Ferrante's tribunal proceeded with the same formal weight as every previous prosecution, though Elena found herself testifying with less personal urgency this time, the process having become almost familiar after years of similar proceedings.
"Dr. Cole," the presiding judge asked during her testimony, "how would you characterize the current state of threats similar to what Sloane originally created?"
Elena considered the question carefully. "Diminished, but not eliminated. Every successful prosecution disrupts specific networks and capabilities. But the underlying knowledge, the theoretical possibility, that persists regardless of individual convictions."
"Does that concern you?"
"Constantly," Elena admitted honestly. "But concern without paralysis. We've built genuine institutional ca
