The planetary council meeting was everything I'd expected and nothing like I'd planned.
Instead of a formal gathering in a single location, it became a vast network of interconnected conversations spanning both continents. Town squares, university amphitheaters, ship decks, prison courtyards, converted collective facilities, and even cave systems where hermits had been hiding everywhere that conscious beings gathered, they participated in the great discussion of what humanity should become.
"Current participation count," Marcus announced from our coordination center, "approximately four million active voices, with listening audiences estimated at twelve million across both continents."
Four million people trying to have a conversation simultaneously. It should have been impossible, but
