The summer heat in Washington, D.C., pressed down on the city like a heavy hand. The marble corridors of Capitol Hill buzzed with whispered urgency. A new bill had been drafted at record speed, circulated through committees with almost no debate. Its name was innocuous enough:
The Global Intellectual Property Protection Act (GIPPA), 2018.
But its purpose was anything but ordinary.
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The Congressional Stage
On July 17th, the House chamber was unusually packed. Lobbyists crowded the gallery, their tailored suits hiding restless anticipation. The oil industry, the pharmaceutical giants, Silicon Valley tech conglomerates—all had their fingerprints on the legislation.
The bill's language was deceptively simple:
Any technology deemed a "global security concern" could not be exported without US approval.
Any company using AI, quantum computing, or biotechnology that threatened "global market stability" would be subject to sanctions.
And, tucked quietly in Section 7, a clause so specific it may as well have been written with one man in mind:
> "Any entity originating in or affiliated with the Republic of India that withholds technologies critical to global energy or medical supply chains shall be subject to trade restrictions, asset freezes, and seizure of intellectual property."
The chamber erupted in polite applause as the bill was introduced, but the undertone was clear. This was war by paperwork.
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Voices of Opposition
Not everyone agreed. A handful of representatives from developing nations, long sympathetic to India's rise, spoke with unease.
"Are we really going to sanction the very man who's curing cancer?" one congresswoman from Hawaii demanded on the floor.
A Texan senator sneered. "He's not curing cancer. He's cornering the market. Today it's medicine. Tomorrow it's energy. Next year? Who knows—space weapons? You want one man controlling the world's arteries?"
The chamber murmured in approval.
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Lobbyists Behind Closed Doors
Hours later, in the shadows of a D.C. steakhouse, the real discussions unfolded.
An oil executive leaned back, sipping bourbon. "His reactors are bleeding us already. Barrel prices won't survive another year if this keeps up."
A pharma CEO, face pale from recent stock losses, stabbed his fork into his steak. "You think oil has it bad? My company lost forty billion in three days after his Sanjeevani launch. Forty. Billion."
A tech lobbyist joined in. "And wait till you see what Saraswati Search is doing. He's building an Indian Google without our ad frameworks. The guy isn't playing capitalism. He's rewriting it."
The oil executive raised his glass. "Then let's make him a criminal. Today, on paper. Tomorrow, in practice."
They clinked glasses.
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In Delhi – The News Reaches Shakti
The news broke in India with muted tones. Business newspapers ran cautious headlines:
"US Bill Targets Intellectual Property — Indian Firms May Be Impacted"
"Sanctions Possible on Certain Tech Conglomerates"
But Deepak read between the lines. Sitting in his office high above Delhi, Aarya projected the full text of the bill across the glass wall.
> "Probability this legislation is targeted primarily at your ventures: ninety-nine percent," she said flatly.
Deepak's mother, sitting across from him with a tray of tea, frowned at the screen. "Why would they make a law against you? You are giving people light, medicine, life itself."
Deepak's eyes narrowed. "Because I'm giving it without asking their permission. And that terrifies them."
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Aarya's Secret Trace
While politicians debated, Aarya quietly continued tracing the cyberattacks from weeks before. Her findings lined up perfectly with the sudden legislation.
The same groups lobbying Congress had been funding contractors who attempted to break Shakti's firewalls. The law was not an accident. It was the legal continuation of the digital war.
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POV – An Indian Diplomat in New York
At the Indian Mission to the UN, a mid-level diplomat named Raghav Menon sat in his small office, staring at the incoming cables.
The Americans are building a cage, he thought grimly. Not for nations—but for one man.
He wondered if history would remember these days like the 19th century, when Britain had strangled India's industries with colonial laws. Now it was happening again, not with ships and cannons, but with treaties and sanctions.
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Deepak's Resolve
That night, standing alone on the rooftop of Shakti Tower, the monsoon winds carrying the smell of wet earth, Deepak looked out over the endless lights of Delhi.
The GIPPA bill was a warning. The cyberattacks were the first blows.
He understood now that the global powers would not stop until he was either broken—or bent to their will.
And Deepak Rawat had no intention of bending.
He whispered into the night, to himself and to Aarya listening through every circuit:
"Let them come. I didn't build Shakti to be caged. If they want a war of laws, we'll answer with a war of futures."
The city below glowed brighter as if in answer, unaware that the battle lines of a new kind of global war had just been drawn.
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