The first question did not come from Court.
It did not come from Gregory.
It did not come from the Dominion.
It came from a twelve-year-old in Coastal territory.
Her name was Liora.
She stood at the front of a youth civic literacy workshop, chin lifted slightly higher than her small frame suggested it should be.
“If the system works now,” she asked calmly, “why do we need leaders at all?”
The room did not laugh.
No one dismissed her.
Because it was a real question.
The facilitator—an Alpine mentor named Tomas—looked momentarily stunned.
Then he smiled.
“That depends on what you think leaders do.”
“They used to hold things together,” Liora replied.
“They don’t seem to anymore.”
The room shifted.
Not hostile.
Not rebellious.
Just thoughtful.
The hum wasn’t present in these
