Power doesn't resist what works.
It imitates it.
The first sign wasn't a command or a crackdown. It was language. Words we hadn't coined—but had used carefully—began appearing in sanctioned briefings.
Flexibility.Local discretion.Adaptive response.
They sounded right.
That was the problem.
✦
Arjun caught it before I did."They're saying our words," he said."But they're saying them… louder."
"Yes," I replied."And without listening."
✦
The other Ishaan aligned, voice cool and exact.
Power copies surface patterns first, he said.Depth comes later—if at all.
✦
By midmorning, the imitation became structural.
A new directive circulated—quietly, internally.
PILOT PROGRAM: DECENTRALIZED DECISION SUPPORT
Support.
Not authority.
The phrasing mattered.
Teams were encouraged to "act autonomously within defined parameters." Feedback loops were promised. Reporting requirements were framed as "learning tools."
It looked familiar.
Too familiar.
✦
