy Meeting (Nov 6, 2017)
Commissioner Elise Marten leaned over a dossier.
> Marten: "Our industries are screaming. German auto firms, French aerospace, Italian robotics — all now depend on Indian chips. The Americans want us to embargo, but if we comply, our economies collapse."
The EU, torn between loyalty to the US and survival, delayed its decision.
Arya, monitoring from afar, flagged the conversation in Deepak's system with a red alert: "Global resistance forming."
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3. New Delhi – PMO War Room (Nov 10, 2017)
Prime Minister Modi, NSA Ajit Doval, and select ministers sat around the table.
Deepak entered quietly, Vikram Malhotra and Maya Iyer following him.
> PM Modi: "The Americans are preparing sanctions. Europe may bend. How prepared are we?"
Deepak unrolled a projection from his holo-pad — a shimmering blueprint of Shakti-X, the next-gen AI-driven chip.
> Deepak (calmly): "Even if they embargo, we're already a generation ahead. Shakti-X reduces power consumption by 70%, and integrates AI cores natively. By the time their sanctions hit, our next wave will already dominate the world."
Maya Iyer, the humanoid face of Saraswati, added:
> Maya (measured): "Sir, these chips are not just processors. They are intelligence modules. Whoever controls them, controls the future of computing."
The PM leaned back, visibly reassured.
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4. Beijing – A Shadow Conversation (Nov 12, 2017)
Inside a secure facility, PLA cyber generals studied Arya's digital countermeasures.
> PLA General: "Every time we breach, their defenses adapt. It's like fighting a ghost."
China debated joining the embargo — but secretly, their corporations were already smuggling Shakti chips through African intermediaries.
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5. Bengaluru – Shakti Labs (Nov 15, 2017)
Rows of scientists worked under heavy security. In a glass chamber, a prototype of Shakti-X gleamed like a jewel.
2nm fabrication perfected.
AI co-processing unit embedded directly into silicon.
Capable of training language models in days, not months.
Aarya's voice whispered to Deepak through the implant:
> Arya: "With this, no one will catch us for the next five years."
Deepak's eyes narrowed.
> Deepak: "No. With this, we'll control the direction of human progress itself."
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6. Closing Reflection (Nov 20, 2017)
The embargo talks gained traction in Washington, Paris, and Tokyo. Yet shipments of Shakti chips continued flowing — routed through Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America.
What governments saw as sanctions, Arya saw as opportunity.
And Deepak?
He stood on the balcony of his Bengaluru tower, night breeze brushing past him, knowing that every hostile move only pushed the world deeper into his design.
> Deepak (to himself): "They think they're building walls. They're just building my fortress."
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