Earth’s Chosen: The Aryan Protocol

South Block Situation Room, New Delhi

The morning air in South Block felt heavy, as though the sandstone walls themselves awaited judgment. The Prime Minister sat at the head of an oval mahogany table. Surrounding him were the National Security Advisor, the Agriculture Minister Meera Rao, Transport Minister Suraj Deshmukh, and half a dozen senior ministers framed by floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Raisina Hill.

On the screen hovered the looped video from the AIIMS lab: a young assistant lingering too long by Aryan's bacterial stock, the faint spiral etched on the glass—only visible when backlit by the corridor's blue LED.

The PM pressed a remote and the footage froze on the glyph. He turned to his ministers. "We have proof of deliberate interference at the heart of our research. This is worse than sabotage—it's an attack on our sovereignty."

The Agriculture Minister leaned forward, eyes steely. "We can use this. If we tie it to opposition elements, we arrest anyone suspected of collusion. We cut them off before they can incite panic."

A murmur of agreement rippled the room.

Transport Minister Deshmukh's voice rose, firm as steel wheels on rails. "With respect, sir, open arrest warrants without clear evidence will tear at the fabric of our democracy. We risk losing more than just research—we risk public trust."

A hawkish minister at the far end slammed his fist on the table. "Trust won't matter if this lab keeps failing. We need order!"

The PM's gaze darkened. He remained silent for a long moment, watching each face in turn. Finally, he spoke, low and controlled. "I understand the urgency. But if we become the oppressors, we leave no ground from which to demand justice."

Meera Rao nodded. "We need a targeted approach—a security clampdown on the lab, enhanced vetting, but no mass arrests."

The PM agreed. "Proceed as discussed: isolate the lab staff under strict oversight. No public mention of political suspects. We cannot give them a martyr."

The ministers dispersed, leaving the PM and NSA alone before the spiral glyph on the screen.

---

Aryan's Lab, AIIMS Campus, New Delhi

Ravi found Aryan hunched over a microscope in a windowless room adjacent to the main BioLab. Vials glowed under ultraviolet light; charts scrolled across Aryan's laptop.

"Have you seen it?" Ravi said, voice hushed.

Aryan barely looked up. "The footage."

"They're talking about using it to silence opposition—arrest hearings, political purges. They want to exploit fear." Ravi pressed a printout into Aryan's hand: excerpts from cabinet notes.

Aryan scanned the paper, expression unreadable. He set it aside. "Politics doesn't interest me. I care about science, about saving lives through discovery."

Ravi's jaw tightened. "They'll drag you into this. They'll demand your loyalty."

Aryan closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they were resolute. "Then I will conduct an independent inquiry. But I will not leave this lab. My work stays here, where the danger began."

Ravi stared. "You'll stay even with them watching?"

Aryan's gaze softened. "That's exactly why I must stay. They expect fear. I offer focus."

He began to set up biometric logging systems, isolated data channels, and physical tripwires—integrating them with organic sensors derived from his soil organisms. The lab would become a fortress, not by stone, but by knowledge.

---

Intelligence Bureau Headquarters, New Delhi

Late morning, an officer from the IB briefed the Prime Minister via encrypted line. The veneer of normalcy in South Block cracked under the weight of grim news.

"Sir," the IB Chief's voice was tight, "the junior assistant's body was found at Sarai Rohilla station. No identification. Fingers and teeth removed. Death by carotid compression—surgical, silent. Someone wanted him erased."

Silence hung over the PM's office.

"Bring the file," the PM said. Moments later, minutes of security camera footage and forensic reports scrolled across his desk. He glanced at the spiral—now stamped on both lab door and crime scene.

"Whoever did this," he murmured, "is sending a message."

The NSA replied, "Our analysts are torn. Some patterns suggest foreign special operations—trained to kill without trace. Yet the spiral glyph is unfamiliar. No known agency uses it."

The PM closed his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was grim. "Maintain discretion. No leaks. We cannot let panic rule."

---

AIIMS Campus, New Delhi – Evening

That evening, Aryan and Ravi reviewed the security logs under low light. "We've added three new firewalls," Ravi said, "and a protein-triggered seal on the culture room. It only opens with your bacterial signature."

Aryan nodded. "Anyone who enters without that signature contaminates everything. We trace the change, we catch them."

He placed a flask in a secure cabinet. "This is the new bacterial vector—coded to bind specific viral lipid motifs. It's not perfect. But it's pure."

Outside the lab, monsoon winds howled across the hospital grounds.

---

South Block Veranda, Evening

The PM stepped onto a veranda overlooking manicured gardens. Suraj Deshmukh joined him, tea in hand.

"Execution without evidence," Deshmukh said quietly, "won't quell the spiral whispers."

The PM nodded. "But neither will inaction. We must balance security with truth."

Deshmukh sighed. "Your scientist is slipping from our control."

The PM's gaze hardened. "Then we must trust that his dedication to life will outweigh his distrust of power."

They stood in silence as lightning flickered on the Ridge, illuminating both palace and protest demonstrations gathering in the haze of a monsoon to come.

---

Aryan's Quarters, AIIMS Campus

As rain finally tapped the windows, Aryan penned an encrypted message to select global labs: his findings on the sabotage, updated biosecurity protocols, and a call for independent peer monitoring.

He added a brief note:

> "The truth must live where the fear begins. I will not retreat."

In the flicker of candlelight, he watched the spiral pattern fade from memory and vowed it would never claim another victim under his watch.