Commitment isn't demanded loudly.
It's priced.
The morning didn't arrive with threats or speeches. It arrived with options—laid out carefully, politely, as if no one would notice the numbers attached to them.
Support tiers.Priority lanes.Access windows.
No one said choose a side.
They said choose what you can afford.
Arjun read the posted update twice, jaw tight."They're turning loyalty into a subscription," he said.
"Yes," I replied."And charging people with time instead of money."
✦
The city absorbed it slowly.
Sanctioned teams now moved with visible ease. Supplies reached them first. Requests were answered quickly. Their workspaces stayed lit.
Unsanctioned efforts still functioned—but with friction built in. Delays. Extra steps. Missing pieces that had to be improvised.
No one blocked them.
They were just… deprioritized.
✦
The other Ishaan aligned, voice precise.
Commitment is tested by comfort, he said.The higher the comfort gap, the faster people decide.
✦
