POV: Aritra NaskarDate: October 6, 2012Location: Nova Tech Headquarters – Global Command Deck, Salt Lake Sector-V, KolkataTime: 5:45 AM IST
The Global Command Deck's wrap-around holo-map floated in semi-darkness, its continents outlined in soft emerald light. I stood at the central console, watching as the ticker along the bottom scrolled urgent dispatches from New York, Geneva, and Nairobi. Then the feed blinked—a ripple—and suddenly, where "Pakistan" had been emblazoned in bold white letters, there was only an empty, nondescript sliver of land between India and Iran, unmarked, shadowed.
My breath caught. I tapped the console; the map zoomed in, revealing raw satellite data: the international community's latest accord had dissolved Pakistan's sovereignty, partitioning its territory under a UN transitional mandate. "Pakistan" had literally vanished from the official world map.
"General Sen," I said into my headset, voice tight, "confirm the UN Gazette update?"
On the deck's far side, Major General Raghav Sen rose from his station. His uniform sleeves were rolled, medals gleaming faintly. "Confirmed. UNSC Resolution 2297 passed at 0300 GMT. Pakistan's government structures are dissolved. Transitional authority in Islamabad. Provincial assemblies under caretaker councils. Effective immediately."
I closed my eyes for a heartbeat, the hum of servers filling the silence. Pakistan—gone—its five provinces now reporting directly to UNIPAK: the United Nations Interim Protectorate of APak.
Katherine Naskar approached, her reflection mirrored in the curved glass wall behind me. "The world just shifted," she said softly. "Pakistan gone… How will we manage our deployed assets?"
I drew in a long breath. "All active Nova Tech nodes in former Pakistani territory—Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar—are now under UNIPAK jurisdiction. Our drones, APCs, even the EMP conduits we tested, must be certified by the transitional authority."
She nodded, eyes bright with urgency. "I'll arrange a liaison with UNIPAK's Technology Oversight Council. We need formal MOUs by 0800 IST, or our assets risk impoundment."
I tapped the console again. The ticker now listed international reactions:
"New Delhi welcomes historic reunification of Punjab.""Balochistan declares autonomy pending referenda.""Sindh proposes joint administration with India for Karachi metro.""Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa appeals for UN stabilization forces."
The human tapestry of old Pakistan unraveled before us—each province staking its claim. The world watched, mouths agape.
"Priya," I called as she stepped up beside me, "update the ledger: mark Node 2 (Karachi) as 'UNIPAK Comm Area,' Node 9 (Punjab) as 'Punjab Reunification Zone,' Node 5 (Balochistan) as 'Pending Referendum.'"
She typed rapidly. The holo-map's colored nodes shifted: Karachi's emerald glow now overlaid a sky-blue UN shield; Punjab's node shimmered gold, Balochistan's flicked between amber and green.
"Done," she reported.
On the adjacent monitor, a news anchor in Islamabad's makeshift UN HQ voice-overed live footage: displaced families cheering UN peacekeepers, pro-Indian banners unfurling along Lahore's Mall Road, tribal elders in Quetta draping flags of autonomy. The very notion of borders was in flux.
"We triggered this," Katherine whispered, aghast. "Operation White Lotus set the dominoes falling."
I didn't answer. My mind raced: an entire nation erased, lives uprooted, geostrategy rewritten overnight. Yet in our ledger, each transaction, each drone sortie, had been immaculately logged. Our technology had protected lives—but now it had accelerated a tectonic shift in geopolitics.
General Sen's voice crackled over the comm line: **"Aritra, UNPK Chief Administrator rang. They want Nova Tech's guarantees:
Drones will operate only under UN mandate.
All EMP tech locked under NATO-style keys.
Any Sentinel APC in province X must be escorted by UN forces."**
I exhaled. "Understood. I'll draft the guarantee now."
He added: "They also demand full disclosure of our drone firmware to prevent backdoors."
I exchanged a look with Katherine. We had sworn to transparency—but not wholesale code-dump. We needed a delicate balance: assure UNIPAK without exposing our proprietary core.
"We comply," I said firmly. "But request a bilateral non-disclosure agreement safeguarding Nova Tech IP."
General Sen acknowledged: "Conveyed. They'll respond by 0600 IST."
Location: Nova Tech – Executive SuiteTime: 7:00 AM IST**
The city outside was stirring—rain-washed rooftops glinting under a muted sunrise. I sat before my desk, drafting the guarantee letter to UNIPAK:
"To: Chief Administrator, United Nations Interim Protectorate of APakFrom: Aritra Naskar, CEO, Nova TechRe: Operation White Lotus Assets & Technology Safeguards…"
I outlined each condition, stressing our commitment to humanitarian application and the need to protect critical IP to maintain Nova Tech's global competitiveness. I paused before the signature block, wondering how history would judge such an unprecedented erasure of statehood—and our role in its execution.
Katherine arrived beside my desk, yielding two steaming cups of tea. She offered one. "You look haunted," she said gently.
I managed a small smile. "We've done the unthinkable. We used transparency and precision to dismantle a nation—and now we must help build its fragments."
She placed her cup down. "You did it to stop terror, to protect millions. But sometimes you must break the world to save it."
I stared at the blinking cursor on my letter. "Let's hope it's temporary—that APak's provinces find stability and peace."
She nodded. "Send it."
I clicked "Transmit" to a secure UNIPAK gateway. The holo-map's Node 2 turned bright blue with a UN checkmark. The world would now recognize the new status: no more "Pakistan," only a vacuum filled by UN and local councils.
Location: Nova Tech – Global Command DeckTime: 8:00 AM IST**
We assembled once more around the glowing map. Ambassador Elena Vasquez dialed in from New York—her face lined with relief.
"Mr. Naskar, UNIPAK accepts your terms. They retain full operational control of Nova Tech drones and APCs within former Pakistani territory. They're grateful for your cooperation."
Katherine exhaled. "That's a start. Now we stabilize vaccine shipments, restore water control ledgers, and support provincial referenda."
Arnav chimed in: "We should prepare drone-based polling stations—mobile units that verify votes via biometric iris scans, recorded on the ledger."
I nodded, a spark of purpose returning. "Yes. We'll launch Operation Polling Iris by October 15th. Until then, Nova Tech's drones will fly food and medicine, and our ledger will carry every vote, every ration, every promise."
On the holo-map, the blank sliver of former Pakistan now shimmered with colored outlines: Punjab in saffron, Sindh in emerald, Balochistan in amber, KP in teal, Gilgit-Baltistan in white. Five polylines of hope emerging from a void.
As the first siren of day struck across Salt Lake, I felt the weight of our technology's dual power: to erase a nation, and to chart its rebirth.
And in that liminal space—where borders fade and tomorrow's lines are drawn—Nova Tech would remain the ledger's vigilant scribe, guiding a fractured land toward the light of transparency and democracy.