Dilli had learned one lesson the hard way:
Nothing in the world is truly safe forever.
Not land.
Not secrecy.
Not peace.
Hope Island was protected—yes.
But Dilli knew the world could change in a heartbeat…
a political shift, a war, a discovery, a betrayal—
and Veda might be exposed.
One evening, while Shakthi sketched stars on the sand and Betal monitored global intelligence pulses,
Dilli stared out into the endless ocean.
"Betal… what if Hope Island is compromised one day?"
Betal's projection flickered gently beside him.
"Then we must build something the world cannot reach."
Dilli nodded.
His mind was already racing.
---
1. Operation SHANKU — The Fail Safe Nobody Must Know
Historically, the ocean was humanity's last unexplored frontier.
Its depths protected secrets older than civilization itself.
So Dilli devised a plan known only to three beings:
Himself, Betal, and Veda.
A fail-safe that required no human help.
A fail-safe no nation could detect.
"If Hope Island falls," Dilli whispered,
"Veda must disappear into the ocean bed."
Not destroyed.
Not deactivated.
But shifted.
Transported to the one place even superpowers couldn't easily reach:
CosOcean Exploration's Deepwater Facility.
---
2. CosOcean's Hidden Asset — A Lab Beneath the Waves
Years ago, before Veda even began, Dilli had secretly funded a facility under CosOcean's name:
12 km offshore
4,000 meters deep
Disguised as a marine geology station
Actually a pressurized vault with autonomous AI operations
Betal helped design the facility so it could operate without human presence:
Autonomous oxygen generation
Pressure-resistant quantum shielding
Self-cleaning systems
Veda-compatible energy conduits
Like a sleeping titan beneath the sea.
Betal monitored it constantly.
"The facility is stable. If needed, it can take Veda within 11 hours."
Dilli exhaled in relief.
But he wasn't finished.
---
3. Project GARUDA — Veda's Emergency Relocation Pod
Dilli created a relocation mechanism for Veda:
A pod built of graphene-titanium hybrid fiber
that could withstand 10,000 meters of ocean pressure.
It looked like:
A seed
A comet
A heart wrapped in armor
And the hope of humanity in one vessel
Features included:
Stealth propulsion
Noise-cancelled movement
Electromagnetic invisibility
Heat masking
Pressure equalization
Auto-detonation of internal components if tampered
Not even nuclear weapons could break it.
Shakthi once saw a simulation of the pod and whispered:
"It's like Veda will dive into the Earth's heartbeat."
Dilli smiled.
"And nobody will follow it."
---
4. The Phase Beyond — The Mariana Trench Base
Even CosOcean's deepwater facility was temporary.
Dilli wanted something permanent.
Something untouchable.
Something legendary.
So came the birth of:
NIDHIVANA — The Mariana Trench Base
Its name came from scriptures that spoke of an untouchable paradise where no evil could enter.
The Mariana Trench—
36,000 feet deep,
colder than death,
darker than forgotten time—
became the perfect sanctuary.
Betal mapped the trench,
calculated stability zones,
and automated construction protocols.
The base would be:
Buried into the trench wall
Reinforced by pressure instead of fighting it
Powered by geothermal vents
Connected to Veda by quantum entanglement
Invisible to sonar due to its organic structure
Protected by pressure zones no submarine could survive
NIDHIVANA would be:
Veda's final refuge.
Humanity's last secret.
Dilli's ultimate peace.
---
5. The Contingency Trigger — A Heartbeat Away
Betal created a simple rule:
If global threat levels breach 87%,
Veda instantly transfers to CosOcean's facility.
If severe threat continues:
The Mariana Base will activate,
Veda will relocate,
and all traces of Veda's existence will vanish.
Hope Island would appear empty,
normal,
forgettable.
The world would believe Veda was never real.
---
6. Shakthi, the Flame That Keeps Him Steady
During late nights, when Dilli reviewed threat models and evacuation timelines,
Shakthi would sit beside him—
swinging her legs,
drawing constellations,
whispering stories she invented on the spot.
Her presence was grounding.
A reminder:
He wasn't protecting Veda for power.
He was protecting it for her,
for the children of Hope Island,
for the future of a world that wasn't ready.
Betal understood and said softly once:
"You prepare for war, but you build for peace, Dilli.
This is why Veda must stay with you."
---
7. An Eternal Flame Beneath the Deep
One night, standing at the coastline with Shakthi dozing against his side,
Dilli looked at the moonlit water and whispered:
"Even if the world comes for us…
they will never find Veda."
Betal materialized beside him,
blue light shimmering.
"And even if they search the oceans…
we will always be deeper."
With his wit,
with Betal's brilliance,
with Shakthi's grounding light—
Hope Island,
Veda,
and the future they cherished
became an eternal flame
burning quietly in the depths of the world.
Unreachable.
Unbreakable.
Unforgettable.