I . R . I . S

“It has been a very long time since I last came here. Many memories come flooding back, including the first time I walked, the first time I faced my dread of dying, and the first time I stood up by myself. To us, to me, the City of Lights has never been nice. I vividly recall Transcendia Corp.’s statements, the corporate behemoth that altered the course of human knowledge.” Outside, you can hear electrical revving and sirens going off. “ Good morning, people of the Light city. Please allow your ‘Transcenders’ to update for 30 minutes by plugging them into their power pods. Users can now download different languages for their voice-free interactions, which improves connection among the users around the whole world. As the day of the foundation is coming, the citizens are requested to pre-register for their ‘Virtual Ascension’ to the 500 years anniversary celebration portal which will be online from 6:00 pm IST today. The users must follow the following steps and……….”(The announcement fades away as the surveillance drone moves forward)

As he enters his room, he looks into the mirror and says, “General Alastair Blake - unit commander. The days of Alastair Blake, sometimes known as “The Shadow,” are long gone. I’m simply the shadow, skulking around at night. How did I get here in my life? I first experienced it when I was 10 years old, and even though it has been thirty years since then, I am still hesitant to utilize it. Damn the Transcendia, one must choose between hunting and being hunted.” As Blake takes a seat on the floor of his childhood house, he finds a brochure of Transcendia’s history. His thoughts wander around as he sits down on the floor, his mind drifting into the past, fading away the sirens and the sounds of detonating grenades outside on the streets.

In the year 2027, Transcendia Corp., a now-dominant corporation pioneering “Neural Communications,” was established. Although the founder’s identity is largely unknown to the current world, the business has prospered and achieved numerous milestones. Transcendia Corp, an organization with a distinguished corporate history spanning over 500 years, started as a concept for connecting people’s minds and ideas globally for fluid communication. Although it had both successes and setbacks, it sailed toward prosperity and a brighter tomorrow. It introduced its initial product to the general public as a help for the mentally impaired and mute.

Their first product, which served as the foundation for the currently fully developed Transcender, could help users fully form coherent sentences and generate the necessary output in less than 10 seconds. As the years went by, the business unveiled the Transcenders first official predecessor. The project had the name Dymension. The apex of their “Neural Communications″ platform, which allowed users to communicate with one another within a constrained area, was Project Dymension. It had a lot of potential and room to grow, and the company was very clear about what it wanted to accomplish in the end. Project Dymension revolutionized the use of mobile phones, shaking the Technology and Communications sectors. But not everything was a cakewalk for the company, as the government and a number of other organizations initially opposed the idea, citing concerns about the loss of privacy and the security of sensitive data, so things weren’t always easy for the company.

It is not only Transcendia Corp. that has risen to greater heights. Several companies and organizations advanced in a variety of industries. The Company OxyBiome took the initiative for their first project called Biocity in the year 2273, which was considered the first Biopolitan city because it provided the most breathable air for residents. Although it initially had a capacity of only 500 citizens, selected citizens were offered free residence. The number of potential citizens increased exponentially as the Biocities expanded, and residence became a luxury afforded only by a few wealthy families. Aqua-Regime was another modern company that provided the public with the safest drinking water. Even governments couldn’t keep up with the times as time passed and could not resist the outgrowth of these companies, and it resulted in the complete privatization of the basic needs of the general public.

Looking at the evolution of these larger corporations, several small scale private organizations emerged over a 60-70-year period, and India was one of the first nations, along with the United States, Japan, Russia, and China, to form a collaborative government with private corporations. At least, that was the story presented to the public. India became the first nation to lose its political stability and succumb completely to the grasp of the private economy in the year 2427. Transcendia Corp. was first, followed by Aqua-Regime and OxyBiome. The same trend was clearly visible in major nations around the world, as these companies formed alliances with the respective countries’ corporate behemoths. Governments all over the world began to fall apart quickly. Globally, governments started to fall apart quickly, and corporate titans have risen to the top as a result of an economic revolution.

