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A Sneak Peek: Book 2, "The Spanda Resonance"
Today, I am excited to share a 'Backstory' chapter from the upcoming second book in the Shadow of Truth series: The Spanda Resonance. The story set in near-future corporate world is inspired based on Mahabharat.
The following chapter features a high-stakes Research Review meeting involving the visionary Bhishma, the grand-uncle of the corporate siblings, and two star developers: Pritha (inspired by Kunti) and Subalaja (inspired by Gandhari).
The Seeds of Illusion.
The Diverging Paths.
The world outside was loud and chaotic, but the underground laboratory was a sound-proof vault. The windowless room was a vast expanse of stainless steel and spotless glass. Down here, three founders debated how to put a leash on human nature. They sought to resolve the age-old dilemma by employing technology. Their goal was to find ways to create an efficient society and minimize pain.
Beneath the brightness of LED lights, Pritha stood holding a small glass vial. Microscopic silver dust drifted through a clear liquid inside the glass. As her body heat warmed the surface, the dust began to pulse with a soft, rhythmic glow.
Subalaja, known to everyone as Suba, watched from across the wide steel table. Her face was a mask of rigid logic. Beside her sat their great-uncle, Bhishma. He was a man of firm authority, and his dark eyes remained fixed on the glowing vial.
Pritha traced the warm glass. Her voice carried a hope that echoed off the cold metal walls. "These are the agent cells, derived from organic mycelium. They act like living roots in the bloodstream. Our research shows that trees and most plant life communicate by transmitting signals into the soil and air. The mycelium cells in the roots are responsible for these electrical signals. With these modified cells, humans would become capable of transmitting data and feelings into the air."
Bhishma looked at Pritha with respect. "But these signals would be weak. How do we boost them? Also, can we program the cells to streamline the data flow?"
Pritha smiled with excitement and raised the vial of glowing silver cells. "A program can be set in their DNA. They draw energy from the body's internal heat and connect with neighbouring cells to amplify the signal. Vegetation and biomass help in boosting the signal."
Bhishma leaned his imposing frame forward. The metal chair creaked under his weight. "And is the programming permanent? Can it be changed? Does it fade?"
"The cells grow, reproduce, and eventually die like any other body cells," Pritha offered a firm nod. "They thrive and continue to connect as long as the count is healthy. But the programming gets diluted during their reproduction cycle. When the ratio of programmed cells drops below a set limit, or when we want to change the rules, we have to inject a booster dose. My research shows every twelve months, the population will need a new dose to adhere to the programme."
She stepped closer, the vial casting a soft light across her skin. "Look at what happens when people with these cells come together. If you put ten people in a room, their connection does not just add up, it multiplies. Nearby plant life further amplifies the signal. They sense each other and share everything."
Suba's voice cut through the room like cracked ice. "They share pain."
Pritha gripped the vial tighter. "The cells transmit both physical data and deep feelings. Logic and emotions. They share the truth. They physically feel each other's ambitions and see through each other's eyes. If people share their real sentiments and understand each other, they cannot fight. They will naturally work together and find an approach where everyone wins."
Suba’s palm hit the steel table with an echoing crack. "You are naive, Pritha. If a million people suddenly feel each other's raw grief, society will freeze. They will drown in the sensation. The human mind cannot handle such truth."
Pritha was horrified. "You want to blindfold them."
Suba leaned over the cold steel. "I want to protect them. Logic is real. Emotions are dreams, or even nightmares. We cannot depend on the imagination of people. We must connect only hard, logical data to a central system. We do not let them connect directly to each other. The system decides what they see and what they feel. We manage their senses."
A silence filled the room before Bhishma finally stood up. His measured steps rang with heavy finality on the metal floor. He looked from the pulsing vial to Pritha. His vibrating tone left no room for debate.
"Pritha, a selfless society is a beautiful dream. But you cannot govern a billion dreaming minds. Suba is right. We need a digital register. We need control."
