The air in the central plaza of New Eden was thick with a precarious, hopeful expectation. There had been rumors of a city-wide "system recalibration" as necessary maintenance following the most recent blackout. The people, their belief in Adrian unshakeable, had arrived as requested, their faces turned toward the central spire where he appeared. The sun was dipping toward the horizon, casting the natural curves of the city in fiery hues, a deceptive calm before the storm.
Adrian gripped the podium rims in his hands. He had to speak. He couldn't tell them the entire, terrifying truth—that they were mere seconds from giving a digital lobotomy to the city brain—but he couldn't lie. He'd demanded them to promise him honesty.
My friends," he began, his booming voice echoing and resounding ac
