Maya: Seed Takes Root

Combining elements from science-fiction, fantasy, and philosophy, MAYA: Seed Takes Root is a new mythology for the 21st century - not of gods and monsters, but of us. The Divya Trials have been announced. Billions will compete. One will ascend to godhood. On the planet Neh, the living forest called Maya is the planet’s neural network. Each citizen tethers daily to Maya, entering shared dreamscapes for work, play, and learning. The immortal Divyas harvest the data. Every thought and memory; predicting futures and bending reality itself. Everyone is connected. Everyone is tracked. Everyone is controlled. Everyone except Yachay. An ordinary nineteen-year-old manushya raised in isolation by his ailing grandfather, Daddu, Yachay has never tethered to Maya—making him invisible to the gods of data. Daddu urges him to enter the upcoming Divya Trials, a once-in-a-lifetime competition where billions compete for immortality and omnipotence. Yachay wants no part of it—until his grandfather’s death uncovers an ancient resistance and a lifetime of secret training. MAYA: Seed Takes Root, the first novel in the expansive MAYA universe, fuses science fiction, fantasy, and philosophy into an epic of thrilling adventure and urgent allegory. Drawing on South Asian mythology, hard science, and sharp social commentary, it asks the questions that define our time: Who controls our stories? Who profits from our data? And in an age of perfect prediction; is freedom still possible?

Anand Gandhi is a polymath filmmaker and public intellectual credited with ushering India’s new wave of cinema. He has created culture-shaping projects across media. His debut feature Ship of Theseus won India's National Award for Best Film (the country's highest honor; often likened to the Academy Award for Best Picture) and was hailed by the UK Critics' Circle as "life-changing;" collecting major prizes at festivals including Transilvania; Tokyo; and BFI London. His mythological horror epic Tumbbad; now regarded as a contemporary classic; opened Venice Critics' Week; and won Filmfare and Sitges awards. Zain Memon is a visionary game designer and transmedia creator who pioneered South Asia’s modern tabletop renaissance. His political strategy board game SHASN is India's most played modern tabletop game. It has won IndieCade’s Social Impact Award and reached players in over 70 countries. Its sequel SHASN: AZADI; hailed as the "blueprint for semi-cooperative game design;" became the first tabletop game honored by Games for Change. Memon has established games as transformative learning systems through his approach to play as pedagogy.