Marvel 1919 : Rise of an Empire

(Just something i wrote as a draft in hurry )

Chapter: The Iceberg Beneath Us — Live Broadcast Special

Setting: July 2006, New York. Live national broadcast by Global Financial Network (GFN).

The sleek Midtown Manhattan studio of GFN hummed with quiet intensity. Through the high glass windows behind the anchor desk, the glowing skyline pulsed with the city's heartbeat. Inside, stage lights cast warm reflections off a brushed steel news desk, as a digital ticker scrolled market numbers across the lower third of the screen.

The opening music faded—a slight pause. The show began.

Julia Reyes, mid-30s, clad in a dark navy blazer and exuding composed authority, leaned forward.

"Good evening. You're watching GFN's live global special: The Iceberg Beneath Us. I'm Julia Reyes."

Derrick Shaw, early 40s, with a more casual posture but equally sharp in tone, followed.

"And I'm Derrick Shaw. Tonight, we go beyond headlines to uncover the most dominant, enigmatic force in modern finance—PL Holding Group."

Julia gave a knowing nod. "Also known to industry insiders as... The Shadow IMF."

Derrick smirked lightly. "Forget Wall Street juggernauts or Silicon Valley darlings. PL Holding Group makes Fortune 500 titans look like college startups."

"Its global footprint? Over 80,000 corporations—spanning logistics in Jakarta to biotech in Berlin. Follow the money long enough, and you'll find yourself in PL's shadow."

"We've confirmed PL manages nearly $15 trillion in assets and liabilities," Derrick continued, glancing down at his notes. "And yes—BlackRock, Vanguard, and even several national central banks operate under financial frameworks modeled off, or directly aligned with, PL's financial systems."

Julia leaned forward slightly. "But that's not the most astonishing part. PL Holding now issues its private digital currency. Circulating in 39 countries. And backed not by promises, but by over 10,000 tons of physical gold."

"That's more than the combined reserves of Germany, Italy, and the UK," Derrick added.

Cut to recorded segment: A high-definition animation of a global map blooming with connection nodes. Logos flickered into place: BlackShield Security, SilverLine Studios, PL Energy & Maritime, PL Digital Finance, PL Infrastructure Consortium, and countless subsidiaries beneath them.

Voice-over narrator:

Founded nearly a century ago by George Orwell, once thought to be a minor tech investor, PL Holding has since grown into a transnational leviathan. Its presence is everywhere—and until now, its full scope was hidden behind a web of private shells and investment syndicates."

Back to the studio.

Derrick, flipping through documents, raised his brows. "So how does a private firm with a $20 trillion footprint stay so quiet for so long?"

Julia answered calmly, "Because it doesn't own everything directly. It is controlled through chains. Holding companies own trusts, trusts manage private capital consortiums, and those fund boards that sit atop multinational firms—and in some cases, sovereign cabinets."

Derrick tapped his pen. "One such arm? BlackShield Security. Operating in 61 countries, this isn't your neighborhood private security. This is military-grade personnel replacing state defense forces in parts of Latin America, Africa, and even Southeast Asia."

"Not a coup. A contract," Julia said, her tone edged with irony.

Cut to the NYPD precinct. Officers crowded around a TV in the break room.

A veteran cop, arms crossed, muttered, "George Orwell... damn, my old man mentioned him. Some clean-cut kid from a ranch. Inherited a farm or something. Now he runs BlackShield also?"

A younger officer scrolled on his phone. "He bought half that land back when gold hadn't even been discovered there. Straight-up Nostradamus moves."

Another officer snorted. "You're saying he owns more real estate than the federal government?"

Cut to a prison rec room. Inmates murmured in disbelief.

Carl, grizzled, late 50s, leaned forward on the metal table.

"Orwell. Yeah, I know that name. He's the guy who took over the entire underworld back before WW2. Damn, that ain't a business guy, he's a legend."

Another prisoner raised a brow. "How the hell did a businessman pull that off?"

Carl chuckled, tapping his chest. "He's got power. Not money-power. Real power."

Cut to George Orwell's private residence. Sleek, minimal. Shelves of global currency notes, old newspaper clippings, and a giant digital dashboard showing worldwide markets.

George, now aged but still upright and alert, watched the live broadcast.

"They finally figured it out," he muttered, sipping black tea.

His assistant entered quietly. "Sir, we can prepare a public statement if needed. A soft denial."

George shook his head with a faint smile. "No. Let them speculate. Mystery... is leverage."

Back in the studio. Viewer reactions are streaming in. Julia read them aloud.

"Here's one from Nairobi: 'If PL controls that much gold, why don't they create their global reserve bank?'"

"Well, short answer," Derrick said, "They already have. The PL Monetary Authority is registered in six sovereign states. Fully operational."

"They mint their digital currency," Julia added. "And private nations—those barely functional post-conflict economies—use it over the IMF."

"We're talking about an entity with GDP-scale power: over $20 trillion in internal flow."

Cut to MIT lecture hall. A professor, gray-haired and amused, stood in front of stunned students.

"What you're seeing is predictive capital strategy. Orwell bought farmland in the U.S. that later sat on oil. Purchased undeveloped coasts that became ports. Acquired shell firms before technologies even existed."

A student asked, "So... insider trading?"

The professor laughed. "Insider trading is petty theft. This was time-tiered global positioning. He didn't play the market. He built it."

Closing montage: News outlets worldwide begin scrambling. Newspapers print PL's logo. Parliament discussions in London. Protests in Brazil. A ticker scrolling across CNBC.

Derrick's voice closes the show:

"For almost a century, George Orwell built an empire not with flags, but with foresight. Not through war, but through contracts, gold, and code. The real question isn't how much PL owns."

Julia finishes:

"It's whether anyone, anywhere... can afford to challenge it."

(Just something i wrote as a draft in hurry )