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Nicholas Boothman
Chapter 8 The Quiet Zone
The Tiered Truth System went live seventy-two hours after the Freeze.
Henry announced it at a press conference held in a government briefing room with bad lighting and too many flags.
Jinji stood beside him.
Lawyers stood just off camera. Claire watched from a hospital office. Vincent was not there.
The markets had been frozen for three days. Small businesses could not access credit. Retirees could not move money. Hospitals were demanding emergency exemptions. Governments wanted someone to blame, and Henry had become convenient.
He stepped to the podium.
“We underestimated the transition costs,” he said. The phrase tasted rotten in his mouth.
Transition costs.
Outside that room, transition costs meant traders doubled over at terminals. Doctors unable to finish sentences. Families told the truth too late or too bluntly or not at all.
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