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CHAPTER 125 — THE COST OF STANDING
The first mistake happened before sunrise, and it did not announce itself with alarms or raised voices.
It slipped in quietly, disguised as efficiency.
A routine clearance passed too quickly through a regional channel. A signature applied without a second verification. A decision made by someone newly empowered, eager to prove that authority did not paralyze them the way it once had. In the old structure, the error would have vanished—absorbed by layers of protection designed to preserve the image of flawless control.
This time, it surfaced.
