Most times, the aftermath of a dangerous action never looks like the explosion it caused; sometimes it's the debris you keep finding in your shoe days later.
It looks like rooms that don't quite fit the people standing in them. It looks like allies who hesitate half a second longer before speaking your name.
The council chamber felt smaller.
Not physically, its glass walls were still curved outward, still reflected the city like a crown of light, but politically, something had collapsed inward. When I entered, conversation thinned to polite silence. Heads turned, and their eyes measured me.
I took my seat.
The chair cleared his throat. "We're here to assess recent actions taken under emergency authority."
Assess, not review. The choice of words matters; now I know it would be a frontal attack.
"Proceed," I said.
The first statement appeared as a procedure.
Councilor Meyers adjusted his cufflinks. "Your compliance cascade caused significant market instability."
