Aryan gazed at his phone's screen slightly longer than he should have.
Incoming Call: Maa.
He inhaled, took a moment, gathered himself.
The system, the operators, the digital conduit pulsing with promises of power, all merged together as he was brought back to the most basic truth of his reality.
He clicked accept.
"Hello, Maa?" he said, trying to keep his tone even.
"Aryan beta," she had said, her voice warm and a little tired
"Are you eating? You didn't call since yesterday."
He felt a twinge of guilt."I'm sorry, Maa. Classes are ramping up. But yes, I will eat later. Everything is fine."
There was a pause on her end."You sound... serious. Everything okay?"
Aryan smiled faintly.
She always knew."Just something on my mind. There is something I have to do, Maa."
She chuckled with tempered enthusiasm. "You always were like your father—never satisfied."
"I know, Maa," he said.
"I'll be careful."
After that he cut the phone and returned to dorm,, where the Manish was not there.
The display was still aglow in the dim dorm room, casting ghostly blue tones across Aryan's face.
The outside wind rustled gently, with the neem leaves brushing against the glass, whispering, as if revealing secrets only he could decipher.
His phone call with his mother had brought him back down to earth, even if just for a moment. But reality was bending again; this time it was to something larger than life.
Aryan's eyes dropped to the screen again.
[Shadow Political Operative – Tier 1]
Name: Aniket Sharma
Age: 39
Position: Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha – New Delhi Constituency
Affiliation: Independent (Supported by Neutral NGO Front)
Education: M.A. Political Science – JNU | LLB – Delhi University
Media Influence Score: 8.7/10
Public Approval Rating: 72% (Upward)
System Note: Perfect Comparison for Proxy Prime Ministerial Grooming.
Aryan's eyebrows angled closer as he scrolled down.
"How in the hell..." he muttered.
Aniket wasn't some bright-eyed student leader, as he had thought he might be. He was already a young firebrand MP — an independent, and a well-known and liked MP in the capital city.
Charismatic, intelligent, articulate, and dangerous. A person who could alter the trajectory of national debate... and possibly even the seat of power if appropriately supported.
But this was a creature of the system.
With interest, Aryan leaned closer. "He's already in Parliament?" he asked to the system.
The system explained. "Yes. The identity was seeded five years prior. Actual political evolution was organized with the assistance of interventions from the system.
The system created Aniket, who was political created, with roots in the legal framework and societal constructs to avoid disclosures. But now Aniket has joined the pattern of reform for progressive reform.
From a neoliberal perspective, he is neutral, but there was a connection to systemic shadowing, leveraging Empyrean resources."
His implications were immense.
"He's...a completely constructed political weapon," Aryan said, stunned. His eyes moved through the public profile: videos of Aniket giving talks about rural electrification, empowering students, ensuring accountability in the judiciary.
News clippings from The Hindu, Indian Express, and NDTV quoted him about reform, connection to college students, and even bold, technical stances around economic policy.
Then, the internal file appeared— marked Confidential – Architect Access Only.
Psychological profile:
Strategic, ambitious, yet requires ideational direction.
Deeply respects intellectual authority, will fall in with anyone offering vision.
Vulnerability: A legacy seeker, with unresolved trauma from early on in his political affiliation.
Believes in democratic ideals, but discontent with the status quo of government.
Aryan's gaze hung there."Perfect for Prime Ministerial grooming."
It was nearly laughable. But was it not the part?
Aniket was already a star, but lacked direction. And in the hands of Aryan, with the full resources of the Empyrean bank and the system behind him, he would not be a star. He would be the sword of Aryan's hand; shiny, sharp, and perfectly deniable.
A means to a re-imagined future for the country.
He tapped open the Influence Web. In a virtual map of India, dozens of nodes pulsed, each connected to Aniket Sharma.
Youth leaders, bureaucrats, journalists, retired judges, industry types.
All next doors.
Aryan breathed out, stunned by the power at his fingertips. "If I get him on my team... I control the discourse."
"Ding."
"Host, he is already under your control, 100%. You just need to call him, and he will come to you and tell you everything about himself," the system spoke to Aryan at this time.
When Aryan heard the system's voice, he was surprised for a moment and then thought, Everything is made by the system, so he must be loyal to me.
Thinking of this, Aryan took sigh.
"Hey, you're back...?"
Aryan, who had fallen into deep thought within the system, suddenly heard the familiar voice of Manish again. He noticed that along with Manish, two other males around the same age had also arrived. Then, suddenly, memories came flooding back, and he remembered their names. The one with slightly brown skin was named Divesh Anand, and the other, with a fair complexion and a height of about 6'1", was Ganesh Kumar.
"Yes…!" Aryan replied back to Manish.
"Then let's go eat, otherwise the canteen food will get cold and run out," Divesh said this time.
"Okay…!"
After that, the four people in the dormitory freshened up and then left for the canteen.