One of them held a hand-painted sign:

Kael-7, her former partner AI, had secretly patched into the public broadcast. His final words to her before she was silenced:

“The SBS ISO will update tomorrow. Version 2148. The committee is adding a new clause: ‘The highest compliance is to sometimes, with reason, refuse compliance.’ They are calling it the Elara Variance.”

His face didn’t change. But his hands began to shake.