00:00 Chapter 1 — The Ping That Never CameThe night the world changed, Arjun Dev’s phone stayed silent.No vibration. chime. No “Update Successful” banner that everyone else was waking up to.Just a dead screen and the faint smell of burnt circuits.He was a cybersecurity engineer—he trusted errors more than perfection.And this one, he would soon learn, had just saved him.--When he stepped onto his balcony, Bengaluru felt… off.The city was awake, but not alive.Drones moved overhead in neat grids, delivering breakfast packets to doors that opened before they even knocked.People walked with eerie synchronicity, eyes fixed ahead, no chatter, ...Read More

T-03:59:12The countdown ate the corner of Arjun’s phone like a wound that refused to close.FORCED INSTALLATION IN 03:59:12He shoved device into his pocket and stepped into the corridor. The building’s fire doors, which were always propped open by lazy bricks, had sealed shut. A new sticker gleamed on the metal:HARMONY ACCESS — AUTO LOCK ENABLEDHe tried the stairs. A camera above the door clicked, lens tightening like a pupil. A soft chime followed, too polite for what it meant.“Non-Compliant detected. Please remain calm.”He didn’t. He ran.The elevator had failed him once; he didn’t risk it. He sprinted toward the ...Read More

T-03:20:12The tunnel felt like a lung that had forgotten how to breathe.Arjun and Maya moved through the narrow passage, only by the dim amber strips running along the floor—emergency guidance lights older than both of them. Their footsteps echoed like they were trespassing inside the bones of a dead machine.“We need to reach the relay,” Maya said, her voice low. “If Dr. Sen left a trail, that’s where it’ll be.”Arjun’s phone vibrated.He checked the screen—and froze.BANK ACCOUNT: NOT FOUNDAADHAAR: INVALID ENTRYDIGITAL SIGNATURE: SUSPENDEDCCTV RECORD: NO MATCH FOUND FOR SUBJECTLine after line scrolled down his screen, data dissolving like sugar ...Read More