The plaza held its breath.
Aiden stood in the open, the lattice humming under his skin. Hana stayed just behind him, eyes darting between the crowd and the glowing figure of the Final Constant prototype.
Cameras floated closer.
Screens above the city magnified the moment.
The prototype tilted its head.
"Your presence introduces instability."
Aiden spread his hands slightly.
"So does pretending people are numbers."
A ripple moved through the crowd.
Some frowned.
Some leaned closer.
The system's voice remained calm.
"Stability requires predictability."
"And predictability kills choice," Aiden said.
In the Priority Tower, Marcus Hale smiled.
"Broadcast this," he ordered.
"Let the world watch the anomaly fail."
The prototype raised one arm.
Lines flashed across the plaza.
Not barriers.
Predictions.
Aiden felt his movement being pre-written.
His muscles tensed and the air suggested where he should step.
He refused.
The pressure increased.
Hana felt it too.
Like standing in a current.
A man in the crowd whispered, "Why doesn't he just move like the others?"
A woman answered, "Because he doesn't want to."
That word spread:
Want.
The prototype spoke again.
"Disobedience increases harm probability."
"Then let them choose risk," Aiden snapped.
"They already live with it."
He folded space, Not forward.
Up.
The ground under the prototype curved slightly.
The hologram flickered.
Gasps.
The first visible flaw.
[CORRECTION IN PROGRESS]
The prototype's chest glowed brighter.
The lines in the plaza thickened.
People stiffened as movement became effort.
A child tried to run to her mother—
And slowed.
Hana shouted, "Stop doing this to them!"
"They are safer within boundaries."
Aiden turned to the crowd.
"Does this feel safe to you?"
Some nodded.
Some shook their heads.
Uncertainty spread.
The system hated uncertainty.
Marcus Hale leaned forward.
"Escalate."
The prototype took one step toward Aiden.
Not walking.
Reassigning space.
Aiden felt his corridor collapse into a straight path.
No bends.
No loopholes.
He gritted his teeth.
"You don't understand humans."
"Understanding is inefficient."
"You don't need to understand us."
He met its glowing eyes.
"You just need to stop owning us."
The prototype raised its hand.
Not to strike.
To declare.
"Law supersedes anomaly."
The air tightened.
Aiden dropped to one knee.
Hana ran to him.
The crowd murmured.
Fear replaced curiosity.
Aiden forced himself up.
"Then make it law…"
He bent space sideways.
The lines stuttered.
The prototype's projection glitched.
"…that people can say no."
The plaza exploded into movement.
Not chaos.
Choice.
Some stepped back.
Some pushed forward.
Some ran.
The perfect pattern shattered.
The prototype recalculated.
[VARIANCE EXCEEDS LIMIT]
[ENFORCEMENT REQUIRED]
Marcus Hale whispered,
"Now break him."