He turned his broad back to Pritha and faced Suba. "Build the system. Design and implement network boosters for areas of sparse population or thin plant life. Create a digital register that tracks every action and maintains a score. It is the Karma Ledger. It is a carrot and a stick to control the nervous system of citizens."
Pritha stared at Bhishma, her hope hardening into a cold resolve. She reached across the table to snatch up her data drives, backing away toward the exit. "You can take this technology and follow your path. But I will continue to work on a wholesome system. I will not abandon my dream because you are afraid to trust people. Pritha Infotech will find another approach."
She turned and walked out. The heavy steel door hissed and sealed shut behind her, locking the cold inside.
Suba didn't watch her sister-in-law leave. She inserted the vial into the bio-network emulator and reached for her neural helmet. Tapping the interface pad at her temples, she connected her brain waves to the prototype mycelium cells. She was eager to feel how the world would shift when she overrode her natural vision.
Suba blinked once. The organic light died in her dark eyes, replaced by a cold cascade of scrolling data. It was a synthetic lie built to hide the chaotic reality of the truth.
The Problem with Accountability
Months later, Suba’s vision became a stark reality.
In a darkened boardroom, Bhishma and Suba activated a holographic projector. A glowing 3D pyramid floated above the table, dividing a simulated society into distinct, shimmering slices. Pritha stood at the edge of the room with her arms crossed, invited merely as a courtesy to review their progress.
Suba rotated the glowing pyramid with a flick of her wrist. "We have created the metric. We score everything. Citizens earn points for hitting factory targets and for following traffic rules. They also gain points for ideal community behaviour. They lose points for any deviation."
Bhishma offered a satisfied nod. "It is like measuring Karma. The Karma Credit System. KCS. It is vital to understand, Pritha, that the score is not a currency. It is a gate, the key that allows access."
Suba pointed a finger at the glowing layers. "Social hierarchy will be based on this credit score. Gold-tier citizens at the top enjoy luxury homes and Maya holography. Silver and Bronze form the middle ranks and skilled worker levels. This leaves the Steel-grey tier at the bottom for the unskilled class. Any node can improve their living conditions by raising their score."
Pritha stared at the segregated pyramid, a cold dread pooling in her stomach. "This will introduce a fierce competitive spirit. But how do you ensure the competition stays helpful? Look at your own model, Suba."
Pritha stepped forward, pushing her hand into the humming light of the hologram. She tapped a cluster of simulated citizens trapped in the Bronze tier.
"If my score drops because my neighbour performs better, I will view my neighbour as a threat." As she spoke, the holographic citizens began building red digital walls. "People will hoard information and build silos. They will hit their targets while sabotaging others to protect their status. You are using the mycelium cells to monitor them, but you have stripped away the empathy that makes the connection safe. This is not a system, Uncle. This is a collaboration killer."
Bhishma frowned, waving a hand through the light to reset the simulation. "The central AI will manage the big picture. We will monitor and tweak the goals to ensure no one takes advantage of the system."
Pritha locked eyes with the old man, refusing to back down. "You called my empathy network impractical because it was too complex. Now look at what you have built. It is a system filled with loopholes that requires exhausting monitoring to keep people from tearing each other apart. With more accountability comes extreme distrust."
Pritha stepped back from the segregated pyramid, letting the synthetic light wash over her face. "The world will soon realise that forced harmony is a prison. True Spanda is an organic resonance with nature. It is the only way out."
Why I chose to write this story...
Ancient Indian Philosophy teaches us that this world is Maya, an illusion. We often navigate our daily struggles believing this material life is the only reality, bound by the diktats of destiny. Yet, we can realize our true power by looking inward to find the Atman, the fragment of the Absolute Universal Power residing within us.
The Maya Mirage is the culmination of my 40-year career observing the "corporate battlefield." The high-stakes friction between Efficiency vs. Empathy and Win-at-all-costs vs. Win-win strategies is an ongoing narrative. In this story, I have bridged the 5,000-year-old wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita with a hyper-automated future of AI and digital control. It asks a singular question: In a world woven from digital illusions, can the human heart still find the "Core Truth"?
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