Chapter 16 – The Fellowship of Sparks
May 2009 – Across India
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By the time summer vacation began, Ram had already found six of them.
They didn't know each other.
They didn't know him.
But they had one thing in common:
> They were sparks.
Bright minds. Restless souls.
Children with the kind of questions adults found annoying.
Kids who took things apart just to see how they worked.
Or who built their own science kits from scrap.
Or coded basic games from borrowed computers at cyber cafés.
> "They don't need guidance," Ram told Athena.
"They need permission to dream louder."
So he gave it to them—anonymously.
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The First Six
1. Tara – Age 10, Jharkhand
Built a working model of a hand-cranked radio from trash.
Her father was a miner. Her hands were always bruised.
Ram mailed her a solar power kit with a hand-written note:
> "Every frequency has its time. Yours is coming."
2. Veer – Age 12, Punjab
Rewired his home's fuse box to power an irrigation motor.
Almost got electrocuted. His school punished him.
Ram sent him a physics book two years ahead of curriculum.
> "They'll fear you until they understand you. Keep going."
3. Arvind – Age 11, Tamil Nadu
Coded an AI chatbot that spoke three languages.
Ram sent a used Raspberry Pi. No name. No explanation.
4. Sana – Age 13, Kerala
Wrote a paper on freshwater conservation. No one read it.
Ram published it under a made-up NGO journal online.
By the next week, it was quoted in a UN climate blog.
5. Rehan – Age 9, Lucknow
Built a drone from discarded ceiling fan parts.
Ram mailed a motor stabilizer and a congratulatory note:
> "You're not building toys. You're building wings."
6. Priya – Age 12, Nagpur
Invented a low-cost sanitary pad machine for her science fair.
Was laughed out of the room.
Ram contacted her through an online alias offering mentorship.
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The Network Forms
Athena helped Ram maintain multiple digital identities:
A curious uncle.
A mysterious well-wisher.
An NGO intern.
A tech mentor.
A reviewer at a journal.
A classmate from "another city."
Each of these six children began to flourish in their own ways.
Not because Ram gave them answers—
but because he gave them recognition, tools, and belief.
They didn't know they were being recruited.
They only knew they were no longer alone.
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The Code Name: Fellowship
Ram didn't want to call it a "team."
That was too hierarchical.
Too militaristic.
He called them:
> The Fellowship of Sparks.
A loose circle of gifted children, scattered across India, slowly being nudged toward the same orbit.
Not to serve Ram.
But to shape the India he was about to awaken.
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The Secret Map
By the end of May, Ram created a living map inside Athena:
Each child had a glowing dot.
Each dot connected to their skill sets, passions, and future trajectory based on predictive behavioral models.
The map also showed possible threats—
schools that might crush their creativity,
families that might not understand,
poverty that could choke their future.
For each obstacle, Ram built a counter-measure:
Scholarships.
Mentorships.
Anonymous donations.
Viral articles.
Invisible support networks.
> "This is how we plant a forest," he told Athena.
"One spark. Then another. Then another. Until the dark has no place to hide."
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Journal Entry – May 27, 2009
> "You don't lead a revolution by being loud.
You build it by recognizing the quiet geniuses no one sees.
The overlooked. The underestimated.
These six…
They will be the roots of the tree that will hold up the sky."
"Let the world underestimate them.
That's when we strike."
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End of Chapter 16