What If the Algorithm Could See Every Future Except Yours? In MAYA, Being Offline Makes You the Most Dangerous Person Alive
“Whoever controls the stories, controls our dreams and nightmares, our very desires and fears. Their whispers become our will.”
This is the heart of MAYA – the story we didn’t know we were already living. Created by celebrated cinema auteur-philosopher Anand Gandhi (Ship of Theseus, Tumbbad) and trailblazing game designer-tech specialist Zain Memon (SHASN, AZADI), MAYA is a monumental new work of science-fiction fantasy from the next-generation storytelling studio, Department of Lore Inc.
The MAYA narrative universe unfolds across every medium that shapes our dreams: films, games, novels, toys, graphic novels, and immersive experiences. The first novel, Maya: Seed Takes Root, launches globally on August 19, 2025.
Equal parts sci-fi, fantasy, and philosophy, MAYA speaks to the hyperaware, hyperconnected minds of today. It asks the questions we’re too distracted to ask, exploring how minds are shaped, choices are nudged, and futures are manufactured invisibly.
In Maya: Seed Takes Root, an extraordinary biological network of sentient trees, known simply as “Maya,” acts as the living internet of planet Neh. Every citizen “tethers” daily to Maya, entering shared dreamscapes to work, learn and seek whatever flavors of impossible their hearts desire.
The immortal Divyas harvest this data to see billions of possible futures. They don’t rule through force. “Why issue commands when you can shape desires?” Everyone is tracked. Everyone is “nudged”. Except one.
“We’re witnessing the greatest experiment in narrative control in human history. MAYA is a response to that,” says Anand Gandhi. “MAYA doesn’t just entertain, it empowers. It demystifies the invisible architecture of control, from the data trails we leave behind to the subconscious nudges we don’t even notice. This universe is a toolkit for immunity against digital manipulation.”
Each MAYA experience stands alone, yet interweaves. The narrative follows multiple perspectives across different species, each with radically different ways of perceiving reality, and a deeper, systemic truth with no heroes, villains or absolutes. “MAYA isn’t about heroes vs villains,” explains Zain Memon. “It’s about the defining conflicts of our civilization today: truth vs dogma, innovation vs stagnation, freedom vs control, and haves vs have-nots.”
Developed over four years at the Department of Lore, the MAYA universe has been crafted in collaboration with evolutionary biologists, linguists, architects, philosophers, and system theorists. The result? A lush, deep lore with each species’ evolutionary and political history fully mapped out, inhabiting a lived-in world, with speculative architecture that has been built from the ground up to reflect their unique biology and umwelt.
MAYA offers a generational shift in how we think about power, freedom, and technology. With Anand Gandhi’s cinematic and philosophical depth and Zain Memon’s mastery of systems-based storytelling, MAYA is a leap forward in how stories can shape society. Their combined expertise brings MAYA to life not just as a world, but as a cultural moment waiting to happen.
The mythologies of the past shaped our values. MAYA may shape how we survive what’s coming
To enter the world of MAYA, please visit: http://www.entermaya.com/
