Aryan's Lab, South Delhi – 2020
The neem smoke curled upward like a lazy serpent, blending with the scent of soldered copper and damp soil. Aryan stood barefoot beside the solar reactor unit, eyes closed, hand resting on the smooth bark of an old peepal growing inside the lab's greenhouse wing. Something stirred. Not in the tree—but in the Earth beneath.
His fingers twitched.
> System Alert
Mission Activated: Construct Vajra-Net
Objective: Deploy a stealth-compatible temporal sensor payload into Earth's low orbit.
Function: Detect unidentified energy signatures, stealth movements, and temporal anomalies.
Note: Full satellite construction currently unfeasible. Alternative path: piggyback sensor module on upcoming weather launch.
Reward: Global Awareness Upgrade + EchoVision (Anomaly Detection Interface)
Time Limit: 12 Days
Aryan opened his eyes slowly. "The sky is blind," he murmured.
Ravi, hunched over a steel bench nearby, looked up. "You mean the smog, right? Or are you having another moment?"
Aryan turned, eyes unusually sharp. "It's time to give Earth a new eye."
Ravi blinked. "We finally building that sensor thing? The one you drew on banana leaves last week?"
Aryan nodded once. "Begin component prep. We pitch it in three days."
---
Defense Intelligence Guest House, New Delhi – 3 Days Later
They met under the official banner of the "Private Tech-Defense Co-Development Roundtable," though everyone in the room knew what it really was: a hush-hush money gate for strange-but-promising ideas.
Ravi carried the presentation kit under his arm and a tray of chai cups in his hand. "Science is nothing without snacks," he whispered as they entered.
The room was dimly lit. On the far end sat:
Brigadier (Retd.) Amarjeet Bhullar, former radar command, sharp eyes despite the paunch
Dr. Isha Narayanan, ISRO's aerospace materials specialist and part-time yogini
Krish Sinha, a private drone tech entrepreneur with three patents and zero ethics
They had no time for nonsense. But Aryan gave them something different: silence.
He stood in front of a plain digital board and drew a simple eye with chalk. No PowerPoint. No slogans.
"This," he said, "is what Earth lacks."
Bhullar leaned back. "We have satellites. GPS. Infrared. The Chinese sky-net sees ants crawling in Ladakh."
Aryan nodded. "And yet you miss the missiles under your own clouds. You miss the virus killing crops before it spreads. You miss the tremor before the war."
Krish smirked. "You're pitching prophecy now?"
"No," Aryan said. "A cocktail."
Ravi leaned forward. "Cocktail of miracles."
Aryan clicked a remote. A quiet hum, and the board lit with a clean schematic.
> Project Vajra-Net
Anti-Stealth Defense Node: Detects cloaked drones, low-heat missiles
Wildfire Early Warning: Analyzes forest heat shifts from orbit
Wildlife Tracking: Uses mineral-tagged bio-signals from tagged species
Climate Anomaly Forecasting: Predicts weather shifts using plant-based magneto-sensors
(And privately... scans for non-natural orbital anomalies)
Bhullar frowned. "And you want to launch a full satellite for this?"
Aryan shook his head. "No time. No clearance. We hijack a payload slot on the next ISRO weather launch. Ten-kilo sensor stack, copper-crystal CPU, runs off bio-calcium circuits. Looks like climate tech—scans like divine radar."
Dr. Isha tilted her head. "And the benefit?"
"Border intelligence. Monsoon prediction. Wildlife poaching deterrents. Low-cost, decentralized data feeds," Aryan said. "And yes—early stealth detection for national security."
Krish ran a finger over the proposal sheet. "What's in it for us?"
Aryan stared directly at him. "Control of the world's only sensor that sees the unseen."
Ravi added, "Also, good PR. Imagine selling weather insurance backed by a space yogi and government-grade radar."
Bhullar grunted. "You're insane."
Aryan replied, "Only until we're right."
---
Aryan's Lab, South Delhi – 5 Days Later
The contract was signed. Not officially. But Bhullar made a call. Soon, crates began arriving with ISRO markings and military-grade chips.
In the courtyard, Ravi stood over the metal spine of the sensor array, wires coiling like jungle vines.
"You realize," Ravi said, "we're building a cosmic stethoscope. A parasite with a PhD."
Aryan nodded. "We listen now. Later, we speak."
The peepal tree behind them rustled—though there was no wind.
---
System Interface – Inner Lab
Aryan entered the quiet meditation chamber, lined with sandalwood and moss-lined walls. He placed his palm on the carved Earth symbol again.
> System Update: Mission Progress – 60%
Partial funding secured. Payload constructed. Telemetry protocols aligned.
Launch window confirmed (shared orbit).
+1200 System Points Earned
New Ability Unlocked: EchoVision Interface
Function: Detects anomalous orbital signatures within 2,500 km range.
First Trace Ping Detected: East Africa – Energy Class Unknown.
Aryan's eyes narrowed. "Too early. Too soon."
He walked outside.
Ravi looked up from polishing the copper shielding. "You want me to paint a tricolor on it?"
"No flags," Aryan replied. "No names. Just a signal."
The sky above was clear—but for a fleeting second, something blinked between the stars.
Not a plane.
Not a satellite.
Something else.
And somewhere, the Earth listened back.