January 1–15, 2018
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1. The Stage is Set
New Year's morning dawned cold and sharp at the estate. Reporters jostled at the gates, security drones hovered above, and inside the great auditorium, a giant banner unfurled with a new name:
PRITHVI ENERGY CORPORATION
"For a World Without Smoke."
The audience expected Deepak to take the stage. But when the lights dimmed and the spotlight shone on the podium, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair, dignified glasses, and the calm authority of a seasoned statesman walked forward.
He was dressed in a navy Nehru jacket, his posture commanding, his presence oddly magnetic.
Deepak introduced him with a single sentence:
> "Ladies and gentlemen, meet the future of clean energy and the man who will lead it — Mr. K•Shiva Shankar, CEO of Prithvi Energy Corporation."
The hall buzzed with shock. No one had heard of this man before. Yet he looked every bit the part of a forty-five-year-old veteran — refined, confident, and unmistakably human.
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2. The Creation of Shiva Shankar
Only Deepak and Arya knew the truth.
K•Shiva Shankar was not born — he was engineered.
His body: titanium-reinforced skeletal structure covered with synthetic dermis designed by Arya's labs. His face: modeled after statistical averages of "trustworthy Indian leadership profiles" — a mixture of teacher, scientist, and statesman.
His mind: a hybrid neural framework combining Arya's quantum cores with a carefully limited autonomy. Enough to lead meetings, make strategic decisions, and inspire confidence — but hardwired with unbreakable loyalty to Deepak.
Arya described him best:
> "Maya Iyer was designed for charisma and tech leadership.
Shiva Shankar has been built for gravitas — to command boardrooms, parliaments, and oil ministries."
For the public, a complete backstory had been generated:
Name: Krishna Shiva Shankar (K•Shiva Shankar)
Age: 45
Education: IIT Madras (Mechanical Engineering), MBA from IIM Bangalore
Career: 20 years in renewable energy projects across India and Africa
Reputation: A quiet reformer who avoided the limelight, now stepping up for a greater cause
His identity papers, past photographs, and even "old colleagues" (digital constructs seeded by Arya) already existed in government databases.
To the world, K•Shiva Shankar was as real as the Prime Minister.
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3. The Announcement
Shiva Shankar's voice was deep, steady, and unmistakably human.
> "Friends, for too long the world has lived under the shadow of smoke — coal in our lungs, oil in our wars.
Today, Prithvi Energy steps forward with a promise: clean, infinite power for every household, village, and city — without burning a single drop of oil.
Our Arc Reactor technology has already powered the Shakti Semiconductors campus for one week, without interruption, without pollution, without waste.
This is not a dream. This is today."
Thunderous applause shook the hall. Reporters typed furiously, headlines already forming:
"India's Energy Revolution: Who is K•Shiva Shankar?"
"Prithvi Energy: The Death of Oil?"
"Arc Reactors Are Real — Silicon Valley Stunned Again."
Deepak stood in the shadows, watching. This was the role of his humanoid creations — to take the spotlight while he remained the invisible hand shaping the world.
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4. Behind the Curtain
Later, in a secured conference room, Deepak and Arya watched Shiva Shankar interacting with journalists, investors, and government envoys.
> Arya: "Performance optimal. He has been accepted as a human by 100% of observers. Trust factor is rising."
Deepak: "Good. Maya leads Saraswati. Shiva leads Prithvi. Vikram runs Shakti. To the world, I am only one man. But in truth — we are an empire."
He paused, glancing at the Arc Reactor's blueprints on the table.
> Deepak (quietly): "And empires draw enemies."
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5. Oil Market Shock — Dubai POV
In Dubai, oil trader Fahd al-Mansoor nearly dropped his coffee when the Prithvi announcement livestream hit his phone.
He replayed the clip of Shiva Shankar speaking, again and again. This man radiated credibility, the kind of calm that could convince markets overnight.
Brent crude futures slipped another 2%. Traders panicked, muttering about "the Indian reactor."
Fahd whispered:
> "This Shiva Shankar… if he is real, if his company delivers — oil is finished."
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6. Foreshadowing
In Riyadh, Washington, and Moscow, alarms rang in energy ministries. Some dismissed Shiva as a publicity stunt. Others feared he was exactly what he seemed: a man who could lead the end of oil.
Only Deepak knew the truth — Shiva was not a man at all.
But sometimes, the world needed to believe in a man more than a machine.
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