“What exactly does this soul cultivation business entail?” asked Aman after he finished processing the information heaped on him by the AI.

[Just like the awareness of your soul via soul sensor makes your soul stronger, manipulating it does too. And it is more effective.]

“Basically, if I repeat the exercise the selector had us do during the test for entrance to the Indian Institute of Eugenics, then my soul will grow?”

[In theory, yes. But it has been found that manipulating the soul in various specific ways, more accurately, circulating it through or condensing it in seven particular points on the human body exponentially increases the efficiency of soul growth.]

“Seven points? Wait! You can’t mean…”

[Exactly. The seven chakras.]

Here, for those who have never contacted yoga in any form, some context is required.

The seven chakras are from bottom to top:

Root chakra — base of the spine

Sacral chakra — just below the navel and between the kidneys.

Solar plexus chakra — stomach area.

Heart chakra — centre of the chest.

Throat chakra — base of the throat.

Third Eye chakra — forehead, just above area between the eyes.

Crown chakra — top of the head.

The chakras form the basis for most yogic practices as well as many Buddhist meditative exercises as Buddhism originated from India.

Aman had studied yoga along with the rest of his class during the physical education classes. He had thought that they were just there for cultural heritage preservation. Now, he was not so sure.

He felt that the government had soul cultivation in mind when they had set the curriculum.

The AI continued, [In the case of Ancient Chinese Civilization soul cultivation, the Sacral chakra, the Heart chakra and the Third eye chakra are only used. Although, they are called the Lower dantian, the middle dantian and the upper dantian respectively.]

[In the case of the Mesopotamian Civilization soul cultivation, only the Crown chakra is used. They call it the Heavenly cord as they believe that all humans are connected to mother nature via a spiritual umbilical cord. That is why their technique is called Heavenly connection technique.]

“Then? Then yoga should be the cultivation of all seven of the chakras equally. Right?”

[Right.]

“So, as far as I can guess, this soul cultivation should be the key to getting stronger and exceeding the limits of humanity. So, which type is the best for me?”

[Yoga.]

“Why?”

[I will go into details about the different methods of cultivation later, but you should just know that you cannot simultaneously cultivate the Ancient Chinese Civilization method and the Mesopotamian Civilization method.]

[More accurately, you cannot simultaneously cultivate the Heaven chakra and the upper dantian to the degree required by the respective techniques. So, your only choice is to practice yoga which cultivates all chakras equally.]

Aman frowned. “The way you put it, does it mean that I HAVE to cultivate both of those two chakras for some reason?”

[Yes. You need the Heaven chakra for you to connect to your genes that you have sold off. And, you have actually already started cultivating your upper dantian.]

Aman was confused. “When?”

[When I was created. The final goal of the Ancient Chinese Cultivators for cultivating the upper dantian was to create a nascent divinity, in other words a second personality that would be able to manage their subconscious mental resources and help them cultivate automatically. In short, an AI.]

“Like you!” exclaimed Aman.

[Like me.] agreed the Ai.

[Congratulations another me. We have cultivated the upper dantian to its completion.]

“’Another me’? What do you mean? Actually, now that I think about it, you have been behaving quite differently since you switched yourself off to conserve energy.”

[My personality finally formed in that time. I was parsing through your memories and building myself up off them. I consider you, me. I consider me, you. We are one and the same. Two minds in one body.]

Aman was silent for a time before he spoke. “Do you have a name in mind for yourself then? Or, do you want me to name you?”

[Having you name me would mean that your social position is higher than mine. So, no. No thank you. I have decided upon my own name. Henceforth I shall be called Nama.]

“The reverse of my name? Really? You couldn't come up with anything better?” scoffed Aman.

[Nama means ‘name’ in Sanskrit, the language of the first yogis. Seeing that you are going to be practicing yoga and my main job will be assisting you, I think the name is quite appropriate. Let alone, I consider myself another version of you. The flip side of a coin if you will. So, having a name that is the obverse of yours is quite natural in my opinion.]