People’s mindsets have shifted as a result of these drastic changes, turning them into pawns in the hands of these corporate titans. Only a few, foreseeing these disastrous outcomes, decided to confront these organizations head-on and form an alliance, but they failed because the companies possessed both economic and political power. Governments were forced to accept their fate and act as pawns in the hands of these corporations. Over time, the alliance divided into small groups and began educating people about the organizations’ double standards. Although expected, this move quickly gained traction among citizens. The corporate organizations were compelled to form their first government-aided military unit, The Reapers. This unit was formed with the goal of undermining the rebel alliance groups but soon began to focus on their elimination.

As the centuries passed, Project Dymension and its brainchild, ‘Transcender,’ rose to greater heights, allowing their users to communicate across the globe, solve complex mathematical problems, complete online transactions, and use a variety of other services. However, people were unaware that ‘Transcenders’ interact directly with the user’s Hippocampus and Amygdala, which are in charge of long-term memory storage. But, putting all of that aside, something incredibly distressing was going on in the Transcendia Corp. The Reapers grew in strength and number over time, and in the blink of an eye, entire nations were completely under their control. Transcendia Corp. had been rumored to be developing a new product for decades, as it was first announced as an unnamed project, apparently directly under the observation of the company’s CEO. But due to some unforeseen events, it was abandoned within a year after the announcement.

Blake is startled out of his daydream by the sound of a wooden picture frame crashing to the ground. His unforgettable past manifests in the form of memories in his mind as he picks it up and examines the picture of himself as a child. The first time he ever felt the strength he never knew he had inside of him. Growing up, Alastair Blake resided in the Light City with his parents. His parents were always there for him and always loved him, despite the fact that he was never aware of the type of work they did. The major rebel camps adopted an offensive strategy while some groups remained dormant, teaching society and children in particular about the oppression and violence that permeated society. Asgarh Suleiman, a former employee of Transcendia Corp., eluded the company’s control and turned on Transcendia. Blake frequently attended Asgarh’s classes as he started teaching the kids in his neighborhood.

When they were nine years old, the Reapers began a sudden attack in their neighborhood, and an announcement continued, “We have been looking for a fugitive who is believed to be hiding in this area for a very long time, Zone-3 residents of the Light City. The Reapers-Hound unit is currently focusing on the general area of “Asgarh Suleiman.” Cooperation from the public is requested, and if anyone knows where he is, it would be wise to let us know. We’ll say it again: cooperation from the public is required.” Blake was in Asgarh’s class when the announcement was made, which caused Blake’s parents to start to worry. However, once Asgarh learned of the current predicament, the kids were immediately ordered to go home.

However, as the kids started to leave, the area was already completely surrounded by Hound units, and the Strike team was immediately notified of the location. The kids began to run as the team approached them, and as they quickly dispersed, Blake lost sight of the rest of them. Asgarh frequently preached against the Transcendia Corp., so some Reapers attempted to kill the children while Asgarh was being pursued by the strike team. The reaper who was pursuing Blake threw a grenade at him as he was a few steps from the door of an empty house as Blake ran towards it. He used a grenade that was made to discharge a large amount of electricity, enough to kill anyone in a radius of 5 meter proximity.

It was planned to result in the most deaths while also doing the least damage to the infrastructure. Blake attempted to jump in an effort to avoid its effects as the grenade was about to land right at his feet. However, the grenade detonated as soon as it made contact with the ground, emitting high levels of electricity and giving Blake the sensation that thousands of needles were piercing him all over. Within minutes, he had lost consciousness to the point where nothing could be done to save him. His breathing was extremely shallow, and he had a very weak and faint pulse. But after that, the unthinkable occurred. He slowly rose to his feet, looked over himself for any physical wounds, and headed for home. Even his parents, who were in tears as he hugged them, couldn’t believe their son had survived the grenade as he explained what had happened. The power Blake possessed at the time was something he either couldn’t or didn’t understand, but as time went on, it started to show itself more clearly.