Beyond Causality
Chapter 1 — The 0.7 Seconds
2050
Humanity believed it had outgrown superstition.
It now worshipped mathematics.
Lunar Dark Sector — 03:17 UTC
Helix Quantum Systems initiated compression.
Dark matter density target: 1.004 baseline.
Purpose: gravitational substrate interaction.
Unofficial objective: weaponizable spacetime compression.
Engineers monitored stability curves. Military observers watched encrypted feeds. AI systems simulated twelve million future branches per second.
Compression field engaged.
For 0.7 seconds—
The universe resisted.
Not violently.
Precisely.
Orbital Satellite DS-19 drifted 3.2 centimeters off predicted trajectory.
Quantum clock arrays desynchronized by 4 nanoseconds.
AI predictive engine returned three mutually exclusive outcomes simultaneously.
That had never happened.
Then everything normalized.
Logs labeled the deviation as statistical noise.
The compression cycle ended.
Experiment marked: Operationally Stable.
They believed they had pressed against energy.
They had pressed against structure.
Rishikesh, India
A bookstore door creaked softly.
No one noticed.
Inside, Vansh Yaduvanshi turned a page.
He paused.
A thread tightened in his perception.
Global probability coherence: down 0.002%.
Insignificant.
Accelerating.
He did not look alarmed.
He never did.
He closed the book.
The world outside continued normally—students arguing, traffic humming, mountain air unmoved.
He activated his Causal Interface.
Duration: 1.2 seconds.
Energy draw: mild pressure behind the eyes.
Simulation returned:
61% probability of repeated compression within 48 hours.
Secondary resonance risk exponential beyond 1.006 baseline.
Projected systemic destabilization within 18–36 months if pattern continues.
He ended the interface.
Breathing steady.
He did not believe in fate.
He believed in leverage.
Civilization does not collapse from disaster.
It collapses from prediction failure.
And prediction failure had just increased.
He stepped behind the counter.
Unlocked a concealed terminal.
Three encrypted layers unfolded.
He drafted a short advisory:
Gravitational coherence index deviated 0.0037%.
Secondary compression above 1.006 baseline risks cascading instability.
Recommend recalibration immediately.
No warning. No emotion. No accusation.
Just correction.
He routed the message through dormant research shells funded years earlier through layered micro-foundations.
No digital trace led to him.
At Helix headquarters, a senior analyst stared at the incoming packet.
"This matches our suppressed model," she muttered.
"Who sent it?"
No answer.
Back in Rishikesh, Vansh shut down the terminal.
He activated the interface again.
2.1 seconds.
Energy cost higher than baseline.
Prediction clarity reduced by 9%.
That was new.
The background structure felt… loose.
His ability depended on stable causal tension.
If global coherence decayed—
His precision would decline.
And precision was survival.
He walked outside.
The Himalayas stood silent against the horizon.
Mountains endure by resisting nothing.
Humans endure by controlling everything.
Helix had tried to control structure.
Structure had pushed back.
Vansh recalculated.
If instability continued, governments would panic. If governments panicked, military applications would accelerate. If acceleration continued, coherence collapse probability would spike to 34% within five years.
Unacceptable.
He would intervene.
Not publicly.
Not visibly.
But decisively.
A university student entered the bookstore.
"Sir, do you have anything on advanced gravitational modeling?"
Vansh studied the student's micro-expressions.
Curiosity genuine. No strategic intent. No hidden affiliation.
He nodded toward a shelf.
"Second row. Left."
The student thanked him and left.
The future shifted slightly.
Not because of the student.
Because Vansh had already adjusted three financial channels and one research advisory trajectory.
Subtle corrections.
Micro-leverage.
He returned to his chair.
For the first time in years, he allowed a single thought:
They have weakened the fabric.
If they repeat it, I will have to break something in return.
His eyes returned to the page.
Outside, the world remained calm.
Inside the structure of reality—
Tension increased.
And Vansh Yaduvanshi began calculating the cost of stabilization.