บท 9: India

As a preteen when I first watched the first Ironman movie, a nagging question had settled in my mind. How far can human science and technology go and what would a society in that stage look like?

When I found myself in the Marvel world, where extraordinary personal strength enough to warp reality exists, the pursuit of finding the answer to my question almost seemed futile. But this futility further strengthened my resolve to see it through in this Marvel world.

I wanted to see humanity go beyond Tony Stark and Reed Richards, even further than Kang who conquered multiverses, even beyond the Beyonders who remain outside the multiverse, and maybe beyond the One Above All as well.

I'm living proof that there are worlds beyond Marvel. So how far can humanity go? Where does science end? I wanted to be able to watch this and be a part of it.

Of course, I will not give up on a chance to become extraordinary. I need to be alive to be able to see all that after all. Thankfully, this is the Marvel world, there are multiple ways to gain extraordinary power here, and I happen to be someone who knows quite a few of them.

The door to my office was suddenly pushed open and Sage walked in, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Find anything?" I asked her as she walked to my desk wearing a professional corporate suit and skirt.

"No. We have found 18 that match the age range and general description but we can't be sure if any of them is the one since there is no photo or any specific descriptions." Sage sighed in exhaustion.

"I should be able to find out. Let me see." I asked for the documents in her hand.

"How come so many kids go missing and nobody even cares? I had to shift through hundreds of files to filter out the ones in your hand you know?" Sage grumbled. It should've been a piece of cake with her abilities.

In a way, her powers are very similar to mine with her mind being faster than any computer and having a perfect memory. Additionally, she can see people's DNA and even activate the X-gene. So she is a walking strategic weapon in a way.

While thinking about Sage, I was flipping through the files until I felt a strong induction from cause and effect. Both the cause and the effect led to me. So I was sure this file was the identity of this body's prior owner.

Filed missing from an orphanage in Colorado, abandoned at the orphanage as an infant, Curly Red as he was called in the orphanage since he didn't have a name, was a mentally disabled child. He was sent to a psych ward at the age of 13 after showing violent tendencies.

Hydra should have picked him up a few years later and then he died under the experiments.

I could finally find out and let go of the past of this body. His parents should still be alive and I could probably find them if I wanted to, but I didn't. I don't know if I merged with him or replaced him but now, only Savant exists. And that's all that matters.

"You can stop looking into this now. We will continue with the plans that we have discussed earlier. Also, book my flight for tomorrow." I said to Sage as I threw away the files into the dustbin.

She craned her neck to see the files in the dustbin as she spoke, "Are you going alone? Don't you want to take me with you?"

"I need you here to handle the company until it is stable. Also, Doug Ramsey needs a familiar face when he arrives to join the company."

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Arriving in New Delhi, the center of power in India, was a novel experience. It was different from Washington. Not in a bad way, the air here didn't feel as rotten as it did in Washington. This place had its problems too but it would take a decade or so to reach the level of Washington.

At the airport, I was picked up by a delegation sent by the prime minister's office. Being a rich guy has it perks, especially when you are going to invest billions in the country, the hospitality level rises sharply.

When most Westerners step into this country, they find poverty, social issues, spirituality, nature, and most importantly they find a sense of superiority over the 'backward Indians'. People in the West, especially in the US are blissfully ignorant that a world exists outside the bubble they live in.

But to me, this is the land of opportunity. A population of a billion with a large majority of them being youth below 25 years of age. This is a resource in itself. Then there is the fact that even with a conservative estimate, there are currently 3 million mutants in this country.

"If you play your cards right, you will be ahead of the US by a large margin within the next 15 years." I had just relayed the data and the possibilities to the Indian prime minister.

"Mr. Savant, I get the general gist of it but could you elaborate on what is it that you want to do exactly?" Prime Minister Rao inquired. But I could hear the impatience in his voice.

"I understand the norms of politics in your country Mr. Rao. I am going to draw a massive pie, enough to fill everyone up. But I need long-term cooperation so it'd be great if we could arrange a meeting in the presence of all the party leaders in opposition as well." I was blunt.

I didn't want my projects to be halted midway just because the ruling party of the country changed in a few years.

PM Rao frowned but nodded, "I will try my best to convince them."

I shook my head, "Mr. Rao, it's a pie worth hundreds of billions, even trillions of dollars. I could go to China as well, in fact, they have better conditions for my project. I just don't like their politics so I'm in India. As the Indian saying goes, you don't kick away the money that's rolling home right?"

PM Rao nodded and agreed. Whether he was looking out for the development of the people or for the pockets of the politicians, it didn't matter to me. With my current ability, money is just a tool for me.

On my way back to the hotel, I saw a guy showing off his levitation amidst a crowd of spectators. Not the fake kind, real levitation.

I asked my driver Rajeev in Hindi, which I had learned perfectly during the flight, "Rajeev, what do you think of the mutants?"

"Oh Sir, I was surprised you speak such good Hindi. By mutants you mean the Blessed? Oh, they are amazing, they have all kinds of powers from god's grace…"

It was interesting. Most Indians divided the mutants as Blessed and Cursed. Blessed were those who had extraordinary powers and Cursed were mostly the villainous ones but unfortunately the ones with visible deformities were counted among the cursed as well.

The highly religious nature of India along with its culture of prioritizing familial bonds ended up creating an environment where the mutant hate was way more muted in India than in the US. It probably helped that there wasn't anyone to stoke the flames of hate all the way across the Pacific.

I also learned about the Indian superheroes from Rajeev. Although there weren't any formal teams like the X-men, there were quite a few heroes who took up the fight for justice. Usually in the name of a certain god who resembles their powers.

Apparently, Rajeev's favorites are Shaktimaan whose name literally means powerful, and Doga, an interesting hero who wears a dog mask and mercilessly murders any criminals that happen to fall into his hands. Both of them allegedly were not mutants.

I was a little interested in this mercenary hero called Doga. He reminded me of Punisher somehow. As for Shaktimaan, he is supposed to harness chakra which I assume is similar to or the same as Chi.

That reminded me, there should be quite a lot of Chakra/Chi practitioners in India. I'm almost certain that the Indian government has a special task force comprised of these practitioners.

So much to explore, and so much to find out, makes me very excited. I asked Rajeev to take me around the most famous temples in Delhi right away. I wanted to see if I could find any chi masters. Although I don't plan to use it, it's always good to learn new skills.

But despite a long sightseeing tour of temples that I extended to the next day as well, I didn't find any chi masters.

I did feel stupid though. I was no different from the typical tourists who expect to find profound sages and spiritual enlightenment right after getting off the plane.

On my third day in India, in a grand conference room, there were about 25-30 men seated each forming their own cliques and discussing something.

When I walked into the room the noise died down but low murmurings could still be heard. I walked to the front of the table and cleared my throat to gain their attention.

Then I began my talk in fluent Hindi, "Greetings gentlemen. I'm Savant Smith and I'm here to paint a picture of a beautiful future for you. You might've already heard about my discussions with the PM. So, I'll get right to it.

I have a plan, a plan to turn India into a powerhouse in scientific and technological innovation within the next two decades."

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Thank you for all the support guys. Send more stones and comments, I feel my creative juices flowing with all the encouragement!