The invitation arrived at 08:03.
Not through petition channel.
Not through Integrity Pathway interface.
Direct.
Administrative seal.
No dramatic header.
Just:
Student Procedural Liaison Initiative — Founding Participant Review
Candidate: Dreyden Stella
Attendance Required: 12:30 — Council Room B
Required.
Not requested.
Dreyden read it once, then closed the interface.
Lucas looked up from across the corridor.
"That's it, isn't it."
"Yes."
"They're formalizing you."
"Yes."
Lucas exhaled.
"Is that good?"
"No."
He let that sit.
Then added:
"It's not bad either."
Oversight had chosen absorption.
That meant they believed pressure could be redirected instead of resisted.
It was a smarter move than force.
Force unified students.
Institutional participation divided them.
If Dreyden refused—
He became obstructionist.
If he accepted—
He risked becoming representative instead of disruptor.
Either way, the shape changed.
12:27 — Council Room B
