Maya ARC

WHAT IS MAYA?

“There’s no free choice, but it’s a very useful illusion.”

- Samyuktha,
the Voice of the 1st Council of Divyalok

Maya is an epic high-fantasy universe created by Anand Gandhi and Zain Memon, unfolding over novels, board games, graphic novels, films, and digital games.

“The rule of the sword is long gone, and with it, the rule of the coin. It’s the age of the rule of the mind. This is the gift of Maya.”

- Divyendra,
the Eye of the 1st Council of Divyalok,
and all the ones that followed

Maya chronicles the paradoxes of a civilization where technological marvels coexist with primitive suffering - across the chasm of haves and have nots.

“O’ great vaanar king, I cannot predict what you will have for breakfast tomorrow. I could, however, tell you with complete certainty how much whey batter will be consumed in your kingdom before Dinkar sets on the horizon tomorrow.”

- Divyashri,
Garud in the court of Raja Dara

Biotechnology on Samsaar has made exponential advances. Despite this, disparity and prejudice amongst its various sapient species have compounded uncontrollably. In a tale as old as time, Maya chronicles the struggle against this intensely unjust status quo on a planetary scale.

“As I kill you, I now understand that you are but a cog in a giant rotten machine. I will kill the axle and the hand that turns it next. And then, I will shut the world down.”

- Dhuri-Yakshi Shakuni
to Vaanar Detective Beera

Every species on Samsaar has a unique evolutionary background and a distinct position in the social structure.

The manushya (a species that looks like humans on earth) are enterprising and have evolved tools to alter their environment significantly. This makes them the natural enemies of the rakshasi - the keepers of nature, who can rapidly adapt to any environment by consuming sophisticated recipes.

The vaanar, a primate-like species, occupy every rung of lawmaking and law enforcement. Meanwhile, the serpentine naag operate on the fringes of society, blurring the lines between trade and crime in their quest to remain free of the garud control over all the wealth and resources of Samsaar.

The utopian metropolis of Satyalok is reserved only for the select few who can demonstrate their worthiness and superiority: the Divya.

For most, like the enslaved Yakshi, life is rife with uncertainty and suffering. Even as the Divya, the long-living species of Samsaar, approach biological singularity, the world of Samsaar is a tinderbox on the brink of ecological collapse.

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“At that moment, I understood the real problem with our world today: I was feeling intensely jealous of a peer invited to lead a ceremonious ritual that I neither believed in nor cared about while I was immersed in a thrilling air racing simulation game, inside Maya.”

- Samvidya Rakshasi,
Author of ‘In Defence of Ownership’, Mythra University

The Kalpavriksha tree has evolved to allow the various sapient beings of Samsaar to graft into its aerial roots. The tree uploads all their memories and dreams on its vast network of roots. A cloud superintelligence has emerged from this complex network, capable of producing near-perfect simulations of reality.

This is called Maya.

The billions of citizens of Samsaar are sedated by Maya and flock to it in droves to escape their mundane lives. The manushya graft into Maya to play conquest games and sports, the rakshasi dream up biochemical outcomes in various puzzle games, and the yakshi are mandated to play labor simulations. The Divya, however, use Maya to simulate highly probable futures. They anticipate and destroy all potential threats to their control before they even arise.

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“The most potent offering of Maya is not that you can make love to your favorite character from the Samay Epics or the celebrated Apsara danseuse who dons the part with boundless grace on the great amphitheater of Yachay Temple. It is not that you can partake in the ancient Kalpa wars and go on a Rakshasi slaying spree without consequence. The most potent offering of Maya is foresight, and its fuel is hindsight.”

- Adharvan, the Unplugged

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