Chapter 11: The Chessboard Expands
March 2, 2009 – Shantiniketan Public School, Dehradun
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Every school has a rhythm.
Morning bell. National anthem. Morning assembly with a bored principal.
Then classes. Homework. Complaints.
Repeat.
But Ram had no intention of living in rhythm.
He was here to rewrite the tune.
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Operation: Textbook
It started with a discovery.
In the school library, Ram found a 1998 physics book labeled as "Latest Edition."
The chapters on computers talked about floppy disks and cathode ray monitors.
The biology textbook still listed Pluto as a planet.
Ram snapped photos, sent them to Athena, and compared the data with 2025 curriculum standards.
Verdict?
> "Your current curriculum is over 17 years outdated," Athena noted.
"Students are 2 decades behind the global average."
Ram's blood boiled.
"This ends now."
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The First Strike: Secret Notes
Ram began slipping "Future Fact Sheets" into library books.
One on quantum computing. Another on renewable energy. A list of 10 world-changing inventions from the 2010s.
He printed them on school stationery to avoid suspicion.
The curious students took notice.
"What's this 3D printing thing?"
"Is AI real?"
"Are we really going to colonize Mars?"
The teachers didn't know where the excitement was coming from.
They only saw more questions, more energy, more thinking.
Ram smiled.
> That's what a true revolution looks like:
Silent. Subtle. Inevitable.
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Forming the Inner Circle
By mid-March, Ram had handpicked five students who were secretly excelling in innovation garage projects.
He called them to a lunch meeting under the banyan tree.
"This school is a temple," he said, "but the gods haven't updated the scriptures. It's time we become the new priests."
He handed out pocket notebooks labeled:
> "Project: Shiksha 2.0"
Inside:
A weekly challenge to learn and teach something not in the syllabus
Ciphers and puzzles leading to hidden links on open-source software
Thought experiments: "What would you do if electricity disappeared?"
Lessons from 2030 framed as imaginary sci-fi stories
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The Tech Club That Didn't Exist
Officially, their school didn't have a tech club.
So Ram created one.
They met in the storeroom. Called themselves the Grey Hat Guild.
No registration. No adult supervision.
Just 6 kids, a whiteboard, and a vision:
> "Learn fast. Break nothing. Change everything."
Projects they tackled:
Building websites using HTML from scratch
Programming Arduino kits Ram bought with leftover savings
Creating their own school time-table generator
Mapping rainfall data to design a water-saving model for school gardens
Teachers began to notice unusual things:
The science lab had better wiring
The school notice board got a digital upgrade
Someone submitted a proposal to replace chalkboards with LCD projectors
No one suspected a 9-year-old was behind it all.
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Subtle Influence: Ram's Strategy
Ram knew he couldn't take direct credit.
The system feared kids who "knew too much."
So he orchestrated his moves like a chess master:
Pushed ideas to class captains so teachers thought it was their idea
Got friends to submit proposals in different handwriting
Slipped innovation suggestions into suggestion boxes under fake names
Meanwhile, Athena simulated outcomes of every small action.
Even one seating arrangement change could lead to a future coder sitting next to an artist—and boom, a future startup was born.
Ram saw the school as a living chessboard.
He wasn't just playing.
He was rewiring the rules.
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Journal Entry: March 2, 2009
> "If a nation is built in universities, then a revolution must begin in classrooms.
One lesson. One curious mind.
I've moved my first bishop across the board.
The game has truly begun."
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End of Chapter 11