The story grew naturally, like a baby grows into a child, with each limb increasingly coordinated as the body gains power and its potential gradually reveals itself to the world.

When Max proved to be illusive, the World Press again shifted focus.

“Death of holy man ignites fears for the safety of…

“American implicated in search for Australian sadhu…

“Marlon Sands, retired, denies any involvement…

Speculation piled on speculation, prompting increasingly florid runs of gossip and wide-eyed innuendo until the story cracked the Front Page of every newspaper in the world with the allegation that Shard, in the last days of his life, had been in contact with the President of America.

“President’s link to holy man.”

“Shard – madman or visionary?”

“Film – catalyst for last days?”

Daytime television was suddenly bursting with experts on Indian mysticism. Small, bearded professors who’d never set foot in India, were shuffled out of their gated communities to effuse about sadhus and their age old tradition of renunciation. “Don’t worry,” they assured an audience pre-occupied with the gift at the end of the show. “It’s not the kind of thing that could ever become what we in America would call, popular. Of course, in India it’s not uncommon for men to renounce… but when the alternative is starvation it’s not so hard to fathom… “