January 2, 2009 – St. Xavier's High School, Dehradun
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The school bus squeaked to a stop in front of St. Xavier's.
Ram stepped down slowly, looking up at the familiar blue gate—chipped paint, rusted hinges, the same bored guard sipping tea in a steel cup.
It was all exactly as he remembered it.
Except this time, he wasn't just walking into school.
He was walking into the past with the knowledge of the future.
He adjusted his too-big bag on his small shoulders and stepped inside.
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Old Friends, New Eyes
His best friend, Vicky, came running up with a goofy smile and a half-eaten guava in hand.
"Ram! Where were you yesterday? Everyone was asking!"
Ram looked at him—really looked at him.
In his first life, Vicky would grow up to become a kind-hearted but directionless man, hopping between jobs, living paycheck to paycheck.
Not this time, Ram thought.
"Just wasn't feeling well," Ram said with a smirk. "Guess I needed a reboot."
Vicky blinked. "What's a reboot?"
Ram laughed. "You'll learn soon, genius."
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The Classroom
4-C. Same desks, same blackboard, same poster of Mahatma Gandhi with the quote:
"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
Ram stared at that quote longer than he ever had before.
Now he had to live it.
The bell rang.
Their teacher, Mrs. Kapoor, walked in, adjusting her glasses.
"Good morning, children!"
"Good morning, ma'am," the class chorused.
She turned to the board and wrote in chalk:
"New Year Resolution – Write one thing you want to achieve in 2009."
Ram's classmates scribbled things like:
"I want to come first in class."
"I want to win the cricket tournament."
"I want to eat less junk food."
Ram stared at his page, then slowly wrote:
> "I want to help the world become better, using my brain."
Mrs. Kapoor noticed it.
She read it, blinked, then smiled.
"That's... very mature, Ram. Nicely done."
He simply nodded.
First impression: solid.
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Calculating the Field
During recess, he quietly observed the entire playground—like a general studying the battlefield.
Arjun, the class bully, would one day become a minor gangster. Ram knew how to turn him early.
Priya, a brilliant but shy girl who faded into obscurity, could become India's youngest biotech entrepreneur—with the right push.
Rohit, the teacher's pet, would eventually betray Ram during high school. Ram had to be cautious with him.
He wasn't just a student anymore.
He was a strategist.
And these children?
They weren't just classmates.
They were unwitting pieces on a giant chessboard.
But he wouldn't manipulate.
He would inspire.
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The Mobile Phone That Held the Future
Tucked deep in his schoolbag, hidden behind books and lunchbox, wrapped in an old T-shirt, was the quantum mobile.
It was sleek, black, silent, and didn't exist yet—not in 2009.
No one could know.
It was his greatest asset and greatest threat.
That night, he booted it up in secret and scanned for local Wi-Fi networks.
It connected to his father's 256 kbps BSNL broadband.
The phone hummed softly and displayed:
> "TIME DISCREPANCY DETECTED. ENVIRONMENT: 2009. INITIATE COMPRESSION MODE?"
Ram selected YES.
The device compressed its AI assistant, "Athena," into a low-energy mode suited for 2009's infrastructure.
"Hello, Ram," Athena said softly.
"I've missed you."
He smiled.
"I missed you too."
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The Plan Begins
That night, under a blanket, using a torchlight clipped to his book, Ram wrote in his notebook:
Phase 1: Foundation (2009–2012)
Stay academically excellent but not suspicious
Quietly help family with financial literacy
Use the phone to mine early cryptocurrencies
Start identifying talent among classmates
Introduce "harmless" knowledge to test reactions
At the bottom of the page, he added:
> "The revolution begins with kindness, discipline, and memory."
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The next morning, he walked into school again, but this time with a different heartbeat.
He wasn't going to live life again.
He was going to rewrite the fate of a nation.
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