Page 153 - TruthAboutLyingFinalAmazon18

Nicholas Boothman
"Then we stop," Bailey Matthews said. "We just stop."
It should have ended there. It would have ended there, in a world of lies. But the Mandate was absolute.
Volkov looked down at his own wrist monitor. It was flashing red.
"I cannot turn them around," Volkov whispered, horror dawning on his face.
"Why not? We just agreed!"
"Because I stated my intent," Volkov said, tears filling his eyes. "The Mandate recorded my threat: 'If you intervene, I will strike.' You have intervened. If I do not strike, I am a liar. And the system... the system does not allow liars to hold the codes."
On the screen, Volkov's hands were shaking as they hovered over his console. He was fighting it. He was fighting for his life. But the override was stronger. The truth demanded consistency.
"I have to do it," Volkov choked out. "The logic is absolute. I am sorry."
The apology was cut short by the Vagus Hammer. On the global broadcast, Premier Volkov’s body suddenly arched, his spine snapping taut as the V-7 Veritas Patch detected the lethal delta between his stated intent to strike and his primal instinct for survival. It wasn't logic or diplomacy that stopped his hand; it was a Level 3 Truth Heave.
153